I captured her hand, bringing it to my lips.“We’ll find them,” I promised.“Money isn’t an issue.We’ll offer them salaries they can’t refuse.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile remained fond.“Not everything can be solved by throwing money at it, Mr.Billionaire.”
“Most things can,” I countered with a smirk.“How do you think I got you to Angel Spring in the first place?”
Her laughter, bright and uninhibited, remained the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.“You can’t buy loyalty or dedication,” she reminded me.“The doctors we hire need to believe in what we’re building here.”
“Like you did,” I said softly.
Her expression softened.“Like I do,” she corrected.“Every day.”
Standing, she stepped into my arms, her body fitting perfectly against mine as it always had.My hand spread protectively over her abdomen, where our child grew bigger each day.
“Did you ever imagine this?”she asked, voice muffled against my chest.“When you were holed up alone in this mansion, avoiding the town?”
I chuckled, remembering the solitary, angry wolf I’d been.“Never,” I admitted.“I was too busy nursing old wounds to imagine new beginnings.”I pressed my lips to her forehead.“Let’s hope the baby gets your sunny disposition instead of my grumpy one.”
She laughed, the sound echoing through the empty building that would soon fill with healing and hope.“I don’t know.I’ve grown rather fond of your grumpiness.”
Surrounded by our shared vision, I held my mate and felt the last shadows of my past finally dissolve.
FIVE YEARS LATER
The fundraiser was Sabrina’s idea, a gala to raise money for the new pediatric wing.I’d offered to simply write a check for the full amount, but she’d been adamant.
“It’s not just about the money,” she’d explained, bouncing our three-year-old son on her hip.“It’s about community investment.People care more about things they’ve contributed to.”
So here we were, the medical center’s cafeteria transformed into a ballroom with twinkling lights and elegant decorations.The guest list included not only Angel Spring’s residents but wealthy shifters from across the country, all dressed in their finest and opening their checkbooks for a cause barely on their radar before tonight.
“Daddy!”A small voice cut through the sophisticated murmur.I turned just in time to catch my son as he hurtled toward me, narrowly avoiding a collision with a server carrying champagne flutes.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, lifting him easily.At three, Sawyer already showed signs of shifter strength, his little body vibrating with energy that sometimes seemed impossible to contain.“Where’s your babysitter?”
“Run away,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“You ran away,” I corrected automatically, scanning the room for the harried elderly shifter we’d hired to keep him occupied.I spotted her searching frantically near the kitchen doors and gave her an acknowledging nod.
“You’re supposed to stay with Ms.Howard,” I said, attempting a stern tone undermined by my inability to truly be upset with him.
Sawyer’s lower lip jutted out.“Want Mama,” he said simply, pointing across the room.
Following his gaze, I spotted Sabrina, resplendent in a gown that caught the light as she moved between guests.She laughed at something Juniper said.As she tilted her head, the light caught on my mark on her neck.
Five years together, and she still took my breath away.
“Your mother is something special, isn’t she?”I said softly.
Sawyer nodded vigorously.“Mama fix people,” he declared with absolute certainty only a child could muster.
“That she does,” I agreed, suppressing a smile.“And she’s very busy tonight.So you need to be a good boy for Ms.Howard.”
He sighed dramatically, a miniature version of Sabrina’s exasperated expression.“Kay,” he conceded, as if granting me a great favor.
I set him down just as the babysitter caught up to us, breathless and apologetic.“He’s quick,” she explained unnecessarily.
“Wolf blood,” I said with a wink at my son.
As they departed for the playroom we’d set up specifically for tonight, I returned to circulating among our guests.The fundraiser had already exceeded our initial goal, with pledges continuing to roll in.My contribution still dwarfed them all, but Sabrina had been right, collective effort carried power all its own.
