by Jena Wade
“Not at all. I’ve been waiting for what feels a lifetime for today.”
“As have we, son,” my father’s hand settled on my shoulder. “As have we.”
I showed them the way, giving them a quick tour of the house, and then we sat, we ate, we laughed, we cried, and when it was time for them to leave, it was all I could do not to beg them to stay. They were close, though. Really close. At least for now. It wasn’t meant to be their forever home, but maybe it would be if I helped make it safe.
If my pack helped make it safe.
“You okay?” Gio asked as I clicked the door shut once they were no longer in view. I just shook my head. It was hard saying good-bye after so long without a hello.
I stepped to accept his embrace, a shift ripping through me unexpectedly, my wombat stepping out of the shredded clothes, the clothes Gio had just gotten for me, and over to him, climbing up and into his arms.
I might not have had control over my shift, but I was still here. Baby steps.
“If you really wanted to wear my clothes, Prickles, there were better ways of telling me than destroying your new ones,” he teased, letting me burrow into him. “Do you need snuggles or to run?
I held my hands up.
“Stop?” he guessed.
I shook my head.
“You don’t know?” He took a second guess.
I shook my head again.
“Two. Two hands… you want to do both?”
I licked his face. I didn’t even feel bad about that. Guessing in three with such shitty clues deserved kisses even if they were wombat kisses.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He held me, rocking back and forth until I scurried out of his arms to the door. It was time to run.
“I’m taking that as cuddle time is over.” I nodded up and down. “I best get rid of these so we don’t have too big a pile of rags.” He looked to the clothes from my shift.
I grabbed them and dragged them across the floor, bringing them to the garbage.
“I’m telling you, mate. We could get millions of hits on Youtube. Millions.”
I ignored him, instead focusing on the task at hand. It was a silly thing. Gio could just pick it up himself with half the effort, or we could take care of it when we got home. But my mate liked order and his life had none of it right now. If this little thing could help I was all about it.
As I finished and made it to the door, he was ready. His clothing was gone, human me wishing I could take advantage of his lack of clothing and wombat me ready to hunt some roots.
Wombat me won and we headed into the woods, a wolf and a wombat, looking for roots, chasing each other, and letting our animals have free reign.
Not that I had much say about it. At least I was along for the ride this time.
One day I would have the control I needed over my animal. Today was not that day, and for the night, that was okay.
Chapter Nineteen
Gio
Seeing my mate with his family, reunited with his mom, dad, and brother, gave me a happiness that I did not know I was capable of. My heart filled with such joy that I thought it might burst. I had to blink away tears as I watched my mate play with his nephew in the grass.
I was shocked to learn that child wombat shifters could shift at around age five. Wolf shifters did not shift until puberty. Not that his nephew—our nephew—was there yet, but it wouldn’t be long. Kids grew so fast.
How little I knew of the outside world. When the dark healer was dealt with I would make a point to spend a significant amount of time with Thorne’s family, or perhaps if they were willing, they could move closer to the pack. They had been so long on their own, it might be nice for them to be a part of a community again. I know it would be good for ours. There was such kindness and strength in them.
Charming didn’t seem to have a preference on where he was, as long as his mate was with him. The stoic man who kept a straight face throughout every interaction I’d had with him had lit up when his mate and child arrived. His love for his mate radiated off of him.
We watched Canin, Thorne, and their parents in the yard playing with Canin and Charming’s young son. I sat on the back deck with Kade and Charming, loving the carefree feeling the moment afforded, under no misconception it was more than that—a moment.
“I would love to see the dark healer taken down once and for all,” Charming said. “It’s always been something we wanted to do, obviously. But we didn’t have the means by which to do it. Your pack, this light healer of yours, seems like now we may be capable.”
I nodded. “We’ve had our fair share of run-ins with the dark healer as well.” Not to mention the near run-in when one of Dylan’s pack mentioned calling one in to harm Cord. That wolf’s last breath was one breath too many. “We want to see her taken out just as much as you do. Maybe then there could be some peace and quiet for all of us.”
Charming and Kade both nodded. Kade had just as much at stake in this fight as I did, as his own mate had been taken captive as well. He tried not to show it, but the fear of her return was always close to the surface with him. I wished I didn’t understand that constant worry, but I did.
“This potion, can we make it?” Kade asked.
“Lissy and Mia are already working on it,” I said, “They’ll have it ready. The biggest challenge will be getting the dark healer here.”
“How do we do that?” Charming asked.
“Fuck if I know,” I said. “Apparently there’s some sort of summoning spell we can try. But Lissy’s mentor wasn’t sure if it would work well considering none of us have any of the magic required for it to work. We could use… our wombats as bait.” I shuddered, even as I said it.
Mine. My wolf clamored at the surface.
Charming’s jaw clenched and Kade shook his head. “How about we shelve that idea for now as an absolute last resort. And even then, let’s not consider it. I couldn’t imagine using my mate as bait for something like that.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said. I looked out in the yard where Canin and Thorne sat, the young wombat toddling between them. Thorne’s smile lit up the entire yard. “There has to be another way.”
