What are we doing?
Hunting. The food was released today. Chickens, hares…other small animals.
As they made their way through the crowd, the wolves parted, some nudging her affectionately as they did so.
Run with me, Vivienne.
They tore off for the trees, followed abruptly by the howls of the pack behind them.
***
Conall led her as deep into the makeshift woods as he could, wanting some semblance of privacy with his mate. She was beautiful as a wolf, majestic-looking with her white fur and shocking blue eyes. His wolf approved, constantly nudging and licking at her. Even the beast seemed domesticated around her.
There was a small stream next to them, and he watched as Vivienne went over and began to lap at the water. Sliding up behind her, he sniffed at her, moving away when her tail swatted at him playfully.
She lifted her head, blue eyes finding his yellow stare and holding it, before she jumped across the stream, tossed him a challenging grin, and began to run.
Vivienne….
If you catch me, you can have me.
His wolf howled even as the man tried to negotiate the terms. Forever?
Yes, forever.
The wolf began tracing her scent, leaping across the cold stream and sniffing her out. I thought I already had you forever.
Catch me anyway.
He tracked her, until a flash of white flew past him. Grinning, Conall ran her down, pouncing on her back to topple her, and then rolling away. She was up quickly, and tried to escape once more. He tackled her again, until breathing harshly, she licked at his face and gave up.
I always feel small compared to you, even as a wolf. Standing, she stretched elegantly.
You are tiny compared to me, alainn.
As a wolf, he towered over her by many inches, and probably outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. He sniffed at her intimately again, and she lifted her tail, gasping when he licked at her. Conall continued his licks until she was panting, and whining.
Placing his front paws against her, he inched his way against her until his cock touched her warm and wet opening. He pushed forward, growling as he slipped inside. Conall caught sight of a few wolves spying on them, but they were ignored. His only concentration was Vivienne. It wasn’t long before she was mewling beneath him, crying out as he drove her over the edge. He wasn’t far behind, coming inside her body without pinning her.
She needed no help changing back to her human form. In moments, her human body was sprawled against him. Conall pulled her onto him and eyed the voyeurs. On one side was a male and female couple in human form. The female was on her knees, her mouth closed over the male’s cock. The other side had a wolf couple. The two of them had finished at some time before Conall and Vivienne, and were currently pinned. Another side had a hybrid couple, and another a human and wolf couple. One party would shift soon enough.
I can’t believe you found us privacy.
Conall almost laughed. Not quite privacy. Just people who knew well how to be lurkers, and watchers.
Is the ceremony over?
Yes. The pack will….
Screw each other’s brains out? Vivienne supplied, lifting her head and looking over him to where another couple was obviously doing that.
Yes.
She giggled and buried her face in his chest.
They were watching us, weren’t they?
Yes.
Vivienne lifted her head again and stared at the couple. It wasn’t long before her nipples stiffened against him, or her heat beckoned. He slid easily into her, and she smiled and looked down at him before lifting her eyes to the couple again. Her position gave him unlimited access to her breasts, which hung down before him like sweet berries. She began to moan soon, working her hips faster as she looked between him and the couple.
When her orgasm washed over her, she cried out as her inner walls pulsed against him. Conall rocked his hips against her until he came, rolling her under him to see who had captured her attention.
Leon and Penny. He immediately understood her fascination.
Leon Arnaud was a French were, and his mate, Penny, an African American female. She was darker than Vivienne, with ebony skin that was at stark contrast with the paleness of her mate’s. They were against a tree, Leon supporting Penny with his hands under the upper thigh of one long leg hiked around his waist. His head rested against hers. Both were breathing hard. They’d finished recently. As if sensing the attention, Penny looked over Leon’s shoulder and grinned.
Lowering his head, Conall kissed his mate.
You’ve turned into a voyeur, Vivienne.
It’s only fair that I get to watch them since we put on a very good show tonight.
