Storm (Rise of the Pride, Book 12)

by Theresa Hissong

  “It’s going to be a long nine months,” Harold chuckled, lightening the mood. “You are going to drive yourself feral with worry. If she isn’t showing any signs of distress, your mate is fine, Storm. Please remember that.”

  “Okay, yeah,” he accepted. “She’s in our room.”

  The healer followed Storm into the bedroom where Amaya was waiting patiently. His mate was smiling softly as she rested her hand on her stomach. He was in awe at how beautiful she was, and he couldn’t wait to see her round with his cub.

  “Amaya, how are you feeling?” Harold began the exam, and all Storm could do was sit in his chair across the room and watch.

  And worry.

  Malaki had one more stop before he left town. The alpha had given him his space, but it wasn’t enough. It was time for a change.

  The bell over the door to the animal clinic dinged as he entered. The familiar scents of cleaning chemicals and the odor of the animals being treated brought back a lot of memories. Some of them he would keep with him forever. Others reminded him too much of the pain he’d been in concerning his sister.

  “Mal? Oh, my gods! Malaki,” Sofia blurted and jumped to her feet behind the desk.

  She was so beautiful and would make for an amazing mate and mother someday. He’d bonded with her, becoming friends over the time he watched the clinic during the trouble with the Gadaí. But that was all they would ever be.

  Friends.

  He wasn’t mate material. He knew that. It was better that he left and found a new pride. Being there was too hard for him. Seeing the faces of the people who’d saved him and his sister every day was wearing on him. He just wanted to forget everything.

  Talon had talked to another alpha; one who was still fighting the Khat war. He needed Guardians and agreed to bring Malaki into his pride. He wanted to be a fighter, and it looked like the area was as good of a place as any to get himself lost in a war with Gadaí.

  “I came by to tell you that I’m leaving,” he stated, locking down his emotions. He’d gotten really good at that over the last few years. “For good this time.”

  “Why?” she cried. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to go my own way, Sofia,” he said as a reply. He didn’t want anyone knowing where he was going, and he had asked Talon to keep it a secret. The last thing he wanted was for Calla to come searching for him. He wasn’t going far, but it was far enough to give him a chance at a new life. The swamps of Louisiana were going to be miserable during the upcoming summer, but he’d survive. He’d been through worse.

  “Please, don’t leave,” she cried, wiping her tears. “Damn it, Malaki!”

  “I’m sorry.” He held out his hand when she started around the desk to get close to him. “Sofia, you are going to be okay. I just wanted to stop in and tell you goodbye in person. I couldn’t just leave without seeing you one last time.”

  “Mal…” She paused when he pulled the set of keys from his pocket, placing them on the counter. “I’m gifting you my home. It’s fully stocked. Talon knows and he approved it.”

  “But, it’s yours,” she frowned.

  “No, Sofia, it’s yours now,” he admitted, backing away. She started crying harder…hard enough that the new animal doc came out of the back to see what the noise was about. “Take care of yourself.”

  He pushed through the doors of the clinic and tried to ignore the sound of his friend’s heartbreak as he climbed in his truck, driving south…out of town and out of the Shaw pride’s territory.

  Epilogue

  Nine Months Later…

  Storm stood at the window of his bedroom, holding his newborn son. His mate was sleeping peacefully across the room.

  “Dash Cooper, I promise to teach you the ways of our kind,” Storm whispered. “I will train you to be as strong as your family and your pride.”

  He had no clue what species of shifter his son would be. No one had ever crossbred. Harold had said from the beginning that since Amaya had been human, she still carried her ability to carry a child. Unlike Luna, who’d been born a wolf; their animals just didn’t match.

  Amaya had her own theories over the last several months, thinking Dash would be a panther. When he first opened his eyes, the healer had tried to contain the gasp and look of concern, but Storm saw it and immediately wanted to see the cub.

  Dash, in all of his perfection, was born with one icy blue eye and one yellow, like his mother. No one knew what that meant, but the healer promised to search and speak with other healers to find out if anyone, anywhere, had a mixed cub.

  They wouldn’t know anything until he was five or six years old and made his first shift. It really didn’t matter to Storm what animal his son became. He was just happy he had arrived healthy.

  Only time would tell, and as he glanced over his shoulder at his sleeping mate, Storm relaxed, knowing everyone was safe. There were no rogues waiting around the corners. No Gadaí alpha to start a species war. Nothing.

  The pride was at peace.

  And he prayed it stayed that way.

  Sofia was in a great mood. The newest member to the Shaw pride had been born that afternoon. Storm and Amaya were so happy. Everyone had gathered at the alpha’s home to prepare for the introduction the couple would do at midnight.

  The women of the pride were cooking and preparing for the big event, cooking all day long. She’d offered to do dishes to help out, and her mother had joined in, baking desserts at home so the alpha’s kitchen could be used for the main meal.

  A commotion near the front door had everyone pausing in their jobs. Sofia wasn’t sure what was going on, but since her alpha wasn’t upset or showing any signs of stress, she didn’t pay much attention to it. It wasn’t long before she heard Olivia drop a serving spoon on the ground.

  “Malaki?” Olivia cried out.

  Sofia gasped as she looked up from washing dishes. The male she’d worried for over the past nine months stood there in the doorway. He had changed. He looked…older, wiser. His blond hair was in disarray around his chiseled face, but his eyes weren’t as sad. He didn’t look angry anymore.

  “Sofia.” The male nodded and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “How are you?”

  “I’m good,” she balked. “Where have you been?” Okay, she was angry now. He’d just run away from the pride with no explanation. No one spoke of him after a few months, accepting his departure. She hated it. She hated not knowing where he was.

