by Ellis Leigh
Something was definitely wrong on a total shitstorm level.
Phego shook off his shocked stupor and ran faster, scenting more, yipping to let Colt know he was on the trail. His nose dropped to practically touch the ground, his steps quickened and grew lighter. He would track the fucker down, he had to. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on and how to protect his pack from it. His pack, including Michaela.
The beast had taken a direct path deeper into the woods, skirting the creek for a solid fifty yards before turning toward it. Disappearing into the water at one point and hiding its scent beneath the ripples. That creek was an offshoot of a larger, stronger river not too far away. Phego could sniff up and down both banks, seeking the place where the creature had left the creek for dry ground. Could, but he took a chance and followed the smaller waterway toward the river instead. That had to be where the creature had gone. Probably. Because that's what he would do; what a wise old Dire would do. Use the rushing water to mask his scent so he could escape.
And come back to fight another day.
But before he could reach the river itself, the sound of an animal approaching shattered his concentration. He spun in the darkness, teeth bared, hackles raised. Ready to fight. But the wolf who rushed after him was one who was familiar. One who was welcomed. One who wasn’t a bodyguard.
“What's going on?” Phego asked the second he shifted to his human form.
Dire brother Deus shifted human as well, rising to his full height on two legs. Heavy with muscle, far more body builder in type than the other Dires, though shorter, Deus stood in the dark, looking like an evil spirit hunting its prey. Piercing Phego with his sharp eyes.
“I just got out here a few minutes ago and heard your hunting yip, so I decided to follow you,” he said, his voice deep but quiet. The sound of a man who knew there could be ears overhearing what he had to say. “I saw Ariel for a second, though she looked pretty heartbroken I wasn’t Thaus. Saw the other shewolf as well. You know, the one who smells a fuck of a lot like you right now.”
Phego couldn't concentrate on the accusation in those words. Couldn't worry about Deus finding out about him and Michaela at that moment. He couldn’t even let himself think of Michaela at all, even though she was always on his mind. “Smell that.”
Deus raised an eyebrow but followed Phego's pointed finger, leaning down to sniff the trunk of a tree where the scent he’d been chasing had rubbed off. A mistake by the beast Phego had been hunting. Deus jerked back at the scent, his eyes wide enough to see even in only the subtlest moonlight.
“Dire.”
“Right,” Phego said with a nod. “Not one of ours, either.”
A chill flew down Phego's back, the sense of incoming danger. But relief was there as well in the form of his brother. His Dire packmate. Deus would help protect the land and the cabin. Would protect the women with his life, just as Phego would. They would figure this out as a team. A unit. A family.
In fact, Deus took a look at Phego's face, probably assuming exactly where his thoughts had gone, and grunted. “Let's hunt.”
Phego shifted first, falling to four feet and shaking out his fur. Deus followed, then set the pace as they tracked their prey. Running through the trees and over rocks, following the creek as it headed toward the river. And just as Phego had expected, when the creek hit the river, the scent trail appeared on the banks then disappeared back into the stronger, wider water.
Each wolf took to the river, sniffing the opposite bank in hopes of locating where the beast had come out, but it was no use. The scent was gone. As was their prey.
Phego walked out of the river on the side of his property, not even leaving the bank before he shifted back to human. “Shit. This fucker has been tracking us for days, but he’s ghosted every time I get a bead on him. I just can't nail him down.”
Deus shifted as well, his pale skin almost glowing, a heavy frown pulling down his brow. “We need to get back. If there’s one, there could be more.”
“I don't think so. I think it's one man, one shifter.”
Deus cocked his head. “One Dire Wolf?”
“How is that possible?” Phego asked, knowing there was no answer. The only way to know, the only way to truly find out, would be to catch the enemy alive. Which, if that creature was like his own Dire brothers, was going to be a hard task to accomplish.
“This is insane,” Deus said as they headed back toward the cabin. “What the fuck could it be?”
