The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

Miera couldn’t feel badly for that. In fact, she hoped that was the case. Until Andreas the Bloodthirsty was dead, she wouldn’t be able to sleep completely easily. And once he did fall, that monster pack wouldn’t be able to stay unified without him.

They really had won.

***

It was a joyous trek back to the compound. Blood Roses and Teal Warriors helped each other to carry their wounded and their dead. Seeing them work together warmed her heart, but nothing made her feel better than Beric’s arm around her waist. Every few steps, he would bend down and kiss the top of her head. Everything was looking up. Everything was falling into place.

She was happy.

Once they returned, they instructed their people to do whatever they wished, and from the talk she had heard on the walk back home, she knew they were planning on a feast, now that they could freely hunt and replenish their food stores. A celebration would only help to further unite them all.

And they deserved a celebration.

Some went to hunt immediately, and others headed for the hospital, but Beric guided her to his quarters. As soon as he closed the door behind them, he embraced her, their bodies pressed tight together. “Are you all right?”

“I’ve never been better.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed him deeply.

The past five years had been nothing short of happiness. Beric’s life had changed the day he had met Miera. At first, it had been for the worse, considering the hell the Brutal Claws had put them through, but after they had seriously injured Andreas the Bloodthirsty, everything had changed for the better.

Andreas the Bloodthirsty, as he had predicted, did not have enough loyalty from his people, and within two years, he was dead and his huge pack disbanded and reformed into seven new fractions. Some of them remained brutal and aggressive, but none were capable of the same level of destruction the Brutal Claws had been.

The pack led by Beric and Meira, now known as the Crimson Guardians, was growing each day. Once word had spread of their stand against the Brutal Claws, smaller packs sought them out and swore their loyalty to them. Their numbers had swelled, and now they were a thousand strong.

They had left behind their compound and built a new, larger, stronger one. As Guardians, they were open to outsiders, and they needed a home that could house everyone. It had taken a long time to build their new compound, and Beric had left his quarters for last.

After he finished his patrol around the fence, Beric headed to his quarters. Before he could enter his bedroom, a young boy raced up to him. “Daddy, you’re back!”

“Of course.” Beric bent down and gave the five-year-old a tight hug. “What have you been up to, Kade?”

“Mommy’s been teaching me how to hunt, and I killed a rabbit earlier today!”

“That’s wonderful. Can we eat it for dinner?”

“Yes! I want to.” Kade shuffled his feet. “But Mommy said I would have to skin it myself. I don’t wanna.”

“Well, maybe I can help you in a bit. How does that sound?”

“Yeah!” Kade jumped up and down. Then he glanced out the nearest window. “Oh, there’s Bob. Can I go play with him?”

“Go ahead.” Kade and Bob were best friends. Bob was Mark and Jess’s son. They had married and seemed almost as happy as Beric and Miera. No one could be happier than the two alphas.

Beric made his way to his bedroom. His wife was sitting at a desk, typing on a computer. She glanced up at him and smiled. “Just give me a minute to finish this report. The council meeting is in an hour, don’t forget.”

“You won’t let me.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

Once she finished, she came over and perched herself on his lap. “How is everything?”

“Everything is secure. We’re safe.”

“And we’re happy.” She nuzzled his neck. “There’s nothing you want, is there?”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

“I know. It’s just—”

“Kade might not be my blood, but he is my son. I couldn’t be happier to be his stepfather.”

“You’re his father.”

Beric grinned. “I am his father,” he agreed.

They had jailed Charles for his crimes against the packs, for being a traitor, even though most of the council, and the rest of their people, had called for his head. It didn’t matter. Within a week, Charles had killed himself. He’d somehow gained access to a marker, and he had left a note on the walls for Miera, expressing how he was only happy when he was sleeping, because then they were together, so he was choosing eternal rest. Whether Charles actually had loved her or had only been obsessed with her, they would never know, but it didn’t matter now.

“You are such a good father.” Miera kissed his cheek. “I just wish…”

“We have a son. We don’t need more.” Yes, he would have loved to have his own blood child. The years had passed, and they had tried and tried and tried to become pregnant, but Miera never did. Only yesterday, they got the test results back. Beric was infertile. If Miera hadn’t gotten pregnant when she had, they never would have had a child.

“No point in wishing for that.” He had been as disappointed as she had been to hear the results, but he had long suspected he was infertile. Well, after two years of unsuccessfully conceiving he had started to wonder. “I’m just amazed that Kade survived.”

“You and me both.” Miera clung to him, like she always did when they talked about that time period in their lives.

After they had wounded Andreas the Bloodthirsty and returned home to start their lives together as a married couple, they went to the hospital to see their son. While they had been gone, the baby had taken a turn for the worse. No one expected him to last another hour. Miera had held him, and then Beric did for the first time, and somehow, someway, their son lived through that hour and another and then through that night. He was given breast milk through an IV, and slowly, he started to grow. By the time Kade turned three months, he was almost on size with his peers. When he was one, he was in the ninetieth percentile for height. He never looked back. Tough and strong, he showed no signs of complications from his early birth.

“A family of three is still a family,” he pointed out with a smile.

“It is. You’re right. We don’t need anyone else.”

He kissed her neck. “What time is the meeting again?”

“A little less than an hour.”

“Oh, good. Plenty of time.” Beric wanted his wife, and she was more than willing to express their love.

And, as it turned out, they showed up to the meeting late. 😉

The end.