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“Thank you,” she said. “I should've thought about them. They have two kids as well. It's not just Arabella. I put all of them in danger with my scheme.”
“I'm sorry too,” he said. “I found out that those hunters were alerted to the presence of the artifact when Roman was questioning different packs. We normally keep the leader of the hunters in the loop. He's about to find out he has some idiots in his midst, and hopefully they'll be dealt with. He gave me his word. But they won’t be leaving the state again anytime soon.”
“It's not your fault. You didn't know that I was going to take off in the middle of the night.”
“They could've come after you any time. You just happened to be out in the middle of nowhere.”
She rubbed her face and finally pulled away. “I still can't believe our bond is that strong, but I'm grateful for it,” she said.
“God, me too.” He kissed her on the top of the head and pulled away. “I guess we better get out and let your family see that you're okay.”
Her family. She didn't often think of them that way, but he was right. They had been her family for years now. They had weathered every crisis with her. She did them a disservice to hold them at arm's length and pretend that they were just a group of people who traveled together. She would have to make a point of telling them how much they mattered to her. Just as soon as she could get a hold of herself.
She stepped out of the car and was immediately engulfed in hugs. She looked back to see Tristan pulling Arabella out of the car. He lifted her easily and hoisted her onto his shoulder. She raised her head and looked around briefly and then went back to sleep. She was severely sleep deprived from their night swim and then going on the run. And then the kidnapping.
* * *
Violet tooka day or two to regroup. And then life resumed as usual.
Arabella went back to camp, and she started working at the tour boat again. She’d been reluctant to go out on the ocean because she’d been afraid that Tristan would use it as an opportunity to take Arabella away from her.
But now she was practicing trusting him. She believed him when he said he wouldn’t do anything without her permission. And she was working on not running too. She still got that panicky feeling, the urge to bolt and flee and just get away and hide. And she still had the urge to take Arabella with her. But so far, she managed to resist it.
The summer days began to pass. Violet felt a sense of peace she’d never felt before. Her spirit felt at least a little bit settled. But that didn't mean that she wanted to belong to a pack in a conventional sense.
They fell into a routine. Tristan would come every afternoon, just as he’d said. He picked Arabella from camp and then he took her out for dinner or he took her out into the woods to shift and run as wolves.
Sometimes he took her hunting. She often brought home a squirrel and a hare, and they roasted them on the open fire. He taught her how to fish in the stream with her teeth and her paws. And he taught her how to swim the distance of the lake as both a shifter and a human.
After a few weeks, he finally started to hang around the cabin a little bit more.
The witches in Violet’s pack taught him a few simple spells, and he explained to them what he learned from the coven about the silver. They were intrigued and wanted to learn to protect their own shifters.
He agreed; he wanted Violet and Arabella to have that knowledge too. Violet was grateful for it. Silver was their biggest nemesis and without that, they would be a lot safer.
Finally, as the summer days grew warmer and the sun brighter, he brought up his pack again. “Would you be ready to let Arabella meet my family? We could start with just Roman and his wife. And their two children. It would be very low stress. It would probably be fairly chaotic with the kids all in one place, so they might be a good distraction.”
“Yes. We can do that,” she said. He didn't ask if she wanted to meet them though, he just implied that she could come along for the ride. He would not be introducing her as his mate. He’d only be introducing Arabella as his daughter.
Arabella was thrilled at the prospect. But Violet’s stomach turned on the way to their cabin. It twisted into several knotted ropes. What must they think of her after everything she'd done? Some shifters wouldn't have even been willing to meet her.
He could always read her so well. And, of course, he could feel her churning emotions. “Hey. You don't have to do this. We can have them over to the cabin or we can meet them on neutral ground.”
“No. It's time. I've put it off long enough.”
Immediately, Eliza came bursting out of their cabin and threw herself at Arabella.
“Another girl! I'm so excited! This is so fun! You want to see my dollhouse? I have one from the store and one that my dad made.”
Arabella didn't hesitate to say yes. Then they were off, racing into the backyard where apparently there was a fort that contained the doll houses.
Everleigh came out a little slower holding a toddler on her hip. This was apparently the little boy, Roman’s son.
“Hi,” she called out. “I’m Everleigh. I'm so glad you guys could come over. We have so much food. Come on, come on.” She waved them into the cabin. The baby gurgled and clapped his hands. And then Roman was standing in front of Violet. She still didn't do so well with the idea of an Alpha male near her, but she was trying. It did put her a little bit at ease to know that he had been integral in helping Tristan rescue her and Arabella.
She had written him an apology letter a few weeks before that Tristan had hand delivered. She felt the need to apologize for using the artifact on one of his pack members and then threatening to use it on all of them. He’d sent her a text thanking her.
Now he smiled at her. “I'm so glad you've come to see us.”
