by V. A. Dold
Cade bared his fangs. “You just wait until El is pregnant, and I’ll be the one laughing.”
“Don’t even think it,” Stefan shivered. “Let’s hurry. We need to get to the backyard. Everyone is waiting to start.”
“Okay, we’ll be right there.”
Anna saw that the women were ready to get the show on the road. They stood next to their mates, holding brooms, buckets, and mops. A pang of guilt shot through her. She would be forced to sit while everyone else did all the work. Suddenly, she hated being relegated to a chair.
Anna glanced at Thomas as Julia moved to the edge of the trees. Odd, she swore something colorful and shiny shone in the branches of the tree Julia stood in front of.
She was about to ask Cade about it when Lucas began to speak.
“Before I put you into teams, I’m wondering, does anyone feel we should leave a protection detail behind for the women?”
Cade immediately spoke up. “I would like a couple men left here to protect them.”
Anna was ready to object when El raised her voice. “I think as shifters we’re able to handle anything that arises. Between myself, Rose, Emma, Julia, and Krystal, we can keep Anna safe and out of trouble.”
Holding his gaze, she put her hand on Cade’s arm and nodded her agreement.
Isaac turned to Emma. “I don’t like it, but it’s your call.”
Emma gave the women a good, hard look ending with Anna, who gave her a tiny nod. “I think we will be fine. Besides, in about six hours Jack and Michael will be here.”
Cade squeezed Anna’s hand on his arm. “I will abide by your decision. Please, make sure it’s a safe one.”
Anna looked over the group of men. It was plain as day which men were mated with women staying behind. But they would never go against their king and queen.
The women quietly watched as Lucas formed the men into teams before kissing their mates goodbye and walking to the bar.
Anna followed Julia to The Backwater. The instant she saw the interior, her mouth dropped open. The entire place was stripped bare. But there was still glass, spilled liquor, and debris everywhere. She’d never seen such a mess.
El’s growl had Anna’s wolf raising its hackles. “Damn, they really did a number on the place.”
Julia sighed sadly. “You should have seen it yesterday.”
Anna could tell from the stiffening of her spine she fought tears again.
Gently, Emma put an arm around Julia’s shoulders. “We’ll have it better than new in a jiffy.”
“I know,” Julia shrugged. “The one bonus is Logan can decorate any way he wants now.”
Rose cocked her head. “Why is he decorating your bar?”
“I’m selling out to him and living with Tommy at the plantation. It’s too far to travel by boat each day to continue operating it myself.”
Anna squealed with excitement. She’d been worried about how Thomas and Julia would manage her running the bar and him as head of security. Her incredible daughter-in-law was taking care of the problem in a very noble way. She couldn’t have been prouder to be her mother-in-law.
Julia carried the only remaining chair to the grass just outside. “Anna, I am assigning you as lookout.” Then she grinned at Anna and watched her waddle toward her. “I won’t have my mother-in-law delivering my baby sister-in-law on top of the bar.”
Anna shook her head at Julia and chuckled. “As huge as I am, I wouldn’t make it to the top of the bar. I would have to deliver on the floor.”
“Goddess! Don’t even think it.” Julia held her hand to her heart, laughing.
Shortly after Julia seated her on the chair, she watched as wolves of every color slipped into the trees sniffing, searching for a trail to follow. Cade’s handsome black and silver wolf turned and loped to her.
He laid his head in her lap for a moment and licked her hand before trotting after the rest of the men. A cloud of his warm chocolate and fresh baked bread scent swirled around her as if staying behind to guard her.
Anna checked her watch for the twentieth time and sighed. Only thirty minutes had passed, but it felt like hours. She stood to stretch her back when the glint of a boat docking caught her eye.
“You can’t be here!” She screamed.
As if from a distance, she heard Emma’s voice from inside the bar. “Who’s out there, cher?”
She was shaking so badly her teeth rattled. “Tim!” she yelled before he grabbed her and slammed his hand over her mouth.
