Page 42 of Cats and Dogs

Epilogue

It was strange to be back home, when he’d left a few days ago certain he wouldn’t ever return. And it was stranger yet to have the Wyvern there. People who’d been enemies to the Vergas a little while back. But above all, it was strange to have Christine inside his home.

Strange, because she fit. Somehow, the submissive feline shifter fit in his world.

He found her standing at the back of the house, watching the gardens. Gwen’s favorite place in the house, no doubt because it was the closest to an exit.

“I’m going to have to stay here and help my brother,” he told her. “But I’d love to see Lola, when things are settled.”

She smiled and nodded. “Sure. I guessed you would,” she replied. The smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Too bad. I never got to show you to the house.” This time, her eyes did twinkle a little, and he smiled back, before closing the distance between them, and taking her in his arms, squeezing hard. His lips kissed her forehead and he smelled her hair, committing the scent to memory. There was shit in the mix, but it was still the best smell in the world.

He’d miss it. How could he think about missing a female he didn’t even know? A woman he’d just met.

“Next time. And the time after that. Maybe the time after, too. I plan to visit Lola a lot.”

She laughed. “Well, I could bring her to you for a day here and there, you know.”

“Oh my god, I’m gonna pull my hair out. I can’t stand this. Are we that disgusting?” Ace asked.

“No way,” Rye said, just as everyone else, Jason included, replied, “Yes. You are.”

“Anyway, as you haven’t had the time to bond yet, and you’re both blind as fuck, let me spell it out for you. Chris, meet Hunter Force, he’s your mate. Hunter, here’s Christine Taylor. She’s your mate.” The world stopped spinning. His heart stopped and started again when his eyes took in the woman in his arms. Mate. He was fucking stupid. Of course she was.

Ace continued talking as if his world hadn’t just changed dramatically, now revolving around her. “So you guys living in different states is never going to work out. And, as we’re not giving up Chris, you’re going to have to join our pride. Sorry. Deal with it.”

Of course. Of course he must join the pride, for her.

“Sure, I mean, Jason—” can manage on his own. That’s what he had been about to say, when Christine said.

“No, no way. Look, I actually guessed we might be mates from the very start. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Your family needs you? Great. Stay here, help Jason run the place, watch his back for a while. Then, we can get to know each other and reassess when we do, ‘kay?”

She was fucking perfect. And adorable. And he needed to kiss her right now, so he did just that. Her mouth was delicious. So was her neck, so he kissed it, too, and then trailed kisses along it. He could have carried on until the end of time, but the woman reminded him, “Stop. We stink. How about you show me to your shower?”

That was a fucking fantastic idea. Hunter bent to hook his arm around her knees and put his other one behind her back, before running to his bedroom, carrying her to his en suite bathroom.

Jason’s money had been well-spent in the remodeling of this place; his shower could easily fit the two of them. As he put her down to let her get back to her feet, she peeled his clothes off his back. Hunter unhooked the button of her jeans and slid them down her sexy thighs as she removed her t-shirt and bra. She was so fucking perfect. His mouth went around her plump nipples and sucked as his fingers caressed her inner thighs, up to the apex of her legs. He pushed her panties aside and curved a finger inside her heat. She moaned in pleasure, once, and moved away, a teasing smile on her lips as she ran to the shower and kept the glass door closed, locking herself inside.

Chase. He and his wolf leaped, and practically growled, “Let me in.”

She tilted her head. “Isn’t that what wolves always say before they huff, puff, and blow the house down?”

“Let me in, and I’ll blow your mind by sucking your clit until you’re screaming my name, mate.”

That worked. She pushed the door open and hooked her arms around his neck, repeating. “Mate.”

Hunter got on his knees and parted her thighs before doing just what he’d promised.

He didn’t know how he could let her go, that day. So the moment she left, he wrote a text. She replied immediately to that one, and every other one he sent, to let her know he missed her, or to ask her what colors she liked.

When he and Jason interviewed new potential enforcers - people Jason could trust - he got bored and asked her about her progress with the cabin. She sent pictures. They’d finished the walls.

That weekend, she came to them, accompanied by Jas and Coveney. Jas loved to get under Jason’s skin, so that was always fun. The following weekend, he went to her, and they worked on another one of the cabins. Rye and Ace had decided to revamp all of them. Now that the Vergas weren’t a pressing concern, it made sense for those who wanted to, to be able to live outside of the pride house. They’d still converge there for communal meals and to chill with everyone, but shifters liked their privacy, especially the couples.

Before they knew it, a year had passed. Lola had started to call Hunter Daddy, which was what she called all Wyvern males. He couldn’t love that little girl any more. The other kids were also a lot of fun.

He knew he would be happy when it was time to join the pride, but he’d miss his brother. He’d feel like he was abandoning him, too; there was so much work to do with the Vergas pack.

One evening when they were all assembled at the main pride house, Ace appeared in front of them, holding a piece of paper.

---