by Leela Ash
A night like that deserved a proper ending.
She should wake up in her lover’s arm, her body still tingling from the joy it had drunk. Surrounded by tangled sheets that whispered of their fierce desire, and how it had been temporarily sated at last. Then, as the insistent sun slowly crept into the room, she would drift, slowly rising from dreams of love and pleasure. Only to waken to him, to the true, real love that lay beside her. Perhaps, as dawn’s golden touch cast a glow across his face, he would waken too. Hungry. Greedy for her body. And, once more, they would drink their fill from the chalice of love. Things had felt so right last night. Maybe they would have that talk and she would tell him the truth…and maybe it would all work out!
It should have ended like that.. Ash woke, happy and fulfilled. Safe in his arms, the future and its problems nothing more than a dim memory. But as Lucas roused and nuzzled close, something terrible happened. Something that was about to derail things again.
Stabbing pain shot through her belly. Her guts tied themselves in a knot as a wave of nausea swept over her.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Lucas whispered in her ear. His lips found its lobe and kissed it, lingering a moment to suck playfully.
“Good… guh…”
And then she threw herself from the bed, bolting for the bathroom.
“Ash! What’s wrong?”
Hand clamped over her mouth, she couldn’t answer. She skittered around the corner and dropped to her knees on the bathroom mat. Then she lost it. Dinner, drinks… everything. Violent convulsions shook her slender form as her body fought to expel everything she’d eaten in the last 24 hours.
When the tsunami of nausea passed, it left her shaken and weak. Ash lay her head on the toilet seat, panting, shocked by the violence of that sudden illness.
From the doorway, Lucas called, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Wow, that must be food poisoning.” Or something. A cold dread blossomed in her heart as she considered other, more ominous explanations.
“Are you sure? I feel alright.”
Probably because you’re not pregnant, buddy.
“Let me get you a glass of water.”
As his footsteps retreated down the hall, Ash rose on shaky legs and washed her face. Her clammy pallor startled her.
Damn, was morning sickness really this bad? No wonder her mother thought pregnancy was the worst time of her life!
With a hand on the wall to steady herself, she tottered into the living room and collapsed on the couch.
“Here.” Anxious, Lucas knelt beside her and offered her a glass.
The sickness vanished as quickly as it appeared. Five minutes and two cups of water later, she felt human again.
“Better?” He stroked her hair, puzzlement and worry still lining his face.
“Actually I am, yes. In fact… you’re going to laugh, but… I’m hungry. Want to go out for breakfast?”
“Breakfast? After that?” No laughter, but his eyes sparkled. “Okay. Whatever the lady wants. Let me grab a shower first, though. Want to join me?”
Oh, she did. Heat woke in her blood as she imagined him. Naked, water trickling down the muscles of his chest, soap suds swirling across his bare skin.
Other duties demanded her time, however. Ones that couldn’t wait. “No, I’ll take one later.”
“Sure.”
Was that disappointment in his voice? For a moment, Ash hesitated. Had she misjudged him? If he loved her… if there was any chance they could build a future together… shouldn’t she share her fears with him?
Hold up, girlfriend. He’s disappointed that he’s not getting any shower sex and now you’re trying to twist it into true love. Now she was just going crazy, Her nerves of the last few days getting the best of her. He liked sex with her. That was all.
Once she heard the splash of water, Ash settled down at her computer. Time for an appointment with Dr. Google.
The bad news was that morning sickness lasted up to Week 20. The even worse news was that it generally didn’t start until Week 4 – and her nausea seemed unusually bad. Then the internet helpfully informed her that there were a lot of other things that could make a pregnant woman sick. Some of them very, very bad.
Wreathed in fear, she bounced from site to site. The world around her was forgotten until a cold, male voice spoke directly behind her.
“Severe morning sickness?”
Heart sinking, Ash glanced over her shoulder. Lucas stood there, dripping, a towel draped casually around his hips. Sexy as that was, she couldn’t even admire his sculpted abs because his face – frozen into a polite mask – killed any thought of romance.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
Want to? No, but… didn’t she owe him the truth?
