Cherishing Destiny (A Dangerous Destiny) (24 page)

Mention of her kitchen, embarrassed Ryan, and he hoped she
wouldn’t make him repeat the impromptu mating session that occurred in there. 
He didn’t want to sleep with her, but he knew it was his duty and he would do
it if she asked him to. 

“I have a favor to ask you,” he said.

“I guess we better go inside then.”  She turned and walked
toward the back door to the kitchen.

Oh, no
, Ryan thought, but he
followed her anyway.  When they went inside, he saw that the kitchen seemed
much cozier without muddy plants everywhere.  She motioned for him to sit at
the table and she put a tea kettle on the wood stove that was stoked to a
steady blaze.  Her modern appliances were sitting useless like the fossils of
dinosaurs long gone.  She pulled out another chair and sat.  His stomach momentarily
seized when he saw her bending over and grasping the back of that chair in his
memory.  He decided right then that this needed to be done quickly, so he got
right to the point.

“Lily, I was wondering if you would be willing to take a
trip with me for a few days to examine a pregnant woman.” 

She didn’t say anything right away, and he fidgeted
uncomfortably in his chair.  Cautiously, she asked, “This is your baby?”

“No, it’s not my baby. The woman isn’t even a
Were
.”
Weres
couldn’t cross breed with humans the seed just wouldn’t take.  He
doubted that it would be any different with a Vampire, not that anyone could
guess what would or wouldn’t be normal for a Vampire pregnancy. 

“Is she close to delivering?”

“No, I’m guessing she’s about three months.”

“I’m not sure why I need to rush off for a few days to see
this mystery, pregnant woman who isn’t even showing yet.  Just make sure she
eats right and stays active.”

Ryan felt ill.  He didn’t know how to talk to this woman
who was supposed to be his mate.  He had no trouble talking to any other
women.  In fact, he was pretty good at it.  But Lily made him feel like an
inept jackass. Lily saw his pale face and his obvious distress.

“Does this woman have health concerns or are there
complications?”

“You could say that, for sure.  She’s actually dead.  Lily,
I just have to say it; she’s a Vampire.”

She didn’t answer right away.  “Very funny.  Vampires can’t
get pregnant.”

“Vampires didn’t use to be able to get pregnant, but the Solar
Storm changed all that.”

Lily was shaking her head. “The What?!”

“The day everything changed, the Solar Storm.”

“Oh.” She blinked a few times rapidly. “A pregnant
Vampire?”

“Yes.” Ryan looked at Lily anxiously.  He saw a grin slowly
spread across her face.

“When can we leave?” she said. 

Ryan forgot to be nervous and flashed his sexy Ryan smile
at her. “That depends on if you would like a horse.”

When Ryan explained to her how he came, she thought running
as a wolf through the woods sounded incredibly fun, and she packed a light bag
with one set of clothes and her medical bag with just a few things in it. 

Ryan picked up some more soap and candles to carry back
while she was packing, and when he got back to her place, she was standing
naked on the back porch, covering herself with her hands.  It took her a few
minutes to change all the way to wolf form.  She wasn’t nearly as practiced as
Ryan, and it was harder when the moon wasn’t out or full.  Ryan was patient,
and when she was a thick furred brown, gray and white wolf, he shifted and
showed her how to grip her bag in her teeth, and they set off.  Lily didn’t ask
to stop anywhere, she just left a note on the green house door for her new apprentice
to take care of things for a few days. 

Lily stumbled twice hitting her bag with her legs.  Ryan
stopped and put her few things in the pack with his and carried it all
himself.  She protested as well as she could in wolf form, but stopped worrying
about him when she struggled a little to keep up with him although he was
carrying all of their things.  Even without her bag, Lily had to stop to rest. 
She was not used to running for hours through the woods in wolf form, but she
was enjoying it.  She just needed to catch her breath and Ryan let her rest out
of the rain in the fishing lodge he found on his last trip.  It was dawn when
they arrived at the cabin.  This time Ryan let out a deep howl to let the women
know it was him.  The door flew open as he was shifting back to human.  It took
Lily a little longer, but as soon as she was human, Sara and Aurora swept her
into a warm blanket and dragged her inside to the fire. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Ryan said as he carried the pack
inside, naked and dripping. 

