Slade (25 page)

“It’s okay.” She tried to comfort the older man who seemed to feel real distress over her past. “The Goddess works in mysterious ways.”

They spent an hour or two talking about the Hager Clan and Kate’s place in it. Slade kept mostly silent, but he was happy for his new mate. She’d had a rough start to life but if he had anything to say about it, her future would be as happy as he could make it. Finding her family was just the first step. Joining his Clan would come in time and he knew his relatives would make her feel welcome.

Slade left them talking in the kitchen for a few minutes to make some calls. He had to begin the process of moving. He’d come to the conclusion that it would be much easier for him to join Kate here in Nevada than to ask her to give up her place with the Redstones and join him in Montana.

He didn’t really have much to offer her there anyway. He’d prowled from place to place for decades and hadn’t had a real home since he’d left his family so long ago.
Leaving his position with the Lords was a small price to pay to be with his mate. He was sure Tim and Rafe would understand.

Slade called them first. As the highest ranking
weres
on the continent, they were the right place to start the ball rolling. He’d then go talk to Grif, if the Alpha would see him. Slade was sure the family would be sticking close together today. He didn’t want to intrude on their grief, but he wanted to ask Grif if he’d allow Slade to move into the neighborhood.

It was up to Grif, as Alpha, to grant Slade the right to live among his Clan or not.
And Slade thought maybe he’d be able to offer some comfort to the Alpha. Being around Kate was rubbing off. His great-grandmother had always told him he’d embrace his snowcat heritage more fully when he found his mate. He hadn’t believed her, but now that his dual nature had been seen, the snowcat was bound to cause a shift in attitude.

He welcomed it…
now. Though Slade had spent most of his life as a man of action, he found the idea of cultivating his compassionate side—in Kate’s company—was becoming more appealing.

Slade called the Redstone house and wasn’t surprised when Valerie answered.

“I’m glad you called,” she said, preempting his words.

“
What can I do for you?”

“Grif wants to see you,” she replied quickly. “Can you come over for lunch? It’ll be quiet, but I’m making sure everyone eats.”

“Kate too?” Slade didn’t want to leave her alone. He wanted her around him constantly now.

“Sure. Bring her along,” Valerie said easily. “We’ll see you around one?”

“We’ll be there,” Slade confirmed. “Thanks.”

A half hour later, Johan had gone with the promise to return for dinner. He was calling his Clan and plans were being made to get together. Slade knew Kate was apprehensive about meeting her kin, but Johan had no doubts. He was open about wanting to bring her into the Clan she should have been part of all her life.

Regardless of how it worked out—whether Kate wanted to go visit them, or they came here to see her—Slade would be by her side throughout. She would not face this alone, but he privately thought she had little to worry about. If Johan was any indication, she would be welcomed with open arms by her mother’s people.

Slade and Kate walked to the Alpha’s home, only a few blocks away along the winding streets of the development. They had a little time to kill before the lunch appointment and the day was mellow with a golden sun that warmed without overheating. Living in the desert would take a little getting used to for Slade, but he was eager to try. He’d go anywhere to be by Kate’s side and he knew she was committed to the Redstone Clan at the moment.

When they arrived at the house, Keith greeted them at the door.

“Right on time.” Keith spoke in solemn tones. Slade figured there wouldn’t be much joy in this house for some time. The grief was too recent. Too strong.

I
t would lift in time. The matriarch would not have wanted her family to suffer and eventually they would realize that and be able to come to terms with her loss. It might take years, but healing would come.

Keith ushered them back to the big, family dining room. An informal meal was being laid out on the table and Kate immediately sought the kitchen, helping Valerie and an uncharacteristically quiet Matt Redstone lay out the meal.

Grif entered the room with his little sister and greeted Slade, inviting him to sit while the meal preparations continued around them. Belinda moved listlessly to help with the platters of salad and condiments while the other brothers straggled in, one by one.

“Thank you for coming,” Grif began, getting right to business. “I wanted to talk to you about your plans for the immediate future.”

Slade nodded. “Kate is my mate. If it’s agreeable to you, I would join her here since she is committed to your Clan and I’ve been roaming for the past few decades. I don’t have a permanent home outside my Clan lands and though eventually I’d like for us to move there, as of right now, I think we’re needed here.”

“More than you know.” Grif sighed and Slade could see the weight of responsibility wearing heavy on his shoulders. “I’m going away for a bit. I’m taking Belinda to the forest where she can run free and begin to heal. Being here isn’t very good for her right now.”

Slade was concerned. For an Alpha cat to leave his Clan to go prowl for a bit wasn’t unheard of, but Grif Redstone wasn’t just any Alpha cat. He had not only his Clan but an entire army of shifter construction workers and their families that looked to him for leadership.

“Steve and
Robert will take over here while we’re gone, but they’re going to need help. I was hoping you would stay, Slade. Your snowcat will give them hope where little else can right now. My brothers are strong men. Good Alphas. But they are as grief stricken as I am. They’ll need guidance I can’t give right now. I’ve heard your people specialize in that.” Grif cracked a small, rueful smile as he looked at Slade.

“
I’m only half snowcat,” Slade was careful to point out. “But I’ll do my best to help where I can. My days of prowling alone are over. And I have an ace in the hole.” Slade had to smile when he thought of the dynamo that would come at his call. “My great-grandmother will probably come running when she finds out about Kate. She’s the real snowcat, with all that implies.”

“She’s from Tibet?” Grif seemed impressed by the very idea.

