The siblings and their mates joined Kayla and Nate and smiled at them. “Only the two of you could take a vacation and turn it into a wild adventure,” Landon said. “And then come home from your vacation and continue the adventure.”

  The jaguar sisters joined them then. Both were blue-eyed, but Odette was the taller of the twin sisters and the older. “I was going to offer our JAG services to make sure these men were put behind bars, but the two of you did all right on your own,” she said.

  “Yeah. When our good friend Gabrielle mated Blake, we thought this was a perfectly safe place for her to be,” Zelda said, her dark hair sun-lightened to lighter than her sister’s.

  Gabrielle smiled. “It is. Everyone has everyone else’s back.”

  Dance music began to play, and several people started to dance.

  “They’re playing our tune,” Kayla said, taking Nate to the dance floor and slow dancing nice and close to him.

  “Oh, yeah?” He kissed her cheek. “I didn’t know we had a tune.”

  “Yep. Any that is nice and slow like this? That’s our dance. You see, I’d planned to ask you to mate me today, so the celebration was supposed to be part of the seduction.”

  He laughed. “So you were in charge of the playlist.”

  “You better believe it. Wolves love to cuddle with wolves, so no one will object to my choice of dance music.”

  He smiled and held her close. “Me, least of all.”

  After feasting and dancing, they all headed over to the pack leaders’ home to set off an extravaganza of fireworks that would continue when Nate and Kayla returned home to their own special fireworks that said just how much the two wolves loved each other.

  Tomorrow wouldn’t be just another workday, not now that they had each other to share their dreams with. Every day would be an adventure, and good or bad, they were ready to tackle it together.

  “What did Phil’s parents say when you told them Phil was alive and well?” Kayla asked on the way home.

  Nate shook his head. “They wished they hadn’t hired me.”

  “Because you learned the truth about what Phil had been up to.” Kayla smiled at Nate as they got out of the van at the apartment. “Tonight is the final stage of our Fourth of July seduction. At least for a little while. Tomorrow? It starts all over again.”

  “I was just going to say this is just the beginning.” Nate swept her up in his arms and carried her into their apartment.

  This wasn’t exactly what she’d planned, but it had sure worked out well for her too. That was the thing about their relationship. They both added so much to it—planned or otherwise—to make it super special.

  Epilogue

  Three months later, the men involved in the robberies and Manning’s murder were all going to trial, and Kayla and Nate were ready to testify, hoping all of the men would be put behind bars for a very long time. At least Sarah and Ann took a deal to testify against the whole lot of them.

  Kayla and Nate had their wedding and were staying at the same cabin for their honeymoon. They’d had a wild adventure last time, but they figured it would be quiet this time. And they’d made reservations for the cabin in between the new moon and the full moon so Kayla could shift at will. She loved that, though Nate was all for taking her someplace else for their honeymoon, far away so they could really be away from everything here. But she loved being here with the pack close by.

  Here, they could still run as wolves when they wanted to. It was fall, perfect for warm fireplace fires and roasting hot dogs outside on the firepit. S’mores too. And cups of hot chocolate at night. The aspens leaves were bright yellow, fluttering about in the chilly breeze that night, bold orange to red maples, green pines, just beautiful. The temperature was sixty-six during the day, nearly freezing at night, but it was fine for running and swimming as wolves.

  The fall was also great for snuggling during the day or the night! And it would be the last time that they could get away like this before their siblings’ twin babies were born.

  Their first order of business was making love; then they ran as wolves and decided to make their way up to the waterfalls to watch the sun set. But as soon as they reached the top of the cliffs, they saw three men wading in the stream, trying to reach the edge of the Greater Silver Waterfall.

  Not déjà vu. She glanced at Nate. He let out his wolf breath in frustration, his warmed breath a frosty mist. They should just let these people deal with the consequences of their actions. But if they got into trouble, Kayla and Nate didn’t want to have these men’s deaths on their conscience.

