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Chapter 12

Lindsey

I wanted so badly to believe him that he might actually be able to look past the hideous beast he had called magnificent and maybe be doomed to spend all eternity alone. Sure I had the kids that I"d all but adopted, but they would grow up and move on with their lives eventually.

I had long since given up on the dream of growing old with someone. Who could truly love a beast?

The answer to that might just be Walker.

I was struggling to believe it. Not only was he perfectly sculpted and made my heart race and my mouth drool, but the more I got to know him, the more wonderful I learned he was. He was kind, loving, and patient. He was everything I never knew I wanted—no, needed—in a mate. And he was mine.

As if that wasn"t enough to take in, he suddenly shifted, revealing his wolf to me and introducing him to the beast. I couldn"t believe this was really happening.

At first, he just sat back on his haunches and looked up at me. I towered over him, making his rather large wolf seem small in comparison. There was no way for me to shrink down or make this any easier.

I stayed perfectly still as the wolf walked around, occasionally sniffing me. When he"d made it full circle, he pranced around and then rubbed against the beast, coating her in his scent. After he finished that, he sat back once more and lifted his nose towards the ceiling and howled. My beast mimicked him and howled too.

She actually howled, not roared, or screeched, but howled like a perfectly normal wolf accepting her mate"s claim.

Mine! she screeched in my head as she started to prance around him like an idiot.

I"d never seen her behave like this, and I wanted to cry in relief and happiness. Maybe, just maybe, this could actually work out.

I didn"t dare shift back to my skin until he did. Even then I hesitated.

He stepped closer to me and pulled my face down to his.

"I have the most beautiful, unique mate in the world."

And then he kissed the bridge of my large wolf nose. I was so stunned, I didn"t know what to do, but after a few minutes, I let the familiar ripple run through me as I shifted back to my skin.

"I think we"re going to be okay," he said with a sly grin that left his dimples on full display.

I couldn"t help it, I swooned. My face hurt from smiling so much.

He pulled me into his strong arms and he kissed me. This wasn"t the same passionate first kiss we"d shared. But this one was full of promise and acceptance, maybe even a bit of love.

My breath hitched at the thought.

Was this what love felt like?

Was I falling in love with Walker?

I considered that for moment. Who wouldn't fall in love with Walker?

And was it too much to ask that we just be left alone by the outside word to live out the rest of our lives right here in peace?

Our special moment was quickly broken.

"Ew, they"re kissing," Dante said.

"Naked kissing," Maya added with a giggle.

Walker jumped back like I"d just burned him or something. And he covered himself while he ran around trying to find his clothes.

"Go away," I told the kids, and prayed they listened.

They jumped up and ran down the hall as laughter filled the air. It was a nice sound and reminded me of carefree days of my own childhood.

"Sorry," I muttered, just a bit embarrassed and not sure I could look him in the eyes again after that.

When he didn"t say anything I was forced to look up.

He just smiled back at me. "It"s all good. I knew from the start you came as package deal. Fortunately for you, I love kids, especially those two munchkins."

My heart felt like it was going to take flight right out of my chest.

"You really don"t mind?"

"Not at all. The triplets will be like cousins to them and they"ll have lots of friends. Several of my Delta brothers have kids now. They"ll fit right in."

He must have sensed me pulling away because he trapped me in his embrace and dropped another quick kiss on my lips.

"You"ll fit right in too."

I shook my head. "You can"t ask that of me. No Pack will accept a beast like me. I"m a monster. That"s all they"ll ever see, Walker."

"Let me prove you wrong on that. At least give me a chance."

I adamantly shook my head now.

"No."

Before he could try to sweet talk me into agreeing with him, I escaped in a flash, grabbing my clothes in the process.

This was too much. I knew everything was going too smoothly. There was always a catch. Couldn"t he at least try to understand that there was no way for me to conform to a Pack ever again?

My time with the Raglan hadn"t been easy. I"d been put through unspeakable torture in the search for perfection or some sort of miracle drug, I didn"t even know for sure. Every person there spun a different tale, trying to make it sound like what they did to us was somehow okay.

They destroyed my life, and I hated every last one of them. If I ever crossed paths with one of them again, I would rip their throats out and not lose a wink of sleep over it. They would deserve it.

I had the perfect man willing to accept me and the pups I"d decided to pick up and call my own along the way. He was everything, but I couldn"t be what he needed me to be because of them.

"Lindsey, are you okay?" Maya asked.

She had always been attuned to my emotions.

"I"m fine," I said, but there was no way she hadn't seen me wipe the tears from my eyes. "I need to run to the store and pick up a few more things for dinner tonight. Stay here, okay?"

