Heartland Shifters Box Set

by V. Vaughn

  Chapter 40

  HILLARY

  I play with the faucet in my pretty new bathroom. Water on, water off. Water on, water off. It’s been a month since the wedding, and Alec and I moved into a new house together so that we could have a fresh start to our marriage.

  I love our new home. It’s close to the schools and not that far from the diner, which means I can still walk to work. It also backs up to the woods, so my bunny and Alec’s bear can go for their long playful runs easily. I don’t hear much complaining from my bunny these days. She’s as happy as I am.

  Alec knocks on the bathroom door. “Baby? You’ve been in there for a long time. Everything okay?”

  “Yes. I’m just, ah, shaving my legs.”

  “Okay. When you’re done, I need to tell you something.”

  I’m not shaving my legs. I’m actually in here behind a locked door waiting for a line to appear in the window of a pregnancy test. And it’s taking forever. Five minutes feels like an eternity when you’re staring at a stick, hoping it will tell you you’re pregnant.

  I’m three days late for my period, and my boobs are a bit sore. Water splashes as I play with the faucet again and then check the stick. Surely five minutes have passed by now. Then I check the timer on my phone. Fifteen seconds left to wait.

  I check the little window again.

  “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” I mutter quietly, tapping my fingers against the sink.

  Then I think I see it. No, I’m sure I see a thin pink line turn into a plus sign, and my heart stops. I’m pregnant! I open the bathroom door and yell, “Alec!”

  “In the kitchen!”

  I run down the stairs to find he’s making us sandwiches. The moment he sees me, he stops what he’s doing and rushes over to me. He says, “You’ll never guess who called.”

  For a split second, I fear the answer, thinking he’s about to tell me he’s got a coaching job offer from some NFL team. But then I realize, even that’s happened, we’ll figure out what to do together. “Who?”

  “Coach Weaver. He’s decided to retire early, and he wants me to take over as head coach of the high school football team.”

  “Oh my God, Alec, this is so amazing.” I hug him.

  “I know, right?” He grins like a maniac. “I’ve married the most amazing woman ever, and now I got the job I wanted. This day cannot get any better.”

  I give him a big smile. “It’s about to.” I bounce on my toes with my excitement.

  His eyes narrow. “What?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  His jaw drops, and he stares at me in shock. He lets out a strained noise.

  I grab his arm. “Alec? Are you okay?”

  He snaps his mouth shut before he says, “I am beyond okay.” He chuckles and then cups my face in his hands, his eyes shiny with tears. “Hillary, this is the best news ever.”

  He kisses me deeply, with way more than passion behind it, and I feel as if it fills me with his love. When he pulls back, he looks down at my belly and sets his hand there. My stomach is still flat, but soon I’ll have a baby bump, and I can’t wait. He gazes at me with so much love in his eyes that I feel my heart might burst. “I love you, Hillary.”

  I can’t help but give him the same look. “I love you, Alec.”

  “You’ve made me the happiest man alive. I couldn’t ask for any more in this life.” He pulls me to him and kisses me again. “Thank you for waiting for me. It took me a while, but I finally got here.”

