Fire and Ice

Chapter One

“So, Old One. Are you proud of yourself?”

Baba Yaga turned from her stove, where she was cooking herself a pork chop, to look at Brighde. It wasn’t uncommon for her sister to appear in her home, but she wasn’t expecting her today. “What do you mean?”

Brighde sat on one of the barstools. “You know quite well what I mean. Cailleach told me about the day she visited you, when you first selected the Goddess’ Watcher. About your lost love. How much ire do you think you have you brought upon yourself from the Ancients for bending the world to your will, Old One?”

She hated it when Brighde called her that. “I followed the prophecies. And when I revealed the past to Lina, I didn’t show her everything, even though it was in my memories.”

“By whose hand were those prophecies written, hmm?” Brighde arched an eyebrow at her. “You even forced Cailleach into a mating you knew she didn’t want to serve your needs.”

“I forced her to do nothing. She fell in love with that wolf.”

Brighde waved her objections away. “You placed her in a position where she couldn’t refuse her heart. I should count myself lucky you didn’t bend the prophecies to include me in your matchmaking efforts. You picked her because you knew damn well I don’t give a flying fig about the prophecies because I know they’re bullshit. And if I was to walk away from them, you know the humans will follow suit.”

“They are not bullshit!”

“Oh, please. You got the Seer drunk and told him what to write. I watched you do it!”

Baba Yaga’s gaze narrowed. “Are you saying I was wrong?”

Brighde shrugged. “We are all masters of free will. At any given time, any of them could have chosen not to fulfill the prophecies. Then they would have seen them for what they are, empty pieces of paper with words of your choosing on them.”

“I swore an oath of revenge. I will not walk away from it.”

“So I see. And at what cost to others, hmm?”

“Those who fell in love did so because they felt it, not because I bewitched them. I simply set up events allowing them to more easily meet and fall in love with each other.”

Brighde laughed. “Call it what you will, Old One. Lie to yourself if you wish, but know this. You play a dangerous game with lives over your revenge. It’s not right.”

“The cockatrice have decided to wage war, not me. Had they simply faded from existence, then none of this would have come to pass.”

“True. It’s the only reason I haven’t stepped in to stop you. Know this, however. If you continue taking steps to deliberately manipulate people and usurp their free will, I will stop you. I will expose this entire plan. You walk a very dangerous path, Old One.”

“It is almost done. The cockatrice chose their way and I simply made it easier for the other shifter races to ally against them to protect themselves from the threat.”

Brighde stood. “Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep better at night. I didn’t mind being used for the spell to create the tablet, but I will be watching. I am not as loose with my heart as our little sister is, Old One. I shall not be as forgiving if you try to interfere with my free will.”

Baba Yaga let out a snort of derision. “Don’t worry. I doubt there’s a man in the world who could thaw that block of ice in your chest.”

Brighde rolled her eyes. “You just keep thinking that you are the expert on love and loss and your hubris will get the better of you, sooner or later.” She wagged a warning finger at her older sister. “I will be watching.” With that, she disappeared.

Baba Yaga plated her meal, took it over to the counter, and stood there, eating. Her sister had no idea what she was talking about. She’d always been a cold, frigid bitch. Ironic, considering Cailleach’s usual domain of the icy realms.

It certainly wasn’t her fault old Reygland, the Seer, couldn’t hold his mead very well back then, countless eons earlier. Or that he happened to plagiarize the poem she recited to him.

Never mind. Her job steering the course of events had ended. She felt a lot of guilt over Bertholde’s death, but she had placed more than enough warnings in her old friend’s path that the Seer could have chosen not to go to Yellowstone.

Lucky humans. They could die and pass on to new lives, usually with no memory of their past hurts or joy. A fresh slate.

She was granted no such reprieve. No way to forget the pain of loss, to erase the picture of her lover’s body ripped to pieces.

No way to erase the longing for a love she would never again know.

Lucky humans.

Chapter Two

Lina stared out the passenger window of the rental car. She’d never been to Washington State before. Despite the grey and dreary day, the green, lush landscape they passed struck a resonant chord in her.

She didn’t know if she’d ever find the nerve to deeply explore all of her past lives.

She didn’t know if she truly wanted to, despite Baba Yaga and Bertholde’s warnings that she’d have to if they were ever to defeat the bastards wanting to destroy all of them. Although things had quieted down in the two years since their big showdown and cockatrice ass-kicking in Brussels, Lina knew it was only a matter of time before it heated up again in a big way.

She could see it.

In fact, the irony wasn’t lost on her that she was the flagyer’s Seer, and had grown more comfortable with the job in the past couple of years, yet she still resisted looking at her own past. That’s why she’d asked Zack to bring her here. To face things, one small step at a time so she could learn to be brave enough to look at all of it.

Zack reached across the seat and laced his fingers through hers. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah.” The landscape fascinated her. She’d spent her life in Florida, and topography such as this helped keep her mind off the building sadness within her.

