I bit my lip. “We didn’t.”
“No?”
I discreetly pointed at Alanna, and his eyes went wide.
“But she’s only a few months old. Elementals don’t get their powers until much later.”
“She didn’t seem afraid while you were fighting. She fixated on you. And then she just… called lightning.” I shrugged, unable to explain it. “I think she loves you.”
“I’m happy she does, and I love her back, but that’s not the part that concerns me. It’s the fact that our months-old cub is gifted.”
He sounded weary, like he was already seeing the years ahead and knew he’d be one very tired bear trying to keep up with his Clan, Alanna, and me.
I grinned and kissed his chin. “Well, there’s that too.” I laughed softly. Of course my niece would be gifted. She was my niece. What else would she be?
I cuddled into Riggs’ embrace.
“I only had one true regret when I woke up and realized what was happening.”
“What?”
I rested my forehead against his chest, then tipped my head back to look up at him. “That you and I aren’t mated yet. I’m ready.”
He went still for a moment, stunned, then pure joy lit his eyes.
“Really?” he asked, his voice awed and so very gentle. “Are you sure?”
My nod was firm. “I’m sure. Tonight, if possible.”
I was really killing this romance thing. But I didn’t care. I wanted to be his. I wanted him to be mine. I wanted the closest connection I could possibly have with him.
My mate didn’t seem to mind my lack of finesse. He swept me off my feet and spun me around, then kissed every inch of my face and Alanna’s. She squirmed and protested, but I didn’t.
I was just happy to finally be home.
Epilogue
Piper
Five Years Later
After that attack, we took Alanna to King Asharien because we were worried about Alanna having powers at only a few months old. And rightly so, because the King was so concerned her powers had switched on early that he had them sealed until she came of age at seventeen.
Which meant that Riggs and I had one less thing to worry about when she hit her teens. Otherwise, I could totally see her zapping me with lightning when she got irritated with me. Even with her getting her powers back at seventeen, I idly wondered if I needed to invest in a rubber suit. Just in case.
So we had until her seventeenth birthday to teach her things that every teen wants to learn. Things like kindness, respect, responsibility... and even forbearance. Because as much fun as it would be to zap sucky people, it was still against paranormal law—except in extenuating circumstances.
But today I was trying not to worry about when she got her powers back, because today marked almost five years to the day that I first came to the Lodge.
The day I had met my mate.
I came out onto the front porch of the Lodge with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. I could hear giggles, even though I couldn’t see Alanna counting aloud behind a tree as bear shifters scampered across the lawn, hiding in various places.
She could only count to fifty, so that was how long the bears had to hide. I smirked into my mug as Matteo slid into the hot tub with a quiet sigh and tried to keep his head low so Alanna wouldn’t spot him. Taco hid in a trash can, no surprises there. Mathan and Alistair hid behind trees in the yard, and Drew flattened himself in a clump of wildflowers.
She found him first.
Really, it was his own fault. It wasn’t like the flowers had invisibility powers.