  I smile, glad I took a chance on our love. “It took me a while too, but we’re here now, Alec. And in the end, that’s all that matters.”

  ~~~

  Wolf Hearts Panther

  Heartland Shifters Book 3

  About This Book

  Wolf shifter Mandy Waters will never forget the sexy panther shifter who stole her heart in high school because Griffin Talbot also ripped it to shreds. As soon as fame came calling, Griffin couldn’t get out of town fast enough to become a rock star sensation, leaving Mandy in the dust.

  But that didn’t stop her from chasing after him a few years later, sure he was her mate. Their night together rekindled her feelings. But he insisted they were nothing more than high school lovers who had grown up and Mandy was sure she had to let go… until a pregnancy test came back positive.

  Now, six years later, Griffin’s returning home for the summer, and she won’t be able to keep their child a secret from him anymore. He may be angry, hurt and devastated that Mandy kept their baby from him, but nothing he can do will make up for the pain he caused. While Mandy will consider letting Griffin spend time with their son, she swears she’ll never give the cocky panther a third chance at her heart.

  Chapter 1

  MANDY

  Some days I love my job. I don’t think today is going to be that day.

  “Mandy, honey, when you’ve got a minute.”

  Dishes are heavy in my hands as I look up from the table I’m clearing. The lunch rush in the diner is over, and I acknowledge Mayor Jane shaking her coffee cup in the air while flashing her toothy grin. The woman is in here every day like clockwork to eat and schmooze with the locals. And she’s been working overtime lately. She’s a bit nervous about the upcoming election. Her opponent, Jessica, is a lot younger than her and has some big ideas.

  “Sure.” I carry the stacked tray to the kitchen then come back out to grab the coffee pot.

  Hot liquid splashes into Jane’s mug as she says, “Thanks, darling.” I watch as she pours four sugars into her cup and stirs. The mayor most definitely has a sweet tooth. She just finished off her usual three-stack of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream and lots of syrup for lunch. It’s a good thing most shifters have fast metabolisms.

  I leave Jane to catch up on busing my tables, and I’m just approaching one when I overhear three teenage girls on their lunch break from school talking in a back booth.

  “Did you hear that Griffin Talbot is coming to live in Heartland?” the skinny brunette asks before she takes a bite of her burger.

  My stomach drops at the news.

  “No way!” The girl with blue streaks in her hair straightens up in her seat with excitement.

  The brunette grabs a handful of fries. “Well, he is from here. You knew that, right?” She shoves the fries in her mouth.

  “Yeah, I know, but why on earth would he ever come back here? This place is so lame.”

  I can’t help the way my heart skips a beat with my wolf’s confidence that Griffin came back for us. But I squash it down because I know better.

  The cute blonde across from the brunette twirls her finger in her long wavy hair. “He’s so hot.”

  Jealousy spikes in me, and I nearly drop the glass in my hand as I place it on a tray. I quickly set the rest of the dishes on the tray and carry it to the next table where I can hide my face from the girls.

  I gasp for air when I realize I’ve been holding my breath. Griffin Talbot is coming home? I can’t believe it. It’s been twelve years since he left Heartland to pursue his music career and became one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. And it’s been six years since I’ve seen him, which was in Las Vegas while he was on tour.

  My wolf rumbles in my chest. Our mate. He’s coming home.

  I shake my head at her naiveté. He isn’t our mate. I think that was made crystal clear six years ago.

  At one time I thought Griffin and I were meant to be together. We were in a serious relationship during high school. When he left to pursue a career in music, I thought he’d be back for me. He didn’t come back. Six years ago, when I couldn’t take being away from him any longer, I decided to do something about it. I foolishly followed him on tour. It took three tickets before I managed to see him at his Vegas gig. I thought that if we could be together again, he would see that we are truly mates. But apparently, I was the one who was blind, because he didn’t see us as mates at all, not even after we hooked up and had amazing sex. When I woke up the next morning to fin
d he’d snuck out like a coward, I figured it out. Mates don’t hurt each other like that.

  The girls continue to gush about him, and as much as I hate it, I understand. Griffin was once described as ‘sex on a stick’ in some celebrity magazine. And believe me, when that panther of his comes out to play, he struts across a stage with a swagger that makes nuns drool.