“Listen,” he softly said. “We do this my way. And if I decide this is too much for you, then we stop. Understood?”

She nodded. She wouldn’t fight him.

He pulled off the interstate outside of Seattle and wound through hilly neighborhoods until they pulled into the cemetery. When he parked and shut the car off, she looked at him.

“How do you know this is the place?”

He shrugged. “I looked up the obits. It had the info.”

Without further conversation, they both exited the car. She waited for him outside the office. When he emerged a moment later, they joined hands again, and she let him lead her down a path that wound through the rolling cemetery. A few minutes later, he turned left and slowed as they walked down a row of headstones.

Then he stopped in front of a double one.

Lina took a deep breath and looked.

Martin and Amelia Fisher - Beloved Parents

Their dates of death listed a day apart but over forty years earlier.

“How many?” she softly asked. She knew she could search her memories and find out for herself, but she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

He didn’t give her any grief about it. “Three. Two boys and a girl. One son still alive. He lives here in Seattle.”

It didn’t feel real. Her and Zack, from their former lives, dead and buried before her.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I…I can’t explain it. I just needed to see.”

“I know. It’s okay. I’ve never wanted to, but I had all my memories. I didn’t need the concrete proof.”

She took a deep breath before slowly blowing it out. “Tell me this gets easier. That I’ll be able to look back.”

He pulled her to him and hugged her. “I’m sure you will, sweetie. In your own time and way. It doesn’t have to be right now.”

The events of the past couple of years threatened to swamp her as it was. “I hope it doesn’t. There’s still a lot to do. They won’t stop until we stop them. They’re just laying low and regrouping.”

She didn’t have to clarify who she meant. “I know,” Zack said. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

They returned to the car. He headed into downtown Seattle and found them a parking spot at a pay garage. Without questioning him, she let him lead her a few blocks away to a scenic side street filled with older buildings instead of monstrous skyscrapers.

A store tucked away on the second floor of an old, brick building and accessed by a staircase, was their destination.

She read the sign.

Fisher Books and Collectibles

He stopped at the door. “You okay?”

She nodded.

When they entered, a bell tinkled above the door. Floor to ceiling, the bookshelves were stuffed mostly with books, but also some small displays of baseball cards and other items.

An elderly man, grey and stoop-shouldered, looked up from his book. He glanced over his reading glasses at them. “Hello, welcome. Here to browse, or may I help you find something specific?”

Zack offered him a smile and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it over. “I’m looking for this. Any chance you have it?”

The man studied the paper and turned to his computer. “Let me check.”

Lina wanted to hug the man, to say something, and found she couldn’t. Her gaze fell on pictures on the wall behind him. The man, approximately twenty years younger, with a woman and some grown children and what appeared to be grandchildren.

Then Zack nudged her and tipped his head, indicating another photo.

And old picture, a man and a woman. The man slightly resembled this one, but she knew it wasn’t him.

Zack squeezed her hand as her breath caught.

It looked nothing like them now, and yet…it felt familiar.

The man shook his head and looked up from his computer as he returned the paper to Zack. “Sorry. I don’t have this one in stock.”

“That’s quite all right.” He shook hands with the man. “Thank you for your time.”

Lina reached across the counter to shake with him, too. As she did, a flood of memories, clear as yesterday, slammed into her brain. Holding him in her arms when he was born, their youngest, three weeks early but healthy. Zack’s tears as he also looked at him. His tenth birthday, when their dog ended up with birthday cake frosting all over his whiskers. His wedding. The birth of his first child…

The sorrow on his face as she closed her eyes and knew it would be the last time she would ever take a breath.

The man’s eyes widened in shock.

She let go and stepped back, grabbing Zack’s arm for support. “Thank you for your time, Robbie.” She practically dragged Zack toward the door.

As it closed behind them, she heard the man’s stunned voice. “Wait! How did you know my name?”

She pulled Zack behind her as she headed toward the parking garage. He finally dug his heels in and stopped her, stepping into an alley and grabbing her in a bear hug.

She struggled for all of two breaths before she started sobbing.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” he whispered in her ear. “Let it out.”

She relaxed against him, letting his strong, warm embrace support her as she released her grief.

When she was able to compose herself, he kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be all right. It’s just a shock.” He smiled. “Maybe you should name this one after him.”

She stepped back, alarmed. “What?”

He smirked and laid a hand on her stomach. “You’re pregnant, sweetie. Nearly six weeks along. Believe me, I’ve seen all the signs with you enough times. That’s another reason you’re so volatile right now.”

“But…I can’t…not right now!”

“Yes, right now.” He kissed her forehead and pulled her close again. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

“But I’ve only been with them a couple of years!”

“I know. The Universe willing, you’ll have eons more.”

They started walking again when they passed a Starbucks. She was about to suggest they go in when her vision went blue. She clamped down on Zack’s hand for support, then the Seattle landscape disappeared, replaced by a place she knew well from their many visits over the past couple of years.

The Lyall ranch.

