Authors: Aliyah Burke
She sighed.
“Reality sucks sometimes.”
Dane carried her to the
shower and stepped in with her. “Come,
solnyshko moyo
, let’s shower
quickly.
“
What does that mean?” she
asked once they were out and drying off. “Whatever it is you keep
calling me.”
He kissed her shoulder. “I’ll tell you when
we get home.”
Her belly knotted. “Home?”
Dane pulled his black shirt down over his
ripped abs, hiding them from her admiring eyes. “Of course. Savoy
Valley.” He frowned. “Why are you shaking your head? It’s the
safest place for Lera.”
Aida tied on her shoes and
met his gaze. “It may well be the safest place for her. And that’s
fine, but
I’m
not
going.”
“
Yes, you are,” he said
confidently, blowing her off. “You’ll love it there. Mountains. I
have a nice cabin with a lake in front of it, lots of room for
Ruger and Kamau.” He frowned. “And you’re shaking your head
again.”
Aida opened the bedroom door and headed up
the hall to the front. Dane stopped her on the porch, his eyes hard
and glittering with disbelief.
She swallowed back her tears and said with
calmness she didn’t feel, “I’m not going with you. But you and Lera
should get going.” Even her cells seemed to rebel against her
decision.
“
You’re
coming.”
She tore her gaze from his and stepped off
the porch. “Lera, Dane’s ready to go. Are you?”
The girl ran up. “I’m ready.” She slipped
her hand into Aida’s. “Are you?”
Aida walked her to the sports utility
vehicle, well aware of Dane’s dominating presence behind her. She
buckled Lera in and touched her cheek gently. “I’m not going with
you.” A low rumble echoed in her mind, and she ignored it. “That’s
not my home.”
“
But,” Lera frowned
briefly, “okay. My angel says not to worry.”
Her heart hurt; she didn’t want to leave
Lera or Dane. Forcing a smile, she held the child’s gaze. “He’s
right. Between your angel and Dane, you are very well protected,
Lera. You have nothing to fear. Have a safe trip, Lera
Sidorov.”
“
Goodbye, Aida.” Lera
hugged her.
“
Bye, sweetie.” She shut
the door, blinked away threatening tears, and faced Dane. Anger
snapped in his gaze.
“
Not happy, mate,” he
informed her.
With a deep breath, she stepped in close.
“Goodbye, Dane.” Aida looked over her shoulder briefly to where
Lera sat. “Take good care of her.”
“
This is
not
the way for mates to
act.” The wildness surged to the forefront in his eyes, and she
forced herself not to back away.
“
It is the way I act. I
won’t be dictated to.” It didn’t matter if she did carry his child.
She was her own woman and wouldn’t take orders like that. She had
her own plans and was going to see them through, no matter how much
it hurt her to leave him.
He stared at her. “Is that what this is,
defiance because I didn’t drop to my knees and beg you to come with
me?” His words were clipped and cold.
Pain lanced her heart, and she shook her
head sadly. “If you really think that, Dane, you never truly knew
me. You should go.”
“
You are carrying
my
child, mate.” His
words were low and surly.
Stop snapping at me.
You’re making me angry. I have to go pack myself. You know where
we’ll be and I’d would never keep you from seeing your child. You
are welcome anytime.
She reached up and
placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “Bye,” she whispered. Aida
struggled not to run back inside the house. She didn’t leave the
house again until the time came for her to depart. After hugging
her parents, she loaded up her rental and drove to the airport.
Dane’s anger still lingered, and that didn’t help her own
agitation. Her heart was in pieces when she got on her own
plane.
Chapter
Sixteen
Dane struggled. Really struggled to stay in
control of his emotions. Damn it all, she was his mate! A small
hand tucked into his, and he stared down into eyes which were way
too old for the face they sat upon. Lera was actually ten, just a
very small child.
“
I’m excited,” she said.
Her joy hid the sadness behind an amazing twinkle in her
eyes.
“
I’m glad.” He pointed out
the window. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Lera pressed both hands to the small window
and stared down as they flew over the Pantera Mountains beginning
their descent. “Wow!”
