The Shifter's Gift Read online

  “You should have talked with us sooner, son,” his father said, looking relatively calm. “You did good, though. I’m proud of you. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to Olivia. That man deserves whatever happens to him. If you or Olivia need anything, I’m more than happy to help.”

  Bradley was still the alpha until the job was passed over to his brother Mason. He had a compassionate heart, different than many of the other werebear alphas around. He preferred leading with love rather than fear. There was no doubting his strength, but he strove for a friendly respect.

  “Thank you, Dad. That means a lot.”

  “I’m happy you’ve found your mate. You deserve to be happy.” His mother gave him a warm smile. “I suspected Cindy wasn’t the right one for you, especially since you never brought her around to visit us. You never told her about us, but Olivia knows and she carries your scent. Maybe we’ll be having even more grandchildren than we’d originally thought, Bradley. Perhaps we could wait on Florida until after our grandbabies are born and cared for.”

  Liam stared at his parents, unable to believe that his mother mentioned delaying their snow birding, and that she was talking about him and Olivia having cubs. He blinked at the two of them, unable to find any words to say.

  His father glanced over at his mother, sharing Liam’s surprise. He was getting more and more into the idea of them traveling, too. But the look on his face when Mason announced that he was going to be a grandfather was priceless. A similar expression spread across his features now. “Of course we can, honey. I want to spend time with our grandkids too.”

  Liam kept quiet. He hadn’t talked with Olivia about if she even wanted to have kids, or how life would be like raising cubs together. Cindy had never wanted any, and she’d made that blatantly clear whenever anyone brought up the subject of children. They were at the early stages of their relationship. He wouldn’t say never, but neither of them should feel the need to rush into things.

  They headed back to the kitchen after their conversation had wrapped up. Ava and Olivia were chatting at the kitchen table as Mason fixed coffee. He looked over his shoulder at his younger brother, but he remained quiet. Liam would catch Mason up on things later. Right now, he wanted to sit down and regain his composure, especially after the subject of children.

  “Maybe we should head out and get some dinner soon, Olivia?” His stomach growled. He needed lots of food as a werebear, especially when he was recovering from a gunshot wound.

  Olivia glanced back at him, her eyelashes lowered as she licked her lower lip. “Okay.” She smiled at his parents and then at Mason and Ava, keeping her gaze low. “Thank you all for inviting me into your home and making me so welcome here.”

  His mother smiled brightly at her. “You’re welcome here any time, dear.” She held Bradley’s hand. “We’re glad you are part of the family. If you need anything, let us know right away.”

  A blush reddened Olivia’s cheeks, and she nodded. “I will.” When they left his parents’ place, the drive back to the beach was a companionable quiet. He entwined his fingers in Olivia’s, and she pressed his hand against her cheek. “Your parents and family were really nice. Ava is great, too. I really like them,” she said.

  “Just wait until you meet my other two brothers. You will hate them,” he replied . “I’m kidding. I’ve been blessed with a great family.” He cleared his throat, the talk about family reminding him of what his mother and father had said about grandchildren. Perhaps a change of conversation would be for the best. “We never got a chance to go to the beach. I was thinking we could head to the pier.”

  She bit her lower lip. “I like that idea, but...” her voice trailed off, and he smelled her arousal in the air.

  “But?” he glanced over at her, feeling his body react to hers.

  “I was thinking we could have room service at the hotel. We could finish what we started earlier?” Her eyebrow rose, and a mischievous smile spread across her lips.

  He did not expect this, but was more than happy to fulfill her wishes. “Room service it is, but I won’t be denied taking you to the beach tonight.”

  “Deal. Maybe we can walk, dip our toes in the water, and watch the sunset.” She leaned her face against his hand, keeping it away from the bandage.

  “We saw the sunrise. Seeing the sunset would make this day complete,” he said as the car behind him honked their horn. The light had turned green without him realizing it.