She saw the gathered guests, including her and her men, preparing for a celebration. And she saw the same woman whose face had appeared to her in the vision back at Yellowstone when she and Brodey escaped the fire.

Like that, it was gone. Zack looked worried.

“Well?” he asked.

She smiled, then laughed. “Let’s get our coffee. Then we need to get our asses home to Florida. We’ve got a wedding to attend.”

“Um, whose wedding? And don’t forget, we have to meet up with Andel and the flagyer mucky-mucks in Brussels in two weeks.”

She frowned. “Crap. I forgot about that.” She closed her eyes as the last traces of the vision wisped away. “Oh, okay. We have a couple of months yet.” She laughed as she opened her eyes. “Brodey is going to be shocked as hell to see me. I’ll be as big as a house.”

She realized what she just said. “Oh, fuck.”

“What?”

She glared at him. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me it’s twins?”

He grinned. “I wanted there to be some surprise, sweetie.”

She was going to step inside the coffee shop when yet another vision hit her. Zack pulled her out of the way of other pedestrians and held her until she came out of it.

Her happy joy had evaporated.

“What’s wrong?” Zack asked. “Lina, fucking talk to me!”

“We have a little side trip we have to make,” she said. “We can’t tell anyone. We have to go. Now.”

“We’re supposed to fly home—”

“No.” She shook her head. “We need to get to get our stuff and head to the airport. Now.”

He took one last, longing look at the Starbucks before leading her toward the parking garage. “Rick and Jan will have a shit fit, you realize that?”

“I don’t care. We have to go. Now.” She knew if they didn’t, it might be too late.

They reached the car and before Zack started it, he asked, “Do you mind telling me where we’re going, exactly?”

She closed her eyes and thought about it. “Bolivia.”

“What the fuck? Are you shitting me? Bolivia? What the fuck’s in Bolivia?”

She swallowed hard as she met Zack’s irritated glare. “It’s going to get bad,” she whispered, barely able to get the words out. She’d not only seen what she had to do, but what could happen if she didn’t. “We have to get to him before anyone else does. If we don’t, and they get to him first…” She didn’t want to say it.

He rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. End of the world as we know it.” He backed the car out of the space. “You’re explaining this to Rick and Jan when we get home. They’ll want to castrate me for us taking off like this.”

“They can’t know.” She stared at the city as they passed through it. She’d hoped to have a couple of days here to sightsee and relax with Zack.

Now, that couldn’t happen.

Crap. A goddess’ work is never done.

Chapter Three

They collected their bags and stepped outside the tiny airport terminal at San Miguel. They had packed light, anticipating a weekend in Seattle and not a multi-continental journey to South America.

Zack looked around, doubt on his face. “Are you sure about this, sweetie?”

Lina shook her head. “I’m not sure about anything, except that if I don’t eat soon, I’m gonna not-so-randomly blow something up in a very flaming, barbecue kind of way. Like a cow or a pig.”

They threaded their way through street vendors and pedestrians, Lina cursing the heat with every step. Not even Florida felt this hot. The very air bore a damp, aromatic funk she hoped she never smelled again.

They finally found a restaurant nearby that didn’t look too condemnable. When the waitress walked up, Zack took over.

“Dos Coke, por favor.”

“Sí.” The waitress laid menus on the table before she turned and headed to the counter.

“I wanted water,” Lina griped.

Zack shook his head. “Not unless it comes from a bottle.”

“Oh.” She glanced at the menu then dropped the sticky, grungy thing onto the table. “You order for me. You know what I like.”

He smiled. “No problem.”

When the waitress returned with their cold, unopened cans of sodas, Zack chatted with her in Spanish, got her smiling. Then she wrote on her notepad and walked away.

Lina recognized only a few words of the conversation, like sandwich and pork. “What are we getting?”

“Oh, don’t you want to be surprised?”

“Not really.”

“Relax.”

Ten minutes later, the waitress returned with two delicious-smelling plates laden with pork sandwiches, rice, beans, and fried plantains.

Lina tore into hers. “Zack, this is delicious!”

Zack laughed. “Oh, ye of little faith and mucho incendiary powers. Not Cuban food, but still pretty good.”

They finished eating a little while later. With Lina’s tummy happily full, Zack herded her out of the restaurant and toward a hotel two blocks down.

“This looks ritzy,” she griped. Although compared to America, it was maybe as nice as a one-star hotel that hadn’t suffered a vice raid in the last forty-eight hours.

“It is. And if you think I’ll stay anywhere else, you’re crazy. They grow bedbugs as large as monkeys down here. This is the closest we’ll get to not needing a delousing before we clear Customs in Tampa when we leave here.”

After check-in, Zack spoke to the desk clerk before they headed to their room. “What was that about?” she asked.

“He’s going to get us a car.” He smiled. “And he gave me some info.”

An hour later, Lina had bathed, changed into jeans and sneakers, and felt reasonably more human. When their room phone rang, Zack answered.

“Sí? …Bueno. Gracias.” He hung up. “Let’s go. Our chariot awaits.”

