“Have you ever heard of the term ‘bunny boiler,’ Chloë? Because I think we’ve reached that phase now. Maybe I should be grateful Lia and I don’t have any pets.”
“I’m not crazy!” The sudden shriek echoed around the empty room. Had he not been working for it, he’d have jolted like hell at her furiously spat words.
“No? You’re doing a good impression of it,” Caden told her softly, eying the trembling limbs, the hands that were shaking as though she had palsy. Her face had flushed, and her eyes were bright, too bright. He’d never seen her control breach like that before. And God help him, he’d tried many a time in the past.
“I had to do something. I had to make you see sense before it was too late. You’re mine, Caden Drummond. You always have been, and you always will be.”
“I’m not yours.”
“No, you think you’re Lia’s. But what will she think when she comes to realize what this town actually is? Who the people are, and what they can do. Do you think she’ll be happy knowing she’s married what, in her culture, can only be described as monster?”
“You brought me here so that Lia would learn what I am?”
Chloë nodded. “It was the only way. You won’t see sense, but maybe, she will.”
With that, she stood and headed for the door. She turned to look at him, and when he could only gawk at her, a sadness lit her eyes. He tried not to feel guilty, because Christ, even when she was way out of line, he always ended up feeling in the wrong. Something his mother always perpetuated, because she wanted the match to succeed.
But in this instance, how could he feel guilt when she’d drugged him, and all with the intention of revealing to his wife that he was a shifter? She wasn’t to know that he was going to have to do that anyway, what with the cub on the way. If anything, all she’d done was rearrange his schedule.
“It didn’t have to be this way, Caden,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “I think it did, Chloë. I think it’s been heading this way since our mothers got it into their heads that we’d be good together, and when none of you would listen to me and what I wanted.”
“Males don’t know what’s good for them.”
“That’s a fallacy. I know exactly what’s good for me. My wife, and my mate.”
Her lips tightened, but all she said was, “This isn’t over,” before she left. Her cloying perfume and the memory of her words stayed behind to irritate him further.
* * * *
Lia left her mother-in-law’s salon without politely excusing herself. The other woman neither wanted nor deserved her platitudes, and she wasn’t going to waste her time giving them. Leaving the room, she ran to the elevator and headed toward her quarters to grab her purse. Five minutes later, she was out on the street, walking at a fast clip toward the clinic.
On the way back, she was still in the spotlight of a shit load of stares. It was very unnerving, and uncomfortable to boot. It was almost like one of those bad dreams, where you were standing in a room full of people, only they were dressed while you were naked.
Every now and then, she had to look down to check she was covered respectably. The way they gawked at her, it was like she was walking down Main Street in a bikini over Thanksgiving weekend.
It was with a seriously relieved sigh that she made it into the clinic. Heading toward the reception desk, she saw another woman had replaced the one Lia had dealt with earlier, and when she saw Lia, the receptionist stood and headed over to her with a warm, if curious smile arching her lips.
“I’m Suzette, and you’re Mrs. Drummond, I presume?”
“You presume correctly. Where’s Caden?” she asked, not wanting to piss around with the pleasantries.
“I’m going to take you to one of the doctor’s offices, and then, I’ll guide you to Mr. Drummond’s room personally.”
Gritting her teeth, she followed Suzette to a corridor she hadn’t noticed earlier. She saw signs with Doctors’ names on them, and directional arrows. From the route they took down corridors that looked worthy of an avant-garde museum complete with sculptures that made you frown in confusion, Lia recognized they were heading for a Dr. Havensly’s office.
Suzette introduced her to the doctor, a plump woman in her fifties, then told Lia she’d be waiting outside for her afterward.
“Mrs. Drummond, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m sure,” she retorted. “Can you tell me why my mother-in-law would like me to have a blood test?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t. Even if I did know the reason why, Eloise Drummond is not a woman to cross. Even I wouldn’t do it. I’m just following my orders,” she said cheerfully. Too goddamn cheerfully for Lia’s liking.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me? It’s my blood!”
“I’m the head of the clinic and when Eloise Drummond tells me to jump, I have to ask how high.”
“That sucks.”
Dr. Havensly smiled at her. “You’ve got that in one. So, all I know is I’ve been instructed to take a few blood samples from you for some basic testing.”
“A few?”
“Yes, we like to have reserves to verify our initial results.”
“Is she testing for STDs?”
She grinned at that. “No. She wouldn’t have sent you to this clinic if she were testing for that. I’d just wait for your results to come back, then she’ll do the explaining.”
“How long will that be?” she asked as she rolled up a sleeve to accommodate the doctor’s needle.
Seeing her, Havensly shook her head. “No, I’ll need to take the blood from a different source. The back of your neck. And the results are fast-tracked re. Mrs. Drummond’s request, so anywhere between three to four days.”
“Why do you need to take the blood from the back of my neck?”
“It’s just protocol here,” she hedged, and Lia knew the other woman was lying.
