Page 25 of The Lab: Rigg

No one responded.

There wasn’t a soul among us who wasn’t sick with worry about the possibility of them not being okay.

I hadn’t turned my phone’s volume off since the last message, and every minute that ticked by without a call from Rigg was another little death. Everyone sucked in a collective gasp when the first animals emerged from the tree line. There were cats and wolves, bears and bunnies. Even some of the rodents shifted into men as soon as they were close to their mates.

Rigg didn’t shift into an animal, so I waited to see him walk out, either in his own skin or someone else’s. No matter who he pretended to be, I always knew who he was. He was my heart. My other half.

“Please come back, alpha,” I whispered under my breath. “Please.”

My eyes watered when all the incoming shifters were reunited with their families and my mate was still unaccounted for. With my hands over my face, I dropped down to the ground where I was and sobbed, unable to consider living my life without Rigg.

The distant rumble of a loud engine made my breath hitch. As the sound grew louder, my dread began to retreat. I knew that engine. It was Rigg. He was coming back to us. Through teary eyes, I saw a single motorcycle heading down the road.

My hands flew to my mouth as if trying to quiet the sob in my throat.

The bike pulled to a stop in front of me, and I was in Rigg’s arms before he’d even pulled off his helmet.

Rigg’s face was a mess of bruises and scratches, but he was alive.

I felt my own life surge back as the vice in my chest finally released.

“Sorry I’m late. I was on the clean-up crew.” He grinned and then pulled me to his mouth, kissing me hard like he was as happy to see me as I was to see him.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I just crushed myself against him and cried like my whole world had crumbled and been rebuilt over the course of a day.

When people started moving inside, I dragged Rigg in with me, but I was too distracted to worry about the details of how it all went down. There would be plenty of time for a recap later. Walt handed Rigg a blanket, and he slumped onto the couch with me on his lap.

I was so glad to have him back and in my arms that I would have stayed there forever if I could have.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Connor and Lily came flying in and landed on top of us. “You’re back.”

Rigg finally broke down, crying against us as the reality of what had happened fully sank in.

We were free. The kids were safe. Our family didn’t have to be afraid ever again.

* * *

Alden gave an official speech later that afternoon, addressing the entire pack and thanking Rigg for all his help in getting inside their operation. He didn’t fully appreciate how special his gift was until he used it to save all the shifters from an evil corporation. We hung out for a little while, but as soon as enough time had passed that we could politely excuse ourselves, we did.

Our kids needed to be home.

My mate needed to rest.

And I needed to relax in our little cabin with the knowledge that my family was no longer being hunted.

We took the long route back to the cabin that felt even more like home after everything we had been through. The kids instantly fell asleep, worn out from playing with dozens of new friends.

The couch cushions were still laid out on the floor from the fort the kids had built before we left, so we all hunkered down there, cozy and together. Exactly as we always would be.

16

NILES

“I will not have this baby in the grocery store. I will not have this baby in the grocery store.”

I took one deep breath. And then another as I held onto the cart with my hands—more like a vice grip—until the pain subsided. It was Grandpa Joel’s birthday tomorrow, and I promised Connor and Lily we would bake him a cake. And come hell or hot water, we were baking that man a cake, even if that meant squeezing my knees until it was ready to burst.

Of course, they didn’t want just any cake. No, they wanted one that needed food dye and pudding, neither of which I had at home, which meant here I was, waddling my way through the grocery store, hoping my water didn’t break in aisle three.

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