Resisting the Cougar (Cascade Shifters #2) (22 page)

Chloe gave a dramatic sigh. “I guess. Just let her know that I didn’t forget about her.”

“I’ll do that.” Standing up, Aidan moved them out of the bathroom. “Just make sure to follow Dani’s instructions tonight. I don’t want to hear tales of you roaring inside your bedroom and playing lion-shifter.”

“I’ll try, but it’s just so hard sometimes. I want to roar.”

Thankfully, a knock prevented him from telling Chloe she couldn’t change her animal shifter form based on desire.

Opening the door, he greeted his friend. “Thanks, Dani. You sure you can handle this?”

“I train young alphas all the time. I can handle one seven-year-old.” Dani looked around Aidan at Chloe. “I can teach you more secret moves, if you want, Chloe?”

The little girl clapped her hands. “Ooh, I can’t wait. Maybe I can be a sentry like you and Daddy.”

Aidan opened his mouth, but Dani gave him a shove. “Go. You don’t know how long Claire will stay awake this time.”

“Fine, just stay out of trouble.”

As the door shut behind him, he heard Chloe ask, “Can we invite some of the wolves over to play?”

Smiling at his daughter’s willingness to accept anyone, regardless of shifter animal or if they were even human, he rushed down the hall. Dani had been right; he didn’t know how long he had before Claire fell back asleep.

He’d slept nearly a day himself and felt rejuvenated. He hoped Claire was faring better.

The few minute walk seemed more like an eternity. Both man and cat desperately needed to hold their female close. Being apart for even a day when she was injured grated against his animal’s instinct to protect their mate.

If not for Chloe, Aidan would’ve refused to leave Claire’s side. But his daughter had toughed out the last few days with him and had needed the sleep. Caring for his child was the only thing which could persuade his cat to leave their mate’s care to the wolves.

Finally, he reached Claire’s door. Nodding to the GreyFire guard standing watch, he took a deep breath before entering the room.

Claire was sitting upright in her bed, reading a tablet in her hands. The sight of her awake and acting as if she hadn’t just nearly died warmed his heart. His mate would live.

At the sound of the door, she looked up and smiled at him. “Aidan.”

His name on her lips only made his cat more anxious to hold their female.

Still, Claire was recovering and he needed to be gentle. Moving to her bedside, he kissed her forehead as the door clicked shut behind him. “Are you up for a visit?”

“Perhaps, although any strenuous activities will have to wait a few weeks.”

He growled. “I may be a shifter male, but I can control myself if need be.”

She grinned. “If you say so.”

Sitting on the edge of her bed, he cupped her cheek with one hand. “I’ve missed you, love.”

“I’ve missed you, too, although I’m afraid to compliment you and boost your ego. I’m not sure I can handle it at full-strength just yet.”

As he stared into Claire’s green eyes and saw the spirit and vitality in them, his heart eased a little. “If you’re well enough to tease me, then you’re definitely out of danger. We’ll have you back in top form in no time. Otherwise, I’ll have to try to be extra nice and not growl. That’s not easy to do.”

She grinned. “Damn, and here I thought I would have a manservant for the foreseeable future.” He frowned as Claire winked. “Don’t worry, it’s not like I would ask you to wear a butler’s uniform or anything.”

“Butler’s uniform my ass. Those things look itchy.”

Claire placed a hand over her heart. “Well, as much as I’d like to see you dressed to the nines, this ordeal has had something positive come out of it.” She held up the tablet. “The shooting helped our campaign.”

“Is that what you were reading? I haven’t had a chance to check any of the news.”

Frowning, she tilted her head. “How is that possible? Staring at my unconscious form for hours would’ve been beyond boring.”

“I didn’t want to miss you waking up. Although, I did have to take care of Chloe some of the time.”

As his female stared at him, he gathered the courage to say what needed to be said. Yet as he opened his mouth, Claire beat him to it. “You are strong, caring, and fierce. When I first met you, I never expected to find my other half in a grumpy shifter male. I love you, Aidan Scott, and I want to mate you.” He frowned and she asked, “What’s wrong now?”

“I was about to tell you that I love you, and you stole my thunder.”

One corner of her mouth ticked up. “Is that why you combed your hair?”

“I always comb my hair.” Claire shook her head, but Aidan continued, “Enough with my hair. You’re caring and smart with an unmatched dedication to making the world a better place.” He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. “You also brought me back to life, not to mention you’re stubborn and sexy as hell. I love you, Claire Davis, and I will mate you any time you’re ready.”

“Oh, Aidan.”

Moving his head, he kissed her. It took everything he had not to take the kiss deeper, but he wouldn’t risk Claire injuring herself further.

When he pulled away, he stayed a few inches from her face. “So that’s a yes, I take it?”

“Of course it’s a yes. But since I’m not about to mate you wearing a hospital gown with my ass hanging out, it’s going to have to wait until we can go back to DarkStalker. We should have the ceremony there.”

He craned his neck. “I wouldn’t mind seeing your ass.”

She lightly smacked him. “Not right now. Besides, you still haven’t told me how I can stay with you. While the ballot measure to legalize shifter-human marriages is now ten points ahead in the polls, even if it passes, that’s a long time away. I’m guessing you found something else to help us until then.”

After explaining what Nate had shared, Claire shook her head. “To think something like this has been around all this time. I wish I could’ve met with the bears.”

“Well, they’ll be around in the summer some time, so you’ll get your chance then. But…”

“But what?”

“Just stay clear of Nate Carter. He will flirt with you and then I’ll have to kick his ass.”

Claire laughed. “It sounds like this Nate person is interested in Dani, so I should be safe.”

“I can’t see Dani with Nate. They would forever be challenging each other’s authority and would kill each other before long.”

