by M. L. Briers
“She didn’t do anything…”He snapped out defensively and Aidan shrugged.
“I can scent she did something…”The sexual innuendo was in his voice and Evan rolled his shoulders.
“Ok, so she did that…”He shot back. “But that’s not the point, well not entirely, that’s to say…oh hell…”Evan bit down on his jaw and growled his hardest.
“Was it her or the hangover that took your ability to articulate…?”Aidan wasn’t into guessing games this morning.
“She left…”Evan growled out. His large shoulders dropped downwards as if defeated, and his eyes took in the steps between them.
“And she took with her?”Aidan wondered what the little Fae had done to make the Beta so damn annoyed at her…
“Part of me.”Evan admitted, biting down on the curses that rolled through his mind.
“She cut off your…?”Aidan’s eyebrows would have shot up to his hairline had the deep ridges in his forehead not stopped them.
“Are you insane?”Evan’s eyes widened with disbelief, but Aidan couldn’t wrap his head around his Beta’s moods. Most mornings his Beta would be only too happy that the woman was out the door before he had to come up with a reason to leave…
“Evan, you’re not making any damn sense…” Aidan protested.
“She’s my mate, Aidan. And I lost her…”He growled out, wanting to plant his fist into someone’s face.
“How could you lose her?”Aidan wasn’t just shocked, he was downright gobsmacked.
“Well it’s not like I took her out and misplaced her is it?”Evan growled back. His need to rip and tear and gouge was building inside him.
“She left town?”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. For someone with the hearing of the beast, you’re as deaf as a bat…”Evan growled out.
“Bat’s aren’t deaf…”Aidan shot back and Evan growled out in frustration.
“And you aren’t helping…”Evan ground out.
Aidan placed his coffee cup down on the wooden ledge under the window and turned to his Beta.
“I know what you need…”Aidan planted his feet and steeled himself. “Punch me.”No sooner had he said it than his Beta’s fist landed squarely on his jaw, taking him back off his feet and onto his backside on the floor.
“Thanks for not hesitating.”Aidan growled out, rubbing his jaw line and shaking the ringing bells out of his head.
“You’re entirely welcome.”Evan growled down. Holding out his hand and clasping his Alpha’s wrist as he dragged him back to his feet.
“Did it help?”Aidan asked, feeling his beast rise to the challenge within him to punch back, twice as hard.
“Well it didn’t hurt…”
“Not you it didn’t.”
Dee wasn’t sure why it was that for the last week she felt like a cat on a hot tin roof. She tried to settle back into her life after their little jaunt to the equinox, but it didn’t seem to be working out that way. It felt as if she’d left something important undone. She just couldn’t seem to find the answers within her own mind as to what that could be.
Mabon had always been a favourite of hers, because she loved to watch the season change and the colours of autumn against the background of a sunny sky and a crisp breeze was always spectacular. Celebrating it at the gathering was one of her favourite times of year. But something had her antsy, and she couldn’t for the life of her think what it could be.
The fact that Tanya was off as well had given her pause for thought, and she wondered if it could be magic that had somehow worked its way into their lives. A cleansing didn’t help matters for either of them, and Lacy had taken to hiding in her bedroom most evenings when they would normally have all been together in front of the Television or around the dinner table, as the atmosphere degraded by the hour.
“For the love of everything Crone, you two are acting like a pair of shrews.”Lacy spat out with contempt.
“You asked if your backside looked big in that skirt, don’t shoot the messenger.”Dee snapped back. The urge to scratch an itch was fierce within her, she just didn’t have an itch to scratch, but that didn’t stop the sudden swell of need that kept washing over her.
“Oh, so now we’re being honest with each other? I thought sisters were supposed to support each other…”
“If you want to go out looking like you have two arses, be my guest…”Dee shot back, and the mortified look on Lacy’s face did nothing to quash the irritation inside Dee, but it did make Tanya chuckle.
“And what the hell are you laughing at…?”Lacy snorted her contempt at Tanya, who was sitting nursing a bowl of popcorn, her food of choice for the last couple of days.
