Fearless (The Willowdale Village Collection #2)

17. Liam Clarke

Waking up next to Lena sprawled out in the middle of the two massive Alaskan king size beds we’d put together with a custom frame, I realized just how fucking happy I was. There was no other way to describe it. Joy filled my chest, and as I looked over the three others that were still knocked out alongside her, contentment radiated through me.

This was how life was supposed to be. This was my pack—my family.

I was so incredibly glad we’d put a rush order for shipping on the furniture, Lena’s eyes having lit up once arriving at the estate and walking inside. She’d explored every inch of the property, taking time to sit on each surface. If she was a wolf, I would say she was marking the space with her scent, but I didn’t think rabbits did that…or maybe we were rubbing off on her. Either way, I was thrilled that she loved it.

When we’d picked out furniture and household items—from clothes, to every baking utensil known to man, to extra fluffy towels just for her—we made sure to order everything we’d need to be able to move in right away, but we’d also made sure that Lena would be able to choose the decor to make this place truly home. I knew our woman liked to decorate, and I had never been so damn confident in my decision as I watched her walk around, her expression lit up with pure happiness as she talked about everything she wanted to add.

I’d also been glad I’d packed up some of her stuff and brought it over, figuring that when she was done shopping we’d come back here to show her it was finished. I just hadn’t expected to get her text message and then a call from another fucking police station telling me that my mate had been brought in. I was just so damn relieved that nothing had happened to her. I would’ve lost my fucking mind and never let her out of my sight if something had. Though honestly, I was pretty much already at that point.

I’d felt an intense surge of possessiveness at the idea of any other cops pulling her over or possibly arresting her—before I understood the full story. If anyone was going to lock her ass up, it was going to be me. Not the bastards from Galena. Pushing those thoughts away, I carefully slid out of bed to draw the curtains open, the morning light making its way across the floors—but not quite to the bed.

Knowing that Lena probably needed more sleep, I resisted the urge to wake her up and instead made my way to our en suite bathroom. The house had a total of eight bedrooms, most of which were currently set up as guest bedrooms. The exception was the primary, the room the size of three normal bedrooms put together. It had a balcony that looked over the back of the house, as well as a huge bathroom with a deep sunken tub. Turning on the steam shower, I made quick work of getting ready for the day, choosing to put on a pair of sweatpants.

We needed to go into the station today, but I was hoping it would be more of a relaxed weekend overall compared to normal. I knew we needed to bring more men onto the force, especially some of the younger shifters that worked part-time on security for the pack lands, but for quite some time I had hesitated. Partly because Lena would stop in sometimes and I didn’t want her around other fucking men, but more so because we’d just brought on Connery and Macon. I wanted to make sure we didn’t rush bringing on more just to have numbers—I wanted to make sure that everyone had the right mindset going into it. Especially once tourism season came around and there were conflicts between humans and supernaturals.

Still, if we were going to be busy getting our lives settled, maybe it was time. I made a mental note to ask Captain Magnus who he suggested for the post.

Outside of that, I’d already posted a sign on the bakery saying that it would be closed until Monday for Lena’s birthday. I wanted to give our girl the chance to relax a bit after everything that had happened. Unfortunately, she seemed to not love relaxing all that much and had already made plans helping Colette at her new dance studio.

Apparently they were doing some type of open house. I was glad my mate had found someone she felt so close to, and I had to remind myself to make sure she didn’t get so lost in work that she forgot to make time for herself or her friendship. It was something that could happen easily with Lena since she was always focused on supporting and helping others, and the bakery sometimes increased the problem. Much like the police department, Lena hadn’t brought on any other employees, and I was going to suggest to her that she do—especially for days like today.

“Morning,” Connery said as I left the bathroom and found him walking into the bedroom with a tray of coffee and fruit.

“Morning—and good call on the breakfast.” I nodded toward the table on the balcony. The weather was pleasantly warm this morning, and when I opened the doors, Connery jumped onto the railing. I had no idea how flight-inclined shifters got used to that shit. I wouldn’t say I was afraid of heights, exactly, but it was far from my friend. And I sure as hell wouldn’t go out of my way to stand on a railing two stories off the ground.

“I’m going to fly until everyone wakes up.” Then he jumped, the sound of wings snapping as he shifted midair into a massive navy dragon. He shot straight into the sky, his wings spanning nearly the entire width of the house. I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to that, honestly.

I had the sudden urge to shift myself as I eyed the grounds, sitting down while sipping my coffee. It wasn’t the time to go for a run, but later I would. It’d be the perfect excuse to scout out areas to install security cameras throughout the acreage we owned. I wanted the ability to have eyes on Lena and eventually our kids if they were playing out here. I had done the same with my old property right next door.

My old property—that thought made me pause. What the hell would I do with it now?

“He’s out flying?” Macon asked, stepping onto the balcony. I nodded and was mostly unsurprised when he climbed up onto the railing and jumped, shifting midair and soaring skyward just as his brother had. I took another long sip of my coffee, wondering what it was like to be a shifter only found in storybooks. I bet it was interesting. Although there were a lot of great things that came with being a ‘normal’ shifter that could blend into nature.

