One True Mate 4: Shifter's Innocent

by Lisa Ladew

  Beckett finally stopped, turned off the truck, then slid out. “Come on, bring my phone.”

  “Put on your coat,” Cerise told Kaci, grabbing her own from the seat between them. She hopped down after Kaci, stretching her spine and hips for a moment. Kaci was already headed to the back of the truck after Beckett. Cerise heard him open the camper shell and she hurried back there. She’d seen through the back window that there was some large piece of equipment in the bed of the truck, but hadn’t been able to tell what it was.

  Beckett had the tailgate down and was pulling out a small, rectangular piece of plastic, only a bit more than an inch thick, but about the size of two dinner plates put together. A thick column ran directly down the center, making her think of the body of a butterfly, with the two pieces of plastic being its wings. As she looked closer, she could see the plastic was really a kind of mesh, and inside the mesh were propellers, like what you would see on a helicopter. “What is it?”

  “It’s a hover camera.” He handed it to Kaci. “Hold it up in the air.” Kaci did and Beckett looked at his phone, holding it sideways, pressing buttons with his thumbs. The blades inside the plastic mesh whirred to life, startling Cerise. Kaci only looked thrilled and excited.

  “Ok, let go, but let it balance on your fingertips.”

  Kaci released her grip and the hover camera wobbled for a second, then rose straight into the air. Cerise stared at it for a long time, remembering all the gorgeous pictures from Beckett’s house, staring straight down at the ground. So this was how he had taken them.

  Beckett flew the hover camera in a circle over their heads, then showed them the phone. A still of the three of them staring up at it was on the screen. He swiped it and looked at Kaci. “You want to try?”

  Kaci nodded eagerly, and Beckett showed her how to maneuver it, lifting his head occasionally to stare down the road in the direction they had come from.

  Cerise watched them, Beckett bending to be close to Kaci, Kaci hanging on his every word, her heart strangely full and aching at the same time.

  When he handed the controls over to Kaci, she made a few small adjustments, checking the responsiveness of the hover camera, then made it zoom across the field. She whooped and laughed and followed it at an awkward run, her pigeon-toed gait almost tripping her several times.

  Beckett came to stand by Cerise. “It’s good to hear her laugh,” he said. Cerise nodded, watching her. So good.

  She turned to Beckett to say something, but he was watching the road behind them again. She looked that way, and realized in the distance, she could see the freeway overpass and the exit they had taken. “Are we being followed?”

  He didn’t answer for a few moments, then said, “I’m almost certain we are not being followed, but I needed to do this before we stopped for the night. Once we enter a hotel, we will be in much more danger than we would be on the road.”

  Cerise opened her mouth to say one thing, but something completely different came out. “You aren’t a doctor, are you?”

  He didn’t look at her, just kept his eyes on the overpass, his head raised high, but his expression tightened. “I’m a cop.”

  Cerise felt her heart triple-time in her chest, causing an actual lance of pain to shoot through it. She pressed a hand to her midsection, because the spike of anxiety made her feel nauseous. She realized that he had stopped in this field not to discern a tail, but rather to talk to her alone.

  His gaze finally dropped to her face and his eyes blazed. “You were in my house,” he said simply. “Tell me why.”

  She took a step backwards. “You knew?” She felt betrayed. Like he’d been playing with her the whole time. Her eyes narrowed and anxiety turned to anger. “Is this some kind of game for you?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not like that.”

  She didn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe him. “What else do you know?” she said, spitting the words.

  “That Kaci shot that man you were living with, Myles Pekin, and that he’s not her father, or your father, either.”

  Not her father! How many times had she prayed that could possibly be true, that she wasn’t related to the monster, even though she never believed it. Cerise tried to talk but all she could do was sputter. She’d been there when Myles and Sandra had stolen Kaci as a baby, but she’d never even considered they might have done the same to her before she could remember it. Her heart broke for her parents. Would she ever find them?

  He advanced on her, grabbing her upper arms, his face suddenly wild, his voice barely controlled. “What did he do to you? Tell me. I have to know, before I imagine the worst.”

