by May Sage
“I gave her a wad of cash - you’ll see the withdrawal from the pride account, by the way - and I put her on a bus heading to LA. She’ll meet Knox there. I couldn’t bring her here, not with Ace ready to pop.”
Unsurprisingly, his Alpha nodded curtly in understanding. He was the last person in the world who’d want to bring danger to their door days before his mate was due to give birth.
Basically, Daunte was sorry about what had happened to Emily, he empathized, sympathized, but it didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t part of his pride. Cold, but that was how animals survived, and shifters worked that way when they needed to. Making that sort of decision was the Beta’s job.
“You did good. Knox will help her, I’m sure.”
Rye’s approval was anticipated, but he felt some guilt lift off his shoulders, nonetheless. Emily would be in good hands with Knox - or so he told himself. Still, Daunte wouldn’t feel good about it until he knew she was safe.
“Also,” Rye said uncomfortably, scratching his chin. “I guess you agree, or you wouldn’t have lied to her face about the purpose of this little chat, but I really don’t think you should tell Aisling about it.” He visibly hated the idea of hiding anything from his mate, but, for her peace of mind, he would. “She’d freak.”
She would. His sister was the strongest female he knew - hell, she topped most males - and she would hate that they didn’t lend a hand to that poor girl because of her condition.
“I’m not suicidal,” he replied.
If she ever found out, she was going to kick his ass into next year. And, because she was his sister, there was an unwritten rule saying that he had to let her. He’d defend himself, but he’d never attack her. Damn chivalry.
“Good. So, what about the territory you looked at?”
Daunte hesitated for a second. He hadn’t spared a lot of thought to the actual goal of this morning’s exploration.
“It starts on the other side of the highway and takes over most of the lake. Honestly, the forest has been burned recently, so I can’t say that it’s all that attractive. It’ll take a lot of work to do anything lucrative with the land.”
“But?”
“But,” he carried on, “it’s an ideal position for any enemy wishing to regroup near us.”
And, unfortunately, they had an enemy who would be likely to take advantage of that, given half a chance. The pack of wolves who’d wanted to destroy them had relented, but there was no doubt that they’d try to attack again when they could.
Because of that threat, the small Wyvern Pride was currently recruiting. Rye had been reluctant at first, but they needed more members to efficiently protect their kids and survey the area. Their territory - without even counting the potential extension they’d probably purchase - was too large for ten adults to oversee.
They’d accepted applications for the last couple of months and agreed to look into potential candidates after the baby was born and Ace was back on her feet. Knowing his sister, Daunte realized that wouldn’t take long.
“Also, I picked up Emily in those woods. It’s obvious that whoever attacked her is using the territory for their illegal activities. It’s too close to home - if something happens there, the suspicion will immediately fall on us.”
That settled it in Rye’s mind.
“So, we buy the land. And if they still use it afterwards, well… It’s been a while since we’ve gone on a hunt.”
Rye’s eyes flashed silver and he smiled. His Alpha had turned into a damn monster since his mating with Aisling; he’d always been scary as fuck, but now he looked more frightening in his human shell than he did in his animal form - and that was saying a lot, given the fact that Rye turned into a damn saber-toothed tiger.
Daunte was grateful for his Alpha’s freakishness; he loved his position as Beta, and he would have hated the responsibility that came hand in hand with being an Alpha, but he would never have been able to follow a weaker man. If it wasn’t for Rye, he would have had to form his own pride, or become a loner. The former held no appeal; the latter was often a death sentence for a shifter. His sister had been a loner for a decade, and managed to thrive. But she’d never felt comfortable in their old pride, so leaving it hadn’t been an ordeal for her. Daunte and his animal loved socializing. He played with the kids, joked around with the females, was the real life of the party. The loner life really wasn’t for him. Thanks to Rye, he’d never have to experience it.
Chapter 6
Unexpected
She’d won. The following Monday, an enthusiastic girl, with dark doe eyes and pastel makeup against her golden skin, was waiting for her in front of the bakery when she got in at five thirty.
Clari concentrated on the kid, so she didn’t have to think about the grumpy, colossal, and overly sexy brooding figure leaning against the wall a step behind her.
“Hey, Niamh,” Clari said, smiling at the kid, who practically skipped.
“Ace said it was your idea. She said you asked for me so I could get out of the pride house.”
Her eyes gleamed at Clari.
“Sure did. Daunte was against it, though,” she smirked when the kid elbowed him in the abs. Finally acknowledging his presence, she spared him a glance while fiddling with her set of keys. “I thought Ian was supposed to be our assigned bodyguard?”
“We set up a schedule,” he growled, everything about his stance making it clear that he was here against his volition.
Clari shrugged it off, refusing to let his reluctance bother her.
“You didn’t have to be here this early. The bakery won’t open until nine, you know.”
Niamh grinned, “Sure, but Aisling said you bake the cakes at this time. If I can bake, you’ll pay me more - plus I get to eat the rejects.”
“Smart girl.”
She’d found the right key, but the keyhole took a bit of fumbling; then, she had some trouble pushing the heavy duty door open. She could practically smell frustration emanating from the shifter behind her.
