Shelter from the Storm

by Molly Wens

  "Yeah,” he grinned. “We have the rest of our lives."

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  Epilogue

  It had been a long time since he had made this climb, a lifetime it seemed, since Bryce had left these mountains in search of a woman who had managed to break through the ice that had surrounded his heart. Now, as he folded the lightweight nylon shell of his tent, he thought back on that winter and the hope—and the anger—that had kept him going through the worst of the blizzard that had raged during most of his descent. That had been the last time he had seen the cabin where he had hidden himself from the world.

  The squeals of two small children brought him out of his memories. Sheanna and Zane chased after the Northern Crescent and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies that scattered in giant clouds of gold, yellow and black. Bryce watched them for a minute, smiling at the pride he felt for his new family and the way that the big black dog bounded after them.

  He glanced around until he found his wife, his Cari, sitting on a boulder, playing patty-cake with their tiny daughter. They had named the child Morna, after his grandmother, to honor his grandfather—the man who had built the cabin where they fell in love. Not yet, a year old, the baby had a gift for joy.

  She had her mother's delicate, heart-shaped face and lovely smile. Her hair was the color of his—raven black—with the curls that graced Carissa's head. Morna's infant-blue eyes were changing quickly, but not to the olive-green shade he had hoped for. They were darkening to gray, as his own, and from time to time, they glittered with anger when she was out of sorts. This one was going to have his temper, he feared. Carissa only laughed when he voiced his concern, saying that the temper only showed the child to be strong of will and would never be given to weakness.

  He thought back to that Christmas, as he finished packing the tent, to the time when he had finally found Carissa. When he had seen that light in her eyes again—the light that burned brighter than the sun—his heart had skipped a beat. The world around them had disappeared as he had taken her in his arms, feeling as if he had finally come home. Then he thought of how he had almost made love to her, right there in the trunk of his father's car, and he grinned at the memory. It was a good thing she had still had some presence of mind that day, else he would have had her stripped naked and bent over the bumper right there in the snow, for the whole world to see.

  That afternoon, after Donnan and Alice had returned with the children, he and Carissa had been a disheveled mess, barely dressed, before the family had entered the house. Carissa had blushed profusely at the knowing glances of their parents as Bryce had helped her clean up the toppled Christmas tree and demolished ornaments from the earlier go-around Skoll had had with the cat, Blondi. It must have been a terrible fight, one that Bryce wished he had seen. After that, Skoll, the fearless mastiff, had kept a healthy distance from the hissing furball.

  Alice and Carissa had insisted that he and Donnan stay with them. Alice had spoken the loudest at the time, stating there was no way she would let them wake up in a hotel on Christmas morning. If he had known then what he knew now about their parents, he would have been suspicious about Alice's motives that night. She had bunked with Sheanna, giving the guestroom to Donnan, while Bryce slept next to Cari.

  Another grin lifted the scars on his left cheek as he thought of how he and Cari had sneaked out that night, to his room at the hotel, losing themselves in each other's bodies. They had returned home before 5:00 AM, exhausted and sated, and had cuddled on the couch, awaiting the moment when two excited little imps awoke, screaming about Santa's latest visit. The warmth he had felt that first Christmas morning, watching the excited children as they pawed through the copious mounds of gifts, was more than any man could hope for—and more than he ever thought to have.

  "What are you grinning at?” Cari asked as she handed his daughter to him, bringing him back to the present.

  He tickled the cooing baby held in the crook of his arm, leaning over to kiss his sweet wife's mouth. “Just thinking of how lucky I am. Thank you for marrying me and giving me a family."

  Carissa smiled back, her heart swelling. “I love you, too,” she whispered before spreading a sleeping bag on the ground. She took Morna from him and laid her on the bedroll, then turned to help him finish breaking camp. “I'm so glad we decided to do this. It's great to get away."

  Bryce raised an eyebrow at her. “That's funny, I seem to remember someone saying that she couldn't afford to be away from the station right now."

  Cari popped him on the arm, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. “You know I'll follow you anywhere,” she purred as he pulled her up under his arm to deposit a burning kiss on her lips.

  Bryce, chuckling at her heated sigh, returned to the task at hand—packing up the camp. By nightfall, they would reach the cabin for a much needed vacation from the civilized world that they had been occupying. His mind wandered again to the happy days that had followed their reunion. They had married exactly one week after that day, on New Year's Eve, with their parents and their children in attendance. Their honeymoon had been a two-day stay in that same hotel suite that Bryce had occupied upon his arrival in Springfield. Carissa had not wanted to go far, or be separated for long from her children after the amount of time she had been away in Wyoming.

  Donnan had gone back to Wyoming after the holidays, placed his home on the market and returned to start a life in Illinois, where he could be close to his son and his new family. Thinking back, Bryce wondered exactly what his father's motives had actually been. The man had immediately begun a courtship with Alice, spending a great deal of time at the home of Carissa's mother, until he had finally proposed to her after Morna was born. Alice had accepted immediately, though the two had yet to take the final step.

