Chapter 13 #3
“Never that, Bill. I’m not a monarch like the other big cat shifters.
I’m not even a Lord like the were Tribes seem to enjoy.
I’m just an Alpha with a widely scattered Clan, trying to rebuild.
” Mark was a lot more than that, and they all knew it, but he was a good man who didn’t wield his power like a weapon.
“There are a certain group of elders in the Clan who keep their own counsel and help pass the knowledge we need down to the younger generation. They are our conscience and our barometer. They are the counsel I seek when I need to make the big decisions. I rather thought that’s the kind of role you’d fit into. If you want it.”
Mark’s demeanor was off-hand, but Shelly knew this was a big offer. Very big. To bring an outsider—a mage who didn’t have a jaguar in his soul—into the heart of the Clan was a step even Shelly understood to be huge.
Her dad smiled a soft, genuine smile, and there was a sparkle in his eyes that spoke of high emotion. “I think I’d like that. You honor me, Alpha.”
They continued their lunch together and discussed wedding plans a bit, then Bill got the low-down about the island, and Shelly told them both about her ideas for the structures they would build there. She had big dreams about things they would construct years into the future.
There was a lot of work to be done on Jaguar Island, and she was just the architect to do it. The Clan home would be her life’s work. Her greatest achievement. And her labor of love.
After all, the fate of the Clan and of the Howell bloodline was in her hands now.
She hoped at least one of her children would have mage powers, and that her father would have a chance to pass on his knowledge.
Shelly herself feared she had come into her power too late in life to ever really master it, but she’d do what she could.
For her father’s sake, she would pray for at least one true mage of her blood for him to teach in the years ahead.
As for the rest… If they were going to rebuild the Clan, Shelly was looking forward to having lots of Mark’s babies…and all the fun they would have making them.
Good thing she’d always wanted a large family.
A few days later, after things had settled down and Shelly had packed her things and sealed up her house for an extended vacation, she and Mark set sail on his private yacht.
Their eventual destination was Jaguar Island, but they were taking the scenic route in order to enjoy a little bit of a honeymoon before the big mating party his people were already planning.
Shelly was involved in some of the preparations via a state-of-the-art satellite communications center on the huge boat.
She spent a few minutes each day looking at dress designs and color schemes and working with Marie and Janice on the menu remotely.
She was enjoying planning a bit of the big party but was more than willing to let others do the work.
They all seemed so happy to put on this special occasion for her—and their Alpha.
She was happy to let them do their worst, knowing that she and Mark would have to have a more traditional ceremony and reception in a few months on the mainland, in order to make their marriage legal in the eyes of the human world they lived in.
He’d also discussed his penchant for leaking photographs to the tabloids to earn extra money for the Clan. Shelly had laughed at the sneakiness of it all. Just like a cat, she thought.
She would have a big society wedding. Not because she really wanted that sort of pomp and circumstance—though what girl didn’t secretly dream of a fairytale wedding when she was little?
No, the wedding would be more about putting on a show for the humans.
Solidifying their relationship for the press.
And networking with the hundreds who would be invited from the business community.
It would be a dream and a sham all at the same time, but it would be worth it. If it would help the Clan, she was all for it. She also knew it would help her father and what remained of the Howell reputation, which was a nice added benefit.
In fact, her father was already reaping the rewards of their new connection.
He’d been able to reclaim some of the money he’d put aside for Shelly’s security into the future.
He’d also rebuilt ties with the Midtown werewolf Pack.
In a town as densely populated as Manhattan, it was good to have strong allies, and Shelly rested easier knowing her father wasn’t all alone out there with nobody to help him if he should come under magical attack.
For now, though, she was all about sailing off into the sunset with her mate. They had a few days until they got to the island and the big party. She was determined to make the most of them…with the loving, magical Alpha of her very own.
*
Thank you for reading The Jaguar Tycoon.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.