“You could let me…”
“I can manage,” she snapped, not letting him finish that sentence. She’d opened the door by herself for months, at least five days a week – and, yeah, maybe it took so much effort that she considered it her daily workout, but she managed. She wasn’t a helpless princess, and he didn’t have a white horse or shining armor, dammit.
“Suit yourself. The view’s certainly worth the wait.”
Slowly, Clari turned her head to see that the dickhead was shamelessly staring at her ass - she had needed to bend down.
“Fine.”
Glowering, she took a side step to give him the room to step in. Of course, the man pushed the door effortlessly, without breaking a sweat.
“You need to get that repaired before you pull a muscle.”
She would genuinely have kneed him in the nuts if he’d said it in a condescending way, but he frowned, concerned.
“It’s on the list,” she shrugged. “Come on in. I’ll show you to the staff waiting room – there are lockers for your personal belongings; no cellphone on you while you work.”
She half expected a tantrum from Niamh, who seemed surgically attached to her iPhone, but she didn’t bat an eyelash.
“I’d planned to give you a tour after we opened - right now, I need to start on the croissants, so you can either stay out of the way or…”
“I’ll wash my hands. Let me know how I can help.”
Well, what do you know?
* * *
The presence of the obnoxious bodyguard strangely didn’t bother her after a few minutes; in part because she was used to seeing him hanging out in the shadows without saying a word, and also because she was on her turf now. After a while, she managed to stop feeling self-conscious and got on with the work.
It soon became obvious that Niamh wasn’t a stranger to baking; she did better than Clari had the first time Ace showed her her methods.
“’Fess up. You’ve done that before.�
�
The teenager grinned.
“You know I was adopted into the pride, right?”
Clari nodded. All the children - except the baby Ace was currently carrying - had been adopted. She’d been curious at first, but she’d never asked for their backstory, feeling like it was something private. They’d share if they wanted to. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand; Clari was also pretty close to an adopted kid.
“I grew up on the streets, in another country. When I was young - very young - I realized I had powers and I used them to survive. I stole food, mostly. I think I was about ten when I had to defend myself, though.”
Clari froze, dumping a ton of frosting on the cake she was working on. She’d had to defend herself at ten? From what? From whom? Children shouldn’t have to even think about that - ever.
“It wasn’t pretty. So, some agents of the PIA turned up.”
Giving up on baking overall, she pulled a seat and planted Niamh on it, before rushing to the coffeemaker, and starting a hot chocolate. It felt like a story that needed to be accompanied by hot chocolate.
The PIA stood for the Paranormal Investigation Agency, and, even as a human being, Clari knew they were a big deal. When some big stuff happened because of sups - vampires, shifters, witches, angels, and other paranormal beings - they stepped in. Normally, you never heard about the perpetrator again.
“Go on,” she urged.
“I got lucky. They could have sent a normal agent - I’m sure they would have, actually - but instead, someone from one of their special units arrived within minutes; in time to save the kids who were trying to hurt me, so I never murdered anyone.” Niamh accepted the hot chocolate, and then Daunte took the one she’d made on autopilot.
“A special unit?” Clari asked.
“Yeah, normally their field agents just take care of the problem when a sup messes up. That means asking us to surrender - which is impossible when you lose control that way. Then, they can use deadly force. But, instead of an agent, I got Tria. She’s part of a research department. I think she filed a report saying that an artifact malfunctioned, or something. I have no clue how she got me over here - it can’t have been legal. She let me stay at her place for a few weeks, got me some papers, and then she asked me to get in touch with Rye.”
Whoever this Tria was, Clari wanted to meet her and give her a hug.
“Anyway, she can’t cook. Or bake. So, while I stayed there, I looked up some recipes and tried to make her favorite things. Maybe I thought if I did all that, she’d let me stay.” She shook her head, and then changed direction. “It was weird, you know? Having as much food as I wanted in a fridge, and being able to do all these things with it.”
Oh, the feels. A kid - a ten-year-old kid - who thought it was weird to have food? Clari was never going to give her sob story in front of Niamh. Never. Compared to that, it sounded like she’d been born with a damn silver spoon.
“When I moved to the pride, Ola let me help in the kitchen, too. I like it. If I could, I’d go to culinary school when I’m older.”
“If you could?” Clari frowned, as Niamh pointed to her own chest.
“Witch. Before our kind are allowed to go to college, we have to pass tests to evaluate how dangerous we are. Everyone knows that I’d be disqualified.”
“Not necessarily,” Daunte intervened, his dark chocolate voice reminding her of his presence. “You’ll probably be classified as highly dangerous, yes; but if you prove that you can control yourself, the human authority can’t stop you from living your life.”
Niamh bit her lip, visibly restraining herself from stating the obvious; she wasn’t on her way to prove anything if they didn’t let her attend school, or meet anyone. Clari was just about to spell it out, when Daunte’s phone interrupted.
“Cross,” he said sharply.
He listened to the person on the other end for a few seconds, and then his face morphed into a mask of untold horror, becoming gray, green, and purple.
