Werewolves in Love 2: Yours, Mine and Howls (25 page)

“Seth’s a strong beta. And he’s got guts to spare.” She stopped talking. He listened to her taking deep, quivering breaths.

“So, now he’s driving around with a little boy and a dead girl…” he prompted.

“Yeah, a dead girl in the back seat and a catatonic little boy up front. He knew he should probably drop Dylan off with someone in Lake Charles, but he hates our family as much as I do. So he kept Dylan and took off for Beaumont, where my cousin TJ and some others lived.” She paused. “He did pretty good, considering.”

She took a deep breath. “And right after he crossed the Sabine River, just outside of Orange, I sat up.”

He jerked. Her head bumped up and down on his chest.

“You
what
?”

“I just woke up. I was talking to Eir, I made my decision, I opened my eyes and I started to suffocate—I had a hunk of goose down in my mouth. They didn’t hear me thrashing around back there, I guess, because they were kind of surprised when I sat up.”

“You just sat up?” He almost laughed at the image it conjured. This shouldn’t be funny, not even in a gallows humor sort of way.

“Yeah. I don’t think I remembered, just at that moment, that I’d been dead. I sat up, saw them and said, ‘Why is Dylan in the front seat?’”

“First thing back from the dead, you start bitching?”

He heard a small smile in her voice. “Well, you can’t put a five-year-old in the front seat. Then Dylan turned around and said “Ally!” all happy like, and Seth turned around and saw me, and he screamed like a girl and drove the Cherokee into a ditch.”

When she didn’t say anything else right away, he nudged her impatiently. “And?”

“And…there was some screaming and crying, but we had to get the car out of the ditch before the cops saw us, so we did. We stopped to buy me some clean clothes and then we showed up at TJ’s parents’ house a little after midnight. I couldn’t explain why the boys had luggage and I didn’t, or why Dylan was with us. When I opened the door of the backseat, I pulled it off, and that’s when I first realized that something deeply weird had happened to me, and…life went on. We dealt.”

“Who else knows about all this?”

She sighed and shifted. He tightened his arm around her lest she be tempted to get up. She relaxed.

“Just Mrs. Olsen, the Eir acolyte I mentioned. I met her at church right after we got to Sugar Land. Other than her, and Seth and Dylan, only you know.”

“Dec doesn’t know?”

She took a sharp breath, but her voice sounded normal when she answered. “He knows I’m weird. He doesn’t bug me about it.”

She stopped, and this time he didn’t prompt her to go on right away.

They lay together in the quiet darkness. The more he played with her satin honey hair, or ran his thumb up and down the back of her neck, the more she relaxed and nestled against him. Her hand trailed idly up and down his stomach while her warm breath tickled his chest hairs.

He thought about her first night at the ranch and the fight at dinner, when he’d been so certain she and Seth were lying to him and she’d been so scared when Seth admitted to killing Guy Fontenot.

He thought about an eighteen-year-old girl who gave her life for a little boy, then chose to postpone Heaven so she could take care of him, and of the guts and brains and selflessness it took for two teenagers to do what they had done.

He thought of how she’d lived thirteen years with superhuman abilities she was forced to hide, raising someone else’s kid.

Unique, hell. She was awe-inspiring. A badass Army Ranger Pack Alpha might feel inadequate for just a moment.

The moment passed, of course. The awe remained.

He could give her what she’d never had—security, privacy, rest. She wouldn’t have to hide her nature among humans. He could protect her, cherish her. Most wolves said the mate bond felt just like love. He suspected he would’ve felt this way even without the bond.

There was still one thing he needed to know.

“Ally.”

“Hmm?” She sounded sleepy.

He rolled her over onto her back, propping himself up on his good arm. She gazed up at him through half-closed eyes.

“Wait a minute.” She opened her eyes all the way. “Be careful, Cade. Watch your shoulder. Lay back—”

“Shh.” He stopped her mouth with his own, shuddering when, after a moment, she dragged her nails gently down his back. Their tongues met, soft and lazy. He drank until he was dizzy. She sighed contentedly as he broke the kiss. She wanted him, that was obvious.

Which made the question even more important.

“Ally,” he said against her mouth.

“Hmm?” she purred.

“Why’d you try to leave, baby?” He raised his head slightly to look at her eyes, and she closed them again, no longer eager to challenge him.

“Ally, look at me,” he ordered. “I thought the night we had was good, I thought—”

“It was wonderful. The best I’ve ever had.”