  She pulled away from him, rage lending her strength. “You lied to me!”

  He shook his head and rapped two fingers against the brim of his cap in emphasis to his one word. “Never.” His eyes grew sad. “You lied to me, but I can understand why you did it.”

  Guilt and shame filled her, warring with the anger. She had, many times. But the anger won out. She whirled and stormed away from him, not wanting to, but unable to help herself, stark emotion demanding she move, the last vestiges of her pride saying it had to be away from him, who knew so much about her that she would rather bury in an unmarked grave. She ran toward Kaci, yelling before she even got to her. “Kaci, put that down. We’re leaving. We’re walking. Beckett lied to us.”

  She grabbed Kaci’s arm, pulling it off the phone, which slipped from her fingers and fell in the snow. The hover camera plummeted to the ground. Cerise didn’t care, she was raw, bleeding emotion.

  Kaci howled in indignation and tried to snatch up the phone, but Cerise pulled harder at her. “Come on, we’ll get to California some other way.”

  Kaci pulled out of her grasp and ran in the other direction, reaching Beckett, who had followed. She ran behind Beckett, grabbing his clothes and burying her face in his back like she used to do to Cerise. “No! I want to stay with Beckett. I love you, Cerise, but… but I love him, too!”

  Cerise boiled. Not only had Beckett betrayed her, but Kaci was choosing him over her! “No you don’t, Lemon, you just met him. Haven’t I told you again and again to never give your heart to the first man who is nice to you!”

  Kaci sobbed and threaded her hands around Beckett’s waist as Beckett looked on, his face grave. “He’s good, Cerise. I can trust him, I know it. Please don’t make me leave.”

  What could she say to that? She turned and stared at the sky, about to walk out of the field herself. But Kaci was her responsibility. She couldn’t just leave her, even though she knew Beckett would take care of her, would not mistreat her. She knew that if she did leave, or if something happened to her, Kaci would be treated like gold by Beckett. She frowned and fought back tears as she realized if those thoughts were right, then the earlier thoughts she’d had about him were wrong, fueled by anger and guilt.

  Her shoulders sagged. Behind her, Beckett spoke softly to Kaci. She looked and saw him kneeling at her level, holding one of her hands. He kissed the back of it and waited for her to respond. She nodded and he wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb, then stood and retrieved the phone and the hover camera.

  Her heart hurt.

  He watched until Kaci got the hover camera in the air again, following it with only a portion of her earlier enthusiasm, then walked to Cerise.

  Warily, she watched him come, waiting to hear what he had to say. She owed him an apology, but did not know if she could give it.

  He stopped a few feet from her, then wiped a tear from her face she hadn’t known had fallen, his action as tender as it had been with Kaci. When he spoke, his voice was soft, and his words completely unexpected. “Can you accept that there’s more to our situation than you would have been able to understand that night when we met, even if I tried to tell you? That I was afraid you would run from me if I told you who I was and that’s the only reason I didn’t?”

  She nodded slowly. She could.

  “Can you believe that I only want wha
t is best for both you and Kaci, and that I won’t turn you in to anyone and that I haven’t told anyone where you are and I will do whatever I need to do to help you?”

  She nodded again, a mental weight rolling off of her. She could believe that. He’d proved it again and again. He’d probably even saved their lives. Her eyes rolled to the bloody tear in his sleeve. Her fault he was walking around with that hole in his arm.

  His face showed stark relief for a second, then he slowly raised his arm and took her hand. This time, his touch was still intimate, but completely innocent. He was telling her all was forgiven by him, and they were back on the same footing as before, or could be, if she let herself go there.

  He gave her that grin, the one that meant he was going to try to talk her into something, and that she would be helpless to do anything but agree, and said, “We have a lot of talking to do tonight. I want to get going so we can get to Grand Junction before I get too tired, but let’s have a short driving lesson before we go. Cooter’s a stick, so it’ll be hard at first, but I firmly believe people who learn on sticks or tractors are better drivers.”

