Lyla swallowed hard, a dark flush creeping across her face.
“I can’t be with you Jonah. It just isn’t a good time. Don’t you get that?”
Jonah squared his jaw, the wolf suddenly baring its teeth at the woman it loved and turning its nose up at her.
“What I get is that I’m leaving, Lyla. I leave Stonybrooke tomorrow morning. I just thought that maybe we could…”
Lyla’s body responded to the suggestion, but her mouth was set in a firm line.
“I don’t owe anything to you, Jonah Lucas. You would be better off going off on your mission and forgetting about me, all right? This isn’t the time for us to be talking about this.”
There was something behind those ocean-colored eyes of hers. Something Lyla was hiding. What was it she wasn’t telling him?
“Please,” Jonah said, gripping her hand in his and staring deeply into her eyes.
But Lyla tore her eyes away and sighed, walking through the kitchen back to her living room and sitting heavily on the couch.
“I think you should leave,” Lyla said. Again, Jonah’s stomach did a flip-flop and he wondered what kind of alternate dimension he had wound up in. Lyla was his. Wasn’t she?
“All right. But I don’t know when I’m going to see you again,” he said to her, his eyes boring into hers. Again, he got that feeling that there was something wrong here. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“You’ll see me when you see me,” Lyla said, looking down at her hands. “Just go do what you have to do. Forget about all of this. You already know for yourself that it isn’t worth the trouble.”
She had him there. Jonah sighed, trying his best not to show the betrayal he felt on his face.
“If that’s how you really feel about it,” he said. “Then I’ll be on my way.”
Lyla said nothing, and Jonah waited for a moment longer, hoping beyond hope that maybe she would say something to change his mind and convince him to stay. But her begging wasn’t forthcoming, and Jonah sighed, turning his back on Lyla to head back home.
16.
As soon as Jonah was out the door, Lyla burst into tears. She had wanted so badly to tell him she was pregnant. To beg him to stay, to abandon such a dangerous mission; a mission that could leave their child without a father, her best friend completely and utterly family-less.
She just didn’t have it in her to confess the truth to him. How could she ever live with herself, knowing what a damn coward she was? Lyla’s tears didn’t seem to have an end. All she wanted to do was call Jonah back to her; to feel his strong arms around her body once again; his warm lips starting fires in places where only he could put them out. But she had all but driven him away. And who knew if he would ever come back again?
It was better than the alternative, though, wasn’t it? A man like Jonah had a job to do. People to care for and protect. She couldn’t let herself be selfish enough to distract him from that single, lofty goal. It seemed to be the defining factor of his personality; Jonah, the strong and brave. The protector of all. Jonah, her hero.
Lyla puttered to the kitchen, where the leaking pipe had left a puddle on the floor near where Jonah had been standing. She could still smell him in the room with her, and kicked at the faulty pipe. The little bungalow had been a terrible investment. She had to get out of there. Right that moment. Nothing could keep her in Stonybrooke now. She had all she needed of her grandfather in her memories. Returning had been a mistake.
“Are you absolutely sure about this?” her realtor asked a few moments later.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Lyla said, looking down at her abdomen and stroking it gently for the first time since she’d found out she was with child. “I need a change.”
“All right,” the realtor said. “Let’s get this rolling then.”
Within twenty minutes, her bungalow was on the market, and Lyla was packing the most important things she owned into a few small boxes and carrying them to her car; the car that was still dented by the bear shifter that had attacked her for no apparent reason. At least the windshield was repaired. It wasn’t safe for her in Stonybrooke, and it certainly wouldn’t be safe for her baby. It was time to make a clean break, whether she liked it or not. Sometimes, the best course of action to take was the hardest.
Without any further hesitation, Lyla climbed into the driver’s seat of her car and turned the engine. She didn’t know exactly where she was going. All she knew was that anywhere would be better than being a sitting duck and a liability to the man she loved. And nothing would ever change her mind about that.