Conall laughed again, and lifted his head. Leon and Penny were gone, probably shifted to their wolf forms to hunt, or observe another couple.
Yes, only fair.
She was silent for a moment, and he moved to his side, watching her as the moonlight played across her skin. He could easily slip into her mind to know what she was thinking but he waited for her to tell him.
***
Marry me.
At his look of confusion, she clarified, You’ll have to marry me. My parents won’t settle for less. It can be a small ceremony, with Eli, Raoul, Sloan, my family and Drew. She paused and her eyes grew sad for a moment before she pushed it away and forced a smile.
Whenever you want to and whatever you want, Vivienne. I already have the license.
Really?
Yes, alainn. I always intended to marry you, for the sake of legality if nothing else.
When she frowned, he explained. Mating is much more serious than marriage. A contract can be broken, but there is only one way out of this, and I hope it does not come to either of us for many centuries.
She smiled up at him. Locking her arms around his neck, she kissed him. I love you, Conall.
Vivienne, you have only to look into my mind to see how much I love you.
Chuckling, she teased. I never pegged you for a romantic, mate.
He rolled onto her and smiled. I’m not romantic, alainn. I’m honest.
As he lowered his head to hers, her last coherent thought was that she could live with honesty. Oh yes, she certainly could.
Epilogue
If Vivienne thought Conall treated her like a priceless China vase before, she was wrong. They had been mated for about seven months and Vivienne was pregnant, heavily so.
She’d known about a week into her pregnancy, when she’d awoken to find there were other presences in the room with her. Scoping the room, she’d found no one, and then she’d recognized that the presences, the auras, were inside of her. She’d wanted to take a pregnancy test to be sure, but when Conall had come to her that night, he’d held her after they’d made love, and had spent long minutes lovingly caressing her belly. Just as she instinctively knew they were there, so did her mate, her husband. That was confirmation enough for her.
As the weeks passed and she began to show, Conall grew even more protective. Her first and second months were bearable, and she found him amusing. She’d even teased that if she had daughters, he would be the typical, intimidating father, except unlike most fathers, the threat of breaking bones limb by limb could actually be achieved. By her third month, Conall didn’t want her going anywhere without Sloan or Raoul, even places in Cedar Creek, like Zahira’s house. By the fourth, he seemed intent on establishing a rule that included her staying inside the house, or in the back yard, off her feet.
She was not having it.
The resident doctor had told her that much like a human pregnancy, nine months was the normal time of delivery for females who conceived in their human bodies, which she had done. He’d said slightly earlier or later was fine, and had been monitoring her. Her fifth month was when she really began to show. It was almost as if overnight, she went from having a slight pooch to a beach ball. With that constant and obvious reminder of her state
, Conall grew even more protective.
He didn’t want her leaving Cedar Creek without him, period. Zahira had mentioned that the males became irrational during the first pregnancy but she hadn’t stated just how much. By her sixth month, she found herself constantly between amused and irritated. She grew irritated with him for his extreme over protectiveness, but when she was allowed to think back on it, she found it amusing. Conall would be a great father.
“You’ve been smiling since you got here. What’s so funny?” Cassie asked from where she was perched, lazily, on their parents’ sofa.
Vivienne had arrived only minutes earlier at her family’s home to find that her sister, who’d rented a very nice apartment in the city, was visiting as well. The television was on, and Cassie was watching Discovery as they did an entire segment on extinct predators. Shocker.
“Nothing,” Vivienne replied, moving her body around to get to a more comfortable position. It was May, but her pregnancy made her feel like it was August in the Caribbean, so she wore a sleeveless, summer-like dress. She’d come with an overcoat just in case it became chilly.
“Nothing meaning your black-haired, blue eyed hunk of man?”
