by Cara Wylde
“You know why he didn’t tell you the truth,” said Seth in a low, calm voice. “You would have never accepted a woman as your main Inari. You couldn’t wait for Roman to die childless so one of you could take his place and do whatever you wanted with the clan.”
“Are you accusing me of sexism, Seth? That’s low, so low… I have three daughters, you know.” Sebastian’s grin indicated he couldn’t care less what Seth was accusing him of.
“Drop the act,” the Yako said. “What do your daughters do while your two sons study the ancient texts? Spend all their day in the kitchen?”
Sebastian spread his arms as to show none of it was his fault. “What can a father do when two of his daughters have a passion for cooking, and the other one likes painting surreal landscapes?”
Seth huffed.
“If it wouldn’t have been a problem then, it shouldn’t be a problem now,” said Amelia.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Sebastian’s voice and attitude changed. He was done joking about it. “We will never accept an Inari who lied to us since the beginning, who went to such lengths to hide her true identity from her own family.”
Amelia held his gaze, but the truth was… he was right.
“How could we trust Blake when her actions have only proved that she’s as insane as her father? Who changes their whole life and alters their identity simply to deceive and ensure their leadership? No one wants a fake, delusional leader, and that’s exactly what Blake is.”
Amelia bit the inside of her cheek. Her mind was working feverishly, trying to come up with something to say.
“How lucky this gave you the opportunity to turn things in your favor,” she started. She wasn’t sure her argument would hold, but she had to try. “Tell me, Sebastian, were you involved in Damon’s plot?” Her eyes moved from one brother to another. “Were you all involved? Because the Tricksters were hired by someone, and it was all so convenient. Damon invited us to spend a couple of days with his earth, and six fox-shifters come after Blake the very first night. You were in such a hurry to get rid of her, that you couldn’t take the time to cover your own tracks. You were sure of the Tricksters’ success, weren’t you? You were sure there would be no one left to ask questions.”
Sebastian stepped closer to Amelia and leaned over her, shoving his face in her personal space.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I won’t allow you to insult us like that. Now that we know who Blake is, you mean nothing to us. You mean nothing to Clan Sylfur. Blake isn’t an Inari anymore, and you’re not the Inari’s wife.”
Amelia stood up abruptly. She had no intention of letting Sebastian, or any of the brothers for that matter, dominate her like that. A sudden wave of nausea forced her to use the edge of the table for support, but she straightened her back immediately. Seth was by her side. He pulled her back and stepped between her and Sebastian.
“You’re in no position to make any kind of decision,” he said. His intense, purple gaze challenged the other fox-shifter. “Blake is Roman’s heir and the Inari of this clan. We have already contacted the Council, and they will be the ones who will sort this out. Until then, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I can ban you all from the clan!” yelled Sebastian. “Blake, you, your whore, and those two useless Ninkos!”
Seth grabbed Sebastian by the throat and pushed him against the table. “Don’t talk like that about the mother of my child.”
“Seth, no!”
Amelia pulled at his arm, trying to make him let go of Sebastian. Julian and Charles were watching them impassively. If he wanted, Sebastian could throw Seth off him, but instead the fox-shifter was grinning in the Yako’s face.
“He’s not worth it…” She pulled at his arm again, but he wouldn’t budge. His body was as strong and still as a rock. She took a deep breath and prepared to pull harder only to double over and grab her bump when the contractions began. She moaned in pain, and that was when Seth finally let go of Sebastian.
“Amelia, what’s wrong?” Seth caught her before she fell to the floor.
“The baby… But no, it’s too early…” She wasn’t due for another month. “It will pass.” As to contradict her, her water broke.
“Shit!” Seth took her in his arms, ready to run upstairs. Even in her condition, Amelia was light as a feather. “Call the doctor!”
Sebastian shook his head. Charles seemed disinterested, and Julian was the only one who sighed and eventually dialed the number. Seth took Amelia to her old room. He would call the doctor himself to make sure he came, but first he wanted to know Amelia was comfortable, in her bed.
