by Angel Nyx
Eulalie moved forward toward one of the empty chairs, but stumbled at the news that her daughter was gone. The color drained from her face and Gage had to catch her and ease her into a chair.’
“I always hoped one day she’d come back, give us a chance to make tings right. Now she’s gone.” Eulalie wiped her eyes before she looked to her granddaughter. “But you’re here; I’ll have to be happy wit’ dat.”
Those words pulled Emelise out of her shock and made her anger rise. “If that’s how you really felt then why the fuck didn’t you try to find us? It wasn’t like Mama was trying to hide who she was. She didn’t change her name or her appearance or anything. In this day and age, it would have been easy for you to track her down but you didn’t. Not only that, but if that’s how you felt, why in the hell did you disown her in the first place? My mama died believing her family—her own parents—not only hated her but me as well. She died believing that you didn’t love her all because she made a fucking mistake when she was sixteen gods-damned years old!”
Eliza, Mia’s mother, gasped at the language Emelise was using in front of Eulalie. “Shame on you, cher, speakin’ dat way to your elder.”
Emelise gave her a dark look. “My mama raised me to stand up for myself. Respect is something that has to be earned; it’s not just given out willy-nilly. I think I deserve to know the truth; I deserve to know why my mama was disowned just because my father isn’t a shifter.” Her hands were balled into fists at her side and a soft, angry growl slipped past her gritted teeth. She forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm down and regain control of both her anger and her leopard.
Eliza started to respond but Eulalie held up a hand. “No, Eliza, she’s right. She does deserve some answers. Why don’t we go talk in my home. If I’m not mistaken, Mia’s gone into labor. Maybe all dis excitement was too much for her babe.”
All eyes went to Mia who was staring at her lap. Her pants were drenched and her face was strained from a sudden contraction. “I’ve been havin’ back pain all day… I thought it was normal,” Mia murmured once the contraction eased.
Gage was at her side immediately. “Let’s get you into da bedroom. Eliza, fetch Sabine. Lily, help me get Mia comfortable.” When no one moved from where they were, he snarled. “Move!”
His snarl broke whatever hold was over the women and Eliza ran out the front door. Emelise looked at Mia then looked to her grandmother. “You’re right, we should move this conversation elsewhere. Mia needs to be able to focus on bringing her baby into the world; she doesn’t need us stressing her out.”
“I’ll come find you when the baby is born.’ I don’t want to leave Mia’s side until then,” Lily said to her friend.
“Sure thing.” Emelise nodded at her and followed her grandmother out of the house. Whatever the woman had to say, it better be good.
Lily
Lily helped Gage to get Mia out of her sodden pants and into a dress that could be pulled down to cover her up later. A plastic tarp was spread out beneath the sheet and Mia was settled onto the bed. When Mia gripped her hand hard enough it would have broken bones if she’d been human, Lily reached up with her free hand and brushed the hair back from her face. “Just breathe, Mia. Slow, deep breaths until the contraction passes.” Mia had chosen to have a home birth, with the aid of the Pard’s doctor, who had recently returned to New Orleans after finishing her residency at a hospital in Shreveport. Lily kept her voice soft and gentle to keep her friend calm.
“Listen to her; she knows what she’s talkin’ about.”
Lily’s attention went to the door and the woman who stood there. She was expecting a much older woman and was startled to see the woman looked just a bit older than her own twenty-six years.
“Dis is Sabine; she’s da Pard’s doctor,” Gage said in introduction. He saw the look on Lily’s face and chuckled. “Sabine just finished up her residency and came back home. She’s been gone five years and we’re damn glad she’s back.”
“Nice to meet you.” Lily turned her attention back to Mia. “That’s it, deep breaths,” she encouraged and was finally able to flex her fingers to get the blood flowing through them again when Mia’s grip eased.
“Have you had much experience wit’ childbirth?” Sabine moved with grace and efficiency as she got Mia re-positioned so she could check the progress of things.
