Fated To The Alpha: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (22 page)

“Everyone here,” I called, “I know you all. Old Tobias, you used to bounce me on your knee and sing songs to me when I was little! Jana, remember the party when we were thirteen, when you dared me to go up and kiss Tucker?” Then I turned to the Morgandorfs. “Tara, you were one of the first friends I made in the Morgandorf pack. I was afraid no one in your pack would accept me, but you came right up and made me feel at home.” Then I paused, as Andrea stepped up to the front of the Morgandorf crowd. “And Andrea…”

I turned to the Caldours suddenly, pointing at the teenage girl before me. “Is that the face of your enemy? This little girl?  Even after the Morgandorfs found me out and banished me, she stayed on my side all the way! The daughter of the Morgandorf alpha, and she doesn’t even have any conception of hate! Why should she have to be involved in a war?”

“She’s right,” Charlene said, finally stepping forward to join us.

“Charlene?” Leon said, startled.

“I was just like all of you,” she said. “I always judged the Morgandorfs based on the stories I’d heard. All this crap that we’ve passed around for years to demonize each other. But look at them!  All of you, look at the other side!”

“They’re all just like you!” I said. “They have families! Homes! Pups! This forest is more than big enough for us all! What do we have to fight over?”

And all around me, it looked like I was actually having an effect. Everyone seemed to be stopping to think, and were busy talking amongst each other.

“We don’t expect you all to start liking each other,” Jeremy said. “We’re not naïve enough to think it’ll be that simple. But can’t this pup be a start?”

Most of the hostile faces that had been present a minute ago had begun to vanish. Everyone was looking more thoughtful now.

Most of them, anyway.

“All right, that’s enough!” Dad said, stepping up to me. “We’re done with this drivel! You’re going to come back home with me where—”

“Rene!” Leon commanded.  Then he paused, and said, “Give it up.  It’s over.”

“But she—”

“I said, give it up! She’s beyond your authority now.”

Dad actually looked… the only word I can think to describe it is “helpless.”

“Come on, everyone,” my mom said to the Caldour pack. “Let’s go home.”

They all started turning and walking away. Not a drop of blood had been spilled.

On the other side, the Morgandorfs started heading back to their homes. Only Andrea stayed behind, rushing forward to embrace me.

I turned my head to see Charlene having also hung behind. “I wouldn’t have believed it, but that actually worked!”

“It’s just a start,” Jeremy said. “We’re not going to end generations of hate in one day.”

“But we got them to not fight,” I said. “I’d call that a win. And I don’t think we’ll need to worry about them hunting us anymore.”

“But where will you go now?” Charlene asked. “Even if you come back home, I don’t think Jeremy will be very welcome there. Or you with the Morgandorfs. Where will you live?”

I smiled down at Andrea, stroking her hair. “Wherever we want.”

*

EPILOGUE

The pups were starting to play a little rough. It had been amusing at first, watching them jump and tumble around with that squeaky little rubber alien with the big googly eyes, but now two of them had the squeak toy in their jaws and were playing a little tug-o-war with it, threatening to tear it in two, while the third was eagerly coming up to snatch it away from both of them.

It was at that point that I decided to step in and mediate the game. “Hey, now,” I said, getting up from my lawn chair and stepping over to them. “If you can’t play nice, I’m going to have to take your toys away. No more fighting,” I said as I knelt down and took hold of the little green thing in their jaws, which they calmly released and let me take, looking up at me with meek eyes. “What did I tell you all?”

At that question, the three little furry, four-legged creatures before me rose up, shifting into their two-legged forms and standing before me with humbled looks. “Fighting is bad,” said the seven-year-old girl with the little brown curls. “Fighting gets people hurt.”

“That’s right, Lana,” I nodded. “And what do people who fight get?”

“No dessert,” said all three of them in the same monotone expression.

“That’s right!” I said, pointing a finger at them. “So what are you all going to do now?”

“Play nice,” they drawled.