“Understood.”
He hung up, and stared into the void, lost.
“What? What is it?” Niamh asked, concerned.
His lip quivered a little, before he pushed the words out of his mouth.
“Ace.”
They both got on their feet, ready to run for it. Something happening to Ace was nothing short of inconceivable. She was so strong, larger than life, and there was an entire army of dominant shifters protecting her - not to mention her frightening mate.
Daunte held his hands up, gesturing them to slow down.
“No need to panic,” he said, somewhat hypocritically. “But Ace is having the baby. Her water broke.”
Chapter 7
Just a Scratch
Stop hogging him. I want my turn.”
Daunte growled low, baring his teeth. No way was he relinquishing the small creature holding onto his finger. Blood of his blood. His perfect, perfect little nephew. He wasn’t giving him up for anything, anyone. Not even her.
Clari meant business, arms crossed over her chest, glaring as menacingly as any human could, and his animal did acknowledge her, nodding his respect. But she wasn’t taking Zackary from him. No one was.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, give her the baby, brother,” Aisling growled.
Dammit. The one authority he couldn’t actually ignore; his Alpha female - not to mention, the mother of the child. He sighed, walking closer to Clarissa; so close, in fact, that he could smell her intoxicating scent more clearly than he ever had.
“Be careful to hold the head,” he told her softly, half expecting her to snap at him.
She just nodded and slowly, reverently, took the newborn from his arms.
He owed her, big time. She’d been his lifeline during the last ten hours. They’d closed the bakery and rushed to the pride house as soon as they’d heard the news, but there was no doubt that without her, he would have run for the hills within seconds.
Ace was screaming; long, agonizing screams loud enough to raise the dead. Hearing the first one, he’d practically vomited on the spot; at the second, he was ready to take a plane to the other side of the universe, but, just then, Clari had taken his hand, and Niamh’s, too, before walking towards the entrance.
They’d waited in the living room with the rest of the pride, except for Rye and Ola. The Alpha and the Healer were in the room with Ace’s doctors. She’d opted to have her child at home, like so many shifters did - particularly cats.
At each gut-wrenching scream, he damned her for it, wishing she’d gone to a hospital. Those yells would forever haunt the house; he was certain of it.
But finally, a high-pitched cry resounded, and the screaming stopped, replaced by tears and exclamations. Rye burst out of the infirmary, yelling, “A boy! We have a boy!” and there he was. Little Zack.
It was only at the end that he’d realized he was still holding on to Clari’s hand, squeezing it hard.
“He’s so precious,” she breathed softly, smiling at the baby who grabbed a fistful of her silky hair.
The kid had good taste.
“I want one of these,” Daunte said, suddenly finding himself foolish for even thinking that he wouldn’t have a child. Of course he would. “Actually, make that a full litter.”
“I pity the poor girl you choose as your incubator,” Ace grumbled, before pointing her finger at Rye. “We’re done. One perfectly nice baby is more than enough. Consider my ovaries retired.”
“Hey, I don’t want to seem rude, but is that normal?”
Everyone turned to Clari, and most of the pride stared open-mouthed. Ace laughed softly.
“That’s definitely my boy,” she said.
Zack had shifted. Instead of the adorable, smooth-skinned little human they’d all fawned over, there was a kitten in Clari’s arms. A tiny little thing with a sable coat marred with small black spots. Let’s face it; cats are cute. They needed to be, given the fact that they were absolute assholes. Being irresistible was part of their evolut
ion, but never had Daunte seen a cat quite as pretty as this one. The big dark eyes, and his almost toothless grin, save for his two front teeth, growing right under his upper lip, made him the most enchanting creature to ever walk this earth.
No one had expected that; children didn’t shift - normally, it started around puberty, or perhaps a little earlier.
But he wasn’t a typical shifter; he was son of Ace, the hybrid born of a wild animal. She’d been born in her feline form. They shouldn’t have been astonished that her own child wouldn’t want to wait, either.
“Oh my god, look at him,” Clari cooed as the lucky little beast climbed up her shirt, his claws digging into her breast, then nestled in the crook of her neck.
Eventually, all of them reacted.
They were too late.
“No!” that came from Daunte, just as Rye screamed, “Careful!” and Ace yelled, “Pull him back!” Coveney, Ola, Ian, Jas, and Christine, were all singing the same tune.
But Zackary’s saberteeth had already pierced Clari’s skin.
“Ouch.”
They stared in silence. It wasn’t like they automatically had something to worry about. The odds were in their favor. Clari probably wouldn’t be affected at all; she’d just need a little band-aid, and that was that.
Right?
The chance was minimal. Only a tiny fraction of their kids were born with an infectious bite; perhaps a handful of children per decade. And they were taken care of before they got a chance to use their skills.
Shifters had a secret - a secret they couldn’t afford to divulge. Humans were concerned with vampires, with angels, demon-born, and other larger-than-life creatures; all things considered, shifters weren’t a threat to their existence. They generally kept to themselves, and when they didn’t, their authorities took care of the problem.
