Kelly smiled as she looked out at all the fall foliage turning beautiful shades of orange and brown.

Hunter came up behind her, wrapping one arm affectionately around her waist as the other placed a coffee in her hand. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” she said, walking out onto her now-reinforced front deck and pulling him with her. “I think it’s going well out there. Even Grayson likes the view.”

Hunter snorted, allowing her to pull him out to be with his friends. He’d been in the kitchen all morning, making breakfast, uncharacteristically serious about getting everything right.

He’d moved in with her after the bear fight, and he’d spent every day since either working on the house, spending time with her, or posing for the painting she’d done of his cougar.

He still liked to patrol the woods around their house sometimes, checking for any rogue wildlife, and she still liked to see his sleek cougar out there, silky fur gleaming even in the dark.

The painting she’d made hung over the fireplace. It was Hunter, sitting back on his haunches, surrounded by trees with the moon above him. He’d protested her placement of it at first, slightly embarrassed to see himself in such a prominent place all the time. But she’d insisted, so the painting stayed where it was.

Giving her a smile every time she walked by it.

Painting had been so much easier ever since Hunter had gotten rid of the bear and moved in with her. She could paint the woods easily, without worry that a giant bear was going to run out and attack her.

Her mother was bothering her constantly to bring Hunter to meet them or to let her and her dad fly out, but Kelly just wanted to continue to get to know Hunter on her own terms. She was still enjoying her time with him alone.

Then again, whenever they wanted company, they had it.

In the evenings, they often went over to Garrett’s or to the bar for cards and drinks. Grayson was in the process of picking out a place for his own house, and Garrett and Hunter had promised to help him get it up before the snow fell in a few months.

She sat in a chair by Dawn, listening to her and Garrett talk about what they were looking forward to in their first winter, as Grayson and April chimed in as well.

Hunter had insisted on a large set of comfortable patio furniture for the deck, and it had turned out to be a great buy.

She sat on one of the loveseats, and Hunter joined her so they were thigh to thigh. Warmth moved through her at his closeness, and she was pretty sure she was never going to get over how good everything about him felt.

His kisses, his hugs, his words of encouragement. She’d already told him she’d come to the work site with lunch every day if it would help him support Grayson. She didn’t feel like she would ever be able to repay him for what he’d done.

But Hunter didn’t seem worried about it. He beamed whenever she was around, grinned whenever she touched him, and looked as if he felt like the luckiest man alive whenever he saw her.

So Kelly just felt grateful and tried to always appreciate him as much as she could.

“So how’s the pack doing?” Hunter asked. “I know the new beta took over.”

“Yes,” Grayson said. “I think they’ll do okay. Candace has stepped things up as well. I’m sure she’ll be alpha female now that Brett is alpha male. Apparently, he has wanted to mate her for a long time now.”

“I’m glad it’s working out,” Dawn said. “How is your work going, April?”

April smiled. “It’s interesting studying a shifter wolf pack instead of a regular one, and I’m sure I won’t be able to publish my research anywhere, but I’m definitely enjoying it a lot.”

“Aw,” Dawn said, snuggling into Garrett’s arm. “I’m glad.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Hunter said, stretching. “Though it seems a shame to go inside when we have such a beautiful view.”

Grayson nodded, eyeing the landscape around them. “I think I’ll build out here. Just a little way up the road.”

“I don’t think so, stinky wolf,” Hunter said, frowning. “I don’t need dog scent up in my space.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t stop me.”

Kelly tried not to smile as the two argued. Privately, she knew Hunter was kind of hoping Grayson would live close. Not enough to mark up his territory, obviously, but Hunter really valued his friends.

“Fine, as long as you aren’t on top of me,” Hunter said, folding his arms as Grayson stood, presumably to go get a plate.

“The last thing I would want is to ever be on top of you,” Grayson retorted.

“I’d like to see it,” April said, grinning at Kelly surreptitiously.

“Me, too,” Kelly said, stifling a laugh.

“What do you mean?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, what’s so funny?” Grayson folded his arms, grey eyes narrowed impatiently.

“Nothing,” Dawn said, waving a hand. “You guys go get breakfast. We girls deserve to relax out here after putting up with all that.”

Kelly smiled as the guys did as they were told, Garrett looking reluctant to leave Dawn for even a moment. Before he left, he placed a kiss on her head, giving her a tender look.

“What’s that about?” Kelly asked curiously. Yes, all of them were pretty physical with their mates, but that was something different.

Dawn put a hand over her stomach and flushed so deeply it almost matched the ruddy hair on her head. “We’re supposed to be keeping it a secret. It’s pretty early yet…”

“You’re pregnant?” Kelly said, standing up excitedly to go sit by her friend. “How far along?”

