“I am now. Yes.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “How could you lie to me all this time? I trusted you with every secret. You’re my best friend.”
“I know.” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry. I hated not telling you, but I also didn’t want to put you in danger. If something happened to you because of me, it would have killed me.”
“So you lied to me instead?” I swiped a tear off my cheek.
“We didn’t want you to get hurt. You have to be careful, Madison. Powerful people come after shifters and they won’t hesitate to use you to get to them.” Her voice wobbled again. “I’m so glad Chandler finally told you. I told him he could trust you with the truth.”
“It wasn’t Chandler who trusted me.” I cleared my throat, struggling to keep my voice even. “Your secret is safe with me. I need to go.”
“Madison, wait.”
“Talk to you soon, Vivi.” I ended the call and wiped another tear from my cheek.
This was real. And no one thought I was strong enough to hear it.
Except Cole.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d stood outside soaking up the late afternoon sun like it might grant me peace. If I ran away now, maybe I could ignore the fact that there might be more to the world than I ever realized.
Hadn’t I been longing for more? That was why I uprooted my life to move to Arizona. My brother was going to be a father. We had a chance to start a new family legacy. None of that had changed; it just wasn’t going to look the way I’d envisioned.
The duet with Cole had been inspired because it voiced something inside me that I hadn’t been able to put into words. Until I met him, I’d been living in the shallow waters. No real risks. Comfortable. But this was more than I had bargained for.
A baby’s cry snapped me back into reality.
I ran into the clinic and found Wendy on a table, draped in blue surgical blankets and towels. My brother cradled a tiny baby in one arm. A full-term, healthy baby boy.
Cole was at the other end of the table, his voice controlled and calm. “One more push, Wendy.”
My new sister-in-law gripped Chandler’s hand. I came closer, keeping my voice down. “Can I help?”
The love on my brother’s face brought tears to my eyes as he handed me my baby nephew. He was perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes.
And apparently with the ability to shift into a wolf or jaguar or…? He looked up at me with my brother’s bright-blue eyes, and my heart burst. He was so damned beautiful. I didn’t care what he might turn into. This little guy was family, and I loved him already.
Wendy panted, sweat running down from her forehead.
“That’s it, baby,” Chandler coached his wife.
“One more push for the shoulders. Ready?” Cole said. “Okay, bear down.”
Wendy cried out, pushing until a tiny yowl echoed through the clinic. Cole was quiet for a second, and I held my breath. He stood up with a baby wrapped in a blue surgical towel, but he looked a little baffled. “It’s a…girl.”
Wendy and Chandler both craned their heads to see. Wendy gasped. “A girl? I thought…”
Her words faded as Cole handed the bundle to Chandler and said, “She’s a jaguar shifter.”
They all seemed puzzled, staring at the baby like she was an unexplainable paradox. Obviously, I was new to all this, but they looked as stunned as I must’ve looked in the truck when Cole told me he wasn’t human.
“She takes after her daddy,” I offered, unsure how to read the confusion in the room.
Chandler took the boy from me and placed both babies in Wendy’s happy arms. My brother kissed Wendy’s forehead. “They’re perfect.”
She nodded, a tear rolling free from the corner of her eye. “Welcome to the world, little ones.” She pressed her lips to each tiny head and looked up at Cole. “I thought the shifter gene was carried on the Y chromosome. How is she a jaguar without being bitten?”
He stood up and pulled off his gloves. “I’m not sure, but I remember Luke Reynolds mentioned something about their Alpha’s mate being a born shifter. She’s a jaguar, too. I’ll give him a call.” Cole grabbed his stethoscope and listened to their tiny chests and gave the new parents a smile.
“Hearts and lungs sound healthy. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Cole,” Chandler said, stroking his fingers through Wendy’s hair. “Sorry about earlier.”
Cole shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
He crossed to me, taking my hand as he left the room. I followed, so overwhelmed by conflicting emotions I wavered between tears and laughter and an ache I couldn’t quite place. Once we were in the parking lot, he slid his hand free of mine.
“Thanks for staying.” He shifted his weight, and I realized he was nervous.
“Did you think I would leave?”
“Well I did drop that I was a werewolf while we were in a moving vehicle, and your brother’s wife was in labor.” He shrugged. “No one would blame you if you ran now.”
I took a slow breath. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” I pointed toward the door. “Those babies didn’t look premature.”
“Nope.” He glanced over at me. “Gestation for shifters is four months. Wendy was full term. Chandler needed an excuse to explain why Wendy was so big at the shower, though, so that’s what the diabetes was about… I’m sorry about the lies. He thinks you’re safer not knowing about any of this. Part of me agrees with him. We were protecting you.”
“From the truth?”
He shook his head and met my eyes. “From the people who want to hurt us.”
Vivi said the same thing. A chill ran up my spine. “Who wants to hurt you?”
“Your boss, actually. Among others. She used Wendy’s DNA and blood samples to make a super soldier serum. It killed most of the men in a Special Forces unit, but we think a few of them might still be alive.”
“Deidra experimented on Wendy?” I gaped, shaking my head. This was all too much. My mild-mannered boss was some sort of mad scientist? I couldn’t process it. “But I can’t shift. Why would they be after me?”
“Your brother can.” He paused. “I can.”
The pieces slid into place. “And they could use me to get to you.”
“Exactly.” He faced the mountains again. “Chandler thought if we kept you out of all the shifter business, we could keep you off their radar…but I fucked all that up.”
“How so?” I turned to face him, waiting for him to look at me.
His eyes searched mine. “Because you’re my…” He hesitated and finally whispered, “You’re the fairy tale I never believed existed.”
CHAPTER 11
Cole
I couldn’t force the word out—not with the panic shining in her eyes. Madison was my mate, but I’d dumped enough on her for one day. I could tell her the rest later.
My mouth went dry as I stared into her eyes, my pulse rushing in my ears. Deep in my soul, my wolf growled, aching to claim her. “I gave up on relationships years ago.” I caressed her cheek, my thumb stroking her soft skin. “And then you walked into my life and turned my world upside down.”