“Have you thought about the baby? What if it’s Chase’s and not mine?”
“I didn’t think you cared whose baby it was. I had hoped that both of you would act as his or her father.”
“I will. I just wondered if you’d care more or less about the baby if it belonged to one of us and not the other.”
“Are you trying to insinuate that I love Chase more than you or you more than him? Because I don’t. I love you both equally. I mean, not exactly equally.” Katlyn bit down on her lip. “I love each of you differently is all I meant, and I’m committed to both of you.”
Brendan smiled sadly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to act this way. Just after the way Chase got you off, I guess I was a little jealous.”
“There’s no reason to be when you both turn me on, and sometimes I just have a better orgasm is all.”
Brendan stepped forward and kissed Katlyn softly. This hunk of man that seemed so strong most times had shown her just how sensitive he could be. She had to tell them tonight that she carried twins, not just one baby. She didn’t want either of them to feel slighted if the baby wasn’t theirs when it was all of theirs.
Katlyn hugged Brendan tight after the kiss broke and, after a few minutes, they both made their way out of the shower and dressed for dinner since they’d be taking it at the main house with Paige.
Chapter Seven
Katlyn wore a little black dress for dinner since she wouldn’t be able to wear it for much longer. It accentuated her frame, including her growing belly that was just starting to show slightly. She pressed a hand against her belly and hoped that Chase and Brendan wouldn’t totally freak out when they learned that she carried twins.
“Are you ready?” Brendan asked, buttoning up his white shirt. Instead of wearing jeans and a western shirt like he usually wore, he dressed up for dinner on most occasions if they had dinner with Paige.
Chase joined them, his gray pants hugging his lean hips. He also wore a white shirt, but had it opened nearly to the waist. Katlyn had learned that he only preferred to do that because he hated wearing dress shirts period, but Brendan was a stickler about wearing proper clothing to dinner. Katlyn found this to be odd since they owned a ranch and worked like ranch hands most days, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
She glanced down and bit off one of her nails that was longer than the others. She was a habitual nail biter, and even though Brendan raised a brow, he never said anything even though Katlyn knew it might have bugged him. That was the thing about her mates—neither of them nitpicked her about anything, not even her reluctance to speak about her past. How could she begin to explain about her parents from Ohio that just wouldn’t understand her current lifestyle choices, like having not one, but two mountain lion shifters as mates? She’d be taken to task by her parents, one of the reasons she’d hadn’t told them too much about her life in Wyoming.
Chase continued to scratch as the starch from the shirt made him itch. “I swear, if Paige says something about my shirt, I’m just taking the dang thing off completely.”
Katlyn smiled. “I’d love to see the look on Paige’s face when you do that.” Paige might be a vampire, but she had an air of sophistication about her, like she had come from somewhere quite fancy at one time. Besides biting Tessa that one night, she had behaved herself like every inch the lady.
“What about Tessa?” Katlyn asked. “Will she be at dinner, too?”
“No, it’s not quite dark yet. I’ll have Angus fetch her after dinner,” Brendan said.
Katlyn nodded as they left for the big house in the truck, although it wasn’t all that far. They walked to the door and Paige opened it, greeting them. “It’s about time. Dinner just came out of the oven.” Paige didn’t like to be kept waiting and admired anyone who was prompt. In many ways, she made Katlyn feel like she was a lowly servant whereas Paige was the lady of the house. She’d love to ask Brendan one day if either of them had been with Paige, or why it was, exactly, that she came to be running the ranch.
Brendan took Paige’s arm and escorted her into the dining room while Chase took Katlyn’s arm. There was something just too prim and proper about the main house, and yet this was also the very place that Paige had bitten and turned Tessa into a vampire.
Katlyn sat when Chase held out a chair for her, and they were soon served roast beef with baby carrots and mashed potatoes with at thick gravy that smelled so beefy that Katlyn’s mouth watered. Paige, Brendan, and Chase each had a wine glass filled with red wine, but Katlyn’s was filled with milk that she begrudgingly managed to choke down since she wasn’t the hugest milk fan. Sure, growing up she’d had milk at every meal, since that’s what her parents insisted on, but Katlyn barely drank it much since. She’d drink her milk, though, for the babies.