  The drive back to the hotel went by quickly. When they returned to the room, Olivia ran down the items on the room service menu with him before she placed their order. Waiting for their food was arduous, but they kept their clothes on by kissing and touching one another, building up each other’s desire until they were lucky the bed didn’t catch on fire.

  After they ate and made love a few times, Liam cradled her against his chest again as they laid in bed. “I’m glad you’re in my life, Olivia. You make it feel...complete.”

  Tears sparkled in Olivia’s eyes as she looked up at him. One of them slid down her cheek, and he brushed it away. “I feel the same way about you. For the first time in a long time, I feel cherished and...loved, even. Being in your arms makes the world feel safe again.” She snuggled closer, running her finger tips over his chest.

  He ran his hand over her naked shoulder and down her arm. “You’re the first person I’ve been able to show myself to. Everything that I am. You have no idea what that means to me. I’d do whatever it takes to protect you and make you happy.” His bear prodded at him to say the words he’d never said to anyone other than his family before. “I love you, Olivia.”

  She didn’t bat an eyelash when he spoke the words that had coiled in his chest. A smile brightened her entire face, and she stretched up to kiss him on the lips. “I love you too.”

  ****

  THE END

  Will’s Destiny

  Chapter One

  Sophie leaned forward, massaging her temples. Her eyes began to cross from staring at computer screens all day. The sound of her stomach grumbling reminded her that she had completely skipped lunch and dinner after getting so caught up in her work. She pushed to her feet, placed her hands on the small of her back, and stretched as far as she could to relieve some of the tension that was coursing through her body.

  The chirp of a notification brought her attention over to the upper left hand corner of her third and leftmost monitor. She squinted her eyes a little and let out a deep sigh. Web development jobs kept pouring into her inbox. Part of her wondered if it was due to her best friend Olivia’s relationship with the COO of a prominent, successful corporation. But the details did not really matter. What mattered was that her schedule was booked solid for almost three months. In fact, she just turned away a couple of clients and sent them to one of her other web dev friends. She just had too much on her plate already. .

  Being this busy wasn’t doing her social life—let alone her love life—any favors. The last time she and Olivia had gone out to dinner, her best friend’s crazy ex-boyfriend came up to their table and humiliated her. They’d needed their waiter to get involved in so Jared would leave Olivia alone. She couldn’t help but worry about her friend; they didn’t talk as much as they used to. Olivia was busy with her new romantic relationship with Liam, and Sophie had tons of work.

  At least Jared’s trial would be happening soon. Recently, he held Olivia hostage at gunpoint in her apartment, smacked her around, and apparently had a private investigator snooping around and watching her date with Liam. All because she was trying to move on with her life after he humiliated her. That jerk was a married man who pulled the same stunt with various women before getting involved with Olivia. The part that sickened Sophie the most was that his wife knew about his rampant cheating and stayed by his side anyway.

  She shook her head, trying to push those thoughts from her head. After a productive day of working, she didn’t need to let her mind go to that dark place. Justice would be served, Soph
ie knew. Olivia’s boyfriend hired the best attorney money could buy for her, so the chances of success were high.

  Her cell phone vibrated, and she raised an eyebrow. Who could possibly be calling her now? The clock on her computer said it was almost eight. She walked over to her phone and saw Olivia’s name and photo on the screen. Her mood immediately brightened.

  “Hey, girl!” she greeted.

  “Hey, I was hoping I’d catch you,” Olivia said. “I tried earlier, but you must have been busy. How is work going?”

  Sophie frowned at her phone. Sure enough, she had a missed call. “Aside from feeling like it’s all I’ve been doing recently? It’s been really good.” She sat on her armchair, ignoring her growling stomach. She would figure out what to eat later. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to catch up with her best friend.

  "I'm glad to hear business is booming for you!" Olivia sounded really happy; happier than Sophie had heard in a while. Despite feeling sorry for herself, she was glad her friend was in such good spirits, especially after everything she'd been through. "So... I know this might seem a little strange, but I was wondering..." Olivia cleared her throat a few times as if not sure how to continue. That wasn't like her. She was usually more confident and self assured.

