by Jessica Snow
"Nioclas," she whispered bleakly into the darkness of Kimberly's guest bedroom.
The blackness around her, broken up only by the faint glow of the city lights through the gauzy curtain that covered the window, spoke no reply to her. Wiping at her face, she could feel the warm tracks that had greeted her every time she woke up from sleep recently. Tears were the only reply she ever got from her dreams, that and the ache in her heart and her arms from missing her Mate's presence.
For thirty-eight years, they had been in each other's thoughts. Every moment, every thought was shared between them, and they grew to the point where they would go whole days without ever even speaking, yet having a constant conversation between them. Kensuke, their son, had once complained to them that trying to study for his high school tests had sometimes been impossible because of the constant static bleeding in from their Link.
Then her heart and soul had been torn apart, due to a twenty-five millimeter round tearing her Nioclas from the earth, fired from a kinbushi armored vehicle. She had felt the pain and numbing shockwave as the slug tore through him, sending him flying backward to land on the soft forest ground behind him. She felt as his mind first lost coherence, then faded off, without even a final moment of clarity to say goodbye. It was only later, after the battle was over, that she realized she had also lost her son, her mind was so numbed by the horrors of the attack.
Sitting up, she sighed and wiped at her face. Still, regardless of her personal pain, there was her duty to Clan Thornblood. She was their Alpha Female, and she loved them, each and every one. She loved their tiny territory that straddled two states, which a hundred years ago had run thick with real wolves. A land of mineral miners, cattle ranchers, and recently alternative energy ventures, she knew every inch of her territory. It was the only thing keeping her going.
That, she thought, and my new family. It had surprised her at how open the Waldwycks had been to her joining their admittedly peculiar group. It had caused her to reevaluate a lot of her ideas, which she had to admit was pretty difficult to do at seventy years old. But even their structure was nearly ridiculous, the beginning of a bad joke. Two Lycans, a human and a Bear walk into a bar.....
Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed. She knew that at least for the next hour or so, there would be no returning to sleep. She remembered that Kimberly had yet to remove the books from a built-in bookshelf in the living room. When Akiko had glanced at them earlier, she saw that most of the titles were older, and when she had asked, Kimberly had said they were Lady Valeria's. "Mom had bouts of insomnia sometimes," Kimberly had explained, "and said she enjoyed the books. Refused to use a tablet or anything either, said she preferred the smell of real paper."
In that, Valeria and I are quite similar, old fashioned I guess, Akiko thought as she pulled the nightshirt over her head. She had always slept in the nude, and only wore the long shirt in case Edward was up. While she was certain he wouldn't try anything untoward, there was no need for undue embarrassment. There was, after all, a difference between nudity for the purpose of changing form and nudity for walking around the home.
Making her way down the hallway, she stopped suddenly when she heard a soft giggle that transitioned into a moan from the living room. "Edward...... don't stop," Kimberly barely whispered, followed by a rustling sound that Akiko was sure was the young couple rearranging themselves on the sofa, or perhaps on the soft rug that surrounded the fire pit.
Akiko quietly backed up, not wanting to disturb them. She remembered what it was like being newly Mated, and while Edward was not her type of man, she wasn’t one to judge in that regard. She had broken more than a few expected rules when she'd Mated a Westerner of Eastern European blood, after all.
Going back to her room, Akiko lay back down on her bed. Suddenly, a scent came to her nose, and she realized that she'd grabbed one of Nioclas' old t-shirts for her covering. It still bore his scent, and while a wave of sad nostalgia swept over her, on the heels of it was a sense of calmness as she closed her eyes.
* * *
"Good morning Sister," Kimberly greeted Akiko the next morning, knocking on the door frame of her room just as the sun finished creeping over the horizon. "I hope I’m not waking you too early."
Akiko blinked her eyes and looked around. For the first time in six weeks, she felt refreshed after going back to sleep and hadn't woken up before sunrise. "No, not at all," she replied, sitting up. She realized she was still wearing Nioclas' old shirt, and wondered if the familiar companion had helped. "I slept well."
