Page 38 of Stealing Sloane

Sloane put her hands down and spun around. Stella was brushing bits of grass from her hair as Cliff put his shirt back on. “Oh God,” she groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Jacob asked.

“Stella and I are twins. Which means Cliff knows what I look like naked.”

“Hey, guys! What’s going on?” Stella said cheerfully.

“I should ask you the same.” Sloane smirked at her. “How’s training?”

“Uh … good,” she said sheepishly. “I can shift into my wolf, but going back to human form is harder. Cliff has to coax me back.”

With his dick?Sloane snickered to herself.

“How did you find us?” Cliff asked.

“Grams,” Jacob said. “Though she said you were ‘training.’ Sloane wanted to check on you.”

“I guess you’re doing just fine,” she chortled. “Anyway, what is there to do around here?” She was eager to forget what just happened and change the subject, and from the look on Stella’s face, so was she.

Cliff wiped his palms on the front of his pants. “Lots. How about a tour?”

Cliff and Jacob took them on a tour of the entire ranch. Sloane actually thought it was interesting that aside from being an actual farm, the Alpha of Shenandoah also worked with Lycans who had a hard time controlling their wolves. In fact, his program was so successful that many Alphas from all over the world sent their Lycans there for rehab or retraining.

They finished around early evening, then hurried back to the house for dinner, which was another boisterous affair. It was easy to see that the Shenandoah wolves were a very close-knit family, and Sloane was glad they had welcomed Stella with open arms. Of course, they were all excited that she and Cliff would be adding more members to their growing family. After dinner, when Sloane offered to help clean up, Lily would not hear of it, and invited her and Stella to relax with her on the porch while the boys and Jack did the dishes.

“I made my hot chocolate,” Lily said as she joined them outside, a tray with three mugs in her hands.

“That smells amazing.” Stella took a deep breath. “Cinnamon, peppermint, and nutmeg.”

“That’s right.” She sat between them and placed the tray on her lap. “I’m glad you’re putting your Lycan nose to use.”

“It’s amazing, really.” Stella nodded gratefully as she accepted the mug. “It’s like, this entire time, my senses havebeen dulled. I’m so glad I decided to come here, thank you for letting me stay.”

Lily smiled warmly at her. “Honestly, it’s like seeing my grandchildren go through the change again. I loved having all of them come here during the summers.” She glanced down at Stella’s stomach. “And I’m looking forward to holding some pups again.”

Stella placed a hand over her belly. “I still can’t believe I’m having a baby. It all seems too fast.”

“It’s only gonna get faster and soon the baby will be here.” Lily chuckled. “Or babies. It seems twins run in both sides of the family.”

Stella paled. “I almost forgot. Cliff’s dad is a twin too. I met him on our stopover in New York. Very quiet and polite, and of course his mom was amazing. He didn’t warn me that she was Evie King, the famous composer and Broadway actress. Cliff probably forgot I’m a music teacher, and so, I almost died right there. When I was a kid, I listened to that soundtrack of the princess movie she was in all the time.”

“Men, they never remember the little details,” Lily said with a knowing smile. “My boys are quite different but …” She trailed off, her face turning somber. “They explained everything to you, right? About how they were separated?—”

“Yes.” Stella placed a hand on Lily’s knee. “And it was a long time ago, right?” She glanced over at Sloane meaningfully. “And it’s good to know that things worked out for them.”

“And it’ll work out for us too.” Sloane didn’t know if they would, but they felt like they were the right words to say. It was obvious that Lily was still guilty about the whole thing with her son being kidnapped and separated.

“Cliff tells me you were a big part of his life. All their lives actually,” Stella said. “That you accepted his aunt and uncles even though they weren’t biologically related.”

“Of course. Connor said they were his siblings, and so they’re family, blood or not.” A wistful expression passed over her face. “It was wonderful, having the farm crawling with pups. Each one of them was special.”

“We’re all done.” Cliff appeared in the doorway. “Wanna go for a walk, Stel?”

“That sounds lovely.”

“A ‘walk,’” Sloane snickered. “Sure.”

Stella smirked at her. “Just a lovely moonlit stroll. Good night, see you all in the morning.”

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