  Cerise touched his upper arm, stopping his backwards motion. She stepped in close to him and stood on her tiptoes, raising her lips to his. Wanting to tell him thank you and I’m sorry and every single thing rolling inside her without speaking a word. With her own touch that meant more than she could say in words.

  He looked down at her, that grin still on his face, impossibly handsome, then slowly lowered his face to her. She savored everything about the moment as long as she could. The chill in the air contrasting with the warmth of his body next to hers. His slow, languorous descent that brought more of the delicious, masculine scent that was so uniquely him, the orange light streaking across the sky, and the whirring of the hover camera as Kaci lost herself in play twenty feet from them. His lips met hers and she let her eyes slide closed to better focus on their first real kiss. Her first real kiss.

  Her body responded immediately, stronger than it had before, demanding she run her fingers up his back, to his head, knocking his cap to the ground. He cupped the nape of her neck and pulled every inch of her body directly up next to his, then probed the seam of her lips gently with his tongue. She gasped and opened to him, loving the velvet smoothness of his tongue, loving the way every slide of it slipped sensation across all her nerve endings, whimpering as she began to throb for him.

  He broke the kiss but did not pull away from her, staring into her eyes, his mouth working like he wanted to say something. He changed his mind and kissed her again, once, then threaded his fingers through hers, bent to pick up his cap, and pulled her across the field under the streaked sky.

  Chapter 28

  Ella hurried out of her and Trevor’s house, knowing they were all waiting on her at the van for their weekly trip to the police station so Trevor and Crew could catch up on paperwork. They went in the evening, so as not to be a distraction to the rest of the officers. She was surprised Trevor wasn’t at the door, waiting to help her over the perfectly flat and dry ground, like he had since the moment she’d become pregnant. Now that her belly was visibly rounded and they’d discovered there were two babies in there, perfectly healthy, anyone watching the two of them would have thought she was made of china, liable to break at the slightest bump or bruise.

  The cold air hit her in the face at once, but she noticed it wasn’t as cold as it had been. Spring would show its face soon. As if agreeing with her, the clear sky above streaked with pinks and oranges of the setting sun. She turned to watch for a moment, loving a winter sunset, knowing Trevor wouldn’t let anyone chew her out for being the late one. Ha! Not that anyone would. So far, their tiny family got along well, no fights, nobody getting on anyone’s nerves. It helped that everyone had their own space, now that Crew and Dahlia’s cabin was done.

  Thoughts pushed into her brain and she looked around, dismissing the sunset. Someone else’s thoughts. Her eyes settled on the van, counting the people in it. Three. No, four, Crew and Dahlia were entwined in the very back seat, looking like one person. She spotted Trent, Trevor, and Troy just behind the van, Trevor with his hands on his hips, Trent sitting on his haunches, the bit of white at the tip of his twitching tail catching her eye, and Troy pacing nervously behind Trent, his nose to the ground. She had learned to shield herself from an open ruhi conversation, allowing others their privacy if they hadn’t shielded it themselves, but her own name caught her attention and she stared, knowing from the tone of Trent’s rumbling voice and the cautious way he picked his words, what this was about.

  Troy’s worried about her, Trent said. I am, too. She’s hiding something and it’s eating her up inside.

  Trevor’s worry threaded through his words. What could she be hiding? I’m always with her.

  Troy whimpered and Ella read plenty into the sound. He didn’t want to betray her, wanted to let her tell Trevor when she was ready, but he was scared of her secret. So was she. She started down the walk toward them, relieved the secret would be out, but scared of what she knew was coming.

  Troy spoke. I think it’s about her sister. Something big. And awful.

  Ella broke in to the conversation. Get in the van. I’ll show you what my secret is.

  Troy dropped to his belly on the ground, then rolled on his back, covering his face with a paw, while Trent swung his head around to meet her gaze, his more dignified apology written all over his face.

  Stop, Ella implored. She hated to see the boys sad. You were right to tell.

