Before Tessa could respond, Devlyn stalked toward her and hugged her soundly. “You and Michael are my cousins. If you ever need me or my pack for anything, we’re family and you only have to call. Come see us. You’re welcome anytime.”
Family. The sound was like the caress of the waves stroking the beach, comforting, encompassing. First, Hunter and his family, and now Devlyn. “We’d be happy to visit with Bella and the rest of your pack.”
Even though she hadn’t been sure that she could fit in with the world of werewolves and their ilk, as long as her brother was along for the ride, and Hunter was her mate, she was one happy lupus garou. She glanced at the kitchen window and saw Hunter watching her, protective as ever. She guessed he and Devlyn had made tentative amends, but she could tell Devlyn wasn’t totally satisfied.
Hunter kept an eye on Devlyn through the kitchen window, not liking that he’d hugged Tessa in a warm embrace, even if they were cousins. The word “distant,” came to mind. Very distant. And his own mate was a redhead… so, Hunter just didn’t care for it one bit.
“Come on, Meara. Change into the wolf so I can paint you,” Michael said, following her into the kitchen.
“Hunter,” Meara said, waving a magazine, “Uncle Basil advertised in this and said that’s where he gets most of the reservations for the cabins. There’s nothing in the advertisement encouraging alpha males to come here. I mean, there’s no indication that they’ll find me here. Hunter, are you listening to me?”
Hunter continued to watch Devlyn as he spoke further to Tessa. He’d expected Devlyn to be madder about him taking Tessa for his mate without first getting permission. But Devlyn had revealed how he’d gone after Bella, the alpha leader’s chosen mate, and for the most part, understood Hunter’s feelings. Although an undercurrent of misgiving was still evident.
“Was he very mad?” Meara asked Hunter.
“Devlyn? No. Everything is as it should be.” As long as Hunter had Tessa, nothing else mattered.
“Not until you find me a mate, dear brother.” She shoved the magazine at his chest. “Fix the ad or else I will. And you never know what I might offer.”
Michael said, “Meara, just shapeshift for a little while. Please? An hour or two? I’ve never seen a wolf who’s as beautiful as you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Michael, give it a rest. I’ve got better things to do than pose for a painting for several hours. Take a picture of me the next time I shapeshift and paint that.”
“It’s not the same.”
Ashton, Rourke, and Cara entered the living room and Michael whipped around, targeting them. “Will you change into wolves so I can paint you? Just think, immortalized forever and—”
“Come on, Cara,” Ashton said. “My father’s home is mine now. I need to take care of some business there.”
“How do you feel?” Cara asked him, her hand stroking his arm.
“Like it’s all so unreal. I guess deep down I suspected Dad knew I was seeing Bethany, but I didn’t realize how much he hated her.”
“That day when you ran after Hunter and Rourke and left us alone—“
“I had to know if they’d discover who the murderer was. I felt terrible I left you, Tessa, and Meara to fend for yourselves, but I had to know.“ He glanced at Michael and raised his brows. “Bring your paints.”
Michael grinned from ear to ear. “You bet.” He hurried off to the office.
“Watch them, Cara,” Hunter warned.Hell, having so many new lupus garous under several different roofs… He shook his head. Yet, with Ashton’s father’s arrest, Ashton had finally become more of a man. The notion of being a Navy SEAL was forgotten though. Cara liked his long blond hair way too much, but he was looking into becoming a police officer. And Cara seemed to love him all the more.
Rourke joined Hunter and Meara as the others left the house. “I’ve got to run by the newspaper office and leave off some reports. We’re taking Devlyn to the airport, right, Meara?”
Meara nodded. “He says four of his male cousins are unmated and might like to vacation here.” She cast Hunter an interested look.
He grunted.
She stood straighter and folded her arms. “He said they manage his affairs when he’s away. Although, Tanner, the one he mentioned most, prefers redheads.”
Hunter took his eyes off Devlyn. “He’s not coming here.”
Meara gave him a devilish smirk. “Uncle Basil called and said he’d heard about our bad storms, but couldn’t get through. He wanted to know if you took care of Tessa.”
“Eliminated the threat. Right.”
“Yeah. To her. He figured once the two of you met, you’d keep her safe. Not like he could.”
Hunter shook his head. “Uncle Basil could have been less cryptic.” He yanked open the back door and headed for Tessa and Devlyn.
Devlyn stepped back, a knowing look on his face, acknowledging the possessive alpha male who wants another to stay clear, no matter the familial connection.
“I found the gold,” Tessa said, her face beaming, her green eyes sparkling like crystal gems. “But the greatest treasure of all is finding family and becoming your mate.” She reached to take Hunter into her arms, but he moved to do so first.
And with one fell swoop, he lifted her in his arms and headed back to the house. “Meara says your flight leaves soon,” Hunter said over his shoulder to a bemused Devlyn. “Better not miss it. And by the way, if your cousins are alphas, they’re welcome to stay at our resort. All except for Tanner.”
A small smile brightened Devlyn’s face, and he even managed a dark chuckle.
“Why not Tanner?” Tessa asked.
“He likes redheads.”
Tessa said her good-byes to Devlyn, although Hunter hovered nearby, menacingly threatening. But once everyone was gone, the house was nice and quiet—time to show Tessa how important she was to Hunter.
She headed for the heater and turned it on. No response.
She rubbed her arms while Hunter flipped on a light switch. “Electricity’s working.” He opened the closet and checked the circuit breaker. “Circuit breaker’s tripped.” He flipped it back, but as soon as Tessa tried the heater again, it tripped the circuit breaker. Hunter growled. “The brothers Grimm fixed it, right? So much for their being electricians.” Hunter lifted Tessa into his arms and stalked toward the bedroom.
“Shoot, Hunter, at this rate you’ll never get me out of those pajamas—not until spring at least.”
His chuckle was deep and dark and silkily seductive. “In your dreams, sweet Tessa. In your dreams.”
The End