by Brenda Bryce
“Why is that?”
“She has the genetic makeup that makes it possible for a werewolf to breed her. She is very possibly a future mate to one of my kind. Anyone can be bitten and changed, but only a select few can have werewolf children.”
“How do you know that?”
“Even for werewolves, I have a sensitive nose. There is a scent to a human that can become a mate, and while it is difficult to pick out the scent in a crowd, it is very easy for me to locate it in an enclosed room.”
“Oh.”
Donovan felt Ross’s eyes on him as he coo-ed at the baby, but didn’t let it stop his play. Every time she smiled, he smiled back.
The sheriff stirred. “Does that make sense, that he would threaten to kill one woman who is a mate, but leave a baby who can be turned alive?”
“Actually, yes. Lannie has already been paired with the alpha male. She is of no use to him. Whereas this sweetheart could be his own mate. Until she is full grown, around her twenty-first birthday, she can’t be transformed. Her physiology couldn’t handle it until then, so it would be stupid to kill her now when she could be anyone’s mate.” Donovan continued to pet her on her chest and arms, touching her and letting her know that he was there with her, until she sighed mightily and her eyes closed.
Gently, he kissed her on her forehead and laid her back into the bassinet. He patted her on her diapered bottom until she was asleep. He literally had to force himself to leave her side, but he soon found himself in the hall outside of her examining room.
“Damn.” He ran his hand over his chest. “Poor little thing.” He looked at the sheriff. “You said her aunt is coming to get her?”
“Yes, though the little tyke and her family lived here in town, her aunt lives back east. Georgia, I think. One of my deputies knew the family and called her right away. She will be here by tomorrow.”
Donovan nodded. “What is the baby’s name?”
“Lisianthus.”
“Pardon?”
“I know. She’s such a little thing for such a big name. It’s a flower. I think all the women in the family have flower names. Her parents called her Lizzie.”
Donovan smiled. “Lizzie. Yeah, that would fit.”
Ross laughed. “Someone’s smitten.”
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He glanced once more at the closed door and sighed. “Come on. Let’s go find her family’s killer. At least I can offer her that.”
* * * * *
Lannie stared at the doctor, goggle-eyed.
“I’m what?”
“Pregnant. Congratulations.”
She closed her mouth with a snap and scowled. “But ... but I ... umm. Are you sure you can tell this soon?”
“Today the tests are fairly accurate within twenty-four hours. If you want to come back in another week we can run the test again.”
Catching sight of a widely grinning Kyle, she stared until she caught his attention. He quickly tried to stifle the smile, but was entirely unsuccessful.
“Did you know about this? Is this why you brought me here today?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Um, yes, mommy?”
Lannie rolled her eyes. “Great. Now you’re a comedian. Did you or did you not know I was pregnant before bringing me here today?”
“Did.”
“So, you admit that you knew.”
“Yes.”
“ARGGHH! You knew, and you didn’t think to tell me?”
“Ahem,” the doctor interrupted cautiously. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way. I’ve written out a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and if you ask my nurse, she’ll give you some terribly interesting, not to mention informative, pamphlets. I’ll want to see you again in one month. All right? Good. You may now continue your conversation in privacy.” And he was gone in a flash of white coat.
Lannie closed her mouth with a snap once again. Shook her head to clear it and returned her glare to Kyle. “Where was I?”
“Chewing me out?”
“I know that! I meant ... Oh, never mind.” She bounced off the examining table and grabbed up the prescription. “Pregnant, and not even married yet. I am an unwed mother.”
“Lannie, you are not going to be an unwed mother. You’ll most definitely be wed,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“But I’m an unwed mother right now!”
Kyle sighed. “We’ll remedy that situation as soon as I can. By next week, you will be a wed mother. Okay?”
“Okay, but why does everything have to happen backwards around you?”
Not waiting for an answer, she strode out of the examining room, nearly colliding with the two men coming up the hall. Kendricks was grinning like a fool, and Vitello had a man-on-a-mission expression. “And what are you two up to?”
The sheriff laughed. “We checked on Vitello’s new love interest, and now he’s going to look for the killer. Me, I am just walking down the hall.”
“New love interest?”
Donovan scowled at Kyle. “He’s talking about the baby.” His face softened. “She is a little angel and doesn’t deserve what has happened.” He tightened his lips. “I am going to avenge her family’s deaths, come hell or high water.”
Ross laughed. “See what I mean? He’s in love.”
Donovan glared at Ross and stomped away from the trio. “I don’t need to take this abuse.”
Lannie watched him leave. “Is she really that adorable?”
“All babies are adorable, but I didn’t think she was any more adorable than any other baby. But for some reason, he took one look at her and lost it.” He chuckled. “Man, talk about a goner.”
“I really have to see this paragon of babyhood. I can’t believe anyone or anything can bring out actual emotions from my hunter. That male didn’t even flinch at getting shot.”
Lannie was curious, too, so they went to the room the baby was in and peeked inside. They crowded around the bassinet and stared at the creature within.