Phego followed him through the trees, his mind spinning. Those long-forgotten memories pulling at him. “I don't know, but we have to figure it out. It's familiar to me.”
Deus nodded, as if he agreed. As if he too felt that familiarity. “Let's make sure the women are safe, and then we can start to work this puzzle out. We’ll unravel it. No matter what.”
Phego nodded and shifted wolf, more comfortable on four legs. Faster too. He had a mission to accomplish, a shewolf to keep safe, and a mate to check on as well. Time was of the essence.
14
Ariel didn't look good. In fact, in Michaela's opinion, she looked as if she was going into labor. Not next month or next week, not even tomorrow. Soon. Sooner than they'd planned. Sooner than they were ready for.
“Why don't you relax for a few minutes?” Michaela asked, fighting the urge to hover. To walk with her as the woman paced the length of the living room and back. “We can go upstairs, and you can lie down for a bit.”
But Ariel would not be swayed. Over and over, the pregnant shewolf walked while Michaela waited and watched. And worried. The friend in her wanted to commiserate with Ariel, to give her false promises that Thaus would make it back any second to reunite with his family and be there when his first child was born. The midwife in her knew better. Especially when her patient hissed and pressed her hand against her lower back.
“Ariel, please. Try to relax.”
The shewolf shook her head and continued her trek, pausing every few minutes to close her eyes at what Michaela could only guess was the pain of those first contractions. “I can't relax. What’s happening out there? Why aren’t they back yet? Why isn't Thaus here yet?”
All good questions. All questions Michaela couldn't answer. “They'll be back. They’ll all be fine, as will we.”
Ariel saw through her, knew those words were nothing but a platitude. As close to a lie as Michaela was willing to offer. “You don't know that.”
Michaela had nothing to say to that. Especially not when Ariel paused again, closing her eyes, this time catching her breath and rocking in a way that showed her pain. Three minutes since the last one. Michaela watched with practiced eyes, noting every tell of a pregnant woman in labor. Marking time as she had done thousands of times before. Experienced enough to know her friend was having back labor pains, which meant the baby could be in the wrong position for what was about to occur.
“Ariel,” Michaela said, keeping her voice calm. Knowing the shewolf was already on edge. “Why don't you lie down for me? Rest your legs while I check the baby. You’re going to need your strength.”
Ariel pinned her with an angry glare, her understanding of what Michaela was trying to do clear on her pretty face. She knew what was happening. Knew that things were moving along faster than they'd planned. Knew her baby was coming whether Thaus was there or not. But she wasn't ready to give up hope that her mate would make it home in time. She also wasn’t dumb enough to ignore what her body was telling her, no matter how much she wanted to.
“Fine. Maybe that's a good idea.”
But as Ariel moved toward the couch, she rubbed at her back again. Laying her down wouldn’t help her or the baby, so Michaela adjusted her plan. She spun a chair out from the kitchen table and pushed it into the living area.
“Here. Sit here, facing the back.”
Ariel raised an eyebrow but did as Michaela asked, sagging as she straddled the wooden laths that made up the back support. “Oh, why does this feel so much better?�
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Michaela placed her hands on Ariel’s back and pushed, rubbing the soreness, using counterpressure to relieve the ache. “The baby needs to move a little. It’s probably putting a little too much pressure on your coccyx.”
Ariel snorted a laugh. “Only you would still call it a coccyx.”
“Sorry. Tailbone.” Michaela grinned and leaned forward, catching Ariel’s eye. “Is that better, Doctor?”
“Much.” Ariel moaned through another contraction, though this one seemed less intense. Less painful. Michaela rubbed her back through it all, her fingers dancing over the tightened muscles underneath them. The heels of her palms pressing deep until Ariel finally relaxed again. “It’s time, isn’t it?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
Ariel nodded, her shoulders rolling forward. “I know. I was hoping for a miracle, though.”