Downstairs, she stared at the car. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” The rusted black Land Rover looked like it had seen far better days.

“Hey, we don’t want flashy,” he said after thanking and tipping the clerk. “Flashy will get us the wrong kind of attention.”

She climbed into the passenger seat. “Well, I hope you don’t consider AAA the wrong kind of attention because this thing looks horrible.”

He slung an arm across the back of her seat and turned to look at her. “Do you trust me, Lina?” he softly asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I do,” she mumbled.

Zack was in full-on protective Watcher mode. “Then you need to let me do my job, Goddess.”

She bit back her protest over the title. “All right, fine.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good girl.”

She growled, but the sound of his laugh drowned it out as he put the car into gear and they drove off.

Just outside of town, he pulled off to the side of the rough dirt road and studied the map. “Give me a clue, babe.”

She looked at it, then let her instinct guide her. “There.” She pointed, touching her finger to a spot on the map.

He took the map back and studied it, frowning a little. “Oookay. This might involve some overland hiking. You up for it?”

Lina settled back into her seat. “I guess I have to be. I hate this stupid gig,” she grumbled. “Why didn’t Bertholde pick someone else?”

“Because you’re the Goddess, like it or not,” he countered. “We might not always agree with the prophesies, but if you try to run from them, I promise you, things will not turn out to your liking.” He glanced at her. “The Universe has a way of keeping people in line to keep the natural balance of things. And the Universe’s way is usually a lot worse than doing it ourselves.”

Lina knew he was right. She turned to the window. There wasn’t much in the way of landscape to look at. Mostly what she would consider muddy hovels just beyond the ditches. When there were ditches.

They drove on for several hours, winding up roads Lina didn’t think could possibly get worse and yet continued to prove her wrong. The further they traveled, the clearer it became to her why Zack rented the Land Rover. Locals barely paid them any attention when they passed, and while cosmetically a wreck, it was obvious the owner kept it in mechanically good condition. They needed to use four-wheel mode for most of the trip.

Finally, they pulled into the yard of an old mission church. The white stucco walls had obviously seen better days.

Lina didn’t want to contemplate if the missing chips in the façade were really pockmarks from bullets or not.

“Stay here and keep the doors locked,” Zack said before she could protest. He was out and striding across the yard, dodging a couple of chickens and a curious pig on the way to a small shack on the far side.

He knocked and waited. A moment later, an old, stooped man opened the door.

They stood there, chatting, for several minutes. The old man pointed up the hill behind the church, where a barely visible path disappeared into a dense stand of trees.

Zack nodded and handed a couple of bills to the man, who looked pleasantly surprised to receive them. He genuflected over Zack before motioning him to wait. Then he disappeared back into the shack, leaving the door open. Zack turned to Lina, smiled, and gave her a thumbs-up.

The man, who was apparently the padre, returned with a large canvas duffel bag. He could barely carry it, but Zack shouldered it with ease and nodded, then shook hands with the man. The padre watched as Zack returned to the Land Rover.

Lina unlocked the door for him. “Well?”

He smiled. “From here, we hike.”

“What’s that?” She pointed at the duffel.

“He asked if we’d deliver this since we were heading that way anyway. It’s apparently his supplies. He comes down every couple of weeks.”

“Great. Now we’re UPS.”

“Come on, Goddess Girl. We’re wasting daylight. Remember, it was your freaky vision that brought us here.”

She sighed. “I know, I know.”

It was apparently okay to leave the Rover parked there. They locked the doors and Zack pocketed the keys.

She didn’t miss that Zack had somehow acquired a gun. In the cooler weather at the higher altitude, he donned a jacket and clipped the holster to the back of his belt.

He noticed her watching. “Just in case,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to randomly or purposely blow shit up without a little extra firepower.”

“Did I mention I hate hiking?” It brought back bad memories of Lenny and Yellowstone.

“Move your cute tush, honey.” He shouldered the bag’s strap messenger-style across his body and headed for the trail behind the church.

She followed him. “How far away are we?”

“The padre said if we hustle and don’t spend too long there, we can make it back here before dark.”

A bird chose that moment to sound off in the trees right above them, scaring the crap out of Lina with its haunting, screeching call. “Then let’s move it,” she grumbled.

They made good time. A little over an hour later, with Zack unerringly following a trail that, most of the time, Lina could barely make out, they emerged at the edge of a small clearing nestled against the rocky side of a hill. A wood-and-tin shack, barely larger than the Land Rover, precariously hugged the rock wall behind it. A nanny goat tethered with a long chain attached to a collar on its neck didn’t look up from where it grazed in the center of the clearing.

Zack stood up a little straighter and held out a hand to stop her.

“What?” she asked.

“We’re being watched.”

The goat lifted its head and bleated before returning to its grazing.

She didn’t miss that Zack’s right hand slowly slid behind his back, where his fingers wrapped around the gun.

