Show No Fear (Rising Goddess Book 1)

by Tamara White

  Colby drives us down the street slowly. The children automatically move from out in front of the truck, resuming their play once we’ve passed. When we reach the end of the street, Colby pulls into the driveway of a house slightly smaller than the rest. Even the color is different, more of a vibrant red rather than a maroon like the others. “Whose house is this?” I ask as he parks the vehicle and unbuckles his seat belt.

  He grins over at me, his eyes twinkling in mischief. “This is my place. And the only house in the estate with a pool, so I’m guessing my brothers are probably here, along with a few of the other pack members.”

  “So your mom and stepdad don’t look after them full time then? Do they have a nanny or something?” I ask as I undo my seat belt.

  Colby doesn’t answer straight away, instead coming around the car and helping me from the passenger seat like I’m made of delicate china. Once I’m firmly on my feet, he starts pulling me towards the house.

  “No, not a nanny exactly, it’s more of a whoever is available kind of thing. A lot of the women in the pack either don’t have children of their own or have lost children, so they’ll volunteer to watch after Jack and Dylan just for the chance to spend time with them.”

  Aww, that’s very sweet. The love I can hear in Colby’s voice has me eager to meet them, and I wonder if they look anything like him. Probably not, since they have different fathers, but I think part of why I’m wondering that is because I’m curious what a child of Colby’s would look like. Damn, I’m already pregnant with two pups and here I am thinking about having another child with another man. What the hell is wrong with me?

  Together, we walk up to the front door. I expect Colby to pull out a key but he just opens the door. Huh, seems a bit naive to leave it unlocked, even in a community of wolves.

  Colby chuckles at my expression. “Don’t worry. No one will enter someone else’s house unless they have permission. We can scent intruders, remember?”

  Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense. Colby moves aside and gestures for me to go inside first. I can’t help but smile at the sight that greets me when I walk through the door. This house is pure Colby.

  The entryway is a small white hallway and when I walk through it, I realize what he meant by the scent. I can pick up the scent of buttered popcorn I associate with wolves, but underneath that is also three different distinctive scents. One smells of spaghetti sauce, another of raspberry and the third smells of cinnamon. Even with all these other scents, I can smell Colby’s aftershave or whatever cologne it is he uses. It’s a lot fainter than the other three odors, but still there nonetheless.

  I step out of the hallway and into an open plan living room with a three seater couch facing the large tv mounted on the back wall. The two walls on either side of the room have been painted a pale green, the color suiting the room. The wall on my right has bookshelves lining it, each shelf holding an astronomical amount of books. Then again, I guess if you’ve lived as long as Colby, you might need something to help occupy your time.

  The wall on the opposite side of the room has no furniture pressed up against it, instead it holds a fair amount of hand drawn pictures. I walk towards it, my hand cradling my stomach as I look at the pictures his brothers must have done for him. It’s so sweet to see them displayed so proudly, and it makes me wonder if one day my children will have pictures up here too?

  Colby comes up behind me, seeming to have sensed my thoughts. He wraps his arms around my waist, his hands resting over mine. “You know, I will treat these precious babies as if they were my own. I would build a whole house for them to decorate if that would make you happy.”

  I laugh lightly and rest my head against his chest. “We don’t need a house for that, we can just build a scrapbook of their lives. After all, I’m sure there’s going to be many moments all of you will want recorded.”

  “Damn right there will be. Maybe we can have a scrapbook for each of us? Something to show our individual moments with the children? I mean, I know there are going to be some firsts that one of us may miss, but maybe we just record the first time it happens with each of us so we’ll each have those special moments with our children.”

  I turn around in his arms, my heart swelling with love for the amount of thought and consideration he put into that idea. That was something I had worried about, but in a single moment he was able to ease those fears. “So does that mean you’re one hundred percent on board with this? With us? With this pregnancy? Even though the babies won’t be yours biologically? And you’re honestly okay with me being mated to, or wanting to be in Bas’ case, the others? Are you sure I can be enough for you?”

