"You're making half-sense here, Nee."
"It's just… even a few miles away takes its toll. Vanessa is constantly worried and not even you and Mal got there in time with this leech issue." I turned to face him. "She's an ancient, Caden. Have you ever dealt with one before?"
"No, I haven't. But I know people who have."
"Who?"
"Your mother for one."
"She breathes, Caden. Ileana breathes, like a human. You… you would never know she's anything but that."
"What happened while you were with her?" His question seemed timed perfectly with my state of mind as if he had been planning when to ask me.
"Nothing. I mean, she lured me out, demanding I name someone to replace Izzy." I shrugged.
"Uh huh. And without the minimizing, what happened?" Caden quirked a brow at me as I stood and went to the filing cabinet.
"Nothing. That was the worst part. She locked me in a normal room to wait out the three days, then when I overpowered Alder, she moved me to a room with nothing. Like… sensory deprived or something. Nothing really did happen."
"Your blood was on those scrubs, not just the leech's."
"You're interrogating me."
"You're being all Shawnee about everything. Stop it." He smirked and kicked my boot with the toe of his.
"I'm serious Caden, nothing happened. Well… unless you count the time when the baby leeches pulled me out of my cave by mistake for a BDSM whipping lesson. That was pretty shitty." I huffed and crossed my arms as I leaned against the exam table. "But it wasn't awful and he got what was coming to him."
"That's something, Shawnee. And it couldn't have been pleasant."
"It wasn't but let me tell you, I've dealt with worse and staking that bastard made it worth it." I pushed myself up to sit on the table. Caden's posture relaxed when mine did. What did he expect from me? To crumble after being someone's whipping boy for a few strikes? To give up and meltdown over something so stupid? It wasn't going to happen. Not anymore. Not now that I've got two mates, a pack, and a baby on the way. A baby… I shook my head at the thought. The rest I could believe, but the baby. I had to admit, it still hadn't sunk in all the way.
"What did you do to her, TB?" Xany came barging into the clinic. "I'm getting sunburn from the inside out."
"Oh you know, just interrogating the stubborn mule over there." Caden smirked when he said it. I wasn't sure why but he seemed proud, in a way, or comforted at the very least.
"He's being a big meanie, Xee, expecting me to fall to pieces. How's that possible when I've got you around to fix my heartaches?"
"You're not heartbroken just pissed."
"See? Told you, Caden." I held my arms out to Xany when she bounced over to me. She hugged me straightaway and I smiled.
"All right, consider me schooled. You two are a handful." He gave us both a hug. Had he ever done that before? I returned his gesture, smashed between him and Xany, in a sort of awkward group hug. Xany giggled into his chest and swatted his rear.
"I told you I got this, TB."
"Yes you did." Caden rubbed my back as he ended the hug. "This one here is talking about not going back to work at the hospital. What do you think about that?"
I had to admit the affection from Caden was different but not unwelcome at this point. Affection in our pack was something we thrived on and, despite the fact that he was Alpha, it didn't mean his needs were any less.
"What are you talking about, Nee? You can't quit, there are people who need you."
"They can see me here at the clinic. And besides, with the baby coming soon…"
"We can't have humans out here bumping into tall two-legged wolf men."
"That's the whole point of the clinic, Xee. Changers and Breeders aren't going to seek medical help." Xany got me thinking about my seemingly rash decision. I knew Vanessa would be the happiest about me staying home, Mal would find comfort in it.
The smell of bacon wafted into the room and Caden sniffed the air.
"Good man, that mate of yours." Caden perked right up. "Filling up our house with bacon. Ahh… the finest perfume."
Xany popped him in the gut. "We're having a serious conversation here and the only perfume you need to be getting all hot and heavy over is mine." She huffed and of course, both Caden and I cracked up.
"Your perfume is what makes me starving." He kissed her cheek and abandoned us for Mal's cooking.
"I think they're cheating on us with food, Xee."
"It's okay. They always come back to the good stuff." Xany leaned up against the table beside me.
I laughed and shook my head. "You're too much."
