To Mate an Assassin: The Lost Alphars Series, Book 1 (31 page)

Epilogue

Lottie felt the pain leaching away the strength in her heart. She felt how it dug in its hooks and ate away at what was left of her soul. But still, she couldn’t stop it. No, she wouldn’t stop it. So she did what she had been doing since her husband died and ignored it. She focused on the medical work she and Zach were studying. She focused on raising her three beautiful and ferocious sons. She focused on everything but the pain. And at that moment, she focused on a man, a man with a hidden flame of passion that nobody seemed to see. Lottie always saw it, every time he looked at her. It scared and excited her out of her wits. The problem was she didn’t have many wits left to spare, so avoiding him all together was probably the best idea.

But there he was, walking toward her with the strength of a Bear and the confidence of a man who knew who he was and what he wanted.

“Lottie,” Jeremiah said with a respectful nod, his usual greeting friendly yet concise. He sat down next to her on the stone porch steps, joining her in quietly watching the children of the Alphar mansion play in the late-day sun. Evan was off to the side and away from any major crowds, as usual. Planning his upcoming superhero day no doubt. But at least he wasn’t alone as he always used to be. The girl, Irisi, watched over him. Lottie had figured her for a loner, an introvert, just like her Evan. She knew the girl spent time with Evan so she wouldn’t have to socialize with those of her age group. It wasn’t healthy. But in this Lottie would be selfish. Evan needed someone to spend time with that wasn’t Kerrick, his soldiers, and now his mate, Cymbeline.

“Evan seems fond of Ms. Irisi,” Jeremiah commented without looking away from the scene.

She smiled at the picture the two unlikely friends made. “Yes. I think she likes having someone smaller than her to watch over.”

“She is most likely relieved not to be the one that needs looking after anymore.”

“Zach and I were worried about the pace she would grow before we removed that cursed tattoo. Would she sprout up rapidly or would it take years as it should have originally? There was no way to know.”

He turned his penetrating eyes her way. The only feature of his physical appearance she would ever call outwardly wild and uncivilized. They were the traditional shifter black, but the ring of color was such a vibrant shade of apricot so bright, she always felt as though the sun were shining on her when his gaze focused in her direction. “You took all possible scenarios into consideration before removing the tattoo. Kerrick trusts you or he would not have let you do it.”

“Right. Well…” she said, not knowing what Jeremiah wanted from her with his stares and his silences. She wouldn’t push him to speak if he had nothing to say, but bearing his attention took energy she didn’t have to spare. “I think I should give the twins a bath. They’ve been running around in the mud enough today.”

“Do you need assistance?”

“No. Thank you, Miah.” She smiled at the slight change in his expression that she had long ago deciphered to be annoyance, he hated the nickname her kids called him. But saying the name Jeremiah when you were only a few years old was a challenge. So she’d shortened it for them. He had no clue it had been her that gave Evan the idea.

“Killian! Fintan! Time to go in.” She saw Evan pop his head up from his discussion with Irisi. The sweet girl gave him a kiss on the cheek in farewell before he began collecting his younger brothers. He was too young to try to take care of them all. She felt such a heavy weight of guilt, robbing him of his childhood as she had done these past years. But she needed him, especially during the bad moments. No one truly knew what went on behind the closed doors of their little home in The Mansion. It was time, she thought, to start making arrangements. She wouldn’t let her life continue on this way.

“Hey, Miah!” Evan said with a sunny smile, trotting over while carrying a brother under each arm like they weighed nothing. Her son was going to be as strong as an ox when he grew up, a true warrior as he always dreamed he would be. A superhero.

“Hello, Evan.” Short and to the point. No small talk as was the Jeremiah way. But then, she liked that about Miah. She didn’t have to worry about coming up with something to say all the time. They could just sit and enjoy the silence. Which was mostly what they did together since he barely spoke more than a sentence at a time.

“I’m gonna help Mom give the monsters a bath. Right, Ma?”

“You read my mind, baby. Let’s go. Have a good night, Miah.”

“Bye, Miah!” the twins chimed, waving their chubby baby fingers at him. Lottie sighed to herself, looking forward to a long night’s rest. Perhaps the kids would let her sleep in tomorrow morning? Yeah, right. Perhaps the sun would begin to revolve around the earth and the man stoically watching her family walk away would turn into a dashing white knight and solve all her problems. It was nice to dream.

“Good night,” Jeremiah said, waving at the family of four. The impenetrable army, as he thought of them in his mind.

He watched as Evan set the younger boys down and let them walk on their own steam for a bit. Eventually, Lottie picked one up and carried him. It was probably Fintan. He was a bit lazier than Killian and enjoyed being coddled by his mother. The interactions between the children were amusing and provided him with a comforting sense of warmth. But mostly, he just watched Lottie.

He always watched Lottie. Lottie with her flaming red hair and perfectly rounded green-rimmed eyes. Lottie with lips so plump it took all he had to cage the Bear inside him and not claim her as his own. Lottie with her bones sticking out at her hips and shoulders. Lottie, who looked more ill and careworn with every passing day.

He’d brought her and Evan to The Mansion, watched as she gave birth to those twins, and he’d seen her begin to lose the weight. Then she lost the color in her cheeks. And now that lustrous hair was beginning to fall out. He knew there was only one thing besides true illness that could degrade a shifters health in only just a few years. She had held on for her children, but she’d been relying on little Evan far too much recently. It scared him to think she would let herself go and believe that her eight-year-old son was capable of taking care of himself and his younger brothers if she ever left them. It was what she was waiting for. He knew it. She would watch Evan grow up just a bit more and then she would let herself die of a shifter’s broken heart, following her dead mate into whatever waited for them on the other side.

But what Lottie didn’t know was that Jeremiah refused to let her just waste away. He’d been keeping an eye on her, observing what made her and the kids tick. He knew everything there was to know about them. And he felt he was ready to make his claim clear. He would make her see him for who he truly was. He was the man who loved her and her children, and would love them long beyond his dying breath.

To Be Continued in…

To Mate a Soldier

About the Author

Ceri has always had an active imagination, one that usually took form in the way of zoning out in the middle of conversations. Eventually She decided it was time to share her daydreaming with the world and began to put her musings on paper. A decision she has yet to regret.

Ceri is currently residing in Northern California after a big move from New York City, and while she loves the people and the culture, she has not yet come to terms with a sixty-five-degree February or the lack of New-York-style bagels.

Look for this title by Ceri Grenelle

Coming Soon:

To Mate A Soldier

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To Mate an Assassin

Copyright © 2015 by Ceri Grenelle

ISBN: 978-1-61922-586-2

Edited by Latoya Smith

Cover by April Martinez

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electronic publication: July 2015

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