One Second (Seven Series Book 7)

by Dannika Dark

  He laughed softly and wiped off his hand before snuggling close. “Why’s that, Ladybug?”

  I sighed, pulling the extra pillow behind my head. “Because the universe doesn’t want me to have a father. Why couldn’t he have been someone amazing? I would have even settled for ordinary.”

  “Hmm,” he pondered, his finger tracing across my lip. “Maybe Austin Cole is all the amazing you need. The fates know what’s best, and it made you a stronger woman. A woman like you could have only been born from a powerful alpha, and men like us are faced with temptation early on in life when we’re trying to figure out who we are. He chose the wrong path and decided to live as a rogue; that has nothing to do with who you are. Just knowing the hell you’ve survived makes me want to be a better mate to you and a better father for our child.”

  I stroked the bristles on his chin, and he smiled down at me. I briefly wondered if our child would have Austin’s cleft chin or his beautiful eyes. Would the baby take the very best things I loved about Austin—his warm laugh, his devotion, his strong hands, and even his lean?

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “I’m wondering what the plan for tomorrow is.”

  “I’ll know more when I call Reno. Let’s not think about that right now.”

  Watching his muscles flex as he fluffed the blanket over our legs gave me the tingles. “Austin?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “When you’re done, kill the lights and make love to me again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  ***

  I knew it was morning when the cardinals began chirping. Austin and I had made love once more, but not all night like I wanted to. He had to check in with Reno and talk strategy.

  I didn’t mind. Every second in his arms was an extra slice of eternity. Long after Austin had fallen asleep, his wolf emerged. I guess he wanted to check on me and make sure I was okay, because he stayed by my side for hours. Austin had a beautiful animal—fur like midnight and eyes that sparkled like glaciers in the sun. I’d switched on the lamp for a few minutes to let him see where we were, hoping he wouldn’t get claustrophobic.

  Right before falling asleep, Austin’s wolf moved across the room and settled in, his eyes watchful on the ceiling. He might have been nice to snuggle up to in winter, but the last thing a pregnant woman needs is more body heat.

  I stretched out my sore muscles and climbed onto the bench, then lifted the door and raised the metal prop to hold it open.

  A delicious breeze floated through the gap and cooled my face. I drew in the clean scent of morning, taking a moment to appreciate the splendor of dawn. But I wasn’t ready to start the day. A new day meant another chance to lose someone I loved. Three days had gone by since we packed up and left home, and already we’d been engaged in battles that tested our loyalty and resolve.

  Naked on the wooden bench, I turned away from the opening and curved my hands around my belly. I watched dappled sunlight dance on the cold floor, and the baby began to move as if he could sense my altered mood.

  “Hey, little one. I know I haven’t talked to you before, but it’s me, your mom.”

  He stopped moving around.

  “I’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time, so I hope I’m not a disappointment. Your dad sure won’t be. He’s an amazing man. Take my word for it—I’ve known him since I was a little girl. You’re about to come into a big family, so I hope you’re ready to be loved by a lot of people. Your Aunt Maizy is so sweet, and she’ll take you to the creek to swim in the summer when it’s hot. Your Uncle Denver will probably splash water all over you doing a cannonball, but go easy on him. He’s a big kid at heart. Aunt April will teach you to love animals and good music, and I’m not sure what Uncle Reno will teach you, but it’ll probably involve a water pistol.”

  A sound caught my attention, and I turned my head, peering through the crack. A squirrel was digging a hole in the dirt beneath a nearby tree to bury his prize. I smoothed my hand over my belly, turning away again.

  “And Uncle Wheeler can be a grump sometimes, but he’s the one who’ll let you do whatever you want. Auntie Naya, well, I just hope you’re a girl, because she’s going to dress you up in all kinds of little outfits. Uncle Trev will probably show you how to make paper airplanes, although I kind of want his sense of style to rub off on you. Uncle William will take you for long walks on his shoulders, so I hope you like heights. If music’s your thing, then you’re in luck, because Uncle Jericho and Aunt Izzy will take you to concerts and teach you how to play an instrument. Would you like that?”