“I like this new found honesty thing…”Tanya shrugged a shoulder, as she delved in for another handful of the sweet treat.
“Oh really?”Lacy’s hands went to her ample hips, and she swivelled on her high heels to stare down at Tanya as she lay on the couch. “Well, how honest would you like me to be, because I don’t know how much of that stuff you’re chomping through per day, but you’ve certainly put on a few pounds, sister.”
The small whimper that came from Tanya as her hand went to the slight swell of her stomach, made Lacy feel guilty. She wasn’t fond of this honesty thing.
“That’s my monthly’s about to start, doofus…” Tanya snapped back. “At least in a week my swelling will go down, but your double arse is a permanent fixture.”She added, grabbing a handful of popcorn and planting her mouth against her palm, hoovering it up like a starving woman, as Dee regarded her with disbelief, especially the small chuckle that was making her shoulders rise and fall.
“Charming.”Lacy snubbed her nose at her, and walked off into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her and mumbling too herself. All of her guilt disappeared after Tanya’s reply.
“I got your tampons last week…”Dee did all the shopping, because heaven forbid one of the others had to actually walk inside a supermarket, let alone push a trolley around, so she pretty much knew what to get for whom and when.
“Guess you were a week early.”Tanya shrugged.
“Or you’re a week late.”Dee chuckled. The amusement filled her eyes at the thought of her friend being pregnant, but then she locked eyes with Tanya and her amusement died upon her lips as she saw the wide eyed look of fear that crept through her friend.
CHAPTER TWO
“Ohhhh…”Tanya bolted upright on the sofa. The popcorn bowl didn’t appreciate it, falling forwards and spilling out fluffy corn kernels over the sofa and floor, as Tanya rushed to full blown panic mode.
Dee headed straight for her. “No, no, calm down, I’m sure it’s just Mother Nature being a bitch and playing a prank…”She rushed out. “Lacy!” She shouted out when Tanya’s panic at the thought of being pregnant, didn’t seem to want to be eased with humour.
“What!”Lacy barked out as she yanked open her bedroom door, and saw the look of horror on Tanya’s face. Rushing into the room, Lacy turned her eyes to Dee who had a look of guilt on her face.
“What did you do?”Lacy demanded and made Dee feel even worse than she did already.
“Reminded her that her damn period is a week late…” Dee bit out between clenched teeth. She saw the look of horror sweep onto Lacy’s face. “Get a paper bag…” She motioned towards the kitchen, but Lacy just stood there, frozen to the spot. “Paper bag. Now. Go.” She snapped out, startling Lacy into action. As if on cue Tanya started to hyperventilate as she knew she would.
Dee heard the rustling as Lacy came back carrying the biggest damn brown bag she had ever seen, and thrust it in front of her friend’s face.
“What is she a horse?”Dee snapped, and Lacy shrugged.
“Horses don’t hyperventilate, but does the size really matter?”Lacy shot back, planting her hands on her ample hips, and watching most of Tanya’s face disappearing behind the brown paper as it crackled in and out in front of her.
“Well if size didn’t matte
r then why date a Lycan?”Dee snapped back, not really in the mood to be lectured or corrected right now.
Tanya dropped the bag into her lap and gasped in a shocked breath. “Pup…”She bit out between clenched teeth. Her eyes staring off into the vast blackness of the television screen that sat idly by in the corner.
Dee bit down on her lower lip and looked up at Lacy for a long moment. The thought of what that meant for Tanya to be pregnant with a Lycans baby was too scary to think about.
Dee reached for her hand and shoved the bag back into her face. Uncaring of whether she was still hyperventilating or not, she needed to give Tanya something else to do.
Getting to her feet, Dee grabbed Lacy’s arm and marched her over to the front door.
“Get a pregnancy test, now.”She growled out, reaching for her purse and thrusting it into Lacy’s trembling hands. She opened the front door and shoved her out into the hallway. Lacy just stood there frozen for a long moment, and then she nodded, as if she suddenly knew what to do. She took off down the hallway as fast as she could in her five inch heels.