Kyle looked at Lannie. Lannie looked at Kyle. They both nodded and headed for the door, not wanting to wake the baby.
“Sure she is cute and all in a baby doll sort of way, but I didn’t see anything spectacular about her. Did you?”
Kyle shook his head. “Nope, just a cute baby.”
Ross laughed at the two of them and informed them of Donovan’s conclusions. “He said she was genetically compatible and might be a mate. But his reaction to her was way off the scale, even before he knew that. I thought he was going to shove her in his jacket and take her with him.” He laughed again. “I think he would have, except he’s after the killer and doesn’t want to endanger her. Her aunt is going to have a fight on her hands.”
Kyle and Lannie followed the sheriff out of the clinic, and the sheriff mentioned he was going back to his office to see if there had been any new developments. Kyle and Lannie headed for the nurse to get the pamphlets.
“Maybe it is a chemical attraction,” observed Lannie. “Everything with you guys seems to be chemically induced.”
Kyle nodded. “Could be.”
* * * * *
The pharmacy was deserted except for the pharmacist behind the counter, and it didn’t take them long to get the prescription filled. The pharmacist congratulated them and made sure they had gotten the required pamphlets from the nurse. When they stated that they had a whole stack of them to read, he smiled and waved them off.
The day was hot and it was getting late. Lannie’s stomach growled loudly. Kyle glanced at her, laughed, and said it was definitely time to eat. The diner was open for business, so they decided to go there.
The mood in the diner was subdued, but it was packed. Everyone had the notion that numbers equaled safety. No one was wandering around alone. All discussions surrounded the murders, and Lannie heard that the waitress had left behind three children and that their father had died years ago. Now the orphan count was four. Four poor children who had neither mother nor
father. It was just too sad.
While she was considering this, the waitress came and quickly took their order.
“Kyle,” Lannie asked quietly once she left.
“Yes, sweetness?”
“What would happen to our child if we died after it’s born?”
Kyle watched her and reached for her hands. “Worried about the victims’ children, darling?”
“A little, but I think I’m more worried about our own children. What would happen to our child if we both died? I don’t have any family, and I don’t know if you do or not.”
“A human family wouldn’t be able to take our child, no matter what. It will be born a werewolf,” he said very quietly, not wanting the other patrons to hear. “I live in a pack community. Do you know anything about how wolves raise young?”
“A little. The alpha female has pups with the alpha male, and all the rest of the females in the pack take care of the pups.”
“That’s right. While the alpha pair in our species aren’t the only ones to have children, all children are raised by the pack. Each child is special because finding our true mate is like finding a needle in a haystack. Not an easy thing to do. And having children is a mated-pair activity. If we lose a set of parents, the child is well cared for. Never fear that.”
“Okay, I get what you’re saying. I don’t have to worry about our own children. And I approve. There are so many questions I want to ask you and don’t know how. Or even if they pertain to anything now, anyway.” She rested her head on her hand. “I’m just so tired. I want to have a normal life doing normal things. This isn’t normal, Kyle.”
He pulled her to her feet and asked for their order to go. Since it was ready, they were out of the diner in under five minutes. He held her hand as they headed for the park. Kyle found a table in the shade, and they sat to eat their meal in peace. Because of the murders, the park was eerily silent. No one was around.
“All this excitement isn’t normal for me, either. Do you wish to know what I do every day?” When she nodded, he continued, “I get up in the morning and eat breakfast. I shower and get ready for work. I may have to field a couple of calls during that time, but that is rare. Then I head into the office. Once there, I make lots of decisions. How do I want to invest this pile of money? Who is going to get this contract? What businesses are losing money, and how do I get that to change? Then there are the personal things I deal with. Pack members call me, asking my advice. If a pack member is having a problem with another pack member, I’m an intermediary. If a pack member is having a dispute with a non-pack member, I’m able to direct the pack member towards the right lawyer. A young one calls to ask my opinion on which college would be best for him or her. I’m always available to all North American pack members for whatever they need me for.
“Then come the problems that occur while dealing with the foreign packs. I told you there were packs all over the world. I negotiate with them over just about everything. We have a system of trade that rivals that of the United States government. We don’t trade illegally, but we do make sure that none of the packs suffer while others prosper. There is also an entire department in each of the packs that is specifically funded to find humans who are genetically compatible to mate with our species. Normally, I couldn’t pick out a compatible human if he or she were right in front of me. I have concentrated on other things, but most other pack members have been taught how to find compatibles. You went into the databanks after I found you. Lucky for me, you were my own true mate. The first and only compatible I ever found. If you hadn’t been my mate, the information on you in the databanks would have been categorized as unmated, and male pack members would have secretly approached you to test your compatibility. You might’ve never known they were there. They may have sat in the booth behind you in a restaurant or nearby in a public transport, or stood in front of you in the elevator. You would have never known they were there to find out if you were their true mate.”
“And what if none of the pack members around here was compatible?”
