Protecting Shaylee (The Fae Guard Book 1) (28 page)

“Aden,” Shaylee says, her voice speculative. “I’m still learning about all of this, so help me understand something.” She is still pondering so I don’t bother to encourage her; I just wait for her to form her thoughts.

“Fate readers. They help find the children who are half, right?” I nod in agreement, while Ean just cocks his head to the side and listens.

“How do they do that?”

“I’m not one hundred percent sure how it works. I don’t think it is something that could really be described. But, I know it’s something like seeing them in their mind. Fate is how the whole “fortune teller” garbage caught on as a trend in the human realm. She sees and feels the fate of others. But, she sees them individually, so she has to piece it all together,” I explain what I know. Shaylee’s face is scrunched and she’s tapping her chin with one finger. Seemingly, contemplating what I’m telling her.

“It’s too much for one person to handle, so the fate readers are there to help catch some of the things that she might miss from being overwhelmed. Everything is run by her eventually, and she always has the final word.” I’m not sure what she is looking for in my explanation, so I finish and wait for her to share what’s on her mind.

“You’re always telling me about different legends, folklore, and such, which have been twisted and skewed by humans.” She pauses, “We’ve—well, humans; I guess that doesn’t include me anymore. Anyway, they often believe that they are guided to their fate through dreams.” She looks at me expectantly, “Is there any truth behind that belief?”

It begins to dawn on me and I start to see what she’s getting at. “Yes. Fate uses dreams to help push people in the right direction. Even with fate readers; she can’t meet with everyone.”

Her face lights up a little as her thoughts come together. “Didn’t Fate say that she thought this Fallen was a fate reader?”

Ean’s been quietly listening but, at this, he sits up straight, anger emanating from him. “This Fallen is a fucking fate reader?” Ean’s voice is deadly and, if I had the time right now, I would worry about what this knowledge will do to his already obsessive need to work. But I wave him off, gesturing for him to back off and let me think.

“I think you might be on to something, baby.” My mind is running now, forming conclusions and possible plans. “If he’s a fate reader, he may have been affecting our dreams, causing us to dream about what we were feeling in reality so that, when we woke up, we were convinced that it hadn’t been real.”
Fuck.
This is going to really complicate things. But, Fate had warned us that things were about to get darker.

Ok. One thing at a time. First, we take care of the fucker threatening Shaylee.

“So, let’s take him down.”

Ean’s head snaps to me and his eyes narrow, like he’s trying to figure out if I’m serious.
Oh yeah. I’m going to send him straight to his master’s arms.
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Ean’s voice holds a slight note of disbelief and, as much as it annoys me, he has a point. I don’t shy away from the fight, but neither do I go out looking for it the way that Ean does. Sometimes, I’m convinced that he has taken it upon himself to rid both realms of every single Fallen.

“Without a second thought,” I vow, my voice brokering no argument.

I glance at Shaylee to see how she’s handling all of this, and am slightly taken aback to see that she isn’t fazed by this. In fact, she’s tapping that finger again and looks lost in thought.

“What’s going on in there, baby?” I tap my finger lightly against her temple. This seems to break her out of her reverie and she turns her whole body to face me more fully.

“I have an idea.” The look in her eyes reminds me of Dr. Evil. Clearly, she’s concocted some kind of devious plan. I’m not sure I like where this is headed, and I don’t even know the plan yet.

“We need to draw him out. Bring him to us, so that we are in control of the situation and have covered every contingency plan.”

I feel my eyes narrow in suspicion; she had better not be thinking what I think she is.

“So, let’s give him what he wants. I can lure him to me and lead him to where we’ve designated.”

I was already shaking my head halfway through the first sentence. “No way. Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

“But—”

“No.”

“But, I just—”

“No, Shaylee.” I manage not to raise my voice to her, but the finality in my tone puts a mulish look on her face.

“Why the hell not, Aden?!” Shaylee on the other hand, is shouting. “You can’t treat me like I’m breakable. Why have I been training this hard, if not to put my skills to use?”

She rants on for another minute or so about chauvinistic men and my asinine need to keep her in a bubble, and who knows what else. I stop listening to the words and simply wait for her to calm down before I play my trump card. Her tirade begins to run out of steam and when she notices my lack of reaction, she regards me with suspicion.

“Shaylee, you know me better than that. I may not like you being in danger, but I would never keep you from your fate to be a Mie’Lorvor. Especially considering the powerhouse we are as a team.” I place my finger over her lips to keep her objections to herself for the moment. “I think you’ve forgotten about something. Or, should I say, someone?”

Comprehension comes over her and she slumps a little, her indignation deflated.

“Who?” I’d forgotten Ean was even there and his question startles me.
Cat’s out of the bag now.

“Shaylee’s pregnant,” I can’t suppress the pride that rings in my tone and out of the corner of my eye, I see Shaylee roll her eyes and sigh.

Ean doesn’t comment at first, his gaze bouncing back and forth between us, probably trying to decide if we think this is good or bad before he reacts. Apparently satisfied with the smiles on our faces, he stands and walks over to us, pulling Shaylee up into a hug. I reluctantly let her go and try not to be annoyed that another man has his arms around her.

“Congratulations, beautiful. I don’t know why you chose this asshole over me, but I guess, if he makes you happy, I’ll just have to let you go.”