"Okay."

I made sure I was presentable for public, knowing I needed to just blend in, and then I stomped back down the stairs.

Walker was still standing there in confusion, though he"d taken the time to at least put his clothes back on.

"You"re leaving?"

I glared at him. "No. I"m just running to the store. I"ll be back in a bit. You"re supposed to stay upstairs," I snapped, because being angry at him for no reason still hurt less than anything else.

"Don"t . . ."

"You don"t," I snapped back and left, slamming the door behind me.

"Is Lindsey okay?" Dante asked Walker.

Thanks to my stupid enhanced bat ears, I could still hear them clearly.

"She"s fine. She"s just scared and needs a bit of space and time."

I really hated that he already knew me that well.

Distracted and trying to process everything that happened, I didn"t pay attention to my surroundings as I wandered through the store. It was a rookie mistake.

"Lindsey?"

My head shot up and my eyes widened. "Leo?"

"It is you. How? Where have you been? We thought we"d lost you forever."

"You have," I whispered.

I was ready to bolt when he reached out and grabbed my arm.

I jerked back. "Don't touch me."

My beast was already stirring within, and she did not like another male touching me in any way.

Leo was my Alpha"s son and heir to the NOLA Pack. Someday he would be Alpha, but he could never be my Alpha. He wasn"t a bad guy, but he"d never really been allowed to hang out with the rest of us kids, so I didn"t know him well. And I definitely didn"t know the kind of man he had grown into. If his father was any indication, then I expected him to be just as hard and ruthless by now.

He held his hands up. "I"m not going to hurt you. I'm just surprised to see you. Where are you staying? Have you seen your parents yet?"

I shook my head. "No, and you can"t tell them you saw me. Trust me, it"s best if they think I"m dead."

"You can"t mean that."

"Yeah, I do, Leo. No one can know I was here."

He reluctantly nodded then pulled out his wallet and handed me a card.

"This has all my contact information on it. I won"t push you, but if you need anything, you call me, okay?"

I was so confused by his actions, but then I remembered, he didn"t know the beast was me. He"d been there the day his father had banished me from the Pack. None of them knew it was me at the time as I was still locked inside her with no signs of humanity left. But I"d known, and I"d felt the severance of my Pack connection that day. There was no coming back from that. And despite what Walker thought, no other Alpha would accept a banished wolf in their territory. I was walking on thin ice trespassing at the house on Pack land as it was.

But I took the card anyway and managed to mutter a thanks.

"It"s really good to see you, Lindsey. I won"t say anything, but I hope you"ll stick around and let others know."

"I won"t, but thanks. Just passing through. I didn"t even realize I was so close to the Pack," I lied.

He nodded, and I was grateful that he didn"t appear to want to press me on the issue. So I awkwardly abandoned my groceries and turned to leave. We had to get out of here now. I didn"t trust Leo to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey," he said as I turned back towards him against my better judgement. "If you plan to go out to the old Manor, don"t. We have these abominations of genetic mutations out there called the Experiments. Every now and then one will surface in the area, and the panthers alerted us to the fact that one"s squatting in the Manor."

"Uh, thanks."

"Be careful out there, Lindsey."

"You too."

This time when I turned to leave, he didn"t try to stop me.

It was weird because I"d always pictured a moment of crossing paths with a member of my old Pack. In my mind it had always led to bloodshed. Never had I dreamed it would be so civil or with Leo of all people.

"Was that Lindsey?" one of his enforcers asked. Of course they were nearby, Leo wasn"t allowed to go anywhere without being surrounded by enforcers to protect him. His father wasn"t willing to take any risks when it came to his golden heir.

"Nah, just a pretty girl."

"Wow, she sure looked like Lindsey. I wonder whatever happened to that girl?"

Leo shrugged. "Who knows, but I hope wherever she is that she"s doing well."

I turned and gave him a curt nod before I channeled my cheetah powers and got the hell out of there.

The second I returned home, I yelled through the house. "Maya, Dante, Walker, pack up. We"re leaving."

The kids appeared at the top of the staircase.

"We have to go?" Maya whined. "But I like it here."

"I was spotted. It"s no longer safe for us here. Where"s Walker?"

The two of them shared a look that I didn"t like.

"Where is Walker?" I repeated.

"He left right after you," Maya said.

My heart felt like it stopped beating and was certain the blood drained from my face as my beast roared in my head.

Where the hell was my mate?

"Where?"

"He went to see the panthers," Maya softly said.

My heart dropped. No good would come from this. Fury built up within me.

"Stay here. I"ll be back soon."

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