“Then why—?”

She spoke in a rush. He realized she was embarrassed and wanted to get it over with. “Cade, you looked straight at me and said you’d never marry unless you met your mate. I thought you were trying to tell me that, you know, I didn’t have a chance with you or anything.” Her eyes flew open. She blushed crimson. He loved her blush. It made him feel tender and horny at the same time. “To hear something like that right after what we did, and—it was just, it just…”

“It hurt your feelings?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and drew a shaky breath. He bent his head to kiss her eyelids. Her lashes were wet.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He stroked his thumb across her cheekbone and down to her mouth. “I make you cry a lot, don’t I? I shouldn’t make you cry so much.”

She smiled shyly, still not meeting his gaze, and pressed her hands into the small of his back, cradling him between her legs.

“You can make it up to me when you’ve got your strength back,” she whispered.

“Yes, ma’am,” he growled. “You’re going to need all your strength yourself.”

He cupped her breast for a moment, flicking his thumb across her nipple, and smiled with satisfaction when she gasped.

Reluctantly he rolled over onto his back once more and closed his eyes. She snuggled up tight, breasts pillowing his arm, and drew her leg up over his hip. They lay there, relaxed and tired and content to listen to each other breathe.

“Cade?”

“Hmm?” Why did females always wait ’til you were almost asleep to start a conversation?

“When are you going to tell me about the dream?”

Pause. “Later.”

She smiled against his skin. “Fine. I’ll bug you about it later.”

Something jabbed her in the back once, then twice. She jerked sleepily to get away from it.
Jab
. This time in the ribs, hard. What the hell?

She woke with an “umph”, sweaty and disoriented on the edge of the emperor-sized bed. Someone had left the curtains of the upper window wide open and moonlight streamed in. She loved the way it washed over the bed.

As she lay with eyes closed, pretending she could feel the moon’s pull as wolves did, listening to Cade’s deep, regular breathing, a second sound intruded—lighter breathing, more rapid, a little nasal. She had to roll over carefully, lest she tumble off the side of the bed. As she turned, a small fist shot out across her shoulder, just missing her mouth. Becca frequently fought unseen forces in her sleep, yet never cried out as if in a nightmare. She just swung and kicked and punched and wiggled, waking up happy and refreshed.

Ally captured the fist and lowered Becca’s arm to her side. Gently but firmly, she pushed the little girl back to the middle of the bed, sliding over next to her. Becca flexed and mumbled, but she didn’t wake. Cade slept on, his back to them, oblivious to the midnight tussle inches away.

A sleeping child was nature’s sweetest furnace.

Ally pushed the hair out of Becca’s hot little face and gazed at her a while. A warm, sleeping child and a warm, sleeping werewolf in a big, warm bed in a big, safe house. Her werewolf? Her child? Her bed and home? The prospect filled her with fearful hope and uncertain joy. So enormous a change, so abrupt a fork in the road, would take getting used to. She was scared this new life wouldn’t really be hers, scared she couldn’t cope if it was.

She wrapped an arm around Becca and pulled her close, giggling when the curly hair tickled her nose. Cade snorted, rolled onto his back and began to snore softly. Even his snoring seemed sexy—more evidence, if she needed any, that she was completely gone. She stared at his broad chest rising and falling, at his beautiful face mirrored so closely in his daughter’s. Inhaling the sweet scent of baby soap and shampoo, she fell back to sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

She’d been wearing the same T-shirt and lounge pants for she didn’t know how long. Cade had been shot four—or was it five now?—days ago, and she’d left the house only to ride, swim, or play with Becca.

She got out of bed, stretched, and walked into an empty living room. All the action was in the heart of the house—the kitchen—where Sindri, Sarah Jane, Dec, Becca and Seth were talking and laughing. Becca shrieked in Dec’s lap as he tickled her mercilessly.

“Good morning, honey. You get enough sleep?” Sarah Jane put a mug on the table in front of her and poured some coffee.

She yawned. “Too much, I think. What day is it, anyway?”

Sarah Jane smiled. “It’s Friday.”

“Holy crap.”

Sindri fixed her a plate of freshly scrambled eggs and toast. Did he cook breakfast all day?

“Where’s Cade?”

Seth answered. “He’s at the stables. He wanted to get back to work.”

“And y’all just let him go? Is he in any shape to be running around?” She looked first to Dec, then to Sindri, for confirmation.

