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set up for shifters. You won t ever have to worry about that asshole again.
Thank God. I rested my forehead against his chest.
There s hugging? Jasen said, bounding up beside us and throwing his arms around
Dean and I. I love the finale where we all hug and laugh and live happily ever after.
Oh, Nate said, getting to his feet and coming to join the Golden Girls moment. I
didn t realize this was the happily ever after part.
I don t know that it is, Dean said, untangling himself from us and stepping backward.
No one has actually asked Jo what she plans to do. If her happy ending is to take off and go
home, that s not going to be very exciting to me.
What are you talking about? Jasen asked, looking from Dean to me and back again.
She is home.
I smiled, and it felt sad to me. This was all so fresh. I hadn t had time to process
everything. As far as home went, I couldn t say I really had one. The house Billy and I had lived
in together had gone to his brother. The cash had been left to me, but I d made sure when my
husband had drafted his will that the majority of his assets had gone to his family.
The Champlain family had hated me since the first time Billy had brought me home. I
was so much younger than him and his relatives had been pretty well off so they thought I was a
gold digger. It had always been me demanding a pre-nup, making sure his family s belongings
would return to them if anything happened to Billy. I didn t want anything from him or from
them.
So now, I was technically free, but there was nowhere for me to go. I looked around at
the guys and wondered if I could really stay in Jericho Falls. Could this be my home? What if
now that the stress was over, now that we weren t tied to this bar, the spark between us fizzled?
Well, I said slowly, looking directly at Dean. Now, that I m your mate, what exactly
does that mean?
It means that our beasts are tied to each other. You re free to go wherever you want, but
you might feel an occasional twinge when you think of me, and when you shift, your beast may
try to come find me.
I was still studying him. His chocolate brown eyes weren t accusatory or sad. He just
looked at me, waiting for my next question. I tried to imagine sitting somewhere and thinking
about him after weeks of not seeing him, not touching him. My stomach clenched right then. I
didn t want to leave him. I didn t want to leave any of them. They were my friends. Jasen was
right, I was already home.
Where am I going to live? I asked finally, at a loss for a way to ask if I could really
stay.
Dean stared at me for a full minute. No one spoke; no one moved. We all just waited for
whatever he was going to say.
You know, for a genius, you re awfully stupid, he said finally.
Gee, thanks, I laughed.
You ll live with me, of course. He rolled his eyes. Did you think we d leave you on
the street?
I didn t really think anything, I admitted. Are you sure? I mean, you don t really know
me.
You re my mate, Dean said, stepping close to me and pulling me into his arms.
Everything else we ll figure out as we go.
Chapter Nine
Honey I m home, Dean called as he walked through the door.
I m in the bedroom! I called.
I d been living with Dean for almost two weeks, and thing were going well. We d
adjusted to each other right away. He didn t seem to resent sharing his space or his bed with me.
And falling asleep sweaty and exhausted then waking up in his arms was about the best thing I
could have ever hoped for.
Several large boxes had been delivered earlier in the day, and I was unpacking the clothes
Billy s brother had packed up from the house and shipped to Michigan for me. He d written me a
very nice note telling me that if I ever needed anything to let him know and he d make sure I was
taken care of.
Things were settling down nicely. I still occasional nightmares that Kevin had broken
loose and come after me again. In one particularly terrifying dream, Dean had been killed in a
horribly bloody manner. It had ended with me waking up screaming while my lover desperately
tried to calm me down.
What s all this? Dean asked as he walked into the room and looked around.
My clothes and personal stuff, I said as I followed his gaze. You don t mind, do you?
He marched over and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me softly then looked down into
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