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“Yeah.” I immediately set my empty mug down and hurried into the bedroom to undress.
I met the four of them back on the deck, all naked. It was a tempting view, but my wolf had a one-track mind that overruled my human desire.
“Let’s go,” Javi called before turning and taking off at a jog, shifting seamlessly into his wolf midstride.
Derek went next, then Cruz.
Marco stopped next to me and grinned. “Come on, princess.”
I smiled back at him and started running, letting the feeling I’d repressed for over a decade to the surface. My body could finally do what came as naturally as breathing. I hit the dewy grass with four paws and sprang past the guys and took lead, weaving through the trees on a familiar path.
It’d taken three months for me to let my wolf close enough to the surface to even consider the possibility of shifting, but I was safe now. I didn’t have to hide who I was. I didn’t have to pretend to be weak or broken.
With my men, I was free to be who I was always meant to be. Strong. Powerful. Fast.
A wolf without bounds.
No Pack to govern me. No possessive, greedy men to claim my body for what it could give them. For the first time, I truly had full control over my body and decisions.
I still didn’t want to have children, something the guys agreed with, but freeing my wolf was one of the best parts of escaping the Velez.
Running with my new Pack, my chosen family, was more than I could have ever dreamed.
FOUR YEARS LATER
His blue eyes held mine. We were transfixed by each other, or maybe we were having a staring contest. I couldn’t ask yet. It would take another year or two for him to tell me what he was thinking, but I knew one thing for certain. He was perfection.
Teeny, tiny toes and fingers. Fuzzy golden hair. Long wrinkly legs he preferred to kick straight out, and arms that flailed like he had no idea they were attached to him.
Overall, as babies go, he was pretty damned cute.
I was a bit biased, though, having helped birth him and all. Plus, his mom let me pick out his middle name. Theo Emmet, a small nod to my previous identity.
“I think you’re going to win, Theo.” I fought against the urge, but the burning was too much. I blinked.
I swear he smiled.
“You got me,” I cooed.
“I don’t think he’s ever lost.” Cruz leaned against the doorframe of the nursery with a smile. “He got me twice last night.”
“You don’t think it’s the vampire in him?” I trailed my finger down his forehead and nose, finally getting the angel to close his eyes.
“Babe, they breathe and eat and blink just like everyone else.”
I hummed. I wasn’t so sure about that. Even after meeting dozens in the last few years, I was still suspicious they were keeping things from us. Abilities beyond what shifters and witches knew.
“The beginners self-defense class is going to start in a few minutes. Johnny wanted me to find you in case you forgot, or found a distraction,” he teased as he crossed into the room. I stood from the glider and passed the baby to his waiting arms.
“Oh, like you two aren’t just as obsessed.” I smiled down at Theo, who was ready for his next challenger, his eyes locked on Cruz’s face.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a little one around. I forgot how much I like them.”
I stretched my arms over my head, a bit stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. “You love playing with the toddlers.”
He grinned. “I do. They’re so easily influenced. You mention they should gang up and tackle Arlo, and they do.”
“No, they’re easily entertained. Like you.” I lifted to my toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you for swim lessons, right? Step one, don’t walk along the bottom thinking the ability will just kick in.”
