Claiming Shayla (6 page)

* * * *

The wedding ceremony passed in a stomach-churning blur. Despite his promise, Rory kept making eyes at her whenever their gazes connected. She tried not to look at him, but he was in her line of vision and did everything he could to make sure she saw him. In addition she could feel her mother’s stare like an itch between her shoulder blades.

Her shoes pinched—she’d lost the battle over her boots—making her feet hurt. Just her rotten luck that she and her mother wore almost the same size and she’d had an extra pair of pumps in the car. There wasn’t enough time to drive to Kiesha’s and pick up the shoes matching her dress, so Shay wobbled down the aisle on three-inch stilettos, praying she wouldn’t fall and embarrass herself. Simply making it to the altar was a challenge. Flowers in one hand, dress in the other to prevent tripping over the hem, she kept her head lowered, watching the placement of her feet in the carpet in the candlelit church while valiantly ignoring her mother’s whispered hisses of, “Lift your head up, Shayla. Stop looking down.”

Despite her misery, she couldn’t help but smile when Alex bent Kiesha back over his arm for the kiss after they were pronounced man and wife.

The end was in sight. Alex escorted his new bride out of the church, the photographer snapping pictures the whole way. Then went Mary Elizabeth and her mate, a bear-shifter named Hugh. Shannon and some guy she didn’t know were next. Shay wondered where the vampire was. Still home in his casket? The sun was setting outside, so he should be rising soon.

Rory held out his arm, and she laid her hand on the sleeve, leaning a bit heavier than she wanted as she gathered her dress in the same hand that was holding her bouquet. He leaned close to her ear. “You okay?”

“Damn shoes are killing my feet,” she complained. She caught her mother giving them an appraising look out the corner of her eye and abruptly pulled away. Shay would have tipped over if Rory hadn’t caught her. “She’s watching,” she muttered out the side of her mouth.

“Who?”

“My mother. She’s matchmaking.”

He grinned. “With me?”

“It’s not funny,” she hissed. “Your sister and my cousin put her up to it. They were singing your praises. It was enough to make me sick.”

“Look at it this way. She won’t be upset when she finds out about me and the babe,” Rory stated.

She didn’t remember the aisle being this damn long. If she didn’t get out of these shoes soon, she was going to hurt someone. Finally they reached the exit and joined the rest of the wedding party in the reception line. Shay immediately stepped out of her heels.

She was bent over, rubbing the toes of her left foot, when her mother’s commanding voice rang out as she passed. “Shay, straighten up and put those shoes back on your feet.”

A growl slipped out as Shay glared at her mother’s retreating back.

“I heard that,” her mother called over her shoulder.

She muttered some very succinct curse words under her breath as she stuffed her abused feet back into the torture devices masquerading as shoes.

“You don’t have to put them on if they hurt,” Rory stated.

“Yeah, I do. I wouldn’t put it past her to come and check.” As much as Shay loved her mother, a little bit of her presence went a long way. Now she remembered why they hadn’t seen each other in a year.

As soon as the last person cleared the line, Kiyona went into drill sergeant mode. “You there, clear the area. It’s time for pictures.”

Rory whistled under his breath. “Your mother’s something else.”

“Right now I wish she were
somewhere
else.”

Kiyona got a few startled glances, but everyone obediently moved off the steps. Then came the poses. The bride and groom. The groom with his parents. The couple with his parents. The couple with Shay’s mother and father. The bride with her bridesmaids. The groom with the groomsmen. It went on and on, in every combination possible.

“All right, everybody back in the church,” Kiyona ordered.

They trooped back inside, the beleaguered photographer having lost control long ago, if he ever had it. Everything was repeated. Shayla knew she’d be seeing cameras flash in her nightmares.

“Shayla, the man said smile! That is not a smile.”

Shay told Shannon through clenched teeth, “I’ll kill her. You eat her. No body, no evidence.”

“But lots of witnesses,” Shannon reminded her.

