The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate (20 page)

never really truly bonded like family. But we want to change that. We

don’t want something like this ever happening again.”

“If you want, of course,” Knox said hastily. “We’d understand if

you were reluctant to have anything to do with us.” He threw a gaze

toward Anson and Reed. “After all, you have a new family now.”

“Whatever happens, you’ll always be my siblings.” Paris was

shocked that they seemed to have the same concerns he had. “I’ve

wanted to reach out to you, but I was worried you hated me.”

“We don’t hate you,” Tucker replied. “It’s just circumstances that

kept us from acting like we should have. I know that’s no excuse

but—”

“It’s all right,” Paris caught his brother off. “Water under the

bridge.”

Already feeling a bit better, Paris stole another look at his

mother’s grave. He was ready to let go. In many ways, she had shaped

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

123

the way he’d grown up and had kept him from having a true pack. But

maybe without her manipulative ways, he’d never have met Jace.

“I very much doubt that, sweetheart,”
Jace said through their

bond, coming closer to him.
“We were meant to be together.”

Paris offered his mate a small smile and nodded. His brothers

looked curious, obviously guessing Paris and Jace were using mind

speech. Before they could ask, though, Alpha Marrow cleared his

throat. “Perhaps we should go,” he suggested. He eyed Paris and his

children in an uncharacteristic show of uncertainty. Paris couldn’t tell,

but maybe Alpha Marrow would have liked to strike a truce with

Paris as well.

Nevertheless, it was far too soon to consider becoming friends

with the man he’d once considered his father. Paris’s emotions were

still divided where Alpha Marrow was concerned, as for many years,

the man had allowed Aria to do whatever the hell she wanted. Still, it

was his warning that had brought Paris and his father help during

Aria’s first attack. It might not be a bad idea to reach out to the Alpha,

especially since it was Paris’s deepest wish to let go of the past and

start anew.

“Yes, Alpha Marrow,” he said. “And while we are here, I must

thank you for letting Alpha Wade know of Aria’s plan against me. I

never had the chance to tell you this until now, but I do appreciate it.”

“It was the least I could do,” the Alpha replied. He seemed

surprised by Paris’s tentative friendliness, but he took it all in stride.

“Now come. We should head back to the mansion.”

“I agree,” Elder Wade said. “I believe there are many guests

waiting, concerned for your well-being.”

Paris couldn’t agree more. It was time to leave the past behind and

focus on the future. Everyone followed behind Alpha Marrow and

Elder Wade, exiting the grove that was now Aria’s final resting place.

The walk to the mansion was quiet, all those present lost in their

thoughts. For his part, Paris was missing Daire, and he knew Jace felt

the same. Ever since the little warlock had appeared in their lives,

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he’d become like another part of them. Paris and Jace were already

talking to Skylar Cunningham, hoping to make arrangements so that

they could officially adopt Daire. According to Sterling, Daire’s real

parents had been the ones to offer him as a vessel for Tyrell, and

while the Sidhe had been willing to take Daire in himself, he’d gladly

stepped down at Paris and Jace’s insistence.

The best thing was that the Sidhe had also healed the injury

Daire’s body had sustained during Tyrell’s attack on Isaac.

Apparently, the magic that Winter’s people could wield was stronger

than Paris had ever imagined. There was even a special healing area

used for more serious cases, called the Silver Pool. Courtesy of that

power, Daire could walk again.

Of course, the wounds marking Daire’s soul wouldn’t heal so

easily, but Paris thought that he and his mate could help. The little

warlock was so very brave, and he raised every protective instinct

inside Paris. Hell, Daire had actually wanted to come to the funeral,

wanting to offer his support, but in the end, Paris and Jace had

decided the last thing the young warlock needed was to be reminded

of the trauma he’d gone through. Therefore, he had left Daire at

Alpha Marrow’s mansion, together with the rest of their family and

friends.

“He’s a great kid,”
Jace told him.
“It will take some time, but

we’ll help him.”

Paris nodded at his mate. Already he was anticipating his new life

with his new family. It should have seemed a bit strange, since he’d

just left a funeral, but these days, Paris had gotten used to his

conflicting emotions. The pain of loss had been pushed aside,

shadowed by the joy of having Jace and Daire close.

