“She used that crystal ball thing she has in her reading room.”
“Adam, I can’t believe you did this.”
I smiled. “I had no idea the length you would go to get my son back. You even gave up one of your most precious memories.”
“It was what I had to do to get information.”
“You hardly let me do anything of my own.” I motioned for her to turn around and then draped the cord around her neck. “You led the way forward. Only a true mother would have done something like that.”
She hiccupped again. I knew she was crying. I could feel the hot tears soaking into my arms while I held her. But it made me happy to feel the tension unwinding in her. All those insecurities were slowly drifting into the darkness where they belonged.
“You’re not useless at all,” I whispered. “You’re everything I ever wanted in a mate and more.”
“Adam,” she whimpered while turning around. She cupped my face and stood on her toes while whispering, “I love you.”
The bones that held me up threatened to give out. Every inch of me vibrated with affection as I kissed my mate, the woman who would dedicate herself to me for the rest of our lives. The wolf in me sang at the prospect of settling down. And I didn’t bother trying to calm him down about it.
I was singing, too.
She hummed long and low, a smile curving her lips and breaking the kiss. “I want to see Henry. I want us to cook together.”
“He’s with Donovan. Let’s go get him.”
When she slid her arm around my waist, we fit right into place. Just like two pieces of a puzzle. Walking onto the porch brought with it a feeling of rightness. The ranch was mostly at peace, my son was healthy, and my mate was at my side. Nothing could go wrong while we were together, at least nothing we couldn’t handle as a family.
A family, I thought. The dirt road expanded ahead of us, revealing a group of wolves darting between houses. Laughter bubbled from porches. Conversation hummed in the violet hues of dusk.I have a complete family now. I’m never going to let anything happen to them.
I smiled when I saw Henry waiting for us on the porch. He lunged into the yard and booked it to Charlotte who opened her arms with an emotional squeak. As soon as his feet left the ground, he shifted into a pup, landing in her outstretched arms. Giggles exploded from her as the two of them fell to the ground.
I shook my head while observing the torn clothes on the grass.
Well, he was going to outgrow those pants anyway, I thought.They look good together.
They did look good together. And I was willing to bet I looked good with them, too.
Chapter 22 - Charlotte
Henry took my hand and pointed to the living room. He tried to hide a yawn and failed, his innocent features twisting with exhaustion.
“Charlotte, I want to play,” he whined. “Can we do Monopoly again?”
I smiled, feeling Adam’s eyes watching me. “I don’t think your father wants to lose all his money again.”
“I heard that,” Adam teased from the table. “Why don’t you tuck him in? I’ll clean up in here.”
“Sure, babe.”
Henry flopped against me. “But I don’t want to go to bed yet. You said you would make candy. I haven’t had any candy since you got here.”
“Now, that’s not true,” I teased. “You had all that fae candy that Sasha brought.”
He licked his lips. “Not enough of it.”
I laughed. “You’ll be up all night if you have more sugar. If you go to bed now, you’ll wake up faster and that means you get to have more candy tomorrow.”
That sobered him up. He snatched my hand and yanked me through the hallway, leaving his father in stitches behind us. The moment we stepped into his room, he babbled about all his action figures, the Lego blocks he uses to build models, and the flower garden he keeps outside his bedroom window.
“One of my friends used to visit,” he told me with a small smile. The happiness faded from his eyes. “But we got in trouble. We can’t be friends anymore.”