One Second (Seven Series Book 7) (27 page)

The wall of fur moved, changed, and transformed into men and women who were either kneeling down or sitting up.

Axel’s pack rose to their feet in stunned silence, watching the panther pacing before them and owning her territory with a fierce swipe of her paw.

Austin raked his hair back, his voice filled with relief. “Naya,
shift
.”

With a reluctant growl, her cat circled around and changed into an even more beautiful creature, black curls of hair covering her shoulders as she rose from all fours and stood up.

A few of the men couldn’t take their eyes off her, and it had nothing to do with her being a panther.

Wheeler stalked forward when one of them in the back whistled and a few laughs erupted. “If you like those eyeballs you’re giving my woman, then you better get them off her.”

Wheeler didn’t just lay down the threat—he made it clear he’d carry it out with a spoon and a smile on his face. All eyes lowered, and a few of them conversed privately.

Naya slipped into her nude-colored dress and lifted her shoes with two fingers, giving Wheeler a playful pat on the behind as she passed by him. He glanced over his shoulder at her, eyes smoldering with each swing of her shapely hips.

Austin waved me over. “Your turn.”

I folded my arms. “Not until they shift back!”

Axel chuckled, looking at his naked pack. “You heard the lady.”

While the men reluctantly shifted back to their wolves, I gripped the railing and carefully stepped down. Now that my belly was in full effect, I couldn’t see where I was going, not to mention my balance was all off-center.

Austin stalked across the lawn and made it to the bottom step before I did. He hooked his arms beneath mine and lifted me to the ground.

“Light as a feather,” he said, huffing out a breath.

“Liar.”

“Don’t be afraid, Ladybug. I’m not going to let them hurt you,” he assured me. “No matter what kind of alliance I have with Axel, I won’t blink an eye about tearing his men apart if they step out of line.” He brushed his knuckles across my cheek and put me at ease. “You can do this.”

“You better promise, because I can’t shift, and I sure can’t run.”

He leaned in tight. “I don’t think I have to tell you that every male and female in our pack is standing in the windows and ready to bolt out that door if anything goes wrong. You’re their alpha female, and they’ll die for you.”

“Is Reno upstairs with the gun?”

“He’s sitting on the ledge of the upstairs window. It’s making Axel nervous, so let’s get this over with.”

Austin planted a chaste kiss on my lips, and I caught his scent—musky and intoxicating. As much as I wanted to curl up in his arms and go back inside, I couldn’t let him or the pack down by chickening out.

The wolves paced restlessly, some playfully leaping on their hind legs to wrestle with others. Axel looked more nervous with me approaching them than he did with Naya. Most Shifter wolves wouldn’t attack women or children in human form, but that wasn’t necessarily a golden rule. Wolves could be skittish and aggressive by nature.

I slowly waddled forward, a gust of wind whipping my straight hair in front of my face. I reached up and pulled it back, holding it that way with one hand until the wind died down. An orange butterfly danced in the sunlight, making me forget I was approaching a pack of wolves I didn’t know.

Their eyes found me, and the activity died down as the sound that hung in their throats was low and barely audible.

Better not be growling at me
, I thought to myself, staring at one particular wolf who was showing the most teeth.

Austin stayed within arm’s reach, his eyes locked on the pack, his muscles tight and hard as granite. I gave him a nervous glance before taking the final steps forward, my hands curved protectively around my belly.

One of the wooden wind chimes Austin had made clacked in the tree ahead, startling a few of the wolves, who turned anxiously to look. A white wolf drew nearer, stretching his neck and pulling in my scent. His long tongue lapped out a few times until he tasted my hand. I showed no fear since animals could smell it, and the only way to do that was to hum a song in my head. The only tune that immediately came to mind was one from a show that Denver had been watching the previous night, insisting it was a classic.

Great. I was going to die singing the theme song to
Fraggle Rock
.

Axel continued to herd his pack, staying in front and watching each one for signs of aggression. The wolves approached me, some taking a sniff and racing off, while others took their time and circled around me.

One of the wolves sang a hollow note and others joined in.

Soon the entire pack was howling.

Axel faced Austin, his fuzzy brows drawn down in a slant. “Are you two having an alpha?”

Austin had an I-told-you-so look on his face after the meet and greet with Axel’s pack.
All men hope their firstborn is an alpha, especially since that’s when the odds are greater. They diminish with each child born, so it’s rare to have an alpha who isn’t firstborn. Then again, Austin was an exception to that rule. I think he felt this might be his only chance since, given my history with miscarriages, he wasn’t up for playing baby roulette. The wolves in our own pack might have gotten used to the pregnancy, but the odd reaction of Axel’s pack confirmed something was up.