Lily was a respected healer in the pack, but she was always
busy and didn’t honestly have any close female friendships, so she was a little
overwhelmed by the attentions heaped on her by Sara and Aurora.  They were
drying her all over vigorously with soft towels.  They had no regard for her
personal space or private areas and her skin was soon pink and rosy all over
from their efforts.  Aurora wrapped her in a fresh blanket, and Sara was
brushing out her hair to dry in front of the fire.  Ryan was warming himself by
the fire, and he didn’t escape the attentions of the two women either.  They
dried him, brought him fresh clothes and warmed his hands with theirs, chaffing
them and blowing on them.  Lily watched, fascinated.  The three of them had no
sense of personal space at all.  They had no boundaries and were perfectly comfortable
with touch and nudity.  In a way, she was a little envious.  She thought that
maybe if things had started out differently between Ryan and her that it might
be she, comfortably enjoying his hugs and smiles right now.  Instead, she knew
how unhappy he had been in her kitchen earlier and besides, she was in love
with Stephan.  She knew it would be a long time before she slept with Ryan
again and she promised herself that next time she would at least make the
effort to be civil to him. 

“Let’s see how you are doing,” Lily said to Aurora when
they were dry and warm. It was Aurora’s turn to have Lily in her personal
space.  If it bothered her, she didn’t let it show. 

Sara sat next to Aurora and was holding her hand.  Ryan
hovered nearby. When Lily brought out the stethoscope and listened.  Aurora
caught Ryan preparing to shift so he could listen too.

“Don’t you dare,” she said pointing her finger at him.  He
stopped but looked anxious.

“The baby’s heartbeat is strong,” Lily pronounced.

“I know.” Aurora nodded smiling. “I can hear her.”

“Her?” Lily pulled her stethoscope off and looked at Aurora
questioningly.

“I’m sure of it,” Aurora answered.  Then, she leaned in
close. “I can hear yours too,” she said, tilting her head and listening.  “Only
there’s more than one.”

Lily was speechless.  She was aware that she was pregnant,
and wolves often had twins and triplets, but she hadn’t said anything to anyone
at all yet.  Aurora caught an odd look on Ryan’s face before he turned away
from them.  But she smelled him shift and knew he was listening, with his wolf hearing,
to the babies. 

Lily cleared her throat and brought the subject back to the
Vampire. “Aurora, I don’t know what to tell you about how this could happen,
but you are undeniably pregnant, and from what little I can tell, I would guess
that your gestation should be about the same as a human or a
Were
, and
you can look for your baby to be born in about six months.”

“Thank you, Lily,” Aurora said. “Please, stay with us as
long as you like before you have to go back.”

Ryan brought a rabbit to roast on the spit over the fire
that afternoon.  Aurora had been watching Lily and Ryan all day, but they
seemed to be strangers and didn’t speak much.  She was sure of the look she had
seen on Ryan’s face when she revealed Lily’s pregnancy.  If it wasn’t for the
awkward tension she could feel between them, she would doubt what she had seen. 
He obviously didn’t want to talk about it, so she let it drop and didn’t put
anyone on the spot. 

That night Lily built herself a comfortable bed of sleeping
bags near the fire.  Ryan also slept apart, and Aurora was sure there was
something odd between them after that.  Since the day, they had discovered that
she was pregnant, Ryan had taken to sleeping on the other side of Aurora, in
Alex’s place so that he could sleep with his hand on her belly. 

In the morning, Lily announced that she needed to get back. 
She kissed and hugged both women and Alex packed their things to escort her
back. 

“Would it be okay if we don’t travel the entire distance in
one day?” she asked.  “It was a little tiring for me.”

