Page 46 of My Mate

“I am not leaving, but my potions will have a protection spell placed on them, and from this point onward, I will not share anything. Now, if you don’t mind me, I’m going to enjoy some soup that just needs a little hot sauce.” Lucinda turned on her heel, and Dex looked toward his woman.

“I can turn into a wolf. Did you see that?” Casey asked.

“I saw.”

“Do you think you can … run? That you and I can run? I won’t get much chance. Not when the baby grows a little bigger.”

He smiled. “We can run. How about you have a head start, and I will chase you?”

Casey smiled and then she took off.

Dex frowned and turned to look in the direction of Lucinda, only to nearly jump back as she was standing so close to him.

“You have a question,” she said.

He stared at her and she raised a brow.

“You like doing that, don’t you? You like freaking peopleout.”

“I find it rather pleasurable, yes.” She gave him a soft smile.

“The premonition didn’t play out the way I thought it would,” he said.

“Of course not. It’s a guide, Dex. It always has been. Sometimes it helps to give you the push you need, to make decisions you have to make. Now, don’t think too much about it. Trust me, it will drive you crazy.”

And with that, Lucinda was gone and he was able to go chasing after his mate. There was no way he was going to listen or allow another premonition to get in his way again.

He had Casey, and that was all he needed.

Epilogue

Ten Years Later

Casey glanced around the table and there were plenty of seats set up. They had two tables—one for the adults, one for the children.

Christmas music played in the background, and she heard laughter and merriment coming from the sitting room.

“I thought I might find you here,” Dex said, wrapping his arms around her once again swollen stomach.

She put her hands on top of his and sunk against him. “I’m just, you know, checking to make sure everything is set up.”

“This is not our first Christmas hosting. You need to stop stressing.”

In the past ten years, she had hosted Christmas three times. Her mother had also done it three times, Dex’s parents had hosted once, and Lucinda had hosted twice.

Ever since Joanna’s plot to try and remove her from Dex’s life, Lucinda had made an effort to become part of the pack. She didn’t turn into a wolf, but she became friendlier with everyone. She visited town more often, joined in on holiday events. As for Joanna, her punishment was to be banished from the pack. Even her own family had been embarrassed by what had happened. They had also pledged to leave the pack out of embarrassment of their daughter. Klaus wouldn’t let them leave. There was no bad blood.

The moment Joanna crossed the town line, she would never be able to find this place again. Lucinda had made sure of it.

She was also not able to talk about the pack, and there was no way any other witch or warlock could uncover any secrets. Lucinda had made sure of it.

As for Casey, in the last ten years, she had married Dex,mated with Dex, given birth to three babies, was pregnant with their fourth, giving her wolf the freedom she needed.

Their family was growing, and their parents were amazing grandparents. Their kids were happy, and so were they.

Klaus had also thanked her for not turning to magic to help fix things. Lucinda had told her that one of the premonitions or visions had been the result of Casey giving in to seeking magic. If she had done that, the cost would have been Dex’s life.

As much as she wanted to be one with her wolf, she would never sacrifice the love she had for Dex to get it. She would have gone without her wolf.

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