Cade’s heart lurched in his chest. Something was very wrong with Anna. He could feel her terror. In the same instant, he saw Thomas spin to face the direction of The Backwater. Thomas shifted and tore off like a bat out of hell with him right on his tail.
ANNA!
Cade! Help me!
What happened? Are you hurt? Is it the baby?
Tim! He’s here! How is he here?
Fuck! I’m coming, mon amour.
Hurry, he has a gun.
His wolf stumbled at the possibility of its mate shot and bleeding.
Anna was in trouble. Shit, he had known better. A few of the men should have remained behind. He should have insisted. Damn it all to hell!
He and his wolf pushed themselves to their limit, trying to reach their mate. Her fear was ripping him to shreds.
Goddess, please protect her...he chanted over and over.
She was a jumble of confusion combined with fear for her baby. How had Tim gotten here? He wasn’t supposed to be able to enter the state. Etienne had cursed him so his manly bits and pieces would fall off if he ever tried. This shouldn’t be possible.
Julia couldn’t believe the sight before her as she barreled through the door. Anna stood trembling, held tightly by a man she’d never seen before, with a gun to her head. The hesitation lasted less than a second before Julia raised her arms to pelt Tim with anything at hand. Turning toward what was left of her house, she began to summon the energy. She never saw Tim point the gun at her back.
“JULIA!” Anna cried. The sight of Thomas’s mate crumpled in a heap was more than she could take. The world around her swam as she fought to remain conscious. It took all her will to gather her wits. She needed a clear head.
The other four women stared in shock. Julia lay unconscious at a hideous man’s feet while Anna was held in front of him like a human shield.
She felt Tim jam the barrel of his gun into her temple. He must be completely mad to show up here with a gun and threaten her. That made him much more dangerous.
“Get back!” Tim demanded.
A howl rose deep in the forest, long and mournful and moving toward them. Cade was coming, and from the sound of it, he was coming fast.
Thank Goddess.
“Move it, bitch,” Tim snarled, pushing her towards his boat.
Anna was momentarily taken aback when Thomas crashed from the forest. If she’d been thinking clearly, she would have known he would come for his mate. A few steps behind Thomas stood Cade’s very large, very angry wolf.
She had never seen Thomas this furious. Cade looked equally intimidating. Growling menacingly, he paced around Tim, preparing to attack.
Cade stared at Tim’s gun hand. If he could safely attack, that hand was coming off. But for now, he was forced to analyze the situation and formulate a way to get Anna away from Tim without her getting shot. Thomas was providing a good distraction. Tim was paying less attention to his wolf as he kept a close eye on Thomas. The arrival of the rest of the hunting party didn’t hurt either.
Anna watched as her son, in wolf form, faced off with his father. She had to do something. She considered the consequences of head–butting Tim with a gun to her head. Would the gun go off, leaving Cade without his mate to follow her into death? She couldn’t have that, nor could she lose the baby she carried, and she certainly wouldn’t lose her son. She could see that Cade was trying to catch Tim off guard, and the women were too afraid to mo
ve or shift for fear he would shoot her.
Tears of frustration welled in her eyes. She wasn’t one to allow another person to make her this helpless, but she also couldn’t put her baby in jeopardy. The wolf in her wanted to tear the idiot to shreds, regardless of the consequences. But her human side knew that wasn’t an option. It wasn’t worth the risk. No, she would have to watch for an opening before she could make her move.
Tim removed the pressure of the gun barrel from her temple and pointed it at Thomas before she could formulate a plan.
Cade froze. Tim had turned the gun on Thomas, and it looked like his stepson was going to sacrifice himself.
“No!” she cried, as a silenced gunshot popped next to her ear. She watched as Thomas staggered, and the sight of blood soaking his shoulder was more than she could take. As if on autopilot, her fury and instincts took over. She slammed her head back into his face. A loud crunch resounded behind her head, telling her she had hit her mark. Tim screamed in pain, releasing her to grasp his bloody, crushed nose with both hands.
Immediately, she felt hands pulling her away from Tim. Everything happened so fast, the next thing she knew she was wrapped in Cade’s arms.
