Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Kaitlyn

Epilogue

 

 

 

6 months later.

Butterflies churned my stomach.

What if no one comes?

What if I screwed it all up?

What if I really couldn’t do it?

Landon and the rest of the Pack had worked non-stop for months, restoring Kaitlyn’s Place and preparing for opening weekend. That day had finally arrived.

I was so proud of everything we had accomplished. The hotel was beautiful. Landon had really listened to my input. I was able to help with staging and decorating. I chose more natural colors and really pulled the feel of the beautiful Canadian back country, indoors.

We planned to promote to shifters as well as take in traveling humans. The whole place had a peaceful, warm, and cozy vibe.

As we prepared to open our doors in just three days, I couldn’t help but look around in awe of everything we had done.

My face hurt from smiling so hard.

Landon wrapped his arms around me as he kissed a trail along my neck.

Our Pack had gotten used to seeing our open affections. At one time I worried that it would make him appear to have a weakness, but so what? My man was strong enough to battle any threat to our territory, and together we were an even stronger force to be reckoned with.

I was proud to stand by his side. Over the months we’d been together I had grown to admire his strength and power, but also his love and compassion. When I was sick and vulnerable, he’d stayed by my side. He was protective to a fault at times, but I loved it when he got all growly and Alpha, especially in the bedroom.

Our sex life was incredible. Gone were the insecurities and humiliation I had carried for so long. I knew the difference between what my sick uncle had done to me verses true love and healthy sex. He didn’t know, but every time Landon and I were intimate, it healed another piece of my broken heart.

Of course, he also couldn’t let me forget about the time I’d almost died. That psychopath, Clover had run off like a coward with her tail between her legs. The Pack had spent weeks searching every inch of our territory just to be certain she was really gone. They’d even tracked her scent all the way back to Seattle where it was lost in the stench of pollution and the human world.

Landon had notified the Grand Council as well as Clover’s Alpha, Josh Maxwell. According to him, she still hadn’t returned. We knew she was out there somewhere though, lying in the shadows. I didn’t think she would be dumb enough to show her face here again, but I had to admit, I hated the thought it was even a possibility.

Last night, I was trying to decompress and decided to go for a run. Landon still hated me running alone, but I couldn’t allow Clover or anyone else the power of fear over me. Never again.

The thing was, I’d been feeling really run down and exhausted lately, but had chalked it up to the long days and nights we’d been spending in preparation for opening day.

When I had gone into the woods to shift for a run, I couldn’t call my wolf forward. It had terrified me, and I’d called Kelsey to ask for her advice. Kyle Westin had been mentoring Landon a lot, so inevitably I’d grown close with Kelsey over these last few months. The fact that she was a Pack Mother too was a huge plus. Her friendship meant the world to me.

Kelsey had informed me that there was only one reason that she knew of that would keep me from shifting. I was still in shock. I wasn’t ready to tell Landon there was a strong chance he was going to have his heir sooner than we’d planned for. At the moment, I was equal parts excited and terrified. There was so much going on that I didn’t know how we were going to juggle a kid in the mix, but if it was meant to be, I knew somehow we’d manage.

I made Kelsey promise not to say anything. Landon was stressed enough about the grand opening of Kaitlyn’s Place.

Kyle and Kelsey were coming in along with Chase and Jenna for opening weekend. Kian was coming too. While we spoke often, I hadn’t actually seen him since graduation. My excitement almost trumped my nerves—almost.

With the opening of the hotel, I was going to be very busy. I couldn’t help but imagine a little tot running around the place. My office was large enough to include a crib and play area. I could handle being a working mom… at least in theory.

I was really trying not to get my hopes up too much though. What if she was wrong? What if I was just too stressed out and that was affecting my ability to shift? I didn’t know if that was a thing, but it sounded plausible.

“Hey now, just breathe. In and out. I’ve got you,” Landon said.

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I wrapped my arms around him. Breathing in his delicious woodsy scent helped calm my nerves even further.

“There’s nothing to worry about. You’ve got this,” he said.

I closed my eyes and nodded against his hard solid chest.

“Promise me that no matter what happens, everything will be okay.”

He tilted my chin up so I was forced to look at him. “What’s wrong, gorgeous?”

I shook my head.

“Talk to me,” he insisted.

I sighed. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. Can we just go home? I’m worn out and should try to rest some before the opening. We’re about as ready as we’re going to be.”

