by Zena Wynn
“The people that matter are for it. Everyone else…” She shrugged.
“I hear you.”
Shayla played with the silverware, wishing Rory would hurry. She was starving, and the smell of all that meat was making her salivate, in a good way this time. The MC—an older black lady Shay had never met—was droning on in the background, announcing the order of events. Just as she released the wedding party to go fix their plates, Rory returned to the table with hers.
It was piled high. There were meatballs, chicken wings, riblets, some type of pastry that looked like it contained meat, seafood salad, and more. Shayla picked up her fork and calmly jabbed it into a meatball before bringing it to her mouth. She forced herself to eat slowly, knowing her mother was watching.
For a species that felt marriage was unnecessary, these shifters certainly knew how to plan a reception. The food was delicious, the decorations exquisite. Through closed double glass doors she could see a pool. Floating in it were flowered wreaths with tea-light candles lit in the center. Spaced evenly around the perimeter were torches, the kind that repelled flying insects.
The inside was decorated just as nicely. There was a stage on which a live band played. To the left a long table contained a mountain of wedding gifts. The table to the right held a huge three-tiered wedding cake adorned with pink rosettes. The center was open, forming a floor for dancing.
There must be over a hundred guests present, seated in groupings of eight at round tables. Each table had a floral centerpiece made of some flower Shay didn’t know the name of but could see was very pretty and delicate. The jewel tones of their bridesmaid’s dresses were repeated throughout the room. Coupled with the soft lighting and artificial candlelight, it gave the room a romantic feel.
Nikolai arrived while the guests were being served. The guy with Shannon quickly decamped, leaving the vampire his seat. Watching the two of them together, she could clearly see how in love they were. She wondered if she and Rory would ever look like that; then she snorted. Not bloody likely. Shannon and Nikolai were too sappy for words. She looked around the room. All the mated couples were, including Kiesha and Alex, and Mary Elizabeth and Hugh. It was enough to make a girl gag.
Shay leaned back in her chair and let the conversation wash over her. Now that her stomach was full, the nausea was gone and sleepiness had returned. Rory reached down, lifted her legs into his lap, and rubbed her calves. The tablecloth hid what he was doing, but at this point she really didn’t care if her parents saw.
She propped her arm on the table, rested her cheek on her fist, and semidozed through both the maid of honor and best man’s toasts, the cutting of the cake, and the tossing of the bridal bouquet and garter belt. Shay roused when Rory lowered her legs and stood. “Time to do our duty.”
Shay reluctantly slid her shoes back on her feet and allowed Rory to lead her to the dance floor, where Kiesha and Alex along with both sets of parents were already dancing. They danced quietly through the rest of the set. Then came the rounds of switching partners, until each of the wedding party had danced with everyone else. By this time some of the older guests had left, Alex’s parents among them.
Shay’s parents approached. “Baby girl, your mother and I are getting ready to leave. We’re hitting the road tonight. Our flight leaves in the morning, early. I wish we could stay longer, but I’ve got an important meeting I have to attend and your mother needs to prepare for the next semester.”
“Okay, Daddy. Call me when you get in so I don’t worry.”
Shay’s mother pulled her to the side. “Shannon’s brother…very nice. He’s interested too. It shows. You better snap him up.”
“Moooom.”
“You do what I tell you,” she scolded.
“I don’t think so.” Shayla had to protest. If she agreed, her mother would be suspicious.
“Rory!”
“Mom, don’t,” Shay protested as her mother motioned for him to come over.
“Ma’am?” The glance he slid Shayla was questioning.
“You take good care of my girl while she’s working for you. Introduce her to some nice men. A girl like my Shay-Nei has a lot to offer, yes?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll see to it,” he responded in his most solicitous voice. Shayla narrowed her eyes at him.
“Come on, Kiyona, let’s go. We have a long drive ahead of us,” her father said.
“Take care. Don’t forget to call,” Shay admonished as hugs were exchanged.
