“Of course, Darius. You are a wonderful, strong mate for my son. I couldn’t be prouder. You found him. Twenty years, and you found him.” Edwin swipes at his eyes. “Bring him back to Heart’s Hollow. Show him around. Get him used to the paranormal. Then tell him the truth. If you two need a few days, just call us. Lyra and I will be eagerly waiting, of course, but if my son has the chance to be with his fated, then that’s time that should be treasured. Now, have a good night, Darius.”
“Th-thank you, sir. You too.”
Edwin smiles, more tears spilling down his cheeks. Just then, Lyra comes back into the room. She immediately rushes to her husband’s side when she sees his tears.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing, dear. I have wonderful news. Christmas came early, honey. We officially have two sons now.” When the screen goes black, it’s clear I wasn’t really meant to hear that, but I break down into happy emotional tears anyway.
Chapter ten
Kaleb
“I just don’t understand how you can trust him so easily?” Stacy snaps her fingers. “Just like that?”
Even if I could tell her about my dreams, my premonitions, and all the supernatural woo-woo, there’s a good chance she would just think I’m crazy. I want to tell her everything, but I just don’t know how. Damn, no wonder Darius wants to ease me into everything. It all sounds so…fantastical.
Sighing, I pull out the only trick up my sleeve. The baby photo of me and my parents. I hand it to her.
Just like me, her eyes focus right on the baby blanket and my embroidered name. Stacy has seen that blanket a million times throughout our lives. She gasps. “Kaleb,” she whispers, staring at the photo intensely. “Are these your parents?”
I bite my lip. “Yes. It’s them, Stace.”
“Wow.”
“He’s going to take me to Heart’s Hollow tomorrow to meet them.”
Stacy’s head jerks up, eyes wide. “Heart’s Hollow,” she gasps. “That’s a sanctuary town.”
“A what?” I ask, confused.
She glances over my shoulder to make sure that Darius isn’t standing there. “Kaleb, did Darius tell you about the paranormal?”
My jaw drops open. “You know?”
“Wait, wait, wait.” She laughs. “Youknow?”
“Apparently, I’m a witch,” I blurt at the same time she says, “I’m a wolf.”
My mouth snaps shut.
“Well, technically, I’m a wolfless wolf. I can’t shift. My pack kicked me out when they found out. Wait, you’re a witch?” she asks. “Okay. That actually makes so much sense, from what little I know.”
“This is crazy; I had no idea any of this was real,” I whisper. But then Stacy and I both break into wide grins. She tugs me over to the sofa where we chat about everything that has happened since Halloween, and I even confess that I’ve been having dreams about Darius since before I met him.
“It sounds like he might be your fated mate.”
“My what?”
“It’s like a soulmate. Like in all those romance books I tell you about.”
“That’s real?”
She nods. “I was really young when I left my pack. But I remember there was one fated pair in our group. It’s a big deal. Like, a really big deal. They shared dreams and memories, and could even hear each other’s thoughts at times.”
I gasp. “Oh my gosh, I think I heard him say the word ‘mate’ in my head.”
“Oh shit, maybe it was his beast saying that to you. You said he was a shifter?” Stacy asks.
