A few weeks later…

Nathan wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood back and inspected his work. Not bad, he thought. He grew up knowing how to work on cars and other machines, but he’d never built an actual structure with a roof and walls before. One of the construction workers working on the building, a middle-aged man named Gregor, gave him a thumbs up. He grinned back and returned the gesture.

This particular building was going to be the start of the second home in the orphanage compound so that they could take in even more girls.

A few days after their reunion at the airport, Nathan handed in his notice to Lennox Corp. His friends were sad to see him go, but they all understood and told him he would always have a place in Blackstone and with the company. Nathan and Violet hadn’t discussed any long-term plans yet, but they both knew Antonia and the girls needed their help. Nathan packed his bags, reluctantly handed the keys of his Mustang to Kate, and he and Violet flew to Eritana.

It seemed they had gotten there just in time as the villagers had gathered as a mob to throw Antonia and her girls out of their home. Needless to say, they didn’t just see the fury of the Golden Demon, but its wolf mate as well.

They scrambled to find a new home for the girls, but in the end it worked out. Nathan, with the help of funds from his friends, purchased an old abandoned mansion just outside Aldari, the capital of Eritana. They first renovated the house so the girls could have a place to live, and then they started making plans to further expand the property and the Blackstone Girl’s Orphanage.

“Nathan! Nathan!”

He turned around and saw a group of the youngest girls crowded around him. “Hey girls,” he greeted.

“Nathan, please!” the smallest one, Eva, said. “Do it, please?”

Tiny voices saying “Yes!” and “Please!” rang around him.

He rolled his eyes in fake exasperation. “Well … all right. But you promise to keep studying your letters, okay?”

“Yes!”

He turned around, facing away from them, and then whipped his head back. Wolf ears popped from his head and he grew his snout, whiskers and all. Fur sprouted all over his face. This sent all the girls into a fit of giggles.

“Are you bothering Nathan again, girls?” Violet asked as she walked up behind them.

“Sorry, Miss Violet,” Eva said. “We just wanted to see the puppy.”

“Puppy?” Nathan asked in an incredulous voice.

“The Silver Puppy!” another girl screamed, and the rest of the girls joined her in chorus.

“Hold on.” Nathan walked over the Violet, a sea of girls parting as they let him through. “You’re the Golden Demon and I’m the Silver Puppy?”

“Probably something lost in translation,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips and a glint in her eye. “Besides, they think you’re cute. Like a pet.”

He turned to the girls. “Puppy, eh? I’ll show you puppy! Raaawwr!” He raised his hands and formed his fingers into claws. They giggled and screamed, running away from him as he chased them around the compound. He continued to run after them until Antonia called them inside for lunch.

“Whew,” Nathan said as he sat down beside Violet. She had taken shelter from the hot sun under a large fir tree. “Those girls are giving me a run for my money.”

“You hardly broke a sweat, love,” she said. “Besides you’ve been working a lot.”

“You’ve been working a lot,” he countered, then reached over to cuddle her to his side. His hand snaked around over her belly. “I don’t want you getting too tired and stressing our cub.”

It was a complete surprise when they found out Violet was pregnant. She had felt tired all the time, and she was throwing up in the mornings. Even her tiger seemed extra stressed, like it was fatigued but restless. They thought it was just the heat or the stress from travel and renovations, but a week ago they both heard it. Soft but strong, it was the heartbeat of their cub in her womb. The chemical that had brought on her heat had probably obliterated her birth control too. Needless to say, they were thrilled.

“What did your parents say?” Violet asked.

“They said they’ll be here next week,” Nathan answered. They had both agreed to keep the pregnancy between them for now but wanted to tell their families in person. “They’re still on that retirement trip with their friends, but they want to swing by to meet you. And yours?”

“They can come anytime, so let’s see if we can hit two birds with one stone and have them over and make the announcement.”

“You’re so smart,” he said, giving her a kiss on the nose. “Oh. I almost forgot to tell you,” he fished his phone from his pocket, “Matthew said to check the account again. He and Catherine sent another round of funding when they heard the girls got into school for the next semester.”

“Your friends are too generous,” she said.

“They’re not just friends,” he reminded her. “They’re our family.” He scrolled through his mailbox, searching through the tons of new mail. “Weird.” He frowned.

“What is it?”

“This must be a joke.” He chuckled and showed her the email that read “Luke Lennox” on the “From” line. “I didn’t even know Luke had an email address.”

“Well? What does it say?”

“Let me check.” As he read the single sentence in the email, his heartbeat began to speed up and his fingers tightened around the phone.

Violet gripped his arm. “What is it, love?”

“Blackstone. Everyone’s in danger.” He stood, dusting the dirt from his pants and helping her up. “I need to go.” He looked around them. “We have enough people and guards here. You and Antonia and the girls will be safe until I come back.”

Violet’s eyes turned steely with determination. “I’m going with you,” she said. He opened his mouth to protest, but she placed a finger on his lips. “No. Like you said, they’re our family. And when family needs your help, you go. Besides,” she pulled him into a hug, “I’m following my everything. Wherever he wants go.”

He smiled down at her. Even though he wanted Violet and his cub to stay here and be safe, he knew she’d fight him with every ounce of her strength until he relented. “All right. But this,” he placed a hand over her stomach, “is our priority, okay?”

“Of course,” she said. “Now, let’s go save our family.”

He couldn’t love her more in that moment if he tried.