“What if we went to them? Tried to track them down?” Kade asked.
“I don’t even know where they are. I wouldn’t know where to begin to look. I think our best bet will be to try the summoning spell,” I said.
“You’ll be comfortable with that?” Charming asked. “Using Thorne’s blood, having him there?”
“Could we use his dad’s blood and have him there for the spell?” Kade offered.
I shook my head. “Lissy doesn’t think that will work.” As horrible as it felt to ask her that, I had. His dad had offered to do anything he could, and I was willing to take him up on that to save my mate. The guilt of even asking still sat with me. “Thorne has the biggest connection to the dark healer, considering how much time he spent with her.” Too much time. Not that there was an amount of time that wasn’t too much. “Ozzy may have a connection as well,” I said. “The dark healer used his blood for something.”
Kade’s face contorted, his skin losing color. “The thought makes me sick.”
I nodded, unable to voice how it made me feel, the words likely to get stuck in my throat. “Do you have any ideas, Charming?”
He shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, I didn’t do as much looking into the dark healer over the years that I’ve known the family. I spent most of my time trying to track down Thorne. I used all my resources to find information on him and I still came up short. As secluded as they were, the family doesn’t know as much as they would like about the dark healer either. Just stories that have been passed down about what to look out for in healers, but not anything about destroying them.”
“I want to see the dark healer suffer,” I said, a growl entering my voice. Thorne’s family only wanted to live peacefully, and instead they spend their lives in hiding, without their son, all because the dark healer wanted p
ower.
“We all do,” Kade said, and he put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m with you every step of the way, man. I haven’t forgotten that you were the one who broke down the door when we rescued Ozzy and Thorne.”
I grinned. That was a good day. It was the day I found what I never knew was missing. “I know,” I said. “And I appreciate it. I think we can plan for trying this as soon as possible. Perhaps we can find a safe place to try the summoning spell.”
“We’ll have to speak with Byrom and the other Betas, to get them on board and get the mates and kids someplace safe.” Cord was right. However this played out, we couldn’t risk the pack. We had to keep them safe or her defeat would mean nothing.
“We’ll want to make sure we’re far enough away from the pack,” Charming said.
“Absolutely,” Kade said. “I can speak with Dylan. We can use that cabin on the border between our territories. That would be a good spot far enough away from everyone. We’ll just make sure that no one’s out and about.” Dylan would let us too. Even if his brother wasn’t now part of our pack he’d have our back. He was one of the good guys.
“Perfect,” I said, surprised that it all seemed to be coming together. “So we have a plan?”
Charming nodded. “The start of one, anyway.” Charming was right. It was a start. So much more planning needed to be done and Byrom needed to be brought in to approve everything, but a start was more than we had when I woke up. It would have to do.
“Then let’s get back to our mates. There’s no reason we need to be away from them,” I said, my wolf needing to scent Thorne, to feel his warmth, to hear his breathing, to know that he was safe.
Charming stood and I followed suit. “Amen to that,” he said. “I think I promised a little wombat a game of airplane.” He said the last word louder than the rest, and the little one started to giggle, toddling his way over to us, tripping over his feet more than once until he met his father halfway.
One day I wanted that. I just needed to get the dark healer out of the way first and give my mate back what she had stolen—his connection to his beast.
Chapter Twenty
Thorne
“I need to go.” Gio’s breath tickled my ear.
“No. Stay.” I held onto him tighter, still half asleep. “You’re warm.”
“I’m warm, but I need to work.”
I grumbled as he extracted himself from my arms. “What time is it?” I was still so tired. Come to think of it, I’d been tired a lot. I’d been staying up to all hours of the night talking to my brother about anything, from the amazing deal he got on diapers to how he knew Charming was for him and just about everything in between.
“Early. Sleep, my sweet.” I threw off the covers, knowing that if I didn’t I was going to end up falling back asleep and I couldn’t, I had breakfast to make. “That doesn’t look like falling back asleep, mate.”
“That’s because I’m not. My family is only a few buildings away and I want to make them breakfast.” Byrom arranged for them to stay in a small cabin behind the omega dorms. It was mostly used for storage, but they managed to get enough beds from the dorms to make it cozy enough for their stay. I felt much better having them on pack lands. I’d just found them and the fear of losing them again never ventured far from me.
“You know we can save water by showering together.” I raised my eyebrows up and down. “What do you think?”
“I think that never saves time or water.” He stretched his arms wide and yawned deeply.
“So, that’s a no?” I couldn’t argue the facts. We spent far longer than two showers in both time and water. Totally worth it.
“It was just a statement.” He slowly traced a path down my body with his eyes. “It’s most definitely not a no.” He winked and walked to the bathroom as I watched. I could catch up later; I wasn’t missing a second of the view.