  The little one didn’t answer, but I kept my hand placed against my stomach, waiting for him to move again.

  “And just wait until your grandma gets a look at you. She’s already hoarding toys and thinks I don’t know about it. While you’re sitting with Maddox, working jigsaw puzzles, Grandma will be in the kitchen making you chocolate milk and cookies. She likes to sit at the table and talk, so be sure to tell her all about your day.”

  Tears stung my eyes, and one escaped, sliding down my cheek. “I’m so sorry you won’t be able to meet your Uncle Wes, but I’ll tell you all about him. He would have been such a good uncle. I’m going to take you to his grave so you can talk to him. I still go there once a year so he knows I haven’t forgotten about him.” I paused and closed my eyes. “I miss the sound of his voice. But that’s okay, don’t worry about your mom getting all hormonal and crying.” I laughed when I felt the baby kick again. “Maybe we should have had more of these little chats, huh? I was just scared that I might love you too much, that’s all. So I hope we’re all good. I promise to be the best mom I can, and I know I’ll probably make mistakes, but you’re always going to feel loved. You’re going to have cousins and aunts and uncles and… a father. That’s a pretty big deal. Not only that, but you’re getting the best daddy there is. I know it’s a little scary right now, but Mommy’s going to protect you. No matter what happens. Okay?”

  Austin’s voice startled me. “Hey, why didn’t you wake me up?” he asked groggily, sitting back on his legs and rubbing his eyes.

  I smiled and wiped my nose.

  Austin furrowed his brow and gave me a pensive stare. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong. Not a thing. Toss me my clothes before someone discovers us naked and thinks we’ve been having sex down here all night.”

  Austin crawled toward me and kissed my knee. “At least they’d have their facts straight.”

  Chapter 27

  The morning sun made a brief appearance before the fog had enveloped its light. I didn’t mind. The overcast skies kept the temperature down, and that was a welcome relief considering Texas summers were unmerciful.

  “How long have we been walking?” I asked Reno.

  “An hour,” he replied without looking at his watch. “Never stay in one place too long. Scouts can sneak through and give up our location. It also keeps them guessing as to how many they’re up against. A little exercise is good for the soul.”

  I stopped and held on to a slim branch from a short tree. “Well, my soul might pass the physical exam, but this hike is killing my back.”

  Reno took off my backpack and handed me a bottle of water while I took a seat on a flat stone. “Take a load off, and don’t worry about this. I’ll carry it the rest of the way.”

  He sat beside me and wiped his sweaty forehead with a rag, removing some of the already-faded paint that made him look creepy when he smiled with his white teeth.

  “This is a walk in the park compared to what I’ve been through,” he said absently.

  I could imagine. Reno had fought in a number of wars, and it was something he rarely talked about with anyone.

  After a few gulps of water, I set the bottle down and stretched out my sore legs. “How are things between you and April?”

  “Good. Why, has she said something?”

  I laughed. “Don’t be paranoid. It’s just that we haven’t had a r
eal conversation since she became a Mage, and I’m curious what you think about everything. Are you… I know it’s none of my business, but are you really okay with it?”

  He dug the heels of his boots into the ground and draped his arms over his knees. “I would have loved that woman until the day she died.”

  We watched a brown squirrel stand on his hind legs before scurrying up a tree. “Yeah, but now she’s immortal, and that changes things. She might even outlive you.”

  “Might?” he said through clenched teeth. “Takes a lot to kill a Mage. She’ll live a long life.”

  I nibbled on my lip. “And most of it without you. I just wondered if you two have really talked about your future.”

  He ran his hands through his short hair. “It’s all good. She wants to stay with the pack as long as this family will let her, even after Austin becomes an old man and someone takes his place. Just so long as the new Packmaster isn’t an ass.”

