“Eric Adams.” The crowd cheered as the first of the seniors strutted across the small stage, his tassel swinging and his robes billowing in the afternoon breeze.

Catherine watched, her hand clasped tightly in Daniel’s. The past few weeks had been the hardest of her life—both her mate and her daughter shot. Luckily, neither injury had been life-threatening. The two of them had been healed in a matter of hours…apparently, John’s men had forgotten that regular bullets weren’t a match against shifters.

From her place in the line, Meredith spotted Catherine, and gave her a lighthearted grin and a thumbs up.

“She’s pure sunshine,” Catherine murmured as she leaned her head on Daniel’s shoulder. “I don’t know many teenagers who can get shot, then show up for graduation like it’s no big thing.”

He didn’t respond, but his hand squeezed hers.

The pride had come through. After leaving Daniel at the motel lot, Catherine hadn’t gone far. She’d barely entered the woods when Samuel had stopped her. Meredith had been intercepted, as well, and the two of them joined the others, who watched from a distance. An emergency meeting of the pride had been called after Sam’s meeting with Catherine and Daniel, and no one had hesitated. They would protect their own. The plan had been simple. Take out the leaders with the tiger’s eye elixir, then mop up the inevitable chaos. No one trusted those men to stop hunting them. To survive, they’d had to strike first, and strike hard.

There’d been a few injuries, but no one had died. No lions, anyway. Even so, the moral implications of what they’d done haunted Catherine. Two dozen people slaughtered, and their families left to mourn. The past two weeks had been full of nights when she’d woken in a smothering panic, only to roll over and cry herself to sleep. How she wished it could have been different. If only John Dearborn hadn’t kidnapped Meredith.

Once the situation had been handled, Samuel had led them away and sent half the pride to care for the members who were injured.

It was decided that the bodies should be buried. The motel itself was an abandoned property, far off the beaten track, and hadn’t been formally used in years. Catherine suspected that John’s company might have owned it, and kept it for special circumstances. The lions cleaned up the lot, buried the bodies in a mass grave, then left. With no one to report anything to the authorities, there would hopefully be no repercussions.

Catherine had wondered about the families of the hitmen. Wouldn’t they file missing persons’ reports? Wouldn’t it seem odd that over twenty people had gone missing all at once?

She got her answer a few days later, when the evening news reported an interesting story. “A local investigation has revealed a business, no longer in operation, in New York City that catered to something…a bit out of the ordinary. What we have to show you may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.”

The news anchor went on to describe John’s company, which apparently had been ransacked by the FBI. Files found, decades-old murders uncovered. “A remote facility was discovered first, which then led to the now-abandoned business in the heart of the city. Police found employee files, though they provided little information. There are no real names, only pseudonyms, and no addresses or employee photographs. Law enforcement is searching for any sort of information, but so far there is little to be found. However, many families can rest easy tonight, their loved ones’ fates finally brought to light.

“The FBI is hopeful that the killers themselves will soon be apprehended, but so far there is little to go on. We can only assume that they have gone into hiding. A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of these crimes.” The reporter went on to offer a phone number, and then moved on to the next story.

Catherine had stared at the TV, nonplussed by their good fortune. What were the odds that the FBI would intervene, just as John and all of his men went missing? She’d asked Sam about it later, and he’d confessed to tipping off the Feds. “We grabbed a flash drive from that technology room they had going,” he’d told her. “It had Daniel’s tracked locations mapped out. We saw where the tracking started, and figured that must have been that remote facility he was being kept in. I guess the FBI took it from there.”

“And that flash drive is now destroyed, right?” Catherine had asked nervously.

“Melted down.” Sam had squeezed her shoulder, then given her a decidedly “dad” sort of look. “If I didn’t know Daniel’s got the heart of a prince, I’d be nervous about your choice, Cat.”

“I know.” She’d given a sad laugh. “How does one justify what he’s done? Will the pride accept him? Or will we have to leave Windham?” More than anything else, this was what Catherine had been most nervous about. Her mate was a hired killer, and had a bloody past. No amount of excuses could cover up Daniel’s actions.

A tribunal was held a week after the incident. Daniel had stood before everyone and told his story, leaving nothing out. The silence was huge, and when he’d finished, there was quiet for another few moments before anyone spoke.

“Why did you choose to become a killer?” one lioness asked eventually.

Daniel had taken a deep breath, then said, “I was so afraid of what I’d been turned into. I thought I was a monster, and that I was destined for hell. I killed my wife in a horrible accident, and it almost destroyed me. I couldn’t help but feel that if I kept my daughter, I might kill her, too.” He’d looked up then, his eyes meeting Catherine’s and Meredith’s. The girl had huddled close, and Catherine could feel her shaking. “More than anything, I wanted to protect Meredith. I brought her to Windham and gave her to my parents, then left. Before I was a tiger, I’d worked as a bouncer and a bodyguard, so I’d feared hurting the people I was supposed to protect. I was at loose ends, and practically suicidal. Life didn’t seem worth living.

