Colton walked into his bedroom to find Rheia reading Penny a bedtime story. They looked up and they both smiled at him. Colton knew his world had narrowed and now revolved around these two beautiful angels.
‘Did you find them okay?’ Rheia asked.
Colton smiled and shut the door behind him. ‘Yes, though I may have to end up paying for Keelan’s therapy sessions. I accidentally embarrassed him in front of his newly found mate,’ he confessed.
‘Poor Keelan.’ Rheia shook her head and looked down at Penny. ‘Did you need my help?’
Penny shook her head and got out of bed. She walked over to him and held her hand out. He stared down at her and realized she was waiting for a pull-up. He reached into the box he open and pulled one out. ‘I chose the ones with the princesses on them.’ Penny nodded. Colton leaned in, ‘I decided against that ‘cool’ feature, it looked uncomfortable.’ Penny nodded emphatically. Colton felt like he conquered the world. He handed her the pull-up and she went to the bathroom.
‘Thank you for going,’ Rheia said softly leaning against the headboard. He noticed she had changed into a tee-shirt and he could see the outline of her breasts against the soft material. He went to his dresser and stacked the boxes up beside it.
‘It was no problem, that’s what mates do, support each other.’ When he looked back, he noticed the blanket had slipped down even further. He shifted from foot to foot trying to alleviate the pain his jeans were causing him. She wasn’t even trying and he was as hard as nails.
The sound of the bathroom door had him turning and he watched Penny race across the room, her tiny bare feet creating a rapid staccato as she ran. Without even stopping, she jumped on the bed and wiggled in close to Rheia.
Colton let out a relieved breath. The appearance of his baby girl had helped his growing jeans problem. He frowned as a thought struck him. What if he and his mate had to wait until Penny was grown to have sex? He quickly looked over to the bed; both Rheia and Penny were yawning and settling in for the night. He stood there frozen. If he got into bed as a man, what if he woke up with morning wood next to Penny. Colton brought a hand to his mouth feeling ill.
‘Colton, are you alright? You don’t look well.’ Rheia asked leaning up on one elbow.
‘Yup!’ he answered quickly his voice cracking. The look she gave him, clearly communicated that she didn’t believe him.
‘Really. I’m going to go change.’ He turned to the bathroom.
‘Into a wolf again?’ she asked.
Ab-so-fucking-lutely as a wolf!
‘I think we’ll all be more comfortable that way, more room.’ He gave her his most charming smile. She rolled her eyes not buying a bit of it. His mate was starting to read him already. Feeling buoyant, he went into the bathroom and shifted. Rheia reached over and turned off the lamp on the nightstand.
He jumped up and settled in next to Penny. Immediately she rolled over and practically put him in a stranglehold, but he didn’t dare move. She looked so peaceful. He crossed his front paws and rested his head on them.
He felt a hand gently stroke his fur and opened one eye. Rheia was smiling at him as she lazily petted his fur.
‘Thank you. Thank you for not pressuring me, for being amazing with Penny and putting her needs first.’ Her head disappeared as she got comfortable for the night.
He sighed. He was never going to be able to claim his mate.
*****
The next morning Rheia woke to an empty bed again, only this time there was no panic. She knew that Colton would take care of Penny. Smiling she stretched out and enjoyed the feeling of having the bed to herself. It was a wonderful feeling knowing Colton was watching Penny, letting her have some precious time alone. If he kept this up, she may actually come to love mornings.
Twenty minutes later, she got out of the bed, her bladder winning the war against being lazy. She grabbed her toiletries and headed to the bathroom. It wasn’t luxurious, she’d stayed in hotels that had better bathrooms, but she could understand why. There weren’t any decorations either, to Colton the bathroom was simply a place to get clean, just as the bedroom was simply a place to sleep. It was why he was an early riser; he was the type of person that couldn’t wait to start a day, just to see what it would hold. He valued people and interactions more than material wealth.
She showered quickly, deliberately using his soap and shampoo. Whatever this mating thing was, it was really starting to get to her. She walked on edge, almost desperate for his touch. Only Penny’s presence had kept her from throwing herself at Colton the previous night when she caught a glimpse of his erection straining at his jeans.
She reached for a towel and stopped. The material in her hands was decadent. Eagerly she wrapped her body in the towel and savored the way the fabric felt. He may not have spent a lot of money on decorations, but he didn’t skimp on towels. She stopped. His sheets and linens were just as warm and cozy. She had slept wonderfully despite being in an strange bed both nights.
