Chapter 13
Stella sighed with relief as she breathed in the familiar scent of the other wolf.
Lavender. Sage. And just a hint of spicy peppercorn.
“Please be okay,” she murmured. “I don’t know why you wanted to hurt me, but I don’t want to hurt you. Not anymore.”
The wolf shrank underneath her, its limbs receding back into human size. She cradled the slight figure against her and then brushed off the long blonde hair covering its face, revealing familiar features.
Her own—staring back at her.
It was her.
Her twin sister.
“What the fuck?” Blue eyes blinked back at her. “Who—oh shit.”
“Oh shit, is right.”
This woman tied her up and kidnapped her, but Stella couldn’t bring herself to be angry. Not when her heart was bursting with happiness. “It’s you,” she cried.
She moved out of Stella’s arms and rubbed at her head. “Yeah, it’s me.” She flashed her a sheepish look. “So, uh, sorry about swiping at you and knocking you out like that. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know.”
Her twin’s face blanked. “How?”
“You’d have finished me off or run away while I was unconscious. And?—”
“Cliff! What the fuck—” Jacob’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when his gaze landed on Stella and her twin. “There’s … you … two …”
“We’re naked, pervert!” her sister screamed. “Turn the fuck around!”
Jacob quickly spun around. “Cliff?”
Cliff? Her head snapped toward him where he stood a few feet away, his jaw practically unhinging itself. A surge of happiness threatened to overwhelm her at the sight of him—until she remembered that he had left without saying goodbye. “What are you doing here?”
“Stella … sweetheart …” He took off his shirt and walked over to them, then handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said coldly, but took the shirt anyway.
“Hey now …” Her twin let out a whistle as she glanced at Cliff’s naked torso appreciatively, earning her a growl from Stella. “Whoops, sorry. Didn’t mean to encroach.”
“You’re not,” she said flatly.
“You probably have questions,” Cliff said. “And so do I, obviously.”
“Me too!” piped in Jacob.
“Jacob, give the lady your shirt,” Cliff ordered.
“Mine? Why?”
“Because there’s no one else here, and I’m showing my hoo-haa and tatas to the world,” Stella’s twin snarked.
Grumbling, Jacob did as Cliff asked, tossing the shirt over his shoulder.
As soon as they were both dressed, Stella helped her twin up. “So … uh …”
“Sloane,” she introduced herself. “My name is Sloane.”
“Sloane? Sloane what?” Stella asked. “I mean, what’s your last name?”
“Don’t got one.” She pulled the neck of Jacob’s shirt aside, revealing a wolf’s tattoo.
“You’re a Lone Wolf,” Jacob exclaimed.
“Ding, ding, ding!” Sloane clapped. “Give the man a prize.”
Stella frowned. “What’s a Lone Wolf?”
“A very long story,” Cliff said with a sigh. “We should probably get out of here before hotel security or the cops come.”
“We can go to my house,” Stella said, “and get everything cleared up.”
“Like, why you tried to kidnap your own sister,” Jacob scoffed.
“I have my reasons.” Sloane crossed her arms over her chest.
“I hope they’re good ones,” he retorted.
“As good as that roundhouse kick to the face that knocked you out.”
Jacob’s entire face turned red, and Stella swore she saw steam coming out of his ears.
“Come on, children.” Cliff seized his cousin’s arm. “Jacob, let’s go get your car.”
“I’m really sorry about—wow.” Sloane squeezed Stella’s arm, a frown line appearing between her brows. “Huh.”’
“What?”
Sloane pushed up the sleeve, then twisted her arm around. “You sure heal quick.”
“Huh?” She checked out her arm, recalling the pain of Sloane’s wolf’s claws as it tore into her. The skin was now smooth and completely unbroken. “Lycan healing, I guess.”
Sloane lifted a blonde eyebrow. “Not that quick.” She showed her own wound—a scratch down her leg where Stella’s rear paw had nicked her—which had stopped bleeding but was still an angry red slash.
“Holy shit!” Jacob exclaimed as his head ping-ponged between Cliff and Stella. “You’re?—”
“Not now,” Cliff barked.
“But—”
“I said, not now, Jacob.”
“Aw, fuck, man!” Sloane groaned as they passed the wreckage of the sports car. “I really liked that car.”
Stella felt terrible for wrecking it—or rather, her wolf did.
My wolf!
How could she forget that she had shifted for the first time?
A pleased growl rumbled across her chest, and she smiled to herself.