“Good,” Kimberly replied. "Edward has already gone upstairs to have breakfast with Keith and Melanie. Would you like to join us, or are you going to have breakfast with Thornblood allies?"
Akiko smiled. “Are you not also Thornblood allies? And my new family. You’re right, though. I think this morning would be best if I mingled with some of the other Clans. If anything, my bodyguard must be bored out of his mind. He has nothing to do, and he's not the most social of Lycans."
Kimberly tilted her head. "I've noticed that. In fact, I've never seen him speak even."
Akiko chuckled. "Because he can't. Owen Tchernova was born mute. He can only communicate over the Link, which he and I have attained to a limited degree after so many years working and living together. He's quite a brilliant man, actually. He and his Mate are good friends of mine, and I hope you have a chance to meet them when you come to Thornblood Hall."
"I would enjoy that. However, in the meantime, do you think Owen would enjoy dinner with our new family? That is, if you don't mind acting as his mouthpiece. I'm sure everyone else wouldn't mind."
Akiko shrugged. “I’ll ask him at breakfast. I’m sure he’d love to. In fact, the two of you and Edward might enjoy talking. To make up for his lack of voice, Owen has become the Thornblood equivalent of you, an expert hacker and computer specialist. That's his job when he's not acting as my bodyguard."
Kimberly smiled. “Then if what Keith and Edward discussed with us last night before bed was true, he's going to be very valuable in our war. Well, I’ll leave you to dress, and see you at the meetings." Kimberly turned to leave, only to stop when Akiko reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Thank you, Kim. You’ve made me feel welcome here,” Akiko said quietly. "I'll see you at the meetings. By the way, what are you wearing?"
"Same as yesterday. Business suit with a skirt, Lockwood coloration to my blouse. You?"
Akiko smiled. "I was tempted to wear the same as you, except for a Thornblood colored blouse, but that might be a bit too much. I guess I'll go with my normal wear."
"Next time then. I'm sure by next Gathering, everyone will be more comfortable with the Lockwoods and Thornbloods being close allies. I'll see you after breakfast. We'll get the rest of our plans worked out, and we'll have plenty of time to visit each other to work out fashion tips then. I'll be honest, some of your looks are pretty damn sexy. Maybe a blend of both our styles could work?"
"I'd like that. A unique style for a unique alliance."
Chapter 45
Melanie lay in bed, frustrated. In the month since the Gathering, she had continued to grow. For the past two weeks, she had been confined to bed, her stomach so large that when the baby moved, she could actually see him squirming. She felt like she was in an Alien movie.
Keith had been amazing the whole time, along with Kimberly and Edward. At no time had she been left alone in the penthouse, one or more of them always nearby to make sure she was taken care of.
Melanie hadn’t spent the two weeks doing nothing, though. Using the amazing technology that Kimberly seemed to pull out of nowhere, she coordinated information gathering among the various Lycans who were in the government. While few were in the military, a surprising number were in local law enforcement, normally in areas close to major Lycan areas of operation.
Frustratingly for Melanie, Lycans had not grown their influence beyond the local level, being more concerned with other forms of business and security. There were on
ly fifteen Lycan Clan members in the military, all of them like her, humans Mated to Lycans, and seven members of Federal law enforcement, all but one normal humans Mated to Lycans.
She could understand the dilemma. With all but Alpha level Lycans needing to change with the full moon, being in the military was nearly impossible. After all, a soldier could not just disappear every full moon for two nights when on deployment or in a battle zone. Law enforcement had similar problems, especially past the local level. The sheriff of a county, such as the Clan Lockwood member who was in charge of the area near Lockwood Manor, could arrange schedules so that no Lycan was on night shift during a full moon. But in a larger department that wouldn't work, where shift schedules were determined by a staffing officer you may never meet.
"At least my people don't have that problem," Edward noted when she discussed the problem with him. He was sitting next to her in her and Keith's bedroom, Kimberly doing her daily hour and a half of training while Keith was at his office, taking care of what they had come to call the peacetime Lockwood needs. "Winter lethargy, yes. The tendency to pack on twenty or thirty pounds between Halloween and Thanksgiving, yes. But never the need to change just because of the moon."