We drained the hot water tank, as had become our habit, and I was kissing him goodbye when my brother arrived.
“Bad timing?” he asked after a throat clear.
“No. He has to work,” I grumbled, and then slapped Gio playfully on the ass. “But the sooner he gets out of here the sooner he comes home to me.”
“’Tis true.” Gio gave me one last kiss and was on his way.
“Does he know you stare as he walks away?” my brother sassed.
“If he doesn’t want me to stare he shouldn’t be looking so delicious.” I brushed past my brother and went inside to get ready for pancake time. “Are the parents right behind you?” I asked as I reached up for some pancake mix.
“They’re hoping it’s okay to brunch instead. Dad and Mom stayed up waiting for me and they are dragging.” He handed me a small bag. “This is for you.”
“A present?” I started to open it and he shook his head.
“Not so much a present. You might want to sit down for this one.” I didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit, but did as he asked, clutching my present to me. “Yesterday, remember how we talked about how you’ve been feeling?”
“Most of our conversation was about feelings.” And there’d been tears and hugs and more tears, many of which were happy.
“Not feelings, but how you were feeling. You mentioned your skin being tight.”
I did? I didn’t remember saying that, but it had. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to complain. It’s not bad.”
“You weren’t complaining, and I’m glad you told me. It’s the reason for the non-present present.”
I slowly opened it and took out the box inside. No. No way. I couldn’t. “A pregnancy test? You think I’m pregnant?” We hadn’t done anything to stop it and Gio had warned me it was possible, but I’d thought, naively so, that until we mated with teeth and everything, that I wouldn’t… but I could be. The pieces were falling into place. I’d been so tired and either hungry or grossed out by food.
“I was thinking about it on my way home last night and went straight to the all night pharmacy. Stretched out skin is the first indicator I had of my pouch.” Pouch? I reached for my belly. It felt the same, just like it was wrapped in shrink wrap or something.
“Gio’s your mate—your fated mate. You don’t need the mark to have that connection; you have fate bringing you together.”
“I’m still not me.” I stared at the box. “And now I might be a we.”
“Listen, I need to go tell Mom and Dad you’re fine with us waiting for brunch. How about you wait for me and we can take this together.” He placed his hand on mine. “Let me be there for you.”
“What, you’ll collect the sample?” I teased, the moment getting too intense. I was pregnant—probably. I couldn’t even control my shifts, and evil healer was all about my blood, blood I was planning to draw to kill him, and oh yeah, I was about to help murder another being. It was far from the ideal time to be a parent.
But then again, what was the right time?
I loved Gio and he loved me. We both loved children. This could work. We would make it work.
“I was thinking more holding your hand, unless you want to wait for Gio.”
Did I? What if I wasn’t pregnant and I got his hopes up. He made no secret that he wanted the whole package with me. This was something he longed for. Having it dangled in front of him to say just kidding—that would hurt. But also, wouldn’t he want to be there to watch the lines turn whatever color they turned? Would all decisions be this hard?
“Did you wait for your mate?”
“He gave me the test.” My brother rolled his eyes, “Said there was no way I just didn’t like coffee. He’s a smart man.”
“Definitely a keeper.”
Charming not only kept my family safe, but he brought them back to me. That bear owned a piece of my heart.
“Am I coming back?” Canin asked.
“For brunch.” I stood up and hugged him. “I think I need to do this alone.”
“Understood, brother. Just know I’m here if you need me.”
; He left, and I spent the next ten minutes staring at the box, another ten deciding if I should open it or wait for Gio, five minutes reading the booklet, ten in the bathroom staring at the foil wrapped stick, and another five staring at said stick willing myself to pee and getting wicked stage fright.
Longest pregnancy test ever taken.
“I can do this.” I thought of the river flowing through my pack, drinking a gallon of water, the ocean… anything and everything filled with water, and finally I managed to take the test.
Next came the longest wait of all, the three minutes until I could look at the test to see if I was going to be a father or not.
I waited less than two, the suspense more than I could handle. One line was there, bright as could be, the other very faded.
The instructions mentioned faded lines, but I couldn’t remember what they said so I jogged out to grab the pamphlet, giving myself a paper cut as I looked through the instructions, finally finding what I needed: Even a faded line is to be considered a positive test result.
I was going to be a father!
“It’s been hard tracking you down, vermin.” My blood ran cold as the voice of my nightmares filled the air. I looked up to see her, the dark healer, in my home and looking none too pleased.
“Nice of you to finally shed some blood, so I can retrieve what’s mine.”
Chapter Twenty - One
Gio
My mate slept soundly, sprawled out in the bed, taking up as much space as he could when I got up the next morning. Prickles had been a bed hog as a wombat, and now as a human, he occupied every inch of the king-sized space. I didn’t mind. It just meant that no matter what move I made I always touched him and knew he was there. I tried to sneak off without waking him. Tried and failed, making for a wonderful showering experience, one that I didn’t want to end. The cold water and my position as Beta made that impossible.