Yes. Well, yes… maybe. Ash took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m pregnant.”
Fear flashed across his face, the panic of a trapped animal. “I thought you said you were taking precautions!”
Because, of course, that was all her responsibility!
Out of the blue, rage swept over her. A towering, righteous anger that washed away all of her fears with one fierce, violent sweep. This was her fault? He bore no responsibility? He learned he had a child – and all he could think of was escape? All the connection of last night seemed to be swept aside…and in its place every insult her mother had ever hurled at Wolves came flooding back into her mind. Wolves were losers. Drunken, irresponsible brutes who lounged about, scattering illegitimate children from one coast to the other. They were cowards who ran away when things got tough.
And she’d slept with one. Now she bore a Wolf’s baby.
Well, fine. She’d take care of herself and her child after all. Back to plan A. Or was that plan B? Whatever. She didn’t need anything from him.
She didn’t owe him anything either.
Not even the truth.
Disdain chilled her features as she turned away from him. “Don’t worry. It’s not yours.”
“Oh.”
Omg had she really just said that? Lied to his face? Even while she was caught up in this wave of righteous indignation, she winced. Lies didn’t come naturally to her. But what else could she do? Trap him with a child he didn’t ask for? And the word ‘commitment’ seemed to spook him into a full scale stampede of retreat at its slightest mention. She couldn’t see his face. Probably a good thing, because the naked relief in his voice drove her anger to a sharp point. Maybe she was reading too much into one simple syllable, one ‘oh.’ But he seemed glad that this was her problem, not his.
Only the soft tick of her wall clock broke the silence, until Lucas found his voice again. “So, uh, who’s the father? Is he another Shifter?”
Ash slunk away from the computer and said, under her breath, “How is that any business of yours?”
“I guess it isn’t, but, uh…” His eyes darted around the room. Checking the time, flickering to the windows. Looking anyplace except at her. “I just thought…”
“Thought what?” Why couldn’t he just say what he meant? And he didn’t even seem to care about her. She was right, it had been all about sex for him. Dammit, she was tired of this.
“That… you know. After last night and, uh, before, we were… uh…” He fell silent, unable to find a word to finish that sentence.
A problem Ash didn’t share. Oh, she had plenty of words! “We’re nothing. You said it yourself. This is a hook up. And a hook up doesn’t give you the right to interrogate me about my sex life!”
Now, he winced. Now, pain filled his eyes.
It infuriated her. The guy who said they weren’t even ‘friends’? The guy who chose a stupid magic ring over her? He was going to pretend that she was the villain here? The cruel one. The jerk.
“I wouldn’t call this a ‘hook up’…”
A startled, bitter laugh of frustration escaped her. “But you did! You literally did.”
“No I didn’t. I never said that.”
Th
e guilt in his eyes betrayed him, though. Even if he hadn’t actually said those words, he’d thought them. “You told your grandparents we weren’t ‘friends.’ Did you lie to them? Have you changed your mind?”
“I, uh…”
“Are we ‘friends’, Lucas? Simple question. Yes or no?” Ash leaned back, arms folded across her chest and glared at him.
Agony twisted his handsome face as he fought some internal battle she didn’t understand. “We’re… something. Something changed that night, something inside me. But I don’t know… I can’t…”
Miserable, his words trailed off into silence. Leaving Ash with a bitter, terrible problem.
We’re ‘something’… and that confuses him?
‘Something’ wasn’t the same as ‘friends’ – but was it good enough? A beginning? Now it was her turn to sink into the bog of confusion.
“Let’s just drop this, okay? I’m hungry. I’m going to get breakfast. Come if you want to.”
Without a word he scurried off to put on some clothes.
Leaving her swimming in an ocean of angry thoughts.
Chapter 20.
Breakfast was a miserable affair. Lucas played with his food – poking sausages, stirring eggs – but ate little. Ash gulped down pancakes, eggs, and strip after strip of bacon. Now that the morning’s nausea had passed, she was ravenous. Felt like she had an enormous tape worm inside of her.