“They won’t tell. Hell, they might even help.”

Just when she was tempted to make good on her threat, her father came to the rescue. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m sure the kids are tired and hungry and so am I. They’ve been at it an hour. The guests are waiting.”

Thanks, Dad
, she mouthed.

He winked in return.

Everyone, including the photographer, heaved a sigh of relief as he led her mother off. Shayla promptly came out of her heels, and she noticed Mary Elizabeth and Kiesha doing the same.

“Don’t your feet hurt?” she asked Shannon.

Shannon held up the hem of her dress, revealing the dainty, slipperlike flats she wore.

“Bitch,” Shayla groused.

“And proud of it,” Shannon responded.

“You know, agreeing with me just takes all the fun out of insulting you,” she complained. Right then her stomach growled loudly.

Rory was suddenly by her side. He put a hand under her elbow. “Come on, let’s go get you fed.”

“Wait, let me grab my shoes,” she protested as he tugged, pulling her along behind him.

Rory went back and scooped them up. “You riding?” he asked his sister.

The reception was being held at a nearby community center. “I drove,” Shannon answered.

“We’ll see you there.” He rushed Shay out of the church.

At the top of the stairs, Shay pulled on his arm. “Stop. Give me my shoes. I’m not walking on that with bare feet.”
That
was the pebbled driveway leading to the front of the church.

He didn’t even pause. Rory swung her into his arms and kept walking.

“Put me down. My parents…”

“Will just have to deal.”

Shay subsided. It’s not like she wanted to walk anyway, not with the way her toes were throbbing.

“I can’t believe you wore those things,” he continued angrily.

“My mother made me.”

He glanced down at her in surprise. “Do you always do what she tells you?”

“No, but I didn’t figure Kiesha’s wedding was the time to get into it with her.”

He grunted in reply. His ground-eating stride rapidly ate up the distance to the truck. Rory opened the passenger door and set her on the seat. Before she could slide around, he reached down and massaged the toes and arch of her left foot. Shay fell back onto her elbows as a moan of pure pleasure left her lips. “God, that feels good.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have on stockings or something with those shoes?”

“I didn’t have any. I was supposed to be wearing my boots. The heels wouldn’t fit with the socks I had on,” she stated wryly.

He switched feet, and Shay let her head relax back, staring up at the ceiling. Now that her appendages didn’t hurt so much, she realized she was getting nauseated. Her mouth filled with saliva, and she swallowed repeatedly.

“What’s wrong?”

It continually amazed her how attuned Rory was to her every nuance. “Stomach.”

His gaze sharpened. “It pains you?”

She shook her head. “Sick.”

“The babe needs to eat. Bend your knees.” She curled so that both feet rested on the seat, and felt Rory arranging the skirt of her dress around her. “Don’t move,” he ordered before closing the door.

She didn’t intend to. With the bile churning, it felt like the slightest movement on her part would upset the delicate balance and she’d hurl. He came around and slid into the driver’s seat, lifting her head so that it rested in his lap. After starting the engine and backing out of the parking space, he laid his hand on her stomach and gently massaged the tense muscles.

“Damn town doesn’t have a fast-food joint,” he complained.

Shay placed her hand on his, entwining their fingers. “It shouldn’t take long to get to the reception, and then I can eat. Kiesha’s not going to prolong things. Alex will ensure it since she’s pregnant too.”

She closed her eyes and did her best to relax in the few minutes she had before they arrived. Shay must have been more tired than she realized, because the next thing she knew, Rory was lightly shaking her shoulder. “Shay, wake up. They’re lining up to go inside.”

She cautiously rolled to a sitting position and ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing the curls into place behind her ear. She’d wanted to add ruby-colored streaks to match her dress. Yet another thing her mother had vetoed.

The door opened, and Rory reached in to lift her out. When she was stable on her feet—once more in the damnable heels—he placed his hands on the sides of her neck and used his thumbs to raise her chin. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t feel up to it. I can take you straight to the table and fix you a plate. Alex will understand.”

