Omega Moon Rising (Toke Lobo & The Pack) (30 page)

He hadn’t been a good person the day he met Abby. He knew that now. He’d been immature. Cocky. Full of himself.

To see how Abby tried to protect her sister, tried to rise above a really scat-infested situation with grace and with dignity—thank the Ancient Ones he had a lifetime to learn from her.

He slid to his knees in front of her. Took both of her tiny, dainty hands in his. “I am the luckiest male in the world. I know I have a lot to make up to you, and I will, every day for the rest of my life. You are my mate. My reason for being. My forever after woman. Messy Christmas mornings, burnt biscuits, and all. I could kneel here and quote sappy love songs to you for hours, if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t want.”

Luke squeezed her hands. “Things aren’t going to be easy.”

“I know I have a learning curve. But your grandmother will help. And Delilah, even if she is an alpha mate.”

“I meant with Libby,” Luke said. “We have to make sure she has counseling. You, too, if you want it,” he hastened to add. “But I think you’re tougher than she is. You are a strong woman, Abs. A survivor. If you can survive what Gary did, living here in Loup Garou is going to be a vacation for you. In case you haven’t figured it out, we lycan males tend to worship our mates. Be prepared to be adored.”

“Are you going to keep on with the FBI?”

She didn’t mention leaving. Blessed Ancient Ones, she didn’t contradict him about staying in Loup Garou.

“I think so. That will let me stay here with you. No more touring with the band. Not that we tour that often. Tokarz doesn’t like to leave Delilah and Daniel for any length of time.”

“Is my neck going to hurt every time you go to work?”

Luke jerked back. “I . . . I don’t know.”

“Your grandmother has a theory.” Abby lowered her gaze. “I don’t know much about the process or anything, but Granny thinks you didn’t really mark me. I don’t know what that means. But she thinks you only nibbled so when you look at other women, my marking spot hurts.”

Luke was flabbergasted. Granny’s theory made sense. “There’s one way we could test it,” he said as he reacted to his wife. His mate. “We could fix the problem once and for all.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Abby said. “But you’d better rig a lock on the door first.”

Epilogue

The woman in the ruffled pink dress pushed a double stroller across the park toward the stage where Toke Lobo and the Pack would be performing in a few hours. Her yellow hair turned the sunlight into prisms of color, her deep blue eyes sparkled, and the gap between her front teeth made Luke Thibodaux hard every time he saw it.

Okay, it wasn’t the gap between her teeth. It was her. Abby. Abigail Grant Thibodaux. His mate. Some days, like today, he wanted to raise his muzzle to the sky and howl his happiness to the world. But that wouldn’t go over well with the employees of the Moonsinger Brewery. Or with the twins.

Twins. Joseph and Rosie. He still couldn’t believe he was the father of twins. Perfect little beings. Half him, half Abby. The best of both of them.

Abby had spent her pregnancy stressing over the spiteful words Digger Sendall had told Libby, who had parroted them back to Abby. Stories about mutant babies had turned out to be more of Sendall’s warped vampire assholery. It had taken Luke a while to track down Tina Grant’s physician, but the effort had been worthwhile. The doctor had told Abby the truth about her dead sisters: stillborn, not mutant. Not malformed.

Libby—the dark cloud on the day. She was living with his grandparents and seeing a counselor at the Rape Crisis Center once a week. One of the first things Abby had done was to take Libby back to the specialist who’d prescribed Ritalin for her ADHD. The difference in Libby was like full moon to new moon.

Luke hurried across the grass toward his family. There was a booth selling strawberry lemonade and a pretty girl in a valentine colored dress he needed to seduce. Doting grandparents had already agreed to babysit that evening. The July weather was perfect for a moonlight ride to a secret lake high in the mountains. And maybe, just maybe, he’d get lucky. Again.

Also from
Soul Mate Publishing
and
MJ Compton
:

MOONLIGHT SERENADE

Alpha male werewolf Tokarz de Lobo Garnier will do anything for his headstrong human bride . . . except trust her. She’s a reporter, and she’s on the trail of a story that could destroy the sanctuary his pack has enjoyed since the American Revolution. But she’s in danger, and risking her safety goes against everything he believes. When the evil turns its sights on him, he must make a decision: the safety of his mate or the security of the pack he leads.

Available now on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/muv4cjx

AND JERICHO BURNS

Lucy Callahan will do anything to rescue her sister from a cult, even marry a werewolf she’s just met. But the werewolves are working undercover for the government, and Lucy fears a confrontation between the agents and the cult could be deadly.

Stoker Smith longs to be the best thing that ever happened to his human mate. He wants to take her home, start their family, and compose his music. And although his pack’s treaty with the government says he doesn’t have to work undercover now that he’s mated, he promised Lucy he’d get her sister out of the cult’s heavily armed compound. Lucy’s sister is now family and to a werewolf, family is everything.

But Operation Jericho quickly turns ugly, thrusting Lucy into the middle of her worst nightmare, where she must choose: her sister or her husband.

Available now on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/gue46dq