He nuzzled her neck and kissed her, nipping at her skin and setting her senses on fire. “I love you, sweetheart.”
She turned in his arms and gazed up at him, seeing the reflection of his beast in the dark depths. “I love you, too.”
* * *
*Five Months Later*
Axtyn rolled over and found the bed empty; the sheets where Brierley had lain were now cold to the touch. He canted his head and listened carefully, picking up the sound of her soft singing. Smiling, he got up and walked across the hall to their son’s bedroom. His mate was stunning; the moonlight streaming through the window highlighted the white-blonde of her long hair and the pale hue of her skin. Artem was nestled against her breast, and she was singing a song he recognized as one she’d said her mother had sung to her when she was little. Although there was much he hated about her life in the nest, she was the amazing person she was because of her experiences.
He walked quietly to the rocking chair and rested his hand on her shoulder. She whispered, “He’s such a sweet baby.”
“I think he takes after you in that department.”
She lifted her head and smiled. “You’re very sweet, too.”
“Only for you.”
“And for our son.”
He kissed the top of her head and brushed his fingertips lightly over the tuft of hair on Artem’s head. He stood next to her until the baby was asleep, then carried him to the crib and set him gently on the blue-and-white striped sheets. Brierley joined him, slipping her arm around his waist as they watched their son sleep.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Axtyn.”
He hugged her close. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too, sweetheart. I don’t know where I would be now if it weren’t for you – lost and alone, and a shell of a man, for sure.”
She tipped her face up to look at him, her eyes shining with happiness. Then she yawned, her jaw cracking with the motion.
He swept her up into his arms and carried her back to bed. As he laid down next to her, she snuggled against him with a yawn and sigh combined. “In another two weeks we can make love again. Do you miss me?”
“Every second.”
Her body shook slightly as she laughed. “Me, too.”
He kissed her forehead. “Did I tell you I love you today?”
“A few times.”
“Then I’ll tell you again: Love you. So very much.”
“I love you, too.”
She sighed deeply and relaxed against him, swiftly drifting off to sleep. He closed his eyes and reveled in the sweet weight of his mate against him, and the comfort he got from her presence. She was everything to him, and he was a better male because of her.
One night a minotaur dreamed of his truemate, and then his whole world changed. A life that had been filled with fighting and blood was now saturated with love and family; the past all but erased, and the future bright and wide open. He’d once thought there was no hope, but now he knew that hope lay in his mate and her generous heart and warm embrace. Brierley had changed him forever, and he couldn’t be happier.
The owl and the minotaur, and their little baby boy.
Coming Next from R. E. Butler
Vixen’s Fated Mate (Arctic Shifters Book Four)
~*~ November 26, 2017 ~*~
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* * *
Also from R. E. Butler
Wiccan-Were-Bear Novella Series
A Curve of Claw
A Flash of Fang
A Price for a Princess
A Bond of Brothers
A Bead of Blood
A Twitch of Tail
A Promise on White Wings
A Slash of Savagery
Awaken a Wolf
Daeton’s Journey
A Dragon for December
A Muse for Mishka
The Wiccan-Were-Bear Series Volume One
The Wiccan-Were-Bear Series Volume Two
A Wish for Their Woman
The Wolf’s Mate Series
The Wolf’s Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence
The Wolf’s Mate Book 2: Linus & The Angel
The Wolf’s Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats
The Wolf’s Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne
The Wolf’s Mate Book 5: Bo & Reika
The Wolf’s Mate Book 6: Logan & Jenna
The Wolf’s Mate Book 7: Lindy & The Wulfen
The Necklace Chronicles
The Tribe’s Bride
The Tiger’s Bride
Ashland Pride Series
Seducing Samantha
Loving Lachlyn
Marking Melody
Redeeming Rue
Saving Scarlett
Chasing Cristabel
Hyena Heat Series
Every Night Forever
Every Dawn Forever
Every Sunset Forever
Every Blissful Moment
Every Heavenly Moment
Every Miraculous Moment
Every Angelic Moment
Wilde Creek Series
Volume One (Books 1 and 2)
Volume Two (Books 3 and 4)
Volume Three (Books 5 and 6)
The Hunter’s Heart (Book Seven)
Saber Chronicles Series
Saber Chronicles Volume One (Books One - Four)
Norlanian Brides Series
Paoli’s Bride
Warrick’s Bride
Dex’s Bride
Norlanian Brides Volume One
Villi’s Bride
Dero’s Bride
Zane
Jupiter
Win
Justus
Devlin
Arctic Shifters
Blitzen’s Fated Mate
Dasher’s Fated Mate
Prancer’s Fated Mate
Vixen’s Fated Mate (Coming November 26, 2017)
Cupid’s Fated Mate (Coming December 3, 2017)
Uncontrollable Shift
The Alpha’s Christmas Mate
Stand Alone Stories
Purred Promises (Kindle Worlds)
The Alpha’s Honor (Howls Romance)
**Coming November 26, 2017**
Vixen’s Fated Mate (Arctic Shifters Book Four)
Mire, the Vixen position on the sleigh team, has watched three of his friends and fellow shifters find their fated mates. He holds out hope that he’ll find his fated mate soon, but since he’s able to leave North Pole City for only twenty-four hours every year, he’s not sure when he’ll meet his one and only.
When a non-quad shifter survives a near-fatal accident two days before Christmas Eve, they discover he had an affair with a human woman and had a child with her. Mire is tasked with bringing the daughter to NPC to meet with Santa Claus. What Mire doesn’t count on is that she’s his fated mate.
Noelle Jackson has known her whole life that she wasn’t entirely normal. Born with pointed ears, that her mother had altered with plastic surgery, she’s always felt out of place. When a dark-haired, gorgeous man shows up at her apartment and tells her that he can take her to visit her injured father, she jumps at the chance. She feels connected to the mysterious Mire, whose eyes flash from brown to gold whenever he looks at her.
When Noelle is magically whisked away to the North Pole, she feels right at home for the first time in her life. In a place where the magic is real, can Santa Claus grant Noelle and Mire their Christmas wish to spend the rest of their lives together, or will her father’s deceit mean NPC is closed to her forever?
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R. E. Butler, Every Angelic Moment