Throughout all of this, no one said a word.
Was this not the worst morning ever? Mom, lost and probably possessed by some dark force. And here she sat. Pregnant. No way to help her mother. Stuck with a stupid Wolf who didn’t want anything to do with her – but thought he had the right to run her life.
Ash shoved another heaping fork-full of pancakes into her mouth and chomped away.
Now, to top it all off, some dork was checking her out.
Across the diner, a gorgeous man sat sipping coffee. Lean and long-legged, with whipcord muscles circling his arms. Disheveled brown hair curled about his sharp, hard features. Honestly, he looked a lot like Lucas… except for his eyes, a strange mix of lavender and blue.
Those have to be contacts. Nobody has eyes like that.
Though they were gorgeous. She’d dreamed of having eyes like that, rather than her plain, boring brown ones.
Their gazes met. The man glanced away smoothly, surveying the diner patrons. Ash went back to her meal. Yet when she looked up, he was staring at her. Again.
She frowned, sending him a silent warning.
Do not check me out, buddy. I am not in the mood. I’m swearing off men for a year. All of you!
He was a damned fine-looking man, though. Just about perfect in her book.
Shame followed that thought – with annoyance hot on its heels.
How can I look at another man when I’m with… with… with who? The guy who’s not my ‘friend’? The guy who’s glad this baby isn’t his?
No, dammit. She could look at anyone she wanted. She just, well, didn’t want to look at this stranger. Yeah. That was the reason she felt so peeved.
Lucas pushed his plate aside. “You okay? You seem…” His sentence trailed off. The Wolf had clearly decided that words were dangerous and he should use as few as possible.
A disturbing thought rose in Ash’s mind. If the Fangs knew Lucas still had the Aegis, they could be attacked at any moment! “That guy in the booth near the corner. The one with the violet eyes. Is he a Shifter?”
Lucas scanned the diner blindly. “Which guy?”
“The one with violet contacts.” How could he miss that?
“Uh…” Back and forth his eyes wandered, from the counter to the corner.
“See the corner? First booth in our direction.”
“Dude wearing the Oakland Raiders t-shirt?”
“Yes.”
Lucas squinted… turned his head from side to side… then shook his head. “Nope. I don’t see anything around him. What did you say was wrong with his eyes?”
“Nothing. They’re just violet.”
“Uh, no. They’re blue.”
Ash gritted her teeth. No, no, no, no, no. They were not going to argue about the color of a stranger’s eyes, even if she had to bite her tongue clean off.
The Wolf had a different plan to avoid a fight. “I gotta use the rest room,” he muttered. “Be right back.”
Left alone, she found herself suddenly revolted by the sickly sweet syrup.
What is wrong with me? I’m not fit for human company right now. Or Wolf company, for that matter.
Honestly, though, there was a lot wrong. Mom’s kidnapping, her relationship (or lack of one) with Lucas, and the prospect of dropping out of her PhD program to be a single mother.
No wonder I’m in a mood.
Given what she was going through, she should be kinder to herself.
To Lucas, too. His world’s been turned upside down in the last couple days.
The gloom that shrouded her lightened. More kindness, all around. It might not solve everything, but it would make life more bearable. For everyone.
“Excuse me.”
Ash jumped, startled to realize that someone stood at her shoulder. She glanced up. Past strong arms, a Raider’s t-shirt clinging tightly to sculpted abs… and into intense violet eyes.
The stranger! Instinctively, her hand curled around her knife. As if a blunt little butter knife was going to do anything to a Shifter.
Only he wasn’t a Shifter, according to Lucas.
“Yes?” she croaked. “What do you want?”
“I…” He gazed down the hall towards the rest rooms, where Lucas had vanished. Dammit, where was that Wolf? She needed him!
Yet, as the edge of her fear dulled, she noticed that there wasn’t anything particularly threatening about the man. He didn’t loom over her or scowl. If anything, he seemed… embarrassed?