Alex would, but her parents wouldn’t. Such action would cause more trouble for her than it was worth. “I’m fine. The nap and the foot rub helped.” She glanced over his shoulder. “They’re waiting.”

Chapter Four

Rory led her across the parking lot—asphalt this time, fortunately—and they took their position. Both sets of parents were escorted inside, then Shannon and her partner, followed by Shayla and Rory, with Mary Elizabeth and Hugh bringing up the rear.

Mary Elizabeth and Hugh, as maid of honor and best man respectively, sat at the high table with Alex’s and her parents. Shannon, the guy with her—what
was
his name?—Rory, and Shayla sat at a reserved table to the side. They remained standing and clapped as Alex and Kiesha walked in. Her cousin was beaming. Marriage looked good on her.

As soon as everyone was seated, Rory stepped away from the table. Shay caught him by the arm. “Where are you going?”

“To get you some food.”

“The bride’s table is supposed to eat first.”

He shook her loose. “Screw that. Your health and the well-being of our child are more important than protocol.”

Realizing he was prepared to make a scene, Shay let him go. Maybe he could slip over to the buffet table and back with none the wiser. She turned to Shannon and asked, “Where’s Nik? Shouldn’t he be out his coffin by now?”

“He’s on the way.”

“I’m surprised he wasn’t with you at the ceremony. The whole sunlight thing got him, huh?”

Shannon laughed. “Sunlight doesn’t hurt him, just makes him sluggish. He stayed away because he knows he makes a lot of the shifters uncomfortable.”

“How are they adjusting to you mating a vamp?” Shay was curious. There had been some problems in the beginning because so many people were against it.

“The people that matter are for it. Everyone else…” She shrugged.

“I hear you.”

Shayla played with the silverware, wishing Rory would hurry. She was starving, and the smell of all that meat was making her salivate, in a good way this time. The MC—an older black lady Shay had never met—was droning on in the background, announcing the order of events. Just as she released the wedding party to go fix their plates, Rory returned to the table with hers.

It was piled high. There were meatballs, chicken wings, riblets, some type of pastry that looked like it contained meat, seafood salad, and more. Shayla picked up her fork and calmly jabbed it into a meatball before bringing it to her mouth. She forced herself to eat slowly, knowing her mother was watching.

For a species that felt marriage was unnecessary, these shifters certainly knew how to plan a reception. The food was delicious, the decorations exquisite. Through closed double glass doors she could see a pool. Floating in it were flowered wreaths with tea-light candles lit in the center. Spaced evenly around the perimeter were torches, the kind that repelled flying insects.

The inside was decorated just as nicely. There was a stage on which a live band played. To the left a long table contained a mountain of wedding gifts. The table to the right held a huge three-tiered wedding cake adorned with pink rosettes. The center was open, forming a floor for dancing.

There must be over a hundred guests present, seated in groupings of eight at round tables. Each table had a floral centerpiece made of some flower Shay didn’t know the name of but could see was very pretty and delicate. The jewel tones of their bridesmaid’s dresses were repeated throughout the room. Coupled with the soft lighting and artificial candlelight, it gave the room a romantic feel.

Nikolai arrived while the guests were being served. The guy with Shannon quickly decamped, leaving the vampire his seat. Watching the two of them together, she could clearly see how in love they were. She wondered if she and Rory would ever look like that; then she snorted. Not bloody likely. Shannon and Nikolai were too sappy for words. She looked around the room. All the mated couples were, including Kiesha and Alex, and Mary Elizabeth and Hugh. It was enough to make a girl gag.

Shay leaned back in her chair and let the conversation wash over her. Now that her stomach was full, the nausea was gone and sleepiness had returned. Rory reached down, lifted her legs into his lap, and rubbed her calves. The tablecloth hid what he was doing, but at this point she really didn’t care if her parents saw.