  They couldn’t rescue them as wolves though. They’d probably scare them into trying to cross to the other side of the stream. That was even more dangerous. There was no way to get down from there.

  But there wasn’t any way Kayla and Nate could make it all the way back to the cabin in the time it would take them to run here, even as wolves, so they had no choice but to cross the stream and herd the men back to the safe shore. Kayla and Nate headed away from the stream so the men wouldn’t see them, then along the stream so they could go further up and cross, then come around the men and force them back to shore.

  They had to hurry though. The wolves could see at night. These men couldn’t, and if Kayla and Nate panicked them, the foolhardy men might end up walking or running off the cliff.

  When she thought they were far enough from the men to cross, she began to make her way across the slippery stones, her larger wolf feet spreading and the fur between her toes helping keep her from slipping. Nate had moved in beside her, closer to the waterfall, and she knew he meant to rescue her if she lost her footing and was carried downstream. But she was keeping her footing, and so was he. Much easier as wolves with their lower center of gravity.

  They reached the other shore and started to hurry toward the cliff edge. The men were snapping selfies.

  She and Nate headed into the water and started to move toward them. At first, the men were looking away from them, then one of the men saw them. “Holy hell, are those wolves?”

  “Crap. Get moving. Now!” one of the men said.

  “Not too fast or we could slip and fall and be carried over the waterfall.”

  Which was why they shouldn’t have put themselves in that position in the first place! Kayla wondered just how many people had risked their necks like this and survived who they’d never known about.

  “And the wolves will chase us!” one of the men said.

  But Kayla and Nate stayed still, standing in the water, waiting for the men to make their way across the stream the rest of the way safely. They finally reached the bank and glanced back to see the wolves just waiting.

  “Keep moving,” the one man said. “I told you others reported wolves out here, and you wanted to see them!”

  “Hey, I didn’t believe the others who said they had seen wolves out in the woods here. I figured they were dogs and the people were mistaken.”

  “Well, now we know they weren’t.” The men headed down the rocky cliff, and when they were out of sight, Kayla and Nate crossed the stream.

  Once they reached the shore, Kayla and Nate peered down at the men, still making their way down the cliff. Then she and Nate sat next to each other and watched the sun set, just like they’d planned to as wolves. She licked his cheek, and he licked hers back. Then he nuzzled her face, and she sighed, loving it up here. Loving the cold weather, the hot wolf, the sun setting. And being mated to the wolf she loved.

  Nate adored Kayla, enjoying this time with her, glad they had saved the men who had put themselves in peril and the end result had been good. He couldn’t imagine trying to rescue the men if he’d had to shift and cross the stream naked in that icy-cold water. He was glad that Kayla had come up with the perfect plan when he’d only been still trying to figure out how to get the men to safety without spooking them.

  He sighed. This is where he wanted to be. With her as wolves, enjoying the sunset as wolves liked they’d planned to do—albeit after a minor rescue mission.

  He licked her face as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the mountain, the men’s voices fading as they laughed and talked about the wolves, but then they headed off in a different direction, away from the private pack territory, for which he was glad. He certainly didn’t want to have to call Peter about any trespassers this time.

  Then Kayla nuzzled Nate and rose to her feet. The sun was gone. Time to make their way down the cliff.

  As soon as they reached the bottom of the cliff, they glanced back at the beauty of the waterfall, the moonlight shimmering on the surface of the water and the river below.

  Nate was eager to race Kayla back to the cabin—not only to enjoy mated bliss but wedded bliss now too—until Kayla and he spied something shimmering in the water. Fool’s gold was what he first thought, but when they ran to inspect it, they found a diamond ring.

  She sniffed around the site, woofed, and he and she began to dig, much faster than as humans could with their bare hands, and discovered a black bag of jewelry. This one wasn’t torn, but the bag hadn’t been cinched closed, and the ring had fallen out.