So he was willing to spend the money on the things that made him feel good. She towel dried her hair, applied her normal bare minimal make-up and lotion regimen and got dressed. She looked down at her blue scrubs and wished she had something more feminine to wear. Maybe she could ask Beth to take her shopping later. Feeling better about the day she pulled her hair back in her normal ponytail, grabbed her utilitarian ‘mom’ bag and headed downstairs.
When she walked into the dining room, the men stood. Surprised, she stared at them; they had done this the day before, but she didn’t know what it was for.
‘It’s a guy thing, from way back to whenever, come sit down,’ Meryn explained.
Rheia sat down next to Penny and the men sat back down. She felt Colton’s warm arm stretch across her back. She leaned back rubbing her head back and forth on his arm and smiled at him. His answering smile reminded her of a sunrise. She leaned over and kissed Penny on the forehead. Penny looked up, both cheeks puffed out as she continued to cram chocolate chip pancakes into her white powder-rimmed mouth. Looked like someone had already gotten into her donuts. Rheia shrugged, as long as she was eating she could care less what it was.
‘I ordered your coffee for you,’ Colton said.
She smiled at him. ‘Thank you and thank you for letting me sleep in. I can’t remember waking up feeling so rested. I almost feel human,’ she joked.
Keelan frowned. ‘What else would you be?’
Rheia blinked at him, then realized what she said.
Meryn took the liberty of answering for her. ‘Human women have the capability to go for days without food or sleep before we have to rest. But in order to do so we need coffee. If we don’t get it, we can get evil. Like, set you on fire evil.’
Keelan gulped. ‘Is that a physical condition, like stretch marks?’ he asked.
Meryn looked at Rheia nervously and nodded at Keelan.
Rheia looked between the two. ‘What about stretch marks?’
Keelan turned to her, eyes as wide as saucers. ‘Meryn said that when human women grow from child to woman, that their skin can sometimes rip causing tiny scar lines. She said things like that, make human women stronger than human men.’
Rheia stared at Keelan and then swung her gaze to Meryn who fidgeted in her chair. Ryuu walked in and handed Rheia her coffee before he started to pick up empty platters. She took a sip and sighed happily. She turned to Keelan and nodded. ‘She’s absolutely right. When I was at the hospital I would treat five to ten stretch mark cases a week; ghastly process.’ She took another sip of coffee before setting her cup down. She looked across the table at Meryn who was smiling wide at her. There was no telling what the nutty woman had told the men, but she knew one thing, she wouldn’t be the one to tell them otherwise.
Colton turned to her looking a bit pale. ‘Does your womb turn inside out monthly as well?’
Inside out?
Rheia nodded without looking at Meryn. She put on a tragic expression before looking up at Colton. ‘It’s a miracle we live through such pain.’ She had to quickly look away to keep from laughing when Colton swallowed hard.
‘Don’t worry, Rheia, Aiden and the guys bought practically every tampon the local store had for me last month, I can share,’ Meryn offered.
‘Thanks, I’ll probably have to take you up on that.’ Rheia looked at the assortment of pancakes Ryuu had made. She speared two blueberry ones and looked around for the syrup. Colton handed her a small bottle and she drenched her stack with the sweet amber liquid. She cut off a piece and took a bite. They were perfect. As she continued to eat, she listened as the men made plans for the day.
Colton turned to Keelan. ‘Did you make arrangements to see your mate again?
Keelan nodded. ‘She’s staying with her aunt and uncle in Madison while she interviews for a job. I asked her out, we’re going to go see the Hobbit marathon on Saturday. The small theatre downtown is running all three movies back to back to back. I’ve been dying to see the third one again.’
Beth scrunched up her face. ‘They didn’t have anything romantic playing?
‘There’s romance!’ Keelan protested, then thought about it. ‘Well, up until the end when…’
‘La la la la la! No spoilers!’ Meryn put her hands over her ears.
‘Okay, okay. Why haven’t you seen it yet? It’s been out for a while?’ Keelan asked.
Meryn just gave him a look and then pointed to Aiden. ‘Overprotective, paranoid mate.’
Keelan winced. ‘Sorry.’
Colton looked over to Aiden. ‘Okay, today is Tuesday, so we have drills with Epsilon today. Did you want to continue with blind drills?’ Colton asked.
Rheia was about to take another bite when a thought struck her. She turned to Aiden. ‘Do you always have drills with Epsilon on Tuesday?’ Aiden nodded. Rheia sat back as a knot began to form in her stomach. ‘What about Wednesdays?’