At least they couldn’t predict gender; I wanted that to be a surprise.

Late in the afternoon, a dense fog rolled in, swallowing up the outside world and secluding us in the house. After we’d served our guests hamburgers, Axel gathered his men and headed off to check in at the motel down the road.

“Can you believe she restored this herself?” I asked William, admiring the wooden baby rocker Ivy had given me earlier that day on her visit.

William moved away from the window in the study and stood behind the chair in front of me, acknowledging the rocker at my feet. “Indeed. But I’m curious as to why you’re using this room as storage? All the gifts from your shower are still here where you left them. I think it’s time you move them to your bedroom, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Not yet.”

I tapped my foot repeatedly on the curved wood, rocking the crib. “She even had someone carve all those little images of horses and flowers.”

William bit his lip and dropped the subject. I was settling into the idea that this was going to happen, but I had become uncharacteristically superstitious. The pregnancy was moving along just fine, so maybe moving all the furniture upstairs would be pushing my luck.

“Are you and Trev ever going to move into the same room? I know you have a lot more privacy on the lower floor, but that’s a tiny room you live in.”

He smiled with his eyes, running a hand through his hair before taking a seat in front of me. “It suits me fine. Our situation will work out eventually. Seems foolhardy to rush things before testing the waters of our relationship.”

“If you’ve been gay all along…”

He laughed and then crossed his legs. “I can assure you I’ve been gay all along.”

“Yes, but you weren’t telling anyone.”

“No one asked.”

I tapped my fingers on the edge of the chair.

“Go on,” he said.

“Why didn’t you just hook up with Trevor from the start?”

“Because…” He took a moment to consider his reply. “You can’t just put two gay people in the same room and expect true love any more than you can two straight people. I’ve always liked his humor and quiet intelligence, but it was a love that grew with time. He’s much younger than I am and didn’t seem ready to settle down. Pack dynamics are equally as important, and if we had rushed into something and it ended badly, it would have created a rift, and one of us would have eventually left. Perhaps I’ve always been cautious with the choices I’ve made in life because I’m always thinking ahead. I couldn’t risk coming out in Lorenzo’s pack because I wasn’t sure if it would affect my standing. Not everyone is as open-minded as the Weston pack, and I was second-in-command. Your diversity is the one thing that made it so easy to accept my transfer, even though at the time I was actually being demoted.”

“I’ve always wanted to be with Austin, and I used to fantasize about what our lives would be like when he finally realized he loved me.”

William laughed. “He never stood a chance.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true. When I found out he was a Shifter, that really scared me. Suddenly our lives weren’t going in the direction I thought they were, and the future was uncertain and hard to see, like the fog out there,” I said, pointing at the window. “Even now, it still doesn’t seem as clear as it once was when I was a little girl.”

“Maybe it’s not supposed to be.”

My thoughts drifted again, and I smoothed my hand down the length of my hair. “Did Austin ever tell you about the necklace he wears?”

This piqued William’s interest. He sat forward, fingers laced. “Mustn’t hold back. I’ve been curious about it for years.”

“It’s a family heirloom. An important leader gave it to one of his great-great-grandfathers, way up in the family line. It can only be worn by the alpha in the family, and it’s supposed to bring them strength and protection. His father isn’t an alpha, but it ended up with him because he was an only child. I don’t know if Austin believes in all that, but he rarely takes it off. Lately, when he looks at me, he touches the medallion. I don’t think he’s aware he’s doing it, but I’ve noticed.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

I looked down at my belly and sighed. “This may be Austin’s only chance to pass it on. We may not have more children. His eyes are filled with hope because this is his only chance to continue a family tradition—one that won’t die with him.”

“Well, if it’s not an alpha and you choose not to have more children, he could always pass it on to one of his brother’s sons.”

I tipped my head to the side. “Lennon and Hendrix are equals. It would be unfair to choose one over the other. The necklace will end up in a box if this baby isn’t an alpha, or if…”

He immediately rose from his chair and stepped over the cradle, placing his hands on the arms of my chair. “You’re the strongest alpha female I’ve ever met, even more so than Ivy. You just don’t realize it, and maybe that’s why some of us give you a tough time when we mean no harm. If anything ever happened to Austin,
you
could lead this pack.”

“Women aren’t Packmasters, and I don’t even want to think about anything happening to Austin.”