“An opportunity would open for you that would make travel expedient. You would slowly travel to each of the countries with packs, and you would be further tested. It wouldn’t be a made-up job; you would have performed a service to the packs, even if your mate was never found, but it is for the good of the packs that all possibilities be tried.”
He smiled. “My father found my mother in just such a situation.”
“Really? Tell me about it.”
“Mom was an Australian. She came to the U.S. as a secretary to one of the lawyers who wrote trade contracts. Dad was one of the testers who just happened to be walking by the office she was occupying while in the country. He made sure she never left.”
“What a great story. Where are they now?”
Kyle’s eyes saddened. “They were killed in a car accident three years ago.”
Chapter Twelve
Lannie placed her hand over Kyle’s in sympathy. She didn’t say anything; indeed, what could she have said? Only the loss of a child could be worse than losing a parent or spouse. He had lost both parents in one fell swoop.
“And you’re an only child?”
“I have no brothers or sisters. There were only my parents and myself in my denpack, what you would call an immediate family.” He looked up from where their hands were clasped. “I now have you and our unborn cub in my denpack. Do you understand now why I’m nothing if I don’t have you? Without you, I’m only an arbitrator for others. I have no life of my own. No life, no love, no reason to get up in the morning. With you, I have love, a future, and an overwhelming need to protect. If anything should happen to you ...”
“We aren’t going to go there, now are we? I’m very superstitious, and I don’t play the What if ... game.”
He looked at her curiously. “What if ... game?”
“You know what I’m talking about. ‘What if the car broke down out here in the middle of nowhere?’ someone says, and sure enough, cough-cough-choke-wheeze, the car breaks down. It’s putting thoughts out into the cosmos that you don’t really want to happen, but just as soon as it’s out there, it happens.” Lannie shivered. “I won’t be around doomsayers for that very reason. It’s just asking for bad luck to pounce.”
“I promise not to play the What if ... game. We will only have good luck in our lives.”
Nodding, she stood. “Good. And on that note, let’s go back to your place and celebrate our upcoming denpack member.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking. We haven’t had normal sex yet. Wouldn’t it be a novelty doing it without first being a dog or really cheezed off? Think about it, maybe we should try it just once to see if it’s all that it’s cracked up to be.”
Pleased beyond measure that she was comfortable enough with him now to initiate their love play, he quickly gathered the remainder of their meals and tossed them into a nearby trash receptacle.
Laughing, probably at his enthusiasm, Lannie took off at a run and hollered back to him, “Last one there is a dirty dog!”
Lannie realized she was nervous as she stood in the bedroom while Kyle closed the bedroom door. She watched him as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto a chair. But, oh, what a chest.
Unconsciously, she approached him and tentatively put her hand in the center of his chest. Smooth, soft, and -- just under the skin -- very, very hard. He had a magnificent chest, and according to pack rules -- that she was going to have to work hard to learn as soon as possible -- his chest belonged solely to her. She completely forgot her nervousness when he sucked in a huge breath and his glorious chest expanded to astronomical proportions.
Looking up into his face, she found that he was staring down at her with eyes that glowed.
“Your eyes,” she said quietly and with no little bit of awe, “are changing and are starting to glow. Are you about to change?”
In a gravelly voice, he replie
d, “No. It is the combination of our pheromones accelerating the level of ... Look, I’m not inclined to get technical right now. Let’s just say that I’m hot for you and leave it at that.”
She giggled and nodded her head. “I appreciate your restraint. I’m sure it won’t happen often.”
“Probably not. Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to get to it?”
Lannie laughed hard and backed away from him as he slowly stalked her. “Oh, Romeo! You are such a romantic.” She lifted her shirt over her head, tossed it on the floor, and reached for the button on her pants. Kicking off her shoes, she continued to back toward the bed.
Without taking her eyes off his, she slid her hands down her hips, taking her pants with them.
Kyle growled low in his chest and prepared to pounce. Giggling, Lannie fell onto the bed, her pants around her knees. He reached down and grabbed her pant legs at the heels and tugged. Her pants slid off easily, and he tossed them across the room, then leapt onto the bed.
“But you’re still dressed.”
“Temporarily.”
“But ...”
“Shh ... Just relax and everything will take care of itself. Okay?” He reached around her waist, pulled her to the head of the bed, and placed her comfortably in the center of the bed. As he kicked off his shoes, he ran his strong hands from her ankles to her knees and parted them wide, like a butterfly.
Lannie lay as he had placed her and watched with glowing eyes as he looked at every part of her. His eyes roamed over her breasts, causing them to swell and tighten. His gaze touched on her abdomen, and she sucked in a deep breath. When he let his gaze touch her pussy, she exhaled sharply, imagining what he saw.
Her knees being held open, he would see her open labia, and her pulsing clit would be peeking from its hood. Juices, she knew, were leaking from her channel in preparation for his invasion. Just the thought of what he was seeing and what he might do to her was causing her to become even wetter.
She shivered, and his eyes shot up to hers. She raised her arms, and running his hands up her sides, he slid over her and into her arms.