by Thorne, Elle
“Yeah,” Tyler grinned sheepishly. “I thought he was calling a nanny service.”
“That didn’t go over too well with Camden.” Eden smiled.
“She’s feisty,” Tyler added, then bit down on the laugh that had been bubbling up when he remembered that this whole mess was because of Camden.
Eden studied his face, and must have noted his expression. “You have something… I mean… you… Camden…”
Tyler frowned. He wasn’t one to discuss his feelings, not with anyone, except maybe Sean. And even then, he kept his own counsel more often than not. Tyler wasn’t the feeling-sharing type, and that wasn’t about to change, not even with the twin sister of the woman in question.
Not to mention, I don’t even know how I feel exactly.
His bear protested this falsehood with a snarl.
Okay, maybe Tyler did have an idea about how he felt, but he wasn’t going to talk about it. Period.
Not when it looked like said woman—regardless if she was hot, curvy, smart, and everything he wanted in a woman—
—Knock it off, he cautioned his bear against pushing those thoughts in his mind—
Especially when it looked like said woman was the reason for this whole damned Shifter Council thing.
He held up his hand for Eden to halt the course of her conversation. “The only thing on my mind at this moment is the welfare of these two little girls.” He glanced at the twins, who were beginning to stir. “And nothing else takes priority over that.”
All right, maybe he wasn’t flat out denying what Eden was talking about, but he wasn’t going to think about that right now.
“Ty-ty?” Trista raised her head, her eyes heavy-lidded with sleep.
Tessa nuzzled against Trista, then lifted her own eyes to Tyler’s face, her gaze slightly unfocused.
He smiled at them. “Hey, sleepyheads.”
Tessa paused, and it was clear she was thinking hard on something as her brows drew down into a serious vee.
A slight shaking of the lightbulb in the kitchen, and a hushed rumbling sound coming from the ground outside let Tyler know that Tessa’s thoughts were not exactly pleasant.
He held his arms out. “C’mere, you.” Before you create an earthquake and maybe validate some of the Shifter Council’s concerns.
Trista’s bottom lip started to emerge.
Tyler knew exactly why. “You c’mere, too. I was talking to both of you.”
Her pout inverted into a smile as she tried to climb over Tessa in her eagerness to get into Tyler’s embrace.
“What is going on?” Trista asked, vying for more room on his lap, while at the same time digging sharp elbows into Tyler’s ribs.
“What do you mean?” Tyler was on a fishing expedition to find out what the twins knew, just as he knew Trista was doing the same—information gathering.
She narrowed her eyes, studying his face. “You sent us here to be with Eden while you do grownup stuff.”
Tyler nodded.
Trista cleared her throat, and there was something about the sound that told Tyler it wasn’t Trista. That was her elemental.
“We are not naïve children.” That was definitely not Trista’s voice, though the words came from Trista’s mouth.
He glanced up and noticed that Eden was watching them intently.
“What’s your name?” Tyler asked Trista’s elemental.
“Aella.”
“I’m not trying to treat you like a naïve child, either of you.” He glanced at Tessa and wondered if her elemental was paying attention. “But you elementals are inside two little girls. I can’t help but strive to protect them.”
“Do you think keeping the truth from them is protecting them?” Aella again.
“I think that giving the girls something to worry about prematurely is not wise.”
Trista—or was it Aella—cocked her head. “I know who is here. I know what is going on.”
Tyler clenched his jaw. “That’s all fine, but do you mind not ruining Trista’s and Tessa’s day by bringing it up?”
Trista stared at him. That’s when he noticed her eyes, normally flashing tiny bits of gold—her shifter—and light blue—her elemental—were actually more light-blue than the clearest sky he’d ever seen.
Trista’s elemental nodded.
“And if you don’t mind, I’d like if you’d not take control during this event. This isn’t a good time to upset the applecart.” Because, damn, things were hard enough as they were.
Another nod from Trista’s elemental, then her eyes changed color, the blue becoming less prevalent and equal in tiny flashes to the gold of her shifter.
Tyler heaved a large sigh of relief, pressed his lips to Trista’s temple in a gentle kiss, then turned his attention to Tessa, and appraised her eyes. Luckily, the gold color of her cub was not secondary to the amber color of her earth elemental.
“Tessa, darlin’,” he tweaked her nose. “Do you know the name of your elemental?”
Tessa nodded. “Kassia.”
“Thank you,” he said softly.
“She won’t come out. She’s gone away. She won’t talk to me, and only comes when she thinks someone’s going to hurt me.”
“No problem.” He patted her on the shoulder and heaved a deep breath, then lifted his gaze to Eden, pinning her. She may not be the enemy, but right about now, she didn’t feel like an ally to him. “I won’t lose this. I flat out won’t.”
Eden nodded. “I understand.”
Tyler half shook his head. “I don’t think you do, but I have a feeling before it’s all said and done, they all will.”
He’d be damned if he’d see more upheaval and hell thrown at these two little girls. They’d seen enough.
Trista and Tessa raised their eyes to his.
He fought hard to keep the resoluteness of his emotions from showing on his face.