“She hasn’t been back to the Himalayas since she left to mate my great-grandfather, but yes, she was raised in the mystic tradition and teaches it to every generation of our Clan. She is the most steadying influence I know. Where she travels, peace soon follows. I think she could be of great help here, during this time of upheval.”

“Call her,” Grif said with great finality. “Today, if possible. I’ll call the Lords and make this right with them. I know you run their security when you’re not doing special jobs for them. Maybe you could help Steve with that here, if you’re so inclined.”

“I already talked to Tim and Rafe,” Slade admitted. “Just preliminarily. They’d like me to be on-call for special assignments, if needed.”

Grif nodded. “That sounds more than reasonable. We’ll work out the details, but I’d say all that’s left now is to fill in your mate. She’s tapping her foot and her arms are crossed,” Grif noted, looking pointedly toward the wide entryway to the dining room. “Did you tell her you were moving here yet?”

Kate moved into the room, her expression tight. “No, he hasn’t,” she said in a very distinct, slightly angry tone. “In fact, we haven’t discussed it at all.”

Slade turned to her, tugging her down into his lap as he sat at the table. She didn’t resist, which was a good sign.

“Kitten, I’ve seen how committed you are to this Clan and I couldn’t ask you to leave them. Especially not right now. I’m way more mobile than you are, with fewer ties to bind me to a particular place. I’ve been roaming for decades. Let me settle down here with you. It’s okay with Grif. All I need now is your agreement and we can begin our life together. What do you say?”

She held out for all of thirty seconds before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him in front of Grif and all of the Redstone family
members who had gathered in the dining room.

“Okay,” she whispered against his lips as she drew slowly away.

“Great,” Grif broke in. “Then it’s settled. Welcome to the Clan, Alpha Snowcat.”

Slade cringed a little at the title. Not that he wasn’t an Alpha snowcat, but he’d become so used to hiding his dual nature, it seemed odd to have it said out in the open like that. In a Clan like the one Redstone oversaw, with so many different kinds of shifters in it, there were designated Alphas for each species. Since Slade was the only snowcat—and likely would be until he and Kate started their family—he was it. And if they didn’t already know after his appearance at the construction site last night, the whole Clan would soon realize there was a rare and mystical snowcat in their midst.

Good thing he was mated to a priestess. When people started showing up looking for spiritual counseling, he could always call on Kate’s expertise to help. In fact, he suspected they were going to make a great team.

Everyone took their seats and Slade released Kate so she could sit on the chair by his side. They began eating and conversation turned more general until Grif startled Kate with his next words.

“I spoke with Johan Hager early this morning and extended visitor’s rights to him and his immediate family. He tells me that you, Kate, are his long-lost granddaughter.”

Kate cleared her throat before answering. “So I was told this morning.” She seemed uncomfortable talking about the subject
that was so new and unfamiliar to her. Slade took her hand under the table, offering comfort.

Matt laughed from midway down the table, drawing their attention.

“What’s so funny, little brother?” Grif asked, seeming intrigued by the youngest brother’s reaction.

“I was just thinking of that old children’s
story. We now have our own real life version of
The Owl and the Pussycat
.”

Slade groaned as the others chuckled. It was good to hear laughter—even the subdued kind—
in this house that had seen so much tragedy of late.

Later that afternoon when they’d taken their leave of the Redstones and found their way back to Kate’s pretty little house, Kate reopened the topic of his move.

“It was kind of you to uproot yourself and move here to be with me, but are you absolutely certain that’s what you want? I can just as easily move to be where you are.”

“While I appreciate the offer, we both know you’re needed here right now and for the foreseeable future. This Clan needs you like no other, Kate. I couldn’t ask you to leave them. It wouldn’t be fair to you or to them.” He kissed her brow, loving the feel of her in his arms. “Besides, I might be able to help too. I have a lot of skills that a Clan this large and diverse can use. And now that I’ve found you, my roaming days are over. This is as good a place to settle as any. Better than most, in fact. I already like the people and best of all, you’re here and you’ve already decorated a guest room for my great-grandmother.” He dodged her hands as she tried to tickle him.

They laughed and he felt the freeing feeling of hope for the future bubbling up from his soul. She was good for him and he swore to the Goddess they both served that he would do all in his power to make Kate’s life as fun-filled, happy and loving as he could possibly manage.

“I love you, Kate.” He nuzzled her cheek and took her down to the couch in her sparsely decorated living room. There was still a lot to do to make this house a home, but with Kate in it, the hardest part was already solved.

“I love you too,” she whispered
, and that was the last thing either of them said for quite some time while they christened the comfy new couch in the most delicious way
.

# # #

A Word From Bianca D’Arc

About Her Paranormal Series

Since I started writing paranormal romances in 2005, much has happened behind-the-scenes to affect the way in which these stories have been released. Originally, there were two very separate series—the
Brotherhood of Blood
for vampires, and the
Tales of the Were
for werewolves and their werecreature friends.

The
main reason for this separation was that each series was with a different publisher. The publisher that originally had my vampire short stories and novellas went out of business some years ago and I began the process of bringing those stories over to Samhain Publishing, which had been publishing my
Tales of the Were
novels. I took the vampire short stories and novellas, expanded them—in some cases significantly—and republished them with Samhain, where they remain as of this writing. Those stories are:
One & Only
,
Rare Vintage
, and
Phantom Desires
.

I have since added to that series at Samhain with the novella
Forever Valentine
and the crossover novel,
Sweeter Than Wine
, which is the point where it became quite obvious that all of these stories happened in the same contemporary paranormal world. Matt Redstone plays a significant part in that book.