Kadenburg Revealed (The Kadenburg Shifters Series, Book 4)

by T. E. Ridener

  “Fire and damnation?” Presley joked. She felt teeny fingers curling around her index finger and glanced down at the baby in her arms. He was smiling and it melted her heart. Were such young babies supposed to be capable of smiling?

  “Not exactly,” Liam cleared his throat and raked his fingers through his dark hair. “But it has to do with that young’un you have in your belly right now.”

  “What?” Presley felt a shiver run down her spine and dread pulled at her heart. She didn’t like that feeling at all. “I’m not going to lose another one, am I?”

  “No!” Liam said quickly as his eyes widened. “No, no. It’s not like that, Pretz. I mean....it has to do with your baby but it ain’t going anywhere, okay? Believe me on that. You’ve got yourself a healthy cub if I’ve ever seen one.”

  “Oh,” Presley sighed in relief. “Well then I can’t imagine what could possibly be so bad. Breslin’s going to come back-I know that. I’ve never let the thought cross my mind that he won’t show his face in Kadenburg again, Liam.”

  “Breslin’s a bastard,” Liam scowled. She imagined he was still pretty upset with the werewolf for ordering his death-Hell, she was still mad over it too. “But you need to know your baby isn’t ordinary.”

  “Obviously not,” Presley rolled her eyes. “I’m having an ursithrope. I’m pretty sure that could never be ordinary.”

  “Not like that,” Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly before his facial expression softened. “Your baby isn’t growing like a normal baby. You’re going to go into labor a lot sooner than a human.”

  “What do you mean?” Presley’s eyebrows rose on her forehead. “I’m only a few months along as it is, Liam. This baby hasn’t had time to develop very much.”

  “Oh, it’s developing,” he promised as he reached out to rest his large hand against her stomach. Warmth shot through her stomach and heated her entire body as she stared at him. Why did a ghost’s touch feel so intense? “Strong and beautiful just like Mama Bear.”

  “I don’t understand,” Presley whispered. She glanced back down at her son and frowned. “Why is the new baby developing so quickly? Won’t that hurt him?”

  “It’s not going to hurt the baby,” Liam said reassuringly as he grinned. He looked like Lorcan again. They could’ve been twins. Presley had always thought that. “Your baby is just needed as soon as possible and I feel that you need to know growing up will happen quickly too.”

  “What?!” Presley couldn’t believe what she was hearing. First her baby was going to be born super early and now he was telling her she wouldn’t get to watch him grow up like a normal child?

  “That’s exactly what I’m trying to say,” Liam frowned. “But it’s not as bad as you think it is. I mean...growth for that baby isn’t going to happen in a day, Pretz. You’ll still have a beautiful child to enjoy motherhood with....but within five years you’re gonna have a young adult on your hands.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Presley said as she became flustered. “Liam, we can’t risk exposure of our kind with a child that goes from baby to adult in a matter of five years. People will grow suspicious of our kind! Isn’t that one of Urseth’s greatest laws? We can’t be exposed to the humans. What’s the point of everything that’s happened so far, my father’s sacrifice included, if my baby is going to out us to the world?”

  “Your baby will not out you to the world,” Liam replied as his hands lifted to rest against her shoulders. His tender brown eyes sparkled beneath dark eyebrows as his jawline went slack. “Your baby is going to change our world and make it better. Will you trust me on that? That cub will set us back on the right track and everything will get better. No humans are going to know about us in the process. In fact....you’ll find soon enough that Kadenburg will be strictly ursithrope territory again before this is all said and done.”

  “And what is that supposed to mean?” She was growing frustrated as the skies darkened above them. Liam noticed it too. He chewed at his inner cheek before heaving a sigh.

  “It means that danger is coming and it’s not going to be pretty. The humans are going to leave, Pretz. They aren’t going to have a choice.”

  “But Kadenburg was built around the acceptance of humans. We make ourselves blend in just to live in harmony with them.....I don’t understand.”

