“Now do you understand?” Aiden had spoken the last words just to her. It felt strange hearing his voice in her mind. Which was odd considering how completely natural it had been to hear her mates. However, he got his point across. Now she understood.
They would have lived three or more of her lifetimes without having found their mate. Without love. Without the prospect of children. She may be almost blind, but that didn’t affect how much she loved them. It didn’t affect how much they loved her. She’d never doubt again. She was perfect for them no matter what.
“Don’t cry, darling Jordanna,” Caine said. He wiped away the tears that had run down her face. “That we did find you is all that matters to us.”
“I know, Caine. That’s why I’m crying.” She felt Caine shrug as he kissed the top of her head.
“Don’t try to understand women,” Aiden said. “I have more insight than you and I still can’t manage it.”
“She’s happy though. Right?” Rowan asked.
“Of course she’s happy,” Melanie said. “Can’t you see those are happy tears?”
“No,” was the emphatic response from every male in the room.
Jordanna and the other mates all started to laugh wetly through their tears.
Gabriel and Axel both confirmed it was Richard’s scent on Jordanna and Liam West.
“But you have been accused of killing the Alpha,” Patrick said, sounding frustrated.
“I think his answers when we question him, as well as his actions here are going to be enough to condemn him with the elders,” Aiden said.
“It’s a fucking mess,” Patrick said despondently.
“One that we can sort out without further imposing on the hospitality of the cats,” Aiden said.
“I am not yet in a position to offer you an apology, Alpha,” Patrick said. “But, once I am free to do so, I will give it to you.”
“Politics,” Melanie said with an accompanying huff. “Just say you were…” Her voice became muffled as Peata and Bethany laughed.
“Thank you, Patrick. I look forward to your offer,” Finn said. “I would also be interested to learn the reason behind all of this, once you have discovered it.”
“Cats,” Aiden said. “Always curious.”
* * * *
Drake stood looking at Jordanna as she held baby Matthew in her arms. She kissed his small hand where it wrapped around her finger. She was beyond beautiful.
He couldn’t wait for her to be holding their cub. She would be a wonderful mother. She smiled down at the baby and laughed as he returned her smile.
“He’s just so beautiful,” Jordanna said. “You must all be so in love with him.”
“Don’t change the subject again, Jordanna. We really need you,” Bethany said. “Say you’ll come and help us. Please. Melanie and I are swamped now that Peata’s had to stop.”
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be,” Jordanna said. “I might make more work for you.”
“I couldn’t even make toast before Melanie and Peata taught me what to do. You’re already a trained chef. You’ll be amazing.”
“A mostly trained chef,” Jordanna blushed and bent to kiss the baby’s head again.
“I feel terrible that I’ve left them with so much work,” Peata said. She moved to stand next to Jordanna and cooed at the baby.
Jordanna lifted her head and looked around the room. “What do you think?”
Drake stepped forward and cupped her cheeks. “I think it will only take you a couple of days to familiarize yourself with Melanie’s kitchen.”
“You think I can do this?” She looked up at him and he saw the excitement shining in her eyes.
“Of course I do,” Drake said, kissing her soft lips tenderly. “I think you’re capable of doing anything your heart desires.”
“Please say yes,” Melanie said, “I’m still not doing very much as Matthew keeps me so busy. So Bethany is basically doing everything.”
“I know we could stop altogether if we wanted to,” Peata said. “But we really love it. It’s become our own little business.”
“It’s only three mornings a week,” Bethany said, her tone pleading.
“I’ll give it a try.” The women all cheered and hugged Jordanna and the baby.
Drake stacked all the mugs in the dishwasher once everyone had left. Jordanna was sitting on Gabriel’s lap and Caine and Rowan were stacking more wood by the fire. There was more snow coming and they wanted to be sure Jordanna was kept warm.
The house they’d built finally felt like a home thanks to Jordanna. They just had one more thing to discuss with her.
“Can I ask you all something?” Jordanna said, as Drake sat next to her on the sofa and gently pulled her legs onto his lap.
“You can ask us anything,” Caine said.
“Do you all want children?”
“I was going to ask you that very same question,” Drake said.
“So was I,” Gabriel said, kissing Jordanna lightly on the lips.
“After seeing you with baby Matthew, I was wondering, too,” Rowan said.
“Well I asked first,” Jordanna said. Her forced smile didn’t hide the apprehension he saw on her face.
“I know we all want to have children with you, Jordanna,” Drake said. He was pleased to see her smile become genuine.
“You have a lot to adjust to, sweetheart,” Rowan said. “A new home, a new job, living without your sight. We’d understand if you wanted to wait a while before considering the possibility of starting a family.”
“We’ve already missed the boat on that one,” Gabriel said.
Jordanna laughed. “Exactly. But if I’m not already?”
“We can take precautions from now on,” Caine said.
“Or we could just abstain from sex altogether,” Jordanna said, her expression serious.
