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Addison opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words formed. The shock was too great. She needed time for Tyler’s admission to sink in.
Tyler put his finger on her warm, moist lips and continued his heartfelt confession.
“Addison, it’s been clear to my heart ever since I first laid eyes on you and we signed the mating contract. Your inability to fully shift matters not one iota to me. It’s what is in your heart that counts. You live a just life and are a warrior for good. There is no evil in your being. What more could a king ask for in a mate?”
Addison heard his words, but she wasn’t ready to digest or accept what Tyler had said. She closed her mouth and stared out at the glassy lake.
How could I not see this? How did I not know? And why didn’t I feel the attachment so strong coming from Tyler? To be a fated mate, should I have sensed this?
She turned her head to Tyler. The more she thought about what he said, the more his words found a home in her heart, and the more it all fit. Her feelings of trepidation simply melted away, and her fondness for the man deepened in their place. Addison’s heart was finally ready to receive all from her king, her fated mate.
Her smile was warm again. Tyler breathed.
“So, now, do you appreciate my worry? My care?”
“I … I do … but, Tyler, I need time to digest this. It’s something I never thought you would say or feel. This is huge, you know? For me, surely, but especially for you. Do you understand my hesitancy? My need to take this all in?”
Tyler smiled, reached out, and cradled her hand.
“Dear one, we have all the time in the world, don’t we? Fated mates have a lifetime to settle in. For my part, I will do or say or promise anything to get your heart where mine is today. And once it is, our lives together will be golden.”
Addison’s defenses, what was left of them, fell away. She sat closer to her man and let a lighthearted mood overtake her. Finding her fated mate had never occurred to her. Maybe as a little girl, one could dream. She’d always understood she had a royal duty to marry whoever her parents had selected, regardless of what it meant for her. But for that selection to also be her fated mate, to still have a chance at love, the fact simply took her breath away.
Her mind raced. She thought about shifter pageantry and royal events. She imagined being by his side to help the pack and kingdom rise to bigger heights. Regal images swirled in her brain of ladies-in-waiting, of finery never before seen, and of no end to the happiness because she had found the man she was always meant to find.
“Tyler, I am afraid to accept all this.”
“Why?”
“Because what if it’s just a dream? What if I wake up and you’re not here, holding me, confessing your heart to me?”
Tyler laughed. “Oh, this is not a dream, Addison. It’s what fate has planned for us. There is not one adviser in my court who doesn’t think the same about you. You have won over everyone with the courage of your convictions. They have told me so. You are my queen already. You’re just the last one in the realm to realize it, my dear.”
Addison blushed and laughed. Her eyebrows raised to say maybe he was right. She was the last to realize the inevitable, natural evolution of a couple who would bring the realm out of the rogue pack, dark ages, and into the light.
Tyler slapped his knee. “And now, onto other, more urgent business. What is your wish for that little girl who desperately holds onto your skirts?”
“Cassia?” Addison flipped her head back in a full-throated laugh. “Oh, you mean my brand-new shadow? Ah, yes. Isn’t she just the sweetest little child you’ve ever seen? I can’t believe her mother could treat her so horribly.”
“Right. So there is no returning the little tot to a home life like that. Have you had any thoughts about her future? The pack will handle the adults, but we’ll need a plan for the children.”
“Well, yes, I have, in fact. Tyler, I’m not sure how you will view my wish, but here it is. I want desperately to give Cassia a safe and loving home with a mother and father she can trust and learn to love. And I think that mother and father are you and me.”
It was Tyler’s turn to be shocked. The admission by his queen stunned him into silence.
“Tyler, please, let us adopt her.”
TYLER
Tyler knew he was making Addison panic with every second he didn’t respond. He saw how attached Cassia was to Addison. But more than that, he saw how attached Addison was to the little girl. The bond between the adoptive daughter and mother already existed. And because he adored Addison so, whomever she loved, he knew he would adore. Tyler smoothed away Addison’s worry lines with the tip of his thumb.
“Trouble yourself no more, darling. Of course, we can adopt Cassia. What better place could she be raised than with us in Somberglen Castle?”
“Oh, Tyler.” Addison hugged her king with all her might, which made Tyler uproariously laugh. His wolf yipped in delight at making his mate happy.
“What made you agree to adoption? I know you must look at it as a serious move, given we have just bonded ourselves.”
Tyler spread his arms with upturned hands. “Oh, that was a fairly easy decision for two reasons. First, I will give you anything you desire. Second, I adore children. Secretly, I’ve always wanted a house full of them laughing, playing, and running about. After all, aren’t children what makes a house a home?”
Addison wiped tears from her eyes, hugged Tyler once more, and ran back to the shed, overflowing with joy, just as two enforcers left the building to await further instructions from their king.
“Ah, yes, Malcolm and Valerian. Now that I have settled things with my queen, I need you to move the children and the women to a larger house in a more convenient location. Might I suggest the large groundskeeper’s cottage on the other side of the lake by the castle? The old codger refuses to live in the cottage, preferring to rough it in that cabin he made for himself a while back. Make sure it’s outfitted with all the necessary supplies. Food, linens, and whatever Addison requires for the group. They may be there for a while, at least until we have thoroughly dealt with this rogue pack.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, right away,” chorused the two. The men bowed and marched off to arrange the transfer.
- Writer
