“Thank you,” Darien said, and led them out of the house as Alicia collapsed on the couch.
“It’s over,” Alicia finally said.
“For us, it’s a new beginning.” Jake took her hand in his and kissed it.
“They loved each other.” Alicia swallowed hard. “I wish… I wish they could have been here to see me get married.” Then she gave a small smile. “A ctually I know they will be watching over us as we get married. They’ll always be with us.”
And with that, she tugged at Jake’s hand. “Let’s go home.” To the first real home she’d ever known, ready to start her life all over again. Her father might not have been there for her, but Jake would be here for his own children, and that’s all that mattered now. “Ready to hang some pictures?”
Jake smiled back at her. “Pictures?”
The look in his eyes said hanging pictures wasn’t at all what he had in mind.
That day in the forest so long ago, when Jake had wiped off Alicia’s feet with his good dress shirt before he put her tennis shoes on, had made her feel like Cinderella.
And now on their wedding day—since their kind never married like this, he absolutely refused to believe he shouldn’t see her before the wedding—he was helping her into her gown because, as he told her, he wanted to know how to get her back out of it as quickly as possible once the festivities were over.
She swore he was insatiable. And she loved him for it.
But now he knelt at her feet dressed in his tuxedo, looking like the most handsome prince in the world while he slipped one pearl-white shoe onto her foot and then did the same with the other. When he was done, he slid his hands under her gown, up her calves and higher to her thighs, and looked up at her.
“This will be the longest day of my life,” he said.
She smiled at him. “We’ll sneak off early.” A t least she hoped they could.
The fragrance of flowers perfumed the air in the forest setting as Alicia cried at the wedding. Happy tears. She hadn’t planned to. She blamed it on being pregnant. On being a sentimental sap. On wishing her mother and father could see her truly happy. But even Lelandi joined her with teary eyes, and Darien and Jake just looked at each other sympathetically.
Silva slapped Sam on the back, his gunshot wound all healed up. “Think we might do something like this someday?” she asked sweetly.
He grunted.
Lelandi laughed. “I’d be game to put on another one of these.”
Darien shook his head.
Everyone glanced at Tom, who was tugging at his cravat. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t found a girl to date, let alone mate.”
Lelandi smiled at him, the expression on her face one of calculation. Who could she find for Tom, now that Jake had gone off and found a mate all on his own?
Everyone was so busy grazing at the tables of food that no one saw Jake take Alicia’s hand and pull her away from the festivities. Or maybe they did, but she was certain no one really minded.
“We never discussed going away on a honeymoon,” Jake said, driving Alicia back to the house.
“You’re kidding, right?”
He looked at her, his expression surprised.
“I have trouble with shape-shifting,” she reminded him.
“A h. But you won’t be able to during the new moon.”
“Can you guarantee it?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm,” she said, running her hand over his thigh.
“After all that has happened in the past several months, would you think me very boring if I said I’d just like to stay at home with you? Take walks in the woods where you can show me where you’ve taken such beautiful pictures of wildflowers. Enjoy a fire and hot chocolate with whipped cream and whatever else we have in mind to occupy ourselves.”
“Skinny-dip on a night when the moon shimmers in the night sky.”
“You mentioned doing that before. Sounds like fun.
Have any drive-in theaters around here?” she asked, as he drove down their long wooded drive.
“Forty-five minutes from here in Green Valley.”
She smiled. “Looks like we have the start of a wonderfully delightful honeymoon scheduled, right here at home.”
Home. It was home. And she had a man she could love just like her mother had loved her father. And a whole new family who loved her just as much as she loved them back.
And a whole mess of babies that would be here before they knew it. Triplets. She shook her head and cuddled next to Jake, her gown making her feel like she was cocooned in satin like a fairy princess. He wrapped his arm around her as they pulled into their driveway.
“What are you thinking now?” Jake asked, kissing the top of her head.
“When I first saw you, I thought you were one handsome, dangerously devilish man.” She rubbed her belly. “Boy, did I have that right.”
He chuckled, parked the truck, and carried her out of the vehicle. “I wanted to kiss you in the worst way. And that was my undoing.”
And the beginning of his life. He sighed, carried his mate and bride across the threshold, and vowed to give her the honeymoon of a lifetime, right here close to home. He would take pictures of her among the wildflowers, her hair freely flowing over her shoulders while she wore a tank top and short shorts, braless, barefoot, and pregnant, just as he’d envisioned so many weeks ago—except for the triplets part. And he couldn’t be more pleased with the way the picture had changed.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my family for always believing in me.
And thanks to my Rebel Romance critique partners who, more than just being critique partners, are friends who understand the ups and downs of the writing experience —Vonda, Judy, Pam, Tammy, Randy, Carol, and Betty.
And I so appreciate Deb Werksman for helping me to write the best book that I can, for believing in werewolves, and for being a dream editor to work with.
Most of all, thanks to my fans, who inspire me with real wolf tales, the joy mine bring to them, and the hopeful inquiries as to who will find romance next.
About the Author
A ward-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval-
historical romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, including personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing, gardening, or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses.
Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of Heart of the Wolf, Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Heart of the Highland Wolf, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The A ccidental Highland Hero, Deadly Liaisons, and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.
