Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) (24 page)

Caelen moved away and returned to his chair, sitting gracefully and then glancing at Aedus conspiratorially, as if this information would fit into their plans perfectly
. “I need to sit.”
I sent to only Garrett, so he led me to the chair next to Liam and then sat on my other side, pulling his chair closer and keeping his arm wrapped around me protectively. I might have been shivering.
A son...

“Let’s wait and see what they say.”
I nodded in agreement.

Aedus spoke first, his voice soft and non-threatening. “Congratulations, Jacqueline. I k
now that the circumstances were not what you’d wished for, but your son is a strong and healthy miracle. He’ll grow up playing with my daughter. In fact, he’ll be born a few days earlier. I’m very happy for you both.” He smiled sincerely at me and at Garrett, knowing beyond any doubt that Garrett would accept the child as his own for my sake. My fear was that it would drive a wedge between us, because Garrett would always think of Kennett when he looked at the boy.

When neither of us responded, Lord Caelen spoke up. “You’re very young, and I’m sure that you never would have chosen to have a child at this age. If you decide that you can’t face raising the baby yourself, there are many wonderful childless fae couples who would be loving parents to your son. No one would dare to judge you harshly if you made this choice. He would be cherished in Faerie an
d given the best of everything.”

They were both doing their best to urge me in one direction or the other without applying any real pressure. That was bound to come later. Garrett and I continued to sit silently, waiting to see how this would play out.

Liam leaned suddenly forward, a scowl on his face. “I think, father, that you and Aedus are not showing much sensitivity to Jackie’s situation. You’re acting as if she got pregnant accidentally during consensual sex because the condom broke. You have no idea what she went through with that bastard. He raped her after he beat and whipped her into unconsciousness, so she couldn’t fight back. He raped her mind as well, and you know what that was like, don’t you Aedus?” He was glaring at his brother. When he got no reaction, Liam stood up suddenly and spoke more heatedly as he glowered at both of them. “I hope that he’s being passed around and raped by every monster Isaiah can dig up, because he deserves that and much more."

Garrett and I were staring at our friend w
ith wide eyes and open mouths. Neither of us was surprised when Aedus and Lord Caelen slowly stood, towering over him and looking extremely irritated. As the three of them began to speak in Fae, their voices grew louder and angrier. It was obvious that Liam was being stubborn and apparently not agreeing with whatever they were saying.

Garrett sent to me,
“I can understand some of this…Caelen is saying that Liam is acting like a child and not thinking about the future of the race and also that Liam was disrespectful to you by using the language he used. Aedus is angry because he thinks Liam was disrespectful to their father and also because he thinks Liam might support us if we decide on the abortion. Whoa, Liam just cursed at his brother and Caelen is really getting angry now.

I saw Liam flinch twice as if his father had sent him a strong and pr
obably painful mental warning. He nodded curtly and then turned to me, a touch of gold in his lovely eyes.

“Jacqueline, I apologize for going on about Kennet. I know that those memories are not pleasant, and I apologize for my crude descrip
tion.” He glanced at his father. “However, I won’t turn my back on our friendship. I’ll support whatever decision you make regarding the child that you’re carrying. I hope that my father and my brother come to their senses soon.” I was amazed to see him continue to glare at them. “I’ll say goodnight for now, but I’ll be here at the regular time tomorrow morning. Please contact me right away if you need me for anything.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Liam.” Garrett grasped his shoulder and then he disappeared. We gazed once more at the other two powerful fae still in our kitchen.

Lord Caelen sighed sadly and then spoke. “Try to understand. We haven’t had a birth in our Sidhe in over seventy-five human years. We’ve just celebrated the wonderful news of Philladre and Aedus’ child and now this miracle occurs. If this child dies, it would represent a death to the future of our race, and you must understand that nothing is of more importance to the Fae. If the death is not an accident or a natural death, then many would see it as an act of war. My people have lived on this planet much longer than humans or most other supernaturals. The population of seelie fae in Cascade and at court would not take the death lightly. This would be a situation where I would not be able to protect you, even though I would personally argue on your behalf. Neither of you would be safe. Not anywhere.”