Krystal had snatched the gun Tim had held the instant he dropped it. She was relieved beyond measure to see Thomas in human form and that the bullet had only grazed him.
Anna heard Tim yell, “What the hell are you?”
“Your worst nightmare,” Thomas replied in an ominously quiet tone. “You should’ve stayed in Vegas. Coming here was your first mistake. Touching my mate and my mother was your last.”
Cade turned Anna’s face into his chest as Thomas attacked his father. He didn’t want her to see the brutality of her son killing his father.
By the time Thomas was done, Tim resembled ground beef. He watched as his stepson readied himself to snap Tim’s neck, but Etienne stepped in at the last second.
“Thomas, leave him to me,” Etienne said as he stepped from the forest. “I will hold him while you take care of your mate. See to her health. He isn’t going anywhere.”
Thomas hesitated for a moment. Cade breathed easier when he shoved the man at Etienne and rushed to Julia.
As Thomas cared for his mate, Cade turned his attention to Anna. “Are you okay?”
Numbly she nodded.
He ran his hands over her body searching for injuries. Thank Goddess he didn’t find any. Breathing her in, he held her as tightly as he could.
“I just lost two hundred years off my life,” he said into her hair.
“I’m sure I did, too.”
“You’re sure the baby is unharmed?”
“Pretty sure. You and Thomas got to me before he could physically hurt me. But I’m sure the fear and stress weren’t good for my blood pressure.”
“As soon as we get to the house, I’m taking you to the clinic to be checked,” he said in a firm, unyielding tone.
“I think that would be a good idea. I’m really not sure what that much stress can do, but I’d rather be sure she is unaffected.”
Cade turned Anna toward their boat and would have left the island, but Thomas stopped them short.
“Mom, Grandma, help me!” he cried as he rocked Julia’s prone body.
Anna was eerily calm. “I can’t leave her.”
Cade glanced from the boat to Julia and knew she was right. Every fiber of his being screamed to get Anna to the hospital. Instead, he helped her kneel beside Julia.
He stepped back, but only a foot, just enough to let her assess Julia’s injury.
Emma quickly took charge organizing everyone to help. “We need to get the bullet out first. Ladies, please place your hands on my back and shoulders and imagine energy flowing through you and into me. Some of you men, do the same for Anna.”
A heavy stream of blood gushed from the wound as the spent bullet emerged from the wound and fell to the ground. He didn’t like Anna’s pale complexion. She was giving too much of herself to save Julia. He placed both hands on her shoulders and doubled his efforts to give her every bit of energy he had.
Goddess help them, Julia didn’t look like she was going to make it.
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked in a terrified voice. “Fix her, please.”
Pale and swaying with weariness, Emma looked up at her grandson. “We’ve done all we can. She’s lost too much blood. I’m sorry, cher, all we can do is wait and hope to get her to a hospital in time.”
“No!” he wailed, fighting against the hold Isaac had on him.
No one had noticed the tiny faeries, Petunia, and Tulip. Tulip put a hand on Petunia’s arm. “Bring her. We need her. Now.”
Petunia vanished with a tiny pop and reappeared moments later with Queen Lilli.
Lilli gasped when she saw Julia pale and almost lifeless lying on the ground. She was a bright, colorful streak through the air as she rushed to Julia’s aid.
“Please. Allow me to help.”
“Can you save her?” Thomas asked, desperate for Lilli to say yes.
“I can. I just need a moment of silence.”
As soon as Lilli took over, Cade sucked a deep breath into his starved lungs. If anyone could work a miracle, it was this tiny creature.
Cade’s breath was warm on her neck. “She’ll be fine now. I should get you to the doctor.”
Anna laid a hand on his arm and gazed at him with pleading eyes. “Just one more minute.”
Reluctantly, he agreed. “One minute and then we leave.”
Cade was ready to drag Anna to the boat if need be when Julia’s eyes fluttered open, and she drew a deep breath.