Eying her, she nodded her understanding even though she didn’t understand, and tilted her head forward once Havensly had prepared the syringe. Her glove-encased fingers were cool against her nape, and when she started to prod there, manipulating the skin, Lia frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Finding the right area to take the blood.”
“You mean you don’t know?”
“It’s different with each person.” She made the comment absentmindedly, her thoughts on her fingers and what they were doing.
Unease slithered through her, but Lia pushed it aside, then pushed everything to the side when the weirdest sensation swept through her. Havensly prodded at a particularly fleshy part of her nape, one she hadn’t really known about, then, when the doctor pinched it, her legs and arms jerked.
“Ah-ha!” she muttered, triumph to her tone. The needle quickly went in, and blood was taken.
She’d given blood before, hadn’t really enjoyed the experience but it hadn’t been as weird as this. It didn’t exactly hurt, there wasn’t pain, but it felt like her nerve endings were being electrocuted. So, unpleasant wasn’t the word.
Her hands and feet twitched, her arms and legs trembled. It was hard to grip the armrest, which she was doing to clamp herself to the seat. It felt like she could fall to the ground in a puddle of goo at any given moment.
When the doctor released that part of her nape, her entire body seemed to sigh in relief. Then, when she took another syringe to that spot, this time, the pain came. She cried out as Havensly took only God knew how much blood, but she didn’t stop her. By the time she’d finished, Lia was a shivering, quivering wreck. Every part of her body seeming to tremble with weakness.
Her spine wouldn’t support her, and she slumped over in the seat, her head almost touching her knees as her body tried to accustom itself to sitting upright. She blinked when gradually, her bits and pieces started to come back online.
When she could finally sit like a normal human being, Lia still felt woozy. Looking at the doctor, she would have demanded but that required too much energy
she didn’t have and instead asked, “Did you just drug me?”
Havensly shook her head, but the faint twinkle in her eye that spoke of her amusement just royally pissed Lia off. “No, I extracted blood, I didn’t do any inserting.”
“Then why did I react like that? I’ve had blood taken before, I’ve never felt like all of my body was falling asleep on me.”
“That’s because you passed part one of the test.”
“You make it sound like a challenge,” she grumbled.
“Not exactly, but I can see why you’d think that.” She eyed Lia, taking in the hair, that no matter how much product she used, would always be faintly frizzy. The only good part of it was the fact she was blonde. She was no Chloë or Eloise. They seemed to exude an aura of polish that Lia just didn’t possess. That wasn’t to say she didn’t look good. With a bit of bronzer, a tight skirt and some heels, she had Caden panting at her heels. Hell, he panted there when she was completely denuded of all makeup, a compliment in and of itself.
She wasn’t the oil painting that the women of this town were, with the golden skin, and beautifully shaded blonde hair. They were all lean curves—an oxymoron, she knew—strong and sexy. Well, Dr. Havensly seemed to be the odd one out, but the rest followed that pattern. A pattern that was unlike her own, but she managed.
The way the doctor was looking at her was not of a woman studying another woman, but of a scientist studying a slide on a microscope.
“Your parents, Natalia, are they still alive?”
She shook her head. “My mother died about six years ago. My father left when I was very little.”
“And do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have one brother.”
Her brows rose at that. “Your mother gave birth to a boy and a girl child?”
That wording was weird. “Why do you say it like that? Women do that every day.”
She just hummed under her breath, and studied her a little harder. “You didn’t know your father?”
“No.”
“Do you have a picture of him?”
“Why?”
“I’m just curious.”
“Why would you be curious about my dad? The only thing I know about him is that he disappeared one night, and left my mom to care for us. Not exactly a man worthy of much interest.”
“Perhaps not, but that doesn’t answer my question. Do you have a photo of him?”
Her mouth tightened, but she nodded, and reached for her purse. It was ridiculous to hold no respect for the man she labeled father, but have a picture of him in her wallet. There was no reason for it, aside from sentiment. What might have been...what could have been different if he’d never gone away.
She handed the doctor the dog-eared photo, watched her study the tiny picture of a man who had left his children without so much as a kiss good-bye. She seemed to take an age to comment, and when she did, her voice was rusty when she asked, “May I keep this for a little while? Just until I can give you your test results.”
She wished she could have dismissed it, told the doctor to keep the photo because it meant nothing to her. But she couldn’t. “It’s the only one I have, so I would like it back.”
“Can I take a copy?”
“Yes.”
She watched her load the photo into a scanner, and the sounds of the machine working filled the otherwise silent office.
“Do you know him?” she asked eventually, wondering why the doctor had become so quiet after seeing the picture of her father.
“No. I’d just like to put it in your records.”
She scowled at the oddity of that, but shrugged it off. She wanted to see Caden now. Holding her hand out for the photo, Dr. Havensly returned it to her, and Lia said, “I’ll be on my way, then.”
“I’ll call you in a few days’ time once I have the results.”
She nodded, then headed out the door. Feeling like something momentous had just happened, only she didn’t have a clue just what that was.
“Ready to see your husband?” Suzette asked, in a disgustingly chirpy voice.