  Nate shifted, put the ring into the bag, tied it closed, shifted back into his wolf, and with the bag clamped in his jaws, they raced back to the cabin. He hoped they wouldn’t run into anyone looking for the jewelry. Okay, so they had one more thing to do before he made love to his lovely wolf mate—call Peter and have him pick up the last bag of jewelry.

  When they reached the cabin, they ran into the cabin through the wolf door, shifted, and set the bag of jewelry on the dining room table.

  Nate had his phone out and was calling Peter.

  Kayla spread out the jewelry on the table and smiled at Nate, then headed for the bathroom.

  “Yeah, Peter, we found the last of the bags of missing jewelry from the store robberies. Have someone come and get them. We have other plans for tonight.”

  Peter laughed. “You know, you’ll get another hefty reward for it.”

  “My reward is waiting for me to join her.”

  “Okay, well, you enjoy your time with her. We’ll be there soon and let ourselves in and try not to disturb you.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Thankfully, several people in the pack had keys to the cabins in case of emergencies. Then Nate joined Kayla in the shower, and after washing each other, they hurried into the bedroom. Then he was making love to her.

  And after that, they were snuggling together, getting ready to fall asleep when they heard Peter and a couple of other men enter the cabin, talking softly, but at least Nate and Kayla knew it was just them and not someone else who had broken into the cabin.

  “Hey, Peter, Tom, CJ,” Nate said, meeting them in the dining room wearing his boxer briefs. He had thought of staying in bed with Kayla, but he’d like to see the men off himself and lock up.

  They were looking over the jewelry.

  “Quite the haul these guys made,” CJ said, fingering the jewelry. “You two sure have all the luck.”

  “We owe it all to Kayla. She has an eagle eye.”

  “Remind me to take her with us on treasure hunts from now on. We’ll take it from here,” Peter said. “And get out of your hair.”

  “Thanks for coming as soon as you could.”

  “Yeah, we wanted to get it off your hands so you could enjoy your stay here in peace.”

  CJ and Tom said good night too.

  Then Nate locked the door and returned to bed to join Kayla, pulling off his boxer briefs.

  Kayla cuddled against him. “Another bounty, eh?”

  “Yeah, but all I care about is getting back to this.” He began kissing her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and began really getting into the kiss too, her body rubbing against his in a sexual frenzy.

  “That’s just what I wanted to hear.”

  They hadn’t needed to go anywhere to enjoy each other to the fullest. They were home right here with their pack, their territory, their family, happy to be a mated and wedded pair with a brand-new home situated next to Blake and Nicole’s and wolf runs with Roxie and them whenever they felt the urge.

  As to Rosco and Buttercup? They loved living at one house or the other on a weekly basis.

  Now all that was needed was for Roxie to find that special wolf that made her heart sing.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks so much to Darla Taylor and Donna Fournier for all their help with the story, always eager to read the next one, which is a joy to me. And to Deb Werksman, who I’ve worked with for over a decade on all these fun-loving shifter stories. Also I want to thank the cover artists who make such beautiful covers for each and every book.

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has written over a hundred paranormal and medieval Highland romances. One of her bestselling titles, Heart of the Wolf, was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. She is an award-winning author with two Paranormal Excellence Awards for Romantic Literature. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry also creates award-winning teddy bears that have found homes all over the world, helps out with her grandchildren, and enjoys her two Havanese dogs. She lives in Spring, Texas.