  I smirked. “It might be our baby.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes smiling. “Might be. Or one of the twins. I think she’d like to see the kids grow up, and be a part of that. The pack would respect someone who carries our history and memories.”

  “What about… men?”

  He reclined against the tree and picked up a leaf, twirling the stem between two fingers. “She doesn’t want to talk about it. I told her that after I’m gone, she should find a good man who’ll take care of her. I think we’ve got a few hundred years before that’s even an issue, so maybe it’s too soon to lay out those kinds of plans. If you keep thinking ahead, you’ll never appreciate what’s in front of your face. We have more time together; that’s all that counts.”

  “She’s pretty badass. You should have seen her fighting those men.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said, a smile touching his thin lips.

  I tossed a stick at a tree a few feet in front of us. “I feel pretty useless this time around.”

  “You handled yourself like a pro yesterday. Stayed cool, kept the situation under control. Intelligence is the best weapon because not everyone has it.” Reno got up, not bothering to wipe the dirt off his pants. “It takes more than muscle when your packmate has a knife to her throat. If we hadn’t shown up, you still would have bought yourself some time. Those animals were ready to do you in.”

  “How’s Lorenzo’s pack?”

  Reno answered while doing a weapons check. “Caleb said they’re holding their own. Church’s pack split in two and is circling the property.” Reno put his gun back in its holster and scanned the woods. “I hear Lakota’s making quite an impression on Church. His adoptive parents came down to fight with the pack. A Chitah is a pretty badass token to have on your side, not to mention his mother’s a Mage. Church’s pack is in a better position than most.”

  “Good. I’ve been thinking a lot about Ivy and Hope, wondering if they’re all right.” I stood up and lifted my pack. “The more control we have in our territory, the better our chances. We’re lucky to have Axel on our side.”

  “Affirmative on that. Some of Judas’s men are bleeding through, but not half as many as we would have had to deal with otherwise. It looks like his strategy is to send four times as many men as there are in a pack to secure victory, but his men are inexperienced and don’t seem to have a clear leader within the unit.”

  I lifted my shirt and fanned it to get some cool air circulating around my belly. “How will we know when it’s over?”

  “When they’re all dead,” he said quietly. “Get up against that tree.”

  I put my back to the trunk without question. Reno made a dove call—one long note followed by two more. That was our universal call for anyone in the area to reply.

  The air stilled with silence. I considered our surroundings, realizing there was a tree stand within sight. It was a simple plank that circled around the tree, allowing the person to hide at any angle. What startled me was the arrow protruding from behind the tree and aiming to our left.

  When I made Reno aware that Melody was on the hunt, he followed the direction of the archer’s intended target. Instead of reaching for his handgun, he pulled out the rifle.

  Guns made me nervous—especially being pregnant. But I retrieved my gun from its holster and covered any direction Reno wasn’t looking. The only distraction was the trickling water from a nearby creek drowning out other sounds.

  An arrow whistled through the air. When Reno fired his gun, I almost dropped my own from the shocking sound.

  “Motherfucker!” he growled, using his scope and firing off more shots.

  I couldn’t see anyone, but Reno’s rifle allowed him to see long distance.

  “One down and three shifted!” Melody cried out.

  I frantically searched for a tree I could climb.

  Reno charged forward and left me alone. Melody came into view and shot more arrows in the direction he was running. Reno shouted, drawing attention to himself and away from me. I looked behind me to my right and saw Melody dropping to a lower branch and straddling it, pulling back her bowstring and shooting another arrow. A wolf yelped, and a series of gunshots went off.

  “Reno shifted!” she cried out, relaying information to me.

  I spun around and saw a brown wolf moving like lightning toward Melody. Her arrow missed, puncturing the soft dirt behind him. Her eyes widened when he was almost upon her.

  The wolf sprang up and got ahold of her shoe. Melody wrapped her arms around the branch, panic written on her face, fighting him with everything she had as he tugged and pulled, trying to bring her down.

  She screamed, twisting around the limb until the wolf released his hold.