“Nothing formal, not like you, but I helped out a few times with my old pack, before I left. I was the Alpha’s daughter so it was kind of expected of me, but I did it because I wanted to be there, not because everyone expected me to. The worst was Casey. She was raped when she was fourteen and got pregnant. Her parents wanted her to abort; they didn’t think she could handle it emotionally, but she refused. She…had a lot of problems in childbirth and we almost lost both of them.”
“Dat can happen when da mama is so young. Da poor child. Are she and her babe well?”
“They were when I left. Jacob is eight now. He was two when I left Montana.” She’d not thought about them in a long time and now it made her want to reach out to the younger wolf.
“Dat’s good, dat dey’re both doin’ well.” Sabine looked to Mia and gave her an encouraging smile. “You’ve been in labor a lot longer dan you let on, cher. You’re already at nine centimeters—won’t be long now before you’ll want to start pushin’.”
Mia blushed at the hint of reprimand in Sabine’s voice. “I didn’t know I was in labor. My back was hurtin’ but I didn’t tink anyting about it.”
“Back labor can be tricky because you’re already havin’ back pain from the weight of da babe. No’ting to be embarrassed about, Mia. Now you know for da future.”
Mia just nodded and tried to breathe through the contractions. “When will I know it’s time to push?”
“You’ll fee da urge, but I want you to wait until it’s so strong you can’t fight it anymore. Lily, I’ll use your help since you’re already here and know a bit about childbirth.”
“Just tell me what you need me to do.” As Mia’s labor progressed, she assisted Sabine by helping to keep Mia calm, helping her with her breathing, and finally, when the baby was born, she was the one who wrapped it in a blanket while Sabine got Mia cleaned up.
“You’ve got a healthy baby boy.” Sabine handed the baby to Lily to wrap in a blanket once she’d gotten it cleaned up. Then she turned her attention to Mia so she could help her through the rest of the birth process with the expulsion of the afterbirth.
Gage let out a roar of joy that was soon echoed by the Pard. As their voices lifted to celebrate the birth of Gage and Mia’s son, Lily couldn’t help but add her own voice to it and her howl joined their roars. If anyone was in the bayou that night, they were bound to get one hell of a scare.
Chapter Nine
Lily
“Da Pard will be celebratin’ tonight; you should stay for da party,” Gage said once the noise died down. He couldn’t help gazing down at his newborn son with pride.
“Of course I’ll stay. I wouldn’t miss partying with the Pard for anything.” Lily laughed softly before she smiled warmly at Mia. “You look tired; you should get some rest.”
“Not yet. Gage tells me you’ve found your mate but dat you’re tryin’ to ignore it. What’s dat about, Lily?”
“Your mate has a big mouth.” Lily glared at Gage before she answered Mia’s question. “Yes, I’ve found my mate, or he found me, whichever way you want to look at it, and yes, I’m ignoring it. It’s animal instincts controlling that and I’m more than just my wolf, Mia. I’m not going to just walk away from someone I care about simply because of an animal instinct built into our kind.”
Mia shook her head. “You can’t ignore it forever, Lily. Eventually your wolf will take over and den where will you be? I know you don’t want to be a cheater—it goes against your morals—but when da wolf takes over, you won’t have much say in what she does. You need to face dat now before you’re in dat situation.”
Lil
y sighed. “I’ll fight it as long as I can. I know that doesn’t make sense to you but it’s the only way I know how to be, Mia. I’m going to go join the celebration and let you and the little one get some rest. He really is a beautiful baby.” She sat on the edge of the bed and gave Mia a hug before she got up and left so the new mother could rest.
Emelise had a nice, long talk with her grandmother and was waiting near the front door of Mia and Gage’s home when Lily came out.’ “I take it the baby is healthy?”
“Yes, he is. Feel like staying for the celebration? It might be hard to tear Remy away in order to get a ride back to New Orleans, but if you’d rather not stay I’m sure I can figure something out.”
“No, I’d like to stay. This is a joyous occasion and…it’s nice getting to know the Pard a little.”