Her voice, the sadness there. The loneliness and fear. Michaela could practically feel those same emotions, could truly empathize with her friend’s suffering. But she still needed to redirect Ariel’s thoughts away from what was missing and toward what she was receiving.
“You’re about to deliver a little miracle, Ariel,” Michaela said. “Just not quite the way you’d hoped.”
Ariel sighed, her hand going down to rest on top of her bump. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”
“I’m always right, especially about babies. Speaking of which, it’s time to check on the little one.” Michaela slowly, deliberately slid her hands over Ariel’s hips to her swollen belly. She closed her eyes and focused, truly concentrated on the little wolf shifter within. A solid heartbeat in a slightly off position, but nothing felt dangerous or possibly complicated. The little bugger was simply ready to come out. He or she was coming soon. Definitely soon.
“Everything okay?”
Michaela smiled as she met Ariel’s worried eyes. “Everything is great. Position is a tiny bit off, but nothing too bad. That baby’s just going to make you work a little harder to deal with the pain.”
“Of course.” Ariel rolled her eyes then rested her cheek on the back of her hands, serious once more. “He’s going to miss the birth, isn’t he?”
Michaela didn’t need Ariel to say his name to know exactly whom she meant. “Probably. I’ll be here with you every second, though. I know it’s not the same, but you’re not alone in this.”
Ariel’s eyes teared up and her face reddened. “I’m so glad I called you to help me.”
“So am I. And not just because I met my mate here.” Michaela helped Ariel to her feet then wrapped her arms around the shewolf’s shoulders, giving her a hug from the side to accommodate the baby between them. “I want you to go lie down and rest. Stay off your back. In fact, lie on your side with a pillow between your knees. If the baby doesn’t naturally move into position in the next few hours, we’ll get more creative.”
“Creative sounds painful.”
Okay. Michaela could lie to her about one thing. “It probably won’t be. Go on and rest now. You’re going to meet your baby soon enough.”
With a worried sort of smile, Ariel turned and headed down the hall, closing the bedroom door behind her with a soft snick. Michaela sagged into the corner of the couch, her heart heavy with worry for her friend. They needed to get her mate back. They needed to prepare. That baby was coming whether they were ready or not, and the men were all off hunting and fighting dark things. Not an ideal situation for any of them.
Michaela had just stood, thinking she'd make a pot of tea to ready herself for the long day ahead, when Phego, Colt, and a third man she didn’t know raced through the front door. The three all wore simple, baggy cargo shorts, the kind Ariel kept on the porch for when one of the men shifted. The fact that they'd thrown those on instead of the clothes they'd left outside, the fact that they didn't take the time to go back to wherever they'd hidden those outfits, spoke more to her than anything.
Phego ran straight for her, his hands going to her shoulders the second he was close enough. His touch almost frenzied as he whispered, “Are you okay?”
Michaela smiled, examining him with every brush of her hands. “Of course. I'm not the one chasing beasts through the woods. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. We lost the scent trail, though.” His arm slipped around her, his warmth calling her in a way nothing else could. Michaela didn't have time to enjoy it, didn't have time to sink into his touch and relish that connection, though. She had a job to do.
“Ariel will be thrilled that her mate is back.”
The man across the room frowned. “I’m not Thaus.”
“This is another Dire,” Phego said. “I called him for backup.”
“When is Thaus coming back?” she asked, dreading the answer. She’d been so hopeful, so happy to see a third man.
“Couple of days yet,” Deus said, the shifter watching her and Phego with interest. He dipped his head, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “I’m Deus, brother to Phego and Thaus. You smell like Phego there.”
His words hung heavy with question, his meaning clear.
“I’m Michaela. Midwife for Ariel.” In a moment of daring, she bumped her hip against Phego’s and grinned. “I smell like my mate.”
A muscle in Deus’ forehead jumped, almost an unconscious tic. “I figured that part out.”
