Birthrite (Legacy Series Book 2)

by Max Ellendale

  "Are you sure you don't want to swim, Nee? I know you'll like it," she said as she wrapped a towel around herself.

  "I like swimming," I said. "It's the suits I hate." Vanessa munched on a tuna sandwich while she watched the guys. Her spirits seemed to have lifted tremendously from this morning.

  "Then don't wear one, I'm not. It'll make Vanessa and Mal happy at least to see you in one though." Xany giggled.

  "No way." I shook my head.

  "Nee! Jeeze, just wear a T-shirt over it." She huffed at me. "Prude."

  "I'm not prude. Such a bully, sheesh. No means no." I gave her towel a yank.

  "Okay that's it." Without warning, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the woods.

  I dug my heels into the ground to no avail and reached for Vanessa. She held up her sandwich. "Sorry, my hands are all dirty." She snickered as Xany pulled me into an area with thick brush. While I huffed and puffed, Xany held up a black bikini.

  "Xee, I really don't want everyone to see me in that." I couldn't prevent myself from pouting, a Xany-like tactic I'd learned from her months ago. Usually she gave in; today, not so much.

  "Neeeee," she whined. "Three out of five have already seen you naked so what's the big deal."

  "Mal has not seen me naked." I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled.

  She stared at me. "Well, why not?"

  "Xee!"

  "But it will give their pickles a tickle." A wry grin spread across her lips and she shook the bikini in my face.

  "You're not making this any easier, you know that?" I snatched the suit from her and changed into it as quickly as possible then pulled my T-shirt back on over it. Xany picked up my clothes and tugged me back toward the lake. Vanessa nearly choked on a potato chip when she saw me. She drew her eyes from me to stare at Xany.

  "All you have to do is bully her a little." Xany shrugged. I huffed at both of them. "Mal!" Xany shouted. When he looked over, she pointed at me. He smiled goofily and Caden took advantage of his distraction and dunked him. I laughed and crossed my arms over my stomach, chewing my lip nervously.

  "Okay, I did it, give me my pants back," I said and tried to grab them from Xany.

  "No!" Vanessa shouted then cleared her throat. "I mean, no." A devious smile tugged at the corners of her lips. I grumbled at her. Mal escaped Caden by ducking under his arm and slamming his head into the water, then wading to the shore.

  "C'mon, pretty." He smiled and held his hands out to me.

  I groaned but went to him anyway. I made sure to glare at Xany on the way. She knew very well that I couldn't refuse him so this was all her fault. She tossed her towel beside the rock and bounded into the water. Vanessa moved about an inch closer to the lake to watch us. Mal guided me into the depths until the warm water tickled my knees.

  "The stones are slimy," I said.

  "Very. You'll get used to it." He chuckled and put his hands on my waist as the water rose to my chest. "Can you swim?" he asked.

  "Yeah but it's been awhile." My heart thumped louder as the water rose to my chin. The thought of drowning, of suffocating overtook me.

  "Too high," I said, my voice breathy. Mal was able to stand comfortably but when the water tapped my chin, I gripped him tight. He lifted me up and, without much thought, I wrapped my legs around his waist, gasping when his bare skin pressed against mine.

  "I've got you." His voice was soft. Our gazes locked and in that moment, I believed him. Xany and Caden watched us, as did Vanessa from her dry perch on the shore. Mal glanced down between us and chuckled.

  "What?" When I was secure, I laced my fingers behind his neck. My breathing returned to normal.

  "White T-shirt. Xany tricked you." He grinned. I looked down at myself and could see right through my shirt.

  "Xany!" I shouted. She giggled and swam away from me before I could splash her. I glanced at Vanessa just in time to see her turn toward the woods and crouch to the ground. Her defensive stance was alarming. Caden sniffed the air then, without warning, swam as fast as he could to the shore. Mal growled and scanned the tree line. He grabbed Xany by the arm and pulled both of us out of the water. Vanessa was growling and hissing at a set of shadows hidden in the brush. Caden emerged and took a stance in front of her.

  "Show yourself," he demanded.

  "Who is it?" Xany asked as she picked up her towel and wrapped it around her torso.