Hey there, she greeted.
It replied with a playful yip.
Stella turned back to what remained of the flashy vehicle. “Was it new?” She wondered how much she had in her pension and if it would be enough to replace the car.
“New for the owners, I guess,” Sloane said with a shrug. “I guess now they can report it wrecked and stolen.”
“Stolen?” Jacob exclaimed. “You stole a car?”
“What? You think I can afford somethin’ like that?”
Cliff sighed. “Move it, guys. I think I hear security coming.”
* * *
Thankfully, they made it out of the parking garage before anyone found them. On the way home, Cliff placed a call to Lizzie, who said she would take care of scrubbing their presence from the security tapes at the casino. The relief Stella had felt knowing that her identity as a Lycan was a secret for now was indescribable. While she didn’t want to keep that part of her—or her newfound family—hidden forever, she wanted to reveal it on her own terms.
“You got any vodka?” Sloane asked as soon as they got in. “I could use a drink.”
“It’s like two o’clock in the afternoon,” Jacob groaned.
“How about coffee?” Stella interjected.
Sloane shrugged. “I’ll take whatever you have.”
“Grab a mug from the cupboard, and make yourselves comfortable.” At least she had something to keep herself busy, as she was still unsure how to deal with the situation—how does one welcome a long-lost sister who tried to kidnap you?
Then there was the entire thing with Cliff …
She still wasn’t sure what to make of him being back here after he’d left so abruptly. Part of her wanted to think he was here for her, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
Not again.
Jacob probably called him when she got kidnapped. Maybe he hadn’t left the casino yet and just happened to be there.
And he only came to her rescue because it was his job.
But he had held her so tenderly as she was waking up after she shifted. Like he really cared. Not to mention, he hadn’t stopped looking at her since then. She avoided his gaze, but she could feel his eyes on her.
No, she couldn’t think like that. She was just a job to him, nothing more.
Once the coffee finished brewing, she brought the pot over to the table where everyone sat, then poured everyone a generous helping.
“How did you find me?” Stella began, breaking the awkward silence in the room.
“Your video, duh.” Sloane took a sip of the coffee.
“Then why didn’t you just call her like a normal person?” Jacob asked, exasperated.
“Because I couldn’t risk it,” she retorted. “Damn, girl, you have no idea how much trouble that video of yours caused.”
“I have an inkling,” she said. “Someone tried to kidnap me—before you did today.”
“Yeah about that …” Her lips twisted ruefully. “I might know who tried to kidnap you—I mean, don’t know the exact person, but I know who ordered it.”
“Who?” Cliff asked.
“Ronan Forte, Alpha of the Boston clan.”
Cliff gnashed his teeth. “And why the hell would the Alpha of the Boston Clan want to kidnap Stella?”
“He’s not after her,” Sloane began. “He’s after me. Either he thought Stella was me or that she could lead him to me.”
“And why does this Alpha want you?” Jacob asked in a tight voice.
“Because I tried to kill him.”
“What?” Cliff roared. “Why?”
“Because he killed my—our parents.” Her blue eyes blazed with fury as she locked gazes with Stella. “Everything … my whole life … has been false.” Her voice shook hard. “T-that he was the r-reason …”
“It’s okay.” Stella reached out and covered her hand, not missing the way she flinched when they touched. “You don’t have to say anything now.”
“I do,” she bit out. “You need to know this.” She took a pause. “I grew up in the Boston clan. They told me my parents had been killed in some kind of scuffle with another clan, and I was taken in by my ‘aunt.’ About two years ago when she died, I found out that wasn’t true. At her deathbed, she told me the real story.”
A knot grew in Stella’s chest. “What happened?”
“Do you know anything about the Boston clan?”
She shook her head.
“They’ve got links to organized crime,” Jacob supplied.
Sloane laughed bitterly. “Honey, they are organized crime. Aside from being Alpha, Ronan Forte is the biggest mob boss in Massachusetts. Our parents were part of his clan, and our dad, one of his enforcers. But he wanted to turn straight and threatened to rat on Ronan if he didn’t let them—us— go. Ronan agreed, and they left. Our parents thought that they had gotten away, but that sick sonofabitch was only playing with them. The other enforcers caught up to them on the West Coast.”
“Los Angeles,” Stella muttered. “That’s where we were found. Have you seen the article?”
“What article?”
