The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx (18 page)

release Elder Mercier.

Finally, both sides had what they’d tentatively come here for. Or

did they? There was still the matter of the imminent war between

magical creatures and shifters, well, imminent if they didn’t do

something about it. Even if the king and the Cunninghams were

willing to forgive and forget, which was unlikely, there were far too many people involved at this point for it to work. Elder Mercier had gone to the trouble of placing an intricate spell on Layton to draw the anger of the shifters. This would not go away simply because they

willed it to.

On cue, the king grinned at them. “Now, I have come up with a

solution for all of our problems. In order to ensure no war will break out, we need a political marriage.”

“A political marriage.” Byron frowned, having obviously not

heard this before. “Between who?”

Preston was starting to get a bad feeling. The Sidhe’s ice-blue

eyes fixed on him and his mate. “Young Layton is pregnant, is he not?

I believe he or she would make a fine consort for me.”

Preston’s beast ripped out of him, demanding blood just for the

audacity of the king. Did Sterling really think they would surrender the future of their unborn child just like that? Preston could still remember the way Elder Mercier had treated his mother as if she were some prized pet. They still hadn’t figured out if Bella had been under a spell or not, but the humiliations she had withstood were clear, and she didn’t even understand her position.

He took a step forward, ready to put the king in his place, but

Layton placed a hand on his wrist, keeping him from attacking. “No,”

Layton said coolly. “And the mere suggestion is an insult.”

Sterling arched a brow. “You should be flattered by my interest.”

“Well, we’re not,” Preston replied. “If that was what you wanted,

you should have just not wasted our time and yours.”

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The blatant refusal drew a dark scowl out of the Sidhe king. “You

should reconsider, Mr. Cunningham. There are few things in life as

risky as refusing one such as myself.”

He turned toward Byron and Skylar. “My friends, I’m sure you

must see how right I am.”

“No child of mine will ever have to be separated from their loved

ones,” Byron said, his voice like ice. Power flowed off him, and there was no mistake that right there and then, a war sounded great to the shark. “I will see you dead before I have you touch my grandchild.”

The situation might have escalated and a battle might have begun

on the spot, but suddenly, Sterling got a strange expression on his

face. It was a look of smug satisfaction, as if he knew something they did not.

Chuckling, the Sidhe nodded. “Very well, Mr. Cunningham. But

there will come a time when you will take your words back.”

And just like that, the Sidhe slowly backed away from Preston and

his companions and disappeared into the vegetation. Winter was the

only one of them who remained there, and while he looked

uncomfortable, he didn’t move, nor did he make any attempt to follow after his kind. For his part, Preston was too busy getting over his

anger and his need to hunt down the damn Sidhe and rip him to

pieces. Sterling’s enigmatic comments didn’t help, either.

In the end, just standing there didn’t help, and Byron decreed they

should go back to the pack house. “I’m proud of you,” he told Morgan and Layton as they started to walk away. “I don’t know what that

damn Sidhe is planning, but whatever it is, we can handle it.”

The glee that passed through Layton at those words invaded

Preston with warmth. The bitter taste of the anger began to fade, and he squeezed Layton’s hand. He might not have been able to hunt

down the people who’d kept him separated from Layton, but for the

moment, he was content in the knowledge that they were together,

and no spell could break them apart.

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Epilogue

One year later

“Fucking hell,” Layton shouted as another cramp struck him.

“God, Preston, I hate you. You’re never touching me again.”

Preston wiped his mate’s sweaty brow and murmured

reassurances. “I love you too, baby. Now come on. Relax. Just

breathe.”

More cursing and profanities followed, and Preston’s concern

grew. He hadn’t thought the birth would be so hard on Layton. The

plan had been for Layton to be knocked out with anesthetic and wake

up once everything was in order. But something had gone wrong. The

birthing seam all seahorses had didn’t open correctly, and in spite of the use of local painkillers, he was still in a lot of pain.

The only option that seemed to exist was using surgery to force

the seam open, but the doctors were reluctant to do so since it could bring dangerous complications. In the circumstances, Preston was

quickly growing desperate. In the end, there was no other choice. Just as the doctor readied himself to attempt the use of the anesthetic on Layton again, Preston focused on his connection with Layton and did

his best to feed positive energies into Layton. It was something Alexis had taught him. Even if he and Layton weren’t incubi, emotions were

extremely powerful and could make a great difference.

Layton released a brief whimper, but his body started to relax. At

last, his seam opened normally. The doctors exchanged looks of relief and finally managed to adequately anesthetize Layton.

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Fifteen minutes later, it was all over. Preston was officially a

daddy. Layton had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. At one point, their parents had expected Layton to have twins, but as it turned out, that hadn’t been the case. But this one child…Oh, he was gorgeous.

He had Preston’s blue eyes and a tuft of blond hair like Layton’s. He was a little angel. Or…he looked like an angel because he was

certainly crying louder than any angel would. He seemed to be testing the full extent of his lung capacity, and Preston smiled, already

anticipating how much like Layton their son would be. They’d

decided to name their boy Shea, and it suited him like a glove. Strong and beautiful. That was their son.