She propped her arm on the table, rested her cheek on her fist, and semidozed through both the maid of honor and best man’s toasts, the cutting of the cake, and the tossing of the bridal bouquet and garter belt. Shay roused when Rory lowered her legs and stood. “Time to do our duty.”

Shay reluctantly slid her shoes back on her feet and allowed Rory to lead her to the dance floor, where Kiesha and Alex along with both sets of parents were already dancing. They danced quietly through the rest of the set. Then came the rounds of switching partners, until each of the wedding party had danced with everyone else. By this time some of the older guests had left, Alex’s parents among them.

Shay’s parents approached. “Baby girl, your mother and I are getting ready to leave. We’re hitting the road tonight. Our flight leaves in the morning, early. I wish we could stay longer, but I’ve got an important meeting I have to attend and your mother needs to prepare for the next semester.”

“Okay, Daddy. Call me when you get in so I don’t worry.”

Shay’s mother pulled her to the side. “Shannon’s brother…
very
nice. He’s interested too. It shows. You better snap him up.”

“Moooom.”

“You do what I tell you,” she scolded.

“I don’t think so.” Shayla had to protest. If she agreed, her mother would be suspicious.

“Rory!”

“Mom, don’t,” Shay protested as her mother motioned for him to come over.

“Ma’am?” The glance he slid Shayla was questioning.

“You take good care of my girl while she’s working for you. Introduce her to some nice men. A girl like my Shay-Nei has a lot to offer, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll see to it,” he responded in his most solicitous voice. Shayla narrowed her eyes at him.

“Come on, Kiyona, let’s go. We have a long drive ahead of us,” her father said.

“Take care. Don’t forget to call,” Shay admonished as hugs were exchanged.

“We won’t. Bye,” her dad said. Her mom nodded her head in Rory’s direction, smiling meaningfully, before her dad grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.

“Bye,” she echoed as they left.

As the underage and the elderly left and only the in-between remained, the atmosphere changed. Ties and jackets came off, and abandoned heels littered the floor, partially hidden beneath the trailing edges of tablecloths. A bar was set up in the corner, and the doors to the pool area were thrown open, letting in the cool night air. The bright lights were turned on, and some industrious males began taking down the unnecessary tables, increasing the dancing area.

Shayla looked around avidly, sleep forgotten. These people really knew how to party. The band switched from the easygoing, laid-back tunes they were playing to hard rock. The singles among them joined up into couples or, in some cases, threesomes. From the amount of sexual tension in the air, quite a few of them would be getting lucky.

With both sets of parents gone, there was room at the main table for the rest of the wedding party, so they gathered their things and joined Kiesha and Alex at the head table. She was calling it a table, but it was really three in a U formation, with Alex and Kiesha at the top. Shayla sank into the seat next to her cousin, and Rory, never far away, settled on her right.

“I am never getting married,” she told Kiesha. “That woman is insane. I don’t know how you stood it.”

Kiesha looked to where Shay and Rory’s hands were linked on the table. Now that her parents were gone, the man was indulging in his need to stake a claim, especially with all the horny wolves on the prowl. Not that they were a concern. One glance followed by a sniff and they stayed away. Maybe there really was something to this marking business. “What about Rory?”

“We’ll live in sin. It’ll give her something to pray about. Hell, she’s getting a grandchild out of the deal. That ought to be enough.” Shay rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension.

“You know your dad won’t go for that. He’ll come after Rory with a shotgun,” Kiesha stated with a laugh.

Rory stirred. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

Shay rolled her eyes at him. “You’re a werewolf. Suck it up. It’s not like a bullet will kill you unless he uses silver.”

She could feel all of them gazing at her in stunned dismay.

“Shay, we really have to do something about your preconceptions,” Alex said.

“Yeah. For one, Nikolai does not sleep in a coffin and sunlight won’t kill him,” Shannon stated.

“She thought that?” Nikolai asked.