  “He has to be the hottest singer ever. He’s even cuter than the Seven Seconds of Night guys,” the blonde says.

  The other girls agree and nod enthusiastically.

  “I can’t believe he’s going to be living here.” The brunette sips her soda, her manicured nails tapping against the glass. “I’m totally going to find out where he’s staying and sneak into his bed.”

  I roll my eyes. Silly high school girls. Griffin doesn’t, in any way, go for underage girls. He may be a jerk, but he’s far from a creep like some other rock stars.

  I set my tray on the stand, and the faint odor of bleach wafts toward me as I wipe down the tabletop. I wonder why Griffin’s coming back to Heartland. He’s a huge star, makes millions, and could live anywhere in the world. It doesn’t make sense that he would come here. Heartland’s a great town for shifters, but it’s not exactly a mecca of culture and nightlife. From what I’ve read in the gossip magazines, Griffin has homes in Los Angeles and New York and says he prefers the bustle of a city to the slow pace of a small town like the one he grew up in.

  I shake my head at myself because everyone knows you can’t believe what you read in those magazines. Before I lose my mind trying to figure out how I’ll deal with Griffin returning to Heartland, I need confirmation the rumor is true.

  I approach the girls’ table. “Need anything else?”

  They all shake their heads. “No, we’re good,” the brunette says with a forced smile.

  “I overheard you talking about Griffin Talbot. How do you know he’s coming to Heartland?”

  “Celeb Sightings,” the brunette says. “It’s one of those Hollywood gossip sites. You know, on the internet?”

  As if I’m so old I don’t how to google. I’m only thirty, I want to say to her. But that would mean goodbye to any tip they’ll leave me, so I smile sweetly and thank them as I remove their empty plates.

  That smile falls off my face to be replaced with a scowl as I make my way to the kitchen. Once I clear my tray, I march out the back door to the alley behind the diner. I gasp in the fresh air as if I was suffocating.

  He’s coming home! My wolf howls with excitement I don’t want to feel.

  Stop it! You’re getting too excited.

  She’s pacing around inside me, eager to shift. The familiar pressure of her presence fills my chest as she pushes to get out and run. But now is not the time to shift. I’m in the middle of my workday and still have four hours to go before I can go home and indulge in some wolf time.

  Taking in some deep breaths, I calm my wolf. She has one thing on her mind, and it’s not what’s most important. Daniel. Because there’s no way I will be able to hide my son, our son, from Griffin when he rolls back into town.

  The moment he sees my sweet little dark-haired, green-eyed five-year-old, who looks like his father, Griffin will know what I’ve kept a secret.

  I being to pace as panic fills me with the urge to run. I know I should’ve told Griffin he has a child years ago after I discovered our night in Vegas ended up with me pregnant. But after I chased after him, determined to make him see we were mates and meant to be together while he insisted we weren’t, I was too angry. The pain of Griffin’s rejection made me believe he didn’t deserve to know. And considering how I approached him, he’d probably have thought that I meant for it to happen and that I was after his money.

  I rub at my chest as it burns, convincing myself it’s heartburn from too much coffee. My coworker and good friend, Hillary, says I drink too much of it. The pain is enough that I stop pacing and lean against the brick wall to inhale deep breaths while trying to think clearly. I need to formulate a plan for when Griffin arrives. Deep down I do want Daniel to meet his father. God knows he’s asked me about him often enough. But I think it’s probably best for everyone that he doesn’t. I can’t take the chance Daniel will be rejected by Griffin the way he rejected me.

  Chapter 2

  GRIFFIN

  The moment I take a left from the main highway onto an unmarked, nearly undistinguishable road, it’s as if someone released their grip on my lungs. I roll down the window on my brand-new F-150 Raptor I picked up in Denver to inhale the crisp, fresh mountain air, and I’m filled with the knowledge I’m almost home.

  Home.

  My panther feels it too. The exhaustion of being on the road with back-to-back world tours hit me last week like an eighteen-wheeler, and when I could barely get out of bed, I realized that I needed to take some time off. Now that I’ve been off the roller coaster of my tour for a few days, I’ve been seriously examining my life.

