Finding Shadow BOOK ONE

Santos sent the email to Alpha Payne, explaining that something had come up with his daughter and he would be extending his stay to 8 days; Payne wasn't happy but agreed to allow him more time, so if things went South at least he and his family had a pack to return to.

The letter had been a stroke of genius, his only regret being that he arrived a few seconds too late to see the silly boy discover it.

Santos knew that it had rattled Shadow though, his face was pinched and his features pale, when he had entered the study, and if it hadn't been for the Alpha's stubborn reluctance to let Isabella leave, the plan would have come together perfectly.

Never mind, his daughters might just need to handle the house politics amongst themselves when he was the New Alpha, he would be too busy for such menial tasks. A satisfied smile took place on his usually grim face as he rubbed his hands together in glee, the past two days were successful, gathering some old allies, keen to support him in return for pack protection and everything was going according to his will.

Granted, Isabella knocking Camille out and sending his eldest daughter to the hospital came as a shock, but Izzy was a highly-trained warrior, it would seem that the altercation led to some memories returning, but it was only wishful thinking to assume they would stay lost forever, no, everything was as it should be, and soon the kingdom would be his.

"It was just a little gust I swear, and the bitch was playing dirty, I just evened the score!" Valenar defended himself with a laugh, and Raeann found herself smiling as well, Camille had sounded as if she deserved it, and Raeann couldn't pretend to stay angry with Valenar, not when his gorgeous eyes were watering with mirth and his hearty laughter made her so happy.

In the past few days, she had been spending most of her time with the purple-headed wizard. Much like it had been back at Shadow Moon, her parents seemed to have forgotten she was there, and Izzy had her own dramas to deal with, so aside from the few hours she spent being mentored by Dr. Packard, her time was her own, and Valenar was fun to just hang out with.

Like Raeann, Valenar had no idea who was going to betray the Alpha, only that the traitor was of Romano blood.

After careful consideration, Valenar ruled out Isabella, it was obvious that Raeann's sister was head over heels in love with her mate; since her memories started to come back, Shadow had made a point of taking Bella on romantic dates, and both of them were so wrapped up in each other, the love pheromones they transmitted was borderline sickening.

Raeann was sure that Mikhail was innocent, he was nowhere near the pack at the moment, and from what she heard when he came to visit Isabella, the affection he had for Lucien's older brother was genuine, he had no motive to topple the Alpha, having his hand's full learning to master his new gifts, and finding his place within the tri-mate bond.

So that left her parents.

Right now Raeann's partner in crime was hovering in the air, forming mini fireworks in his hands

and throwing them at her, trying to get her attention. She swatted them away with a mock glare, and her purple-haired friend laughed, floating over to where she was.

Turning serious for a second, the wizard asked the hard question.

"So who's the traitor? Santos Romano or his wife Maria?"

Earning a frustrated shrug from his pretty little wolf. She had no idea that Valenar was her fated mate. In reality, he was over a thousand years old, which was really young for a wizard, but somehow he didn't think Raeann would see it like that.

His appearance was more in line with a seventeen-year-old of her species, being that wizards aged at a hundredth of the speed of other supernatural creatures.

As her mate though, Valenar found it hard to see Raeann upset, and more often than not he found himself playing the clown, just to take her mind off things, instead of keeping Isabella safe, which was what the high priestess had truly sent him for. Meeting his mate was definitely an added bonus, even if she was far too young to receive him yet and Valenar found himself helplessly drawn to her quick wit, and intelligence, making each time he left her room just that little bit harder.

Making funny faces as he hovered over her, the young wizard uttered a simple snow spell and watched as Raeann stared in wonder at the snowflakes falling from the ceiling, a twist of his fingers produced a floor of wildflowers, giving off the sweetest smell, and Valenar created a rainbow to finish the scene off, turning her room into a winter wonderland. He felt like he won the lottery every time she smiled, it was such a rare sight, as she was a serious person by nature, and he had always been a joker, so the balance between the two of them was perfect.

"Fear thee not fair maiden, I shall banish the wicked Santos from our Kingdom with my most excellent magic, and the sneaky Maria will follow close behind!" The two friends burst into laughter at the absurdity of such a statement, grabbing at their sides until they calmed down, only to start straight back up again as soon as their eyes caught one another's.

On the other side of the door to his daughter's room, a very angry wolf stopped eavesdropping and stalked back to his own quarters.

The sun began its descent, ending another perfect day, and Isabella Romano couldn't wipe the smile off her face, even if she was blindfolded and had no idea where they were heading.

He could be leading her into the swamps for all Isabella cared, as long as Shadow had his arms around her she knew she was safe.

Some might say they were moving too slowly, but after believing he was dead for so many years, then finding him again only to lose her memories, and forget her feelings, she wanted to savor every sweet kiss and warm embrace.

The second knock to her head had opened the floodgates to her memories, and within two days she had recovered almost all of them.

A checkup with Doctor Packard, allowed him to explain that the amnesia was definitely psychological, a defense mechanism to safeguard her against reliving the trauma until she was emotionally ready to, as it turned out, being hit to the head triggered her training and after that came back, everything else followed soon after.

An examination of her neck assured the young couple that although there was a scar, in time it would fade, not that it mattered to Shadow, who promptly declared that he found it badass, and definitely a turn on.

Isabella felt herself blush, and would've tripped over her own feet if he hadn't had a firm hold on her; that was the day that she had remembered her dreams, and since then, every conversation seemed to be filled with sexual innuendo.

Shadow grinned, glad that his little mate couldn't see his shaft standing to attention as they walked, he could smell her arousal, wafting up into his nostrils and it was driving him crazy, but he wanted to respect Isabella's choices and move at her pace, even if it did mean hiding his boners and taking multiple cold showers during the day. It was sweet torture, and he was a willing addict.

Finally, Isabella came to a halt, and Shadow's voice was gruff as he told her to remove her blindfold. He moved behind her, pushing his strong body up against Bella's, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his chin on the top of her head, and breathing in deeply as she did what he asked of her.

Shadow felt Isabella's small frame shudder as she took in the view of the entire village, much larger now, having expanded in population over the years, but he knew it wasn't the size that made his little mate tremble, it was where she was standing, where they were both standing, on the edge of Ghost mountain, overlooking their kingdom, in their childhood hideaway.

Isabella didn't trust herself to speak, and as her gaze wandered to her feet for a moment, she lost her battle to control her tears; there, right next to them was a small, carved rock, of two wolves curled together, when she read the inscription, she started bawling.

"I never forgot about you," Shadow whispered softly, kissing the top of her head, and when she turned in his arms, he stepped back and Isabella got a look at her real surprise.

Fairy lights were strung along a swooping verandah, lighting up the front deck of a beautiful wooden two-story home, two rocking chairs sat side by side, with the words "Alpha" and "Luna" carved into the wood, and a sign swung, at the top of the steps leading onto the porch, confirming what she had been too afraid to say out loud.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously, and Isabella began to realize just how much power she had over this gorgeous man, her childhood hero.

"I built it with the help of some amazing pack members, they wanted you to have something you could call your own." Shadow rushed out, really unnerved by her silence.

Isabella walked up onto the front porch and turned around watching in silence as her mate trailed after her.

When Shadow was at arms reach, she looked at him, with all the love she felt in her heart and moved the extra step closer. She could hear Shadow's heart racing as she smiled seductively,

"I want us to make this home ours officially Shadow, I want you to take me inside and make me scream as we make love, mark me my love, and show the world I'm yours."

Then she threw caution to the wind, making her wolf howl in excitement as she grabbed onto her man and kissed him senseless.