Which meant Phego hadn’t told him. The weight of that fact deadened something inside of her, made everything seem to dull. But there wasn’t time to deal with hurt feelings and lacerated hearts. She had a job to do, one that didn’t end at a specific time of day.
Michaela shook her head, pulling away from Phego so she could see his face. So she could make her point clear. “I don't know that Ariel will make it a couple of days. She’s in labor.”
“Shit,” Phego growled. “What can we do?”
Deus shrugged, almost casual in a room filled with stress. “We call Luc.”
“You want to bring Luc here? Around a pregnant woman?” Phego asked, sounding incredulous. Michaela didn't know who Luc was, but she had a feeling she didn't want to meet him. Not if the tone in Phego’s voice was any indication of what kind of person Luc was.
“No,” Deus said, pulling out a phone from the bag he’d brought inside with him. “The situation has changed from when we made the decision not to call him in. We need to adjust the mission. I want to send Luc to take over for the father. That way, the investigation into the explosives and threat to Blaze can continue, but Thaus is here for the birth of his child.”
Phego nodded. “Do it. Call him.”
Deus took off through the door, his fingers flying over the screen of his phone. Colt watched from his spot at the entrance to the kitchen, the one he’d been hovering in since he came inside.
“Where's he going?” Colt asked, looking wary. Angry, even.
“To make a phone call,” Phego said, still with his hand on Michaela's arm. Refusing to break that connection. Something that played with her emotions in a way that wasn’t fair. He touched her, but he didn’t tell anyone about her. He had sex with her, but he didn’t accept her as his mate.
Colt looked from one to the other—taking in their position, the way they were joined, and their body language. He frowned. “I'll walk with him to give you two a moment. Besides, no one should be left alone right now.”
As soon as the other shifter stepped outside, Phego pulled Michaela back into his arms. She went willingly enough, needing that comfort, craving his touch. But she didn’t hug him back.
Phego nuzzled into her neck and groaned as he pressed her against him. “Where's Ariel?”
“Lying down. You didn’t tell your brother you’d found your mate?”
“There wasn’t time. We were following a scent, one that’s almost impossible to track. The damn thing just keeps ghosting… I don't know what's going on.”
The candor, the open rawness of his voice, was new. As was the way he clung to her as if he needed her. As if he couldn’t stan
d the thought of letting her go. This was her mate—the roughest, harshest man she’d ever met—shaken in a way that scared her.
“I don't either, but we'll figure it out,” she said, rubbing her hands over his back, hoping the lie sounded true. “We have to.”
Phego sighed, clenching his hands on her flesh almost to the point of pain before pulling away. “I should check with Deus.”
Michaela nodded, letting him go. Watching him walk away. Colt came back inside a moment later, looking haggard and tired.
“Are you ready to go back to bed? There are still a few hours before sunrise.”
Michaela nodded, definitely tired, knowing she should rest for Ariel. It would be a long day ahead of them, but she needed. She yearned. “Just give me a minute.”
She waited for Colt to mount the stairs before heading for the porch. Phego stood there, arms braced against the railing, leaning forward with his head down. Looking exhausted and stressed and so very defeated. Michaela came up behind him, keeping her footsteps loud enough so as not to shock him. Running her hand along his bare back once she reached him.
She pressed a soft kiss to his spine as he shivered beneath her touch. “I'm heading back to bed.”
Phego turned, pulling her into his arms and running his nose along the length of hers. “I wish I were coming with you.”
Michaela sagged into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. “I wish you were too.”
They stood wrapped around one another for a long time, seconds turning into minutes. The woods were still so silent, so dark. It was as if they were in their own world. At least, until Deus came pounding up the stairs.
“Our leader is an asshole.” He gave a quick head nod to Michaela, not even glancing twice at the way she and Phego were snuggled close. “When he finally picked up, all he said was, ‘It’s in motion.’ As if that means something.”