  Also by Terry Spear

  BILLIONAIRE WOLF

  Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing

  A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas

  Night of the Billionaire Wolf

  Wolf Takes the Lead

  RED WOLF

  Joy to the Wolves

  The Best of Both Wolves

  Christmas Wolf Surprise

  WOLFF BROTHERS

  You Had Me at Wolf

  Jingle Bell Wolf

  SEAL WOLF

  A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing

  A SEAL Wolf Christmas

  SEAL Wolf Hunting

  SEAL Wolf in Too Deep

  SEAL Wolf Undercover

  SEAL Wolf Surrender

  SEAL Wolf Pursuit (novella)

  HEART OF THE SHIFTER

  You Had Me at Jaguar

  SILVER TOWN WOLF

  Destiny of the Wolf

  Wolf Fever

  Dreaming of the Wolf

  Silence of the Wolf

  A Silver Wolf Christmas

  Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply

  Between a Wolf and a Hard Place

  All’s Fair in Love and Wolf

  Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays

  Tangling with the Wolf (novella)

  HEART OF THE JAGUAR

  Savage Hunter

  Jaguar Fever

  Jaguar Hunt

  Jaguar Pride

  A Very Jaguar Christmas

  HIGHLAND WOLF

  Heart of the Highland Wolf

  A Howl for a Highlander

  A Highland Werewolf Wedding

  Hero of a Highland Wolf

  A Highland Wolf for Christmas

  The Wolf Wore Plaid

  WHITE WOLF

  Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas

  Flight of the White Wolf

  While the Wolf’s Away

  Wolf to the Rescue (novella)

  HEART OF THE WOLF

  Heart of the Wolf

  To Tempt the Wolf

  Legend of the White Wolf

  Seduced by the Wolf

  Night of the Wolf (novella)

  Day of the Wolf (novella)

  LOVING THE WOLF

  Love and danger from New York Times bestselling author Paige Tyler’s SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team.

  SWAT werewolf Trevor McCall is sure Jenna Malone is “The One” for him. The problem? Jenna is a fellow pack mate’s sister and her brother doesn’t want her dating Trevor. But Jenna is already falling for Trevor big time.

  The stakes are raised when their plan to spend quality time together in Jenna’s hometown of Los Angeles turns into a search for her sister who disappeared a decade ago—and for the terrifying supernatural creature who kidnapped her.

  “Unputdownable… Whiplash pacing, breathless action, and scintillating romance.”

  —K.J. Howe, international bestselling author, for Wolf Under Fire

  For more info about Sourcebooks’s books and authors, visit:

  sourcebooks.com

  SEVEN RANGE SHIFTERS

  Cowboys by day, wolf shifters by night Kait Ballenger

  Cowboy Wolf Trouble

  Bad-boy rancher Wes Calhoun, former leader of a renegade pack, has given up his violent ways and sworn loyalty to the Grey Wolves. But with the supernatural world on the verge of war, Wes’s dark past is catching up with him, and human rancher Naomi Evans is caught in the middle.

  Cowboy in Wolf’s Clothing

  Commander Colt Cavanaugh has spent his life defending his pack—until he meets Belle Beaumont, known enemy of the Grey Wolves. When rivalry turns into passion, Colt will fight to the death to protect the only woman who can heal his battle-worn heart.

  Wicked Cowboy Wolf

  Years ago, Grey Wolf Jared Black was cast from the pack for a crime he didn’t commit. But when a vampire threat endangers their entire species, Jared must confront his former packmates again, even if that means betraying the only woman he’s ever loved.

  Fierce Cowboy Wolf

  For Sierra Cavanaugh, becoming the first female elite warrior in Grey Wolf history comes with a condition: she must find a mate, and her rival Packmaster Maverick Grey, is the only wolf who’s offering. The only thing more dangerous than the enemy at their backs is the war of seduction building between them.

  Wild Cowboy Wolf

  One intimate spark turns to wildfire between Grey Wolf warrior Dakota Nguyen and her best friend, security expert Blaze Carter. But as a hidden enemy threatens to destroy the pack, there could be deadly consequences to acting on their desires.

  Cowboy Wolf Outlaw

  With the pack facing their most challenging battle yet, Grey Wolf assassin Malcolm Grey’s mission is simple: locate their enemies and destroy them. And when sassy, southern belle Trixie Beauregard makes a proposal he can’t resist, Malcolm has all he needs to take them down.