Dec gave a lazy smile and shrugged. “The Alpha’s a very strong wolf, love, and he’s healed nicely. The poison’s gone. Besides, you’re the only one who could make him go back to bed.”

Everyone laughed. She blushed.

“So you’ve checked him out?” That made her feel better.

“Oh hell no. Sorry,” he muttered, looking over at Becca, now crawling all over Seth. “Um, no. The Alpha’s no fonder of me than he was before he got shot. The wee fella gave him a once-over.”

“He is healing well. His father was strong like that.” Sindri looked at Sarah Jane, who laughed.

“Oh, Louis. Good Lord. I remember when he was a teenager, before the wolves came out. Some fool bet Louis he couldn’t jump off the top of his family’s house—four stories tall—and hit a blanket on the ground below.” She shook her head and smiled at the memory. “He hit that blanket dead center. Broke his leg in three places. His father wanted to shoot him right there, just for being so damned stupid. Luckily there weren’t any humans around to see it. Back then a break like that would cripple a human. Even for a wolf, it was an awful injury, and his father made the doctor set it without giving Louis anything for the pain first. He was up and around in two weeks, acting stupid again in three.”

“You knew him well?” Ally asked.

“Well enough. Our families had been in Savannah for a long time.”

Seth looked up from dangling Becca over his shoulder. “You have wolves in your family, Mrs. Ferguson?”

Dec and Sindri exchanged a glance, but Sarah Jane just nodded. “My uncle was a werewolf. Werewolves were in Georgia before the war. A lot of them fought in it, as a matter of fact.”

“Yeah, sometimes I wonder how long it would’ve taken us to come out if it hadn’t been for the war.”

Sarah Jane laughed. “I was talking about the War Between the States, Seth. A lot of werewolves defended Atlanta. Didn’t do much good, of course, but still. People remembered.”

Ally hadn’t thought she was hungry, but she’d cleaned her plate. Politely refusing Sindri’s offer of seconds, she rose.

“I think I’ll go find Cade, make sure he’s not overdoing it. Unless you want some time to yourself?” she asked Sarah Jane. “In that case, I’ll take over Becca.”

“Oh no you don’t. I get more Becca time today. Let’s go, baby.” Becca trotted out with her grandmother.

Ally put her dishes in the sink, thanked Sindri, and turned to go.

“Hang on,” said Seth, still nursing a cup of coffee at the table. “I wanted to talk to you for a sec.”

“Okay.”

Dec cleared his throat. “Ally girl, a word?”

“What is it, Dec?”

“I—” He paused, looking at Seth. “Let’s step outside. Seth, would you excuse us for a minute?”

Seth laughed. “Seriously?”

Dec didn’t crack a smile. “Yes. I’m sorry. I need to speak to Ally privately. It’ll just take a second.”

Her cousin looked incredulous, then shrugged. “Sure, wolf. Whatever.” He shook his head and took another gulp of coffee.

They walked out to the front porch.

Dec sighed. “Now I’ve hurt his feelings,” he said in a low voice. “I didn’t want to do that. And I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position, love.” His brow was furrowed and he sounded apologetic. “I know you and the Alpha have had some problems, and I want you to be happy while you get used to all this, but—”

“But you don’t want me telling Cade you’re his mother’s brother.”

He had the grace to look sheepish. “I know I have to tell him, and I plan to, but I’ve waited almost three weeks, and he doesn’t like me, and I just—”

“I think that’s weird, you know? Everybody else here likes you. Even Michael likes you, and he’s a lot grumpier than Cade.”

“What can I say? Every once in a while the MacSorley charm bounces off its intended target.”

“Sindri likes you.”

“Aye, the wee fella and I get on.”

“You’ve known him a long time, haven’t you?”

“Sindri served my family long before Eirny married Louis.”

“How long?” He didn’t answer. “Of course, you’re not going to tell me. Look, Dec, if Cade finds out I knew about this and didn’t say anything, he’ll be furious with me.” Dec looked crestfallen. “On the other hand, I’m bound to piss him off about something else anyway, and I’m not sure how much difference it would make.” He began to smile. “I mean, when I thought he was gonna kick me out every time I looked at him cross-eyed, maybe I wouldn’t have agreed, but sure. What the hell. You need to be the one to tell him. But,” she stopped him as he smiled and started through the door, “don’t wait much longer, you hear? It’ll just make it worse.”