Aedus walked to me and crouched down so that his handsome face was only a few inches from mine. He spoke softly, but with great feeling. “Philladre and I would raise your son. Liam and Kellaine would also. It would be a great honor for us, and you know that we would love him as our own. Please, Jackie, don’t do anything without careful thought.”

I smiled wanly at them both. “I’m going to take everything you’ve said tonight very seriously and I promise that Garrett and I won’t make any rash decisions. Thank you for coming so quickly. I know that you’re trying to help me. Please don’t be angry with Liam.”

Aedus laughed. “We’re used to his outbursts. It’s the human side that connects to others so passionately. Sometimes I envy him. I wouldn’t change him even if I could.”

After they left, Garrett and I sat outside on the iron bench near the fountain, silently leaning against each other as the sun finally set behind the woods on what seemed like one of the longest days of my life. My hand kept moving to my belly of its own accord, as if I still needed to experience some kind of sign, not totally believing what the test had shown or what Caelen had told us. Sasha popped his head through the patio doors.

“We’ve all fed, Garrett. You said you wanted to know when we were back. I’m sorry if I interrupted.”

I smiled at Sasha, knowing full well that he could have just told Garrett mentally. He was checking up on me. “Did you hear earlier?” He nodded. “Did you tell the others?” He shook his head. “Ask William to make sure that I get at least ten minutes of that phone call tonight.”

“Of course, Mistress.”
This time I smiled in appreciation. Him calling me Mistress was his way of showing respect and I needed the boost right now. He stood for a few moments, unsure as to what else to say. “Is there anything that I can do for either of you?”

I looked at him, standing there trying to help and had an idea. “I’d like a training session. William can join us with Heinrich too. In an hour i
f that’s alright.” Physical exercise had always been my friend when it came to getting out my anger and frustrations and relieving my stress without actually hurting someone. I watched him glance at Garrett who must have sent him a mental message because he nodded and went to tell the others.

“He could have just told me mentally that they were back, but he’s worried about you.” He seemed amused. “You need to eat, my love. Why don’t you call Ethan while I make you something?” He stood, taking my hand and leading me back into the kitchen
.

“Garrett,
it’s important for me to go on normally. I’m pregnant but I still need to work out. And you didn’t just tell Sasha to take it easy on me, did you?”

He ran a gentle hand down my jaw line and grinned mischievously, tryin
g to get me to smile. "I won't attempt to forbid your participation under these conditions: You have to eat well, sleep at least seven hours and of course I have to be there too."

"Did you actually use the word 'forbid'? I laughed and shoved him away, but he grabbed me back again.

"It’s your choice. But I can't guarantee that I'll always be brimming with enthusiasm when you decide to train with my best fighter to relieve your anger.”

He clutched my hand in his, his expression growing very serious. “You know, my love, that if I had been with you when you got the call from Bridgett, I wouldn’t have let you go alone, I would have followed you, and Bridgett might have been tortured and killed by Kennet. We make the best decisions we can and then we have to live with the consequences.” He shook his head and shrugged. “I told Sasha that he should avoid belly
strikes, that’s all, I swear.”

He lifted his arms as if in surrender, so I grabbed his belt and pulled him closer to me, then wrapped my a
rms around his neck. "I was pregnant when I helped you wipe out Nathaniel's nest and also during the fiasco with the Los Altos Pack. Nothing should change now."

His mouth twisted into a half frown. “I'm very glad that I didn't know ab
out the pregnancy at the time.”