“Then we’ll stay and party.” Lily flashed her a grin. “Everything okay with the whole family thing?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it right now. I need time to process it all, to be honest.”
“Fair enough.” Lily looped arms with her and headed over to grab a drink where various bottles of alcohol were being set up, along with a barrel that was being filled with ice and bottles of beer. She scanned the labels before she settled on Jack Daniels. She was in the mood for some strong whiskey. She downed several shots fairly quickly, and soon enough the alcohol had her feeling good.
Declan
The chat with Caine went better than he’d expected. As soon as the Alpha knew Declan was once in Special Ops, he’d enlisted Declan’s aid in monitoring the jaguars who were slipping into Pard territory. Declan had an advantage over the leopards in that the jaguars wouldn’t expect him to have any real contact with the leopards so he’d have a better chance at getting close to them and figuring out what they were up to.
Declan found himself wandering the Pard’s compound in search of Lily when he happened upon Remy. “I wanted to thank you and your brother for keeping an eye on Lily all this time. I know you did it because the Pard considers her family, but thank you all the same.”
“Don’t mention it. If you’re lookin’ for her, you’re gonna have a bit of a wait. Seems my niece or nephew decided tonight was a good time to be born. Lily is helpin’ keep Mia, Gage’s mate, calm.”
“In other words, find something else to occupy my time because we’re going to be here all night. It could be worse. I could be surrounded by people who wanted me dead. I’ve been there before. Trust me, it’s no fun.”
Remy just looked at him a moment. “You’re an odd one, dat’s for sure.” After a moment he grew serious. “You just be sure you don’t hurt her. Lily is family and if you hurt her, you’re a dead man.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. She’s your family, and if there’s one thing I’ve already figured out about you and the Pard, it’s that you take care of your own.”
“Dat we do, Declan, dat we do.” When Caine approached them, Remy nodded at him. “Caine. How long do you tink it’ll take Declan here to wear down Lily’s resistance?”
Caine chuckled. “A few days, at least. She’s a stubborn one.”
Declan made a noise that sounded like a snort of derision. “I’ve already figured that out about her. Unfortunately for her, I’m just as stubborn, if not more so.” His comment made them all laugh.
“You’ll have to be if you want to win her over.”
“I’m aware of that. Like I said before, I like a challenge.”
“Dat’s a good ting.” Remy flashed a grin. “I’m gonna go see how Gage is holdin’ up under da strain of his mate bein’ in labor.” He nodded at both men and walked away.
Caine watched Remy go. He’d not been aware that Mia was in labor, but then, he’d been in his office with Declan for a bit. He’d have to go check on her shortly. “Let me know when you and your team are ready to take action against da Red Moon Clan.”
Declan glanced at Caine. “Will do.”
They were just finishing up their conversation when a roar ripped through the night air, quickly followed by others. Soon the air echoed with the Pard’s roars of celebration. How did Declan know they were roars of celebration? The tone. A human wouldn’t be able to tell the difference but a fellow shifter, even one from a different species, sure as hell could. When Lily’s voice joined the Pard’s, he couldn’t help but crack a smile. He also couldn’t help his body’s reaction to it. He was instantly hard. He wanted to drag her off somewhere dark and ignite the passion he knew was brewing beneath the surface, get her to let down her guard enough to let him in.
“Da Pard has a new member,” Caine said when the roars died down. “You’ll have to stay for da celebration; I doubt Remy will want to leave just now when it’s his brother’s mate who just gave birth.”
“Not a problem. Knowing Lily, she’ll want to stay anyway.”
Caine chuckled. “Dat she will. Drink, enjoy yourself, it’s goin’ to be a long night.” That said, he made his way to Gage and Mia’s to congratulate them.
“I’ll do that.” Declan watched Caine walk away before he turned his attention to where the Pard was setting up the alcohol. He spotted Lily downing a shot of Jack and cocked a brow. Damn, every time he thought he couldn’t get anymore turned on by her, she did something to prove him wrong. He fucking loved a woman who could shoot whiskey. He hadn’t met many of them, so the fact she was doing that made him ache for her even more. “Good choice,” he growled next to her ear as he reached around her for the bottle to get himself some as well.