Shaylee giggles and kisses him on the cheek, while I grind my teeth together. “Thanks. We didn’t plan it, but we are incredibly happy about it.” Her words soothe my irritation a little, but I still stand up and pull her away from Ean, back against me.

Ean gives me a look of pity, “No offense to Shaylee, but I pray that I’ll never be as pussy-whipped as you, brother.”

Just thinking about that day puts an evil smile on my face. It’s only a matter of time. I just hope he gets his head out of his ass long enough to recognize her when he finally meets her.

He backs away from us as though he doesn’t want to catch our fated germs. “I’m going to go meet up with Brannon and Kendrix and fill them in. We’ll meet back here, down in the den at around nine. That work for you?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before walking to the door and opening it. With one foot out the door, he pops his head back in to send Shaylee a smile and me a chin lift. Then, he’s gone.

Shaylee turns around and wraps her arms around me, holding me tight and running her hand soothingly up and down my back. I let out a sigh as my mind settles under her administrations. She looks up at me and props her chin on my chest, “Are you sure there isn’t a way for me to bait him without endangering the pregnancy?”

Just the thought has my blood pressure spiking with fear. “I’m not going to take that chance.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’d never put our baby’s life at risk.”

I kiss the top of her head and hug her close. “Let’s get some training in. I think we could both use the tension relief.”

Her arms go slack and she leans back to frown at me in concern. “How much training can I do?”

“You can be as active as you were before you were pregnant until the third trimester, when you’ll have to start pulling back. However, you’ll need to stop all the ab work and watch out for things like twisting too hard when you’re sparring. We’ll probably lay off the fighting and focus more on your magic.”

Shaylee’s brow furrows and she glares at me. “How do you know this stuff? From all the other women you’ve gotten pregnant?”

I can’t help the bark of laughter, causing her scowl to deepen. “I’ve been training for a long time, baby. You think I haven’t come across a trainee who was pregnant in the last fifty years?”

Her expression morphs into a sheepish smile. “Oh,” she sighs, which is quickly followed by a look of shock. “Fifty years?” her voice has become a little shrill and its then I remember, I’ve never mentioned how old I am.

“Baby, you had to know I’m at least twenty-one years older than you; I’ve been watching you your whole life.”

“So, exactly how old are you?”

“Seventy-six.”

“Damn, Aden, robbing the cradle much?” Her sarcasm is laced with amusement and the little bit of worry, I’d felt at the subject, flees.

Her smile is drawing my attention to those sweet, pink lips, begging to be kissed. Who am I to turn down a beggar? I put a hand at the back of her head and guide her mouth up to meet mine. My tongue licks across the seam of her lips and, when she opens, I slide it in slowly, savoring her taste. I suck on her plump, bottom lip and give it a little nip, before soothing the spot again with my tongue. Shaylee whimpers lightly and desire for her slams into me, running full speed ahead. Without breaking our connection, I sweep her up into my arms and head back to the bedroom. There will be time for training later.

I CAN’T KEEP MY eyes off the familiar steps of home. I love Rien, but I miss the home where I grew up, my mother, my aunt, and the city. I’m vibrating with energy, ready to bolt, the second that Aden finds a parking spot. When the car comes to a final stop, I leap out and dash up the steps to my house, fling open the door, and call out for my mother. We had no way of letting her know that we were coming, so I’m overjoyed to see her come rushing around the corner from the kitchen, shock and elation on her face.

I keep moving toward her until I can throw myself into her embrace, reveling in the comfort that can only be found in the arms of your mother. The scent of cinnamon fills my nose and I breathe deeply, letting the smell remind me of my childhood and my parents.

It feels as though I’ve been gone years instead of months, and I don’t want to waste a second of it, especially considering the convincing it took to get Aden to bring me here.

In the days that had followed our talk with Ean, the boys exhausted every resource they had, attempting to locate the man hunting me—without bait. It was incredibly frustrating to sit on the sidelines and watch them fight my battle without my help. But, Aden was right; you never know what could happen. And, I wasn’t about to take a chance and risk my pregnancy.

I continued to train, but with Aden so focused on this Fallen, I was spending a lot of time alone and it made me more homesick than usual. I missed my mom. After training one day, I decided to broach the subject of a visit to my mom. I hedged my bets by softening him up in the shower (Ok, so I hardened him, and then softened him, if you want to be picky about it.)

Lying in bed that night, I told him I wanted to go visit my mom. He felt it was a terrible time to go, especially with the Fallen after me, and things looking darker in general. But, since he would be with me, I argued that I would be plenty safe. Finally, he played the “it’s too dangerous because you’re pregnant” card, but I was ready and waiting for it. I wanted to tell my mom that I’m pregnant. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for her, or for me, to not know until I was several months along or worse—had already had the baby.

We might as well go now, before things get any more dangerous. I’m pretty sure that he continued to argue with me so that I would try to coax an agreement out of him with my body. I was very convincing.

My mom, aunt, and uncle have come over for a welcome home dinner. It seems surreal, after all those years, to be here with Aden, now that we are together. I think Aden knows I’m nervous about it because he’s had his arm slung over the back of my chair, gently rubbing my back since we finished eating.

After my mom serves some cake (I get two slices because, hey, I’m eating for two. Oh . . . this is going to be great!), Aden gives my hand a squeeze and I just blurt it out.
Way to have finesse, Shaylee.