Cassie chuckled when Vivienne nodded and her smile grew wider. “Spit it out. I need other forms of entertainment.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here,” Vivienne said softly, grinning when Cassie shook her head and eyed the door suspiciously. Her sister had changed, not drastically but enough to notice, in seven months. She’d cut her hair into a short pixie cut, and permed it. Vivienne hadn’t liked it at first because it made them look different, but the cut had grown on her, and now she thought it suited her sister well. After the search for Drew had turned up negative and the worst had been assumed, Vivienne had found herself speaking to Cassie almost daily. She would sometimes call her just to hear her voice, to make sure she was fine.
“I’m positive he’s on his way here right now,” Cassie murmured, turning to look at the door as Evelyn stepped through with a tray filled with tea and sweets. From the moment she’d opened the door to find Vivienne there, she’d gone into the kitchen for the cookies. Pregnant Vivienne had a strange obsession with all things cookies.
“Conall just called,” Evelyn said, shaking her head when Vivienne grinned and grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie, looking extremely proud of herself. “I told him you were sitting in my living room, having a snack.”
Vivienne nodded, and bit into the treat, sighing as she chewed. “What did he say?”
“That he’s five minutes away,” Evelyn replied, trying to hide her smile as her daughter frowned.
Cassie laughed. “I told you so.”
She’d barely made it to her second sugary delight when the doorbell rang. As Evelyn stood and went to answer it, Vivienne turned and glared at her mother.
“You two are funny.” Cassie shook her head. “Strange, but funny.”
Her mother opened the door and she heard her mate’s voice moments before he came to stand behind her chair. Leaning down, he kissed the side of her neck, his standard form of greeting, before acknowledging Cassie. He took a seat on the couch next to her sister and smiled at Vivienne as he watched her.
Feeling wary, she picked up another cookie and ate it slowly, wondering at his jovial mood. He was normally upset, throwing mantrums when she did these things.
Moments later, Sloan entered the living room murmuring greetings as he took a seat. Evelyn brought out more tea and cookies, and the two weres thanked her as she placed them down. Cassie and Sloan fell into an easy conversation. Her sister had been to Cedar Creek numerous times in the past months, and seemed to fit in perfectly with Sloan, Raoul, and Eli. They all adored her, probably because she was so fascinated with them. Well, with their wolves.
Still confused at her mate’s strange mood, Vivienne finally relented and inquired, Why aren’t you mad?
You look beautiful, alainn.
Flattery will get you nowhere. I’ve seen myself in the mirror, and I understand the term whale, okay? Why aren’t you mad?
He frowned briefly but then his smile returned. Because I knew you would come here.
How?
I can access your thoughts, remember?
Feeling silly, Vivienne sighed and grabbed another cookie, this one was covered with melted Swiss chocolate. The babies obviously liked chocolate as much as she did because it was the one thing she could wolf down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Why didn’t you stop me?
Because you weren’t in any danger.
I’m never in any real danger and you stop me anyway. She recalled times she’d wanted to walk through Cedar Creek alone when Conall had attempted to stop her because she might fall and hurt herself or the babies. Those arguments were always funny—in hindsight.
Sloan was following you.
Vivienne glared at Sloan, but he was talking to Cassie, and didn’t notice. I’m not leaving for at least another hour or two. It was important to savor the times she escaped Cedar Creek because they were few and far in between.
That’s fine. I’ve got nothing to do.
His smile was contagious and she found herself shaking her head and returning it. You really do look beautiful, alainn. Although isn’t that dress a bit much for spring?
Her smile faded and she glared at him. I’m the one carrying two other beings. I get to decide how hot or cool I want to be, okay?
Of course, alainn.
His concession was so quick that Vivienne grinned and nodded, leaning back in the chair and covering her mouth as she yawned. It was only three o’clock but she wanted a nap, one where Conall’s body was draped around hers.
Tired?
She nodded.
Let’s go home, alainn.
Upstairs. Let’s go upstairs.
Vivienne stood, and shook her head when she couldn’t see her feet. Conall stood immediately.