Paige smiled, her plate devoid of food. “So, Katlyn. Do tell me how your pregnancy is coming along.”
“Good, I suspect, since I’ve never been pregnant before.”
“Dr. Evans is a great doctor.”
“I’m not seeing Dr. Evans. My doctor is Dr. McKinney.”
Paige’s eyes widened. “Jenna McKinney? That won’t do. Brendan, talk to your mate. It’s unheard of a human doctoring a woman who carries a shifter child.”
Katlyn wasn’t surprised. “So, Dr. Evans is a shifter, too?” She knew it!
“Didn’t Brendan tell you?”
“No, he sure didn’t, but he did seem like I should be seeing Dr. Evans instead. The truth of the matter is that I prefer a woman doctor to a man.”
“Well, Jenna just won’t do. When she finds out that you’re pregnant by a shifter, her attitude will change. Don’t be surprised when she drops you as a patient. Her father, Ralph, was part of the Shifter Patrol before it was disbanded.”
“I know, she told me, but she knows all about who my mates are and what they are. I’m completely comfortable with her as a doctor, and I’m having two babies, not just one.”
Chase about dropped his wine glass. “Twins?”
A look of delight came across Brendan’s face. Katlyn couldn’t help but wonder if he might relax more about the coming baby’s now that he knew there would be two. Sure, he’d made it sound like he was more concerned about how she felt about who the baby’s father was, but why would she care whose baby it was since it would be all hers anyway? Now that they both knew there would be two babies, it would be overwhelming for all of them. Lucky for her, she had two mates instead of just one. The more hands on deck, the better.
Katlyn smiled at Chase, and said, “Are you going to be okay?”
He swallowed hard, Paige looking on in amusement. “Y-Yes, but I was just getting used to the fact that I’m going to be the father of one baby, and now there will be two? That sounds like plenty of work.”
“Yes, for Katlyn,” Paige said with a knowing smile. “She’s the one carrying the twins, not you. All men have to do is pace while she struggles to deliver them when the time comes.”
“No, I’ll be right there helping out at the birth,” Chase said.
“As I will, too,” Brendan said.
“That’s one of the reasons that Dr. Evans might be the best doctor for you. Dr. McKinney might not understand about you having two mates,” Paige said. “What have you told your doctor, exactly?”
“She knows, and believe me, she hasn’t judged me. She’s a professional.”
“I hope for all of our sakes that’s the case.”
“And getting back to Dr. Evans ... what kind of shifter is he, exactly?”
“He’s a werewolf, not like the ones at Silver Creek. He’s one of the only ones I know of in Wyoming that only shifts on the full moon. Very unpredictable, really, but the good doctor has never done anything untoward to anyone that I known of. I’m not sure how he’s able to control his beast since most werewolves like him have been know to attack just about anyone, even someone they know. It’s much different than what happens when, let’s say, what happens when Brendan and Chase shift, or ev
en Angus.”
“My student, Maxwell, mentioned something about them being full bloods where the werewolves at Silver Creek are half human.”
“Very true. How is Maxwell doing at school?”
“Angry at humans, I’m afraid. I just don’t know how to reach the boy. I had hoped that his mother was at least still alive, but he told me she left when he was only a baby.” Katlyn took a sip of her milk, trying hard to not make a face. “I can’t imagine any mother who would leave their child behind like that.”
Katlyn stared from Paige to Brendan and then directly at Chase. None of them said anything now and it made Katlyn all the more curious. She finally asked, “Do you—”
“Eat before your food gets cold, Katlyn. I’m sure your babies are quite hungry,” Paige said.
Even though Paige said it nicely enough, Katlyn felt they were trying to change the subject. What did they all know that she didn’t? Katlyn lifted her fork and began eating, sighing as the meat was so tender that it practically melted in her mouth. By the time she had finished, she had cleared her plate and looked up, asking, “What’s for dessert?”