***
“Miss Winston, maybe you should sit down…”
Lyla scowled. The hormones had really been getting to her lately. Her stomach had blossomed in the past six months.
Nobody had warned her about just how rapidly the pregnancy would proceed, and in a way she was sad that it had already gone by so quickly…even if that meant having mood swings over well-meaning people offering her a seat.
“I’m fine standing,” Lyla said curtly. “I’m uncomfortable either way. At least on my feet the baby isn’t on my bladder.”
“If you say so.”
Ken, her new landlord, a tall, skinny young man, and his wife was constantly checking in on Lyla to make sure she was all right. They seemed to understand that hers was not the typical pregnancy seen in the mountains; she had nothing to do with either the bears or the other humans in the area. In fact, Lyla was beginning to suspect that one of them, probably Mrs. Nelson, her landlord’s wife, was part wolf shifter herself.
“The missus told me to bring you this,” Mr. Nelson said, offering Lyla a brown paper bag. “She knows what the sixth month can be like. Her mother was a midwife.”
Lyla nodded and took the bag. “Thank you, Ken.”
“She left you a note in there about how to use that stuff,” Ken continued, not acknowledging Lyla’s gratitude. Maybe he was part shifter himself. It was sometimes hard for her to tell. “Too much can be bad for the baby. But if you use it right, you can tell the difference immediately. ‘Specially with the little booger on your bladder like that.”
Lyla smiled, her irritation giving way to a deep feeling of love for Ken and his wife. They had taken her in without question, allowing her to pay in cash. She had left the bungalow quickly, and had changed her cell phone number so that nobody, not even Betsy, would be able to contact her. It had been the hardest six months of her life, waiting for the bungalow to sell and not having anyone near her. She had abandoned her best friend and lost the man she loved. She was alone, destined to be a single mother for the rest of her life. And as difficult as it was, it was worth it to protect Jonah, and their child.
After Ken left, Lyla opened the brown paper bag and smiled to herself. It was an herbal mix; something she was positive her grandfather had told her would aid in the pregnancy and birth of wolf shifter pups. When she smelled it, she was taken back to the small, comfortable den where they had spent many an evening chatting and exchanging stories in her youth. The baby kicked and Lyla smiled. If it was a boy, she would name it after her grandfather. He had told her so much about Stonybrooke that it had immediately felt like home.
The thought sent a jolt of pain through her. That was a feeling that had been short-lived. She would have done anything to take it all back; to resist Jonah’s tempting arms and the seduction of his handsome smile. But the truth was, he was everything she had ever wanted in a man, and if things were different, she could have spent the rest of her life happy with him.
She felt a twinge of nausea when she considered the possibility of returning to Stonybrooke. Jonah would never forgive her for running away; for keeping such a huge secret from him. The baby was already almost born and he wasn’t there. It was unforgivable. He would probably never look at her the same way again. She would be lucky if he didn’t kill her on sight, really.
And Betsy…she had abandoned her best friend just at the sa
me time as her brother was being deployed. Betsy, who had known she was pregnant; who was keeping her secret. Betsy, who would have done anything for anybody. Lyla felt like the scum of the Earth for what she had done. But had she had any choice? She’d had to protect her child, her lover, and even her own life. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she hadn’t had a choice.
The pup kicked again and Lyla sighed.
“It’s just you and me now, little guy,” she whispered down to her stomach.
Another kick, and then the baby she had conceived with Jonah was still.
17.
“All right, boys,” Jonah said, sweat pouring down his face. A sudden heat wave had struck at just the wrong time, and the sea was starting to rock ominously beneath the destroyer. The crew was scattering about, preparing for an unexpected storm as Nichols, from the shoreline, scoped out the area on the beach where the ceremony was going to be held.