“Brilliant!” said Charles. “More drama.”
Julian told the doctor what was going on, then ended the call. “Whatever. It’s late anyway.”
Sebastian rubbed his sore throat, then finished his glass of whiskey. “They said they contacted the Council. That can’t be good.”
“It doesn’t make any difference. Blake deceived them too. They won’t forgive that,” said Charles.
“They told them they suspect we had something to do with the attack…”
“And you think anyone will believe them after all the lies?” Charles stood up and headed to the door. “You worry too much, brother.”
***
Marcus of Clan Sylfur was born at 2:35 AM. Seth was there to take the boy from the doctor’s hands and show him to Amelia before she passed out, exhausted. He chose to name him after his stepfather. While Amelia was asleep, a smile plastered on her face, Seth caressed her cheeks and hair, kissed her hands over and over, and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. For a couple of hours, he allowed himself to dream of a perfect life with his mate and their son, somewhere far away from here. He would dedicate his time to being a good father to Marcus, and devote himself to Amelia. He wouldn’t have to watch Blake’s back anymore, of keep an eye on the Sylfur brothers and try to be one step ahead of them and their wicked plans. Amelia and Marcus. The only ones who truly mattered.
Eventually, Seth came back to earth. He sighed and stood up. He watched his son sleep in the small crib he had brought into the room while the doctor was encouraging Amelia to breathe and push. He had worked on the crib for months, carving each detail with extreme attention, and now he couldn’t believe there was a baby sleeping in it. His baby. He smiled, then forced himself to leave the room. For now, his family was safe. He had to check on Elena and Aaron, then see if Blake was asleep. If she wasn’t, he was sure she wanted to hear the great news. He would have to give her some bad news too, but that was what life was about. As he knocked on her door and waited for an answer, he realized how tired the Deltas were. He could hear Blake breathing evenly, and he knew she wasn’t sleeping. Still, she refused to invite him in.
“Congratulations,” whispered Elena. She smiled, but it was obvious she was too exhausted to express her enthusiasm in a more cheerful manner.
“Thank you.”
Aaron punched his shoulder lightly. “A boy, huh?”
“Yeah.” His heart grew with pride, and Seth was sure it would have exploded of so much happiness, if he hadn’t had so many other things to worry about.
“Man, that’s awesome! You’re going to be a great daddy!”
Seth smiled. “I’ll do my best.” He knocked again. Still nothing. “You two should go rest. Come back at around 10. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
“I thought you wanted to spend the night with Amelia,” said Elena. In truth, she couldn’t wait to lie down.
“Amelia is fine. I asked the nurse to stay with her in case she needs anything.”
“Okay…”
The two Deltas didn’t argue anymore. They needed sleep, or they wouldn’t be able to protect Blake if it came to it. Seth waited for them to leave, then he pushed the door open and peeked into Blake’s room. She was lying on her side, her back turned to him, but the rhythm of her breathing told him she was wide awake. He closed the door and went to the edge of her
bed.
“I have a son.”
Silence. Then a soft whisper. “I know.”
Of course she knew. She had heard his conversation with Elena and Aaron.
“I’m happy for you.”
Seth shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and waited for her to say something else, anything. After a couple of minutes, he knew he was wasting his time.
“Blake, I know you’re almost completely healed. You can’t hide in here for the rest of your life.”
“Why not? I spent most of my life in this room.”
“Sooner or later, you’ll have to face them. They want to ban us all. You need to get over yourself and confront them. You’re still the Inari of this clan.”
“Am I, Seth?”
He sighed and rubbed his temples. Not this again…
“I’m a joke.”
“Blake…”
“I was stupid enough to think the truth would never come to light. I was so sure no one would ever catch me unprepared. If I hadn’t been so badly injured last night, I could have run, found some clothes… They would have never known.”
“What you’re doing now is useless. You have to focus on the future. Your future, Amelia’s future… my son’s future.”