  It was not too long after Bryce and Cari had settled into the bliss of their new life when the CEO of her company, Mike Claire, had called her. He had asked that she and Bryce meet him at the television station, in the front parking lot. When they had arrived at the appointed time, it was to witness the former station manager, Tom Mavis, escorted from the building after being fired. She was offered the station manager position with a substantial pay raise.

  Bryce had to hand it to his wife. She had made Mike Claire wait for nearly a week while she mulled over the decision. Of course, in the end, she had taken the job and had created a much more relaxed atmosphere for the employees, while still managing to nearly double the performance of the sales department. She had given Christopher Davidson his head in the News Department, and the ratings had gone through the roof. It had been a very advantageous arrangement for all concerned.

  Bryce, on the other hand, had declined a job offer with a local investment firm, opting, instead, to choose a career that allowed for a much more flexible schedule, and one that would allow him the freedom of the outdoors. He and his father had started a business outfitting what they called, dudes—persons with urban backgrounds—for hunting and other excursions that would take them into the wilderness and game reserves. He had plans to buy up some forested land and wetlands in central Illinois that he would use for conservation purposes. Deer hunting was the big money maker for his new business, and autumn had become his busiest season.

  As Cari strapped Morna into the carrier that Cari would shoulder across her back, and rolled up the bedroll where the child had been happily playing, Bryce thought again how lucky he had been that night when he and Skoll had found her. She was a force to be reckoned with, and one of the strongest people he had ever met. Even when her ex-husband had been arrested and jailed for his numerous crimes, she had not faltered a step. She had immediately visited the man in prison, handing him papers to sign away his parental rights to Zane and Sheanna. John James had signed the documents without blinking, knowing that he could no longer use the kids to hurt her, given his present circumstances.

  Bryce had adopted Carissa's children as soon as the paperwork could be completed. Now her family was truly his f
amily too, and the children had the security of knowing that they had a real father, one who would be devoted to them and their mother. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to remember what the world had been like without the people he now loved in his life. His former life seemed so long ago and this life was all he wanted to remember.

  Whenever thoughts of Anna, and what he had done that terrible night, came to mind, he only had to see Carissa's smiling face to know that he was redeemed, that his soul was saved by her. The few single nights he had spent away from her, taking care of his hunting and fishing tours, had been miserable without her warm body beside him, and her sweet sighs to lull him to sleep.

  Only once had he spent more than one night away from her. That had been when he had traveled to Washington State. Anna's father, Sam Cannon, had died, succumbing to a heart attack and dying alone, a broken man with no one left to see to him. Hatred and bitterness had consumed him since the loss of his daughter. In the end, everyone, including his wife, had been driven away by the festering anger that he had refused to let go.

  When Bryce had received word that the man had passed, he had gone to see to the arrangements, paying for the funeral himself and laying him to rest next to his beloved daughter. Carissa had been supportive, knowing that Bryce had needed to do this thing, to lay to rest his own guilt, along with the man who had so persecuted him. It had saddened Bryce to see that the once-vibrant man had died without a friend, with no one showing for the simple graveside service except his former son-in-law.

  The money Anna had left, her trust fund, had gone to charity, as Bryce had promised. He had divided it among several groups that worked to help educate underprivileged children, a cause that had been close to Anna's heart. It felt good to help those children, and he had the strangest sensation that she had been smiling down at him as he had signed the last of the money away.

  "Daddy,” Sheanna moaned, “I'm tired. How much longer?"

  Her grumbling voice brought Bryce out of his thoughts of the past and into the present. The child looked so like her mother he could not help but pamper her. He grinned, taking the small pack from her shoulders and slinging it over his arm, adding it effortlessly to the weight of his own load. He stopped to look at the position of the sun in the sky and the terrain that surrounded them. Before long the sun would be setting, he realized, and wondered where the day had gone.

  "We'll be coming out of the trees soon, Sprite,” he said with a wink. “Then we cross a meadow and the cabin will be just over the rise from there."

  "Zane, don't get too far ahead,” Cari called out as she had done countless times in the days the trip had taken. “Let the rest of us catch up."

  "I see it!” the boy called back. “I see the clearing."

  Sheanna, despite her statement about being tired, ran to catch up to her older brother. Both children waited at the edge of the woods for their parents to reach them. Once there, Carissa lowered the baby, in the pack, to the ground, her lower jaw dropping in awe at the sight laid out before her. Bryce knew in an instant what she was seeing, even without looking.

  The meadow before them was ablaze with every color imaginable. The summer mountain grasses held all the shades of green, broken only by a myriad of brightly hued wildflowers. Butterflies, birds and small mammals scattered as the children ran into the open field, dancing in the colorful scene.

  "Oh, Bryce,” Cari's reverent voice whispered. “It's so beautiful. I never imagined..."