The room was silent except for the crackle of the fire and the beat of their hearts. Drake watched the smile spread across Jordanna’s face and he started to breathe again.
“I really wish I could have seen the looks on your faces,” Jordanna said, laughing as Gabriel nibbled on her neck.
“Witch,” Caine said, before lowering his mouth to Jordanna’s. When he broke the kiss they were both panting. The scent of their mate’s arousal made his cock begin to fill.
“I’d spank your delectable ass if you didn’t have your leg in a brace,” Rowan said. He moved forward to kiss Jordanna. Her moans had his cock thickening even further.
“Before I bury myself in your pussy,” Drake said, standing to adjust his growing erection. “You’re saying yes to children?”
“I’m saying yes.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Gabriel said. He raced up the stairs with their mate in his arms and they all followed. Her aroused scent was a siren call he’d never tire of.
Epilogue
Jordanna stirred her muffin batter and contemplated what flavor to make this batch. Reaching for the caramel she moved to the chopping board and started to chop the caramel into smaller pieces.
“It still amazes me how you do that without cutting your fingers off,” Bethany said from the other side of the kitchen. “I still cut myself on a regular basis. Samson has threatened to blunt all our knives.”
“I went through a lot of Band-Aids my first year at the restaurant,” Jordanna said.
She had only been cooking with Bethany and Melanie for the last two weeks and was beginning to feel comfortable in Melanie’s kitchen. She also felt that at some point she might be able to finish her culinary arts degree. With her mates loving and supporting her as they did, she felt like she could do anything she wanted.
“Do you think it will be much longer?” Bethany said quietly.
“I don’t know much about pregnancy and babies, but I think it takes all day. Maybe all night, too.”
“Poor Peata.”
Jordanna heard Melanie come into the kitchen. She was singing a lullaby, so Jordanna knew she had Matthew
with her. “Have we heard anything yet?” Melanie said.
“No, not yet,” Bethany said.
“Finn had a call from Aiden this morning,” Melanie said.
“That was one sexy vampire,” Bethany said with a laugh. The other mates had talked a lot about the mysterious Aiden St. John, but never in front of their men.
“He still refuses to tell Finn where he’s holding that horrible wolf. But he did say he was begging for death on a daily basis. I think Finn kind of likes Aiden. They share a certain unforgiving and ruthless charm.”
“I wish I could feel sorry for him,” Bethany said. “But after everything he did I just don’t.”
“Did Aiden find out why Richard West killed his brother?” Jordanna asked, her voice betraying her emotions as the words came out shaky.
“Money and power, the same reasons humans kill each other. He had amassed huge gambling debts and needed the pack money to pay them off before the loan sharks killed him. His brother refused to give him the money so he killed him to get control of the funds as the new Alpha. Have you heard from your Mom and Dad?” Melanie said.
Jordanna was glad for the change of subject. She didn’t like recalling the danger her men and all her new friends had been in.
She told the two women the latest news from her parents. They had come to stay in Eminence over Christmas and had loved the town and all the people they’d met. Her parents had initially been concerned when Jordanna had invited them to meet her four boyfriends, but once they’d gotten to know them they were genuinely happy for her.
She hadn’t told her parents about her blindness until they’d arrived, so they’d been very upset at first. By the time they left after New Year’s they weren’t treating Jordanna any differently than before she’d lost her sight.
Jordanna’s men had made it a wonderful Christmas for her and her parents. She felt her eyes fill with tears as she remembered her men formally proposing to her after their Christmas lunch.
“Have you set a date for the wedding yet?” Bethany said. “If you have it soon, I won’t look like I swallowed a beach ball in my bridesmaid’s dress.”
“You’re a bridesmaid?” Melanie shouted, startling a cry from her baby. “Sorry, sorry,” she murmured to Matthew until he quieted again. “When did this happen?”
“I don’t know,” Jordanna said, containing a laugh. “Who else am I having as bridesmaids, Bethany?”
“Well, Melanie, of course.”
“Yippee.” Melanie cheered softly.
“And Peata. Naturally.”
Jordanna just nodded her head in agreement. “Naturally. Have you picked out the best man yet?”
“That would be silly. Your men have to do that.”
She jumped in surprise as Gabriel wrapped his arms around her from behind. “What do we have to do, angel?”
“Oh, shit. I cut myself,” Jordanna put the knife down and tried to see how bad the cut to her finger was. It only stung a little, so she guessed it was just a small nick.
Gabriel pulled her finger into his mouth and groaned. “Delicious. Jordanna and caramel.”
“Have you thought about putting bells around their necks?” Melanie said. “So they can’t sneak up on you.”
“Wouldn’t help,” Bethany said. “They’d still be able to move without making a sound.”
Their laughter stopped instantly as the phone rang. They all waited, but Jordanna couldn’t hear anything.
“Well that’s a relief,” Gabriel said.