‘Wednesdays we train with Beta,’ Darian answered.
‘Do you keep a schedule posted somewhere?’ she asked.
The men shook their heads. Colton turned to her. ‘We maintain the same routines to cut back on confusion.’
Rheia looked around and gave the men an acerbic expression. ‘So you’ve been using the same routine for quite some time?’
They all nodded.
‘So if the ferals have been paying attention at all, they know exactly who will be where at any given point throughout the week?’
The men all nodded and then stopped mid-nod. Their expressions changed from smiling, to horror stricken, to ill.
‘Dear Gods, she’s right,’ Gavriel whispered.
Aiden sank back in his chair. ‘Thank Fate for you women. You see things differently than we do, question things we don’t even think about anymore.’ He looked over to Colton. ‘Call all the units, tell them we have a mandatory meeting, including the trainees, first thing this morning,’ he said, before standing and kissing Meryn on the forehead.
Colton turned to Meryn and Beth. ‘We had planned on watching Penny again, but I don’t think today is a good day for it. Is there any chance you two can watch her?’
Meryn and Beth eyed each other then turned to look at Penny. Meryn shrugged. ‘Why not?’
Colton stood. ‘Thank you ladies.’ He ruffled Penny’s hair and walked around her chair to stand next to Rheia. He leaned down and kissed her gently. ‘Get my cell phone number from Meryn and text me later.’
‘I will. Have fun today.’
Colton rolled his eyes. ‘Aiden always gets so grumpy when he realizes he’s made a mistake, he’ll be an absolute bear to be around.’ He wagged his eyebrows at her. Both she and Meryn laughed.
‘Colton, get your mangy ass out here!’ Aiden bellowed from the foyer.
‘I am loved after all, he missed me.’ Colton laughed and waved goodbye.
‘Goofball,’ Rheia said and resumed eating her pancakes.
‘A lovable goofball,’ Beth said.
‘Sexy even,’ Meryn chimed in.
‘Will you two be okay watching Penny?’ Rheia asked.
Meryn looked at Beth. ‘I had no younger siblings and never babysat. You?’
Beth grimaced. ‘I was the youngest person in Noctem Falls for close to twenty years.’
‘We can help,’ A light male voiced said from the doorway. Rheia looked up to see two young men come into the room. She was shocked to see one of them in a wheelchair.
‘Jaxon, Noah! Perfect timing. Meet Rheia and Penny. Rheia is Colton’s mate and Penny is her daughter,’ Meryn said introducing them. The men smiled at her and waved. ‘We have five other trainees you haven’t met yet. They’ve been helping the construction crew with their barracks. They’ll spend the day moving in after the meeting Aiden just called. These two are my minions. Noah is the cutie with blond hair and Jaxon is my hell on wheels!’ Jaxon laughed and Beth shook her head.
‘Keelan filled us in on about Penny yesterday, we’ll be happy to help,’ Jaxon said, meeting Rheia’s eyes. She could tell he knew about Penny’s past, the sympathy was in his eyes.
Noah took Colton’s empty seat next to Penny. ‘So what do you want to do today?’
Penny rummaged around her bag, pulled out a box of crayons and held them up.
‘Perfect! We’re going to be working in Aiden’s office today tracking down some older files to get an accurate Vanguard count, we’ll set you up,’ Noah promised.
‘See, no problem. Once a kid can walk and communicate, it’s smooth sailing. It’s the tiny ones that cause trouble.’ Meryn said rubbing her belly.
Beth sighed. ‘At least you’re not calling her ‘Larvae’ or ‘Spawn’ anymore.’
Meryn laughed. ‘I only did it to irritate Aiden. He gets the cutest little eye tick when I say stuff like that. It’s adorable.’
Beth stood. ‘You may make him the first shifter in history to suffer from high blood pressure.’
Meryn shrugged and stood. They walked around the table and Meryn held her hand out to Penny. Penny turned and got up on her knees in the chair to give Rheia a kiss. Rheia gave her a tight hug before letting her hop down to join Meryn. Meryn promptly picked up Penny and put her in Jaxon’s lap for a ride.
‘Be good,’ Rheia called after them.
Meryn turned scowling. ‘Why does everyone always say that to me?’
Rheia chuckled. ‘I was talking to Penny, but if it applies…’
Meryn blushed. ‘I knew that. Have fun doing your medical thing.’ She turned to leave and then spun back around. ‘What’s your number? I told Colton I’d give you his number so you could text him later.’ Meryn pulled out her phone and waited.