  I told my manager I’m burnt out and need a break, but there’s a part of me that believes this break might be for good. I’ve had a good run as a rock star. One I have often struggled to believe I deserve. And for a while it was a great life, as long as I overlooked the little things. Little things that all boil down to people wanting what they can get from me. Even my manager, who is my best friend in the music world, has an ulterior motive when it comes to decisions about my life. The more I produce and tour, the more money he makes.

  So, yeah. I’m going home where everything used to make sense and people are real. I sure hope so anyway, because I haven’t been there in twelve years. A lot might have changed. I wonder if the town will be the same, and I wonder if I’ll see Mandy.

  Once I started thinking about returning to Heartland I thought of Mandy. The first and only love I’ve ever had. She’s part of what makes Heartland home. And she’s all that’s been on my mind since I landed in Denver yesterday. I wonder where she’s living, where she’s working, or if she has a man in her life. If she isn’t involved, then I can’t help but wonder how long it will be until I can get her in my bed.

  I bring back a vivid memory of what she looked like in Vegas the last time I saw her. She had on a tight black dress that showcased her amazing curves. The scent of vanilla comes to mind, and my fingers can practically feel how soft her skin was under my touch. My cock twitches when I remember the sexy sounds that came from her as she melted in my hands and all around me. I shift in my seat because my jeans are now tight around my raging boner.

  Damn. That woman is something my panther can’t get enough of. It was all I could do to walk away from her six years ago. But I had to. My stomach clenches when I think about what I did. I left her in a hotel room before she could tempt me any further. I didn’t want more than one night with the girl I’d once loved, the only woman who’d ever satisfied my panther. When she suggested we get back together, that we were mates even, I had to put a stop to it.

  My career had just started to take off, and I didn’t need a serious girlfriend getting in the way of that. I couldn’t be rock and roll’s bad boy and be with Mandy. Heck, I even convinced myself she wanted a piece of my fame, but in my heart I know better. Mandy was never like that. And that’s why I had to walk away before I caved in to something that could have ruined all I’d worked so hard for.

  It would have been hell for her, too. Even if I’d figured out a way to have a relationship with her, my lifestyle would have killed any chance we had to make it work. I wouldn’t put a woman I loved through the media spin cycle it would have become. At least that’s what I convinced myself of every time I had doubts.

  I slow down a moment when I get to the crest of the mountain where there is an incredible view of Hartland in the valley below. My heart skips a beat before I drive into that valley toward home. When I get to Main Street, I move slowly and take in the familiar sights. I see the theater from my youth is still playing movies. The stores I remember from my past greet me like old friends. The image that comes to
mind whenever I talk about my hometown hasn’t changed at all. It’s comforting to recognize it all and know that my memory didn’t make it more than it was.

  As I pass the diner my stomach rumbles, not just for food but for information. All the town’s gossip flows through the diner, and it’s my best way to locate Mandy. Someone will know someone who knows where she is.

  I spy a parallel parking spot in front of the diner, and as I maneuver my way in, my expensive truck gets a few curious looks. When I slide out of the cab, I see a few surprised faces lit with recognition. I expect it and brace myself for the part of my life my panther adores.

  An eager young girl runs up to me. “Oh my God! I heard you were coming. Is it really you?”

  I flash her my signature crooked smile, and she squeals. “I can’t believe it!” She thrusts her arm and a big marker at me. “Can you sign my arm?”

  “Sure.” As I sign, I ask what I’m sure she’d kick herself for forgetting later. “Should we take a selfie too?”

  “Oh my god,” She flaps her hand in front of her face as tears fill her eyes. “Yes!” She holds out her phone to take a selfie of us together, and because it’s become a thing I do every once in a while, I kiss her on the cheek just as it clicks.

  The girl nearly faints.

  More people gather around, and I sign more autographs and take a lot more pictures. I’m tired and hungry, but I don’t want to be a jerk to the people of my hometown, so I endure it for a while before I excuse myself to go inside the diner.

  There’s more attention and commotion inside, and I shake more hands and take a few more pictures until I can blissfully slide into a booth in the corner at the back of the diner away from the door and big windows. I pick up the menu already on the table and open it up to hide my face and make it clear I’d like to be left alone. I search for my favorite burger and fries.