District Shifters Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  Normally, she didn’t mind it, but today was different, special, and she was determined not to think of work. Not even a little bit. In fact, she had been about to turn her cell phone off altogether when she got the call that had made her run late. She’d taken it because it was Raina, and telling her that Joshua was dead was the best wedding present anyone could have given her.

  She had wanted to call Mitchell and pass on the news, but if she had done that, she’d have been so late she wouldn’t have even been close to making the ceremony on time, and so telling him would have to wait until after they were mated. It was their ceremony, and it wasn’t like they were on the clock or anything; the hall was theirs for the whole night, but Lexi knew how she would feel waiting for Mitchell if it was the other way around and he was late, and she wasn’t going to do that to him.

  The dragon mating ceremony was a simple affair. They would recite some vows to each other and kiss, all in private, and then it was over. There was no fanfare, and that would usually be the end of it, but Lexi had wanted slightly more than that, so she had organized a party for their family and friends afterwards.

  She was already dressed for the party, luckily, so all she had to do was get to the hall and up the stairs on time. There was a small, private room where the vows would be exchanged, and then it would be straight back down the stairs to join the party.

  Lexi finally reached the hall, and she ran into the building, taking the stairs up to the room in twos. She arrived right on time, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed the door open. Her sigh became one of pleasure as she saw Mitchell standing in the room, looking particularly handsome in his black suit and white shirt. He had skipped the tie, and she didn’t blame him one bit. That was a definite advantage to such a private ceremony—no need for ties and wedding dresses and all of that palaver.

  Lexi smiled at Mitchell, and he smiled back at her and held his hand out to her. She crossed the room and slipped her hand into his.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked her.

  “No. I was scared I’d be late, but that was my only fear. I have no doubts whatsoever about this. You?”

  “None at all,” he said. “Ready?” Lexi nodded. “You speak first.”

  She took a moment to gather her thoughts. “It seems to be a lawyer thing that most of us meet our partners at work. We’re there so much, we don’t really get a chance to meet people anywhere else. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that when I met my soul mate, he would be a client, accused of murder. But that’s the way it worked out. You came into my life when I was done with dating, done with love, and you showed me that when it’s right, the circumstances don’t matter, and the timing doesn’t matter. You saved my life, figuratively and literally, and I couldn’t be happier.”

  She nodded to him, letting him know she was done. He smiled, and then he began to talk.

  “I’m going to keep this short. When I first saw you, Lexi, my dragon knew who you were. My one true mate. It took a while for me to believe it, but from the moment I held you in my arms, I knew you and I were meant to be. And yes, I did save you. And then you saved me right back. And that’s the way I want us to always be. To be a team, a partnership. To have each other’s backs through the bad times and celebrate the good times together. Lexi, will you take this ring, and with it, my promise to be by your side for all of eternity?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  Mitchell slipped the ring onto her finger. Lexi looked at her hand for a moment, admiring the ring, a gold band with diamonds embedded in it. She looked up at Mitchell, and her heart skipped a beat. She still could hardly believe any of this was real. She fished out the ring she had for him, a gold band that matched hers, except his was embedded with rubies instead of diamonds.

  “Mitchell, will you take this ring, and with it, my promise to be by your side for all of eternity?” she said. She already knew his answer would be yes, but she still felt her heart pounding, her mouth drying with nerves in the tiny pause before he answered her.

  “Yes,” he said. Her smile turned into a grin, her cheeks aching from it all. She wasn’t sure what came next, and Mitchell was so distracted by looking at her that he wasn’t giving her any directions.

  “Umm, is that it, then? Are we mated now?” Lexi asked.

  “Yeah. It’s a little underwhelming, isn’t it?” Mitchell laughed.

  “No,” she said. “It’s perfect.”