  "The nomads Hank warned us about." Mal set me down beside Xany then took his place at Caden's side. Vanessa settled down when the guys took over. From out of the trees, two brownish colored wolves padded into the clearing. At the same time they transformed into their human forms, the fur melted into their skin. One of them was a tall, brunette female and the other a fair-haired man. They wore leather loin cloths and the woman had a matching halter top.

  "Introduce," Caden ordered. His eyes narrowed and he frowned at the wolves. They had entered our territory unannounced, which is a death sentence on most occasions.

  "Sander Roe, and this my mate, Eva," the man said. The pair were unkempt and well-muscled. Eva was broad and looked as if she was a feral-born. Her rugged appearance and guarded stature reflected the very essence of undomesticated.

  "It would've been appropriate if you announced your presence before walking so close to my pack," Caden said. "That's asking for it."

  "We're just moving through." Sander frowned at Caden, his fingers twitching with edginess.

  "Then move through. We'll be monitoring you," Caden said. The couple walked a wide circle around us but Caden never dropped his gaze.

  Mal sat down on one of the towels. Reducing his guard showed his confidence in Caden's authority. Xany glared at the duo as they disappeared into the woods on the other side of the lake. Vanessa sat down beside Mal, huffing lightly.

  "Stupid trespassing dogs. I don't like them." She drew her gaze from Caden and stared at me in my saturated T-shirt.

  "I don't either. They're suspicious," Caden said as he joined the others. He continued to frown after the nomads even though they were no longer visible. I'd never seen Caden frown before. Xany sat in his lap.

  "Ditto," she said.

  "I don't think they're just innocently passing through," he said. "Their words were dripping with mistruth."

  By the time I sat down on my towel, both Mal and Vanessa were staring at me. "Will you two quit it," I said and wrapped my arms around myself. Vanessa laughed at me so I wrung my T-shirt out on her leg. She shrieked and swatted me a dozen times.

  "Shawnee! I hate it," she whined and used my dry clothes to wipe off her leg. Mal laughed.

  "We should patrol the area over the next few days, bro," he said. "Just to make sure they've really moved on."

  "I agree," Caden said as he took the sandwich that Xany offered him. I watched Caden's posture to see if he would relax, and when he did, so did I.

  A hawk circled around the lake, screeching angrily at something below. I leaned back on my elbows to watch it, wondering what it could see from so high above. After I dried off a bit, Vanessa put her hand on my thigh. She caressed my damp skin until her hand touched my sodden shirt. She shuddered hard enough that I felt it rattle through the ground.

  "Ugh, Shawnee, take it off. I can't stand it." She cringed and hissed at my shirt. Everyone laughed.

  "No way." I shook my head.

  "I hate it, please take it off, today's been uncomfortable enough." She propped her chin on her knee and watched me. How could I resist her plea?

  I sighed. "No one's allowed to look at me then." I sat up and peeled off the soggy shirt. I was ridiculously uncomfortable but sat cross-legged on the towel. Despite my request, everyone except Caden looked at me. Since Mal and Vanessa were the closest, I gave them each a thwap on the arm. Mal grinned and painfully tore his eyes away. Vanessa, however, put her hand on my shoulder and pressed me to lie down. She joined me, turning on her side to rest her head on her hand. Her other hand fell naturally to my stomach and her purring returned. Xany whis
pered something to Caden who chuckled and continued to avoid looking at me. I was grateful that he was honoring my request.

  The sun set my skin on fire. In a way, the cruel heat made me feel like I had more clothes on. Mal relaxed on his towel, closing his eyes and soaking in the sun. It was weird to share such a normal moment with everyone despite the intrusion by the drifter wolves.

  After a bite to eat, Caden and Xany returned to the water. Their laughter and lightheartedness lifted my spirits. Mal breathed softly beside me as he dozed off, leaving Vanessa and me somewhat alone.

  "Feeling better than before?" I asked.

  "Yeah." She drew circles around my navel. In spite of the heat, it sent a shiver up my body.

  "You've had a rough few days." I caressed her cheek with my knuckles. Her skin was warm and moist from being in the sun.

