Karen Whiddon: The Lost Wolf's Destiny

“I’m just thinking.” Ruffling her baby’s hair, Blythe looked up to catch Samantha’s knowing stare. She managed a wan smile back before turning her attention to making sure her daughter ate her breakfast.

After they’d finished eating, Lucaine grabbed his briefcase. “Feel free to stay as long as you need,” he told Blythe, before giving Samantha a kiss that must have curled her toes. He left for work and Hailey went into the den to watch television, leaving Blythe and Samantha alone in the kitchen.

“So what are your plans?” Samantha’s easy smile invited Blythe to share. “You must be so relieved to have your daughter back.”

“Yes. Having Hailey back and healthy is the greatest gift anyone could ever have given me. I’m so lucky Lucas decided to help me.”

Again, Blythe saw Lucas’s face, and she nearly doubled over from the pain of his absence. Inhaling sharply, she got herself together. “As for my plans, I’m ready to go home to Houston,” she said. “Now that Hailey is well, I’m hoping we can ease into a normal life. She hasn’t had much of one so far.”

Samantha nodded. “How about you?”

Glancing toward the other room, where her daughter watched a cartoon with a dancing yellow sponge, she smiled. “Me, either. Ever since Hailey was born, I’ve devoted my life to getting her well.”

“What kind of work did you do?”

Since Samantha seemed genuinely interested, Blythe relaxed, enjoying the rare camaraderie over steaming cups of coffee. “Mostly I’ve been living off the money my mother left me when she died, as well as doing some freelance website work and ebook formatting. The only thing that’s kept that business from taking off was the fact that I’ve had limited time.”

“I guess you’ll have time now, especially once Hailey starts kindergarten in the fall.”

School. Blythe smiled. “She’s been so ill, I hadn’t even thought about that. But you’re right, I definitely will have more time on my hands.”

Again, she thought of Lucas, wishing she could call him, just to hear his voice and ask him how he was doing.

“You’re missing a man?” Samantha asked softly.

Surprised, Blythe studied the other woman. “Are you psychic, too?”

“No.” Samantha chuckled. “It’s just written all over your face. When Luc and I were trying to hash things out, I remember feeling as if the world had ended.”

“Did you know for certain that he was the one?” Blythe couldn’t help asking. “I mean, from what I’ve always understood about mates, when two find each other, they both know there can never be anyone else.”

“Is that how you feel?” Samantha’s gentle smile inexplicably made Blythe want to cry.

“Yes.” She sniffed back tears. “The thing is, I’m pretty sure he feels the same way. I don’t understand why he beat such a hasty retreat.”

“Then give it time,” Samantha advised. “He’ll come around. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”

Though Blythe nodded, she knew the unspoken part of that would haunt her. “I keep thinking of all that was taken from him. The awful man who raised him actually murdered his real parents. At least he has his sister back.”

“I wonder...” Samantha looked thoughtful. “If he has any other family alive who he doesn’t know about. Aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents.”

Stunned, Blythe grimaced. “If there were, surely they would have taken Lucas and Lilly in and raised them after their parents’ deaths.”

“Maybe they didn’t know.” Picking up the phone, Samantha eyed Blythe. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll call my Luc and have him check it out. He works for the Pack Protectors. Since at least one of Lucas’s parents was Pack, he ought to be able to find information.”

“Sure, why not.” The rightness of the idea made Blythe feel better. “Lucas helped me get my daughter back. If I can help him reunite with his real family, that would be a way to repay his...kindness.” She choked on the last word.

Too kind to remark on this, Samantha nodded and punched a number into the phone. She spoke briefly to her husband and disconnected the call. “Done,” she said, giving Blythe a satisfied smile. “He’ll call me back if and when he finds out anything.”

“Thank you.” Again, to her consternation, Blythe’s eyes filled with tears. “I miss him so much.”

“Have faith.” Samantha covered Blythe’s hand with hers before getting up from the table and carrying the dishes over to the sink. “It definitely will help you get through all of this.”

Faith. Slowly, Blythe let the word sink in. She’d refused to give up on Hailey, and look how that had worked out. Samantha was right. How could she do any less for the man she truly believed was her mate?

“Let me wash those.” Swiping at her eyes, Blythe jumped up and attempted to nudge Samantha away from the sink. “You’ve already done enough.”

“I’ve got this.” Samantha refused to move. “All I’m going to do is rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher. Go spend time with your kiddo. When you’re ready, I’ll call the Protectors and let them know you’re wanting to go home. Personally, I think you should take another day or two. Whenever you choose to leave, I’m sure they’ll send a car for you.”

Once again, the other woman’s kindness had Blythe’s eyes pricking with tears. Sniffing, she nodded her thanks and went to watch cartoons with Hailey.

The popular bar was in a dilapidated building called, appropriately, “The Shack.” From the crowded parking lot to the absence of available tables, everything about the place screamed “good times.”

Exactly what Lucas was not in the mood for at all.

“I think this is just what you need,” Kane said, as if Lucas had spoken his thoughts out loud. Hell, for all he knew, maybe he had.

“Look around.” Kane strode through the crowd to the bar area, where he snagged the last two available stools. “Tell me what you see.”

It took a moment—foggy brain and all—but Lucas finally realized what the other man meant. Judging from the array of auras, The Shack was chock-full of Shifters.

Lucas took a seat, elbows on the bar. He briefly debated summoning up a smile, and then decided he was too damn exhausted to bother. “I see what you mean,” he said. “Shifters.”

“Yep.” Grinning, Kane ordered them both a beer. Despite the crowd, the bartender brought them instantly.

Grateful, Lucas took a long drink of his before asking for a menu.

“No need,” Kane told him. “This place has the best burgers in town.” Raising his hand, he placed their order.

Lucas nodded his thanks.

“So what are you going to do?” Kane asked, his voice kind.

“About what?” Distracted, Lucas stared into his half-finished beer mug and tried to ignore the mournful strains of the country music playing on the jukebox. The last thing he needed was another reminder of what—who—he was missing.

The skeptical look Kane shot him left little doubt that Kane felt Lucas knew exactly what he meant.

“About Blythe?” Lucas finally asked, since Kane was right.

Arms crossed, Kane nodded.

“Nothing,” Lucas replied with a shrug. “She’ll be all right, now that her daughter has been healed. And I accomplished what I set out to do. Helped her and her daughter and in the process, saved a bunch of other children. Once my sister is well enough to travel with me, I think I can head back to Seattle—or even my Colorado cabin—with a clear conscience.”

At first, Kane didn’t respond. He took a long drink of his beer and regarded Lucas with a sharp gaze. “Running again, are you?”

Lucas couldn’t even summon the energy to be offended. “How is going home ‘running’? I’ve got my sister back and Blythe has Hailey. It’s all good. There’s nothing left unfinished.”