Paige motioned the maid forward, who cleared their plates and came back with crème brulee in quite small dishes. “Is this it?” Katlyn grumbled as she lifted her spoon, digging in.
“Well, I can see what else we have in the kitchen,” Paige said. “I’ll make sure next time that there’s enough to satisfy you.”
Katlyn took a spoonful and allowed the dessert to melt on her tongue before she answered. “I didn’t mean to sound like I was complaining. This eating for three is getting the best of me. One minute, I wasn’t even hungry and the next, I couldn’t get enough.”
“I can’t blame you. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a child of my own, but unfortunately, the chance was taken from me in one fell swoop.”
“The night you were bitten, you mean?”
“Yes, but it’s hardly a talk for the dinner table. Suffice it to say that it was many years ago. Don’t let my youthful appearance fool you. I’m a very old vampire.”
“I’d love to hear the story, and it doesn’t bother me hearing the story over the dinner table.”
Paige stood up and stretched. “Tessa and I are not so different.”
Katlyn stiffened at the sound of heels striking the wood floor of the dining room. Tessa’s black hair was brushed back and her curls bounced along her back. “No, Paige. We’re nothing alike, you and I.”
Paige tucked a few strands of her spiked hair behind her ears. “Oh, look who just showed up. I guess hell did freeze over.”
Tessa took a menacing step toward Paige, but Katlyn scooted her chair back and stood up between the women. “Perhaps we should adjourn to the great room where we can talk about this like civilized adults,” Katlyn suggested.
“Great idea, if that’s what Tessa wants to do,” Paige said.
“Oh, why not. What else do I have to do but while away my hours in the darkness,” Tessa said as she strutted into the next room with her head held high.
Brendan pulled Katlyn aside for a moment. “Perhaps you should go along home. There’s no sense in you getting in the middle of those two.”
“Not a chance. If I don’t stay, they might just rip each other’s throats out.”
Katlyn left the room, leaving Brendan and Chase to trail after her. When she hastened into the room, Paige was tossing logs on the fire. The stone fireplace was quite large, with no trophy animals hanging above it. This was shifter territory.
Tessa stood, tapping her foot on the wood floor until Paige gave her a look, and only then did she sit in a chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“Would anyone like some beverages?” Paige asked.
“Yes, please. Do you have type O negative?” Tessa asked with a tilt of her chin.
“I’m sure you have plenty of that already.”
“Why do you insist I drink blood straight out of a bag when I so long to sink my fangs into a living, breathing human? I’ll be sure to just drink enough to turn them into a monster, too, just so I won’t be lonely.”
Paige sat and just shook her head. “How many times do I have to say that I’m sorry about that?”
“An eternity, which it looks like I have plenty of.”
Katlyn’s fingers clenched into fists. “Please, does this conversation have a point?”
“Oh, Katlyn, of course not, but you’re the ones forcing me to be here tonight.”
“Don’t look at it like you’re being forced. It’s just that your actions last night were uncalled for. You simply can’t bite a human or animal since most are shifters in the area,” Brendan said.
“Unless you want humans hunting you down like an animal,” Paige added. “Believe me, you won’t like the end result.”
“I want to know why, Paige? Why did you turn me into a vampire?”
“I told you I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Possibly,” Katlyn began. “But why bite her in the first place?”
“I don’t know, really. We were drinking and the next thing I knew we were kissing. Well, that brought the vampire in me out, and I just had to have a little taste.”
“If that’s the case, you could have just eaten my pussy and left it at that,” Tessa said.
“Oh? I didn’t really think you’d be up for something like that.”
“Does it matter now? No. How was biting me one time going to equal me forgetting all about it? I would have known then what you were and told Katlyn, who I’m quite sure would have left this ranch.”
“Most people ... I mean, I’ve heard that once you’re bitten by a vampire you simply forget all about it,” Paige said.
“What?” Katlyn asked. “What do you mean, you heard? Have you ever bitten anyone once who wasn’t turned after one time?”