Rheia rattled off her phone number.
Meryn typed, her tiny fingers moving quickly. ‘Okay, I just texted you Colton’s number, Aiden’s number and the house phone number. You’re officially hooked up.’
‘Thanks, Meryn,’ Rheia said as her phone buzzed from her bag.
‘Latta.’ Meryn wiggled her fingers at her and breezed out the door.
Rheia just stared at the open doorway; suddenly the room was much bigger and felt empty.
‘She has a presence that seems to take over everything around her, doesn’t she?’ Ryuu asked walking in from the kitchen.
‘Yeah, she does. How long have you been with her?’
‘Just a few months, but it seems longer. In a good way.’ Ryuu started stacking plates.
Rheia ate her last bite and picked up her coffee cup. ‘Could I ask a favor?’ She turned the cup in her hand nervously.
Ryuu gave a half bow. ‘Of course.’
‘Could you see if Penny has any relatives in Lycaonia? Her last name is Carmichael; her mother’s name was Elena.’ Rheia was afraid to find out if Penny had family, but she owed it to the little girl to find out. Living outside of Lycaonia, it hadn’t been safe to alert others that Penny had survived. But they lived in Lycaonia now; there was no reason to keep her from her family.
‘I’ll contact Marius Steward; he is the squire to Aiden’s mother, Adelaide. He knows just about everyone in the city and if he needs further information he can easily ask Aiden’s father, Byron. Byron is the shifter Elder here in Lycaonia,’ he explained.
‘Thank you.’ She took one final sip and set her cup down.
‘Was there anything else you needed? Adjusting to this world can be difficult, even for those who have known about paranormals their entire lives.’ His dark eyes were filled with warmth.
‘I think I’m okay for now. As long as Penny is happy, that’s all I care about. Is my car still parked out front?’ she asked standing.
He nodded. ‘I think they left it there for you to get to the clinic.’
‘Perfect. What time is lunch? I’d like to eat with Penny?’
‘Noon. I used the internet and looked up child friendly foods. We will be having different types of sandwiches. Hopefully I can discern her likes and dislikes based on her choices’ he said, frowning.
‘I know Penny will love it. Thank you again, Ryuu.’
‘My pleasure. Don’t forget your coat.’
‘I won’t,’ she promised and went to the closet in the main hall. She grabbed her coat and left to go to the clinic.
*****
‘Thanks Oron, there’s no way I could have gotten these set up, even if I had a forklift. What do they feed you guys anyway? You’re all huge,’ Rheia said before she sat down in one of the patient chairs they’d just carried.
Oron smiled. ‘We’ve always been the largest of all the paranormals, no one knows why. I’m glad I could help. Doc always takes good care of us. We do heal, but he helps us heal faster and with less pain.’
‘I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to assist but I’ll help any way I can. I think I have some catching up to do when it comes to shifter’s accelerated healing.’
‘We’re glad to have you. We were all hoping Colton would find his mate soon, the nightmares he was having changed him,’ Oron said, leaning against the examination table.
‘Changed? What do you mean?’ Rheia asked concerned.
‘You’ve only seen him as he is now, and that’s how he usually is, joking and carefree. He’s the kinda guy that would literally give you the shirt off his back if you needed it and then walk around flexing, acting like you did him a favor.’ Rheia smiled and shook her head at the image. That definitely sounded like the Colton she had come to know.
Oron smiled and then got quiet. ‘The past couple weeks though, when he was dreaming of you, he was withdrawn, quiet, depressed. I don’t think we all realized how much we rely on him to keep us upbeat and to balance out Aiden’s grumpy nature. Drills have been exceedingly dry and almost painful without Colton’s usual antics to liven things up.’
Rheia suddenly wanted to talk with Colton; it was as if she had to know he was okay. She didn’t realize she was clutching her chest until Oron bent down in front of her a panicked look of concern on his face.
‘I didn’t mean to upset you. I just figured that as a human, it might be hard to accept a mate since they don’t exist in your world. I wanted to let you know that you lucked out, Colton is one of the good ones, you know?’
Even with him bending down, she had to look up at him. ‘Thank you. I think I’m starting to see how lucky I am, but don’t tell him that. It would probably take weeks to deflate him.’
Oron stood and laughed loudly. ‘You are getting to know him.’
‘Yeah, I am.’
‘Take good care of our boy and if you need any more help just let the commander know,’ Oron offered.
‘Thanks, I will.’
He waved goodbye and the door shut behind him.