“That’s when I saw the ad for a job that required a lot of nerve, and promised unheard-of pay. There was a screening at a remote location—probably the warehouse where I was kept. I never saw anyone. I was picked up by an enclosed van, then walked about half a mile through the woods to the main building, then followed signs to a little room with a chair and a one-way mirror. As soon as I walked in, I heard it lock behind me. A speaker was built into the wall, and they spoke to me through it. They asked me a lot of questions. I guess they were weeding folks out, slowly leading me toward what the actual job was. Eventually, I heard it all, and they made me their offer.

“I don’t know why I accepted.” Daniel’s voice was heavy. “The money, I guess. I had no idea what else to do, and I thought, well, I’m a killer anyway. Now, maybe I can make sure my daughter has a good life.”

More silence. Samuel looked at Daniel. “The accounts you’ve built up. It’s blood money.”

“Most of it belongs to Meredith,” Daniel said in a defensive voice. “I want her to have it.”

“That’s admirable,” Samuel agreed. “But you earned it through murder.”

Daniel hung his head. “I could donate it,” he offered after a moment. “There are a lot of organizations that could use it, I’m sure.”

“If you did that, what would you do with the rest of your life?”

“Anything,” Daniel said, his voice earnest. “I don’t care if I clean toilets. I want to be with my daughter, and with Catherine. I know I can control myself now. I can go months without turning if need be. I’m not a danger.”

“We don’t go months without turning,” one man spoke up. The rest of the lions had chuckled, the sound gentle and friendly.

“Hold on. As soon as you figured out that you weren’t a danger, why didn’t you leave that organization?” The lioness who spoke sounded accusing.

“It’s hard to leave,” Daniel said. “Once you’re in, they’re not really into the idea of letting you go.”

“You’ve seen The Godfather, Jan,” another pride member said. “They probably would have thought he was going to sing.”

“Sing? You’re adorable, Peter,” said another woman with a laugh.

“You’ve brought a lot of crap to us,” the first lioness—Jan—said. “Why should we take you in?”

“Because I love him.” Catherine had stood at that point, crossing to the center of the room to stand with Daniel. She’d promised not to talk, but this was too important. Taking his hand, she’d faced the rest, tears slipping down her face. “I know his soul. His past is messy, but he’s a good man, and he’s willing to change. He’s my mate, and I don’t want to be here without him.”

“Me too.” Meredith crossed to the center of the room to stand between Daniel and Catherine. “If you don’t want us here, we’ll go,” the girl continued from her place in the circle. “But you’re my family. For my sake, please. Give him a chance.”

The assembled lions looked around at each other. “We operate by vote,” Samuel said. “Does anyone else have anything they’d like to ask before we do so?”

No response.

“Thank you, Catherine, Daniel, Meredith. I’ll escort you out, and we’ll bring you back in when we’ve made our decision.” Samuel had done just that, then left them to wait.

It had been a tough hour. Catherine had sat beside Meredith on the couch, who sandwiched between them. The three of them hadn’t spoken much, just held each other. What few words were said were mostly reassuring.

“I guess my college account is gone, and we’re probably not going to Europe,” Meredith had commented, though her overly-mournful tone was clearly an attempt at making light of a heavy situation.

“For the best of reasons,” Catherine had responded, squeezing Daniel’s hand. “And I’m willing to bet we can find your dad something way better than cleaning toilets.”

Eventually Samuel had returned, a smile on his face. “Come on in.”

Catherine’s heart had lifted, and with good reason. Smiles and hugs had met them, welcoming Daniel into the pride.

And now, Meredith was graduating. Tears filled Catherine’s eyes as she wondered if there was any way the moment could be more perfect. She had her mate, her daughter, and her pride, and as Meredith liked to say…life was pretty sweet.

“Meredith Page,” the principal called.

Cheers and whoops from the crowd as Meredith climbed the steps. She gave the audience a saucy grin as she practically danced across to where the principal stood with her diploma.

“I love you,” Daniel said suddenly. His arm wound around her shoulders. “Marry me.”

Catherine’s breath caught. She turned, meeting his blue eyes with surprise. “Now? We’re watching a graduation,” she managed after a moment.

Daniel threw back his head and laughed, then leaned in to kiss her deeply. “Tonight, then,” he whispered, his forehead resting on hers.

“Gladly,” she whispered back.