They had been undercover for the past year, searching for the location of the Serah stone and putting Nichols in the midst of Thames and his crew as they began to plan a hostile takeover of Stonybrooke. It was just as they had suspected–the bears had been planning a ceremony to invoke the stone’s ancient power so the hybrids hiding in Stonybrooke would have the strength to destroy the entire community–and tonight was the night when the fight was really going to count.
“It’s starting!” Erik shouted over a loud rumble of thunder.
“Get in position!” Jonah shouted.
Everybody scrambled into position and Jonah stared through his binoculars. The bear shifters had no idea that they were there. This was going to be a sneak attack, with Nichols on the beach to take the stone and keep it safe.
“Hold steady!” Jonah ordered.
The men at the turrets were locked and loaded. All they were doing now was waiting for the signal from Nichols. After a few unbelievably tense moments, Nichols dropped his hand and Jonah bared his teeth.
“Now!” he shouted.
The rain began to pour down over their heads as the guns began to blare. Nichols, through a hail of bullets, shifted and ran through the crowd of shrieking men, half of them shifting as they sought the source of the attack, the other half simply confused and terrified, scrambling for the safety of the trees in the distance.
Jonah’s eyes locked on Thames, who was standing back along the grass before the beach began. His cool face was expressionless, watching as his men dropped to the ground and screamed in agony. However, his expressionless face changed quickly to contempt when he saw Nichols charging for the altar that the bear shifters had made in the center of the beach; the altar where the Serah Stone was positioned carefully in conjunction with a constellation that was supposedly present when the stone dropped to Earth.
“Nichols!” Jonah shouted, aiming his gun at Thames. But Thames dodged the attack and took off through the grass and disappeared into the trees. Fucking coward.
A roar of pain pierced the air and Jonah’s heart lurched. Thames had turned back after he had taken shelter in the trees and aimed his gun at Nichols. Blood was gushing from his shoulder and Jonah aimed at Thames. The tree caught his bullets and Thames once again moved back, protecting himself and leaving the rest of his men to die.
Finally, when the beach was cleared of treats, Jonah ran to the ship’s wheel and turned it sharply. He hadn’t planned on getting any closer to the beach; the plan had been for Nichols to swim to the ship and board it quickly with the stone. But now that he was injured, he simply couldn’t risk the life of his friend…or the possibility that an injured Nichols might drop the precious stone in the ocean.
The other members of the team were confused at first, but Jonah could feel their quiet determination as their faith in him silenced their protests before they ever left their lips. Soon, the destroyer was close to the beach and Jonah dropped one of the small life rafts to the water. Another loud clap of thunder brought a chill down his spine, but it didn’t matter. This was his responsibility.
“Stay here!” Jonah shouted. “Thames is armed, keep a lookout!”
The men saluted and Jonah leapt into the life raft and began to paddle with everything he had.
The ocean had other ideas though, and her angry waves whipped the little raft about. If he were a lesser man, it would have made him feel sick, but all Jonah could think about was doing everything he could to get to Nichols and retrieve the stone.
After what felt like a century on the water, the bottom of the raft finally scraped the sandy banks of the beach and Jonah jumped out, dragging the raft to land and running to Nichols.
“Jonah, wait!” Nichols shouted, his voice weak and distant as it was carried away by the wind.
Jonah paused and searched for danger. When he didn’t see anything, he studied Nichols. He was soaked from the rain and huddled over the precious stone, blood seeping from his wound and covering his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right!” Jonah shouted back.
“No!” Nichols growled.
A shot sounded from the trees and the life raft, a simple inflatable raft that Jonah had inflated as he threw it overboard, popped like a balloon.
“Shit!” Jonah growled. The wolf was angry now, and he shifted into his wolf form almost as quickly as he registered the sound of the gunshot.
Jonah bounded over Nichols’ body and ran with all his might into the trees, picking up the scent of Thames almost immediately. He growled and walked with caution, until he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Jonah leapt out of the way just in time to dodge a bullet aimed right at his head, and lunged at Thames, who seemed intent on staying in his human form. Apparently, bears couldn’t pull triggers.