“That’s amazing,” April said. “I was curious to see how that would go, though I wasn’t interested in rushing it myself.”

“We were just waiting to see what happened,” Dawn said. “I guess we got lucky. We both have been wanting to start a family. No need to delay.”

An odd warmth moved through Kelly as she sat by her friend, watching her glow as she looked over in the direction of the kitchen and her husband.

“I guess Garrett might need help to build a nursery,” April said, smiling. “Somehow, I don’t think anyone will mind.”

Kelly grinned. “The guys are going to be so excited they won’t be able to think of anything else. Oh my gosh, is it going to look like a little bear cub?”

“I don’t think so,” Dawn said. “Garrett said with a human mother, it will probably stay human until it’s a toddler, when we might see its first shift. If it’s a shifter, that is.”

“Is it possible it won’t be?”

Dawn shrugged. “I mean, there are no guarantees, but I’ll love it no matter what. After all, Garrett and I made it.”

“I hope it’s a girl,” Kelly said. “That would be so cute.”

“I hope it’s twins,” April said mischievously. “One of each.”

Dawn just smiled patiently. “I don’t mind as long as everything goes perfectly. But then again, I’m not worried as long as I have my friends around.”

The three girls came in for a quick hug, then pulled back as they heard the men join them back on the deck again.

“Worry about what?” Hunter asked, sitting on the loveseat and handing a plate to Kelly when she came over to join him.

“Dawn has news,” April said, taking a plate from Grayson.

“You tell them,” Dawn said, nudging Garrett, who had brought her a gigantic plate.

Garrett took a deep breath. “We’re pregnant.”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed on Garrett’s taut middle. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

Hunter barked out a laugh. “It’s a phrase, you nincompoop.” He got up and threw his arms around Garrett. “So happy for you, man.”

Grayson stared for a moment before joining them as well, patting them awkwardly on the back before they grabbed him and pulled him into the bear hug.

“I’m happy for you,” Grayson told Garrett sincerely as the three of them finally pulled back.

“I’m happy, too,” Garrett said. “Happy to have my friends all around me. Happy we all found love and peace in this place.”

“Yeah,” Grayson said, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands over April’s.

“I’m working on it with Kelly,” Hunter said. “She isn’t sure she wants kittens yet. But I’ll be happy to babysit for a bear.”

Kelly grinned. Sometimes the world she’d joined still sounded so whimsical. So strange. “No kittens yet, Hunter. But maybe soon.”

“Seriously?” He looked at the upstairs window. “Because I can kick these guys out if—”

“We’re staying,” Grayson said tersely. “We drove all the way out here, after all.”

“I never thought things would go like this,” Hunter said pensively. “That we’d all settle down in the same place, living close. But it’s nice.”

“It always felt more like a family than a group of friends,” Grayson said quietly. “I’m glad it will stay that way for some time.”

“To family,” Hunter said, raising his orange juice. “Both those with us now and those who come after and anyone we happen to love.”

“That’s right,” Garrett said, lifting his glass to meet Hunter’s toast. “To family, because it’s more than just blood.”

The rest of them raised their glasses in silence, grins all around, and then drank their juice.

The conversation progressed to the nursery and how to build it at the same time as Grayson’s house.

Kelly looked around at the group and knew she had never been happier, and once again, she marveled at the fact that Hunter had given this to her.

She’d never be able to pay him back for this, no matter how much she worried for him, took care of him, or loved him in the years to come.

But she was certainly going to try.

* * *

* * *

I hope you enjoyed Kelly and Hunter’s story! If you did, I’d love it if you could give a review to help other readers find it. This is the last in the series, so I’m on to my next idea!

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Elusive billionaire Nathan Lancaster knows two things when he meets Lillian Goss. First, he wants her badly. Second, without his help, she's doomed to die.

Now he isn't willing to let her out of his sight. Not until he's sure she is safe, and he has had time to figure out why a small human means so much to a monster like him.

Lillian Goss suspects the powerful Lancaster family is hiding something. When she finds Nathan, media golden boy and everyone's favorite bachelor, in the background of crime scene photos, she's determined to get the scoop. Now if only she can keep from falling for Nathan when he promises her the exclusive of a lifetime, but only on his terms, and in his mansion.

The more Lillian gets to know Nathan, the more complicated her feelings get for a man who's much lonelier than anyone knows. But as attraction burns hot between them, and an unknown stalker enters the picture, one question arises for Lillian... Where does Nathan go after midnight?

Midnight is the first book in the Nightmare Dragons series. These books contain intense themes, mystery and sexy, tortured shifter heroes who do more than go bump in the night.

MY BOOKS WILL NEVER CONTAIN: Cheating, unfaithful heroes, or an ending that is anything but happy.