"I need to talk to Cynthia again. Or maybe to Professor Gallway."
"No," Kai asserted.
At the same time Brock asked, "Why?"
Frannie smirked at their complimentary personalities. "Something she said at the bookstore yesterday. Before the cops showed up."
"Francesca, baby, she was talking like a lunatic then, you should forget everything she said," Kai said, leaning forward to grab her hand and hold it softly in his own.
She didn't pull her hand away, rather, she squeezed his more tightly. "I can't do that. I'm not angry that I can't have children anymore, but I still need to know the truth. And if Cynthia has more to do with that then I thought, she needs to be held accountable."
Brock turned off the television and straightened so that he was against her other side, her two pillars of support. "What do you mean, baby?"
"Something she said, about me dressing up. At first, I thought she was just spouting off nonsense, you know? But then, she said that thing about dressing up as a slutty maid or whatever and I remembered. Before I found out that Gallway was married I had gone out and bought one of those silly sexy outfits from an adult store. I found out the truth before I had a chance to wear it and I didn't have any idea what to do with the thing so I kept it in my trunk. Except, the day I got into an accident, I had moved it to my back seat because I was going to try to return it. It was in a bag, I remember that much. That means, the only way she could have seen the costume—"
"Was if she was in your car," Brock finished her sentence.
"No one was ever able to give me a clear explanation for why I had gone off the cliff. Eventually, everyone just assumed I was driving too fast. But I know me, I wasn't. Especially not while pregnant. So what if Cynthia being in my car means something worse than she was just snooping around? What if she did something? I need to ask her. I need to know. And don't either of you dare say it won't bring my baby back because I know that, okay? I still have to find out."
"I would never say that," Kai said. "Thank you, first, for telling us."
"I'll see what I can do. Last I heard, she was still at the station."
***
Frannie's stomach was a mass of nerves, like caffeinated slugs crawling along her stomach lining. Did she want to know? It wasn't like she was out for revenge. Like she had said, nothing was bringing her baby back. Anger surged through her. But if Cynthia had something to do with it, she should pay, if only by knowing that she hadn't gotten away with it, that someone was aware of her actions.
Brock walked back to them from down the hallway. Frannie wasn't sure about how legal this all was, judging from Brock's expression, she was guessing that it wasn't very legal at all.
"Cynthia Gallway is waiting for a psych eval. You have about fifteen minutes before the psychologist gets here. You cannot be in there when the psychologist gets there, baby. Do you understand?" He sighed heavily. "Are you sure you want to speak with her, Francesca?"
Frannie nodded. She had to.
"Okay, fine. This way."
"You two can't some in with me. She won't say anything with you two there."
"Baby, she might not say anything anyway."
"I know." Frannie was aware that this wasn't like those shows where the detective would ask five questions and have a confession before lunch, but even if Cynthia didn't confess, she would still know that Frannie knew. Maybe she was using playground logic, but it made sense to her.
The door creaked open and Frannie stepped inside. It looked like an interrogation room: gray walls, a single table in the middle of the room. Cynthia was handcuffed to one side, wearing a formless gray jumpsuit. When she saw Frannie, her face transformed. The look of hatred nearly took Frannie's breath away.
"What the hell are you doing in here?"
"I need to talk to you," Frannie said, glad her voice was clear and did not shake.
"And because you want to, you get to? That's how your life is, isn't it?"
"I had no idea Professor Gallway was married, Cynthia. I'm not the one you should be mad at."
"My husband is a good man," Cynthia nearly shrieked.
Frannie stepped forward. They were running out of time. She couldn't allow Cynthia to distract her.
"You're probably going to jail," Frannie said.
Cynthia paled and then stuck her chin in the air. "My husband will wait for me."
"If you have so much faith in him, then why did you hunt me down? Why not just leave me alone?" She was getting distracted again but talking to Cynthia was like talking to a spinning toy, she couldn't get a grip on the conversation.
"He told me about how you seduced him, pretended to be pregnant. You shoved yourself in his brain, but he'll get better."