“What’s a relief?” the women all said at once.
“Peata has had her baby,” Finn said. Jordanna jumped again as he seemed to have materialized from thin air.
“How is she?” Melanie asked. “What did she have?”
“She is fine, and she had a girl,” Finn said calmly. “Before you ask, they called her Lily and we are invited over to meet her after lunch.”
“Is your finger okay, Jordanna?” Bethany said. She reached out and took Jordanna’s hand. “I have a plaster for you.”
“Thank you. Does it need one?”
She felt Bethany wipe the cut with a tissue, and then she heard her inhale sharply. Bethany raised her hand and sniffed a few times.
“Well I’m not surprised,” Bethany said.
“Is it a bad cut?” Jordanna said. It hadn’t felt like she’d cut it deeply.
Gabriel took her hand from Bethany and she heard him sniff. Perhaps caramel and blood smells good to shifters? Ewww. Gross.
Gabriel lifted Jordanna until she was draped over his shoulder and raced out the kitchen door with her. Bethany and Melanie’s laughter faded away as Gabriel deposited her into his truck and closed the door.
“I’ll explain when we get home,” Gabriel said. She could hear the strain in his voice.
She waited patiently, and silently, for the entire fifteen-minute drive home. If she hadn’t been able to feel Gabriel’s happiness she would have been worried. Maybe this was to do with their wedding. Peata’s baby perhaps. No, surely not. She had no clue.
When they arrived home Gabriel had her inside their house in seconds.
“What’s up?” Rowan said. He hugged her from behind and Gabriel released her and ran off so suddenly she was left dangling in Rowan’s arms. “Fuck, Gabe. What’s happened?”
“I think its pre-wedding jitters,” Jordanna said, as Rowan placed her on her feet. “Did you hear that Peata had her baby?”
“No, that’s great. What did she have?”
Before she had a chance to tell him Gabriel was back and it sounded as though he was physically dragging both Caine and Drake.
“We were on patrol all night Gabe,” Caine said with a growl.
“Someone better have died,” Drake added.
“Someone was born,” Rowan said.
“Will you all shut up?” Gabriel interrupted. “This is important. Bethany noticed it first. She may not be able to shift, but her sense of smell is just phenomenal.”
“You’re a darling man, Gabriel. But we have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jordanna said. She walked in his direction, and as usual, he met her and scooped her up.
“I’m just so happy.” He buried his head in her neck and breathed deeply.
“Shit,” Rowan said. She felt him at her back. He lifted her hair to nuzzle and lick at the other side of her neck. “Shit.”
“May I?” Caine said softly. His voice was rough and growly. It rumbled over her and made her nipples peak. Rowan kissed her lips softly and stepped back. Gabriel handed her to Caine and he and Drake repeated Gabriel and Rowan’s actions.
Caine’s chest began to rumble with a rhythmic purr. She’d been patient long enough. She really had no idea what this was all for. It was obviously some shifter thing. From all the sniffing, she could assume she smelt different. Why would I suddenly smell different?
“Oh. Is my period due?”
“No.” Drake nibbled on her earlobe. “It’s not due for about eight months.”
“Have you got it yet?” Caine said. He kissed her and plunged his tongue into her mouth with such passion she climbed up his body to get closer to him.
When he released her lips she found herself wrapped around him, his hands kneading her ass. “Eight months?” she said.
“Sweetheart,” Rowan said. “We’re trying to tell you how happy we are that we’re going to be daddies.”
“Eight months.” She grasped Caine’s face in her hands and pulled him into focus. He was smiling. He was radiant. That was why Gabriel felt so happy. There really was no chance of lying to a mate. Their happiness positively exploded inside her.
She was so happy. She had their baby growing safe inside her. A piece of their love that they’d raise and love together. She was also relieved.
She hadn’t told them that her ex-husband’s final assault had damaged one of her ovaries so badly that they’d had to remove it. It hadn’t made her infertile, but she’d been told it may affect her chances of conception.
<
br /> She knew it wouldn’t have made a scrap of difference to how much they loved her. She simply hadn’t wanted them to worry about her any more than they already did.
“I can feel that you’re happy, angel,” Gabriel said, as he pressed himself tight to her back. She could feel his erection against her ass. “But I can feel something else, too.”
“What is it, Jordanna? You’re scared,” Caine said. She could see his smile slip into a frown.
“Not anymore I’m not. I’ll tell you about it after we’ve celebrated.” She slipped her hand off his shoulder and down the front of his fatigues.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley was born in England but has lived in Australia since she was three years old. Her love of reading has grown into a love of writing stories. All he stories will have a happy-ever-after, because that’s what she feels everyone deserves. She likes to call it “Ashley-World.” It’s a world of infinite possibility where love conquers all adversity. She hopes you enjoy escaping into her world for a little while.
For all titles by Ashley Malkin, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/ashley-malkin
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Jordanna [Eminence Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 19