“Okay.” She’d settle for that.
For now, at least.
* * * *
Elain tried to shoo everyone off to bed so she could clean up, but the others wouldn’t hear of it. Everyone pitched in, and when it was just down to doing a few last dishes in the sink, she finally convinced everyone but her mother to head for their respective rooms.
Carla grabbed a dish towel and started drying. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Elain nodded. “Yeah, just worn out. A lot’s happened.”
“And we still have a wedding to finish putting together.”
Elain groaned. “Holy crap.”
“You didn’t forget?”
“No, I just sort of blanked it out.” She handed her mother another clean glass. “With everything else going on, it slipped out of my mind.”
“You forgot.” Carla smiled. “It’s okay. I’m surprised you’re still sane.”
“Who says I am? Dirty liars.”
Carla laughed. “Snark fully intact. That’s a good sign”
“It’s about the only thing intact at this point.” She finished washing the last glass and handed it to her mom. “And I can’t quit thinking about Mai’s baby.”
“Why?”
Elain stared at her. “Why? Seriously?”
“I don’t mean it like that. We’re all concerned, honey. There’s no use worrying when the baby’s not even here yet. They’re going to enjoy their time together before they become parents and have to focus on the baby.”
Elain didn’t have an answer for that. That wasn’t the sum total of her worry. Despite what she’d said to Ain earlier, now that pesky “what if?” bug had entered her own brain.
What if one of their kids had a problem?
Carla studied her. “You can’t worry about something that hasn’t happened yet. Just because Mai’s baby has a problem doesn’t mean yours will.”
That startled Elain. “You sure you’re not part shape-shifter, too? You just read my mind.”
“Honey, there’s not a mom or a mom-to-be or a mom-wannabe who hasn’t had that thought at least once. Any of them who deny they ever did are lying. It’s part of being human. I’m just saying don’t let it eat you up. Especially when it’s not your worry to carry. Love them, love their baby, support them however they need it, and let life play out. You’ve dealt with enough. Enjoy your men and your life.”
“Thanks, Mom.” She headed to the bedroom. Ain had already drifted off to sleep, exhausted from staying up all the previous night with a difficult calving.
Brodey and Cail both looked up at her expectantly with identical grins on their faces.
She smiled. “Give me a sec and I’ll be right there.” She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She undressed, used the toilet, and freshened up.
When she opened the medicine cabinet, she spotted her package of birth control pills. She hadn’t taken her daily dose yet.
She started to push the pill out of the blister pack, then hesitated.
The visions, or whatever they were, that she’d had about being pregnant came back to her.
Despite the wacky past couple of months, one thing she knew for certain—she would spend the rest of her life with her men. Gladly.
She held the package over the garbage can and closed her eyes. No bad feelings, no second thoughts.
Lacey’s admonition to follow her instincts came back to her.
Elain opened her hand and let the package fall into the garbage can.
Part of her soul felt lighter.
She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled at herself in the mirror. Trust my instincts.
She returned to the bedroom and eagerly crawled into bed between Cail and Brodey. Keeping quiet so as not to wake Ain, she crawled between Brodey’s legs and smiled up at him before swallowing his rigid cock.
He let out a soft moan as his fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her up and down his stiff, engorged shaft.
Cail knelt between her legs and ran his fingers between her pussy lips. She quietly moaned around Brodey’s cock and wiggled her hips at Cail, encouraging him.
He slipped one, then two fingers inside her, drawing another moan out of her. With his other hand he sought and found her clit and rolled it between his thumb and index fingers.
They knew her body so well. Too well, it sometimes felt. Cail quickly had her coming, forcing her to muffle her loud cries by deep-throating Brodey’s cock.
“That’s our good girl,” Cail softly said. He lined the head of his cock up with her pussy, and before she’d even caught her breath from her first orgasm, he was fucking her, hard and fast, ramping her body up to another orgasm.
She sucked harder on Brodey’s cock, wanting to taste him, wanting to feel his balls tighten in her hand as he shot a load deep inside her.
Her mind slipped as it had before. This time, she and Brodey were racing through the woods, shifted, him chasing her. When he caught her, he body slammed her to the ground and before she could escape or shift back to human form, his wolf self was fucking her.
Another orgasm slammed into her, pulling her back to the present and arching her back.
“Yes!” Brodey hissed. He tightened his grip on her head and deeply fucked his cock into her mouth as he exploded. She greedily sucked him down, wanting every drop.
Cail quickly followed suit, his fingers digging into her hips as he held his cock still inside her.
Sated and relieved, she gasped for breath as her body recovered. As Cail crawled up the bed behind her, she glanced over to see Ain was still deeply asleep.
She had to stifle her giggles so as not to wake him as she settled into a comfortable position between the two.
“Good?” Cail whispered in her ear.
“Fantastic,” she whispered back as she pulled his arms tightly around her.
Brodey wore a sleepy grin. “Babe, you are sooo good, you have no idea.”
