The Siege of Kadenburg (14 page)

“Lorcan!” Presley scolded gently.

Despite the fact she’d been so sick only a few moments ago, the blush on her cheeks told Lorcan she’d be just fine. Was it really his fault if his mind drifted in that direction from time to time?

“Maybe we ought to head back home and give these two young’uns some more time to settle in.” Mr. Bamey suggested with a chuckle.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Mrs. Bamey waggled a finger in his direction. “There will be plenty of time for
that
later.”

Presley’s face grew even more heated and Lorcan felt a little guilty for finding such amusement from the conversation currently taking place.

Better to laugh and lighten the mood than sit here being paranoid over what’s going to happen.
He thought as he pushed up from his seat and approached his mother and mate.

“All right,” He nodded, lifting his hands up as if surrendering. “Let’s do some more painting until the power comes on.”

T
he cold air stung his cheeks as he made his way back into the house with an armful of chopped wood. He intended to keep the fire burning strong for the rest of the day, power or no power. The fireplace in the Goult home was always in use during the colder seasons, so even when stuff like this happened, Arnold wouldn’t freeze to death.

He tossed the logs into the roaring fire, one at a time, listening to the crackles and pops as he became mesmerized with the sporadic dance of the flames. The heat radiated through his body as he remained crouched, rubbing his tingling hands together.

I sure hope Presley is staying warm.
He thought with a frown.
Lorcan will take care of her. I have to trust him to do that much.

He was still trying to readjust to life without Presley. Again. He’d only just gotten her back and now she was with Lorcan, starting their life together as mates. He was very happy for her-for them-but he sure missed her.

It was lonely in their little house without the occasional sound of Presley’s voice ringing through the air. Whether she was yelling at a video game system or asking him for help with her homework…..

He really needed to stop living in the past.

Maybe I should call and check up on them.
He glanced towards the phone on the wall and then rolled his eyes.
No, they’re probably busy. Maybe they’re still sleeping. I’d just be bothering them.

He released a heavy sigh and shook his head, straightening back up before allowing his 6’0” frame to wander down the hallway to her old bedroom. He slowly pushed the door open and peered inside.

The nostalgia hit him harder than a fly swat on the prowl. His chest physically ached as he once again realized Presley wasn’t going to come home. She was happy and he was happy for her….he just wished it wasn’t so damn lonely without her chipper little face around.

Life hadn’t always been easy bringing up a kid on his own, that much was true. After Caroline left, Arnold had to make a lot of changes to his own life. He had to readjust, adapt, and become a dad. He knew he wasn’t Pierce Carroll on any level, but he was a good uncle. At least he tried to be.

He was only 23 when she came into his life full-time. He should’ve been out partying with his friends, but that’s never how his life worked out. The pain of losing Meredith and their baby was finally beginning to lessen when his sister decided to give up her only child. He was furious with her, of course. What sort of parent ever gave up their baby?

He would’ve given anything to have his baby in his arms; to have Meredith by his side…..but Presley somehow helped fill the huge crater in his heart left by the absence of his wife and unborn cub. Presley was his
family
. And now she was happy, so why did he feel so damn sad?

“It’s no different than when she went off to Florida.” He mumbled, gazing at the framed picture on the mantle above the fireplace. Presley wasn’t over five in that picture. A moment from the past captured perfectly. It was spring time-no, Easter-and she was wearing the most ridiculously pink dress he’d ever seen.

He couldn’t help but to smile as he picked the picture up, his eyes slowly moving over Presley’s smiling face. He was crouched down behind her, a proud smile on his face as they showed off the ten or so eggs she’d found on the annual Kadenburg Egg Hunt.

His baby was going to have a baby. Unbelievable.

He quickly wiped the moisture away from his eyes before it had a chance to fall. He wasn’t a big fan of crying, and there wasn’t any reason to be doing it now, right? Presley and Lorcan’s coupling was something to be celebrated. Their baby’s arrival into the world would be one of the happiest days of his life, so why the tears?

It was a question that would have to wait as a knock sounded on the door. Arnold turned his head to stare at it for a moment before huffing.

If that was Richard Bamey coming to check on him ‘cause the wife made him’, he’d shove his ass right into the snow. He didn’t need anybody looking in on him. He could take care of himself. Just because he’d been moping for weeks over Presley flying coop didn’t mean he needed to be watched over like a helpless cub.

“That better not be you, Richard.” He called out as he stomped towards the door, still gripping the picture in his hand. He sighed, reaching for the doorknob before something clicked in his mind.

