The danger to the McMahon Clan has passed. Carrick is focused on his growing family and position on the council. But his newest daughter-in-law isn’t willing to let him settle. She wants fate to give him a second chance…and she has the power to make sure he gets it.
~ EXCERPT ~
“You’ve been like a bear with a sore paw for the past year.”
Turning away from the stove, I found the youngest of my triplet sons leaning against my kitchen counter. I’d left him and Selene in the living room while I’d checked on dinner, and Camden had managed to sneak up on me. There was concern shining from his eyes, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let the topic drop. It was a conversation I’d managed to avoid having with anyone, and I didn’t plan to open up about it now—especially not with my daughter-in-law in the other room.
“You’re right about half of that. I am a bear.” I lifted my hands and twisted my wrists so he could see both sides of them. “But my paws seem fine to me.”
“You know what I mean, Dad,” he grumbled. “Don’t pretend that you don’t.”
I turned away from him to pull the roast from the oven, but that didn’t stop me from hearing the flow of words from his mouth.
“Our lives are better than they’ve ever been. The danger to our family has been eliminated. The clubs are doing great. All your kids are happily mated. You’ve got four grandchildren already. And when Selene finally goes into labor, you’ll have another.”
I chuckled at the frustration in his tone. His mate was a week past her due date, and he wasn’t dealing with the wait well. Meanwhile, my daughter-in-law was serene about the whole thing—even with my son hovering around her pretty much all of the time. It had made for some interesting council meetings over the last few months, that was for damn sure.
Just about the time the other council members had grown accustomed to having Selene around, Camden had knocked her up and refused to let her out of his sight. Having a witch on a council of shifters, who’d spent their whole lives not trusting witches, had been an adjustment for everyone. Even me, and I adored Selene. But serving on the council with a mated and pregnant witch whose bear shifter consort growled at anyone who even looked at her wrong? It was fucking hilarious, at least for me because I was the only one safe from my son’s wrath. Camden had it right when he said our lives were better than they’d ever been.
“I do have a lot to be thankful for,” I agreed as I yanked a tray of rolls from the stove next.
“I just want you to be as happy as the rest of us.”
The pain in my son’s voice tore at me. After dropping my oven mitts on the counter next to the stove, I moved towards him. As soon as I got close enough, I pulled him in for a brief, but strong, hug. Looking at him, I wished I had the words to make this right. But I didn’t. He’d made enough comments recently for me to know exactly what was bothering him, and there wasn’t a solution for it.
“I spent years being bitter about the hand Fate had dealt me, but that time is past. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll never have a mate of my own, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be happy,” I explained. “That I won’t have a rich life, full of contentment. I might not be mated, but I have a feeling Fate has something in mind for me, Camden. And I’m more than okay with the path I’m on.”
I knew exactly where—or I should have said towards whom—that path was leading me, too. But I wasn’t ready to share that information with anyone yet. Not until I convinced her to stay where she belonged, at my side.
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