"True, then again they tend to blend in the other twenty-nine days of the month a bit better than you, Ed," Melanie replied. It was a habit she and Edward had fallen into, calling him by his shortened version of his name. No other person in the Clan did it, including Kimberly, but Edward, who normally hated it (and would have strenuously protested being called Eddie) didn't seem to mind. "I don't think I ever saw a restaurant staff look more frightened than when Keith took us to that Thai buffet three weeks ago."
Edward laughed, reaching over to assist Melanie with a wedge-shaped pillow she used when she wanted to sit up, which still left her at a very shallow angle. "Yeah, that one guy totally flipped. I think he freaked out more when Keith started talking to him in Thai. Did you know he knew that?"
"Nope, but it hasn't come up before. I've sort of gotten used to being surprised around our here. Just the other day I was trying to get the swing arm for my computer working when...." Melanie said, before freezing.
"Before you what?" Edward, who had turned around to get a glass of water, asked. He turned back, looking back at Melanie. "Mel?"
"It's time," Melanie said, looking up at Edward. "Call them."
"Time for..... oh," Edward said, realization dawning on him. "Are you sure?"
“Trust me, I’m sure. Get them. Fast. My link isn’t working for some reason.”
Edward nodded, then closed his eyes. "Hold on, I've never done it this way before," he said. "Not in words, anyway."
Kim!
Just a moment, doing my last set of ring gymnastics.
Edward shook his head. Can't wait. The baby's coming!
Edward could feel the thump as Kimberly let go of the gymnastic rings in the new Lockwood facility in the basement of Keith's office building, and tumbled to the mat. What?
The baby is coming. Your nephew. Melanie just told me. Can you get Keith?
Yes. Call the doctor, get the ambulance there. We'll meet you at the clinic.
Okay. Don't worry, I'll take care of them. Get Keith there, I love you.
Love you too.
Edward opened his eyes and looked down at Melanie, smiling in triumph. "That was pretty cool. Kinda like a phone call, but even easier."
"Congrats," Melanie said, struggling to sit up and failing. "Now get me out of this bed before my water breaks."
Edward lifted Melanie up in his arms and carried her to the living room, where he set her on her feet. "I'm calling the doctor right now. Kim said she'd get Keith and they'd meet us at the clinic. Lean on my arm if you need help."
"We're installing a voice dialing system in here when Kim gets pregnant," Melanie griped as her legs trembled. Even though the contractions were still far apart, she was so off balance from the huge bulge in her stomach that she swayed dangerously. Reaching out, she rested her hands on Edward's left side while he grabbed the phone off the kitchen counter. Thankfully, the doctor was on speed dial.
"Yes, doctor? It's Edward Stormstout. Yes, yes, greetings to you too. Doc? Shut up, please. The baby's coming. Yes, we're at the penthouse. Contractions? Hold on."
He turned to Melanie, trying to remain calm. "Doc wants to know how far apart the contractions are."
"Tell him they just started, so maybe ten minutes or so. The baby knows, though, he's ready to come out."
"Gotcha." Edward turned back to the phone. "She says it just started, but the baby is telling her he's ready to come out. Okay, okay. Right, we'll be ready. Thanks."
Edward hung up the phone and turned back to Melanie. "He said to let you relax on the sofa if you can and to get your delivery bag. Where is it?"
"By the front door, don't worry it's all packed. It's the purple bag, easy to spot when they get here. Do they want me to go downstairs?" Melanie asked.
Shaking his head, Edward helped Melanie totter to the sofa area. "No, they're sending an ambulance with a full gurney."
Another contraction swept over her, her belly tightening to iron hardness before relaxing.
Reaching the sofa, Edward helped her down before kneeling in front of her on the carpet. "Isn't this a bit fast?" he asked, worried.
Breathing deep and starting the rhythm that she'd learned in her practice with Akiko during the few days she'd been in town (the woman had experience, after all), she shook her head. "Hybrid babies are often a bit fast if the mother is human, at least that’s what they told me."
“Have you and Keith decided on a name?" Edward asked, trying to distract Melanie from the feeling in her stomach. "You know, Beowulf is a good name. It means Bee Wolf or Bear in Old Anglo-Saxon."