“We won’t. Bye,” her dad said. Her mom nodded her head in Rory’s direction, smiling meaningfully, before her dad grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.
“Bye,” she echoed as they left.
As the underage and the elderly left and only the in-between remained, the atmosphere changed. Ties and jackets came off, and abandoned heels littered the floor, partially hidden beneath the trailing edges of tablecloths. A bar was set up in the corner, and the doors to the pool area were thrown open, letting in the cool night air. The bright lights were turned on, and some industrious males began taking down the unnecessary tables, increasing the dancing area.
Shayla looked around avidly, sleep forgotten. These people really knew how to party. The band switched from the easygoing, laid-back tunes they were playing to hard rock. The singles among them joined up into couples or, in some cases, threesomes. From the amount of sexual tension in the air, quite a few of them would be getting lucky.
With both sets of parents gone, there was room at the main table for the rest of the wedding party, so they gathered their things and joined Kiesha and Alex at the head table. She was calling it a table, but it was really three in a U formation, with Alex and Kiesha at the top. Shayla sank into the seat next to her cousin, and Rory, never far away, settled on her right.
“I am never getting married,” she told Kiesha. “That woman is insane. I don’t know how you stood it.”
Kiesha looked to where Shay and Rory’s hands were linked on the table. Now that her parents were gone, the man was indulging in his need to stake a claim, especially with all the horny wolves on the prowl. Not that they were a concern. One glance followed by a sniff and they stayed away. Maybe there really was something to this marking business. “What about Rory?”
“We’ll live in sin. It’ll give her something to pray about. Hell, she’s getting a grandchild out of the deal. That ought to be enough.” Shay rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension.
“You know your dad won’t go for that. He’ll come after Rory with a shotgun,” Kiesha stated with a laugh.
Rory stirred. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
Shay rolled her eyes at him. “You’re a werewolf. Suck it up. It’s not like a bullet will kill you unless he uses silver.”
She could feel all of them gazing at her in stunned dismay.
“Shay, we really have to do something about your preconceptions,” Alex said.
“Yeah. For one, Nikolai does not sleep in a coffin and sunlight won’t kill him,” Shannon stated.
“She thought that?” Nikolai asked.
“Yes, she asked if that’s why you weren’t at the wedding,” Shannon responded.
“And while we heal superfast, enough bullets in the right body part will kill us just as much as anyone else,” Rory added.
“Really? Man, I didn’t know that, but…you guys do turn hairy during a full moon, right? And Nik, being the undead evil and all, doesn’t being on holy ground bother you?” Shay asked, a bewildered expression on her face.
There were groans from the shifters at the table and what sounded like a snarl from Nikolai.
“No, Shay. Where are you getting this stuff from?” Alex asked.
“I researched vamps and shifters online, where else?”
They all started talking at once, only to quiet when Mary Elizabeth burst out laughing and Kiesha joined her, almost falling out of her chair.
“You shouldn’t laugh at her, Mary Elizabeth. She doesn’t
know,” Hugh scolded.
“She’s not laughing at Shayla,” Kiesha denied. “She’s—we’re—laughing at you. You guys are so gullible. Shay, stop messing with them.”
Shay gazed blandly at each person in the group. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
Alex’s suspicion showed on his face. Hugh looked confused. Shannon’s expression showed she realized she’d been had. Nikolai was hard to read, but Rory? His eyes were narrowed.
“Shay’s a genius. She probably knows more about your species than you do yourselves,” Mary Elizabeth said while wiping tears from her eyes.
“My area of expertise is computers,” she loftily informed them.
“Yes but Auntie Yona’s is genetics, and she taught you all she knows. Don’t tell me you haven’t done DNA testing on Alex. You can probably tell us what this child I’m carrying will look like and which characteristics of ours it will have,” Kiesha finished with a chuckle.
As the grumbling rose from the paranormals sitting there, she decided retreat might be in order. “Traitor,” she grumbled at her cousin as she rose from her seat.