Lily was startled by his voice. “Jack, Jim, and Johnny are three of my favorite men.” She finished the shot she had and poured herself a larger glass and drank a bit slower.
“Woman after my own heart.” Deep laughter erupted from him at her words. He liked this playful side of her. Maybe he needed to get her drinking more often to get her to loosen up.
Music filled the air and Lily found herself swaying to it while she studied Declan. “So what did you and Caine talk about?”
“Nothing I feel like sharing tonight, doll. Tonight is about celebrating new life.” His eyes trailed down her body as she moved to the music, and a soft growl escaped him. “Fuck, you’re killing me here, Lily. Do you have any idea just how gorgeous you are?” His voice was rough with need.
Lily tilted her head at him. “Gorgeous? That’s sweet of you to say, Declan. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m pretty, but gorgeous? Not hardly.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed at her. “Bullshit you’re not.” He pulled her close without thinking. “Woman, I have seen women of all shapes, sizes, and colors over the years so believe me, I know what the fuck I’m talking about. You’re gorgeous, Lily.”
She squeaked when he pulled her close but shook her head. “I’ve got too much meat on me to be gorgeous. I won’t ever be a size four and I’m okay with that, but I know being too curvy isn’t exactly the most alluring thing in the world.”
“Baby, you’re not too curvy; you’ve got just the right amount of curves in all the right places.” Before he could talk himself out of it, he crushed his mouth to hers. She hadn’t tried to pull away when he’d tugged her close, and he was taking full advantage of that.
A moan escaped Lily and it made him tighten his hold on her. Declan wanted nothing more than to drag her away from the celebration. He needed to be alone with her. He needed to feel her skin beneath his hands. He kept kissing her even as he backed them away from the party, away from the lights that were burning to keep the darkness at bay.
Lily
Lily found herself swooning when his lips met hers. The fire that was burning low in her ignited into a raging inferno, and she pressed closer to him. Vaguely, she realized she shouldn’t have been drinking whiskey, but for the moment, logic had no part in what was happening. She couldn’t think; all she could do was feel. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he ravished her mouth, and a moan escaped her.
She wasn’t sure when they’d slipped away from the others, but the
sudden darkness pulled her from the kiss. She gazed up at him, her breathing ragged, and she started to speak but he silenced her with another kiss.
“No talking, no thinking, just feel.”
Lily could have argued with him, should have argued with him, but his lips on hers felt so good, and she gave in to the way he made her feel. Never before had she been kissed with such passion, such need, that she could feel it in her bones. Was this what it was like between mates? This overwhelming, burning need for each other?
Declan growled against her lips before he slipped his hands beneath her shirt and up to cup her breasts. His thumbs skimmed her nipples and he smirked when they hardened beneath his touch. He pinched one between his finger and thumb and was rewarded by her gasp. He trailed his lips down her throat before he nudged her shirt up enough to expose her ample breasts to his heated gaze. He locked eyes with her and took one of her nipples in his mouth, suckling it through the lace of her bra.
The look in Declan’s eyes thrilled her, and when he took her nipple into his mouth, her knees felt weak. Liquid heat burned through her and she knew her panties were soaked. “Declan…” She wasn’t sure what she was going to say; was she going to ask him to stop or beg him for more? Before she could say anything more than his name, he gently bit down on her nipple, and all thought fled her mind.
“Tell me you want this, Lily.” His voice was a muffled growl against her skin. His free hand slid down and tugged her skirt up so he could skim his fingers over the crotch of her panties. “Fuck, baby, you’re so wet.”
A small voice in her head was screaming at her to stop now. She wasn’t single—there was someone who would be hurt if she continued on the path she was on, but her wolf pushed that voice down. Instinct was taking over and Lily was unable to take back control . “I want this.” Her whispered voice was husky with need.