“If you say so. I’m betting on a hook-up. Dani needs a strong male, and a bear-shifter could actually win against her, if he tried.”

Aidan rubbed her back. “I’ll take that bet. Dani will succeed in keeping him away.”

His female put out a hand. “Shake on it. If I win, I can ask for a favor.”

He put his hand in hers. “And if I win, I’ll ask the same.”

After releasing his hand, Claire scooted to the opposite edge of her bed. “Enough about bets. Come cuddle with me and tell me what Chloe’s up to right now. And anything else that can help alleviate my boredom.”

Settling next to his female, she laid her head on his chest. The weight of Claire against him as her scent filled his nose made a combination of possessiveness and contentment course through his body. “Don’t worry, tomorrow Chloe will entertain you. Just ask her to play lion-shifter with you.”

Claire looked up at him. “Only if I can be a wolf-shifter.” He grunted and she grinned. “Hey, it would be fun. I’ve always wanted to howl.”

“Even if you could howl and smelled like wet dog, I’d still love you.”

“Maybe I should mention the wet dog comment to Kaya when we see her next.”

He sighed. “How many weeks do we have until you’re recovered again?”

“Enough that you’re going to feel the full brunt of both my personality and imagination. You may change your mind about mating me by then.”

He laid his cheek on her head. “Never, Claire Davis. I love every quirky and stubborn bit of you.”

“I love you, too, alphaness and all.” Claire tapped her fingers on his chest. “Now, how about I tell you my idea for a shifter TV reality show? One where a woman can take her pick from any type of shifter she likes…”

As Claire rambled on about her idea, her voice soothed both man and cat. Never in a million years had he expected to find his second chance at love in a human female who liked to give orders and dreamed of producing her own reality TV show.

Yet he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

He only hoped her dream of human-shifter marriage equality came true and that the federal government would accept it. Not just because it was right, but also because he wanted Claire to legally be allowed to come and go from DarkStalker’s lands. Sure, she would be protected under the modified Witness Protection Program, but without marriage equality, she would be trapped for the rest of her life.

Rubbing up and down his female’s hip, he pushed aside his doubts. Aidan would do whatever it took to ensure the new law passed in November.

Once it did, he would marry his female in the human way. After that, the world would have to look out because his mate would never stop trying to change the world.

And there was nowhere Aidan would rather be than at her side.

Epilogue

January 3rd, Ten Months Later

Claire listened as the judge said, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

Her Aunt Gwen then kissed her new husband, Ben. Applause rose up as Claire’s new uncle took the kiss deeper.

When the couple finally broke off the kiss and faced the crowd, Aunt Gwen sought her eyes. Claire nodded, leaned against Aidan, and murmured, “The first human and shifter couple has now been officially married in the State of Washington.”

Aidan hugged her tightly. “It was nice of you to allow your aunt to be the first. Although, we’ll have our own before too much longer. Stir-crazy is too tame a word for how you’ve been acting these last few months, ever since you were granted the special witness protection program status.”

She sighed. “I know, but my aunt has been on the run for over a decade. She deserved to be first, especially since the federal government hasn’t said a word about enforcing federal law over state law. My aunt can finally live her life in peace. We’ll have ours soon enough.”

Watching her aunt and uncle make their way down from the stage and into the crowd, Claire moved toward her aunt. When she was close enough, she enveloped her in a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Aunt Gwen.”

Gwen leaned back and eyes the same shade as Claire’s looked back at her with love. “It’s all thanks to you, Claire. Your parents would be proud.”

She nodded. “I know.” Claire turned toward Ben the bear-shifter and opened her arms. “How about a hug?”

With a sigh, he hugged her, his deep voice rumbling. “Hugging in public isn’t my thing, but I owe you that much at least.”

Releasing her uncle, she took a step back to Aidan’s side. “You’ll just have to get used to it since you’ll be around a lot more. I’m a big-time hugger.”

Her aunt touched her arm. “I just wish we could’ve come back sooner to attend your mating ceremony.”

Claire unconsciously brushed her thumb across her palm, where she’d cut her hand before gripping Aidan’s cut hand. “To be honest, I was just trying not to faint. There’s a reason I never wanted to be a doctor and cutting living flesh is it.”

Her aunt chuckled. “Big, bad Ben turned green during ours.”

Ben mumbled, “I’m a website designer, not a damn soldier.”

Gwen opened her mouth, but Kian appeared next to them, a baby carrier in each hand. Claire frowned. “You really shouldn’t bring three-month-old babies to a wedding.”

Trinity then joined their circle, her third baby snuggled over her shoulder. “I thought my children should be present for such a historical event.”

Kian’s reply was dry. “No, you just couldn’t find a babysitter you trusted to watch over them.”

Trinity rubbed her baby’s back. “There are plenty of people I trust, but the babies needed to be here.”

Having lived the past ten months on DarkStalker’s lands, Claire knew their bickering could go on for a while, so she jumped in. “Aunt Gwen, I’m taking up your time. You really need to mingle with the crowd and get to know your new clan. Now that you’re married, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up after your honeymoon period.”

Claire gestured at the mixture of wolf, bear, and cougar-shifters inside DarkStalker’s grand meeting space. Having all three Cascade Shifter clans in one place was quite a feat in and of itself considering what had happened over the summer.

Ben eyed the crowd. “Do we have to?” He looked down at Gwen. “I’d rather spend my time celebrating alone.”

Gwen looped her arm through her mate’s. “No, mister, not yet. All of these people went to such lengths to help us and put the wedding together. We owe it to them to show some gratitude.”

Ben sighed. “Fine, then let’s get it over with.”

Aidan chuckled at Claire’s side. “I understand how you feel, bear, but it’s best to please the females of Claire and Gwen’s families.”