  I aimed my gun and fired, clipping the wolf in the leg. He continued jumping at Melody, and her hat fell off, blue hair softly waving as she swung to get back up. Her backpack caught on a jagged branch. I fired again but missed. Her arms were within reach of his sharp canines, and he got ahold of her sleeve, tugging hard until she hit the ground.

  If I shot the gun, I’d risk hitting her because of the distance. I stepped forward without thought, waving my arms.

  “Hey!” I shouted at the wolf. “Heyyy!”

  He drew in my scent, briefly distracted. Melody had landed flat on her back, and when she pushed up on her elbows, the crackle of leaves seized his attention.

  “Oh, God,” I whispered. “He’s got blood in his mouth.”

  The brown wolf snapped his gaze at her, lips peeled back in a savage snarl.

  My foot sank into a hole, and I fell to my knees, wrapping my right arm around my stomach in a protective gesture.

  Melody slowly reached over her shoulder for an arrow.

  “Hey!” I screamed again. “Look at me!”

  I didn’t exist to that wolf anymore. His focus was on her hand, as if the two were engaged in a standoff. Melody’s jugular was exposed, and I’d never been more terrified. He was almost on top of her, and it made it impossible to fire my gun without hitting her. I didn’t want to fire in the air either, because it might startle him into attacking.

  I frantically searched for Reno or some kind of miracle. A galloping sound made me clutch my racing heart, only… it wasn’t my heart that was making the thunderous sound.

  The heavy tread of hooves approached from the left and, with breathtaking speed, Lakota leapt off his horse and onto the back of the wolf. They rolled in the dirt as he pulled the vicious creature away from Melody.

  She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bow, stumbling as she limped toward me.

  “Aunt Lexi!”

  I stood up and pulled her into a tight hug. “Are you okay?”

  She didn’t reply, but her tear-stained eyes and trembling said it all.

  Lakota was a warrior of exceptional prowess, and our attacker stood no chance. The wolf yelped when Lakota drove a dagger into his heart and gave it a final twist. Meanwhile, wolves battling in the distance raged on as Reno fought his attackers.

  Lakota
stood up, blood staining his bare chest. He had dressed just as I imagined Lorenzo might have—like a warrior. There were patterns painted on his face and chest, and a feather in his hair. Even his horse had war paint—handprints on his chest and a circle around his eye.

  He stood up and jogged toward us. “Are you hurt?”

  “I think we’re okay,” I said. “Just shaken up.”

  Lakota made a clicking sound with his tongue and called the blue roan over.

  “That’s your mother’s horse,” I said. “Trouble.”

  He patted the horse on the side of the neck and smiled up at him. “No worries. He’s a good horse for battle. Isn’t that right, Trouble?”

  The horse nodded and released a breathy snort in agreement.

  Lakota leapt onto his back, and Trouble pranced in a circle. “Mother sent me to bring back the children or anyone who’s injured. They have control of their land, so we’re offering to join with you. Are you able to hold them off?”

  A terrible yelp sounded, and Reno’s wolf ran over, sniffing us and then circling the area.

  “Oh, we’re not doing too shabby,” I said with a laugh. “We have allies on the northern end of the property, so Austin thinks the breach is happening east and west. They’re coming in small groups, but so far we’ve managed to fight them off.”

  “The little one should come with me,” he said, his eyes on Melody and his arm outstretched.

  “I’m not a little kid,” Melody said in protest.

  A smile played on his lips. “No, but perhaps the intrepid blue-haired warrior would like to get her foot bandaged up before she returns to battle? I’m pretty sure Bactine and a Band-Aid isn’t going to help if his teeth punctured to the bone.”

  I gripped her shoulders. “Mel, you need to go with Lakota. Let them fix your foot, and I’ll tell your mom what’s going on. You’ve done an amazing job, and we’re all proud of you.”

  “Can I come back?”

  “We’ll see, honey. But we can’t risk you getting an infection. Go with Lakota. He’ll protect you.”