"Cynthia, did you tamper with my brakes that night? The night you saw the French maid costume. Did you tamper with my car? Are you the reason for my accident, for my miscarriage?" This time, her voice did break. She angrily swiped a tear from her cheek and observed Cynthia's face, looking for any sign that she was guilty. An eye twitch, a raised lip, anything.
She didn't expect the shock. "You were pregnant? With...with Peter's..." she dissolved into tears.
"Baby, we got to go," Kai said, poking his head in. He saw Cynthia crying and then searched Frannie's face.
Brock peeked his worried face in. "Time's up, I'm sorry."
Frannie took two more frustrated steps toward Cynthia. She grabbed her arms over the table and shook the sobbing woman. "Tell me the truth, was it you?"
Cynthia bawled. "I—he never told me you were pregnant. I don't know about any accident. I only knew about the costume because Peter brought it up, he said he wanted me to buy one the same but I never could. I knew if I wore it, he would only think of you!"
Frannie let go of Cynthia like she'd transformed into a spider. "Gallway told you?" she said slowly. The pieces were finally coming together in her mind. The night of her accident, Gallway's appearance at the concert. Her car had just been parked in the lot. He had to have seen it walking in.
The pieces were coming together for Kai and Brock, too. Kai lifted Frannie, carrying her out of the room. Brock made a sound that sounded very much like a roar before pulling her down the hallway.
Frannie saw Gallway going through the metal detectors. Probably here because of the eval. When he looked up and saw Frannie, he had the audacity to smile. Then he saw Kai and Brock.
It happened so fast, Frannie couldn't have stopped them if she wanted to. Kai lunged forward, grabbing Gallway by the throat. He slammed him against the wall. The officers around them pulled out their guns but Brock stood between them and his mate, his hands raised. He spoke to the officers in soothing tones, letting the ones who didn't recognize him know who he was. Some put their guns away, too many kept them out for Frannie's liking. Jeffries, Brock's partner, appeared at Brock's side, a question in his eyes but also trust. Frannie hadn't much liked Jeffries the first time she met him, but the one thing he had going for him was his faith in his partner.
"You tampered with her car, you fucker," Kai snarled. "An eighteen-year-old girl. She didn't want you anymore so you tried to kill her, killed her baby?"
Gallway turned white. "No! I would never—"
"Stop lying!" Kai's body was coiled so tightly Frannie thought he might bust through his shirt. She worried he would shift on accident in front of all these people.
"Kai, let him down," she said, hoping to calm him. She couldn't get closer on account of the police officers with their guns still drawn. Them, and she doubted Brock would let her.
Gallway spotted her again. "I didn't want you to die! I wanted our baby. I never wanted you to get hurt! I was just trying to make you both stay. I thought if you needed my help, you would come back."
Suspecting and hearing the truth were two very different things. Frannie felt like a deflated balloon. She'd been so focused on learning the truth that now that she had, she found it unsatisfying. The past was the same. She was the same. And this wa
s pointless.
"Kai, put him down, please." Her voice broke again but not for any concern for Gallway. She couldn't bear the thought of Kai or Brock getting hurt.
"Jeffries, arrest him," Brock said, going to Frannie as Kai let Gallway down. Understanding the situation, the police officers put their weapons away as Jeffries arrested Gallway.
"Sounds like attempted murder, buddy," he said before reading him his rights. Gallway blinked as if only just realizing he had basically confessed in front of a crowd of witnesses. It would be hard for him to get out of this. Frannie was positive that Brock and Kai would help make sure he went to jail and paid for what he had done to her baby.
The crowd increased as more people came out to see the commotion but Frannie had seen enough. She wrapped her arms around her mates, and walked with them out of the station.
Chapter Thirty
Frannie
The moment she'd stepped out of the station, her body temperature rose. Her skin prickled. She recognized the symptoms as mating heat but they were stronger now than they'd ever been, even stronger than that first horrible night. Kai turned to her. "Baby?" He lifted his face, sniffing the air.