Rory tightened his grip on her fingers. “Where are you going?”
“Bathroom.” Her look dared him to make something out of it.
He released her as Kiesha said, “I’ll join you. My bladder’s about to burst.”
“Count me in,” Mary Elizabeth added. “You coming?” she asked Shannon.
“Might as well.”
As they walked off, she heard Alex telling Rory, “I don’t envy you, my friend. She’s going to turn your pack upside down.”
“They could use a good shaking up,” was his response.
As they crowded into the restroom, Shay realized she really did have to go. While she stood washing her hands at the sink, Shannon said, “I can’t believe I fell for that. After all the questions you asked me about shifters and vamps when you were here the last time, I should have known you knew better.”
“It’s that expression she gets on her face,” Kiesha said. “You know, the ‘I really don’t know, please educate me’ look? She does it so well.”
“Shay plays stupid better than anyone I know,” Mary Elizabeth informed them.
Shay shrugged. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”
“Well make sure you use that ‘gift’ of yours when you meet Rory’s pack. Let ’em underestimate you,” Shannon said.
“I thought you told me they respected intelligence and strength,” Shay asked, confused for real this time.
“They do, but they also admire cunning. If you go in there acting clueless, you’ll discover faster who’s on your side. They’ll relax their guard if they think you aren’t a threat,” Shannon concluded.
“You make it sound like she’s going into battle,” Kiesha said, looking worried.
“She is. The Sparrowhawks aren’t like the Ravens. If she comes on too strong, Shay’s going to be challenged for her alpha-fem position, true mate or not. But if she plays dumb, they’ll understand Rory protecting the ‘puny human.’ Shay will have a chance to learn who her enemies are, and she’ll have some, believe it.”
“That’s terrible,” Mary Elizabeth said.
“What’s worse is that as alpha, Rory’s slept with over half the females of the pack at one time or another. Many of them are still hoping he’ll choose them to be his mate. They aren’t going to be happy to see Shay, and they’re sure to try to discredit her and make her life miserable if they possibly can.”
“Well, hell, Shannon. You couldn’t have mentioned all this earlier when you were convincing me to give Rory a chance?” Shay asked.
Shannon gave her a lopsided grin. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Yeah. Don’t go in the basement,” Shannon said, her expression as serious as Shayla had ever seen.
“What’s down there, the boogeyman?”
Kiesha and Mary Elizabeth laughed. Shannon did not.
“Something like that,” Shannon agreed.
“We’d better go before the guys come looking for us,” Kiesha interrupted.
Shayla trailed behind the others, curiosity working overtime. First chance she got, she’d have to take a little look in the basement. That’s what Shannon wanted her to do, right? She had to know telling Shay not to do something was like waving a red flag at a bull. The results were almost guaranteed.
As she neared the opening to the pool, she noticed a tall, lean figure standing in the shadows that was vaguely familiar. Shay thought she knew him, and that in and of itself was enough to capture her attention since she didn’t know many folks in Refuge. In actuality the only people she knew were in the wedding party, which meant this guy wasn’t from here. Why was he lurking, and how was it that no one—werewolves and vamps included—noticed his presence?
No time like the present to find out.
She detoured away from the others and headed straight for him. If he noticed her approach, it didn’t send him running. As she drew near, recognition struck like lightning. “Conor! Dude, you’re here! Why are you hiding in the shadows? Come on out.” She launched herself at him, grinning and hugging him tight.
This Indian was a favorite of hers. Kiesha had thought him old and senile in a harmless sort of way. Shay thought Conor was a hoot and he told the best stories.
He hugged her back, his grip strong. “Shayla Nei, I see you’ve found your mate. Pregnancy becomes you. You glow.”
Shay didn’t even question how he knew. Back in Pirate’s Cove he’d always done things like that, just popped out with some bit of knowledge. Used to freak Kiesha out, but of the two of them, her cousin had always been the doubter. If Kee didn’t believe in it, it couldn’t exist, and there was a lot of stuff she didn’t believe in. Or there used to be before she’d ended up mated to a werewolf.