“Actually, no. I didn’t realize that my bite would turn a human after just one time until much later. The thing is when I was bitten in London in 1952, I sure never forgot about it, and was turned that night.”
“And what about your sister?” Katlyn asked. “Tessa said you had a sister, too, and that she had been bitten that night as well.”
Paige swallowed hard. “Sadly, yes, but Arielle had been bitten too deeply. I did manage to get her home, but she was very sick and died during the night. She was only sixteen and very fragile.”
“How did this happen, exactly?” Katlyn pressed.
“We’d been invited to a party, and I really didn’t want to attend, but Arielle was so excited. We had a great time until a few men showed up who wore long trench coats that really made me very nervous, to the point that I insisted we leave posthaste. It was quite foggy that night and we got turned all around. It was in December of ’52, and that fog ended up being called The Great Smog of ’52. It ended up killing thousands of people by the time it lifted. Anyway, we were followed and heard someone pursuing us, and we ran and ran until two men jumped out of the alley at us.”
“The same ones from the party?” Katlyn asked as she bit her lip.
“Yes, when they revealed their fangs, we ran for our lives, but these men caught us easy enough. Here we were, on the ground trying to fight them off as they ripped our clothing down. At first, I thought they meant to rape us, but they simply were trying to get at our necks.” Tears glistened in Paige’s eyes. “When I was bitten, I stared over to my sister and the man who bit her mucked it up. She was bleeding so badly and I was unable to help her. After the man who bit me drank his fill, he thanked me, thanked me like I was allowing him to do that to me. He whispered to me, ‘that he’d see me soon’ and I knew right then that this was only the beginning of my nightmare.”
Katlyn grabbed a box of tissue from an end table and handed it to Paige, and she continued, “Here my sister was, quite hurt, and I had to half carry her all the way back home. When we finally were home, I did my best to stop her bleeding, but there were huge marks in her neck that gaped open.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital?” Katlyn asked.
“I just didn’t know how to explain any of it, but I did call for an ambulance a few hours later. Unfortunately, since the smog caused so many people to die and need medical attention, by the time the ambulance actually arrived, it was too late for Arielle,” Page cried. “I’ll never forgive myself for taking her to that party, but she so wanted to go and I just didn’t want to disappoint her. Our parents had died in a car accident the year before, you see.”
Tessa’s face softened now, but her eyes were still guarded.
Katlyn straightened her back when it began to ache. “Did they ask what happened to your sister?”
“No, and I don’t think they cared since London was having a crisis with so many fatalities. Arielle had a simple funeral and she was buried at the light of the full moon since I was already having problems of my own. It started quite slowly, at first, for me. First, I became quite light sensitive and then the stomach cramps began. I can’t explain to you in any way that you’d understand, Katlyn, but they are so painful that I could barely handle it. One day, there was a knock at the door, and when I opened it, there was the man who had bitten me standing there. I tried to slam the door shut, but he forced his way inside. He’d brought a fresh steak and tossed it at me, encouraging me to feed. He told me that if I didn’t, the pain would only worsen. It tasted awful, but I did what I had to until I fled the city, traveling only at night. I refused to accept any help from Gerome, the man who’d bitten me, who wanted me to come with him to his estate in Sussex. Luckily, he left me alone, but every time I looked out my window, he was always waiting in the shadows. He told me he’d bit me so that he would have a mate all his own, but I refused to submit to him. Gerome was quite the cocky bastard and told me that I’d never survive without him, but he underestimated how determined I was to avoid him at all costs.”
“Where did you go?”
“The country. I fed on livestock animals for a time before I took the job as a nanny for a family who were leaving for the United States. They believed me when I told them about my deadly skin allergy and we traveled at night. I spent most of my time in my cabin on the ship, and when we arrived in Boston, I quietly slipped away. I just couldn’t trust myself with an innocent child so close. I eventually found myself in California, working as a maid for an heiress, where I stayed until she passed away fifty years later.”
Taken (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 2) Page 6