  He slipped an arm over his wife's shoulders, dropping a kiss on her head, taking in the view with her. “Welcome to my home, darlin',” he said softly.

  "Mama, look!” Sheanna sang out, her finger stabbing the air excitedly.

  Bryce turned to see what the little girl was pointing at, and was struck silent. He glanced at his wife, knowing that she saw it too.

  There, on the other side of the meadow at the top of the rise was a wolf, its pale form silhouetted by the low set of the sun. The animal danced across the ridge playfully, seemingly delighted in having caught their attention. With a flash of white fur, the wolf loped over the edge, disappearing from sight. Bryce looked down to see his wife gazing up at him, the wonder he felt reflected in her eyes. He knew that their union was blessed and all the years they faced together would be well worth living.

  The End

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  ABOUT MOLLY WENS

  Known as SweetWitch by many readers, Molly Wens weaves spells of passion and romance in her writing. Her characters leap off the page and become a part of your world as they explore the forces at work in their lives. Sometimes gritty, often sensuous and always riveting, her stories are born of her fertile imagination and remarkable life experiences.

  Molly has been writing for much of her life, starting at the tender age of eleven when she won her first national award in a school-sponsored essay contest. Her love of the written word has never wavered, and she has continued to win prizes and accolades for the many short stories she has in print.

  Now living in the Midwest with her family, Molly can often be found reading, working, playing with her child and even jumping from the occasional airplane. Shelter from the Storm is the first of what we hope to be many commercially published novels by Molly Wens.

  If you enjoyed SHELTER IN THE STORM, you might also enjoy:

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  LEADER OF THE PACK

  By Leighann Phoenix

  Running for her life, hiding as a waitress in a sleazy bar, Aislinn never dreamed she would meet her soul mate. Compelled to save her, Cullen finds himself inexorably drawn to this mysterious woman. Aislinn believed her life couldn't get any stranger than it already was, until she happened across Cullen. As Aislinn discovers her lost past and Cullen works to protect his pack, they find themselves stronger together then they ever were apart. Now they just have to convince the pack elders that the alpha werewolf in the pack should be mated to a supposedly human girl.

  Warning: This title contains graphic language, nonconsensual, f/f and group sex.

  Review by Breia Brickey from Paranormal Romance Reviews

  This is ... wonderfully written and descriptive ... I enjoyed every minute of it ... Most of the characters are lovable and the ones that aren't, you love to hate ... I look forward to hearing more from Leighann Phoenix ... and this pack.

  Review by Chris from Night Owl Reviews

  This is a highly intricate, imaginative story, peppered throughout with spicy interludes. This is a love story full of violence, anguish, betrayal and secrets. Not a walk through the park to read at an estimated 8-12 hours for the average reader, this book is well worth the time and effort. And I definitely detect a sequel in the future.

  Review by Sandy Potterton, Dark Angel Reviews, 5/5 Angels

  ...A monster of a story with multiple plot lines, mystery, romance, danger and magic! I loved the richness of her characters, the unrelenting action and the heartwarming romance ... an intriguing world of danger, betrayal, love and friendship I would certainly love to visit again.

  Review by Dawn D, Manic Readers Reviews, 4/5 stars

  Leighann Phoenix has created a fascinating world of werewolves and magic, with enough action, sex and danger to keep you on the edge of your seat. The complex internal politics of the pack were well crafted, and the glimpses of day-to-day life (werewolves running casinos) were fun to read as well. Following along as Aislinn comes into her true power, and Cullen protects his pack from external enemies proves to be a thrilling ride. Does true love prevail? You bet and getting there is well worth the trip.

  Excerpt From LEADER OF THE PACK:

  Aislinn approached the new guy who sat down at the bar near the wall. He was impressive. His presence caused most of the other patrons to make more than enough room for him, resulting in an unnatural amount of space at that end of the bar. Aislinn was perfectly happy to have a short lull in the number of people she had to deal with.

  The man was prett
y big, even sitting on the stool. He had black hair, brown-black eyes, and tanned skin. He looked hard muscled even under the black leather duster he was wearing. But the strangest thing was this ageless appearance to him. At first look she might have said he was in his late twenties/early thirties. Then, at second glance, he looked almost 100. Whether that was normal for him or due to the fact that he just had the worst day of his life was up for grabs. “What can I get you?"

  The guy looked up at her as if he only just realized that he was in a bar. Aislinn waited and when he didn't respond she asked again. “What can I get you?"

  Cullen stared appraisingly at the girl speaking to him. She had an odd scent. It was hard to make out between the rancid smell of the bar, the smoke from the people around him soaking into everything, and some awful perfume she seemed to have bathed in. But there was something to it that caught his attention. She was attractive, but she wasn't remarkable in any way. She had brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and medium build. She wasn't his type. I would probably break her, he thought and grinned at himself. Besides she wasn't what he was here for. The last thing he wanted was a woman tonight. No matter how intriguing her scent was...

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