"So back to this quitting thing." Xany jabbed her finger into my knee.
"Ouch." I swatted her hand. "I think it's for the best, Xee. I mean… don't you?"
"No, I don't. You need time away from us to do your thing, Nee. There won't be enough traumas here to satisfy your itch."
"Do I really even need that?" I sighed. "Vanessa's going to be upset if I go back."
"Yes you do and she's about to have a young'un running around to fill her time 'til you get home."
"Has she talked about it with any of you?"
"She really hasn't had time to you know."
"Why not?"
"You were too busy getting kidnapped."
"Shut up." I shoved her gently.
"Seriously, no she hasn't. All I get from her is being over emotional about you."
"Even now?"
"It's like she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know what I mean?" Xany shrugged and hopped up to sit beside me.
"I come with a lot of shoes, it seems." I wasn't quite sure if hearing this made me feel better or worse. "It's been that way our whole life together, our whole relationship."
"Like you, she can't believe something good has finally happened."
"It's a shitty way to exist. I didn't feel that way with Mal. I mean, he's always been so steady, so constant." I relaxed at the thought of him and the stability he brought me.
"That's 'cause you two started with a clean slate. No ups and downs like you and Nessa," said Xany, moving her hands up and down like a rollercoaster.
"That's true. God, Vanessa and I have had more than just ups and downs. More like…" I mimicked her movement then added a few loopty-loops.
"Just give her time." Xany giggled at my exaggeration.
"I want her to trust me like Mal does. And you. Even Caden thinks I keep things from him. He knows I can't but he makes me talk about stuff," I said, swinging my legs rather childlike. "Next time we gotta get kidnapped together. It worked out much better that way."
"You do keep things from us but only 'cause you don't think they are important, when it's up to Caden to see if it is or not." Xany nodded then giggled. "About that." Xany grinned. "You're not going anywhere without me for a while. Just to be on the safe side."
"I had a feeling it would turn out to be something like that." I laughed a bit and Xany put her arm around my shoulders. "What if I'm working at the hospital?"
"I don't feel so good, NeeNee." Xany coughed.
"What? I'm sorry. Did I give you empath overload?" I let go of her and scooted a bit away.
"Silly. That's my cover story."
"Well, it worked all right." I laughed and gave her a light shove. "What if I'm with my mates, then what?"
"I get to watch." Xany wagged her brows.
"I don't think Mal will be too happy about that." I laughed. "Though, Vanessa wouldn't care at all."
"Shoot he'll be too busy handling two women to even notice little ol' me."
"Wait, two women?"
"Nessa not a woman now?" Xany smirked.
"Of course she is…"
"Oh come on, NeeNee, it's me you're talking too. I know." She nudged me with her elbow sending a heated flush to my cheeks.
"Shh… You snooped my feelings."
"I didn't have too. They blasted all over the place. I had to grab Caden out b
y the shed 'cause thing were so hot."
"No they weren't…" I shook my head because even talking about it made me squirm a bit. There was no keeping my feelings from Xany, at least not anymore.
"Shall I drag Caden back in here and let him tell ya?"
"No, no... I believe you."
"I'm so jealous."
"Nothing happened, Xee. I was just thinking it. That's all. And besides, Vanessa and Mal will kill each other over it if things got too far…"
"Is that what you really think? Mal's a guy, Nee. They dream of things like that."
"They're way too feral. Last night was a fluke. It's happened once before where they both stayed with me." Just the thought of both of my mates, skin to skin with me had the fire in my belly brewing. I shook my head and hopped off the table. There's no sense in having feelings like that with Xany so close.
"Bullshit. Being feral is just going to make it that much more intense. Everything is way more amplified." Xany fanned herself with her hand.
I took a deep breath. How could I admit to Xany that I wanted both of them at the same time when I could barely admit it to myself? Last night, in my fatigue and stress, was a moment of weakness, in a way. It didn't mean I would feel that way forever. "I've seen how they can get."
"That was before the whole trio bond you got going now." Xany slid off the exam table.