“There is no future.”
He couldn’t get anything else out of her, so he left the room and plopped in one of the armchairs on the corridor. All he wanted was to go to his mate, slip next to her, and wrap his arms around her warm, soft body, maybe take Marcus from his crib and put him between them. But there was no one else he could trust to guard Blake as she moped in her room. If the Sylfur brothers had been involved in the attack, then Blake wasn’t safe.
***
The yelling and curses coming from the living room woke Amelia up. She tried to sit up, but winced at the sharp pain that traveled through all her muscles. The nurse rearranged her pillow.
“You need to rest, Mrs. Sylfur.”
“What’s happening? Where’s my baby?”
“Shh… he’s right here.”
She took the boy from his crib and brought him to her. Amelia took the small bundle into her arms and smiled at the child’s big, purple eyes, and round face.
“Oh my God, you’re perfect, aren’t you?”
“Here, let me show you how to feed him. He should be hungry by now.”
Amelia allowed the nurse to help her. Marcus’s small mouth immediately latched onto her nipple, and she watched him mesmerized. She had never felt so happy in her life. The spell was broken when more curses came from downstairs. She could recognize Sebastian’s voice.
“What’s happening? Can’t they leave us alone for a couple of hours? What do they want?”
The nurse didn’t know what to tell her. She was rather clueless. She was a fox-shifter, just as the doctor, but she didn’t know any details about what the Sylfur brothers were up to now that they knew Blake was a woman and Amelia had just had Seth’s child. She was a kind, honest woman and she genuinely cared about the young mother’s well-being. She shrugged and told Amelia all she had to do was rest and take care of her son.
“I need to know what’s happening,” Amelia insisted. “Just go down there and see.”
“I can’t leave you alone.”
“For crying out loud…”
Her questions were answered when Seth barged into the room, a big smile on his face, and blurted out the news without stopping to catch his breath.
“Sebastian, Julian, and Charles have just been taken in by the Council for interrogation. Damon has already been found guilty and arrested, and so has Jonathan Redfur.”
“Are you kiddin’ me?!”
“No!” Seth was almost jumping with excitement. He tried to act normally, seeing as the nurse was still there, and it wasn’t appropriate for a Beta to behave like that. “The Council has been suspecting Jonathan for a while, even before Blake took his position. When you called Max Blackmane yesterday, an investigation was immediately set into motion and they discovered the ex-councilor and Damon Sylfur hired the Tricksters to kill Blake. They aren’t sure about Sebastian, Julian, and Charles, but they’ll get to the bottom of this.” He sat on the edge of the bed and gave Amelia and Marcus a bear hug. “It’s over. It’s finally over.”
Amelia thought for a moment.
“Is it really over? The Council knows about Blake now, right?”
“Yes. But what’s worse? Lying to everyone about your gender because you wanted to prevent four power-thirsty foxes from taking the lead of the most influential fox-shifter clan in the world and threaten the peace treaty, or a murder attempt? I think the Council is willing to listen to Blake’s side of the story.”
“That would be perfect… so perfect…”
Amelia could barely wrap her mind around the unexpected turn of events. She knew she could trust Max Blackmane and the Council to shed light on the fox-shifters’ conspiracy, but she still doubted it would be that easy. Until they found out what they decided, the future of her family was uncertain. The baby moved in her arms, and the small sound his tiny arm made snapped Amelia out of her thoughts. A second, similar sound sent a chill right to her heart. Her body froze in fear.
Seth jumped to his feet, his eyes fixed on Marcus.
“Seth… Nurse… Nurse, what’s wrong with him?”
The nurse leaned over the baby, but didn’t dare touch him. “Oh my…”
Amelia watched in terror how the baby’s small body turned before her eyes. Bones snapped, white fur sprung out of his skin, and his cute, little face elongated into a delicate snout. Ears appeared on his head, then his hands turned into paws, and Amelia found herself holding a white fox. It took all her strength and courage not to faint. While the shift happened, Marcus didn’t make a sound.