“We did pick a name,” Melanie said, continuing her breathing. "Jay Rudolph Waldwyck. And we did keep the German naming. It means Swift Wolf."
"Oh, the Clan's going to like that," Edward said. "They’re definitely going to like that one."
"So..." Melanie said in between breaths, "when is it Kimberly's turn?"
Edward shrugged, “who knows? We’re not exactly trying, but if it happens, that’d be wonderful. There's never been a Bear and Lycan hybrid before."
"Hmmm," Melanie said contemplatively, "a Bear and Lycan hybrid? Hopefully as strong as Daddy and as fast as Mommy."
"And hopefully as good looking as Mommy too," Edward said with a laugh. "As for smarts, well, I think all parents hope their child is smart. You and Keith have played that game, haven't you?"
Before Melanie could answer, another contraction hit, and she grimaced as the glassy wave of pain rolled through her belly. "I thought they said ten minutes?"
The elevator dinged, and the ambulance crew came in. Both Lycans, they hurried over to Melanie, their gurney behind them.
"Ask and you shall receive," Edward said. He slipped his arms underneath Melanie's hips and shoulders and lifted her easily, carrying her up the two steps to the gurney. Setting her down gently, he looked at the medics. "Okay guys, let's roll."
"Don't forget the bag," Melanie said, causing Edward to smile.
"I won't."
* * *
"I can’t believe that they won't let me in the delivery room," Kimberly griped three hours later in the waiting room of the clinic. She paced back and forth in the middle of the room, her tennis shoes squeaking as she spun on her heel at the end of each lap. "I'm the Clan Alpha Female and her Sister for blood's sake!"
Edward, who had crammed himself onto a vastly undersized bench next to an older television that was currently playing a DVD of Little House On The Prairie, shrugged. "The doctors said that only Keith is allowed in the delivery room. I got a glance before you two arrived and they shooed, I can see why. It's very tiny. Your clinic might be well equipped, but you put it into a space smaller than normal. Lycans don't need doctors all that often."
"Still..." Kimberly said, making another lap, her heel squeaking
again. "When it's our turn, I'm having the baby at the Manor. I don't care if we have to fly the damn doctors up on a helicopter."
"Of course, my love," Edward said, a mantra he had picked up once he saw how agitated Kim was. "I'm sure Melanie is fine. You can Link with Keith still, right?"
"Bleh, it's not the same. I want to be there, you know? I want to see, and to hold her hand," Kimberly said, throwing her arms down and to Edward looking for all the world like she was getting ready to throw a tantrum. He got out of his chair and came over, taking her hands before hugging his Mate.
"I know. Me too. We'll be there for the next one, and our own for sure," he said. "Come on, let's watch some TV. If you don't, you're going to blow out the heel on your shoes before it's all said and done."
Kimberly sighed and sat down next to Edward. "Okay. This would be a lot better if they weren't playing something that came out when I was still in diapers, though."
"Oh, I don't know, it is kind of peaceful," Edward replied. "I mean, the mountains, the forest, and the constant corn bread all the time looks kind of nice."
"You just like the corn bread," Kimberly joked in reply. "And maybe that three-pound trout Laura just pulled out of the pond."
"That is a good looking trout," Edward admitted. He was about to say more when the doors to the delivery room opened, and a nurse came out.
"Lady Lockwood, Lord Stormstout? You can come in now," she said, smiling. She held the door open as Kimberly and Edward approached, both of them suddenly slow and cautious, not wanting to disturb those inside.
"Come on in guys, you don't need to worry, he's just fine," Keith said, his figure diffused behind the white curtain. The nurse pulled it back, showing an exhausted looking yet elated Melanie with Keith seated beside her. Nestled in Melanie's left arm, in between her and Keith, was a tiny white bundle, with a shock of dirty blonde hair coming out of the top.
"Say hello to your nephew, dear Sister," Melanie said, pulling back the blanket.
Kimberly's heart melted as she looked at the tiny pink face, with his mother's nose but his father's strong chin. His eyes were squinted shut, so she couldn't see that, but by all accounts, Jay was a beautiful little boy.