  “I was helping another pride fight the war on Khat,” he answered. He took a step toward her when she wiped her hands and tossed the towel on the counter. It sucked she was of age and couldn’t hug him. “I wasn’t far.”

  “I needed you,” she whispered, wiping at a tear that had leaked from her eye.

  “I know,” he replied. He stopped just a few feet short of her and dropped his gaze and his voice. “I’ve had a lot going on, Sofia. A lot of things I needed to work through.”

  “I wish you would’ve called me,” she said through gritted teeth. Now that he was standing before her, the emotions she’d been holding back were rushing to the surface.

  And she was pissed.

  “I would’ve come to you,” she barked, raising her voice. “I would’ve been there for you, Mal.”

  Throat clearing separated them. Sofia didn’t even have to look to know the voice belonged to her brother, but what she didn’t know was that Lucky Cooper was standing there with Savage. Both males had their eyes narrowed on the absent Guardian.

  “What’s going on in here?” Savage snarled.

  “Just saying hello,” Malaki replied, nodding toward her and turning on his heel. “I’m going to see Talon now.”

  “You good?” Lucky called out when she wiped at another tear. The male’s concern for her made her panther sit up and take notice. She longed for a partner who cared for her. She wasn’t anything like Savage, nor was she Protector material. She wanted to be a mother and mate to a good male.

  Lucky had b
een around a lot more over the past few months, and she wondered if the interest her panther showed was because they could be mates. She wouldn’t say they were as close as her and Malaki had been, but the male had been making a point to check on her a lot more over the last few months. He’d even come by the clinic to help hang Christmas lights on the outside of the building when she’d asked for help from one of the Guardians.

  But then Malaki was there, standing tall and proud in the alpha’s kitchen like he’d never left, and she wanted to collapse with relief. She had missed him, feeling like he’d died after he was gone.

  “I’m fine, Lucky,” she promised.

  Malaki stopped at the doorway, his shoulder barely touching Lucky as he paused. The two males froze, staring deep into each other’s eyes, until Malaki spoke. “She said she’s fine.”

  Savage immediately stepped up, placing a hand on both males’ shoulders. “Malaki, you need to be in Talon’s office…now. Lucky, go home.”

  She knew her brother wanted to rip both their heads off by the glow to his amber eyes. Her brother didn’t like any male sniffing around her, and she was sure to hear about it later.

  “I’ll come check on you later,” Lucky said as he pinned her with a worried stare. She nodded, but looked over at Malaki as he disappeared toward the alpha’s office.

  A scent…a mating scent she didn’t recognize filled the room as they left, and her eyes widened. Whose scent was it? Malaki’s or Lucky’s?

  From the Author:

  :::deep breath:::

  I want to thank you, the reader.

  The last six months have been kind of hell for me. Yeah, if you follow me, you know I’ve had some medical issues going on. I had posted a message to you all mid-year, saying I was taking the rest of 2020 off to focus on my health. Well, as you can see, this book came out before my suggested time off. (I’m very stubborn.)

  Storm had been in my head for three months after I was told by my doctors that I have several things going on with my spine. They wanted me to take it easy, and for the most part, I did. BUT, I wasn’t going to wait until 2021 to finish the story.

  In fact, I’m writing this before I finish the book. Right now, I’m only on Chapter 9 and it’s currently 12:19PM on Sunday 10/25. I should’ve been further along by now, but I’m slow in writing this one.

  I’ve met a lot of new readers over the course of the quarantine (virtually, of course!), and I hope you are still enjoying the pride. I love them with all of my heart. Writing this series has meant everything to me. It was my life changer, and I will always love them.

  I know that sounds like this is the end, but it’s not. No, as long as I have air in my lungs and blood in my veins, I will continue to write about these shifters. With that being said, this is book 12, and I have 17 planned.

  Now, to the good stuff. If you have made it this far, then you get to hear that I will be writing a new series, The Misfits of Cimarron. I hope to have Gabriel’s book out sometime in 2021. So, all of the wolves the Shaw pride are rounding up will get their stories told. I’m very excited to dive into it.

  I’m not announcing this on social media for a while. I’m giving you the information first.

  Until then, I have a lot of appointments for injections and procedures to help me live with my new way of life. Who would’ve thought I’d be dealing with this bullshit at age 46?

  Listen to my advice. (Oh, God! I just said that in my mother’s voice.) Take better care of yourselves, and live life to the fullest. We only get one shot at it. So, please, make all the wonderful memories you can before it’s too late.

  And lastly, the next book in the pride series will be Lucky. I figured book 13 should go to him. Looks like we might have a love triangle on our hands for that one.

  Love, as always,

  Theresa

  About the Author

  About Theresa Hissong:

  Theresa Hissong is the bestselling author of the Rise of the Pride series. She writes paranormal romance, rockstar romance, and romantic suspense.

  She enjoys spending her days and nights creating the perfect love affair, and she takes those ideas to paper. When she’s not writing, Theresa spends her free time traveling and attending concerts all over the United States.

  Look for other exciting reads…coming very soon!

  Other Books by Theresa Hissong:

  Fatal Cross Live!

  Fatal Desires

  Fatal Temptations

  Fatal Seduction

  Fatal Intentions

  Rise of the Pride:

  Talon

  Winter

  Savage

  The Birth of an Alpha

  Ranger

  Kye

  The Healer

  Dane

  Booth

  Noah

  Taze

  Morgan Clan Bears

  Mating Season

  Mating Instinct

  Incubus Tamed

  Thirst

  Standalone Novella

  Something Wicked

  Book for Charity

  Fully Loaded

  Club Phoenix

  The Huntress

  Cycle of Sin on Tour

  Rocked (A Rockstar Reverse Harem Novel)