Dee closed the front door and turned back towards Tanya on the sofa. Wincing with the thought of just what it would mean for Tanya to be pregnant, but she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and the huge black cloud that had now settled firmly over their heads, and went back to Tanya.
Settling down on the seat next to her friend, she waved her hand in front of Tanya’s face to draw her attention away from the blank screen
“Hey, welcome back…”Dee offered as Tanya’s eyes met hers and she saw the fear there, and winced again. Dee licked her lips and frowned at the mess that had just invaded their lives. “Look, whatever happens, I’m here for you, ok?” Tanya didn’t say anything, she just nodded. “We can get through this, no matter what. Together.”Dee assured her, but Tanya didn’t look too assured.
Dee reached out and took her hand, it felt like ice inside the warmth of her own, and she frowned. “I’d come with you to tell him, you’re not alone.”
“Tell...”Tanya nodded slowly as she repeated the word. The thought bounced around inside her mind until she started to panic again. “Oh, my god, tell him!” She blurted out. Lifting her hand, she slammed the bag back into her face and started to pant in and out again.
“You couldn’t not tell him, I mean, we all know what Lycans are like with their pups…”Dee went on, thinking out loud, and Tanya whined into the bag, gasping harder, until Dee thought she just might hoover up the damn bag the way she’d hovered up the popcorn. Popcorn… Tanya never ate popcorn… oh, crap…
“Let’s just do a test first and see what it says…”Dee rushed out. She didn’t need a damn test to tell her that Tanya was pregnant…
“Spell…”The sound of Tanya’s voice was muffled through the bag, but Dee heard her just fine, and she shook her head.
“No, we don’t need to do a spell. Lacy’s getting a test now…”The sound of the banging on the front door made her jump to her feet. That was fast, especially considering that Lacy was wearing five inch heels. She could barely walk a straight line, she mused, as she unclamped her hand from inside Tanya’s and rushed to the front door. Yanking it open, she came face to chest with two Lycans.
Dee’s eyes travelled up the first muscled chest she latched onto and saw the piercing blue of the Lycan eyes from the bar. She gasped in a long breath, before her heart kicked her in the ribs. Her eyes went wide with panic, and she slammed the front door closed again. Biting out a string of dark curses, as Tanya turned in her seat on the sofa to look at her. The bag was still pumping at her mouth, but her eyes were questioning, as Dee put her back to the door, as though she were prepared to defend it with her life.
Tanya tilted her head to the side and stared at Dee, as the bag stopped moving.
“Baby daddy at the door.”Dee mouthed out. For a long moment it looked as if Tanya was trying to work out what she was saying, and then her eyes slowly widened until Dee thought her eyeballs would pop right on out of the sockets, and she started panting faster.
Dee went to move towards her friend, when the thumping on the door echoed through her body and she jumped in place, making her slam her body back against the door, as if she were somehow going to hold him off if he wanted to get in.
“Hello?”The deep tones of the Lycan almost echoed within the relative silence of the large room. The only other sound was the constant crackling of the paper bag at Tanya’s mouth.
“Kind of busy, can you come back?”Dee winced towards Tanya as her friend shook her head in dismay.
Dee suddenly remembered that Lacy was out there somewhere, and she reached for her mobile in her pocket and tapped out a quick text.
“We’d just like to speak to you for a moment. I’m looking for somebody.”Dee bit out a curse as she saw Tanya vigorously shaking her head. She lifted her hands and dropped them in frustration.
“Still kind of busy…”Dee snapped out.
“Her name’s Tanya…”He called back through the door, and Tanya squealed into the bag.
“Sure, I know her, she doesn’t live here, but she’s a friend…”Dee bit down on her tongue for telling such a blatant lie. She didn’t like to lie, but she couldn’t exactly invite the guy in, not while Tanya was in such a fragile state, not until they knew for sure about the baby.
“Well, I’d kind of like to see her…”He growled through the door, an element of urgency in his voice, along with a big dollop of frustration.
