Brother Bear Mated (13 page)

Chapter Sixteen

It was night time, but she couldn’t wait any longer. Days had passed since her sisters had cast their undead spell, and Nastia was adapting well to her brand of vampirism. Now the search was on to find Anchors for the others before the autumnal equinox when their power would transfer.

The entire clan was going at it, full force.

Magic was in touch with contacts from before he led the clan, hoping to learn any information he could from other shifters. Gash had contacted an old colleague from his Memphis days. Mason was in cahoots with the Elder, Destiny. Doc was exploring options from a medical standpoint. And the rest were taking turns with Nastia’s tomes.

They’d find a fix. She had faith. Her bear had taught her that. And tonight, she was going to give him his gift. The one she’d been working on behind his back with the help of Renner.

“Come on, slowpoke,” she teased, pulling him along toward the chapel.

“Tell me where we’re going and maybe I’ll walk faster.”

“I told you, it’s a surprise.”

They curved around the parking lot and took the short path off the road toward the quaint rough-hewn log building with the tiniest steeple on top. As far as places of worship went, Thames’s chapel was small. Smaller than small. It was a grain of sand to a boulder. But he loved it and that’s all that mattered to her.

She stopped outside the door and turned to face him. “Here we are.”

“My surprise is the chapel?” he asked. “Hate to break it to you, baby, but I already knew this was here.” He grinned and she lifted up to her tiptoes to kiss it.

“Not the chapel, silly. Your surprise is
inside
the chapel.” She tugged his hand. “Come on.”

Pushing through the doors, they stepped into the room that held four small pews and a miniature pulpit. It was minimally decorated with a vase of white flowers and a stack of Bibles for guest to borrow if they needed.

Nastia strolled to the front and stood, lifting her eyes to the brand new piece Renner had installed earlier in the day. And then she waited for Thames to notice.

“I love that you’ve brought me here, little witch. But I have to ask…
why
are we here?”

Her grin grew wider and she shifted, giddy, from foot to foot. “Look. Up there.” She pointed.

Thames followed her, and his face went slack when his eyes landed on the cross that hung over the pulpit. It was a cedar wood frame painted black to represent the darkness they’d battled, and the inside was filled with Nastia’s heart shaped rocks.

“Nastia,” he breathed. “Did you make this?”

“Yes!” she squealed, clapping her hands together. “Well, sort of. Renner helped. I designed it, he built it. Those are all the rocks I collected before I found you. I kept the ones you gave me because I love them too much. It represents the past that we put aside and our hope for the future. Do you like it?”

He glanced at her and back to the cross, his hand rubbing across his lips. He shuffled his feet. Hands on his hips. Back to his mouth.

She felt on odd tugging at their bond that she couldn’t understand.

“Thames?”

He cleared his throat roughly. Once. Twice.

“I
love
it, Nastia,” he whispered. “It’s perfect.”

Her chest tightened with the kind of happiness that wants to make you cry, and they stood there, together, staring at the beautiful cross. This was Thames’s chapel, his god, his faith. But there were some things that transcended beliefs, and that thing was love.

Finally, he pulled her hand into his, and twisted to face her.

“I have a surprise for you too.”

He dug into his jeans pocket and came out with a half-dollar sized stone. Two humps at the top and a pointy bottom. A perfect heart. Pulling her fingers back to open her hand, he slipped it into her palm.

“Ten.”

“Still a long way to infinity,” he said. “But I think we’ll get there.”

Hot tears pricked her eyes when she saw what he’d engraved on the rock.

508.

May eighth. The day she was transformed. The day they outsmarted darkness with love.

Tears spilling over, she searched Thames’s gaze, reciting the words Adira spoke over her when she had risen.

Her name.

“
And we shall call them Daybreaker, for they came forth from the darkness into the light, and were made of the power of the sun.
”

Thames hooked his arm behind her neck to pull her in close. “Daybreaker. What a perfect name for something born out of darkness.”

She agreed.

“The future looks bright, mate. What do you think?”

“I think together we can do anything.”

Thames nodded, dipping in for a slow kiss beneath their cross.

“Together, mate.”

Epilogue

And thus we began on the eighth day of the month Five. Born of a light called Love. Alive by blood and sun.

Daybreaker. Blood taker.

The earth is our home, the animal is our friend.

Sons and daughters of the mystics. Our ancestors are stars. Our decedents are many.

And our future…

shines brilliant.

For information on new releases, exclusive excerpts, and giveaways, sign up for P. Jameson’s Newsletter
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Scroll on for more books by P. Jameson…

Other books by P. Jameson

Ouachita Mountain Shifters

A Mate’s Wish (
Holiday Prequel
)

Deliciously Mated (
Book 1
)

Ouachita Mated (
Book 2
)

Merrily Mated (
Book 3
)

Secretly Mated (
Book 4
)

Shadow Mated (
Book 5
)

Brother Bear Mated (Book 6)

Dirt Track Dogs

Racing the Alpha (
Book 1
)

Racing the Beast (
Book 2
)

Racing Home (
Book 3
)

Racing Hard (
Book 4
)

Racing Destiny (
Book 5
)

Home for the Holidays (
Book 6
)

Ozark Mountain Shifters

A Mate’s Denial (
Book 1
)

A Mate’s Sacrifice (
Book 2
)

A Mate’s Revenge (
Book 3
)

A Mate’s Submission (
Book 4
)

Sci-fi Fantasy Romance

Starwalker (
Amazon
)

*****

About the Author

P. Jameson likes to spend her time daydreaming, and then rearranging those dreams into heartstring-pulling stories of trial and triumph. Paranormal is her jam, so you’re sure to find said stories full of hot alpha males of the supernatural variety. She lives next door to the great Ozark Mountains with her husband and kids, who provide her with plenty of writing fodder.

For more information about P. Jameson and future stories, visit
www.pjamesonbooks.blogspot.com
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