“This is stupid,” she said. “Liam Pardie!” she called out. “My name is Lina Zaria-Alexandr. We need to talk to you.”

“Holy shit,” Zack whispered. A large, dark-brown wolf slowly stepped to the edge of the clearing, his body still half concealed by vegetation. His unblinking green eyes, a different shade than Brodey Lyall’s but just as intense, warily watched them. He was every bit as big as the Lyalls in their wolf form.

She shook off Zack’s arm when he tried to stop her. She stepped forward. “Liam, please. We need to talk. I have some important news for you about your daughter.”

The wolf didn’t blink, didn’t move.

She heard Zack swallow hard behind her. “Bring the bag,” she told him.

He slowly stepped forward, carefully unshouldering it and setting it in the middle of the clearing. He finally found his voice. “Padre Sanchez told us how to find you. We’re not with the Abernathys, we swear.”

The wolf snorted, but whether it was in derision or not, Lina couldn’t tell. Still, he didn’t move from his place at the edge of the clearing.

She pulled a piece of paper out of her back pocket, unfolded it, and laid it faceup on the ground next to the bag.

“What’s that?” Zack asked.

“Proof,” she said. “I printed it up in the business center while you were checking us out of the hotel in Seattle.” She grabbed Zack’s arm, and they stepped back to where they’d entered the clearing. “We’re friends of the Lyalls. I have something you need to look at. See for yourself,” she called to the wolf.

He warily tested the air with his nose before slowly advancing to the piece of paper. They watched as he read it…

And suddenly, a tall, beefy, naked man with dark-brown hair and green eyes the same shade as the wolf’s was crouched in front of it. “Jesus wept,” he whispered as he sat back on his haunches with the paper clutched in his trembling hands. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

Zack let out a soft whistle. “Hellooo, baby,” he whispered.

Lina nudged him, hard, with her elbow. “Stop that. You’re married.”

“Hey, Kael doesn’t mind if I look.”

She shot him a silencing glare.

He shut up.

They watched as Liam stared at the picture on the paper for several long, silent minutes. Then he looked at them. “Ye know her?” he asked, his voice choked with emotion.

Lina took a deep breath. She had to agree with Zack. The guy was hunky. She’d yet to meet an ugly wolf. “Not exactly.” She nodded toward his shack. “Can we please go inside and talk? Maybe with you clothed?”

He finally seemed to realize he was naked. “Oh, eh, right. Sorry.” He stood and grabbed the bag, carrying it to the shack. They slowly followed him, and by the time they’d reached the doorway, he’d pulled on a pair of jeans. He sat on a low bunk, the paper in his hands.

He couldn’t take his eyes from the picture, a printout from the Venice TV station’s staff directory on their webpage.

“She’s beautiful,” he said. “Looks just like her mum, she does.” Now Lina could hear his Irish brogue. He looked up at them. “So what’s this about? Is she all right?”

Lina nodded. “It’s a long story, and it’ll take me a while to get through it. But please keep an open mind. You’re a wolf shifter, so some of what I’m about to tell you won’t sound far-fetched.”

He laughed, but it sounded like the humorless wolf snort they’d heard earlier. “My life’s a feckin’ hell, it is. I couldn’t protect Maureen. I’d promised to love her, protect her, and see what happened? My mate, dead because I had to leave, and our baby girl raised by someone else.” He looked heartbroken. “If I go back and they get wind I’ve returned, they’ll hound me to hell and back to find my baby girl.” His expression turned vicious. “I’d rather have my throat ripped out than put her in jeopardy.”

“But that’s just it,” Lina said. “She’s already in jeopardy. And so are the men she’s destined to mate with.”

“Men?”

Lina took a deep breath. “Let me start from the beginning. Get comfy.”

Three hours later, with shadows lengthening over the tree line and all hope of returning to the car before dark right out the damn window, Lina finished the tale of what had happened. Liam hadn’t interrupted her. Zack, who’d managed to find a comfortable position to sit in along one wall, had dozed off. She suspected he wasn’t deeply asleep, and her last, final revelation would certainly awaken him.

Liam looked stunned. “I was right that those bastards are the ones who killed Charles and Ellie Lyall?”

“Yes. And who the hell is Ysimel? I saw her in a vision.”

Liam looked startled. “She’s the reason for the blood oath. It was what her clan demanded for her mate to be able to claim her.”

“Ah.” A lot of things clicked into place and made sense now. “That answers a few more questions.”

Liam chewed on everything for a moment. “I’m still confused. You’re telling me you’re involved because you think those damn cockatrice are partnering up with the Abernathys against the dragons and wolves?”

“Sort of.” She took a deep breath. Zack would kill her for not revealing this factoid in Seattle, when the last of the miniswarm of visions had hit her and confirmed for her what Lacey had told her. “My mates’ last name is Alexandr, but spelled with a ‘dr’ and not a ‘der’ at the end. Your wife’s maiden name was Alexander, spelled ‘der.’ She was actually a distant cousin of the Lyalls.” Zack’s left eye popped open.