The plane landed, and they walked off
together. Dane ignored all the looks he received, knowing full well
they were questioning ones. He’d been gone for a while, and now, he
returned with a young child in tow. He relaxed only marginally when
he saw his Jeep and the blonde woman leaning against it.
Lera’s hand tightened and he gave her a
reassuring squeeze. “You’ll be safe here, Lera. Don’t worry.” He
looked up and met the gaze of the woman against his vehicle.
“Hello, Bryndis,” he said, stopping before her.
Her intense blue eyes swept him from head to
toe then moved to the child at his side before returning to him.
“Good to see you again,” she said, and he could hear the reproach
in her voice. Bryndis placed her attention on Lera. “And who are
you?”
“
I’m—”
“
This is my daughter, Lera
Sidorov,” Dane broke in, claiming the child to ensure everyone
knew.
Bryndis jerked her gaze to his, unable to
hide her shock. Dane arched a brow, challenging her to say
something. Anything.
“
Well,” Bryndis said,
lowering herself back down so she was eyelevel with Lera, “I guess
that makes us cousins. Welcome to the family, Lera.”
Lera smiled at Bryndis but didn’t touch her.
She tugged on his hand, and Dane bent down.
“
Yes, Lera?”
She kissed his cheek and whispered, “I told
you, you’d be a great daddy.” He touched her chin gently.
Bryndis cleared her throat and said, “Your
house is all ready.”
“
Wonderful. Thank you,
Bryndis.”
He lifted Lera into the back of the Jeep and
made sure she buckled herself in before slipping behind the wheel.
As he drove, he heard Bryndis talking to Lera, pointing out things
along the way. By now, everyone would know he had returned with a
daughter. Bryndis wouldn’t have been able to keep that to
herself.
Coming home was supposed to feel good. And
while it did, something was missing. Something extremely
important.
Aida?
Hello, tiger-mine.
Her words were laced with sleep.
Make it home okay?
Driving to the house now. What about
you?
Well, I was sleeping on my flight, but
something woke me.
I miss you,
solnyshko moyo
.
I’m sorry, Dane. I wish I could be what you
needed.
You are exactly what I need. I have to get
Lera settled in. Aida?
Hmmm?
Take care of yourself and our baby,
mate.
He almost laughed at the image she shot him
of her saluting. If he wasn’t still so mad she wasn’t with him, he
may have. Dane parked in front of the house and shut off the
engine. Bryndis watched him strangely, and he ignored her.
“
Here we are,” he said to
Lera.
“
It’s beautiful,” she
murmured. “Much more beautiful than my angel said.”
He shrugged away Bryndis’ look, having no
explanations on that front. Lera took a short tour and was
currently out in the field, her stuffed wolf beside her. She had
her hand on him as she stared up at the sky.
“
Start talking,” Bryndis
snapped as she leaned against the railing beside him.
He arched a brow at her tone. “About?”
She growled, and he answered with one of his
own. Bryndis backed down. “We were worried about you. Why can’t we
reach you?”
“
No one can.” No one but
Aida.
“
Okay,” she said with a
loud sigh. “Let’s try something else. What about her? She’s not of
your blood.”
“
She is my daughter.” His
tone rang strong with unquestionably no room for dispute of any
kind. It was the kind he used when he trained to show he wouldn’t
accept anything less than absolute compliance on his
decision.
“
Dane,” Bryndis spoke in a
gentle tone, “by that alone, she is under all our protection, she
will be safe here.”
An approaching vehicle had her sighing
again. He knew his cousin had something else on her mind and
struggled for the time to say it to him.
“
I know, it’s just—” He
snapped his head up, Lera’s fear making his tiger deadly furious.
He hastened to her side as three men left the vehicle. “Lera,” he
murmured softly. “It’s okay.”
“
They’re big.” He could
hear her teeth chattering.
He looked at them. Brother, cousin, and best
friend. “You think so? They don’t look all that big to me. Do you
remember what I told you? And what your angel said?”
