Page 90 of Fire Bound

She stands there, trying her best to keep her face impassive, but unfortunately, Isabeau is the master of that look. Winnie can try as hard as she wants, but she still looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

Jax plunks down in thearmchair that’s between us. His head whips back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match as he waits for one of us to break our tense staring contest.

The shrill sound of an infant crying down the hallway has her breaking my impatient stare with a defeated sigh. "Those families were all good people. I actually liked all of them, but I couldn’t give Jasper to them. They weren’t right for him."

"Jasper?" Jax repeats for me, cocking his head.

"Yes, that’s what we’ve been calling him. I don’t know where it came from, but it fits him." The soft smile that forms on her mouth doesn’t go unnoticed as she talks about the baby.

"How could a clan of other leopard shifters not be right for him?" I question. "He would have fit right in there."

The baby—Jasper—also has warlock genes, but we won’t know what kind of power he possesses until he’s much older. The clan in California wasn’t concerned about his mixed DNA. None of the gracious people that took in the kids cared, all they saw were children that had rough starts to life and needed homes. The selflessness I witnessed over the past nine months has been heartwarming. The outpouring of support for the victims of Sterling has been astronomical. People were appalled when they learned what had been going on in the shadows, and so many wanted to help.

Ranger appears from the hallway with a small infant in his arms. "They weren’t right because they weren’t us."

Winslow’s face lights up when she sees them. Like a magnet, she’s drawn to the admittedly adorable pair and glides across the space to stand closer. "We were trying to buy time until we were sure, but now we are." She runs a finger down the little boy’s face, her signature chipped black nail polish in place.

I have a feeling I know where this is going but need to confirm it. "Sure ofwhat,exactly?"

"He belongs here with us." Winnie looks over her shoulder at me. "I don’t know how to explain it, but when I look at him, I know he’s ours. I wasn’t sure I wanted kids or was ready for them, but the idea of passing him off to one of those other families made my heart hurt."

Ranger shifts the baby on his chest. This is the second time in two years I’ve seen my brother with a baby, and just like last time, he’s a total natural. He’s at complete ease holding such a fragile life in his hands. Ranger’s face sets with determination. "He’s our son. Jasper is our son."

I look between the two of them for a second before throwing my hands up in frustration. "Well fuck, you guys. If he already had a home, I could have stopped looking for one for him weeks ago." I drop my hands and rest them on my hips. "Send a text or something next time so I don’t have to come hunt you guys down."

Winslow gives me a sheepish apology, but it’s clear she’s irrationally happy right now and can’t be bothered to feel that bad. I can’t blame her, I too, am that happy.

With a long exhale, I walk toward the new little family. "Alright, hand him over so I can meet my new nephew.”

Three Months Later

Jax

The knife fliesthrough the air right in front of my nose before sinking into the bark of the nearby tree with athud. With an amused smirk, I take another bite of my apple before turning my attention to the knife thrower.

“You missed.”

“I never miss,” Isabeau argues, and just to prove a point, she throws another knife. This time it pierces the apple in my hand. The piece of fruit flies out of my grip and ends up impaled on the same tree. “See? I find it rude you would insinuate otherwise.”

Frowning at what was once my snack, I tell her, “It was a joke, but I know how those have a tendency to fly over your head.”

She flips a knife around her hand in a move I can only assume would slice my fingers off if I tried it. I’m not a novice when it comes to weapons, but I’ll never be as skilled with them as Beau is. There was no point in training me in the art of knives or firearms when my weapon was my flames. Though my flames haven’t been used as a weapon since the night Sterling died.

There hasn’t been a reason to. For the first time in my life, I have peace. For the first time in my life, there aren’t men out there that want me dead or people I want to see dead.

“I understand jokes, I just don’t find you funny.” Beau tucks the blade safely in the leather holster on her thigh. “What are you doing back here? I thought you guys were supposed to be in…” She pauses for a second, thinking over her answer. “I want to say Australia.”

It’s been eight months of traveling the world with my mate and I’m still not ready for it to end. Every day is new and exciting, and every day Remington wakes up with a smile on her face because of it. I know what it’s like to see her struggle to smile and now that she does it so freely and easily, it’s something I’ll never take for granted again. It’s also something I’ll do everything in my power to protect.

As long as she’s happy traveling and seeing all these amazing places, we’ll continue to do it, but the second she decides she’s had enough, we’ll find the place we’re supposed to settle down. Whether it’s here in Montana or somewhere tropical, I don’t care. I just want to be in the place that makes her smile the most.

“Argentina,” I correct. It’s hard to keep it all straight. I’m not even sure where we’re going to be next week. “And we’re back because Winslow and Pruitt kept sending Remi baby pictures and I think she was feeling left out.”

Beau shakes her head, and a small laugh escapes her. “How did we get here? How are we these people?” she questions aloud, a twinge of disbelief in her voice. “I was the girl who needed nothing and no one, but now I’m a mate and wife. And anaunt. The oddest part of all of this is I enjoy it. I enjoy being a part of this family.”

I jokingly tell her, “You’re growing soft, Isabeau.”

Those eyes, the same color as an arctic glacier narrow at me. “Take that back.”

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