Shield - A New Species Fanfiction (Wild at Heart Chronicles, Book 1)

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

RESERVATION: WILD ZONE—SHIELD'S TERRITORY.

SEVEN MONTHS LATER.

"Call me if you have any questions," Trisha said over her shoulder, buttoning her coat as she made her way towards the door. Her mate, Slade, was waiting for her beneath the threshold. "And you've got Tammy's number just in case you can't reach me, right?"

Shield followed the female doctor to the entrance of his den, heart still pounding like a drum, and quite unable to answer her simple question in his present state. He felt his earlier meal roil unpleasantly inside his gut. When the silence stretched between them, the doctor paused mid-step and swiveled her blue eyes to him.

"Shield, are you alright?"

The male licked his parched lips and swallowed thickly, but still the words would not come. Was he alright? He didn't know the answer to that. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, urging him to run through the forest until his legs buckled and exhaustion claimed him. At the same time, he was certain if he took one step outside that door the world would come to an end.

Shield had never felt so vulnerable in his life.

Trisha frowned, her expression filled with concern. "You look pale. Are you going to faint?"

"He is not going to faint," Slade answered for him confidently, his lips pulled back into a grin. "The male is just scared shitless, Doc."

Shield narrowed his eyes at the canine, the words coaxing a deep growl to rumble from his chest. He knew the male could scent his fear, but he hadn't expected someone he thought of as a friend to call him out on it.

"Give us a moment?" Slade directed the question to his mate.

Trisha narrowed her eyes at him, and then at Shield. She shook her head, clearly exasperated with the two males as she strode toward the door and hissed in a low voice, "No fighting, damn it. It's been a long night, and I'll not be spending the remainder of it patching up you two. We clear?"

"You got it, beautiful," Slade said, clearly amused by his mate's ire. He waited until Trisha hopped into the jeep, closed the door, and glared at them through the window, before he said in a low voice, "I was scared shitless, too."

Surprised by the admission, yet still angry at the canine, Shield said nothing to that and waited.

"Deep down to my core, I was scared out of my mind when it happened," Slade continued, his eyes cast to the floor as if lost in that memory. "Ask any of the mated males, and not a single one will tell you differently."

Shield hesitated. "Even Justice?"

"Especially Justice," Slade replied.

Feeling his anger abating, Shield leveled his gaze to the canine and whispered, "Does it ever go away? The fear?"

"Nope," Slade said, and then the canine strode toward him and clapped him over the shoulder, his blue eyes dancing with laughter. "Welcome to fatherhood, man."

~~~

After Slade and his mate drove off into the night, Shield secured the doors and windows to his den, turned the kitchen light off and climbed the steps to the second floor. His home was spacious, but not overly so. Four sleeping quarters, three cleansing rooms, a generous kitchen and a veranda with a swing and rocking chairs. It was also made of brick and wood, and a blanket of vines covered its outer structure which allowed his home to appear like it was a part of the forest. And because it was located within the Wild Zone, human interaction was limited to only those he felt comfortable sharing his space with.