“Yes,” she said, but remained quiet when Suzette started talking about inane crap. She’d been around lawyers long enough to have seen cops in action, to see how they tried to draw information out of witnesses. That was exactly what Suzette was doing. Collecting information for the gossip train.
They headed toward the elevators, and Suzette used a key card to access the computer. She’d never seen such in-depth security measures, but it was proof positive that even if she’d tried to sneak in earlier, she’d have failed.
By the time she made it to the floor, the windows at the top and bottom of the hall showed twilight was just coming to an end. Darkness would soon be upon them, and if she had her way, she’d be spending the night here. Not in that cell of a bedroom Eloise had allotted her.
She’d prefer to sleep in one of those uncomfortable armchairs that hospitals around the world seemed to have bought in bulk, than return to that room alone.
When another keycard was used to access the ward, then another to actually reach Caden’s private room, Lia had to wonder why this place was hooked up tighter than Fort Knox. The thought was pushed out of her head at the sight of her father-in-law who was dozing uncomfortably in a too-small chair in the corridor. She wanted to go to her husband, but instead, she walked over to Christopher and gently grabbed his shoulder.
He blinked awake, and it was odd to note how similar his waking up was to Caden’s. When Caden awoke, he was instantly aware, and Christopher shared that trait, looking like he’d never been sleeping at all.
“Lia?” he asked, confusion riddling his tone. He was an odd man. Not much of a personality. Never saying much, always letting Eloise take center stage. She probably knew more about the doormen to their building than she did about Christopher.
“Eloise let me visit.”
“She did?”
His surprise almost made her lips twitch in amusement. Instead, she nodded. “She said to tell you you can go home now.”
He blinked at that, but that was his only reaction. “I’ll see you later,” he replied, before walking toward the elevator, doing Eloise’s bidding as he always did.
She studied his back for a second, wondering if he was a robot hiding in human skin, until Suzette asked, “Would you like to go into the ward now?”
“Please,” was all she said, attention switching from Christopher to Caden when she caught a glimpse of her snoozing husband.
It was rude, but the instant she was inside, she didn’t let Suzette cross the threshold. And with a smile of thanks, shut the door in her face. There was a window in the door so the other woman could peer in if she wanted, but Lia doubted the likelihood of the receptionist having such gall.
Even though she’d not used force, the sound of the door closing had Caden blinking awake and not with that immediate awareness she was used to.
“Lia?” he asked, sounding as groggy as she’d felt back in Dr. Havensly’s office.
She strode across the room and grabbed his hand, tucking her fingers inside his, and pressing them both to her lips in reply. “God, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here earlier, baby. I tried, I really did.”
“I know, honey. I know. Christ, it’s good to see you,” he mumbled, sounding half-asleep, but even then, his strength astounded her. With their clasped hands, he dragged her down, tumbling her onto the bed beside him. She resisted only for a second, long enough to slip out of her shoes, before she curled into him.
He smelled of hospitals, rubbing alcohol, with a faint hint of the aftershave he’d applied that morning. But God, he smelled good. Like everything she’d always needed and never had.
It had been like that the first time they’d met. The first time they’d gone out on a date, and the first time they’d made love.
In him, in his soul, hers had found a twin. And they were big words for someone who had actually never relished the idea of falling in love. When
her dad had vanished, and her mom had been left alone to support her family, she’d had to work God knows how long for a piss-poor wage.
On top of that, she had heartache to contend with. Not a night had passed, not in her memory at any rate, where Sara West hadn’t wept herself to sleep. She’d never had another boyfriend, never invited another man into her life.
Seeing her mother’s pain on a daily basis had made Lia question what love was actually about. If it was even worth it. She’d never doubted its existence, not when the emotion tortured her mother at every moment. Until Caden, she’d never understood how one woman could spend the rest of her life alone, mourning a man who had left her.
By enabling herself to fall pregnant, she’d shown how much she trusted Caden. He probably didn’t realize that, but she was trusting him with her life. Trusting him not to do what her dad had.
The only difference was, she knew Caden would never leave her. A part of her recognized that at one point, her mother would probably have said the same thing...but she refused to let that sway her faith in her husband.
What they had was for keeps, and he was the only man she could ever imagine wanting to keep.
“Are you falling asleep on me?” he asked, when she turned deeper into his embrace, absorbing his strength and warmth.
She chuckled. “Maybe.”
“Cheeky minx,” he told her, brushing the top of her head with a kiss.
“It’s a relief to know you’re safe. I feel like it’s been a thousand hours since I last saw you. So much stuff has happened, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Like what?”
When he yawned, then snuggled deeper into the blankets, she asked, “Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“I’m sure. Just getting comfortable. Go on, tell me what’s been happening.”
“You know your ‘episode’?”
“Thanks, baby,” he murmured.
“I thought that word would soothe your bruised male pride,” she teased.
“It worked. And yes, I know my ‘episode.’”
“Well, Chloë drugged you. Your mother found out about it a little while ago, and confronted her. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Chloë throwing herself at you. At least, not with your mother’s endorsement.”
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