“Sometimes we have to think of the worst so we can figure out how to pick up the pieces and move on. Don’t let life slap you with a cold shock; consider all the negative outcomes so you can live a more positive life. You’ll make wiser choices and not dwell on all the perils that can befall you.”

I cupped his cheeks, brushing my fingers over the sparse hairs attempting to grow on his upper lip and chin.

“You should have worked for a fortune-cookie company.”

Humor danced in his eyes. “A regret I’ll always carry in my heart.” He stood up and almost stumbled backward before stepping over the rocker. “When you’re ready to move all this up to your room, I’ll lend a hand.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Austin let himself in. “Take off, Will. I need to talk to my woman.”

Austin briefly glanced out the front window before moving the cradle aside. When the door closed, he pulled a chair across from me and sat down. “Hungry?”

“Stop trying to feed me, Austin. I just ate a whole chicken pot pie, and I’m real skeptical of whether or not your mother put chicken in there.”

He smiled, putting those wonderful little creases at the corners of his eyes. “I promise it was chicken. Bought it myself.”

“No wonder you ate at our house all the time growing up.”

One of his dark brows arched. “My mom’s a good cook, but I always loved Lynn’s pot roast. Plus, I got to flick all my peas onto your plate.”

My smile waned. “I miss Wes.”

He lowered his gaze. “Yeah.”

“He would have liked being an uncle. I bet he would have spoiled this kid to death with candy and trips to the zoo. Wes really liked the zoo. I know that seems comical in light of what I am now, but he used to say that men were eating up all the land with malls and airports and were driving the animals out. He once said if he was as smart as I was that he would have been an animal conservationist or something. I’m not sure why he thought that way; we both knew I wasn’t a genius.”

“The hell you aren’t.”

I smirked. “You’re starting to sound like him. Wes liked to boost my ego because my father spent so much time deflating it. That’s why I never understood why my brother wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

“Because that’s what boys do. No matter what kind of men our fathers are, we seek their approval. Wes didn’t respect him because of the way he treated you. I sensed it from the moment I stepped into your house as a little kid; that’s the kind of thing a Shifter takes notice of. It wasn’t until I got a little older that it started pissing me off. Wes would tell stories about your father berating you… damn. I would have killed him the night I shifted in your house if that bedroom door had opened.”

I shivered and averted my eyes to the gloomy fog touching the window, so dense that it obscured the trees in the yard. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“It’s time.”

I didn’t have to play naïve and ask what he meant. “When?”

“Tonight.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us when so we could have prepared?”

He leaned forward, cupping my hands in his. “Because having a date in your head makes people anxious, and I didn’t want nervous wolves in my pack. They wouldn’t have been as effective guarding the property.”

“But I’m pregnant. Can’t we at least wait until the baby comes?”

He lifted his icy blue eyes. “How are you going to hide with a baby in your arms? If it cries, it’ll attract the rogues, and… no.” Austin wrung his hands. “If we wait any longer, you won’t be able to keep up or climb.”

“I can barely climb down the stairs.”

“Yeah, but you’ll only get bigger.”

“Way to woo a lady,” I said with a smirk.

His smile waned. “Our spies will begin spreading the word to their leaders in one hour. I don’t think they’ll waste time having someone scout the properties to see what’s going on. Wheeler and Reno are driving the cars out to the motel parking lot up the road, but I’m keeping two locked in the garage in case we need them.”

The room became dimmer, and the fog pressed against the window. All I could think about was my mother, my sister, my family. There was no turning back, no running, no waving a white flag and asking for peace, no cavalry to call.

Austin rose and pulled at my hands. “Get up.”

“Easy for you to say.”

He bent down and helped me to my feet. Even after I was steady, he kept his arms around me, his whiskers scratching my jaw, his lips to my ear. “You’re the strongest woman I know, and the pack needs you to be that strong alpha who can lead them. I can’t make promises how this’ll end, but we’ll be together, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I wanted him to promise, but that wouldn’t have been fair. I held him in my arms, remembering the young man I fell in love with—the one who always protected me. The one who sang in a sexy voice when we made love, the man who liked to spray me with the hose in the summertime when he was watering my mom’s flowers, the man who looked like the biggest badass in the city when driving his Challenger after a good wax, and the man who made my heart melt whenever he leaned against the wall and winked at me.

The baby kicked, and Austin jerked back, his eyes sparkling.

“The baby’s jealous,” I said, my smile fading.

When my knees buckled, Austin caught me before I fell to the floor.

“Lexi?”

I bit his arm and couldn’t stop as pain skewered me from the side.
Oh God, please not now
.

“William!” he roared.

The door flung open. “What’s—”

“Call the Relic! Now!”