“Very good,” I smiled. “Maybe we should get some more toys out for each of you, so you don’t have to fight over them. Is that okay?”

The kids smiled and nodded. “I want my bouncy ball, mommy!” said little four-year-old Amy.

“I’m gonna get my super soaker!” said five-year-old Barry.

I was about to tell him not to shoot his sisters with it, but decided a little water play wouldn’t hurt anyone. “Sure, have fun,” I said.

I sat back down in the lawn chair next to Jeremy, as the kids went to fetch their toys. “You sure about that?” he said. “You remember what he did the last time you let him play with that.”

“What’s the matter?” I smirked. “Afraid of a little splash?”

I lifted my head and sniffed the air, as I detected Andrea’s scent approaching, moments before I saw her step around the corner. “Hi guys,” she said.

“Hey, everybody, look who’s here!” I told the kids. The girls immediately ran cheering for her, while Barry hung back for a moment. Andrea ducked down and picked up the happy, squealing Amy, while Lana came up and hugged her leg.

“You on spring break already?” Jeremy asked. “And you come back here of all places?”

“You think there’s any pace I’d rather be?” she smiled, bouncing the giggling Amy in her arms.

“Hey, Auntie Andie!” Barry said, suddenly stepping up with his super soaker in hand, and shooting her with a face-f of water. Andrea sputtered and shook her head.

I chuckled at her expense. “There just might be,” I said.

Andrea glared playfully at Barry. “You’re asking for it, buster!” she warned, letting Amy down. “Now I’m gonna have to CHASE YOU!”

The pups screamed with delight as Andrea went running after them. I watched with a big smile, as Jeremy reached out for my hand. “You still wishing your dad could see this?”

I sighed, letting my smile fade. “I haven’t spoken to him since the day he said I wasn’t his daughter anymore. And I’m not counting on that changing any time soon.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve given up?” he said. “We never would’ve made peace between the packs if you ever did that before.”

I thought about it briefly, before saying, “Maybe I haven’t totally forgiven him yet, either.”

“Maybe it’s time to try,” he suggested. “The least you can do is give him a call.”

Jeremy always did have a big heart. That’s what I loved about him.

It took me a while to get the nerve, but I did eventually get up from the chair. I walked inside the house, found my phone, and taking a breath, dialed my dad’s number.

THE END

Message From The Author:

Thanks so much for reading all the way to the end, I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did I would love it if you could leave me a rating. This helps other people find my books :)

Details of other books by the Simply Shifters camp are on the following pages :)

*

ALSO BY SIMPLY SHIFTERS PUBLISHING....

SOLD

TO THE DRAGONS 

#1 Paranormal Romance Bestseller

In a dystopian future, fertile women are so hard to come by that they are now bought and sold for huge sums of money across the world. You could say that women are the new currency.
Curvy Kira Southerly is one of the few remaining fertile women left on the planet and she has resigned herself to the fate of being SOLD.
However, she had no idea she would end up being sold to two young and handsome bachelors named Blake and Steven. They are both dragon shifters and they are intent on mating with her and producing a baby as soon as possible.
With not enough fertile women to go around the brothers have no choice but to share the curvy beauty among themselves. Something that allows Kira to fulfill her every sexual fantasy....
Being sold to dragons should not be this much fun, should it?

START READING NOW AT THE BELOW LINK!

Amazon.com >
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S8STH1O

Amazon UK >
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S8STH1O

Amazon Australia >
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00S8STH1O

Amazon Canada >
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00S8STH1O

WAIT....

Get Yourself a FREE Bestselling Paranormal Romance Book!

Join the “
Simply Shifters
” Mailing list today and gain access to an exclusive
FREE
classic Paranormal Shifter Romance book by one of our bestselling authors along with many others more to come.  You will also be kept up to date on the best book deals in the future on the hottest new Paranormal Romances. We are the HOME of Paranormal Romance after all!

Click The Link Below To Access Get All This Now!

SimplyShifters.com