  "Tell me about it." She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch.

  "Are you gonna burn in the sun?"

  "Probably, but I can heal it." She tugged at my bikini top with her teeth.

  "Hey, naughty." I squirmed away from her some.

  "I've never seen you in a swimsuit before." She opened her eyes again and smiled.

  "I've never seen myself in one. Xany must have hypnotized me." I laughed and shook my head.

  "Remind me to thank her. Mom's going to stop by tonight." This time she sneaked down to lift the waistband of the bikini bottoms. I held my breath. I wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but I didn't want her to feel any worse.

  "Good. I'm sorry our trip got spoiled." I managed to croak out.

  "It's okay. We can visit when he's gone and besides, it's happier here anyway." Her eyes lingered on whatever she could see of my lower half. I didn't stop her though my heart thundered in my chest. Looking didn't scare me nearly as much as touching, I'd come to learn.

  "A cat happier living in a wolf pack—that says something." My voice sounded a little squeaky. She let go of my bathing suit and met my gaze again. I hoped she didn't pick up on my blushing. "Want to take a walk with me?"

  "Will you stay in your suit?" Her eyebrows flicked upward. I laughed.

  "Is that a condition of you taking a walk with me?"

  "Mhmm." She grinned.

  "All right, but only because I know you like it." We sat up together. I patted Mal on the stomach to let him know we were leaving. He grunted in response.

  Vanessa and I walked hand-in-hand as we ventured around the lake. Like the night I had dinner with Mal, our silence wasn't all that silent. Sometimes I wondered if, in spite of everything, it were possible for Vanessa and me to share a mate bond. As we made our second lap around the lake, the sun hung low in the western sky.

  Chapter Eight

  "Two cats in the house? What is this, a pride or a pack?" Xany huffed and puffed during dinner. A frown accompanied every bite of food she took.

  "There's nothing to worry about, precious," Caden reassured her. "It's important to keep an open mind."

  "I don't like it," she said and turned her nose up at him.

  "Xandrea Wade, you haven't even met her." Mal's eyes narrowed at his sister. He didn't seem to mind the visit from Vanessa's mother. Rather, he was more docile than I'd expected when it came to other species. I could tell that, on some level, he trusted Vanessa and his relaxed demeanor told me that he trusted her family as well. I couldn't help but wonder what, underneath it all, made him tick. Sometimes he was just too calm. Without warning, he pulled me into his lap and draped his arms around my middle, possessing me in a way that only a wolf could possess a mate. His energy flowed through me, warming my core.

  "So?" Xany said, her voice wrapped in a heavy sulk.

  "Vanessa would never put any of us in danger, Xee, you should know that by now," I said as I settled into Mal's lap. In a way, I expected more from Xany.

  "I do know it, but I can't help but be suspicious." She turned her gaze to me.

  "I'll give you something to be suspicious about." Mal shifted in his seat and nodded toward the television. I couldn't hear it. Xany retrieved the remote from the sofa and turned up the volume. The minute I heard the reporter say "disappearance," I focused on the TV completely.

  "Another member of our community was reported missing today. Adele Sanchez, a twenty-three-year-old preschool teacher, went missing today from the local day camp where she worked for the summer. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Adele Sanchez, please call your local police department. A five-thousand dollar reward has been posted for any tips leading to the whereabouts of Miss Sanchez. This latest disappearance marks number six within the last two weeks to hit the northeastern Utah area. Five of the victims have been women in their mid-twenties and one teenage boy. Two of the victims were from Salt Lake City. There are no leads at this time. Police are working on establishing a motive for these acts and have not yet determined if the disappearances are related. Back to you, John, in the news room," the newscaster finished.

  "The police don't know if the disappearances are related? What are they, stupid?" Xany gawked at the screen.

  "They have to say that stuff, Xee. They don't want the perpetrators to know they're onto them." Mal snatched the remote from Xany and lowered the volume again. Werewolves and their supersonic hearing. I shook my head.

  "They must be pretty stupid perpetrators then." Xany frowned. "And thank you for giving me something else to worry about."

  "Anytime." He grinned.