  It’s probably not the best time to ask all of these questions, what with being here to see his brothers, but I need to be sure. To know I can let my guard down around him completely. I’ve decided to push the Emily situation to the back of my mind, at least until we meet back up with Kaden and Alex, but this is something that concerns the two of us and I need to know before we can move forward. After all, it’s not just me I need to think about anymore, but these two little ones within me too. They need stability in their lives and if Colby feels even a worm of doubt, then it’s better to know now than to put them through that.

  He cups my cheek, his eyes showing a fierceness I only see when he’s around me. “You know I would do anything for you. Whether that means sharing you with others you care about or sharing these children.” His hand moves down and presses lightly against my stomach. “No matter what you think, you will always be enough for me, just as you are. I just can’t believe it took me so long to realize it was you I really wanted.”

  “What about Emily? Do you regret what happened with her? I just mean if you want to be with her, you still can. You can date us both, as long as she’s okay with it, that is. I don’t want it to cause any problems with the two of you, or with us.”

  He places a hand over my lips. “Just shush, Katie. Do I regret how things happened with Emily? Yes, but not because of you. Because I think I was wrong about the whole thing. I thought she was my mate, that the connection I felt for her was as real as could be. But then I met you. You were so strong in that dorm room, trying to get me to calm down and behave so no humans would come find me out.

  “When I hugged you, something changed. My wolf perked up, not in anger, but in an eagerness to be near you. Whereas anytime I was with Emily, my wolf was angry. He wanted her for something, but not in the way a wolf should want their mate. It scared me the level of ferocity that he had. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to hurt her, but even the thought of that was concerning. Even if she wasn’t a true mate, my wolf and I still should have felt devoted to her. I should have wanted to cherish every moment with her, but instead I was conflicted, which only got worse once I realized who you were to me.

  “I tried to balance my time between the two of you, but whenever I was with you, it was like it should have been between two mates, like we had known each other all our lives. When I was with Emily, though, it was always so hard. I had to constantly remind myself not to snap at her because my wolf was just that angry in her presence. To make matters worse, anytime I was with both of you at once, his instincts were telling me to keep the two of you apart.

  That day when Emily called me to her room and you were on the floor unconscious, it took all my self-restraint not to let my wolf out right then.” He squeezes me tighter like he needs the reassurance I’m okay. I wrap my arms around him, stroking his back, silently encouraging him to continue whenever he’s ready.

  “I think I was wrong about Emily from the beginning,” he admits quietly. “I think you must have just run across her sometime during that day, so when I saw her, I smelled your scent and got confused.”

  Shit, it feels like this would actually be the perfect time to tell him about Emily, even though I would prefer to do it with the others present.

  I step back to give him some space and open my mouth, prepared to tell him everything that I suspect Emily mi
ght have done, including spelling him into believing she was his mate.

  But before I can say anything, a little squeal sounds from the hall leading to the back of the house. When I turn, two little sandy haired boys come rushing into the room. They tackle Colby, who drops to the ground with a fake pained groan. Well, I can’t exactly tell him about Emily with his brothers here. Looks like it’ll have to wait until we get back after all.

  “Colby!”

  “When did you get back?”

  “Why didn’t you come get us?”

  “How come you smell weird?”

  “How long can you stay?”

  “Is anyone else from your pack coming to visit?”

  “Why have you been away for so long?”

  “Did you bring us any presents?”

  “Who’s that woman?”

  Both boys fire off question after question without giving him a chance to answer. I find myself chuckling at the sight. Colby looks so damn adorable with the two boys piled on top of him, both looking so proud that they managed to take down their brother.

  Looking at the two of them, it’s difficult to tell them apart. They both have soft sandy colored hair and bright blue eyes. Not the same shade as Colby’s, no theirs is more of a sky blue. Still dazzling, though. The only real way I can find to tell the young boys apart is that one is wearing a red tank and the other a blue one.