“
How you’d protect
me?”
“
Yes. And I will. These
men won’t hurt you.” Dane lifted her effortlessly in one arm and
she held the wolf by the neck. “The one in the middle is my
brother. The one with the blond hair is another cousin and the
other guy is my best friend. Okay? They will all be uncles to you.
And they will protect you like I will. No harm will come to you
here, not anymore, Lera.”
Tremors still rocked her but she nodded.
“Okay.” It was like steel was infused into her spine for the
shaking vanished, and she seemed perfectly composed. He could still
smell the fear on her, but damn if she didn’t hide it well. To look
at her one would merely see a child waiting to be introduced. He
knew the trio would be able to scent her fear, but she didn’t know
that and tried so hard not to let on she was scared.
Dane headed toward the trio of men. “Welcome
home,” Aren said with a brilliant white smile. His golden brown
eyes swung to the child he held. “And who is this?”
“
My daughter. Lera.” She
drew back slightly and pressed against him.
“
Maybe, Lera would like to
come with me,” Bryndis stepped up and offered. “We could go,” her
eyes darted around, “pick some flowers. And still keep an eye on
your daddy.”
Dane looked at Lera who chewed on her lip
for a moment then stared at him. “Cousin Bryndis is safe?” she
whispered in his ear, unaware that everyone present had exceptional
hearing.
He touched the tip of her nose with his
index finger. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“
Okay.”
He set her down and watched her stand next
to Bryndis, still not touching her. They headed out into the field
teeming with flowers. Every few steps, Lera would glance over her
shoulder as if to reassure herself he was still there.
“
Where’s your mate?” Aren
asked, hugging him.
“
Home.” Dane returned the
hug and did the same with the other two.
“
So when do we get to meet
her? Isn’t she coming out?” his brother Heller asked.
“
She’s not here. She’s at
her home.” Dane bit back his anger at that.
The other men exchanged glances then wisely
dropped it.
“
And the child? We were a
bit shocked, to say the least, when Bryndis said you claimed a
child as your own,” Heller said.
“
She is my daughter.” He
glanced over at her briefly. “Be careful around her, she’s leery of
people, especially men.” His voice dropped. “And for good
reason.”
Fire snapped in their eyes, and he knew they
got what he meant.
“
Why isn’t she scared of
you?” Killian questioned.
Dane shrugged. “She said her angel told her
about me.” He exposed his wrist. “And my scar.”
“
Her angel?” Aren looked
skeptical. An expression shared by the other two men there as
well.
“
I haven’t figured it out
yet. It’s a male, and she isn’t scared of him. Or me.” Dane smiled
at Lera when she looked at him. “Now,” he said in a more serious
tone after she returned to picking flowers, “tell me. Any more
attacks by that self-appointed and so-called ‘Master’ of
Uffernangau
?”
“
No, and we can’t get a
bead on him. Dak and Kaida lost him in India but they’re still
looking.”
His tiger came to full alert. Dane snarled
low in a tandem with the cat. If Dak had lost him then this thing
was way more powerful than he’d given him credit for.
“
Dane?” The word seemed to
come through a fog. “Dane. Damn it, Dane! What the
hell?”
He couldn’t identify the speaker, yes
logically he knew it was one of the guys with him, but to put a
name to the voice wasn’t happening. Dane saw red, and he wanted to
hurt someone. All it took was the mere reminder that his mate and
unborn child were in danger, and the fury nearly took him to his
knees. The darkness still lingered and pushed him to the edge.
He could feel his tiger slipping through. An
undeniable urge to lash out, render flesh from bone, and sink long
fangs into soft skin and tissue. Feel the warm blood leaking out
from the damage he caused. Rage in its rawest form consumed him and
he reached for the closest person there.
You need to calm down, tiger-mine.
A beacon of light through the dark halted
him. Love sped down the mating bond and over him, bathing him in
the touch and scent of his mate. He blinked a few times and
released a shuddering sigh. The haze of anger faded, and he
unclenched his fists. “Aida,” he murmured.