The nurses cleaned Shea up and handed him to Preston. As soon

as he was in Preston’s arms, Shea quieted down, his eyes big, blue,

and lovely. As Preston held the tiny baby, the doctors began to check over Layton’s vitals then transferred him to an adjoining chamber

where he could rest.

Preston followed after then and waited for a few minutes. At last,

Layton’s opened his eyes, and his gaze immediately zeroed on the

precious bundle in Preston’s arms. “Look, lovely,” Preston said.

“Look at our son.”

Gently, Preston handed Shea to his mate. Layton was never one to

weep, but as he held their son, his eyes filled with tears, tears of happiness. Preston felt pretty emotional himself. With everything that had happened, he’d sometimes thought this moment would never

come.

Still, it was later, when their family gathered around the bed, that the change in his life truly processed. There were so many people, all of them showing their concern and glee in their own, unique ways and at the same time trying not to put a strain on the newborn. Skylar and Byron hovered over the bed, proud grandparents for the second time.

Alexis sat on a nearby chair, his own son in his arms, cooing happily.

Rhys was right there with his brother, smiling slightly, now

completely healed of his ordeal. Morgan had taken position next to

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127

his twin, looking him over to make sure Layton was all right.

Similarly, Corbin was by Preston’s side, and it meant so much to

Preston since they’d been separated so many years by their own

misguided emotions and the machinations of others.

All their friends dropped by to see Shea. Angel and Clark, Reed,

werewolves Melanie, Derek, Jace, and Isaac, and of course, all their parents, who reveled in having another newborn in the family to fuss over. Garth and Nicolas were particularly excited at their first

grandson, while some of the others kept hinting to their own sons that they wanted grandchildren, too.

It was chaotic and a mess, but at the same, never too strenuous for

Shea and Layton. And then when everyone else was gone, a shy

knock sounded at the door. Preston bade the new arrival to enter, and Winter peeked inside with an almost bashful look. “I was just

wondering if I could—”

In the past months, Winter had become a permanent fixture in the

Cunningham household. Originally, he was supposed to go back after

dealing with the injuries caused by Elder Mercier, but in the end, it had been decided that he should stay. The whys behind it were

actually a mystery for Preston. Layton claimed his parents wanted the leeway and they could use a liaison with King Sterling should a

conflict begin.

But as time flew and no word had come from the Sidhe, it had

become increasingly clear that Winter had come to mean more to

them than just an intruder. Preston couldn’t exactly explain it, but there was something about the Sidhe that made them all protective of him. It might have been the ease with which Sterling had dumped him

here, with little regard to his safety, or the kindness with which he’d treated every injury. Preston had been inclined to believe Winter was a spy and had viewed Winter with distrust for a long time. But after one year, he could safely say there was no deceit in the Sidhe. If only he could say the same about some shifters. Bella remained a prisoner, and Preston had not seen her since the day she’d attacked Layton.

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Even now, he still wondered why she’d wanted to hurt them so much.

Most of all, he asked himself what else she had planned.

Preston shook the thoughts away as Layton snorted and ushered

Winter inside. “Stop skulking there and come in,” Layton told the

Sidhe. “I want you to meet my son.”

The door closed behind Winter, and as Winter hesitantly leaned

over Shea, Preston thought that their future was like that. Hesitant, uncertain, but certainly full of love, strength, and family.

“I think, Pres, that we can live with that,”
Layton’s voice drifted in his mind.

Preston shared a secret smile with his mate. They could live with

that, indeed.

THE END

WWW.SCARLETHYACINTH.WEBS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native Romanian, Scarlet was born in 1986 and grew up an avid

fan of Karl May and Jules Verne, reading fantasy stories and

adventure. Later, when she was out of fantasy stories to read, she

delved into her mother’s collection of books and, of course, stumbled onto romance.

As a writer though, Scarlet Hyacinth was born one sunny summer

day, when a dear friend of hers—the same friend who introduced her

to GLBT fiction—proposed they start writing a story of their own. As it turns out, the two friends never did finish that particular story, but Scarlet discovered she had a knack for writing and ended up starting to write individually. And so, between working on her dissertation,

studying for exams, and reading yaoi manga, she started writing the

Kaldor Saga. Along the way, Scarlet met a lot of wonderful people

who supported her, and in the end, she found her story a home and, in the process, fulfilled a beautiful dream.

Also by Scarlet Hyacinth

Siren Classic ManLove:
Mate or Meal 1:

The Lamb Who Cried Wolf

Siren Classic ManLove:
Mate or Meal 2:

The Wolf Who Hatched an Egg

Siren Classic ManLove:
Mate or Meal 3.

The Love He Squirreled Away

Siren Classic ManLove: Mate or Meal 4.

The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun

Siren Classic ManLove: Mate or Meal 5.

The Shark Who Rode a Seahorse

Siren Classic ManLove: Mate or Meal 6.

The Gazelle Who Caught a Lion

Siren Classic ManLove: Mate or Meal 7:

The Demon Who Fed on a Shark

For all other titles, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/scarlet-hyacinth

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

• THE SEAHORSE WHO LOVED THE WRONG LYNX
  
• THE END