  Colby chuckles, rolling the two boys off his back playfully. Then he jumps to his feet. “Come on, boys. Let’s go find your watcher for the day.”

  The boy in blue takes a step to follow, but the one in the red shirt holds his ground, looking at me suspiciously. “No, you have to tell us who that is first,” he demands, pointing his finger my way.

  Damn, if all children are this cute when they’re upset maybe this parenthood thing won’t be too bad.

  I take a step closer to the two boys and drop down so I’m making eye-contact with the one who is clearly unhappy about not knowing my name. I hold out my hand for him to shake. “My name is Katie. What’s yours?”

  “Jack,” he says, crossing his arms across his chest and damn if that doesn’t make his little pout all the more adorable. I just wanna smoosh his little cheeks but I don’t think that would go over very well.

  Colby chooses that moment to intervene, a knowing smirk on his face. He places a hand on both boys’ shoulders. “Jack, Dylan, this is Katie, my mate. She was the one who told me I should come visit you today. If not for her, I might not have been able to until another day.”

  Dylan looks back up at Colby with a frown. “She doesn’t smell like wolf. She smells sweet. Like vanilla.”

  Jack, on the other hand, seems to have relaxed now that Colby has given him an explanation for my appearance in his home. I watch as Jack grabs Dylan’s arm and leads him away over by the wall, where he starts whispering to his brother.

  Colby chuckles softly and leans forward to press his lips to mine. After a moment, he pulls away with a grin. “Sorry, they’re both a little too Alpha for their own good sometimes.”

  Before I can reply, I hear a whispered ‘Now!’ behind me just before two small bodies tackle me to the ground. Damn, Colby is lucky his brothers are so goddamn adorable, otherwise he’d pay for that.

  I groan in fake pain as I roll over and look up at Colby and his brothers. My mate’s eyes widen in fear but I move before he can act, swiping his legs out from under him and then jumping to my feet with a laugh of my own.

  His brothers look down at their fallen brother with a look of glee before launching themselves on him. “Help us, Katie. He has ticklish ribs. We need to get him now before he escapes!” Dylan cries excitedly. I laugh and crouch down to hold Colby’s hands so he can’t stop his brothers’ relentless attempts to tickle him.

  Colby’s blue eyes meet mine, promising revenge. He tries to tug his hands from my grip, but only half-heartedly. Then he starts laughing when the boys find the spot they were looking for. After a minute of their laughter, I sit back, not feeling too good. My stomach is rolling and I feel a little dizzy.

  The mood in the room changes as soon as I sit down. Colby is immediately there, his hand around my waist. “You okay?”

  I lean against his chest, taking a deep breath in through my nose and out again. “Yeah, I’m fine, sorry. Just a dizzy spell. Must have moved too fast.”

  “Why are you dizzy?” Jack asks, coming to stand right in front of me, his brother pretty much attached to his side. While Jack doesn’t show any outward emotion, Dylan looks both worried and nervous.

  Colby sighs and rubs a hand over my belly. “Katie isn’t feeling very well because she has pups in her belly. They can make her get sick or dizzy sometimes.”

  Dylan's eyes light up at that. He looks ready to lunge at me in his excitement, but stops at the last second. “That means we’re uncles, right?” He glances to Jack, who is looking up at me with a hopeful expression.

  At Dylan’s words, Colby seems to have clammed up, not seeming sure how to answer. I guess even though we talked about all of them being there and caring for the children, none of us had really considered what that would mean for the rest of our families.

  “Yes, the two of you will be uncles. Does that make you happy?” I ask, ignoring Colby for the moment, who seems to have stopped breathing at my side.

  At this, Jack throws himself at me. I catch him in my arms and hug him to me, even as Dylan steps into my arms. “You two are going to be the best uncles ever,” I murmur as they continue to hold onto me. My heart swells with emotion, the instant love I feel for these boys overwhelming me.