I looked at my extremely protective mate and nodded. "Me too."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The training went well. We had outdoor lighting which lit up the whole grassy backyard area like we were in some kind of an exhibition arena. I was becoming much more adept at using the long staff, actually able to block and strike against Heinrich who was almost a foot taller than me. Sasha brought out the short 3 foot long staffs and we worked with them for a while. The disadvantage was that you had to get much closer to your enemy, which gave them a lot of other ways to attack you. Heinrich was a freaking giant and had an arm span a third longer than mine, so it was better for me if I used the long staff against him. Still he disarmed me over and over, because he was just so much stronger. We weren’t using vamp speed and I wasn’t tapping into the magic. This was just training to learn the basics and to get some much needed exercise. William was holding his own against Sasha, although I guessed that Sash was taking it easy on him. You couldn’t learn anything if you were constantly on the ground with the end of the staff at your throat.

I watched Garrett observing us work out. He was smiling but I could tell that he was a little worried about me because he cringed whenever Heinrich attacked and he kept looking at my belly. Finally, I pretended to need a break and walked over to sit in the chair beside his. He smiled so sweetly, not letting o
n how concerned he’d been. Maybe he'd forgotten that I was able read his emotions perfectly.

“I can tell that you want to play too. Why don’t you and Sasha go at it? I’m done
for tonight.” Relief flashed in his eyes, then his lips curled up in an evil grin.

“Are you too worn out, Sash?”

“Never, to take you on, old man.”

“I’ll be back in a moment.” Garrett disappeared in a flash and then reappeared
in sweatpants and a tee shirt. I looked him over. No matter what he wore, he looked amazing. This was going to be fun to watch so I settled in with a cup of tea and a throw blanket that William thoughtfully provided. Heinrich pulled up chairs.

“I’ll put a hundred
on Sasha,” said Heinrich, laughing.

“Only a hundred
, Rick?” Sasha was watching his opponent warm up. “Not much of an endorsement.”

“We don’t get paid for another two days.” Heinrich shrugged.

“You must have some money saved, Rick.” I was teasing him, since I knew he loved to party it up at the supernatural bars he frequented, entertaining the ladies he fed from with the best liquor and food and often expensive gifts. He’d accumulated quite a stable because of his generous reputation and other male vampires knew enough to stay out of his way. They only had to take one look at his powerful body to see that this was a vampire who’d sent many to meet their final deaths under Eleanor's tutelage. Funnily enough, he was also addicted to EBay, where he bought classic vinyl albums to add to his collection of Heavy Metal, one of his passions.

“I’m not really the saving type.” He arched an eyebrow at Will who was already putting money into bonds and the stock market.

I nodded. "I’ll take that bet, Rick.” I grinned at him and he laughed again.

“The loyal mate backs her man. S
weet but not smart.” Heinrich shook his head, smirking.

“I’ll take the bet too,” said William. “I think that Garrett is smarter and so will out maneuver him.”

“And the brown-noser speaks up from the wings.” Heinrich slapped him on the back a little too hard, but William sucked it up and didn’t complain.

“Hey, I meant what I said. Garrett will win because he’s faster and smarter.”

“Thanks a lot, Will. After all I’ve done for you.” Sasha was chuckling.

“After all you’ve done
to
me, you mean.” A pained look passed between them as they remembered life under Eleanor’s rule.

Garrett had finished stretching and was ready to start. He pulled off his shirt, Sasha already had his off, and I grinned in appreciation.
Sinc should so be here
. They held the short staffs as they circled each other, sizing the other one up. Sasha was 2 or 3 inches taller, and he was broader and more muscular too. But Garrett was super fast, his cheetah genes helping out, and he was stronger than he looked. They’d agreed to use vamp speed but Garrett swore he wouldn’t pull up any magic.

I watched them both try to intimidate the othe
r, hissing and glaring as they moved gracefully around our grassy backyard. To be honest, they both looked pretty terrifying with their long fangs and their swirling silver eyes, but the atmosphere in the stands was relaxed and playful, none of us taking the encounter seriously.