“This place looks amazing, Kaitlyn. Everything is going to go smoothly.”

I scoffed. Oh yeah, and I might be pregnant. How’s that for a giant kink in that smooth plan?

I didn’t say a word, not yet ready to share even the possibility of it being true.

We headed back home. On top of the hotel project, Landon had recruited some additional help to begin construction of Jackson’s new company headquarters. He and I were both ecstatic when Jackson came to us and asked to officially build his company just down the street from the hotel. He was financing the project himself, but with the Pack busy with Kaitlyn’s Place, we had to bring in additional resources. While some of the work was being done by local human companies, much had been outsourced to various shifter teams.

With a flurry of extra mouths to feed and the room and board required, we’d begun work restoring additional cabins, already on the property, and had three stages of expansion projects planned for the Lodge.

Just in the time I’d been there, we’d come close to nearly doubling our Pack numbers, beginning with Abby and Cadence’s requests to stay. They’d become great assets to the Pack and were busy starting their own business of a shifter rehabilitation clinic.

Needless to say, life in the Pack had been a whirlwind of crazy changes, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we’d been able to do in such a short time. It was truly amazing.

With Landon at the helm and me at his side, big things were coming to our Pack.

Once home, I walked straight to the bedroom and stripped out of my clothes as I rummaged through my dresser drawer looking for an outfit to set out for the next day. It was part of my daily routine.

Something at the back of the drawer caught my attention. I reached back and pulled out an envelope. The front of it simply said, “Kaitlyn.”

I immediately recognized the handwriting, it was from my aunt, the letter Sawyer had given me when he explained she was dead.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” I told him honestly as I ripped into the envelope I’d never opened.

My dearest Kaitlyn,

Oh how I messed up in this life. I have so many regrets, but this choice to die with my mate is not one of them. Please do not hold this against Sawyer. He is a good man who means well. Your uncle has given him no other choice and truth be told, I’m tired.

While your uncle and I are fully bonded, he was never my true mate. I made the mistake of choosing a compatible one instead. That was my mistake. Whatever you do, don’t follow in my footsteps. Seek out your one true mate and hold on to him for dear life.

I know from talking to Sawyer that he knows how weak I’ve become and how I was unable to protect myself, let alone you. Your uncle isn’t a bad man, but he is sick, Kaitlyn. Still, I cannot make further excuses for how he treated you all those years. I wasn’t strong enough to stop him and that too is a great regret I will carry to my grave.

Despite everything, you asked the Alpha to spare him because of me. I love you for that sweet girl, but it wasn’t necessary.

This time he’s gone too far and there is no turning back. I will die by his side just as I bonded myself to him all those years ago. He wasn’t always the monster you knew. That’s no excuse, but it is the truth.

Carrying hate in your heart can destroy you, just as it destroyed him. Don’t be like him, sweet girl. You’re better than that. Let it go just as you must let me go.

I stared at the note as a tear ran down my cheek.

“Babe, what is it?”

“It’s the note from my aunt that Sawyer gave me at graduation. I’d never read it before today.”

He took it from my hand and read it. I could feel his frustration. As always, she’d supported him to the very end, but she was right, I couldn’t carry that hatred in my heart any longer. I didn’t want to dwell on the past as I looked forward to the future.

My hand instinctively went to my stomach, and I knew that no matter what, I would ensure my child never knew the life I had led. He or she would never face the fears of my nightmares. No one would ever touch my child and live.

Landon was nothing like my uncle, of that I was certain, but I was nothing like my aunt either. I was strong, I was a survivor. My child would not inherit the darkness I carried for far too long. A darkness erased by love.

I looked up at my handsome mate and knew his goodness had changed me for the better. Because of that I would instead pass strength and courage with a will to endure on to his Alpha heir growing inside me.

“What’s that look for?” Landon asked.

I smirked, keeping my secret a little while longer, just until I was absolutely certain it was true. “Oh, nothing.”

 

*****

 

If you enjoyed Kaitlyn & Landon’s story, check out Tobi & Jackson’s story in iPromise.

 

Or, if you are new to my PNR world, go back to the book that started it all with Kyle & Kelsey’s story in One True Mate.

 

And if you are a Kindle Unlimited reader, you’re in luck!

ALL of my books are currently enrolled in KU, so prepare to binge!