“Nice job, by the way, what you did for Kee,” she complimented him as she gazed up at him from within his loose embrace. Conor was responsible for Kiesha meeting Alex.
He grinned, and she caught a glimpse of his slightly crooked front tooth. “She was the catalyst. Look at all that’s happened since she’s arrived.”
“While I’m happy for Kiesha and Mary Elizabeth, I think you went a little too far with the matchmaking when you threw me into the mix,” she groused, not truly angry.
He threw back his head and laughed, causing his silver-streaked black hair to float around his shoulders and the fine wrinkles around his eyes in his deeply tanned face to scrunch. He really was a stunningly attractive male, even if he was at least as old as her father. “You are just what that red wolf needs. The Creator makes no mistakes.”
“He might need me, but what am I getting out of the exchange?”
Conor gazed down at her, his black eyes deep and mysterious. “Someone who loves you totally and completely, just the way you are. Never forget that, Shayla Nei, no matter how rough things get. It will all be worth it in the end.”
Hearing the warning, she asked, “What’s coming?”
His eyes seemed to lose focus. “You must fight to hold on to what is yours. Treachery surrounds you. Only by uniting together will you be victorious.” His gaze drilled into hers with laserlike precision. “Show no mercy. Your daughters’ safety depends on the decisions you make now.”
Before she could press for more details, she was snatched back against a hard, muscular chest and strong arms wrapped securely around her from behind. Rory. She’d know that chest rumble anywhere. With a wave of her hand, she introduced them. “Rory, meet Conor, the man responsible for Kiesha and Alex and, consequently, you and I meeting.”
The growling stopped, and a stunned silence followed. “The Conor?”
She leaned to the side and glanced up at him. “Alex told you about him?”
He looked down at her, eyes still rounded in shock. “Uh…Conor’s a legend among our kind. Until Alex told me differently, I didn’t think he was real.”
&nbs
p; “A legend? Come on,” she scoffed. Turning to Conor, she said, “Don’t get me wrong. You’re one of my favorite peeps in the world, but a legend?” She shook her head and chuckled.
The grin he gave her in return said Conor shared her amusement.
“Shay, who are you talking…Conor!”
She reached out and slapped her cousin’s arm. “Kee, why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”
“I didn’t know. I didn’t even know he knew I was engaged. We didn’t see him in Pirate’s Cove when Alex and I returned to pack up my condo.” Kiesha appeared totally bemused.
“This is Conor?” Alex asked. Startlement gave way to the same awe Shayla saw on Rory’s face.
“Oh, not you too.” Shay rolled her eyes. “What is it with you people? He’s a man, not God. What’s with all the astonishment?”
Conor’s features seemed to shimmer and blur. In a matter of seconds his slightly hunched shoulders straightened, his graying hair turned black and curled, and his attractively wrinkled face unlined, becoming youthful. The end result was a man so devastatingly handsome it made Shay’s mouth drop open. “Okaaay, I didn’t know he could do that!”
“Damn,” Kiesha muttered, equally surprised.
On second thought Shay wasn’t sure why she was stunned. If the man had teleported Kiesha five states away in the middle of the night to meet her mate, as Kiesha suspected, neither of them really should be astonished at Conor magically altering his appearance.
Mary Elizabeth, who’d just walked up with Hugh close behind, said under her breath, “Hubba, hubba,” and fanned her face.
Shay was distracted from her own shock by Nikolai. He strode up to Conor, went down on one knee, placed his fist on his chest, and bowed his head respectfully. “Sire.”
“Nikolai!” Conor said with a big grin and held out a hand to him. Nikolai stood, and the two clasped forearms.
“Sire as in king?” Shay asked.
“No, as in progenitor,” Nikolai stated.
“This is your father?” Shannon asked, voice faint.