“Thank Goddess.” Anna turned to him with tears in her eyes. “I was terrified I would lose Thomas. I wouldn’t have survived that.”
Cade got his father’s attention. “I’m taking Anna to the doctor to be checked over. We will talk with you when we get back home.”
“Good idea. I’ll update you then.”
Chapter Seven
Cade struggled with himself. He wanted to drive full speed back to the plantation, but he forced himself to go slow and steady. Silently, he breathed a prayer of thanks to the Goddess when the dock came into view. The boat was tied up in record time. He had to be quick, or his crazy mate would try to exit the boat without assistance and find herself in the water. As she stood to do just that, he rushed to help her step to the dock and then straight to the car. He wasn’t wasting any time. Anna’s coloring was still pasty white, and it may be his imagination, but her breathing seemed a little shallow.
He called ahead to warn Dr. Marjorie they were on the way as he broke every speed limit between the plantation and the clinic. He gave a shortened version of what happened so they could be ready for Anna the instant she arrived.
The minute they walked in, a nurse hustled them to an examination room. “I’m going to check your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as the baby’s heart rate. We need to know if the attack put her under any stress.”
With each new reading, Anna’s expression grew more worried.
“What is it, cher?”
“My heart rate and blood pressure are quite a bit higher than last week when I was here.”
Cade’s heart dropped to his stomach, but he kept his expression calm. Taking a deep breath, he kissed her knuckles and brushed a stray bit of hair from her eyes. “We’re here now. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
When the nurse left the room, Anna laid back on the examination table and closed her eyes. She was so tired. Just as she felt herself dozing off, Dr. Marjorie rushed in.
“Good Lord, Anna! Did Tim really attack you and threaten you with a gun?”
“Yes, he did.” She grunted as she struggled to sit up with Cade’s help. “Thankfully, Cade saved me before he could really hurt me. We’re mostly concerned about the intense stress the experienced caused.”
Dr. Marjorie looked over the readings frowning. “Your blood pre
ssure is much higher than it should be. Since you didn’t have an issue before, it most certainly is caused by the stress. I’m putting you on bed rest for the next few days and then I want to see you again.”
She carefully felt Anna’s abdomen and checked her for dilation. “The baby is still sitting rather high, and your cervix is normal for eight months.”
Dr. Marjorie was removing her latex gloves when Anna winced and held her stomach.
“Forgot about those,” she said as the tightness passed.
Cade turned white as a sheet. He had felt the tightening in his stomach, too. “What was that!”
“They’re called Braxton Hicks or false labor,” Dr. Marjorie said matter-of-factly. “It happens in the eighth month, as a woman’s body begins to prepare for childbirth and the cervix softens. All perfectly normal.”
Cade had worry etched on his face. “What can I do?”
“Wait on her hand and foot. Remember the relaxation techniques and low back massage we discussed?”
“Yes. I tried a few on her the other day.”
“Now is the perfect time to do a lot of foot and back massage.”
Cade rubbed his hands together grinning. “You got it. I’ll make sure she only gets up for bathroom breaks.”
Anna looked at Dr. Marjorie with a sly grin. “You should have lied and told him I had to rest a long time ago.”
Dr. Marjorie chuckled at them. “I could have, but I’m sure it would have broken at least one of my Hippocratic oaths. I’ll see you back here Thursday morning.”
“Thank you.” Cade shook her hand gratefully and busied himself helping Anna redress. He was still suspicious of the so-called false labor pains, but he would keep that to himself. Once they were home, and Anna was sleeping, he would research what was really expected in the eighth month.
It was Wednesday afternoon. Tomorrow Anna would see Dr. Marjorie and hopefully be released from bed rest. It had been a hard-fought battle, but she convinced Cade to let her sit in a chair rather than lay in bed all day. Sighing with boredom, she set her novel aside. She was tired of reading and even more tired of being waited on hand and foot. She wanted a glass of water, and she intended to get it herself. Wiggling and grunting, she heaved her big belly from her favorite oversized chair and managed to get to her feet.