"Has Mal talked to you about it? Vanessa seems unfazed."
"Of course she is. She has a Pride full of sexy feelings all the time. Mal is trying to sort out the feelings he is getting. Your emotions for Nessa makes the wolf in him feel like he is cheating and the man part is all for it."
"I think I understand that much. He can sense my feelings for Vanessa." I shook my head, trying to wrap my brain around it. "And she's fine with feeling my feelings for him. That's way too many 'feelings' to swallow."
"Right so when one is panting over you the other one gets hot and heavy, too. Damn, I wish I was in your shoes. That's every woman's fantasy. Just two guys instead of girls." Xany giggled and squirmed.
"Caden doesn't seem like the sharing type." Neither did Mal up until recently. What mess had I created for myself this time? As if being kidnapped and held for ransom, to be paid in the form of a human, wasn't enough for one week.
"Hey, a girl can fantasize."
"Uh huh…"
"About what?" Vanessa walked in looking rather groggy and forlorn.
"Having a threesome." Xany perked up and pulled her right into the conversation.
"Oh. You should have one," said Vanessa as she walked into my open arms. I kissed her cheek and brushed her messy hair from her face. "I'm tired."
"I can see this." I laughed softly and she leaned against me, resting her chin on my shoulder. "Mal fixed breakfast. Want to go eat something?"
"My teddy bear would probably be more bear than teddy about it." Xany pouted.
"Probably not if it was with a girl." Vanessa nodded to me but continued her conversation with Xany without skipping a beat.
"I like my meat swinging in the breeze instead of being all cooped up inside." Xany swayed her hips from side to side. Vanessa snickered and I took her hand then grabbed Xany by the arm. "Let's get out of here before this gets way too detailed for my liking."
"I like details." Vanessa pouted along with Xany. "Don't get kidnapped today." She glanced over at Xany. "Tell her."
"Don't worry if she does I'll be with her." Xany hugged my arm.
"I love both of you." I squeezed them close to me. "And you're both going to kill me because of it."
Vanessa and Xany shared a hearty laugh at my expense as we joined the guys in the kitchen for breakfast.
Chapter Seventeen
"She asleep again?" Mal asked as he came up behind me in the clinic while I sat at the computer, figuring out how one researches ancient vampires. I settled for looking up The Byzantine Empire.
"Yeah. I think the stress and pregnancy took its toll." I hugged his arms when he wrapped them around my torso. "How are you?"
"Fine now that I'm holding onto you again." He kissed my cheek a dozen times and I smiled. "What are you looking at?"
"Just some stuff to help us figure out Ileana's agenda. It's only a matter of time before things come crashing down on us again."
"Such positivity from you, love." He chuckled and closed the laptop, spinning me around in the chair to face him.
"It's true. You know she'll come after us now. What I don't understand is why she singled me out. We were all there when Izzy died." I tugged at his braids and he nipped my wrists.
"But it was you who gave me permission to end her, remember?"
"No, not really."
"Leeches are…" He seemed to search for the right way to describe it. "Keen, sharp. They look for the slightest thing to harp on. Your approval of the killing was what set her off, not me actually doing it."
"So that's why she targeted me?"
"It seems so, yes." He rubbed my thighs as he crouched in front of me, soothing my worry over at least that much.
"You know a lot about vampires, why?"
"I've spent a lot of time wandering around North America and came across lots of different creatures. Vampires aren't much different."
"But they're… unnatural. Undead, even."
"Not all of them. Ancients aren't exactly undead. There are so few of them these days that only our ancestors have experienced them. Unless you're Anadaya. Gavin said Kat has dealt with one as well."
"We need to get her here then, to talk about this. So we're ready when Ileana comes. She knows where we live. She knows things about us." For the first time, the fear of the destruction that Ileana could potentially bring had me rattled. Only Mal got to see this part of me sometimes. He pulled me into a hug and I sat on the floor in his lap.