Rheia looked at the clock there was still another hour until lunchtime. She stood and went to find Adam.
She found him cussing at a stack of papers at his desk.
‘I know administrative work when I see it.’ Rheia walked in and sat in the chair across from him.
Adam growled. ‘Since the businessmen put up the money for the renovations they want weekly reports. What am I supposed to tell them? Sorry, no one nearly died today. I almost want to put Aiden in traction just so I have something to give them.’
‘How many warriors do you have?’ she asked.
Adam sat back. ‘We have thirty at each level. Thirty full-fledged unit warriors, trainees and cadets, so ninety altogether.’
‘That’s not including mates, right?’
‘No, just the men. Why?’
‘Well you have me here now,’ she started.
‘You mean you’ll do the reports for me?’ he asked hopefully.
‘No. But what I can do is give the guys their yearly physicals. If each unit had two men report per week for a yearly physical, in addition to the wellness checkups for the pregnant women and their babies, that’s a pretty full report right there,’ she explained.
‘But paranormals don’t get physicals.’
‘They do now.’ She smiled widely.
Adam leaned back in his chair grinning from ear to ear. ‘I like the way you think. I’ll call Aiden, we can start tomorrow.’
‘What are we going to do until then?’
‘You and Oron got all of the rooms set up already?’ He looked down at his watch and then up at her.
‘Yeah, that guy was like a one man moving team. It should have been physically impossible for him to lift some of those machines.’ She frowned, remembering how easily he maneuvered the X-ray machine.
Adam smiled. ‘You missed his belt.’
‘His belt?’
Adam nodded. ‘I saw a charm hanging from his belt, probably done by Quinn, Gamma’s witch. I bet that enabled him to lift higher weights than normal. That way only one person missed drills. From what I caught from the conversation with Aiden this morning, they’re having to completely revamp all of their training schedules.’
Rheia winced. ‘That may have been my fault,’ she explained the conversation they had at breakfast.
‘Gods, you know I never thought of that either; no wonder he was in such a foul mood. Good thing Colton is back to normal, otherwise we’d probably have a full waiting room of men complaining that they pulled a muscle so that they could get away from Aiden.’
‘Was he really depressed?’
Adam nodded. ‘I was on the verge of pulling him in here for a chat when you showed up.’
‘Why wasn’t I affected?’
Adam raised an eyebrow. ‘Weren’t you?’
Rheia shook her head then stopped. She remembered her reaction to hearing his voice in her dreams. It hadn’t been sexual, she would have dismissed that for what it was; the result of a dry spell. No, his voice had made her feel like she was complete, as if she had everything she ever wanted. Somehow in her dream she knew that no matter what, the faceless voice would be there for her. When she’d woken up she’d been relieved the nightmare was over, but at the same time she’d wept because he wasn’t real. Each night when she went to sleep she’d been torn, she knew that with the terror came the knowledge that she wasn’t alone. She’d been willing to suffer through one to get to the other.
‘I take it from the look on your face that he affected you as well?’
‘I didn’t realize it until now, but in my nightmares, he was always there.’
‘There you go. Matings affect people differently. For some it’s a grand passion, dramatic and lusty. For other’s it’s the quiet, simple, small things, like your mate knowing your favorite tea, or remembering that you always forget your keys. No two couples ever come together in the same way.’
‘Meryn said for her it was like getting a roofie,’ Rheia said looking up at Adam.
Adam’s mouth dropped before he began to laugh. ‘Fate had her work cut out for her with those two. It probably would’ve been easier to drug them. Did she tell you that she beat Aiden unconscious with the back of his toilet?’ he smirked.
‘No! Little, itty, bitty Meryn took Aiden down? Are you sure she didn’t drug him?’
Adam shook his head. ‘She’s a force of nature. She threatened every single unit warrior with a revolver smaller than my shoe. What’s even more unbelievable is that she had them shaken. But there’s one thing I learned about Menace, there are no half measures. Either she loves you or she hates you. If she loves you she hugs you, if she hates you, she shoots you. There’s a measure of comfort in that type of honesty.’
‘She is stable though, right? She’s watching Penny.’
‘They’ll be fine. Meryn’s rough around the edges, but she isn’t stupid. Everything makes perfect sense… to her.’ He winked.
‘Okay, now I really need a project. If I sit here and think about what could be happening I’ll lose it.’ Rheia stood.
Adam thought for a moment. ‘I have the perfect project for you, come on.’ He opened the door and headed down the hallway.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, jogging to keep up with his long stride.
‘The morgue.’
Peachy.