“Well, she was here earlier…”Dee waved a hand in the air searching for inspiration, and Tanya urged her on with her eyes. This was why she hated to lie. She was just so damn bad at it. “I’m meeting her later at the bar down the road, the one on the corner…”Dee raised her arms helplessly, but Tanya urged her on some more. “Maybe you’d like to join us?”Dee finished.
The sound of tapping on the window made her jump, as Tanya’s head snapped around, and Lacy waved in through the glass, perched on the fire escape.
“Sounds good. What time?”He growled, and Dee rushed away from the door and yanked open the window.
“Eight.”Dee called out. She reached out and tried to help Lacy inside, but her heel was stuck in the metal grating of the fire escape, and she ended up pitching head first into Dee as her foot came loose, taking them both down to the floor in a heap.
“Great, thanks.”He called. Dee sucked in a breath as she pushed Lacy off of her onto the floor with a loud thud.
“Meh.”Dee called out, before she gasped for another breath. The elbow in her ribs hadn’t done her any favours.
“Are you trying to kill me?”Lacy hissed, as she pushed herself up off the floor into a sitting position, huffing and puffing like an old man.
“Get healthy.”Dee shot back, and Lacy balked. Crawling on her hands and knees back towards the window, she reached for her shoe and gave it a hard yank. The heel stayed firmly embedded in the grating, but the rest of the shoe came away in her hand, and she landed on her backside on the floor staring at her shoe in disbelief, a long low whimper escaped her lips.
“Kind of lucky you’ve got that double arse, more padding to land on, right?”Dee growled out, snatching the new brown paper bag from her hand and wrenching out the pregnancy test as if it were a bar of precious metal.
“You try climbing the fire escape in five inch heels.”Lacy spat out, as she tossed the shoe behind her, kicked the other one off, and then got to her knees to crawl back to the window, dragging it back down and locking it.
“I’m not stupid enough to wear them…”Dee shot over her shoulder, as she walked toward Tanya with the pregnancy test like it was an offering to the gods. “Let’s see what it says before we panic.”She offered. Tanya sucked in every last molecule of air from inside the bag into her lungs.
“Little late to warn her not to panic, don’t you think?”Lacy offered, as she crawled on her hands and knees towards the sofa, and pulled herself up onto the cushion at the end.
“
Just pee on the stick.”Dee offered her the box. Tanya’s hands didn’t move to take it. So she opened the box and took out the plastic test. “Let’s start with the easy part. Take the stick.”Dee encouraged her. Tanya’s hand came up off her lap and then dropped back down again.
“It’s not something I can do for you, Tanya. You’ve got to go pee on the stick.”Dee offered again, leaning over and pushing the plastic stick under the palm of her hand, and Tanya whined.
Dee paced back and forth outside the bathroom door. Lacy sat on the floor opposite, looking as worn out as a cat that had been out on the tiles all night. Although Dee doubted it was as much fun for Lacy as for the damn cat. Going back and forth to the chemist to buy more and more pregnancy tests, in the futile hope that Tanya would finally get a reading that she liked.
Dee ran her hands through her hair and sighed, as she heard Tanya whimper from inside the room again.
“How the hell does she have that much pee inside of her for all of those tests?”Lacy hissed. Her feet throbbed. Her new shoes weren’t anywhere near as comfortable as her old ones had been, and the old ones were giving her bunions.
“Shhhh.”Dee hissed at her when the door to the bathroom opened and Tanya’s red blotchy face appeared once again.
“I think I need another one…”Tanya sniffled, and Lacy balked, as Dee shot her a warning look.
“Maybe I should do the spell, just to make sure.”Dee offered, finally taking pity on Lacy after fourteen trips to the chemist, some of those trips had resulted in multiple purchases, because Lacy was getting tired of going.
“Ok.”Tanya nodded her head forlornly, as she opened the door fully, and Lacy caught sight of all of the spent tests littering the bathroom floor.
The thumping on the front door made all of them jump as the sound echoed out into the silence of the room. Dee looked to Lacy who grimaced back. Nobody moved a muscle.
“Yeah, that’s not going to work. I can hear you all breathing.”The deep voice seemed to echo even louder, and Dee threw her hands up in the air and turned towards Tanya.