  “Please don’t get upset, Pretz. I’m just trying to make this easier for you. I don’t want you to struggle with what’s going to happen, all right? You’ll still get to be a mama-a beautiful, strong mama with the luckiest little cub in the world. It just so happens that your cub is also the saving grace the ursithropes need. Urseth has made it so.”

  “Well, I don’t like it,” she said through clenched teeth. “Why does my baby have to be thrust into this position? I didn’t ask for that! I’m the one my father died for, Liam....I’m the one who is supposed to end this, right? Me? And my brother! Where is he?”

  “You’ll see him soon enough,” Liam nodded. “But you need to wake up now.”

  “What?! But I just got here,” her eyes fell to the baby sleeping in her arms and she felt the tears burning at the back of her throat. “Do I have to go?”

  “Yes,” Liam nodded, squeezing her shoulder gently. “I’ll take care of him, okay? He’s in good hands here. You just go take care of the world of the living and I’ll make sure things don’t get too crazy here.”

  “Your mama misses you,” Presley added as she felt herself fading. “She misses you a lot.”

  “I miss her too,” Liam whispered as tears glistened in his eyes. “I miss everybody. Tell her I said thanks for hanging my stocking up.”

  “I will,” Presley sniffled and leaned down to kiss her sleeping son’s forehead. She reluctantly handed him back to the taller ursithrope and released a shaky breath. “Make sure he’s happy.....”

  “He is happy,” Liam promised with another small grin. “He’s got good ole Uncle Liam taking care of him,” He eyed her carefully. “Just make sure my brother takes care of you and that cub, Pretz. You’re both very important to Kadenburg’s future.”

  “Okay,” she whimpered. She knuckled away a few tears as she watched Liam and her son slowly vanish into thin air. “Goodbye.....”

  And then she woke up.

  Fourteen

  “Presley baby, slow down.” Lorcan said softly as he pushed her hair away from her eyes and studied her. She was obviously upset. Hell, he could feel the anxiety rolling off her body in gigantic waves before he even set foot in the bedroom. She was upset and he needed to find out why-but he couldn’t do that until her tears slowed down enough for her to speak.

  “L-Liam s-s-said...”

  She was hiccupping and sobbing up a storm as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. He kissed the top of her head repeatedly and sighed.

  “Was he being his usual stupid self?” Lorcan questioned. He was only partially joking. He knew his brother could be a lug-head sometimes. He missed Liam a tremendous amount, and sometimes he envied Presley for being able to speak to him so freely in dreams. However, she hadn’t dreamt of Liam in weeks so this was news to him. What had his brother said that was so bad?

  “He said our baby isn’t going to grow normally.” Presley finally managed to respond after a moment. “He’ll be a grown-up by his fifth birthday.”

  “What?” Even Lorcan found that a little hard to believe. They were ursithropes and that definitely pushed them a little higher on the evolution chain compared to humans...but how the hell was it possible for a child to grow into an adult within a few short years? It wasn’t.

  “T-that’s what he said,” she wiped at her eyes and then cleared her throat. “And he said that our baby is going to change the future of Kadenburg. He said our cub’s the saving grace, Lorcan. I don’t want our baby to be the saving grace!”

  “Shhh, shhhh,” he cooed gently as he smoothed his thumb over her quivering bottom lip. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, Darlin’. Don’t worry about it, okay
? I’ll give my parents a ring and maybe they’ll know what he’s talking about.” Though the chances of his parents understanding what Liam meant were slim to none. The only people who would know anything about Urseth’s wishes would be the elders, which meant Lorcan would have to hunt down Davey Berdine.

  “I d-don’t want our baby to be involved with this,” Presley sobbed as another tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t want him to be put in danger, Lorcan. You promised me h-he wouldn’t be.”

  “I did promise that,” Lorcan nodded firmly. “And he won’t be, Presley. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he’s not involved.” He only hoped that he could stick to that plan. Urseth usually meant business with his intentions and Pierce Carroll was a damn fine example. As much as he hated the thought of his boy, his precious baby boy who hadn’t even entered the world yet, being involved with any of this......maybe they didn’t have a choice.