Frannie was so past being embarrassed.
"Maybe Felix's supplements are having an opposite effect," she guessed and then doubled over, panting.
Brock lifted her and carried her the rest of the way to the car. "I don't think I can drive, not with her smelling like that."
She grimaced. "What do I smell like?"
"Need," they both said at the same time.
Brock settled her in the back seat beside him as Kai took the driver's seat. He drove like a maniac. At each hard turn or bump, Frannie slammed against Brock. His touch helped, but it also stoked the fire that was burning inside of her. She reached for Brock's pants, mindless in the haze of her desire.
"We're almost there," he said, halting her hands.
She growled. Her breath was heavy in her lungs and each mouthful of air seemed to spike her higher.
The car ride home was torture. By the time Kai parked and Brock lifted her out her thighs were slick with desire. Brock carried her through the garage and ran her up four flights of stairs. During that time, she kissed every body part she could reach.
Straight into the bedroom, Frannie ripped their clothes off. She felt animalistic and raw. There would be no room for foreplay. Her pussy throbbed, needing to be filled. After, she could wonder what brought the heat on, why it was so much stronger this time around, but for now, she needed to satiate her body.
Kai was closest so she pushed him on the bed, crawling up she impaled herself on his hard dick. She wailed as he brushed against all of her inner nerve endings.
"Fuck, yes, baby. Use me, get what you need," Kai said, massaging her breasts.
She lifted her body and slammed it back down. A whimper escaped her lips. It felt amazing but...
"It's not enough, I need more," she whined.
Brock stood behind her, stroking his massive cock. "Are you sure?" he asked like he didn't want to get his hopes up.
She'd never been more sure. Her body demanded it. "Yes, please, fuck me."
Kai groaned at her words as Brock got into position. She had to lift her bottom up, bracing her hands higher up on Kai's shoulders. She should be nervous, having never had anal sex before, but the mating heat required it, she required it. Brock had found a bottle of lube and started rubbing the slick substance around her back entrance with his finger. Kai watched her face as he gently inserted the tip of his finger. There was no pain like the first time. The opposite, it was as if her body wanted to reward her for listening to its needs as a wave of pleasure, similar to an orgasm pulsed through her. He slid the rest of his finger inside.
"You like that, don't you?" Kai muttered. "Her pussy is choking my cock," he told Brock.
"More, I need more," Frannie said. She was beginning to suspect she wouldn't be satisfied until she had both of her mates fully inside of her.
Brock's chest rumbled. He continued to stretch her hole, inserting another finger. He thrust and wiggled, scissoring his fingers to relax her opening. "Are you ready?"
Frannie couldn't speak. She nodded her head enthusiastically.
Then she felt him.
Fuck, he was huge.
He lodged his cock inside her. This time, she appreciated the moment he gave her to adjust. And she was adjusting, every second that passed, she felt more able to take him. It helped that his shifter pre-cum was beginning to coat the area, relaxing and sensitizing her back entrance.
"More," she said through gritted teeth.
He slid further inside and then waited. Inch by inch, insert and wait, he patiently worked his cock. When he slid the last inch in, Frannie screamed silently. One in front and one in the back, she was stuffed fully.
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, sweat on his brow. He'd held back and waited for Brock but now, he began to move inside her.
"Yes," Frannie moaned.
Her two mates moved in sync, one thrusting forward while the other withdrew. An erotic rhythm that brought Frannie to the brink of pleasure and then pushed her over. She came. Hard. They increased the pace, slapping skin against skin.
"I can feel your cock slide against mine," Kai said with wonder.
Brock growled, seemingly reduced to making primal noises. He grabbed onto Frannie's waist, thrusting harder and deeper. Kai layered his hands over Brock's and pushed his hips up.
He exhaled harshly. "Fuck, I'm going to—"
Frannie felt an unfamiliar feeling inside her pussy. Almost like a swelling. Kai roared as he began to climax.
She heard Brock's sharp indrawn breath. "Kai, are you...?"