  Troy jumped up and ran to her and she dropped to her knees to hug him around the neck. He nuzzled her hair, then wriggled until he got his nose close to her belly. Anybody in there? It’s Uncle Troy and I’ve got lollipops!

  The babes kicked at once and Ella grinned past her dismay, imagining their little bodies turning and writhing, trying to get to Uncle Troy. They hadn’t talked back, but Ella was holding her breath for the first word. No one had ever heard of pups speaking in ruhi in utero, but Trevor believed it was possible. Of course he already thought his pups were the strongest and smartest and cutest things that existed in all the universe, and he’d only seen them on ultrasound.

  She took Trevor’s hand when he offered it, followed him to the van, and laughed at Trent’s jab at his brother.

  Uncle Trent’s here, too, with toothbrushes.

  ***

  Ella held her breath as they walked through the sterile hallway of the nursing home, the faint scent of disinfectant tickling her nose. She hadn’t been to see her sister since her own belly had started swelling, knowing Shay’s was soon to follow.

  She pushed the door open slowly and encouraged her mate to enter before her. Shay lay on her back, fingers curling into the air, eyes closed, mouth partially open, the mound of her belly straining at the sheets.

  Trevor stared for a long time, not saying a word. She could feel him carefully concealing his reaction, but he needn’t have bothered. She knew what it was. That’s why she hadn’t told him for so long.

  Finally, he turned to her. “This is why you asked Wade to come.”

  She nodded, searching his face. “Everyone needs to know.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “Since the day we were mated.”

  He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Ella, why didn’t you tell me? It would have been simple then, to have the baby-”

  Ella cut him off. “Don’t finish that sentence. We are not doing that.”

  Trevor’s eyes widened. “You can’t possibly…”

  Ella paced the room, keeping her emotions under control. “I’ve had months to think about this, and the only answer is the one I’ve come up with.” She faced him. “That’s my niece or nephew in there and we are not killing him or her!”

  Trevor grabbed her hand. “Think of who the father is!”

  “You don’t know that! I think we should talk to her boyfriend. Maybe he already knew she was pregnant.”

&nbs
p; Trevor shook his head, inadvertently squeezing her fingers. “I’ll find him. I’ll ask, but if he says no-”

  Ella pulled her hand away from him. “If he says no, we still aren’t killing defenseless babies.”

  “Ella, be reasonable, who is going to take care of these babies? Your sister is a vegetable.”

  Ella pulled herself up to her full height and stared him down. “I am.”

  Trevor put his hands to his head. “You can’t possibly think I’ll allow Khain’s spawn in my own house! To be raised alongside my pups!”

  Ella took a step backwards, fighting to keep her voice level. “I admit, that would complicate things, but we don’t even know if that’s true, Trevor.” She took his hand between both of hers, trying to remind him of their connection. “If it’s not true, the baby comes home with us, can you at least consider that?”

  Trevor shook his head, his eyes rolling. “How would we possibly determine that?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s talk to Wade.” She knew he would agree with her, even if he wasn’t on her side. Because she’d secretly asked him if Rhen would agree with aborting babies that Khain fathered. Wade had stared at her for a long time, but never asked why she wanted to know. He’d sat in repose that very night to contact Rhen and come back to her with this message: Rhen says that to destroy a baby based on an act it may one day commit is to destroy yourself as well.

  She’d known that, but having Rhen’s words on her side had given her confidence. Now Trevor needed some time to realize it on his own. She could give it to him.

  He grabbed at her like he was drowning. “Ella, I don’t think I can do it. I can’t bring a baby into my home that could be fathered by him.”

  She opened her arms, determined not to fight. “I’m not asking you to. If we find out the baby is Khain’s, we’ll reconsider. I’m just asking you to put killing the baby out of your mind. It’s the one thing you cannot do.”

  His face was stricken, and it hurt her heart to see, but she could not help him. She’d had to find her peace with it, and he would, too. She knew there was a chance she was making a huge mistake, one she might one day have to pay for, but in her mind, there was no other option. Family was family, and babies were precious, no matter what.