“Ma’am, there’s something I need to tell you. And, uh, I’m afraid it’s going to sound completely insane.”
“Are you a Shifter?” she muttered. Sometimes Shifters didn’t recognize each other, though it was uncommon.
Hearing that word, he sighed with relief. “You’re Kin? So you know you’re having breakfast with a Wolf?”
Oh, what a relief. Ash laughed, releasing her death-grip on the butter knife. “Yes, I know that.”
“Good. Then I can speak plainly and you won’t think I’m insane.” At his next words, her smile died away. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you? There’s something wrong with the child.”
Horror swept over her, a chilling tide that drowned all thought, all feelings. Around her, the everyday sounds and sights grew dull, dwarfed by the ringing in her ears. “What do you mean?” she whispered through numb lips.
“I think you’ve come into contact with something dark and tainted.”
Possession. Yeah, that was definitely ‘contact’. “I have.”
“Good. Well, not ‘good’ – but at least you know something happened. Whatever it was left a… a darkness. A pollution that the baby is soaking in. You need to be cleansed. Do it quickly and everyone should be fine. Baby, too.” The relief of that nearly made her faint. “But you need to hurry.”
“How do I cleanse us?”
He peered nervously towards the rest rooms again. “Talk to the Hares in Sedona. They can probably help you.” Ash had her doubts about that. “Or petition the Dragons of the Flight of the Snows. They know a lot about the spirit world.”
Casey’s Flight. And he’d thought a little sage incense would solve the problem! “Can’t you help me?”
“No.” He edged for the door, eyes still glued on the bathroom doors. “I have to go. I can’t help you.”
“You can’t just drop some cryptic warning and bolt!” she protested.
Her accusation brought a bitter smile to his face. “Yeah, I can. In fact, that’s kind of my Standard Operating Procedure.”
Wait. Did that mean…?
“Are you Nemo? The gu
y who sent me that email?”
The stranger rounded on, hands balled into fists, eyes blazing.
Green eyes. Not violet ones.
“Are you one of Nemo’s people?” he hissed.
Ash recoiled, inching back along the bench. “What do you mean? Who are ‘Nemo’s people’?”
He winced. And when he opened his eyes again, they were violet once more. “Sorry, I answered my own question. You wouldn’t ask if you knew him.”
“Who is he? All I know is he sent me a very strange email.”
“Delete it. Then block him.” A dull anger simmered behind those beautiful eyes. “No matter what he told you, no matter how ‘helpful’ he was, remember this: Nemo isn’t your friend. He isn’t anybody’s friend. Don’t learn that the hard way, like I did.”
“But…”
Across the diner, Lucas emerged wiping his damp hands on his jeans. At once the stranger spun away from her. “I have to go.”
“Wait!”
Ash scrambled to her feet but he darted away, slipping through an incoming party as slippery as an eel. Clumsy by comparison she blundered after him, shoving her way through the crowd.
Lucas spotted her sudden movement and he barreled through the restaurant towards her.
Ignoring the gasps and yelps of outrage, Ash stormed out into the street.
The empty street. Cars zipped by. A pair of young women darted across the street, giggling. The only man around was a short, older gentleman with greying hair, peering into the window of the book story next door. He jumped as she charged out and spun wildly, looking for the stranger.
“The man who ran out just now. Which way did he go?”
“I didn’t see anyone?”
Lucas shoved his way out the door and skidded to a halt at her elbow. The Wolf bristled with menace and scanned the street with a fierceness that actually warmed Ash’s heart. Maybe he wasn’t her ‘friend’, but Lucas Clay would definitely kick the ass of anyone who threatened her.
“What happened?”
“That weirdo I asked you about was Kin. Or something. He came over and said a bunch of really strange things.”
“Did he hurt you?” He laid a protective hand on her elbow.
Ash found herself inching closer to him. Shielding herself in his raw, male fury. “No. But he scared me. He said that the baby was in danger from… uh, what happened.” The old man had gone back to his window shopping, but she still didn’t want to sound too strange. “And he knew Nemo. Said he wasn’t a good guy.”