“I’m going to lie down,” she told Cassie, who lifted a brow at Conall when he began to follow her.
“Lie down? Is that what they call it now?” she snickered, chuckling when Vivienne shot her a killer glare. Sloan seemed to be biting in his own laughter as he avoided Vivienne’s eyes. Little did they know that a few weeks ago, their humor would have been justified.
When they arrived in her room, Vivienne removed the soft slippers her mother had provided and moved onto the covers. She retreated to give Conall enough space on the bed. As he settled in next to her, she rolled onto her side and sighed when he pulled her against him, burying his face against her neck. His hands settled protectively on her swollen belly, and he began to rub lightly.
I do love you, Conall. Even if you are insanely overprotective at times.
A low chuckle touched her ear before she fell into a deep sleep.
***
Conall continued to rub at her belly until a swift thump greeted his hand. He grinned and moved his hand a few centimeters down. It didn’t take long for the thump to come again. One of them had to be a boy. Or both. He’d begun to recognize a trend of the late. If he caressed her belly, the kicks would come, but when she did it, they remained silent. Even Cassie wasn’t treated to ‘fight-night’ when she caressed her twin’s belly. So from that, he’d gathered that he would have at least one son, as the territorial instinct was usually common to males, even unborn ones.
***
Two months later, he was proved correct. Vivienne gave birth to twins, a red- faced, golden-eyed boy who came out screaming, kicking his legs and pumping his little fists, and a blue-eyed little girl, who was smaller than her brother, and much quieter.
Conall took one look at them and fell in love for the second time in his life. As Vivienne was cleaned, he and Evelyn held the babies. The girl eyed him curiously, as if trying to understand who it was that held her. He placed a finger at her cheek and she grabbed it and tried to bring it to her mouth. Her brother began to wail once more, fussing against his grandmother as he did so.
They were
hungry.
Once they were fed, swaddled, and sleeping, Evelyn left them alone. She planned to stay with them for some weeks to help her daughter with the twins.
“I’d like to call the girl Anabelle,” Vivienne said softly, wincing a bit when she attempted to move her lower body. Conall frowned at her wince but she smiled and shook her head, reassuring him.
“It’s a nice name,” he said softly, turning to the crib where the infants slept. Little Anabelle. “I like it.”
“Good. Since I chose one of the names, I guess it’s only fair that you choose the other.” She chuckled softly, and Conall gently stroked her face.
“Cadan.” There was great pride in his voice. He turned to the crib again. As Vivienne waited, he explained, “It means ‘little warrior’.”
Chuckling, Vivienne shook her head. “He’s not even a day old and you’re thinking of him as a fighter.”
Leaning down, he kissed her lips. “Thank you, Vivienne. They’re beautiful, just like you.”
She grinned, and closed her eyes.
“Sleep, alainn. I will be right here.”
As Vivienne slept, Conall sat on the edge of the bed, looking between his mate and his children. Curiosity eventually got the better of him and he moved closer to the crib. He and Vivienne had joked about what they would be, but he had sensed nothing strange at the births. Evelyn had expected druids, but even she admitted that the babies seemed…human.
Standing over the crib, he leaned closer and sniffed Cadan. He smelled new, and male, like a baby or a pup. Conall sniffed again, trying to pinpoint any other smell. He couldn’t. He moved over to Anabelle and did the same. She smelled like her brother, only female. Confused, Conall crossed his arms before his chest and stared at them both. Two newly born babies were baffling him.
He was just about to turn back to his mate when Anabelle moved. It was a slight movement but then she opened her eyes. Black stared out at him for seconds before her eyes shifted to blue. A long sigh escaped him. Druid. But she didn’t stop there. Her eyes shifted to yellow briefly too, before she closed them, cooed and fell back to sleep. Both. His daughter was a druid and a wolf, like her mother. Leaning close, he kissed the smooth skin of her forehead before scrutinizing his son.
Taken by Moonlight Page 51