For example, I’d been able to get away with watching Lena in her clearing far too often. Probably more than she would’ve been comfortable with. I hadn’t been able to help myself. I was a certified stalker when it came to her.

M y paws pressed against the wet January ground, the snow melting just slightly as I settled down to keep eyes on Lena. It was her lunch break at the bakery, and I could tell she was tired. In her bunny form, she rolled around in the wet snowy grass, not making any move to hop around. My nose twitched as I listened for other shifters in the area.

Lena didn’t view herself as prey and I didn’t want her to, but she was still vulnerable, especially with so many wolf shifters in the area. So one of us, almost always, was nearby when she shifted. Usually she knew we were there, but I could tell that she wasn’t aware right now, her golden eyes darting around as her teal ear twitched.

Deciding to make myself known, I stood up and moved out from the brush, her frame immediately startling as she hopped away from me—making it halfway across the clearing in record time. I resisted the urge to give chase and instead made my way to the center of the clearing before laying down. Closing my eyes and half exposing my stomach, I waited until I heard her approaching.

I let out a grunt as she jumped onto me, thumping me with her foot near my face, not once but twice. As if pissed, I startled her. I nearly chuckled internally at that but instead shook her off and readjusted myself so that my chin rested against the ground. When she appeared in front of me and curled up right by the tip of my nose, my exhale of hot air ruffled her fur. Closing my eyes, I was happy when she decided to stay with me through her entire break.

I may not have been able to hold her or cuddle her in real life—at least not yet—but for now this was enough. It was enough just to be close to her.

“ O h, coffee!” Lena’s voice broke me from my memory as I looked up to find her sliding onto my lap, tucking her body against mine. She stole my mug and drank half of it as I watched her with amusement. Her teal hair was messy and pulled up, her golden eyes relaxed and filled with a sated comfort.

“Drink as much as you want.” Ari yawned, appearing on the balcony as well. “Connery insisted on getting that fancy coffee machine downstairs, so a ‘normal’ coffee is the least of what it makes.”

“I’ve wanted that coffee machine for the bakery for so long,” Lena said with a tiny smile. “You four are so incredibly thoughtful; I can’t get over it.”

“Just love you,” I insisted, kissing her temple. I really didn’t consider myself a thoughtful person at all, but if she thought that I wasn’t going to tell her differently.

Suddenly, the sound of wings drew all our attention up as Macon and Connery flew overhead. Deciding now was as good a time as ever, I lifted Lena and placed her down in my seat, going to grab what I needed from my closet. The brothers would be landing soon, and I decided that I wanted our mark on her before she went out today . It was the only thing left to symbolize that she owned us in the same way we owned her—completely and wholly.

I grabbed the velvet box from the closet just as I heard Macon and Connery land, Lena seeming thrilled at their shift. We needed to shift as a group more often. I understood how amusing it probably seemed and would look—two dragons, two wolves, and a bunny shifter—but in my mind it was just our perfect family. Briefly the idea of what our kids would turn out to be popped into my head but I ignored it, not allowing my brain to go there. Not right now.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were having this built.” Lena sighed happily, looking at the forested edge of the estate. “I mean, seriously—nothing could be better than this. It’s absolute perfection, and the land is so peaceful and quiet. It’s perfect for us.”

Lena was perfect for us.

“We didn’t want to scare you with how much we were on board with all of this,” Ari reminded her.

“Wanted to make sure you loved us before you realized how deep in you were,” Macon chuckled.

“I do love all of you,” she admitted softly. “So incredibly much. “

“Well, I can’t think of a better time for this, then,” I said, taking a knee in front of Lena.

Her eyes went wide. “Wait, what?”

“Give him your hand, gorgeous,” Connery mused.

“Of course,” she squeaked, putting forward her delicate hand as I opened the box. I could feel the others watching her expression, captivated by it, so I spoke openly for all of us.

“Lena, you know how much we love you. We want you as our everything—our mate and our wife. Will you do the honor of marrying us?”

Tears sprung up in her eyes as a pure, radiant smile filled her face, looking at each one of us. “Absolutely. Yes .”

Relief filled me as I slid the large topaz stone surrounded by a halo of diamonds onto her delicate finger. I nearly groaned at how fucking good it looked on her, and when I had a moment, I tugged her chin forward and placed a kiss on her lips.

“I love you, Lena.”

“I love you,” she said back, a single tear spilling over as she looked around. “It's almost overwhelming how much I feel for all of you.”

“I know it’s for a good reason, but I hate seeing you cry,” Connery rumbled.

“Well, it’s for more reasons than just this,” she admitted, her eyes dancing with excitement and pure happiness.

My brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s it for?”

“I took a test yesterday and it was a faint line, but this morning I took another…” She paused, biting her lip. “I’m pregnant. We’re pregnant .”

Holy shit. My eyes widened as Macon fucking cheered, the others reacting as I stared at my beautiful mate and the way she was glowing. My hand immediately went out to touch her stomach as her eyes warmed on me with so much joy.

We were starting a family—this was happening. Everything was about to change in the best way possible.