  "Tell me! I'm getting nervous," Sophie replied, laughing through her rising panic.

  "Okay, it might seem like Liam and I are rushing into this, but it feels so right. He’s been so good to me, helping with this ordeal with Jared, and everything else. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with him. So...would you be the maid of honor at our wedding?"

  The words rushed out of Olivia’s mouth so quickly that Sophie barely had a chance to process them. She ran a hand through her hair, not expecting that at all. After what happened with Jared, Sophie couldn't believe that Olivia was ready to take this step with someone else so soon. Was this really what her friend wanted? Then again, Jared never seemed to make her happy the way Liam did. She had not even met the guy yet, but from what Olivia told her, he sounded like a keeper.

  "Sophie? Are you still there?" asked Olivia nervously.

  "Yeah, I'm here. It's just a little surprising, but of course, I'd love to be your maid of honor." She plastered a smile on her face, trying to sound happier than she felt. She'd read an article once that said if you smiled while you spoke, even on the phone, the other person could tell. She wasn't convinced it was working now.

  "You're sure? I didn't mean to spring this on you. Maybe I should've asked you out to dinner before asking..." Olivia sounded less sure of herself than she did a moment ago, and Sophie wanted to smack herself across the forehead. She felt like a terrible friend. "We're going to have it sooner rather than later, so the timeline is a bit more accelerated than normal. I understand if you wouldn't be able to help me plan it and go dress shopping and—"

  "Yes, I'm sure!” Sophie forced herself to sound enthusiastic. “Of course I'm sure. Dinner would've been great, but don't think like that, hon. This is your wedding, after all! I'll make the time for it, even if I have to shuffle my schedule. Work is just work. Weddings don't happen everyday, especially when my best friend is the bride! I'll help you with whatever you need me to, okay?"

  Olivia released a long sigh before replying. “Okay. Thank you so much, Sophie! I absolutely am going to take you out to dinner, though. Are you busy the day after tomorrow? I’m thinking we could all go dress shopping, and have lunch together? I’ll see if the timing is okay with Isabella and Courtney, but I wanted to run it by you first.”

  Sophie glanced over at her computer monitors. The rightmost one had her calendar up, and it showed just how booked her schedule was. She was lucky if she could fit lunch and dinner into her days, let alone dress shopping and bridesmaid duties. But she would make it work; she had to. “Thursday sounds great. It...uh...actually doesn’t seem that busy,” she lied unconvincingly. “Besides, I’ve always got time for you, Olivia.”

  Sophie couldn't help but feel a little sad, even if this was a sincerely happy time for her friend. This was the third wedding she would be flying solo to this year. Each time, she was a dutiful bridesmaid—now maid of honor—but never the bride.

  The thought of having someone to love and cherish in sickness and in health made her stomach warm and fuzzy. She wanted to find her Mr. Right, too. Olivia’s relationship sounded straight out of a romance novel from what she'd heard. She still wanted to meet Liam to be sure, but her gut instinct told her he was a lot better than Jared ever was. She'd never liked that jerk, and neither had their friends. They'd tried to warn Olivia about him, but they worried if they pushed her too hard, they would lose their friend. In retrospect, Sophie wished she had pushed harder to get Olivia away from that creep. But that was in the past. They were talking about her upcoming wedding, after all.

  "Sophie? You there?" Olivia asked as Sophie stifled a yawn.

  She mentally shook herself. She needed to stop throwing herself a pity party and focus on her friend. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just been a long day. What were you saying?"

  "No need to apologize. You should take more breaks. Don't make me worry about you again!" Olivia was so maternal, always telling her to take breaks and not stare at the computer screen so long. It meant a lot to Sophie that she cared so much. "I was just saying that I'll text you with the time and location to meet up after I've talked with Isabella and Courtney. I'm really excited that you're going to be there dress shopping with me. Thank you."

