Christmas Moon (12 page)

Chapter Seven

Delilah sat on the porch, cradling a cup of hot chocolate between her hands, and laughed at the birds’ antics. She didn’t know what they were. Hawks, eagles, some kind of birds of prey at least. The were big and majestic and putting on an aerial show for her, chasing each other, swooping high in the air and low enough to the ground to drag the edge of one wing through the snow. It had begun a game with them to see which could fling the most amount of the wet white stuff in his wake against his pursuer.

Definitely not typical bird behavior. She’d felt drawn outside, and they’d been waiting for her. As she watched them and relaxed, she became aware of the others animals in the area. Skittering along tree branches, hunched down under trees and bushes. It didn’t take long to realize they were drawn to her. Had that always been true and she just hadn’t noticed? Or was it a new manifestation of her talent brought out by this place or her forming connection with the twins? Or maybe it was her reluctant acceptance that it was just a cool talent to have and her new willingness to embrace it and not consider herself a freak in the process.

Suddenly silence fell, and the birds disappeared into the treetops. The chattering squirrels warned her someone approached down the path from the big house. Her heart leapt, and she waited to see Cain or Abel come around the bend. She didn’t know how late she’d slept and had been surprised to wake up alone. She also couldn’t believe how badly she wanted to see them. Was that the bond speaking or something else?

She concealed her surprise when the figure came into view. Not her twins. Not anyone she knew. But he had that combined animal-human vibe she’d started to identify as werewolf, and he’d presumably come from the big house. He walked into the yard and over to the porch. She repressed a shiver when he smiled at her. There was something about him that made her instincts scream, but she’d had that feeling around the other werewolves yesterday morning. It was probably nothing.

“You must be Delilah.”

He was on the porch in two big leaps. Her stomach knotted. Or maybe that feeling was something after all. She tried to remember what she’d heard about the rogue as she set her cup on the porch rail and stood. She wanted to go inside and bar the door behind her, but he blocked it, grinning. The birds called to her, and she realized the forest may have gone quiet, but none of the wildlife had left. They urged her to flee, to get away from the stranger. Told her they’d help her escape.

The kitchen door had been locked when she came outside, and she bet the twins had locked all the other doors, too. The house was not an option. The birds were flying again, circling high over the yard. They implored her to run, demanded she get off the porch where they couldn’t help her. They wanted the stranger in the yard where he’d be at the mercy of their talons and sharp beaks. She wasn’t sure how much damage they could really do to a werewolf, but maybe they would buy her enough time to get to Jackson’s or for Abel or Cain to get to her.

She gritted her teeth. She should have reached for them right away, but it hadn’t occurred to her. She tried now, wondering if their connection worked over so much distance. She immediately felt Abel, his warmth surrounding her, him filling her, and his alarm at the situation. She sensed him moving, running through the house stripping his clothes off as he did. Her relief was swift but short lived as she saw the man gather himself, his muscles bunched in preparation. She didn’t wait to see what he’d do. With a quick warning flung to the birds, she jumped off the porch and took off into the woods. She realized her mistake right away; she should have gone for the winding path to meet Abel.

Behind her, the yard filled with screaming; the outraged calls of the birds, and the man’s reaction to their attack. She wanted to know how they were doing but didn’t dare slow enough to look back. The animals sent her images as she ran. The man turning, snarling back at the birds, and taking off after her. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she forced herself to run faster over the unfamiliar terrain, tried to reach Abel and show him where she was. She felt Cain through the connection, too, and knew he was also running through the woods to her.

Someone directed her to a deer path. She had no idea if it was Cain or Abel or one of the smaller animals following her, but when she saw it, she swung onto it. It was an easier run, flattened by years of use, but narrow. There was another vision, and she knew there were boulders up ahead. Huge rocks with cracks and crevices in them, places big enough to hide a small woman. She realized then the vision was from one of the animals. Instinct told her Cain and Abel wouldn’t lead her to a place like that. Anywhere she could hide, the wolf could follow. And even if she managed a way, he could sniff her out.

Too late. She saw the rocky area ahead and was forced to slow her run over the new terrain. The wolf slowed as well, and the birds renewed their attack. She breathed easier when Cain entered her mind. He was close, and he wanted her to climb the boulders to buy another few seconds.

She heard them before she saw them. Not just Cain and Abel, but many wolves moving through the forest. The one under attack either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He still growled at the birds, snapping his teeth and swiping at them with vicious claws. Two white wolves barreled into the small clearing, and the birds swung out of the way, finding perches in the trees and scattered around her on the rocks. She moved over so one could land next to her. He was injured and lifted his wing so she could see the long scrape on its underside. She crooned softly to him, thanking him for coming to her aid, while the two white wolves on the ground circled the big black wolf that had chased her through the woods.

The arrival of others barely registered. Her gaze was riveted on the twins as they attacked. It was short and brutal. Cain and Abel gave no quarter, and within seconds the black wolf lay on the ground between them, chest still, neck snapped. She’d heard the crunch as one of them bit down and hoped the sound didn’t haunt her nights for years to come.

Someone she didn’t know emerged from the woods, opening a bag and tossing jeans at wolves around the clearing. She held Cain’s gaze as he shifted and pulled on the offering. When she judged it safe, she looked around. Anything was better than the anger and reprimand she saw in his eyes. Everyone in the damn house must have followed them. Jackson, Billy, Trey, Darius, Eric. Several others she either didn’t know or couldn’t name. Most of them left now that the danger had passed.

