Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Forced Mate Epilogue

Tanner

Dark windows rose tall on the beige building. Bright green shrubs burst to life around the sidewalk, trees sprouting on either side that provided a natural screen. Small cement circles led to a side door with a sign in multiple languages including braille.

Please, use other door.

An arrow pointed to the right. My eyes swept in that direction, absorbing the minor details making up the mostly empty parking lot. Other than my Chevy sitting in the first space next to a shiny Impala, the other spots were clear. Leah laced her arm through mine. "What are you thinking about?"

I blew out the breath I'd been holding. "That shrink is tall."

"Well, he is a crane."

"Sure, but I'm not really hairy for a wolf."

She chuckled. "I guess you have a point."

"You think she's alright in there?"

"You worry too much."

I grunted. "I worry just the right amount, girl. That's our daughter in there. She's probably crying. I want to make sure she's okay."

"For someone who only wanted biological kids, you sure are taking to her pretty quickly."

She was right about that.

In my younger years, I'd considered what it would mean to be a father, how it might change the course of my life. But I had always imagined those things attached to other things-sex, pregnancy, and birth. It had never occurred to me that I could have a child in my life who I considered mine without actually being related to me by blood.

But Inez had proved me wrong. And I was sort of happy about it.

I studied the cracks in the sidewalk. "I'm just worried about her."

"It's okay. I'm glad you worry about her. I'm glad you think of her as your own."

"What does Edward think now that he doesn't have fluid in his lungs?"

Leah looked away for a second. She chewed her lip. She picked the nails of the hand that was hidden in the crook of my arm. "I mean, he's fine with it. He said so himself."

"He was drugged."

"That doesn't make him any less relieved, Tanner."

I shrugged. "What if he tries to come back?"

"It's been two weeks since he left. He's not coming back." Her tone dipped. "He always wanted to leave. He said that too."

"He was drugged." The fact didn't make it any easier for her. But what else could I do? She was in mourning. "He would have died if Inez hadn't ever gotten kidnapped."Posted by FindNovel.net

She frowned, the lines digging into her jawline. "Yeah, I think him mentioning her didn't help."

"He was trying to appeal to his captors, make it seem like he was important." I stopped her on the sidewalk and held her shoulders loosely. "Like he would be missed."

"You want me to say I missed him, don't you?"

I sighed while standing up to my full height. I didn't take back my hands though. "You got me, princess."

"I can see right through your insecurities."

"Two for two."

She smirked. "And you still haven't asked."

"About what?"

"About whether or not I ever filed for divorce."

That was three. How did my girl know me so well? We had been apart for years, but when she came back it was almost like no time had passed at all.

I slouched toward her with a sigh. "Well, I figured you were still married."

"We actually never legally got married."

Relief slammed into my gut. "What?"

"We did the common law thing. Sort of." She waved it off. "We just wore rings and told people we were married. It's never been set in stone."

"But you wanted it to be, didn't you?"

She gazed into my eyes for a while, her heart thudding through her fingertips. I felt every beat.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I did at one point. But it doesn't matter now. Because I have you."

"Would you ever marry me?'

She grinned bashfully. "Are you asking?"

"Not yet." I flashed my dazzling smile. "But I'm planning on it."

"Aren't you not supposed to tell me about that?"

I shrugged. "Why not? We can go pick out a ring together. We'll make it a day trip with Inez in town.""

"Really?" Her eyelids fluttered as tears welled in her eyes. "You want her to help us pick out the rings?"

"She's going to carry the rings, so yes. I want her to like them."

She struggled to swallow. "I don't know what to say."

"Just promise me you'll say yes."

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and stood on her toes. When her lips met mine, a chill drifted over my shoulders like I was opening the door on a fresh snow day. The scent of frosted melons tickled my nostrils and then I felt the heat, the glorious sunny rays of her love illuminating me in the midst of winter.

It was amazing how she did that to me.

Any space between us didn't detract from her influence. Just having her near was enough to set me on fire. I wrapped my arm around her waist and guided her back to the lobby doors, glossy windows reflecting the happiness we felt with each other. "Blake wants to up security again," I whispered. I glanced over my shoulder. It was a habit at this point. "I think he's going to try to get Milton to come back."

"He should probably get mated." She tapped her chin. "Neil too. All of you need to be protected if we're going to get through whatever this weird war is."

I nodded. "That's what I can't shake."

"What?"

"Why they want Blake dead so badly."

She chewed her lower lip. "Power? Control? It's hard to say."

"We'll go over it in the meeting later."

"Ugh, another meeting."

I rubbed the back of her neck. "You can take a nap while I'm at the meeting."

"No, I should be there. I'm your mate." She took my hand. "And I go where you go."

Sweet gods, I couldn't express in words how amazing that sounded coming out of her mouth.

***

The dry-erase board was making an encore appearance in the den. Next to me was my mate, with Brandi on her left. Milton occupied a lush recliner near the window as Neil poured through papers at a makeshift desk. Blake paced the floor in front of the board with a marker in his hand as Veronica silently drank in every one of his movements.

He raised the marker, parted his lips, and then clamped his mouth shut. It all happened in a matter of seconds. But seconds were all it took for Veronica to be on high alert.

The two of them were interesting to watch.

She's dedicated to him through and through, I admitted to myself. Which means I owe her an even bigger apology now that we've survived the fortress.