She closed her eyes, and with her fingers laced through Brodey’s, she fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
There was still one melancholy chore for Carla, Elain, and Liam to perform. The three of them drove north on I-75 to Tampa. Elain rode in the back while Liam drove and Carla sat in the front seat. The two of them seemed to be getting along very well, something Elain gave silent thanks for.
I won’t hope. I won’t hope.
Elain hadn’t visited the cemetery in over fifteen years, when she’d asked her mom to take her there. She had no conscious memories of Maureen Alexander, something that made her very sad. Both Liam and her mom had obviously loved her very much, although in different ways.
Lost in her own thoughts, Elain paid little attention to their conversation in the front seat. When they pulled into the parking lot at the cemetery and Liam shut the car off, the three of them sat there for a moment in silence. It wasn’t until Elain looked forward and realized they were waiting on her.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Carla smiled kindly at her. “It’s okay, honey.”
Elain offered up what she hoped didn’t look like a halfhearted smile in return. In silence, they all exited the car.
Carla led the way through winding paths toward what appeared to be an older section of the cemetery. When they stopped before the gravestone, Elain wished she’d thought to bring flowers to place on the grave.
Liam dropped to his knees in front of the stone and placed one hand on the writing etched there. Closing his eyes, he silently wept.
Carla put her arm around Elain and hugged her. Elain didn’t know what to say to either of them. She barely knew what to think. So many things had happened, so many emotions, so much to process.
It would take a lot of time.
Unfortunately, she suspected they hadn’t heard the last of the Abernathys. Then there were the cockatrice to deal with.
And she was going to be an aunt, sort of, to both Lina’s twins and Mai’s baby.
That part, at
least, filled her with some joy, even if of a melancholy kind. She’d spent the evening before researching Down’s syndrome and knew that it was possible Mai’s little girl might be born almost completely normal, with minimal medical problems.
She didn’t want to contemplate potential worst-case scenarios.
After a few minutes, Liam sat back on his heels, took a deep breath, and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Thank ye for bringing me here. I knew the second she died. I felt it in my soul. I knew she’d want me to move on, just like I’d have wanted her to had it been me. I made a vow to myself that until I could rightly say good-bye, I wouldn’t. And I didn’t. I had no desire to.”
Carla stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She was a wonderful woman. I’m glad I got to have her in my life.”
He nodded. “I wish we’d had more time together.” He let out a harsh, barking laugh. “As old as we each were, we only had three years together.” He looked up at her. “That’s something, eh? The Goddess has a fine sense of humor, but I can’t rightly say I can see anything good in it.” He reached up and squeezed her hand. “Thank ye, Carla. Ye did good by her, and by Elain. I cannot ever begin to repay ye.”
He stood and hugged her.
Elain watched them.
Don’t hope. Do not get your hopes up!
After a moment, Liam extended an arm to Elain, welcoming her into their embrace. She willingly went, her eyes prickling with tears as she felt their loving arms around her.
He kissed the top of her head. “Yer mum would be so proud of ye,” he said to her. “I’ve no doubt ye’ll keep those men of yers in line. Ye’ve got a right fine temper, just like she did. That’s one of the things I loved about her. Spirited.”
Elain almost couldn’t force herself to say it. “Please,” she whispered, “tell me you’re not leaving.”
He hugged her even more tightly as his voice broke. “Never again. Not unless ye tell me to go. I’ll never leave ye again, I promise. Ain invited me to live with all of ye as long as I wanted.”
With tears streaking her face she looked at her mom. Carla nodded. “I’ll stay, too. If you want me to. As long as you want me to.”
Elain vigorously nodded.
* * * *
They stopped for dinner on their way back to Arcadia. With the mood now lighter and Elain’s apprehension about either of her parents’ possible departures completely lifted, she was able to fully enjoy their company, as well as notice a genuine bond developing between Carla and Liam, even deeper than the friendship that had blossomed over the past couple of weeks.
“I do need to go back to Spokane to take care of a few things,” Carla said. “I need to pack my stuff and decide what to do with the house. I don’t want to sell it in this market, but I could rent it.”
“I’ll be happy to help ye, if ye’d like me to,” Liam offered.
Carla smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’d like that very much.”
“And if you wanted, you could live in my house in Venice,” Elain offered. “Um, both of you, if you wanted. Not that I don’t want you two in Arcadia,” she quickly added. “I just meant if you wanted, you know, privacy or…something.”
Carla nudged Liam. “I think that’s a hint.”
He laughed. “I’d have to agree.” He squeezed Elain’s hand. “Whatever will be, will be, sweetheart. Regardless, that’s something that can wait until after yer wedding.”
Elain winced. “Eloping is really looking good right now.”
Carla burst out laughing. “Wow. The princess bride wanting to elope? That really says something, doesn’t it? Life did get pretty crazy.”
Liam’s expression turned serious. “And likely to get crazier. I don’t want to worry either of ye, but honestly? We’d all be better off under the same roof. At least for a while.”
“Safety in numbers?” Elain asked.
He nodded. “Those crazy buggers killed my sisters-in-law. And one of the Lyalls’ cousins’ mates. All to try to locate me to find ye. I doubt the Clan Council can stop them simply with a won challenge. Rodolfo Abernathy’s pride’s on the line now. The man killed his own son and grandson for disappointing him.” He sipped his coffee. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t kill Paul as well before the day was over for losing to ye.”
