Page 92 of Protected By Her Mate

We stand that way for several minutes, our only witnesses a few birds and several strategically placed snipers.

After the explosion, Magdalene portalled us back to New York where we rushed to Luke, who thankfully barely noticed we were gone. However, before the day was over, Lock asked us to come back Wolf-Haven. Well, more specifically, he asked for Lennox, but Lennox refused to leave me and Luke behind.

Upon arriving at Wolf-Haven castle, Luke was overawed, but like a typical seven-year-old, he accepted his new surroundings quickly, especially when Lock and Sarena’s twin children invited him to play.

Lennox has been treating me like I’m made of porcelain since we got here a week ago. Since our near-miss with the last bomb. When we realized I wasn’t going to have time to disarm it, Lennox shifted to his wolf and carried me as fast as he could out of the castle.

He made it all the way upstairs and into the bailey before the bomb went off, the shaking ground throwing him off his feet. Thankfully, no one was injured except Magdalene and she recovered with a literal snap of her fingers.

The damage to the castle was mostly superficial, but once the rest of the world was made aware of ASHRA’s plot to destroy the peace between shifters and humans, allies around the globe pitched in to rebuild Wolf-Haven castle to its former glory.

Not only has the peace between humans and shifters been protected, but humans have been taking more notice of their shifter neighbours, calling for better protections for those who live among them. The President of the United States, Danica Chandler, visited the castle, personally overseeing the rebuild while negotiating a stronger alliance with King Lock.

Since arriving at the castle, I’ve taken to coming up to the ramparts to look over the city of Wolf-Haven and the surrounding countryside.

“You like it up here,” Lennox says, following my thoughts.

I nod, my head bumping his chin. “It’s nicer than listening to the banging of hammers all day long.” I make a mock-annoyed sound. “Come to Wolf-Haven to recover, you said. It’ll be peaceful, you said.”

He chuckles. “I didn’t think of the construction.”

“And you can’t really ignore a summons from your king.”

“I can and often do ignore my king, but a request from my brother is different.” He turns me to face him, running his hands lightly up and down my arms, sending waves of gooseflesh across my skin. “If you knew Lock before he became king you would understand. Underneath his cloak of importance is a grumpy woodsman who spent centuries avoiding human entanglements. He likes to have me along when he negotiates with humans because, while he was hiding out in the woods, I was living and working among them.”

Charlie smiles proudly. “You’ve come to understand and respect us.”

“I’ve come to love you,” he says, kissing my forehead.

“Why doesn’t your brother offer you a diplomatic position if he’s come to rely on you so much?” The life of a diplomat has to be safer than the life of a police officer in New York.

“He’s offered me a job on numerous occasions.”

“Ah, my wolf shifter cop is a cop for life?”

He smiles gently. “Not exactly. I’ve put in a lot of time protecting humans and shifters alike, but I’ve also come to realize how much of myself I’ve had to compromise to do that. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Things that haunt me.”

“Like Edie,” I say, pressing my hand to his chest over his heart. He hasn’t forgiven himself for her death. “It’s not your fault. You can’t control the actions of others.”

“Perhaps not,” he admits. “But I can control my actions and if I’d chosen differently…”

I take his face between my palms. “You can’t change the past.”

He nods and lifts my hand to his mouth, kissing my palm. “You’re right, I can’t change the past, but I can use it to change the future. At least for some.”

Curious, I ask, “What are you thinking?”

“I think it’s probably time to hang up my police cap and look to doing something more worthwhile with my life.”

“What’s more worthwhile than protecting people from evil?”

“I can still protect people,” he says, an enigmatic smile curving his lips. “Just in a different capacity.”

“Now you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

“I’ll explain later, but for now we need to get downstairs. The rest of the family has arrived.”

I shiver, but not from cold. I’d rather continue standing on the chilly ramparts, watching the peaceful countryside than face the family tribunal gathering downstairs.

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