I snuggled into Leah. I wasn't shy about affection now that I felt like she was mine without any conditions. And she seemed to respond well to the public displays. She laced her fingers with mine as she'd been doing for the past two weeks.

Blake pointed the marker at Leah. "Your ex-husband is a distant blood relative to me, correct?"

She nodded. "Correct."

"Is there any way to prove that?"

Leah glanced at me and I glanced at Neil. He dragged his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I'm on it-records." He slapped the giant pile of folders next to him. "Their system is goddamn archaic, okay?"

"The hospital has been around for a while," Veronica pointed out. "And they kept extensive records. They just never entered the data into a computer."

Neil groaned loudly. "I'm fully aware of that, Miss Obvious."

Blake glared at Neil. "Either go get laid or keep digging. Pick one."

Neil held up his hands. "Sorry, boss."

Jermaine wandered into the room with a black bud in his ear. He pressed it and cocked his head, pausing as he listened. After a nod, he approached Blake. "The fortress was abandoned."

Milton chuckled while plucking a vape pen from his b****t pocket. He puffed on it, producing a white cloud that dissipated around his face. His eyes glowed red through the fog. "Idiots. The structural integrity of that place was done for as soon as our own lightweight champion boxer over there knocked out that tunnel."

Leah beamed at Brandi. "With a single kick."

Brandi looked impressed. "Dang, girl. You got to teach me the ropes sometime."

Veronica grinned. "I'd love to do that. I don't have a ton of friends around here."

"I wonder why," Milton mocked.

Blake shot him a warning glance. "If you're going to be grumpy about losing gold on the market, then leave the room."

"I'm fine," Milton snapped back. "It was just a few hundred grand. Nothing big."

I laughed. "That's rich coming from you."

"Practically spare change," Brandi joked, "to a dragon."

My sister and I cackled while Milton fumed in the corner.

Blake tapped the dry-erase board with his marker. "Alright, focus. Why would Raymond want to kidnap Edward? And then Inez?"

Leah shivered. It had only been two weeks since the horror we had both endured. She was still sensitive about the topic. But she was more than willing to discuss it.

My tenacious girl.

Leah leaned forward. "Well, if Edward is distantly related to you, maybe it has something to do with your family."

Blake nodded. "That occurred to me as well."

"Does Raymond have beef with your bloodline?" Milton asked. "I can't see why he would bother. He was actually kind of tight with Nathan, right?"

"Sort of," Blake replied. "They weren't pals, but they were business associates. They got along."

I studied the ground. "He's trying to get to you. Maybe he thought getting to Edward and then Inez would make that happen."

"It certainly sent us on a wild goose chase," Leah admitted. "Was that the point?"

Veronica frowned. "You know, Raymond doesn't do things lightly. He's always trying to make someone do something."

"I remember you said that in the tunnel," I pointed out. "So, was he trying to distract us?"

Blake sighed. "It didn't draw me or Jermaine away from the pack. Nothing happened here."

"That you could see," Jermaine added. "He did have people sneak onto the grounds and grab a child."

My heart rate tripled. "If he can do that, then he can do anything."

A wicked silence sucked the air right out of the room. We were all thinking about it. I just had to be the a*****e to say it.

Now they could hate me for saying it instead of our alpha.

"There could even be someone on the inside," I proposed. "Someone close to us who could be playing both sides."

Everyone looked at Veronica except me.

I stood up and paced toward her. "I've been a jerk to you about this whole thing. And I've been a jerk to my alpha as well." I glanced at Blake who nodded for me to continue. "So, I want to apologize publicly for my behavior. I'll never insinuate your involvement again, Veronica." She tearfully nodded her head.

"That being said, I do think it's important we start to look for a mole," I told Blake. "Not Veronica. But someone else. Because everyone would suspect Veronica, correct?" Blake flinched but agreed with a nod.

"If Raymond wants to distract us," I stated logically, "then he'll send someone who we won't suspect at all. Veronica would just be the misdirection."

"But who would it be?" Leah asked. "I can't think of anyone who would do that to their pack."

I shrugged. "It would have to be someone who stood to gain from the alpha being dead."

"We still don't even know why Raymond wants to kill Blake," Veronica said. "How the hell are we supposed to figure out another motive?"

"We start with Edward and Inez-the bloodline," Blake replied while flipping around to face the board. "I'll have my mother go back through our records."

Neil snorted from his desk. "Yeah, pile the paperwork on the lion, right?"

"As long as you're not mated you're on desk duty," Blake responded with confidence.

Milton cackled.

Blake turned to Milton with a knowing smirk. "Same goes for you, scaly boy."

Milton's expression soured. He puffed his pen while turning toward the window. For a second, I thought he glanced at my sister, but it must have been a trick of his eyes. He had a way of making them flash so no one could see his true emotions. Dragons could be so sneaky.

Just as I turned to the board to start thinking again, tiny footsteps erupted in the foyer. Shelly chased after Inez, huffing as she whipped a handkerchief from her pocket and swept it dramatically over her forehead.

"Tell the gods to slow those legs down," she teased. She gave me a tired smile. "Sorry, she just wanted to be with her Pop Pop."

Every inch of me warmed over. I scooped Inez up and plopped her into her mother's lap, dropping onto the couch to join them. As my pack continued to chat around us, I kept my focus on my family, trying to imbibe every detail of them. Because I didn't know how long this would last. I had to enjoy it while I could.

I just hoped that I could enjoy it forever.

*****

THE END