“How about a snack?”
They nodded, but in the depths of their eyes, a seriousness lingered.
Chapter Seventeen
Camden was seated at the table with the council, Grant, Mae, and Doc. Griz stood, leaning against the wall.
The council had asked everyone to get comfortable before they made their announcement.
Griz had refused a seat, his voice a low growl as he’d proclaimed he was quite comfortable exactly where he was.
His arms—thicker than many large branches—were crossed over a broad chest. In his neck, thick with muscles, Griz’s tendons were strained from stress. His scar was white with fury.
Camden couldn’t tear her gaze from the fierce shifter with the scar. She didn’t feel fear, usually—a side effect of having a kick ass ice elemental. That’s not how it was with this Griz guy; for some reason, he scared the daylights out of her.
Now that they were all in position, it seemed no one was taking the step forward into announcing their decision.
Probably scared of that big ass grizzly shifter was Camden’s guess.
Finally, Laken rose to her feet.
Camden felt like cheering. She’d noticed when Laken left to use the restroom earlier that she walked with a slight hitch. She’d asked Mae if Laken was injured.
Mae had been beaming with pride when she said that Laken wasn’t injured at the moment, but she’d lost a leg to a landmine working overseas.
Camden had found herself admiring the panther shifter with the prosthesis. Laken had seemed likable when Camden had first met her, but now she was downright admirable.
Mae then continued to explain that Laken and Ky spent their lives overseas volunteering, but that her doctor had advised she come stateside now that she was fairly close to delivering, as she didn’t have a shifter doctor near wherever she’d been out of the country.
“You seem to know her well,” Camden had remarked.
Mae had nodded, a large smile plastered on her face. “I consider her family.”
At that moment, Camden wondered if she should ask Mae if she had sway wi
th the council. If she could get them to back off. Camden and Eden were closer than anyone else in terms of assessing the situation, and technically they didn’t even know enough about this to decide that Tyler and Sean shouldn’t have the girls.
Just when she’d been ready to ask Mae, Doc had pulled Mae’s attention into a discussion with a council member on the other side, and Camden’s request remained unvoiced.
Then everyone had taken their spots. And now, here they were. The council had an answer, when by damn, not even Camden could figure out a definitive answer. The only conclusion that Camden had arrived at was that the twins loved Tyler and Sean and that Tyler, for sure—since she hadn’t met Sean yet—felt the same for the twins.
Camden heaved a sigh.
Laken cleared her throat and shuffled some papers, still standing.
Then Ky rose to his feet, standing catty-corner behind Laken, his own arms crossed over his chest. His eyes laser-focused on Griz.
Great. Just great. That’s all we need. Testosterone to solve everything. Even worse, male grizzly testosterone.
Laken read from the papers. It seemed they were templates, with blanks that were filled in with a blue pen. “In light of the irregularities of following protocol, the Council determines that the girls, Trista and Tessa, be placed with a Council-designated advocate while we research the matter. That designated advocate—” Laken’s voice was strained, breathless. “Camden Brazos—”
There came the sound of a whoosh.
Then, the room fell silent.
Camden could have heard a pin drop, even without her shifter hearing.
Camden glanced at the source.
Griz had uncrossed his arms and exhaled loudly. He shook his head. “No.”
Laken opened her mouth to reply, but Griz held up his hand.
“You don’t come to this area and decide that you will dictate policy to us.”
“Griz,” Mae’s voice was soft.
Griz looked at Mae, and the sadness that Camden witnessed in the depths of his eyes made tears well in her own.
Why? What was that about?
She realized whatever that sorrow in his eyes was, it was something that her panther was reacting to. Her panther knew something.
What am I missing, Camden wondered.
Griz kept looking at Mae, then he turned his steely gaze to Grant, then to Doc.
“No, Mae,” Griz said. “With all due respect, no. They can’t refuse to be a part of this society—this place we have built here, and then think that they can come in and dictate how we handle our business.”
Ky stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his mate Laken.
“I’m new to the scene,” Ky began. “So, I don’t know the history that drives your statements, I don’t know what the Council refused to be a part of, but there have been promises, words were given, statements made, signatures affixed to agreements—”
“No.” The word rang out with the finality of a shot. Griz shook his head. “You’re right. You. Don’t. Know.”
Doc rose to his feet as well. “Griz, we’re on the same side.”
Griz waved toward the council members. “They aren’t on the side of the twins. They aren’t on Tyler and Sean’s side. And they sure as hell aren’t on my side. My body is covered with scars that show just how much they are not on my side. Where the hell was the council when this valley was under siege.” He looked at Mae. “Where the hell were they when Brad was killed?”
Mae gasped. Tears had filled her eyes. Doc put his arm around her.
Camden knew who Brad was. That was Mae’s first mate. Eden had told Camden she’d overheard Tyler talking to someone on the phone and Mae’s name had come up, how she’d been a widow for a long time, then she and Doc had become an item.
“That was a low blow,” Camden said before she’d realized she’d even opened her mouth. She raised her hand, almost clapping it over her runaway mouth, but stopped herself. She wasn’t going to back down. It had been a low blow.
