Gifted - The 5 Book Paranormal Romance Box Set

by Amira Rain

  Feeling wired yet somehow completely exhausted at the same time, I changed into pajamas even though it wasn't even yet four in the afternoon, climbed into bed, and began staring up at the ceiling with my hands behind my head, feeling uneasy about everything. It was only after several minutes of thought that I realized that my unease wasn't due to a lack of faith in Cole on any level, it was more just a fear of the unknown, combined with a sense of powerlessness. As much as I liked the idea of Cole protecting me, I wanted to be a part of defending New Bad Axe from its enemies as well. Maybe I just wanted to be a part of protecting my own self, not to mention my unborn child and the community that was fast starting to feel like a real home to me. The only problem was that unlike Cole, I wasn't an Angel; I wasn't a shifter; and I didn't have the stomach or physical strength to stomp an enemy's skull with heavy black boots. Also, I was pregnant, and overcome with nausea at least five times a day.

  Somehow, despite my anxiety, I managed to fall into a deep sleep, napping for nearly three solid hours before waking suddenly with a realization. I was a Gifted. Of course. Being that I'd only been a Gifted for a couple of weeks before coming to New Bad Axe, and being that I hadn't had any need to use my powers since then, I'd just simply forgotten about what I was.

  I sat up in bed just in time to see Cole emerging from the bathroom, wet-haired and with a towel wrapped around his slim hips. Normally, this sight would have pushed all other thoughts from my mind, but at present, the realization I'd just had was too firmly rooted front and center.

  Right after we'd briefly kissed in greeting, I began speaking with my words coming out in an excited rush. "I just realized something, Cole. I'm a Gifted. Which means that I can help in this situation with—"

  "Don't even think about it."

  "What?"

  "Don't even dream that I might ever let you fight, and especially not while pregnant."

  "But-"

  "Look." With a sigh, Cole sat down beside me on the edge of the bed. "I hope Cassie didn't get your nerves all worked up about the situation today. She has a tendency to get her own self worked up sometimes, which isn't to say that the situation at hand isn't serious, because it is. Very much so. But my inner circle of men and I have everything under control. We're simply going to do a bit of surveillance on Derek and Mike, see who they talk to and where they go in the coming weeks.

  "If they leave the area around the village, we'll follow them without them knowing. We'll see if they have any meetings with Bennett and his fighters, once they get nearer. Then, we'll have an idea of how close they are and when they plan to attack. This means that we'll be completely ready for them. In fact, even if they were to attack today, we'd be ready for them. My men outnumber Bennett's about four-to-one, remember? Even if he decided to attack tonight, right during dinner, all would still be fine. So, no more talk of using your Gifted powers. I'm loathe to say they're not needed, because of the way that sounds, but...."

  "They're not needed. I guess I understand."

  I really did. Hearing Cole explain things now, I actually almost felt a little silly for thinking that maybe I could use my Gifted powers to protect myself and the village, and that they'd even be needed. I supposed I'd just been thinking that taking a more proactive approach to the Bennett and Derek situation might somehow lessen my anxiety. But now, just hearing Cole explain things already kind of had. Of course he and his men could take Bennett's, and Derek and Mike as well. Of course. This fact felt painfully, embarrassingly obvious to me now.

  Taking one of Cole's hands, I scooted a little closer to him on the bed. "I'm sorry. I guess maybe Cassie did get me a little worked up today, though through no fault of her own, just because of the whole situation. Then I came home here all worked up, and before I fell asleep, I just kept thinking that it would make me feel better if I could do something...like prepare to fight alongside you or something. I mean...after all, that's what I'm supposed to be doing. Fighting. It just doesn't seem right that my Gifted skills should go to waste."

  "But it's better to let them go to waste than have you fight in a battle where you're not even needed, and then possibly get injured for nothing."

  "Yeah. I know you're right."

  "I don't want to take any chances with your health, happiness, and safety, Lauren...or our baby's."

  "I know. I don't, either. I think I just woke up from my nap having some fuzzy-headed thinking that made me unable to really think all this through."

  I figured that had to be it, because now the thought of me using my Gifted powers while pregnant seemed like a wholly ridiculous one.

  Cole squeezed my hand comfortingly. "I think we've all experienced some post-nap fuzzy-headed thinking before. I know I have."

  I gave him a little smile. "So, you're not going to tease me by chalking it up to pregnant woman nuttiness or something?"

  Cole gave me a little smile in return, making the faintest of scoffing noises. "No. I think you have far too level a head on your shoulders to ever be 'nutty.' Silly, maybe, but-"

  "What do you mean by 'silly?' When have I ever been silly? Give me one example."

  With the corners of his full mouth twitching, Cole just looked at me for a long moment, as if deciding whether he was going to respond or not. "Well...up until a couple months ago, you didn't know what birds were. I had to tell you what the strange and magical creatures in the bird room were."

  "Stop."

  "You said, 'What are they?' with wonder in your voice."

  "I was scared."

  "You stared at all the funny, winged creatures in amazement."

  "I thought they were enemies that you'd enchanted to become birds."

  "'Those are birds,' I said, wondering what other exotic animals I might introduce you to. I thought of possibly getting a house cat, but thought that might be too much, too soon."