  ———————————

  “I know what I saw.” Louisa said as she planted her hands against her hips and frowned.

  “I ain’t saying I don’t believe you,” Davey Berdine mirrored her frown and scratched at the gray hairs on his chin. “I’m just saying that we ain’t got a right to be involved, Louisa. This is human business and Sheriff Holter is probably all over that like ants on sugar. We can’t get involved with that just yet.”

  “But they killed her!” Louisa wailed. Why was Davey being so nonchalant over the situation? She was furious and whoever that poor girl was, human or not, she deserved to have her killers brought to justice. Her skin tingled as she curled her fingers into tight fists. She wouldn’t let this happen.....

  “I know,” Davey gazed at her with kind eyes as a small sigh escaped his lips. “But Louisa, we can’t just barge in there and tell the Sheriff what you saw. He’s gonna ask questions and he’ll want answers. Don’t you remember that Dimitri is enemy number one on his list? We can’t put him in danger again.”

  “I do know that,” she nearly pouted. “But we can’t just sit back and let this happen. Didn’t Urseth create us to save the life of a man-and don’t you tell me he didn’t. I know the story very well. Would he truly want us to turn a blind eye to a girl’s murder?”

  “I don’t reckon he would.” Mrs. Berdine commented from her spot at the kitchen table. She had been listening intently while peeling potatoes for supper. She lifted her light blue eyes to gaze at Louisa and the expression on her face said she sided with the younger ursithrope, yet she didn’t voice that opinion as her husband mumbled.

  “I ain’t riskin’ us like that,” Davey said decisively as he pushed himself up from his chair and stared at Louisa. “Don’t say anything more about it for now. Okay? Please? If I don’t hear anything about her case from the sheriff’s office by the New Year then I promise we’ll tell him something. I just can’t let you go in there and say you saw two men carrying a body through the woods, Louisa. It ain’t normal for a pretty little thing like you to be out there, alone, and coming upon a sight like that. It’s only going to make him want to investigate us further.”

  “It isn’t right,” Louisa huffed. “I’m so disappointed in you, Mister Berdine. That poor girl has a family.” She blinked back tears and dropped her gaze to the floor. When the elder ursithrope placed a gentle hand on her shoulder she finally looked up again.

  “You’re a good girl, Louisa. You have a good heart....but we can’t be meddling in the affairs of humans right now. We have enough enemies as it is without getting the sheriff hot on our trail again. Will you promise me that you won’t say anything for a little while?”

  Her lower lip trembled as Louisa pushed aside the overwhelming amount of guilt and confusion she felt. She knew that Davey felt it too. He had no choice when it came to her gifts-everybody felt her emotions eventually, just as she felt theirs.

  “I won’t say anything for a little while.” She replied.

  ——————————-

  “That is the worst friggin’ night of sleep I’ve had in my entire life.” Rutley muttered as he poured himself another generous cup of coffee. He’d put in two packs just to get the smell strong enough and he could only hope the effects would do him some justice given today was going to be another busy day. He tilted his head back and gulped down the scalding liquid. It was easy to ignore the pain of his throat when his heart was aching so much.

  “Ditto.” Dimitri replied simply from his spot at the kitchen table. He was thumbing through his cellphone and kept his eyes on the screen as Rutley slid a fresh cup of java across the tabletop for him.

  “So did we really have the same dream?” Rutley asked as he plopped down in the chair across from his alpha. He found it to be wickedly odd that they’d had the same dream, but didn’t it make sense? They could read each other’s thoughts anytime they pleased-what was the difference?

  “The difference is, Mister Holter,” Dimitri murmured. “Werewolves don’t usually share dreams at all. It’s the one place we can be alone and I distinctly remember seeing both you and Liam there.”

  “Yeah,” Rutley said quietly as he lifted his cup for another sip. “I dream about Liam sometimes...but that was weird.” There was another question he wanted to ask but he wasn’t sure it would be okay to do so. Dimitri already seemed so irritated and Rutley didn’t want to add onto that. One of these days he was pretty sure he’d drive Dimitri to committing murder.