Elain’s stomach turned. Okay, the guy was a creep, but kill him? “You really think he did?”
Liam shrugged. “Hard to say. Wouldn’t surprise me, let’s just say that.”
Carla shook her head, her expression grim. “Elain, I’m sorry I gave you a hassle about wanting to take karate when you were a kid. I’m so glad you did now.”
Elain managed a smile. “Me, too, Mom.”
Back in the car and on their way home to Arcadia, another question came to Elain. “Dad, do you think Mai’s baby is safe?” It still felt both odd and gave her a thrill to call him that.
Sitting in the backseat, she watched him glance at her in the rearview mirror. “Maybe not. Part of me says let the word get to Abernathy that she’s got Down’s syndrome so he’ll leave things be. Part of me thinks that if he finds out a child of his bloodline is imperfect, that he’s just batshit crazy enough to try to kill it. I sincerely doubt anything our Clan Council says would deter him.”
A wave of protective fury washed through Elain. “If I have children. What about that? Will he come after them?”
“Again, it’s hard to say. These are questions for Lacey and Lina. Or even things ye might see yerself when ye start having visions.”
“But do you think he’d try to kill or abduct any of my kids?”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a fecking arsehole of the worst kind.”
Elain sat back, silent the rest of the way home. When they arrived, Ain, Brodey, and Cail stepped out onto the porch to greet them.
She hugged all of them. Ain made her look up at him. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“I want to take those fuckers out. Take the fight to them. Finish this so they quit fucking with our family.”
“Who?” Ain asked.
“The Abernathys,” she said.
The men exchanged a worried look. “Where’s this coming from? What happened?” Ain asked. She knew he was concerned since he didn’t even give her grief about the swearing.
“Have you heard anything about Paul Abernathy since the challenge?”
From the look on Ain’s face, she knew he had. “Tell me.”
He glanced at his brothers again before answering her. “That’s the problem. No one’s heard anything else about him. None of the doctors they might use, no one. It’s like he disappeared off the face of the planet.”
“Or like his grandfather killed him and buried him in the woods in Maine?”
Finally, Ain grimly nodded.
“And Abernathy won’t just give up that easy, will he?”
“Probably not. But we are not going to take a fight to them. There were plenty of Clan wars to last those of us who remember them for the rest of our lives. Defending ourselves is one thing. Unprovoked aggression is another.”
“Okay, fine. But what if they come after us again?”
“If they come after us again,” he said, “then yes, we’ll pull out all the stops and finish it.” He hugged her tightly to him. “Until then, let’s just enjoy the life we have. Okay?”
She tried to relax into his embrace. “Okay.”
Brodey and Cail surrounded her, too, adding their arms to Ain’s warmth. Elain closed her eyes and breathed in their scent. Because of the Abernathys, she’d lost her mother and been forced to fight for her men. She’d lost a childhood of not being with her father, time she could never get back. Not to mention Mai’s baby might be at risk. Or her own future children.
If he tries again, he’s a dead man, she swore to herself.
* * * *
With all the events of the past few weeks following her mother’s arrival in Arcadia, Elain had gratefully turned
over most of the wedding planning duties to her mom and Mai even though it left her out of the loop on some things.
Surprisingly enough, that was fine with her. The night before the wedding, she lay snuggled in Ain’s arms while waiting for Brodey and Cail to come to bed.
“How many of your brothers are coming to the wedding tomorrow?” she asked him.
He laughed. “Two. You’re marrying them.”
She gently shoved him. “I meant your other brothers. You told me you still have ten brothers still alive.” She couldn’t imagine having a family that large. “And why didn’t we bring them into the mess with Abernathy and the cockatrice?”
He shrugged. “They have their own packs and families to take care of. I didn’t want to drag any of them into all of this. It’s our problem, not theirs.”
She sat up and looked at him incredulously. “Are you telling me none of your other brothers are coming tomorrow?”
“It’s all right. Three of our brothers are younger than we are, but the rest are older. Some much older. Most of them don’t even live here in the States. We’re not exactly close to all of them. Doesn’t mean we don’t love them or that they don’t love us, but we all have lives to live.”
“But…but they’re your brothers! Don’t they care you guys are getting married?”
“I called all of them and they wished us well, but it’s okay, really. I think all of them sent us cards. We’re going to have more than enough people here tomorrow to help us celebrate.”
Brodey and Cail chose that moment to walk into the bedroom. She pounced. “Did you know none of your brothers are coming tomorrow?”
Brodey frowned. “You feeling all right, babe?”
Cail smacked him on the shoulder. “I think she means our other brothers.”
“Exactly. Why am I the only one bothered by this?”
Ain chuckled. “Exactly. You are the only one bothered by this.” He took her hands in his and kissed them. “Seriously, we’re fine with it. We love our brothers. Don’t get us wrong, if they needed our help, we’d be there for them in a flash. And if we asked them for help, we know they’d be there for us.”