She had his full attention now.

Liam nodded. “Aye. I knew Maureen was related to the Lyalls. That’s why I went to speak with Charles and Ellie. I was hoping their pack could protect her. Charles and Ellie had a reputation of doing stuff like that. So?”

“Jan and Rick Alexandr, my mates, are also distantly related to the Lyalls, and to Maureen. As am I, through my father. So you see, this really is a family matter.”

Zack stared at her. “Fuuuck me, kiddo. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t know for sure until that very last vision in Seattle. Lacey told me back when I first met her that it was a possibility, but she wasn’t sure.”

Liam looked confused. “But why are ye telling me all this?”

“Because you need to get your ass back to Florida, to the Lyall ranch. Major shit is going to happen soon, and they are going to need your help. Specifically, your daughter is going to need your help.”

“Do the Abernathys know who she is yet?”

She shook her head. “Not yet, but she’s going to meet the Lyalls really soon. That’s when they figure out who she is. I can’t see everything, unfortunately. I only see what the funky vision fairy, or whatever it is, lets me see.” She smiled to lighten the moment. “Besides, your daughter deserves to have her dad give her away at her wedding.”

Liam shifted into his wolf form and led them safely down the trail until they were only a hundred yards away from the church. Lina knelt down to stare into his eyes. “Go soon. The sooner, the better. The Abernathys are in too much disarray now to track your return. By the time they know you’re back, they’ll have already located your daughter. And then she and her men will need all the help they can get. Okay? We’ll see you again really soon. You can trust the Lyall clan, I swear it.”

Liam nodded. He nuzzled her hand and let out a soft chuff of thanks before turning on his heels and sprinting back up the trail.

Lina sighed and let Zack lead her the rest of the way out of the jungle. Back in the Rover and heading toward San Miguel, Zack shook his head. “Jan and Rick are not gonna believe this.”

“Especially since you can’t tell them. Or Kael, or Uncle Andel, or any of them.”

He looked surprised. “What the fuck? Why not?”

“Because they can’t know. Any of it. Not yet, anyway. Only you and I are strong enough to keep this secret. If any hint of Liam’s whereabouts gets out, his life is in danger. He has to get to Florida safely. The cockatrice are already plotting their next move. If the Abernathys find out too soon how deeply we’re aligned with the Lyall wolves, it could bump up their timeline. We can’t have that happening. That’s still the one biggest advantage we have over them and the cockatrice. The cockatrice think the Lyalls’ pack involvement is limited because of the stuff that happened with Bertholde and Lenny back at Yellowstone.”

“Then why couldn’t Liam come back with us?”

“It’s not the right time. He has to make the journey on his own.” She settled back in her seat to try to nap. She felt a little nauseous and chalked it up to misplaced morning sickness. Dammit, she couldn’t even enjoy being pregnant without all this bullshit.

“Then when is the right time?”

“After the Highland Games.”

“The what?”

Lina felt exhaustion suddenly take her over as her adrenaline rush of the past several hours sent her crashing. “The Arcadia Highland Games. That’s when they meet Elain. Now get me the hell out of this place. I need a Big Mac and a latte, stat.”

“And who is Elain?”

“She’s their One.”

“Okay, ask a stupid question—”

“Zack, please!”

He let out an aggravated sigh. “Sorry. Fine. I’ll drop it.” He went quiet.

She glanced at her left palm. In the dim light from the dashboard, she could just make out the faint lines of the ancient scar Baba Yaga had etched into her flesh so many lives ago. She rested the back of her hand against Zack’s thigh as he drove. He reached down with his right hand and laced his fingers through hers, with their palms pressed together. She felt a slight, pleasant tingle pass between them.

Somewhere, in the distant recesses of her mind, Lina thought she heard the crone’s pleased cackle.

Chapter Four

Lina sat on a bench in the baggage claim area at Tampa International and waited with their luggage while Zack retrieved their car. Thank goodness they’d brought his car to the airport and left it in long-term parking instead of having Rick or Jan or even Kael drop them off.

That reminds me. She pulled off all the luggage tags from Bolivia, routing them through Miami International on the return trip.

That would be hard to explain. She dumped the tags in a garbage can next to the bench.

Zack pulled up and shooed her into the car. “I’ll deal with the bags, Momma Goddess. You go sit and look pretty.”

She groaned. “I have to tell the guys.”

“That’s not a bad thing, you know.” He dumped their bags into the trunk, climbed behind the wheel, and pulled out into traffic to exit the terminal.

“They’re going to want to baby me.”

“Again, that’s a bad thing how?”

She shot him a dark look. “Since when do I like being babied?”

“True. But I’d be willing to bet after a few months you’re going to enjoy the crap out of it.”

She put her hand on her still-flat belly. “Why’d it have to be twins?”

He grinned. “I get to be an uncle! Spoil them rotten, get them all wound up on sugar, then hand them back off to you.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“The side of fun.” He grinned.