  “I’m not going to kill you,” Dimitri rolled his hazel eyes and then gazed at him. “But go ahead and ask me anyway. I know you want to know.”

  Ah, shit. Rutley wrinkled his nose and dropped his gaze to the coffee mug he held between his hands. It was an ugly old thing. Mrs. Bamey had given them a box of dishes and among the items were three ancient looking mugs. This particular mug, his favorite, was bright yellow with faded flowers all over it. Oh well. It got the job done, didn’t it?

  “Why was Breslin there?”

  Dimitri visibly tensed and his jawline went tight as he calmly placed his cellphone on the tabletop. Rutley wasn’t sure if he’d answer him at all as he grabbed for his cup of coffee and lifted it to his lips. The seconds ticked by and Rutley became anxious as Dimitri’s mind lit up with an insane amount of thoughts.

  ‘He haunts my nightmares because I used to be afraid of him,’ he whispered through his thoughts. ‘I was always terrified he would hurt Liam and we both see how that turned out.’

  Rutley flinched.

  ‘And yes. I do worry that the same thing will happen to you but I swear I won’t let him lay a finger on you, Rut.’

  Dimitri’s hazel eyes became sad as he gazed at his beta and Rutley felt his heartbeat become irregular as they stared at one another. He truly believed Dimitri wouldn’t let anybody hurt him. Ever.

  But Dimitri needed to be protected too.

  “Hey,” Rutley pushed himself up from his seat and moved around the table until he was standing behind his alpha. He timidly placed his hands on Dimitri’s rock hard shoulders and squeezed them in a comforting manner. “I won’t let him lay a finger on you either,” he promised as his lips lightly brushed against Dimitri’s ear. Euphoria soared through him from their close proximity-but the truth was that Rutley couldn’t help himself sometimes. No matter how much distance he tried to put between them, he always found his way back. It was like an invisible tether that kept them linked.

  “I believe you.” Dimitri said in a throaty whisper.

  “Good.” Rutley turned his head and caught a whiff of Dimitri’s scent. Sometimes it was too much. Sometimes it wasn’t enough. He loved that smell more than anything else in the world. Well, except for one other.....

  Dimitri was reading his thoughts and a low growl sounded from deep in his throat. Rutley immediately pulled away from him and silently cursed himself for thinking of Kia again. When was he going to learn his lesson? He really did try NOT to think about her.

  “You’re fighting a losing battle,” Dimitri muttered as he glared at him. He stood abru
ptly and sent the kitchen chair skidding across the floor as he grunted. “It’ll never be that simple and we both know it, Rut. Excuse me.”

  Rutley opened his mouth to say something-ANYTHING-to make Dimitri stay, but his alpha was already out the front door and it slammed so hard that it sounded like a shotgun going off. Rutley winced.

  “Good going, Genius,” he muttered beneath his breath. “You get one step closer and deliberately fling yourself twenty steps back every damned time.”

  He really needed to get over Kia Fallon. Soon.

  ———————————

  How was he going to make it through the work day? Greg had asked himself that very question at least twenty times as he put away another box of mayonnaise containers. He was trying to keep his mind off things by offering to put away the leftover boxes form truck day, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of pushing away thoughts of Louisa.

  She’ll never forgive me, he thought sadly. And it wasn’t even my fault! It’s not like I wanted to kiss Amber. That stupid....

  The bell dinged from the diner area and he knew they had a customer, which was a miracle in itself given how bad the weather was. He didn’t really feel like dealing with the public but he knew his father was out in the storage building. Awesome.

  Forcing himself back behind the counter, Greg put on the biggest, also fakest, smile he could as he rested his hands against the countertop. “What can I get for y—-Natalie?”

  Presley Goult’s aunt was standing near the door with her arms wrapped around herself. Her bottom lip quivered as she gazed at him and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know she was upset. Greg released a mental sigh as he straightened up to his full height.

  Aw man, this’ll be fun.

  It only took a few short strides to be in front of her and Greg studied her curiously. What was wrong with her? Why was she crying in the first place? Had something happened?