Claiming Shayla

Epilogue

Rory stared at his brother, a half smile on his face.

“Your mate is a nag,” Kian telepathed.

“She loves your mangy butt. God only knows why,” Rory said.

Kian glared at him. “This isn’t funny. She keeps hounding me to let Alex’s staff at the clinic look at my throat.”

Rory leaned back in his office chair. “And…”

He knew why Kian hadn’t before, but none of those reasons were valid now. After Laurie Bell—four weeks later and Rory still couldn’t think of her without his wolf bristling—had made her confession, they knew the cause of Kian’s defect had nothing to do with genetics but was simply an injury caused in his infancy. One that could possibly be corrected. Since Refuge had a top-rate, fully equipped medical emergency center staffed with people who knew about shifters, most of whom were shifters themselves, there went Kian’s only other reason for refusing.

“I’m doing it,” his brother snarled in his head. “It’s the only way I’ll get any peace.”

Smiling, Rory asked, “Want me to come with you and hold your hand?”

The heat in his brother’s gaze should have scorched him. “You want me to rip out your throat?”

Arching his left eyebrow, Rory reminded Kian, “You can try, but if you succeed, you’ll be stuck running the pack by yourself.”

Kian’s chest vibrated in a growl only Rory could hear. “Should have drowned you as a pup.”

“Then you’d be alpha now instead of coalpha,” Rory stated with unconcealed devilment, relishing having his brother in his rightful position, both in the business and the pack.

Snatching up his hardhat and clipboard off his desk, Kian gave Rory a look of disgust and stalked out the office door.

Rory stared unseeing at the empty doorway, the joviality of the moment fading away as concern took its place. He hoped for his brother’s sake that things would work out well, fearing that disappointment would crush Kian and send him back into his lone-wolf shell.

At least one good thing had come out of the mess last month. Rory had his brother back as an active part of his life. No more did Kian hide in the shadows. Not only that, but after what they’d done to Laurie Bell, the pack no longer looked on his brother with disdain. Instead their actions had instilled a healthy level of fear and respect in all of them.

Hours later Rory was knee-deep in the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated since Shayla’s arrival. He glanced up, irritated, when the door opened and a spill of sunlight fell across his desk. Damn place was busier today than an inner-city bus station.

MacDougal entered the office, followed by Ashley. “You got a minute?”

With an inward sigh, Rory tossed his pen on a stack of papers. “Yeah, what’s up?”

MacDougal strode forward confidently to stand before the desk. “Me and the Arizona pack clicked. I’ve been officially offered the position of alpha.”

“Are you taking it?” Rory asked.

MacDougal nodded. “No offense, but I’m not like Caleb. I want to lead. Being third, and now with Kian being coalpha…”

“I understand,” he said when the other man trailed off. “It’s not easy, especially when the wolf is riding you.” MacDougal was a strong beta, borderline alpha. Without him, Kian, and Caleb in the way, his wolf would grow into the alpha MacDougal was meant to be.

“You’ll be missed,” Rory told him sincerely. Now that Mac no longer had his butt on his shoulders, he’d proven to be a good man to have at your back. They might eventually end up friends once this dominance crap no longer stood in the way. “When do you leave?”

“I was able to get on with the electric company in nearby Phoenix. Gave my two-week notice today. I start work there in three weeks. The thing is, Ashley’s coming with me,” he announced.

Rory felt his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Ashley?”

“I stood a better chance of getting and holding the position if I were mated. The pack there is small, and the alpha’s daughter is too young to be mated. By the time she comes of age, I’ll be so well established that it won’t be a problem,” MacDougal said, showing the ruthless cunning that could make him a force to be reckoned with in years to come.

In packs without a male heir, it was typical to mate with the alpha’s female offspring as a means of securing the alpha position. It ensured continuation of the alpha line, while bringing in new, stronger bloodlines.

Still, MacDougal’s reasoning, though it made perfect sense, concerned Rory. He glanced behind him to Ashley. “You’re okay with this?” She was a part of his pack, and as alpha, Rory had a responsibility to see to her well-being.

Ashley’s expression was serene. “He could have chosen someone else, but he wants me. That’s all that really matters. And,” she added, “I’m more than happy to be leaving this place and going somewhere no one knew my mother. It will be a fresh start for both of us.”

Rory winced, seeing the truth of her words. Besides, the news of Ashley’s leaving would make his mate a happy woman. “Well, I wish you both great success. Mac, you need anything, pick up the phone and call.”

“We’ll be all right, but thanks for the offer.” He placed his hand on Ashley’s back and turned to leave.

“Could you give me a minute? I’d like to speak to Rory…alone.”

MacDougal glanced at Rory, then back at her. “I’ll wait outside.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Ashley waited until the door closed with MacDougal on the other side of it before turning to Rory. Then she seemed to flounder.

Curious, Rory waited for her to gather her words.

“I didn’t know what my mother was up to,” she finally said.

“I never thought you did,” he assured her.

“No, let me finish. I knew she was power hungry and that she had no respect for anyone she considered lesser than herself, like me.” Ashley drew in a shaky breath. “I said…I did… Hell!” She cast her gaze down to the floor. After a few more breaths, she stiffened her shoulders and raised her head. “Mother wasn’t the only person who was a threat to your mate. I’d rather not say how I know, but watch your Uncle Wesley. He wants to be alpha and doesn’t particularly care how he accomplishes it.”

Rory stared at her, his wolf in his eyes. She bravely held his gaze for a few seconds before lowering her stare to the floor, baring her throat in an act of submission. He considered her unfinished statement and remembered all the suspicions Shayla had about this woman-child.

Then he thought about what it must have been like being raised with Laurie Bell as a mother, knowing what he did about the woman now. Ashley’s life must have been a living hell.

He sighed and felt the wolf retreat. “The past is the past. Thank you for the warning. You’re a beautiful young lady. One day you’ll be a formidable woman. Go show the Arizona pack and MacDougal what you’re made of.”

She gave him a brilliant smile. “Thank you, alpha.”

“Go on. Your mate’s waiting for you.”

Ashley hesitated before giving him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Then she was out the door. MacDougal and Ashley. He was still reeling. But the two were gone now, and Rory pushed them out of his mind to return to his mountain of invoices and contracts.

That evening, as Rory thought over all that had happened today, he realized his only unfinished business was his mate and her procrastination in telling her parents of their mating. Rory allowed another month to go by before taking matters into his own hands.

While she slept, he eased out of bed, took her cell phone off the bedside table, and went downstairs to his office. An hour later, a smile on his face, he shook Shay by the shoulder. “Shay, your mom’s on the phone.”

She groggily held out a hand, asking, “What time is it?”

“Eight. I’ll go get breakfast started.” As he left the room he heard her say, “Morning, Mommy. What’s up?”

He’d just cleared the bottom stair tread when his mate bellowed, “Rory McFelan! Your ass is mine!”

His laughter rang out while his mate continued to heap recriminations on his head, turning the air blue. Claiming Shayla was the best move he’d ever made.