So, Sloane didn’t know about the train station. Or about Devon. “There’s an article about us being found at the LA Union Station, abandoned by our parents. But please, go on, what else did your aunt tell you?”
“Ronan’s goons followed our parents, and they … they got rid of them.”
A pang of sadness hit Stella in the chest. She hadn’t known her birth parents and had already suspected they were gone. But still, they had given life to her, Sloane, and Devon. There was no way she could forget about them.
“Afterward, they brought me back, then concocted that bullshit story. When I found out, I tried to kill Ronan. Been on the run ever since.” She scratched at her head. “One thing, though—I still don’t understand how we were separated if our parents left us together at that train station. And I didn’t even know I had a twin until I saw that video. Scared the shit out of me when I saw my face. You said you were adopted?”
“By a couple here in Nevada.” Stella pursed her lips. Lizzie’s words came back to her. “Maybe … our parents left us at the train station to keep us safe in the first place, but Ronan saw the article.”
“And sent his enforcers to California to take us back to the clan, but only got me?” Sloane finished.
“Kids go missing all the time, so that’s what I’m thinking. The county didn’t have records of you at all. Maybe that’s why—you were kidnapped before they could enter your records in the system, while I was put up for adoption. And also—” Stella bit her lip. “There’s something else.”
“What?”
“We have a brother, Sloane. An older brother.” She didn’t reveal Devon’s identity yet, fearing it would freak her out. “He found me, and that’s why I made the video. So we could find you.”
Her face turned pale. “I’m so sorry. For bringing this all on you.”
“No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t regret anything. Not now, when you’re here with me. Can I … can I hug you?”
Sloane nodded, and Stella reached over to pull her in. Her scent was so familiar and comforting, and her wolf rumbled in happiness as they embraced.
“I was kidnapping you to keep you safe,” Sloane said when they let go of each other. “I knew they’d be after you. They just got to you first, after all. I heard about the first kidnap attempt from a contact who’s still with the Boston clan. When that didn’t work out, they tried again at your school.”
“I was right,” Cliff said. “I did smell another Lycan in that building.”
“Garret McCall, Ronan’s Beta and a mean motherfucker,” Sloane spat. “You scared him though, Cliff Forrest.”
“You know who Cliff is?” Stella asked.
“Aside from the guy hanging around you, preventing me from kidnapping you?” Sloane chuckled. “Sure do. We had sports and MMA playing on the TVs back at the Boston compound all the time. But, now that we’ve sorted this all out, you can come with me.”
“Come with you?”
“Yeah. After I failed to off Ronan, I went on the run. Turning Lone Wolf made it easy to move around, and I’ve been working odd jobs here and there, saving up enough money to leave the country. I have a place set up somewhere safe and fake IDs, passports, bank accounts, the works. You’ve actually saved me a lot of trouble, being my twin and all, so you can use one of my identities. We can go anytime.”
“She’s not leaving with you.” Cliff’s tone was dead serious. “Over my dead body is she going on the run with you.”
“The fuck she isn’t!” Sloane shot to her feet and slammed her palm on the table. “She’s in danger now. I put a target on her back, and so I’m going to protect her from now on.”
“No.” Cliff bared his teeth and planted his hands on the table, then leaned over. “I’m going to protect her from now on. Her and?—”
“Aren’t I just a job to you, Cliff?” Stella interjected. While she had no plans of running away with Sloane, she wasn’t about to let him bully her sister or think he could control her just because they had sex. “What if I did want to run off with Sloane?”
“Well, you can’t,” he roared.
“And why the heck not?”
“Because you’re having my baby, that’s why!”
Dead silence filled the room.
“E-excuse me?” she sputtered. “How can you be sure?”
“Oookay.” Sloane held her hands up. “I’m sensing this isn’t a conversation I should be in the middle of. Hey, Stella, mind if I use your shower and borrow some clothes?”
“Sure, go ahead,” she said, her eyes never leaving Cliff.
“I’ll join you,” Jacob said.
“You’re not showering with me!” she cried.
“I mean, I’ll join you in leaving this conversation.” He rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t asking to shower with you.”
“Good, because I’m not offering.” Snorting at him, she tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, then marched out.
“Give me back my shirt!” Jacob called as he trailed after her.
Stella took a few seconds to compose herself. “Now that we’re alone, could you please explain why you think I’m having your baby?”
“We had unprotected sex.”
“True, but I’m on the pill to regulate my period.” He didn’t ask last night, but she wouldn’t have been stupid enough to sleep with him without protection. “We can’t be certain.”