  "All right." Cole had put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, and I now flung it off and stood. "You've done it now. After dinner, I'm going back to bed in my old room, and you can sleep in here, all by yourself. Or you can go sleep in the bird room if that makes you happier."

  I wasn't really mad. Not very mad, anyway. I could even see humor in some of the things Cole had said. But still, I was just slightly irritated. Enough so that I intended on possibly following through with my threat to sleep in my own room. Possibly. Even though I knew that if I followed through and actually did it, it probably wouldn't be long before I rejoined Cole, desperate to feel his arms around me and breathe in his scent.

  Appearing as if he was working hard to suppress a grin, he stood and took me in his arms, holding me close even though I remained stiff as a board. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you. It's just that I look back on that bird room memory with fondness now. That was your first day here with me, and I like to think how far we've come. From you suspecting me of keeping enemies in bird form in the house, to you loving me. Sometimes it still feels like a miracle...one that I'm grateful for every single day."

  Now I couldn't help but melt into him, my formerly stiff body having turned into something like Jell-O while he'd said what he had. I supposed that the bird room memory was a funny one. And it did illustrate how far we'd come as a couple, and in just a short amount of time. Also, Cole's teasing had somehow made me feel a lot better about the situation with Bennett and Derek. I figured that if Cole was so unworried about things that he was actually joking, maybe the risk of danger wasn't quite as great as Cassie and I had feared.

  Wrapping my arms around Cole's neck, I gave him a little smile. "Apology accepted for the teasing. And...well, I guess I'm not opposed to a little teasing every now and again...especially when, like you said, it reminds us of how far we've come. I'm grateful every single day for you, too, and our baby, and our happiness. I just don't want anything to ever happen to spoil that happiness."

  "I don't, either, and it won't. Please just believe me when I say that everything will work out just fine in the end. I don't want you to worry abo
ut a thing."

  I said that I'd try not to, with my heart feeling a hundred times lighter than it had when I'd walked in the house several hours earlier.

  Now with my mind at ease and the fact that I was a Gifted forgotten once again, I became aware that Cole was still only dressed in a towel, and a fairly thin towel at that. We began kissing, and soon, through the thin fabric, I could feel him already becoming hard. It certainly didn't take much for him, which I loved. It made me feel ever-desired and wanted, not to mention that obviously it just felt good and quickly stoked my own desire, which it was, in fact, doing right then. After breaking our kiss, I told Cole to just hold on for one quick minute, then went in the bathroom, used the facilities, and brushed my teeth quickly to get rid of any nap breath, which I was pretty sure I had at least a touch of, although Cole hadn't seemed to mind.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, we picked up right where we'd left off, first kissing, then tumbling into bed with our hands roaming freely. Cole's hands lingered on my breasts and rear in particular, two areas of my body, along with my stomach, that had grown fuller with my pregnancy. Cole seemed to greatly enjoy this new fullness, and surprisingly, I did, too. With my curvy hourglass figure always having been teetering on the brink of possibly being just a few pounds overweight, I hadn't thought I'd enjoy any pregnancy weight gain at all, but it was somehow making me feel even more sensuous and desirable. Of course, it helped that Cole seemed to almost be worshiping my body at times, raking his hungry, appreciative gaze over it as if he were viewing fine sculpture.

  For the second time that day, we ended up being late for a meal in the dining room, but again, Mary-Alice didn't seem to mind. When Cole and I entered the kitchen, she was sitting at the little table with a cup of tea, seeming to be deeply engaged in notepad conversation with her dusting helper Cheryl, jotting something down while Cheryl scanned the paper. Even after a few months, I still hadn't learned why Mary-Alice couldn't or wouldn't speak, and no one had volunteered any information to me, though I got a got a vibe that everyone but me knew, but it was just something no one spoke about. And I wasn't even sure what gave me this vibe, all I knew was that I just got one.

  But still, I didn't ask Mary-Alice anything about her condition, figuring that if she wanted to tell me anything about it, she surely would have done so by now. And like it always had, the idea of me asking anyone else struck me as somehow intrusive of Mary-Alice's privacy. I realized that I hadn't cared too much about invading Cole's privacy when I'd spied on him early on, but somehow, the thing with Mary-Alice and her not speaking felt different. I'd come to a place about it where, like with the origins of my pregnancy, I figured I'd just never know the full story, and that was fine. I'd come to realize that not knowing the full story about something didn't prevent living happily.

  Several days passed, and I started to really look forward to my visit from the nurse midwife. Cassie thought that I might be able to get an ultrasound and see pictures of my baby, and she was envious because her baby was still far too small to be seen on a screen as anything other that the tiniest dot, if that. I wanted to see a picture of my baby badly, but more than anything, I just wanted Cole to be there during the visit with the midwife. I was really interested in the idea of a home birth, which was probably good, since the nearest hospital in Angel territory was at least fifty miles away, and I wanted Cole to be present when I asked questions about a possible home birth. I even wanted him to be part of the planning of it if he wanted to be.

