“She doesn’t need to have her first Change for us to know what she is,” Bruiser said in a proud voice. “You have given us the last-born dragon, our little Harper girl.”
“Vessel of the Dragon,” Kellen said, kneeling.
“Vessel of the Dragon, Brighton rasped out past his ruined vocal chords, following Kellen to his knees in the dirt.
“Vessel of the Dragon,” the others repeated, doing the same until every last member of the Ashe Crew was kneeling in front of her except Diem, who hugged her shoulders tightly.
“You have it in your head how it will be, living here while Bruiser and I raise Harper,” Diem said in a voice as soft as a breath. “It’s complicated, and emotions are running high, but I want you to know before you make the decision to go or stay that it doesn’t have to be how you imagine. It takes a crew to raise a cub, Riley. Every one of us has a part in bringing Wyatt up, and now every member will play a role in raising Harper. You can be a part of that if you want. I know it’s not a conventional way to do this, but you feel important. For Drew and for the rest of us. I want Harper to grow up knowing you and knowing the sacrifice you made to give her to us.”
Riley hugged Harper closer, inhaling the sweet baby scent of her hair as another pair of tears slipped down her face.
“Drew will be broken without you,” Diem said, resting her head against Riley’s. “The rest of us will be, too. Stay.”
Harper blinked slowly, and her pupils, both human and dragon, contracted, then dilated to normal again. So beautiful. So perfect.
Riley couldn’t leave now if she tried. Diem was right. Things didn’t have to be the way she imagined as long as everyone was willing. She wasn’t being kicked out of Harper’s life. She was being invited to take part in it. To watch her grow up and help guide her into the strong woman she knew her real parents would raise her to be.
She could stay here with Drew and be happy and cared for.
She could stay with her friends.
Riley imagined it now, living here, refurbishing furniture and having her own booth at the market in town on the weekends. Living with the man she loved and someday perhaps having a cub of their own. Learning what it would be like to really fit into a place—to belong. If she stayed, she would get to see Drew’s face when he saw the headstone she’d ordered for his mother’s grave—the white one with the ducks carved into it.
She could be one of the Ashe Crew if she could only force the words past her tightening vocal cords.
Looking at Harper, then at Drew, whose slow-forming crooked smile said the answer was already written all over her face.
“I’ll stay,” she whispered.
Drew pulled her in close, kissed her lips before she was pulled away into embrace after embrace. Her mate watched her with such adoration as she was passed through the crew. She couldn’t keep her eyes from him and that easy, happy smile. That hadn’t existed when she’d first met him.
She handed Harper back to her mother and smiled at the woman who had changed Riley’s stars with a simple letter pleading for a surrogate.
Riley wrapped her arms around Drew’s waist and rested against his chest as his heartbeat drummed steadily against her cheek. “I’ll need a workshop,” she said.
He chuckled. “Negotiations already. Woman, you can have whatever you want.”
“And you can have all of me,” she said, looking up into his blue-flame eyes. Pushing up on her tiptoes, she placed her lips near his ear and whispered, “I heard what you said when I was falling asleep in the tent.”
Easing back, he said, “Yeah? I do. And?”
“And I love you, too.”
The smile on his face faltered and returned slowly. “Riley, you’re not just the Vessel of the Dragon anymore. Now, you’re a part of the Ashe Crew.” He kissed her lips softly, then rested his forehead on hers. “Welcome home.”
Bear Shifter Romance Newsletter Sign-Up
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Other Series by T. S. Joyce
Fire Bears
Bear My Soul (Book 1)
Bear the Burn (Book 2)
Bear the Heat (Book 3)
Bear Valley Shifters
The Witness and the Bear (Book 1)
Devoted to the Bear (Book 2)
Return to the Bear (Book 3)
Betray the Bear (Book 4)
Redeem the Bear (Book 5)
Bear Valley Valentine (Valentine’s Day Novella)
Hells Canyon Shifters
Call of the Bear (Book 1)
Fealty of the Bear (Book 2)
Avenge the Bear (Book 3)
Claim the Bear (Book 4)
Heart of the Bear (Book 5)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
Standalone Shifter Romance
Coveted by the Bear
Amazon
Standalone Contemporary Romance
Shelter Me Home
Amazon
About the Author
T. S. Joyce
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. Experienced at handling an alpha male of her own, she lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.
Contents
Other Books in the Saw Bears Series
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Newsletter Sign-Up
Other Series by T. S. Joyce
Bear Valley Shifters
Hells Canyon Shifters
Wolf Brides
Standalone Shifter Romance
Standalone Contemporary Romance
About the Author
T. S. Joyce, Woodsman Werebear
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