"It's all right, love. We're not letting you out of our sight. Kat and Ana are well aware and they've been talking. Ana also whipped up some sort of vampire repellent. And there's a shaman coming over shortly to strengthen whatever she did." Mal kissed my forehead as I toyed with the beads on his necklace.
"I love you. I'm sorry I scared everyone again."
"I love you, too and it's part of the package. We're always going to worry about the people we love."
"What's the shaman's name?"
"Adia. She was at the powwow this summer. Did you meet her?"
"I think she was the one who dowsed me with sage."
"Sounds about right. C'mon." Mal helped me stand and led me back to the kitchen.
Voices filled the room before we even entered. Hank and Imogene joined Xany and Caden by the table where they unwrapped trays of food that Gene brought with her.
"Shawnee," Gene said and rushed over to me, grabbing me up in an unusually firm embrace. I returned her hug, a little awkwardly. "We're so very happy you're all right."
"Are you planning to plump me up with all your fancy cooking?" I smiled at her as she took a step back, gripping my shoulders firmly.
"Oh that's only part of my plan." She smiled, genuine concern tugged the corners of her eyes into crinkles. "We've brought fried chicken, biscuits, gravy, and potatoes. Anadaya will be along with Adia shortly."
"You didn't have to do that, Gene, thank you." I returned her smile and she patted my shoulder.
"Come, let's eat before they get here."
Hank and Caden were already chowing down by the time Mal, Imogene, and I joined them. Xany handed out plates and I fetched the iced tea from the refrigerator. Vanessa emerged from the bedroom, again looking rather groggy in a set of Mal's pajama bottoms and one of my giant long-sleeved T-shirts. She joined us at the table and sat without taking much notice of the others at first. I moved behind her and stroked her hair, guiding it away from her face and smoothing out the tangles. Eventually, she began to purr.
"Here you go." Mal set down plates of food in front of us then took a seat beside Vanessa.
"Thank you." I kissed his cheek as Vanessa moved me into he
r lap. "Hungry, baby?"
"A little," she said but reached around me and picked up a chicken tender with her fingers and tore into it. My brows flicked upward as I watched her eat in a fashion similar to Mal. He stared as well.
"So what's this Adia person gonna do?" Xany broke the friendly chatter with her question.
"She's gonna teach us young'uns about this ancient we got infestin' our parts." Hank sat down at the table with his plate.
"Technically, she's infesting Arizona," Caden reminded him.
"Apparently, there's a lot more to Arizona than to be desired." I picked at some of the chicken but ate the potatoes while I thought about the location of Ileana's nest. "Her club is what got them to Utah."
"My guess is that's how she spreads 'em around, the nest." Hank nodded to Caden who seemed to agree.
"So what do we do about it then?" I asked.
"Burn it down, duh!" Xany gestured wildly. "The whole thing, we got flamethrowers, right, TB?"
"That might be a bit drastic, precious." Caden chuckled. "And besides, we've only got one flamethrower."
"Do we really?" Vanessa looked to Mal who shrugged heavily. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Vampires, collectors, evil bosses, psychopaths… what's next? Zombies?
"I wouldn't put it passed them," I said as Vanessa finished the last of her plateful of chicken. She wrapped her arms around my middle and pulled me closer. I leaned back against her and allowed myself to melt into her embrace, sighing at the comfort her purrs brought me.
"There are probably a lot of humans in there. Burning it down wouldn't be the best route," Gene chimed in. "But it's a decent backup plan."
"I'm in." Xany hopped up from her seat. "So where is it?"
"The club is downtown," Gene answered.
"I mean the flamethrower." Xany eyed Caden. "I'm ready to practice."
"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it, precious." He grinned at her, a bright one filled with nothing but pride.
"Hopefully it's not a wooden bridge." Xany plopped back in her chair with a huff.
"What kills ancients?" I asked, looking between the pack and Sept leader.
"The same things that kill turned leeches except it has to be at a greater magnitude. They're usually sun-sensitive, fire kills them, beheading, or a stake through the heart. But ancients are ancient for a reason. It's not that simple," said Mal, after a gulp of his tea.
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 15