He looked at her belly and almost reached out to lay a hand
on it. “No problem,” he said drawing his hand back. “We can go as slow as you
need to.”

“Then, let’s go back to the Lodge and stay there for the
night,” she said.

Ryan said sure but knew he was going to want to scout the
area around the Lodge thoroughly on his way back.  He had been there too much
lately and was afraid of scent trails.

He lit a fire for Lily when they arrived in the afternoon. 
She stared at it for a long time saying nothing.  “You and Sara seem very
close,” she said casually.  No one had explained the relationships.

“She’s my sister,” he said. “Step-sister.  We were always
close.”

“Right, I think Kate told me that you didn’t come to the
pack until you were fifteen and changing.”  She, herself, was pack raised and
not close to her parents or siblings at all. “You seem pretty excited about
Aurora’s baby.”

“I couldn’t tell you why,” he said. “I really dig the idea
of helping to raise a child. I think maybe the past few years of temporary
living situations and solitary scouting has made me realize how much I miss
being part of a family, not a pack, but a real family.”  He looked at Lily in
the firelight she was prettier than she seemed when he first met her.  He
leaned over her and shifted just enough to put his ear on her belly and listen
to the babies heartbeats in her womb. 

Lily stiffened. “Wow, you people really have no
boundaries.”

Ryan sat up. “I’m sorry, but I just wanted to hear them. They
are my babies, right? From that day, in your kitchen?”

“Yes, I remember the kitchen.  But, Ryan, don’t get
attached to these babies.  They will be pack raised.  They don’t belong to us
any more than anyone else’s babies.”

“But, you will have them for a couple of years at least,
right?”

“I will nurse them and try not to get too attached to them,
and after they are weaned, I will give them to the pack.” Lily said
matter-of-factly. “I don’t think you should plan on seeing them other than
incidentally, and you won’t need to try to impregnate me again until after they
are weaned” 

“How romantic. I never thought about it like that,” he
said.

“I know it’s hard to understand when you weren’t pack
raised, but it’s better this way. Trust me.” 

Ryan curled up with his back to Lily and slept.  As he
drifted off, he was more determined than ever to make sure Aurora’s baby was
safe and loved.

He took Lily home the following day and went to see the L.T. 
He had put it off long enough. 

They sat in front of the fire, but Ryan refused the offer
of a drink this time.  He rubbed his sweating palms together as he told the L.T.
about Aurora’s pregnancy. 

“So, Lily thinks she has about six more months.
Interesting.  I think you should know that two days ago Tyler came in from a scout
and said that he heard about four other pregnant Vamps.  He didn’t see them,
but the source was reliable.”

“More Vampire babies?” Ryan asked.

“That’s the story, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough. 
If what you and Lily say is true, your vamp is probably the first one.”

“I better get back.”

“You be careful out there, I also heard that the Vampires
want to keep all these pregnant women together, and I’m not sure for whose
safety they are concerned.”

“Right.  I will be back when Alex returns.”  Ryan left,
returning to the cabin, with a lot on his mind. 

The next day the snow started falling in earnest.  Ryan
decided to risk one more trip to the settlement to leave the horses at a stable
for the winter.  He was getting them bridled and ready to go, when a gigantic
gray wolf bounded out of the trees, spooking the horses and making them scream. 
Ryan changed and was right in front of the other wolf when he caught sight of
Sara and Aurora coming around the corner of the cabin with bows at the ready. 
He pounced on the gray wolf, covering him with his own enormous black body. 
The wolf under him became a naked squirming Stephan.

“It’s me, Stephan! Get off me!” he shoved at the black fur.

Ryan shifted back and rolled off the other man. “I know who
it is.  I just didn’t want my sister to shoot you,” he said with his enormous
smile.

Stephan looked over Ryan’s shoulder and saw two women
pointing bows. “Oh, thanks then.” He said.  Ryan laughed as he stood and pulled
Stephan to his feet.