They reached the house an hour later, just after dark. Rick, Jan, and Kael all walked out to greet them and help with the bags. “I made dinner,” Kael said.

Jet lag and leftover morning sickness nearly upended Lina’s stomach. “Thank you, sweetie. But I think I just want a shower and lie down for a while.”

Jan frowned. “Are you all right, lovely?”

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. Fuck it, might as well get it over with. “No.”

“What?” Jan and Rick said together.

“I’m pregnant.” She shot a look at Zack. “Twins.”

Jan and Rick’s eyes widened. “What?” they exclaimed together.

“Pregnant. Twins. What part didn’t you understand?”

They immediately engulfed her in a hug that nearly smothered her. She finally pulled free. “Seriously, guys. I’m sorry, but I’m not in a lovey-dovey mood right now. I’m sweaty and tired and my stomach’s not doing so hot. I need a shower and a few minutes to myself. Okay? Please?”

“Okay,” they both echoed. But they hovered inches behind her all the way up the stairs to their room and were annoyingly attentive.

When she stripped to get in the shower and they both started getting naked, too, she held up a hand. “Guys, seriously. Please? Just ten minutes alone? Okay?”

They both looked crestfallen, but nodded. She kissed Jan, then Rick. “I don’t think either of you want me throwing up on you,” she tried to add for humor.

She stepped into the shower and scrubbed, shaved, and washed her hair. Then she stood there and let the water sluice over her. It felt so good to be home.

She found both of them sitting on the bed when she emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her. She felt bad about being so short with them before.

“Guys, I’m sorry I’m in a bad mood. It’s not y’all’s fault.”

“Aren’t you happy you’re pregnant?” Jan asked.

“Yes, I am. I’m just tired and it was a shock.” Okay, need a better explanation than that. “Going to Seattle was emotional. I needed to do it,” she quickly added, so they wouldn’t bust Zack’s balls for the trip, “and I wanted to do it. And it was sort of a shock learning about my pregnancy from a vision.”

Rick frowned. “What kind of vision?”

Sin of omission. “Stuff is about to start happening again in a couple of months. We have a lot of things going on, and I guess it just wasn’t the fairytale revelation I’d thought it might be.”

She hugged and kissed Rick, then Jan. “I love you both. Yes, I’m happy we’re having…babies.” She sighed. “That was a shocker, too. I wasn’t expecting twins.”

“Twins run in our family, lovely,” Jan said. “We told you that.”

“I know. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen to me.”

“Can we get you anything?” Rick asked.

“Some peppermint hot tea and a grilled cheese sandwich would be nice, if it’s not too much trouble.”

Both men jumped up to do it, making her laugh. “Please don’t hurt yourselves fighting each other to take care of me.”

“We’ll be right back,” Jan said.

She smiled and stretched out in their bed after locating the remote. The shower had gone a long way toward making her feel better. Truth be told, she’d missed the heck out of her guys and did want some snuggle time.

Ten minutes later, she heard them pounding up the stairs. Rick carried her sandwich. Jan had her tea, made exactly the way she liked it.

She sat up and gave them a smile. “Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it.” She had to fight not to giggle as they intently watched her while she ate.

When she finished, she set her plate and mug on the bedside table before patting the mattress on either side of her. “Come here, boys.”

Rick launched himself over her and landed on the far side. Jan stretched out next to her.

I am a lucky woman. Despite the difference in their hair, eyes, and skin tone, they were nearly identical hunks in build. “Don’t you think you want to undress?” she playfully asked them.

They both jumped out of bed and shucked their shorts and T-shirts before returning to their previous positions.

She grinned. Both of their generous cocks stood erect from their bodies. “How about we start out slow,” she suggested. “I think I’m in the mood to scratch an itch.”

Rick grinned. “One itch scratched, coming right up.” He crawled down the bed until he reached the juncture of her thighs. Jan wrapped his arms around her and nibbled on the side of her neck while cupping her breasts in his hands.

Rick’s warm hands pushed her thighs apart. His eyes turned deep amber in color, smoky from passion, as he flicked his tongue out and drew lazy circles around her clit.

She let out a little whimper. He loved to tease her, to make her beg for it. Jan’s cool hands found her sensitive nipples and started tugging on them, drawing them into taut peaks, serving only to fire her need.

“Does that feel good, lovely?” he whispered in her ear. He nibbled on her earlobe.

“Mmm hmm!”

Rick used his thumbs to part her pussy lips. His took a long, slow swipe along the length of her clit with his scorching tongue, making her moan. She felt her juices flowing, between what Jan and Rick were doing to her.

She tipped her head back so Jan could kiss her. She eagerly let his tongue part the seam of her lips. Hooking an arm around his neck, she arched her back, pressing her breasts into his hands.

“You like that, don’t you?” he asked.

“Uh huh!”

Rick chuckled between her legs. “You’ll like this even more.” He grabbed her clit between his lips and lightly sucked on it. At the same time, he pressed two fingers inside her wet pussy, slowly finger-fucking her with them.