  "Seriously, it's my pleasure! I can't wait." She looked up at the ceiling. Maybe the trip would give her some motivation to try to find the right man for herself, if that was even possible. "I'll keep my phone by my side and watch for your text. Good night, hon."

  "Good night, Sophie! Sleep well." Olivia disconnected the call with a happy giggle.

  Sophie set her cell phone down and ran her hands through her hair. She glanced back at her computer and chewed on her lower lip. The idea of working late into the evening wasn't super appealing, but her friend needed her. Right now, she needed to focus on getting ahead so she won't have to worry about working long days when it came time to dress shop and everything else that went along with planning a wedding.

  Perhaps this was another reason why she should off-load more projects, or at least organize her schedule to suit her needs better. Maybe even hiring an assistant or another web developer, would help her out. A few of her projects had taken longer than she anticipated, which meant she felt like she was constantly playing a game of catch-up. It exhausted her.

  Besides, how would she ever meet someone when she was tied to her computer around the clock? The answer was simple: she wouldn’t. Once things settled down a bit, she needed to seriously think about her future and what she wanted out of life.

  Shaking away those thoughts, she dialed her favorite Chinese take-out restaurant and ordered dinner, then she closed her eyes as she waited for her food. She might as well rest before the food arrived since she’d need to eat and then get back to work.

  Chapter Two

  Never before had Will felt such a divide between himself and his brother Liam. They were close and usually confided in one another, so why did he feel this distance between them now? Ever since Liam had found his mate Olivia, he barely saw his brother. But it was not like Liam was avoiding Will. He had a lot going on now, with planning a wedding and being there for Olivia in a legal battle against her crazy ex-boyfriend.

  Still, he hated feeling like the two of them were drifting farther apart. Part of him could not help but wonder if the fact that Will did not have a mate and Liam and Mason both did tied into it at all. Liam and Mason seemed to be closer now. They went to lunch together, and they’d even gone on a double date or two with their mates.

  Will craved that closeness with his family again. Both Mason and Liam moved out of their family home, so it was just him, his parents, and Noah now. The place was a lot quieter since Noah was hardly ever around, and his parents were busy enjoying each other
’s company now that they had adult children.

  He had even taken the steps to follow in his older brothers footsteps to find a mate by signing up for the Prince Dating Agency. Ms. Prince took him through the process, and he’d been very optimistic. While he’d gone on few nice dates—and a few mediocre ones—none of the women felt like that perfect match he’d desired.

  Both of his brothers and his father talked about that magical moment when their bear reacted to a woman. These women made them feel more alive than they’d ever felt before. He had yet to experience anything close to that. Was Will the odd man out? Was he just not meant to find the woman of his dreams? Those negative thoughts were becoming more pervasive as time dragged on. They weighed heavily on him. Then again, maybe Liam and Mason were just lucky.

  Will jerked up when a knock on his door startled him. He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He hopped out of bed. "Just a minute," he called, pulling on his t-shirt. Rather than asking who was there, he took a deep breath, taking in their scent. It was his mother.

  "It's nearly time for supper, Will. You've been spending quite a bit of time in your room," she said through the door.

  He rubbed his hands over his face, feeling like an angsty teenager again. Having his mom get on his case about spending time in his room wasn't what he needed right now. To be honest, he was surprised she noticed, but maybe it was her motherly superpower flaring up again. He opened the door and leaned against the door frame. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. It's nice that you care, but what else do you expect me to do? I just don't have a lot going on these days aside from work and spending time with you guys." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

  His mother reached up and tapped him on the nose. "I'm always going to be your mother. I can't help but say something when I notice you're all cooped up here. Why don't you ever spend some time with your brothers? Noah could probably use some bonding time with the four of you. He needs a good influence in his life. He reminds me so much of Mason when he was younger, rebellious and wild. If he was around you all, he might realize that it's time to grow up a bit."