Seth covered his mouth with both hands. He couldn’t believe that his son had just shifted, only a couple of hours after he was born. Usually, baby shifters started turning into their animal form around the time they learned how to walk. Also, the first few transformations could be uncomfortable, if not painful.
“This isn’t possible,” whispered Amelia. She removed the blanket, which had already fallen off the upper half of the little fox’s body.
Seth’s eyes grew as wide as saucers when he saw the baby didn’t have just one tail, as all baby fox-shifters had when they were born.
“Give him to me…”
He took him from Amelia’s arms and lifted him up in the warm light of the morning. Marcus whined and moved all his small, nine tails, almost giving the nurse a heart attack. The woman pulled herself together and ran out of the room. In less than fifteen minutes, all the members of Clan Sylfur knew a Kyubi was born. Damon’s arrest, the interrogation of the other three brothers, the fact that Blake had lied to them all along… none of that mattered anymore. They dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the mansion, demanding to see their nine-tailed miracle. Clan Sylfur was about to be reborn from its own ashes.
EPILOGUE
Amelia closed her book and set it on the armrest. She snuggled in the comfy armchair and grabbed the cup of hot chocolate the maid had just brought her. She watched the flames dance in the fireplace for a while, then her attention was drawn to Marcus, who had just finished his puzzle and was looking at her expectantly, hoping she would give him a new one. It was beyond her how her little boy could finish the most complicated puzzles. And he always asked for more. She would get bored after the second.
“I’ll ask daddy to bring you a new one when he comes home later,” she said.
The boy sighed, but didn’t complain. He looked through the toys scattered on the floor around him and decided on a wooden fox Seth had carved for him a couple of days before.
“Come here,” Amelia beckoned, setting the cup down and spreading her arms.
Marcus stood up on wobbly feet and walked towards her, his arms spread wide at his sides for balance. He was only three months old, but he was growing at a rate that sometimes scared Amelia. Seth
and Blake had tried to calm her down, telling her it was normal. Baby shifters grew up really fast, especially in the first years. And Marcus was nothing like the other baby fox-shifters. He was a Kyubi, and it showed. He learned everything very quickly, he could already walk, and his toys bored him if they weren’t challenging. He understood everyone perfectly, although he hadn’t started to say much yet. It didn’t mean he couldn’t talk. He just chose to listen, observe, and take in as much as possible.
Amelia wrapped him in her arms. Marcus giggled and let her cuddle him. She and Seth were the only ones who were allowed to touch him like that. Sometimes, he let Blake pick him up, but he didn’t have the patience to sit on her lap. Elena and Aaron were out of the question. He loved teasing them by running around the room when they tried to catch him. It was one of the few silly games he enjoyed. Another three months, and Amelia would have to take out the chess board and give him a real challenge.
“Ready for our daily walk?”
The boy nodded, but Amelia wasn’t ready to stand up just yet. She liked holding her son like this. Seth was at the docks and Blake was in London. She had the entire house to herself, and it was one of those few quiet days when she didn’t have to deal with Sebastian, Julian, or Charles. She would leave the comfy armchair, eventually, dress Marcus up and go out, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy the peace.
Since Clan Sylfur had chosen her as their Alpha, Amelia had been busier than she had ever thought a person could be. She couldn’t refuse the position, however. She was, after all, the woman who had given birth to the only nine-tailed fox-shifter in the world, and the entire fox-faction had agreed that she had to act as the main Inari of the clan until her son was of age. She and Seth got married shortly after Sebastian, Julian, and Charles were released. The union made Seth her Alpha husband, which was perfect. She had said she would choose a Beta at some point, but she was still considering the options. Even though all the members of the clan were ecstatic about Marcus, she wanted to wait until she knew them better and could vouch for their loyalty. The Yako she chose now would most certainly become her son’s Yako when he became Inari, and Amelia had to be sure she made the right choice. The perfect choice, even.