  However, to my extreme dismay, the evening before the midwife was due to arrive in New Bad Axe, he received a phone call from Clark, saying that Derek had left the village and was currently taking a motorboat across Saginaw Bay, probably going to meet someone in the northern half of the state. Probably Bennett.

  I could see near-anguish present in Cole's eyes as he told me this, but I wasn't having any of it. "Do not feel bad. Just go. It's fine if you're not back by tomorrow. In doing surveillance of Derek, your protecting this whole community, including me and our baby, which means a lot more to me than being by my side for one of probably twenty midwife visits I'll have before the baby is born. So, go. Just promise me you'll be with me for the birth; that's all I ask."

  Already out of bed and grabbing a t-shirt from the back of a chair, Cole said he was definitely going to be present for that. After pulling the t-shirt on over his head and throwing on a pair of jeans, he came around to my side of the bed, leaned over, and gave me a tender, lingering kiss. "I promise you that."

  I smiled, reassured. Really, that was all that was crucially important to me, that he be there for our baby's birth. If he was able to make even a handful of the midwife appointments, I'd consider that a bonus.

  I slept a bit fitfully that night, as I usually did when Cole was gone, though when I awoke around seven the next morning, I was in an unusually cheerful mood. Cole was out taking care of business and keeping everyone safe; I would possibly soon have the first pictures of our tiny unborn baby in hand; and the sun was even brightly shining, after it had been pouring rain all night. I'd believed Cole when he'd told me that everything would be all right, but now I was beginning to really feel that.

  Around nine, just as I was finishing a cup of tea in the kitchen, Mary-Alice came in, announcing that the nurse midwife had arrived. Like Mary-Alice, she was a plump, warm, smiling woman, though a couple of decades younger, maybe in her late forties.

  She told me to call her Katie, and said that we could do my checkup right in my very own bedroom if I liked. "As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of doing house calls, because I think it puts patients at ease."

  I wondered if it was possible that she could continue to do house calls and be my permanent midwife all throughout my pregnancy. I knew the distance from Northwoods to New Bad Axe was quite a haul, but I felt so at ease with Katie already that I couldn't help but hope that she might agree to make frequent trips.

  While I changed into a short cotton nightie that would serve as my exam gown, which I loved, Katie and Mary-Alice wheeled all Katie's medical equipment from the foyer to the bedroom on two carts that Mary-Alice had found in one of the mansion's numerous storage closets. Later that morning, Clark was going to use Cole's pickup truck, which was one of only three vehicles in New Bad Axe, to transport the equipment down the lane and into the village to his own house, for Cassie's exam. I couldn't help but think that the whole process would be easier if Katie would possibly agree to stay in the village for a while. But, not knowing her family situation or how many patients she had in Northwoods, I knew this might not be possible.

  However, before my exam, while she sat in a chair and I sat in bed, ready to answer some health questions, she first started making small talk, then thrilled me by saying she was hoping to make a move to New Bad Axe.

  "And I say hoping because I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to. I was taken prisoner by the Angels during the Takeover, and although I was supposed to be set free after a term of three years working for them, delivering all their wives' babies, they reneged on that deal, as Angels frequently do. So, I've remained a prisoner, just trying to make the best of things, and just trying to help the rest of the women in whatever ways I can. But, as you can imagine, delivering babies for women in Angel-controlled territory isn't the most pleasant work environment; so when I was called here, I got an idea in my head that I might ask Commander Marlowe if I can stay indefinitely. I have no family in Northwoods, and they currently have no women who are pregnant there, so I'm hoping that Commander Miller might let me go."

  "I'll do anything I can to help. I'll talk to Cole and have him talk to Commander Miller about letting you stay here. From what I've heard, the two of them have at least a semi-okay working relationship as leaders, so I think there's a chance Cole could get him to agree to it."

  Katie smiled, showing her pearly teeth. "I'd be so very grateful. I've heard some unusual things about this village that make me think that I'd like to live here. I've heard that Commande
r Marlowe doesn't tolerate women being beaten and even punishes his men for it. Is this true?"

  I nodded, feeling a rush of pride about Cole. "Yes, it's true. He jails them the first few times they offend, and then they either have to leave the village or fight him to the death."

  Katie slowly shook her head, knitting her dark gray brows. "I've never heard anything like this in Angel-controlled territory. It truly is unique. Even the appearance of your village itself is unique with all the bright flowers everywhere. I've really never seen an Angel-controlled village look so cheery."

  Now I felt a surge of pride in myself, Mary-Alice, Cassie, Ella, and several other women who'd put in long days of gardening just so that the village wouldn't look like some kind of a prison compound with all the drab gray houses.

  Katie and I continued chatting a while longer before getting to the health questions she needed to ask me, and my sunny morning mood only continued to get sunnier, because I was fairly certain that Cole would be able to strike some sort of a deal with Commander Miller in order to keep Katie in the village indefinitely. I smiled and laughed while she cracked a joke about pregnancy, having no idea that my buoyant mood was soon to sink like a stone.

  CHAPTER 12

  The physical exam itself only took a few minutes, and all went well. Katie declared me in perfect health, saying that my weight gain was right on track, and also saying that that my morning sickness would likely soon decrease as I moved from my first trimester into my second.