  "Does Hank know about these disappearances, Caden?" I asked and snuggled closer to Mal. Without a moment's hesitation, he slipped his fingertips into the waistband of my jeans, his palms resting against my stomach. My breath caught in my throat. I hadn't expected the gesture and it caught me off-guard. A foreign pressure lingered between my thighs. I squeezed them tight and tried to ignore it.

  "He does. None of the victims are known to him or our Sept mates. Which in itself is odd. Hank has ties all over this state," Caden said as he went over to the recycling bin in the kitchen. He shuffled through it before removing the most recent newspaper. He held it up for all of us to see. Pictures of the missing people were on the front page. Pangs of guilt rumbled in my chest. How could I have overlooked a newspaper with a story like this?

  "We should hang onto this," Caden said. Xany joined him to scope out the news.

  "There doesn't seem to be anything similar about them. Some are blonde, some Hispanic, one male. The only thing that seems to be connected is their age," she said, her finger pressed to the article.

  "And the fact that they're all from northeastern Utah. Like the newscaster reported," I said and gnawed on my lip. For months, I'd scoured the newspaper to make certain that the Andrus hadn't followed me. There were no strange reports of mutilations, deaths, or bizarre births. I thought I was in the clear. Until now.

  "What are you thinking, Nee?" Mal asked me as I squirmed in his lap. His arms tightened around me, fingertips digging into the flesh just above the hideous scar on my lower belly.

  "Are there any Andrus-infested places in the area? Cluster disappearances like that can sometimes be tied to them." I shrugged and toyed with the sleeve of Mal's shirt. Even though I avoided looking at Caden, his gaze seemed to burn a hole in the side of my head. I looked up at him and shrugged again.

  "Remember way back when, when I told you that you know more than you let on?" he asked.

  "I remember." Eventually I might eat a hole through the side of my face if I keep chewing my cheek to death every time Caden addresses me.

  "Yeah, well that's still true." He chuckled. "To my knowledge, there is no Andrus influence in the area. How do you know so much about the Andrus, other than having kind of worked for them?"

  "My mom used to teach me everything. Before she died, she took me everywhere with her. She was the Alpha Female of our pack." I graduated from chewing my cheek to gnawing on my tongue. Mal flicked me in the chin so I stopped.

  "Your mom was the Alpha? How?" Xany nearly jumped across the table
. Mal removed his hands from my jeans to caress my arms. Caden leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

  "In...Reservation Packs, the ranks are a little different. There's the Chief Alpha who's the leader, and then there's an Alpha Female who rules with him. It keeps the balance. She used to take me to all the Elder meetings. I listened a lot. The Chief Alpha was killed in battle with a horde of Tainted Ones and my mom became the only Alpha for awhile until they were able to elect a new Chief Alpha," I said.

  "And then she was killed," Mal finished for me.

  I nodded. "She was the Alpha for about a year before it happened though. After the Chief Alpha died, our people panicked. They became disorganized and she helped to reorganize them. After she was killed, our people scattered. They didn't feel safe anymore."

  "You must have been very young when all this happened, and yet you remember," Caden said.

  "I was eight when my mom died. I remember everyone moving away because then I started going to public school and moved into the trailer with my father," I said. I hated that trailer. A sardine can of horrors. On the reservation, we had a small house. Nothing fancy and some rooms had dirt floors, but it was a house nonetheless. And my mother made it a home.

  "You're very brave," Mal whispered in my ear. I turned my head to nuzzle him and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. Xany seemed to hang on my every word. I wasn't surprised. She liked knowing everything about everyone.

  "You and Mal were right," she said to Caden who nodded.

  "Right about what?" I asked. She went to speak but Caden interrupted. "I smell foreign cat."

  I looked over to my bedroom door just as Vanessa and Kat emerged. Vanessa's face was pale with nervousness. There's always a chance for a scuffle between cats and wolves even in the most neutral of circumstances. Kat held Vanessa's hand, but her gait was calm and confident.

  "Hi, Kat. Welcome to Utah," I said as Mal stood with me. Her expression brightened immediately when she heard me though her eyes were on Caden. After what seemed like an endless stare, she and Caden shook hands.