Griz’s turned toward Camden, his eyes narrowed into a squint. “This is all your fault. If I hadn’t called the Order in…” He ran his hands through his hair, almost as if in defeat.
Then came a creaking sound
God, she knew that sound.
She stared at Griz. His face was beginning to realign itself.
Shit, he’s going to shift, right here, right now. And she knew that he would wreak havoc. And that ire would be headed in her direction.
She felt Avala’s presence becoming stronger, like being swept up in whitewater during a flood. Avala was barely simmering below the surface, but the temperature was rising to a frosty boil. She would be erupting a barrage of ice if Griz threatened Camden.
The next sound split the air and brought everything to a halt.
Griz froze, mid-shift.
Avala paused, becoming still as a statue within Camden.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the sound.
Laken’s mouth was open in a shrill shriek, her fingers holding the table in a white-knuckled grip.
Then she doubled over, nearly hitting her head on the table.
Ky wrapped his arms around her.
Camden noticed a stain on Laken’s gray dress. “Her water’s broken,” she whispered.
“What?” Mae practically screeched.
Doc leaned closer to Laken. “It’s true.”
“No,” Ky responded. “She’s early.”
“Early or not, it’s happening,” Doc assured him. “Let me check her out, see if we have time to get her to my place.”
“Should we get your kit, in case there isn’t time?” Mae asked.
Doc nodded.
“I’ll go,” Grant offered. “I’ll tell Chelsea to set up a room for you for now.” And with that, he was out the door, moving at shifter-speed.
Griz followed him out the door.
Half of Camden’s mind wondered if Griz was helping Grant, while the other half of Camden’s mind was concerned with Laken.
“Carry her to a room,” Mae instructed Ky.
“I can walk,” Laken said, her voice strained. She took a step and doubled over again.
Mae took her hand. “Let Ky carry you. Don’t try to be a hero and endanger the baby—or yourself.”
Chelsea appeared at the door. “Grant said you needed——” She looked at the situation, took it all in swiftly. “—oh, my. Follow me.”
The room cleared out, the council members headed toward the kitchen. Carrying Laken, Ky followed Chelsea, trailed by Mae and Doc.
Camden was alone, glancing about the room.
Then it hit her.
Laken just said that she, Camden Brazos was the appointed guardian of the girls?
No. This couldn’t be.
Tyler’s going to hate me for this.
Chapter Eighteen
Tyler pulled another book from the stack of books the girls had picked for him to read to them. He heard the steps approaching. An average human wouldn’t have heard them. A shifter definitely would. He glanced at Eden and could see that consternation marked her face. She heard them as well.
They weren’t expecting anyone, well, unless it was someone bearing news. And right now, to Tyler, it felt like all news was bad news, by damn.
The door opened slowly.
Griz peeked his head in the door, took in the scene. “Cozy,” he whispered.
“Uncle Griz!” The twins leapt to their feet to greet their favorite “uncle.”
He dropped to one knee and wrapped his thick arms around the youngsters, his eyes meeting Tyler’s over their heads.
The look in his eyes was serious.
Something about it bothered Tyler.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Griz nodded. “Hi, Eden. They’re waiting for you at the house. I’ll take over babysitting duty. Go have some lunch, something other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
Trista playfully punched Griz on the arm. “PB & J a
re the best sandwiches ever!”
“I know, but grownups need a break from monotony, you know?” Griz tickled her.
Tessa climbed on Griz’s back, hanging onto his shirt.
A sense of forlornness ripped through Tyler. How could losing the girls be at stake?
And yet—reality check—it was. Right now, as they were speaking, a group of strangers were deciding if he and Sean should be able to raise the girls.
“Are you sure?” Eden worried her bottom lip. “I thought I was supposed to stay until—”
“I’m sure,” Griz assured her. “Go on. I got this.”
She looked like she was torn, then finally yielded to the older alpha shifter. “Okay.”
As soon as she’d slipped out the door, Griz set the girls down next to Tyler and went to a window. He drew the curtain aside slightly, and glanced through. Then a few seconds later, “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“We’ll talk about it on the way,” he said, then turned to the girls. “Hey, how about a picnic?”
“Do you have a basket?” Trista asked.
“And food?” Tessa added.
“I’ve already got it there waiting for us,” Griz said with a smile.
Tyler frowned. Now this was some mysterious shit.
“We should hurry,” Griz prompted. “I’ll carry one, you take the other.”
“What’s the rush?” Tyler asked.
“The news wasn’t great.”
Griz attempted a smile, probably for the girls’ sake, but it was a grim countenance that faced Tyler.
Oh, shit. That could only mean one thing.
Chapter Nineteen
Camden found Chelsea and Mae in the library.
“How can I help?”
Chelsea and Mae were silent.
“Look, I know you blame me, but really, you have got to know, I never, ever, would have done anything like what it seems I did. I swear. I was curious, and discussing it with Marie. I never felt that the girls shouldn’t be with Tyler and Sean. I simply didn’t understand the connection in this placement.”
Mae’s eyes were filled with tears.