“Untrue. You’re pregnant right now.”
She huffed indignantly. “And how would you know?”
“Because you’re my True Mate, that’s why.”
A dull throbbing began at her temples. “That’s … it can’t be …” Charley had mentioned something about True Mates when they were in New York, but only in passing. “You’re not serious.”
“I am. And the fact that your wound healed in seconds proves it. When a female is pregnant with her True Mate’s child, she becomes invincible.”
Her hand went up to her shoulder. She still could not believe what he was saying, but the evidence was there. Sloane’s claws had cut deep, and the blood gushed out; the pain had been unbearable. And now it was as if it had never happened at all. “You came back because I’m pregnant?”
“Of course not. I didn’t even know until I saw you heal in the garage. But I was ready to leave, sitting there in the plane when I realized something.” His tone was gentle now as he rounded the table before sitting on the chair beside her. “I was wrong, Stella. To leave you like that, after the night we shared.”
“It was a one-time thing. We agreed. I under?—”
“No, no.” Taking her hand, he pressed it to his cheek, turning his head to kiss the skin of her palm. “I left because I was scared.”
Blood pounded in her ears. “Of what?”
“You. Of what you made me feel. Vulnerable and opened-up and raw. And that meant I could get hurt again.”
“Madelyn,” she said. “And your championship title fight.”
He nodded. “I have to stop living in the past. I can’t stay locked up because I’m afraid of getting hurt. But even if you did hurt me, I’d keep coming back.”
Her heart soared at his revelation. “I could never hurt you, Cliff.”
“I know. And that’s why I love you, Stella. Will you forgive me for running out on you today? For being an idiot? I’ll grovel for the rest of my life if I have to”
She chuckled as tears gathered in her eyes. “I forgive you. There’s no need to grovel.”
“Because my apology was sincere?”
“Yes. And because loving someone means forgiving them.”
Scooting over closer to her, he pulled her to his chest. “Maybe I’ll do it anyway.”
With that, he sealed his mouth to hers. Stella reached up and cupped his jaw in her hands as she angled his head to give her more access to his mouth. His wonderful coffee scent invaded her senses, sending her wolf into a joyful frenzy.
You knew, didn’t you?
The she-wolf yipped and spun around chasing its tail.
I’m so glad he’s our True Mate.
This time, the response came from a deep rumble vibrating across Cliff’s chest. Reaching out, she felt another presence within him—his wolf, whose happiness seemingly matched her own animal’s.
“I love you, Cliff,” she said as soon as they broke the kiss.
He sighed. “And I love you. I can’t wait to meet our baby.”
Gasping, she put a hand over her belly. “Do you … are you really sure?”
“What does your heart and your wolf tell you?” His smile was as bright as the sun, his green eyes twinkling with happiness.
“That you’re my True Mate.” She knew it—had always known it. Even if she didn’t know what a True Mate was, from the moment she laid eyes on this man, she knew he was hers. “And that I really am having our baby.”
“Don’t leave me, Stella. Please.”
“Never.”
“I’ll move here if I have to,” he said. “Or anywhere. You could live in Timbuktu, and I’d follow you.”
“I don’t think it’ll come to that, but I’m sure we could compromise.” She frowned.
“What now?”
“Sloane.” Her lips pursed. “She’s in danger.”
“And so are you. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you both. She’s family now.”
“Yes, she is.” And she couldn’t wait to tell Devon. “And what are we going to do about Ronan Forte?”
“It’s a tricky situation, seeing as he’s an Alpha, but Lycan laws are tougher than human ones. We’ll find a way to get justice for your parents.”
She leaned her head on his chest, listening to his strong and steady heartbeat. “I think Sloane might try to run away.” She didn’t know why she knew that, exactly. Perhaps it was the independent streak in her or the vengeance in her eyes. “I’m afraid she’ll do something stupid and get herself killed.”
“Unfortunately, she already did do something stupid, trying to take an on Alpha by herself. But like I said, she—and you—aren’t alone now.”
And she knew that was true. She would never be alone now. Cliff would always be by her side.
“Speaking of which, we should probably go check on Jacob and Sloane.” With a long, drawn-out sigh, she unfurled her arms from around his neck and pushed away from him.
“Why?”
“They might kill each other if we don’t intervene. They look ready to go head-to-head in the ring.”
Cliff flashed her a lopsided smile. “If that ever happened, I’d honestly bet on your sister.”