Soon, the group reached the mansion and found several people

waiting in the courtyard. Jace’s parents and siblings, as well as his

uncles, Isaac and Brody, were there. There seemed to be quite a bit of

tension between Elder Wade and the rest of his family since the Elder

had attempted to intrude in Isaac’s and Melanie’s lives with

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125

dangerous consequences. Even Jace had kept his distance from his

grandfather, and while he was polite, he also avoided any close

contact.

Paris knew that the situation pained Jace and needed to be dealt

with soon. However, for the moment, he let it go and instead went to

where the Mckennas were waiting.

Daire sat in the grass, playing with Corbin’s newborn son,

Lamont. He laughed gaily as the small white lynx pounced on him,

rubbing his furry head against Daire’s chin. Winter and Corbin

watched over the two with indulgent expressions.

As it turned out, Winter and Corbin’s son had been born in shifted

form. It had been very unexpected, but apparently, one could never be

certain which form half-breeds would take upon birth. Layton and

Morgan, for example, had been born in shifter form, but Layton’s son,

Shea, had come to the world in human form. It seemed to depend a lot

on the genetic compatibility between species. For Paris, it was all very

confusing, and he couldn’t imagine how odd it must have been for

Winter to birth a lynx. Not only that, but unlike in the cases any other

lynxes Paris had seen, Lamont’s coat was also snow white, a

consequence of his Sidhe ancestry. In fact, in spite of his outside

appearance, he’d already exhibited signs of having magic.

To a certain extent, Paris had been surprised by Winter and

Corbin’s visit since he had expected Sterling Tomacelli to keep them

close to home for a while longer. He’d then realized that, most likely,

Lamont would remain in lynx form for a whole year, which might

make the Sidhe uncomfortable. In the meantime, Corbin’s brother and

parents had also arrived. They lavished their concern on Winter and

Corbin, but were also very thankful and affectionate toward Jace and

Paris. Paris was very happy to have them all here. Daire seemed to

like Lamont a lot—or maybe he just wanted a pet. Either way, he

smiled more when the little white lynx was around and was more

open to displays of affection. In spite of his protectiveness, Paris

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knew Daire would be safe with his friends should problematic

circumstances like this funeral ever emerge again.

Daire looked up, and when he saw Paris and Jace, he immediately

shot to his feet. He rushed toward them, still holding Lamont in his

arms. “Is everything okay now?” he inquired.

“Of course, honey.” Paris knelt next to Daire and ruffled the little

warlock’s hair. “Everything’s just fine.”

The moment might have been even a little solemn, but then,

Lamont bit Daire’s chin and Daire huffed, placing the little lynx on

the ground. Paris couldn’t help it. He burst into laughter. It was hardly

appropriate given the circumstances, but suddenly, he realized that

there would be no more tears in the future. Oh, he didn’t doubt that

he’d have to face many challenges, but he would take it all on with a

smile on his face. He considered himself lucky that he’d found a soul

mate who had taught him the true meaning of love and a son who

could show him affection in spite of being so hurt before. Most

importantly, he was no longer afraid, and he would fight for his new

family, come what may.

THE END

WWW.SCARLETHYACINTH.WEBS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native Romanian, Scarlet was born in 1986 and grew up an avid

fan of Karl May and Jules Verne, reading fantasy stories and

adventure. Later, when she was out of fantasy stories to read, she

delved into her mother’s collection of books and, of course, stumbled

onto romance.

As a writer though, Scarlet Hyacinth was born one sunny summer

day, when a dear friend of hers—the same friend who introduced her

to GLBT fiction—proposed they start writing a story of their own. As

it turns out, the two friends never did finish that particular story, but

Scarlet discovered she had a knack for writing and ended up starting

to write individually. And so, between working on her dissertation,

studying for exams, and reading yaoi manga, she started writing the

Kaldor Saga. Along the way, Scarlet met a lot of wonderful people

who supported her, and in the end, she found her story a home and, in

the process, fulfilled a beautiful dream.

For all titles by Scarlet Hyacinth, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/scarlet-hyacinth

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com