  Mitchell pulled her into his arms, and they kissed. It was a sweet kiss, a promise of thousands more to come, and Lexi didn’t want it to end. She clung tightly to Mitchell, wanting to feel his body against hers, needing the solidity of him to convince her this was definitely all real. The gold band on her finger did that for her, too, and when they pulled apart, she lifted her hand and smiled at her ring again.

  “Are you ready to celebrate?” Mitchell asked her.

  She nodded, and he offered her his arm. She linked her hand through it, and they made their way downstairs and into the party. The drinks were already flowing, music already playing, and Lexi was glad. She hated making an entrance, and this nice subtle slipping in suited her greatly.

  “There’s Chessa and Noah,” Mitchell said, nodding towards them. “And your mom’s over there, too. Should we go say hi?”

  “Yes,” Lexi said. “But there’s something I want to tell you first. Two things, actually. I meant to tell you upstairs while we were alone, but I was so excited about us being official, and I just forgot.”

  Mitchell led Lexi to an unoccupied table, and they sat down, side by side.

  “Is something wrong?” Mitchell asked, frowning in concern.

  “No, not at all. Everything’s great. The first thing is that I was almost late today because, as I was about to leave the office, I got a phone call. It was Raina. They did it, Mitchell. Joshua is dead.”

  “Oh, thank God for that,” Mitchell said. He looked so happy, and Lexi hadn’t even gotten to the best bit yet. She knew this would take a huge weight off Mitchell’s mind, though. He had tried not to worry her with the details, but she had known he was just waiting for Joshua to retaliate against him and the pack again.

  “He had a girl there, too. They saved her,” Lexi added. “She was barely seventeen, but Raina and Logan took good care of her, and Raina thinks she’ll be okay.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Mitchell said. “That she’ll be okay, I mean.” He leaned forward and kissed Lexi. “That’s one hell of a wedding present. I don’t think I can top that one.”

  “Well, we’ll find out later tonight, won’t we?” Lexi winked.

  “Oh, we most certainly will,” Mitchell agreed with a laugh, kissing her again.

  “No pressure to keep up or anything, but that’s not even the best news.” Lexi smiled. “Remember I told you I had two things to tell you? Well, the second one is that you’re going to be a dad.”

  “I’m going to be a… You mean you’re… We’re going to have a baby?” Mitchell stammered.

  “Yes,” she said, laughing and crying at the same time.

  Mitchell wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard. He beamed at her as they separated. “You truly have made me the happiest man in the world, Lexi.”

  Lexi leaned forward and kissed him again. “And I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

  “Do you ever wish we hadn’t bothered with the party? I could think of much better ways to celebrate this,” Mitchell said with a wink.

  “Yeah, me too,” Lexi said. “But it’s too late now, isn’t it? And we’re not going to be alone much longer.” She nodded over Mitchell’s shoulder, and he turned to see what she was looking at. Lexi’s mom had spotted them, and she was on her way over. “She’s going to be as excited as we are.”

  “Almost as excited,” Mitchell corrected her. “No one could be as excited about this as I am.”

  “I reckon I could give you a run for your money on that one,” Lexi said.

  3

  Chessa could f
eel the smile on her face as she watched three-year-old Leah, her daughter, take her grandmother’s hands and lead her to the edge of the dance floor. Leah looked adorable in her pink party dress, her hair hanging around her face in ringlets. She giggled, and Chessa thought her heart would melt. Chessa’s mom looked happy, too, dancing with her granddaughter, enjoying their time together.

  While Chessa was watching her mom and Leah, Noah slipped back into his seat beside her and sipped his drink. Chessa felt him watching her, and when she glanced at him, he laughed softly.

  “What?” she said.

  “Nothing.” He smiled, shaking his head. “I was just thinking that you’re the only person I know who can look like they’re broody while they’re already pregnant.”

  Chessa laughed and ran her hand over her bump almost subconsciously. “I know. But she’s just so adorable, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah. We did good,” Noah said, putting his hand over hers on the table and squeezing it.