“You were told not to leave the house.” Cain. She turned back to look at him. God, he was good and pissed. He held a hand out. “Come down, Delilah.”

She bit her bottom lip. “It might be safer up here.”

There were several muffled laughs, and she glared around the crowd. A big black bird cawed at her, asking if they should attack this man, too. She grinned at it, shook her head no, and started to make her way down. At the bottom, she turned, waiting while the injured bird hopped down, then scooped him up into her arms. There had to be a vet somewhere close. She turned and saw several shocked expressions.

“He helped me. I’m not leaving him out here.”

Cain and Abel approached cautiously, eyeing the big bird she cradled against her chest.

“Careful, baby. His claws can do a lot of damage.”

She looked at the dead wolf, at the gouges that raked its sides and head. “Yeah. Handy to have around, isn’t he?”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed, and he looked around the clearing. Several animals shrank under his predatory gaze, but they didn’t flee. There was wonder in his voice and respect in his eyes when he met her gaze. “They all helped you. The animals.”

“They did,” she answered, smiling when the last pieces fell into place. “They led me here. I thought that was a mistake when they did, but I don’t have the bird’s eye view. They knew we’d meet in the middle here.”

The black bird cawed again, a reminder.

“The doctor. Um. Vet. Whatever.”

Cain shrugged and jerked his head toward the bird in her arms. “Sure, but will he let one of us carry him?”

The bird’s reluctance was clear in her mind, and she shook her head. He’d paid for his help, and she wouldn’t upset him further by letting her mates insist.

Cain bristled, and Abel sighed. “We’d really prefer it if one of us carry the bird, Delilah.”

She frowned. What the hell? They didn’t have time for this. She just stepped around them, ready to go on her own. Cain caught her arm.

“You’re pregnant. We’d rather you not be that close to those talons. Explain it to him.”

She stared at him, unable to voice her shock. “I’m not pregnant.” But she had the strangest sensation he was right.

“You are,” Abel insisted. “Probably anyone here can confirm it.”

She should be angry. She was a little and glared the twins. “That’s just not right. No one should know I’m pregnant before me.”

But she couldn’t keep the anger up while excitement and anticipation rose. She’d wished for a family. Looked like got one. She communicated with the bird, tried to show that she was pregnant and that was why they wanted to carry him. Finally, she made herself clear, and it agreed. The transfer was made from her arms into Cain’s, and they started the long walk to the vet’s office in the village.

* * * * *

Her heart felt lighter than she ever remembered. Not even the events of the last few hours or Cain’s lecture about going outside—hadn’t happened, yet, but she knew it was coming—darkened her spirits.

The bird, which the twins christened Hawk even though it turned out he was an eagle, was cleaned up and ensconced in the clinic. That had taken all her powers of persuasion, both human and animal. The doctor wanted him in a cage, and he absolutely refused to be penned in. She didn’t blame him. In the end, the vet agreed he could stay loose inside the clinic for a few days while he healed, and Hawk agreed not to attack any people or feed on the local inhabitants, namely the clinics pet cats that had free roam of the building. She’d left him perched on a filing cabinet, he and the cats having reached an uneasy kind of truce.

She sighed her relief when they walked through the door of the house. Cain nudged her toward the couch, and she gratefully sank into it while Abel checked his voicemail. She raised an eyebrow when she saw a tree propped against one corner of the room.

Abel shut his phone. “Mom called. They’ll be here in about an hour, and they’re bringing dinner. We need to get things set up here.”

She stood. Damn it, she was just starting to relax. “What things?”

“Not you, baby. You’re gonna plant your sweet ass on that sofa and not move.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Is that right?”

“That’s right, sweetheart.” Cain cocked an eyebrow when she didn’t sit back down, his eyes promising retribution if she didn’t follow his order.

“Ya know,” she said, imitating their Southern drawls. “I think y’all need to reevaluate how you feel about this relationship.”

They crossed their arms over their chests at the same time. She bit back her grin.

“At least you’re acknowledging there is one,” Cain said.

She shrugged. “That depends on whether you want a mate or a possession. A partner or a dependent. You know, that doesn’t really work for me.”

And she’d fight them both every step of the way if that’s what they tried to make her. Smiling now, she looked around the room, opening her mind to them and letting them see what she wanted. A home. A family of her own. Her palm settled over her stomach. The sex was great, phenomenal, but that was the last reason she was staying. Well, maybe not the
last
.

Abel’s reaction was immediate. Love. Acceptance. Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked at Cain. Waiting, wondering.

“I think we’re both going to have to learn to compromise.”

She nodded, hiding her disappointment. She was pretty sure he loved her, but he wasn’t going to admit it. Abel sent him a disapproving glare, but she shrugged it off and straightened her back. “So, what things?”

“You’re moving rooms, and one of us will have to go up into the attic and find the Christmas stuff.”

“Okay. I can handle moving my stuff.”

“Good. I’ll go to the attic.” Abel hurried from the room, and she was surprised Cain didn’t follow him.

He was silent, brooding, and when he didn’t speak after several seconds, she walked around him. She had no idea what was going on in his head and grumbled her exasperation. The hell with him then. She made it to the stairs, her foot on the bottom rung, before he caught her, whirling her around and tucking her face against his shoulder.

His voice was gruff, and his mind opened to her slowly. “I’m bossy, and I’m a predator.” She realized then he’d been the one who’d killed the black wolf. “But don’t ever think what’s between us is only about sex, Delilah. I’m going to order you around, especially in bed.”

Her pussy clenched at the promise.