Thames seemed fearless, his eyes cold and dark as he darted behind the cover of another tree, and Jonah’s mind worked quickly, calculating exactly where Thames was going to come out again.
He cut the man off before he appeared again and pounced, ripping a deep gash into the tender muscle of Thames’ shoulder. The gun dropped from his hand and Thames shouted in agony, shifting into his bulky bear form. Jonah’s stomach dropped when he studied the man’s face. He was another of the ugly shifter hybrids; his face mangled by a combination of hideous wolf and bear features. He almost seemed alien, in a way, and Jonah looked away.
Thames was huge, but he was already injured when he struck Jonah. Jonah flew back into a tree. It knocked the wind out of him, but he recovered quickly and ran back at Thames, biting him again in the area he was injured. Thames roared in agony and Jonah bared his teeth down on him until Thames collapsed onto the ground. He wasn’t sure if that would be enough to finish him off when a shot rang through the air.
Jonah looked up quickly just in time to see Nichols staggering toward them, clutching the stone tightly in his one good arm. When he looked back down at Thames, it was clear he was gone.
“You might have good timing,” Jonah said, getting painfully to his feet. “But damn do you have the worst luck in battle.”
Nichols glanced at his wound and grinned. “I’ll get over it.”
Jonah grinned and walked to his friend, shaking his hand and taking the stone into his possession. If they were going to have to swim to the destroyer, they might as well do it safely.
“Damn right you will,” Jonah said, walking carefully around the corpses of the bear shifters that littered the beach. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
***
“I don’t believe it,” Betsy breathed. “You’re back!”
Jonah grinned and opened his arms to allow his sister to embrace him.
“It’s good to be home,” Jonah said, his eyes scanning the house. Last time he had come home like this, Lyla had been waiting in the shadows, ready to turn his life upside down. Now, it was just his sister in the lonely old place.
“I don’t have anything made,” Betsy said, suddenly frantic. She rushed to the kitchen and the cupboards were clattering before Jonah’s feet made it to the kitchen doorway. “I�
�ll get something done as soon as I can!”
“There’s no rush, Bets, I’m fine,” Jonah said with a small chuckle. “How are you? Sit down.”
Betsy sat and they looked at each other, both of them so full of things to say that no words came. Finally, Jonah cleared his throat.
“How’s Shifters United been getting along?” he asked. It was the first thing that sprang to his mind, other than the awkward conversation he had overheard between Betsy and Douglas.
“It’s actually been harder and harder since Lyla moved away.”
Jonah’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
Betsy chuckled nervously. “I guess after she got pregnant she just decided Stonybrooke wasn’t the place to be anymore. She left without even saying goodbye.”
Jonah stood abruptly from the table, nausea and confusion overwhelming him. “What do you mean pregnant?” Jonah asked, his voice hoarse.
Betsy furrowed her brow, then understanding dawned suddenly on her face. “Ohhh…”
“She was pregnant? And she didn’t tell me?!”
Betsy pursed her lips. “Well, Jonah…I’m sure she had her reasons. Lyla’s a very bright and sensible person. There’s a reason we…”
“When did she leave?! She would have had the baby by now!” Jonah exclaimed, running to the calendar.
“The day you did, Jonah,” Betsy said quietly.
Jonah kicked himself. How could he have been so stupid?! It all made sense now. Lyla had been terrified when he’d seen her last. Everything about the last time he’d seen her had felt wrong. And now, he knew why. She knew he had his job to think about. His life. And she had resigned to take care of their child on her own. No matter how they had felt about each other. No matter how much he…
“Bets, I have to go,” Jonah said. The wolf in him was pacing, itching to take over. If he stayed a moment longer, he would shift right there in the kitchen. A big no-no in the house.
“I know,” Betsy said. “I wish I could tell you where she’d gone, but…”
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