  “We did,” Chessa said. “I just hope the pack sees that. I know we’re having a boy this time, and it would make it easier for everyone if we just let him be your heir, but it’s not right. Being the pack alpha is Leah’s birthright, and I won’t stand by and see her miss out on that just because she’s a girl.”

  “Most of them are fine with it, Chess, and I think by the time it’s time for her to take over, the rest of the pack members will have come around. Any who hasn’t can leave, because quite honestly, I don’t want people like that in my pack, anyway,” Noah said.

  They’d had this conversation countless times since Chessa had found out the baby she was carrying was a boy, and each time, she felt reassured for so long, but then the doubts started to creep back in again.

  “And think about it this way. By the time Leah is ready to take over, she’ll have learned everything she needs to know about being an alpha and running the pack from me. Do you really think not taking shit from anyone isn’t going to be one of those lessons I teach her?” Noah added.

  Chessa’s mom and Leah came back to the table, and Chessa let go of her worries. For now. Whatever happened, and whatever they ended up having to do, it was a long way in the future. Possibly centuries away, and Chessa couldn’t bear to spend that long dwelling on things, especially when her main worry was something that would likely be a non-issue by the time it came up. The pack would have all of that time to get used to the idea of their alpha one day being a woman, and they would just have to deal with it.

  Leah picked her drink up and noisily slurped half of it up. Chessa’s mom excused herself, nodding towards the entrance to the room, and Chessa looked across to see Lexi and Mitchell had sneaked in. Her mom made her way over to them.

  Chessa’s cell phone vibrated, and she looked at it and smiled.

  “Raina and Logan are coming here,” she told Noah. “They didn’t think they’d be able to get a flight soon enough, but they went pretty much straight to the airport after dropping off a girl the Matchmaker had, and they managed to get on a flight right away. They’ll be here in a few hours.”

  “Don’t you think you should ask Lexi if that’s okay?” Noah asked.

  “They just killed the guy who abducted her,” Chessa laughed, keeping her voice to a whisper. “Do you really think she would say no?”

  “Fair point,” Noah agreed.

  “Mom?” Leah called her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you going to have the baby tonight?”

  “God, I hope not,” Noah said under his breath.

  Chessa had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at his reaction. She smiled at Leah and shook her head. “No, darling. It’ll be a while yet, remember. Around two months.”

  “Two months? But that’s forever!” Leah cried.

  “He’ll be here before you know it.” Chessa smiled. To her, it felt close. Scarily close. But she knew to a child Leah’s age, two months seemed like an eternity. She was saved from further questions when Leah spotted Lexi and Mitchell coming over to them.

  “Uncle Mitchell!” she exclaimed, running towards him.

  Mitchell bent down and scooped her up, throwing her into the air. Chessa felt as though her heart was in her mouth, and it didn’t come back down into her chest until Leah was safely back on the ground.

  “How’s the littlest alpha I know?” Mitchell grinned at Leah. Chessa wished her own pack had all taken to the idea of a female alpha the way Mitchell had.

  “I’m good, Uncle Mitchell!”

  “Are you working hard?” he asked.

  Leah nodded, a proud smile on her face.

  “Yup. And I’m going to be the best alpha ever!” she announced. They reached the table as Mitchell laughed and agreed that might well be true.

  “Congratulations,” Chessa beamed, standing up awkwardly due to her bump and hugging Lexi and then Mitchell. Noah got up and hugged them both, too. “Where’s mom?” Chessa asked.

  “She’s gone to the bathroom,” Lexi said, her eyes twinkling as she grinned. “I might have made her cry by telling her I was pregnant.”

  “Oh, my God, that’s fantastic, congratulations!” Chessa said, pulling Lexi in for another hug. “I’m so happy for you, Lex, and it’ll be great us having little ones so close together!”