“Yes, she asked if that’s why you weren’t at the wedding,” Shannon responded.

“And while we heal superfast, enough bullets in the right body part will kill us just as much as anyone else,” Rory added.

“Really? Man, I didn’t know that, but…you guys do turn hairy during a full moon, right? And Nik, being the undead evil and all, doesn’t being on holy ground bother you?” Shay asked, a bewildered expression on her face.

There were groans from the shifters at the table and what sounded like a snarl from Nikolai.

“No, Shay. Where are you getting this stuff from?” Alex asked.

“I researched vamps and shifters online, where else?”

They all started talking at once, only to quiet when Mary Elizabeth burst out laughing and Kiesha joined her, almost falling out of her chair.

“You shouldn’t laugh at her, Mary Elizabeth. She doesn’t know,” Hugh scolded.

“She’s not laughing at Shayla,” Kiesha denied. “She’s—we’re—laughing at you. You guys are so gullible. Shay, stop messing with them.”

Shay gazed blandly at each person in the group. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Alex’s suspicion showed on his face. Hugh looked confused. Shannon’s expression showed she realized she’d been had. Nikolai was hard to read, but Rory? His eyes were narrowed.

“Shay’s a genius. She probably knows more about your species than you do yourselves,” Mary Elizabeth said while wiping tears from her eyes.

“My area of expertise is computers,” she loftily informed them.

“Yes but Auntie Yona’s is genetics, and she taught you all she knows. Don’t tell me you haven’t done DNA testing on Alex. You can probably tell us what this child I’m carrying will look like and which characteristics of ours it will have,” Kiesha finished with a chuckle.

As the grumbling rose from the paranormals sitting there, she decided retreat might be in order. “Traitor,” she grumbled at her cousin as she rose from her seat.

Rory tightened his grip on her fingers. “Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.” Her look dared him to make something out of it.

He released her as Kiesha said, “I’ll join you. My bladder’s about to burst.”

“Count me in,” Mary Elizabeth added. “You coming?” she asked Shannon.

“Might as well.”

As they walked off, she heard Alex telling Rory, “I don’t envy you, my friend. She’s going to turn your pack upside down.”

“They could use a good shaking up,” was his response.

As they crowded into the restroom, Shay realized she really did have to go. While she stood washing her hands at the sink, Shannon said, “I can’t believe I fell for that. After all the questions you asked me about shifters and vamps when you were here the last time, I should have known you knew better.”

“It’s that expression she gets on her face,” Kiesha said. “You know, the ‘I really don’t know, please educate me’ look? She does it so well.”

“Shay plays stupid better than anyone I know,” Mary Elizabeth informed them.

Shay shrugged. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”

“Well make sure you use that ‘gift’ of yours when you meet Rory’s pack. Let ’em underestimate you,” Shannon said.

“I thought you told me they respected intelligence and strength,” Shay asked, confused for real this time.

“They do, but they also admire cunning. If you go in there acting clueless, you’ll discover faster who’s on your side. They’ll relax their guard if they think you aren’t a threat,” Shannon concluded.

“You make it sound like she’s going into battle,” Kiesha said, looking worried.

“She is. The Sparrowhawks aren’t like the Ravens. If she comes on too strong, Shay’s going to be challenged for her alpha-fem position, true mate or not. But if she plays dumb, they’ll understand Rory protecting the ‘puny human.’ Shay will have a chance to learn who her enemies are, and she’ll have some, believe it.”

“That’s terrible,” Mary Elizabeth said.

“What’s worse is that as alpha, Rory’s slept with over half the females of the pack at one time or another. Many of them are still hoping he’ll choose them to be his mate. They aren’t going to be happy to see Shay, and they’re sure to try to discredit her and make her life miserable if they possibly can.”

“Well, hell, Shannon. You couldn’t have mentioned all this earlier when you were convincing me to give Rory a chance?” Shay asked.

Shannon gave her a lopsided grin. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“Anything else I need to know?”