  “Alright, you terrors. Go out back and play. Katie and I will come out in a moment,” Colby says, his voice thick with emotion. The boys both jump up with wide smiles before turning and running off through the house.

  A few moments later, I hear the back door open and slam shut. Then I start to get to my feet. Colby jumps up and holds a hand out in case I need it. While I don’t really, I take it anyway, enjoying the closeness between us. “Come on, let's get you a glass of water.”

  I nod and he leads me the same way the boys went, except he takes a left at an open doorway, which leads to the kitchen.

  I step into the room and immediately freeze, blinking rapidly from the onslaught of color. “Um, Colby, did you notice a rainbow exploded in here?” I ask, taking in the bright splashes all around the room. It literally looks like someone filled up a bunch of water balloons with paint and then just threw them everywhere until every surface in the room was covered in paint.

  “Yeah, I know it’s a bit shocking at first, but you’ll get used to it. A friend of mine dared me to let her little sister paint it. When she was done, she looked so damn proud of her efforts that I never bothered to change it. Every time she visits, her eyes light up at seeing her work proudly on display.”

  I watch with a soft smile as Colby moves to a sparkly pink cabinet and pulls out a glass. Then he turns on the tap, filling the cup with water, before joining me where I lean against a floating island in the center of the kitchen.

  “Here, drink this, then we’ll head outside. Knowing my pack, there’s probably a BBQ happening and they’re all using my pool as their gathering point.”

  I take the glass from him, and begin sipping it slowly. “Doesn’t it bother you that people just barge in and make use of your house and pool like that?”

  “Nah, I have an outdoor bathroom by the pool. It’s separate from the rest of the house and keeps people from trekking in and out when they’re all wet.”

  I drink a little more water, until the glass is almost half empty. I set it down, unable to stomach another drop. Colby moves around the island to stand before me, his eyes conveying his concern. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can call my mother to come check you over if you’re at all worried.”

  “Colby, I’m fine.” I place my hand over my stomach protectively. “We’re all fine, I promise. If something was wrong, I would know. It’s just normal pr
egnancy stuff.” I offer him a reassuring smile and he steps into my arms, breathing in deep. Before I can move to offer him a kiss, he picks me up and plops me down on top of the island. Then he steps between my legs with a grin.

  “Um, I know I’m not fat, but is it safe for my ass to be perched on this island? What if my weight makes the slab shift or something?”

  “Well, then I guess I’ll just have to catch you before you fall.” Then his lips are on mine, kissing me hungrily. I reach up and grab his hair, holding him to me, enjoying every second of the kiss. But before it becomes too heated, a small voice makes us break apart quickly.

  “Ew, Colby! Stop kissing Katie in the kitchen! Don’t you know that creates germs?!” Then, before either of us can respond, Dylan is bolting back out the way he came.

  I dissolve into a fit of giggles. “Did he just say we’re making germs?”

  Colby just sighs in complete exasperation. “Yeah, I think he did. I feel sorry for the poor boy when he hits puberty. I can guarantee he isn’t ever going to find a mate with talk like that.” He shakes his head, laughing softly under his breath. Then he mutters, “Germs. What the hell have the other wolves been teaching him?”

  I continue to giggle as Colby grabs my hips and pulls me off the island, setting me back on my feet. “Come on, Katie. If we keep hiding in here, they’ll just keep sending the boys back in. The pack knows they’re my weakness.”

  I hold back my smile at the thought of his brothers being his weakness. I can completely understand that, because even though I just met them, I’m pretty sure they’d be able to get me to do anything they pleased as well. Dylan strikes me as someone who can manipulate you into doing anything he wanted while making you think it was your idea the whole time. And as for Jack, he’s as Alpha male as they come. The strong, silent type. I was surprised when he hugged me because I didn’t expect him to offer that kind of affection. And if Colby’s own surprise was any indication, then I’d guess I’m one of the few people he’s let in.