  They spent the rest of the night enjoying the party, catching up with old friends and making new ones. Leah kept dragging Noah onto the dance floor, much to Chessa’s delight. Raina and Logan arrived as promised, and Lexi and Mitchell gave them a very warm welcome. Chessa even managed a very slow, very clumsy dance with Noah when one of their favorite songs came on.

  Chessa’s mom yawned and looked at her watch.

  “Do you think Lexi will be offended if I leave soon?” she said to Chessa. “It’s getting pretty late.”

  “Mom, my three-year-old is still awake,” Chessa pointed out, laughing.

  “I know, but she has more energy than the lot of us put together,” her mom replied.

  Chessa was inclined to agree, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t think she’ll mind. It’s after one, and you won’t be the first to leave.”

  Her mom nodded. She said her goodbyes to Chessa, Noah, Leah, Raina, and Logan and went to find Lexi and Mitchell to let them know she was leaving. She came back to the table a few minutes later, laughing.

  “Well, Lexi officially can’t say anything about me sneaking away early. You know, because I apparently lasted longer than she did. She and Mitchell left hours ago!” she laughed.

  Chessa found herself laughing along with her mom. She could understand their haste to leave. Newly married and clearly in love, they had much better things to do than party all night. Plus, Chessa remembered what it was like to be in the first few months of being pregnant, and being tired was just a way of life at that stage. Her mom did a second round of goodbyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Chessa asked Logan, seeing him frowning as he looked at his cell phone.

  He looked up and shook his head. “Nothing. I just got the weirdest text message, that’s all. Listen to this.”

  He began to read the text message out to Chessa and Raina. Noah was still being held prisoner on the dance floor by Leah.

  “‘Hey, Logan. Hope all is well with you. I just wanted to personally thank you and Raina for saving my mate’s life and in turn giving me the chance for true love and a family of my own. If you guys ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Archer Malone, alpha wolf of District 217.’” Logan glanced up at Raina and then Chessa. “Any idea who he is?” Raina shook her head.

  “I haven’t met him, I don’t think,” Chessa said. “Did you two save his mate from something?”

  “I don’t even know who his mate is,” Logan said. Raina looked just as confused. “If it wasn’t for the fact that both mine and Raina’s names are in there, I would think he had the wrong number. I’m going to reply and ask him what he means.”

  “Brianna,” Raina said suddenly with a grin. Her confused look wa
s gone, and she was nodding to herself, confirming her own theory.

  “Huh?” Logan replied. Chessa was equally confused. Who the hell was Brianna?

  “Remember Brianna? She was the first girl we ever rescued from a Matchmaker. Well, the first one we rescued together,” Raina said. “Back then, we used to keep tabs on anyone we saved, make sure they were doing okay. Brianna moved to District 217, remember? He has to be talking about her. She has to be his mate.”

  “You think?” Logan asked.

  “It makes sense,” Chessa put in.

  “I guess it does,” Logan agreed. He typed out a response, and a couple of minutes later, his cell phone beeped again. Logan read the text and grinned. “You were right,” he said to Raina. “His mate is Brianna. And she’s in labor right now.”

  Raina squealed in delight, but Chessa couldn’t help wondering if her excitement for Brianna was a little bit fake. Not that Raina wasn’t happy for Brianna as such, just that Chessa wondered if it ever upset her to see everyone around her having babies and she still hadn’t had a baby. If it bothered Raina, she hid it well. Chessa rubbed her bump again and then looked across the room at Leah, who was pulling a relieved looking Noah back to the table. Chessa wouldn’t change her for the world, nor would she wish she wasn’t pregnant again, but in the beginning, if she’d known going in that she and Noah couldn’t have children, Noah would have been enough for her, and she knew he would say the same about her. Maybe Raina and Logan felt that way, too. Maybe they were so happy to have each other, they genuinely didn’t need anyone else.

  “Chess? What’s wrong?” Noah asked as he came up beside her. She realized with a laugh that she was crying a little.