But Brock wasn't able to finish his question. He too was growing even larger inside of her as he began to come.
Frannie knew what was happening even if she couldn't believe it. Her two mates were locked inside of her, their cocks swelling to ensure their seed filled her up. They were knotting, but Frannie didn't understand why.
She didn't care as Kai swelled against her g-spot, forcing an orgasm through her that did not end. For a long time, they remained stuck together riding the waves of pleasure.
Eventually, they were able to pull out of her. Frannie collapsed on top of Kai. Brock fell to the side and gathered them both in his arms. This time, they all passed out.
Epilogue
Frannie snuggled the front of her body against Brock as Kai tickled her bottom. She giggled, swatting his hand away.
"I will never be okay with this," Felix said, but he was smiling so Frannie knew he didn't really mean it.
He had to be okay with them now. Frannie rubbed her tummy. She wasn't showing yet, but she was only one-month pregnant. Brock set his hand over hers and then Kai put his over Brock's. They shared a quiet moment. Frannie thought they might all be wondering the same thing, how things had turned out so completely perfect.
After that first experience knotting, Frannie knew something major had changed within her body. The much more intense mating heat was just the first sign. Her whole body felt different and on Brock and Kai's urging, she'd gone to Felix the next week and he'd listened to her mates tell him what was going on. Felix had been as red-faced as Frannie, but he was able to look past her being his little sister and looked at her as a patient. He wasn't one-hundred-percent positive, and never would be, but he hypothesized that her body had been repairing itself from her first exposure to them. With the help of her mate's shifter DNA, her body was changing and transforming. She remembered hoping something like this would happen—if shifter DNA could make her brother's body able to support life then why not her—but not wanting to ever dream for something that couldn't happen.
Finn walked toward them, holding Serena Ann's hand. He was showing and Luke hovered around him like a nervous fly.
"Do you want another hamburger?" Luke asked Finn.
"No, dear, I think the three you made me before now were enough to fill me up,"
he said, rolling his smiling eyes. "That's one for me and one for each of these little guys." He rubbed his stomach affectionately.
"Or girls," Frannie said.
"Or girls," Luke conceded. He would be thrilled with anything, but Frannie had a hunch he really wanted one of the twins to be a boy.
Frannie sat down on the blanket she'd spread over a patch grass in her backyard. This spot got a lot of shade from the huge maple tree.
It was the perfect summer's eve that she'd been waiting for. Her mates sank down to sit beside her and she looked out at her full yard. Some might call it crammed. Others would go as far as to say messy. But not Frannie.
On the patio, Luke returned to his work at the grill, filling the air with delicious smells. Finn sat across from Frannie on his own blanket with Serena Ann. He rolled a red ball Frannie's direction and Serena Ann ran out to get it.
Daryl was at the kiddie pool with Sorell and his twins, Franklin and Kofi. They were splashing so much Frannie doubted there would be water left in a minute. Neither Daryl nor Sorell seemed to mind, though, and both broke out into laughter as Kofi learned he could blow bubbles under water.
Pippen walked through the patio door behind Conner, who held a bowl of fruit salad that Pippen had made. Felicity was strapped to his back. She could sit up and was much more aware of her surroundings, but she was still the quietest child Frannie had ever met.
"Christian wants to know when the baby shower will be," Finn said, putting his phone in his pocket. "He wants to plan it, he said you just need to pick a date."
Frannie looked from Brock to Kai who, other than looking extremely proud of themselves, did not seem to have an opinion on the matter. "Why don't we do one together?" she asked Finn.
"That's a great idea."
"Hey, Frannie," Stella called from inside the kitchen. Victor gave her a wave. Frannie didn't know if they were together, but Stella and Victor had really clicked as friends at the least. "Oscar's going to be here in a few minutes. He didn't want to cut his workout short." Stella rolled her eyes. Though Frannie happened to know Stella considered Oscar a brother and would do anything for him.
Wolf's Mate Mpreg Romance Box Set Page 81