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“It runs in the family.” Meredith took a turn hugging her daughter then Reardon. “Welcome home. Both of you.”
“So you’ll stay with us, Reardon?” Dylan led them around to the back of Meredith’s cabin where the view of the sanctuary’s woods was breathtaking. Mountains in the distance. Full treetops swaying gently in the summer breeze. Wolves lounging in the sun, waiting patiently for their Alpha—and Brandy—to run with them through the forest.
“Aye, I’ll stay with you.” Reardon turned toward Brandy. “On one condition.”
“That we still play catch every day?” Dylan asked.
Reardon laughed. “Oh, we’ll play catch every day, but that’s not my condition.” He took Brandy’s hands in his own, running his thumbs along her knuckles and searching for the right words. “I’ll stay here if your amazing mother will be my bride.”
Brandy slid her hands up to Reardon’s shoulders, her gaze full of something that made his insides ignite. She traced a finger along his jagged ear. “Deal. Now let’s seal it with a wolf kiss.”
He rubbed his nose against hers then caught her lips in a kiss so heated he almost shifted. Brandy’s scent swirled around him and he knew she was close to turning as well.
“Are vampires real too? How about mutants?” Dylan’s voice—and Brandy’s and Meredith’s laughter—brought Reardon back from the brink.
“I don’t know, lad. I’ve never met any.”
“But they could be, right? We should do some research, don’t you think, Mom?”
“Spoken like a true scientist. My heart is filled to overflowing.” Brandy put her hand to her chest and smiled at Reardon.
Reardon corralled Brandy in one arm and Dylan in the other. “Mine too.”
Epilogue
Fourth of July…
The sky was lit with red, white, and blue sparks, and the crowd around themoohedandahhedafter each pop, rumble, and hiss. Brandy leaned against Reardon’s chest as he sat on a blanket behind her, his legs bent by her sides acting like armrests.
Best chair ever.Certainly better than any rickety lawn chair like she usually brought to watch Canville’s annual Fourth of July fireworks. She’d always dreamed of sharing one of her favorite summer nights with someone like Reardon. Now she got to shareallher summer nights with him.
Winter, spring, and fall too.
Nibbling at her ear made her press herself more firmly against Reardon. Maybe it was a werewolf thing, but the two of them were almost always touching in some way. It was probably sickening to watch. That was what Parker and Chella said anyway as if they weren’t equally all over each other, but Brandy didn’t care. She craved Reardon’s touch, needing it like she needed oxygen.
“Let’s go for a run,” he whispered, right before he tugged on her earlobe with his teeth.
Running had become one of their favorite things to do together—well, aside from making love, which Brandy was sure would always be number one on the list. Wolf kisses were apparently addictive. She could never get enough.
Pulling out her phone, she said, “I suppose we do need to run off all that blueberry pie we ate. Let me text Mom to see if she can take Dylan home.”
Dylan and Meredith were down by the water’s edge getting a closer view of the barge where the fire department set off the fireworks. After a quick series of texts, Meredith had agreed to watch Dylan, and Reardon had their blanket and picnic basket all packed up.
“How is it that you still look very Alpha with a picnic basket hanging from your arm?” Brandy teased.
“I’m confident in my manhood, fairy lass. Nothing can shake that.” He scooped an arm around her waist and brought her body up against his where she could very clearly feel his… manhood.
Damn, the man was always ready to go, and that got her all fired up.
“A run. Let’s go.” He nudged her toward the new SUV she’d picked up last week. It was black with the Silver Moon logo emblazoned on the doors in shimmery silver paint.
Reardon stowed their things in the back of the SUV right next to the flat stones they’d picked up yesterday to extend the patio behind the house. Stones that were heavy and awkward, but Reardon had lifted and loaded like they were bags of feathers. In fact, the home improvement store manager had seen Reardon muscling the stones around with ease and had offered him a job on the spot. It wasn’t a dream job, but it was a start for a werewolf trying to build a life amongst regular humans… and save some money for a wedding which was set for October when the Vermont foliage would be at its fiery best.
Brandy could hardly wait to be Reardon’s wife. Her life had been so focused on the wolves and raising Dylan. Meeting a man who shared those passions plus had that something extra special completed her. She had absolutely everything she’d ever wanted.
“Let’s head this way.” Reardon guided her away from the crowd and toward the dark woods bordering Canville’s center green.
Under the cover of night, they shed their clothes and Reardon made a small sack of his T-shirt so he could take their clothes with them. They slunk into the forest and shifted. In no time at all, the warm summer night was whipping by them in a blur of shadowed greens and browns. Every now and then, the sky flashed with fireworks, illuminating everything growing in those beautiful woods.