She spread her legs even wider. “Yesss!” she hissed.

Jan’s erection pressed against her ass. She wanted them both tonight, at the same time.

Rick continued sucking on her clit, alternating sucks with flicks from his tongue that finally drove her screaming over the edge to orgasm, with the walls of her cunt sucking at his fingers. Jan smothered her cries with his mouth as he pinched her nipples the way she loved, only serving to increase the sensation.

When she finally came down, Rick sat up and licked his fingers clean. “How was that, sweetie?”

“Uh huh!” She grabbed him and kissed him, tacking him back on the bed and mounting him. He laughed until she got his cock lined up and sat down on it, hard, with a satisfied moan.

“Oh, baby!” he groaned. “You’re in a mood, aren’t you?”

She looked over her shoulder at Jan. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Get the lube!”

He grinned. “Of course, lovely.”

While she waited for him, she started rocking back and forth on Rick’s cock, hard, slamming down on him the way he loved.

He held on to her hips. “Slow down,” he said through gritted teeth as he tried to maintain control. “I’ll explode if you don’t.”

Then she felt Jan’s hand in the center of her back. He pushed her down flat on top of Rick, who could finally get his arms around her.

She squirmed against him. “Fuck me!” she whined.

Jan laughed. “Hold on. Let me get ready.” She fell still as he drizzled lube down between her ass cheeks, then pressed a cool finger through her rim.

Lina closed her eyes and moaned. “Yes!” The two of them together, filling her, riding her, always gave her an explosive orgasm.

Usually gave her a vision, too, but she wouldn’t complain. She was suddenly so horny she couldn’t see straight.

By the time Jan had worked three fingers into her ass, she was begging him to fuck her. Finally, he withdrew his fingers and lined the head of his cock up with her puckered rim.

“Hold still,” he playfully chastised. Then he grabbed her shoulders and slowly pressed forward.

It was only Rick’s arms around her that held her still. She wanted to be fucked and fucked hard. It wasn’t until Jan’s cock was completely buried inside her ass, his balls touching her, that they finally let her move.

“Okay, sweetie,” Rick said. “Use us as your sex toys.”

She pushed herself up on her arms and started moving. The men let her set the tempo, and when they started moving in time with her, she felt her orgasm quickly building.

“Yesss!” she softly hissed.

“Ride us,” Jan said. He reached around her again and started pinching her nipples.

That was all it took. She closed her eyes and felt her pussy contract as the first wave hit her, squeezing their cocks inside her and intensifying the orgasm as she started riding them even harder. It felt like her body would turn inside out when the second wave hit her, making her shudder.

Then the vision hit. She opened her eyes and the world looked tinged in blue. She was no longer in bed with the men, but at a wedding. She turned around, but before she could tell whose wedding it was, another orgasm slammed into her and she was back in bed and riding the waves of her climax.

Rick grabbed her hips and thrust up hard into her, letting out a deep, satisfied grunt. She felt his hot seed filling her a second before Jan’s cock swelled in her ass, grew hard, and then his cool and soothing juices filled her ass.

Panting and now sweaty, she collapsed on top of Rick and tried to catch her breath.

“Wow,” she whispered.

Rick kissed her sweaty brow. “Yeah, wow is right.”

Jan laughed, but was slow to move. “Holy crap wow is more like it.”

Exhausted, she was about to drift off to sleep when she felt Jan finally withdraw. He went to the bathroom and came back with a washcloth to clean her up.

“I’m not moving,” she mumbled.

Rick laughed. “You have to, sweetheart. I need to use the bathroom.”

She groaned in protest, but let Jan help her up off him and into his arms, where she comfortably snuggled against him.

He kissed her forehead. “Good?”

“Great,” she whispered with a smile.

She was barely aware of Rick crawling back into bed on her other side. She’d almost dropped off to sleep when his voice came to her.

“What’d you see, sweetheart?”

She sighed, sleepy. “A wedding.”

“Whose?” Jan asked.

“Don’t know. Don’t care right now. Hasn’t happened yet.” She was almost asleep again when the answer hit her. “Oh. Probably Brodey and his brothers. Hasn’t happened yet. It was blue.”

Although, somehow, that didn’t feel quite right.

“Not ours?” Jan teased. They understood she didn’t want to get married on principle, because she couldn’t marry both of them.

“Shut up,” she growled.

“Sorry, lovely.”

She was almost asleep yet again when Rick’s voice came to her. “We’re going to need a bigger house.”

“No, we’re not. This house is fine.”

“But if you’re having dragons—”

“Go. To. Sleep.”

Jan chuckled. “She’s pregnant, brother. I wouldn’t piss her off.”

“You’re a wise man,” she said. “What he said, Rick.”

Rick chuckled. “Sorry, love. Please, just don’t fry our balls in the delivery room.”

“No promises.” But she smiled as she drifted to sleep. She was going to be a mom. And they were going to be good dads.

And how many kids were lucky enough to have a bunch of wolves as adopted uncles?

THE END

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