That scent didn’t belong to Richard Bamey.

That scent didn’t belong to any ursithrope Arnold knew, and it sure as hell didn’t belong to any of the lycans or ursi-lycans roaming about.

A low growl sounded from deep within his throat as his skin began to tingle.

The front door suddenly exploded open, sending the damn thing off the hinges as it knocked him backwards. His back hit the floor and broken pieces of wood struck his face as he hissed in pain. He struggled to sit up, his glowing eyes landing on the intruder.

“You.” He whispered hoarsely.

———————————-

“W
ell, I don’t guess the cops around this place are too worried about retrieving my heaters-or my TV.” Kia groaned as she flipped her phone shut and peered at the two males watching her closely.

“They can’t be that busy,” Dimitri muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Oooh, snow. What a catastrophe! They should try living in Massachusetts for a bit, huh?”

“Hey, it’s not our fault if people are wimps about the snow here, okay?” Rutley scowled.

Dimitri was right back into his bad mood again and Rutley had no idea how to snap him out of it. Well, he could smack him, perhaps, but that would surely have consequences. It was bad enough the alpha wanted to kick his ass over showing some southern hospitality to Kia. He didn’t need to do anything else to irk him.

“Well,” Kia sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she peered back and forth between them. “I appreciate your kindness and all, but I should probably go. I’m sure you guys have things to do today.”

“But you don’t have any heat,” Rutley frowned. “You’ll freeze to death. At least we’ve got some heat here, you know?”

“Yeah, but I feel like I’ve worn my welcome out. I could just go hang out at the hospital until the power comes back up. Who knows how long that will take.”

He couldn’t believe his ears! She was going to go hang out at the hospital for God only knew how long? Could he let that happen?

‘Le
t it happen.’
Dimitri’s voice stated in his mind.

Rutley turned his head to stare at Dimitri, frowning.

‘Dude, you can’t mean that,’
he replied.
‘She’s just a girl, Dim. It’s not like she’s going to rob us blind or something. She just needs a warm place to stay until Kadenburg’s finest get shit back in order. Can’t she stay a few more hours?’

‘And what if it takes more than a few hours? She’s already been here all night. I can smell her everywhere,’
Dimitri narrowed his eyes at Rutley.
‘I’m sure you’re loving that, aren’t you?’

Rutley looked offended as he held his hands up in surrender,
‘HEY. I’m just trying to be a nice guy here, okay?’

‘I can smell your arousal from over here, Doofus. You’ve been foaming at the mouth all morning for her. You can’t lie to me.’

“Um….hello?” Kia called out as she waved a hand in the air, trying to break their eye contact. “Earth to Rutley and Dimitri.”

Rutley crossed his arms over his chest, shooting a glare at Dimitri before he lifted his eyes to Kia. She was staring at him suspiciously with a quirked brow.

Surely she’d caught on by now, right? She was a wolf, too. She had the same senses as them…didn’t she?

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m bored,” Kia stated matter-of-factly. “We should totally do something.”

“I’d suggest Xbox but that’s out of the question right now,” Rutley frowned.

“It doesn’t have to be something like that,” Kia rolled his eyes. “We could always build a snowman!”

‘What is she? Five?’
Dimitri questioned in Rutley’s mind. This caused the younger wolf to chuckle. Loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Kia asked. “You don’t know how to have fun in the snow, city boy?”

“City boy?” Dimitri’s eyebrows shot up on his forehead. “Who the hell you callin’ a city boy, Purple?”

“Oh, are you trying to insult my hair?” Kia twirled a strand of purple hair around her fingers before laughing. “That’s actually sort of cute.”

“Oh god.” Rutley groaned, pressing a palm against his forehead.

Please tell me this isn’t happening,
He thought, staring back and forth between the two of them.

“If I wanted to insult you, I wouldn’t take a jab at your hair,” Dimitri promised as he stood from the couch and narrowed his eyes at her. “I need a drink.”

“Oh! That’s a great idea!” Kia squealed. “Let’s do shots!”

Rutley sighed, falling back in the recliner as he closed his eyes. The hospital idea was actually sounding better and better……

———————————-

“I
can’t smell anything,” Louisa said with a small frown as she trekked ahead of him in the snow. “I didn’t really catch her scent to begin with….”

“I don’t smell anything either.” Greg admitted as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and glanced around. They’d been searching for a solid hour and there still wasn’t a sign of the Sammy girl. He hated the thought of getting Louisa into trouble with her cousin. He hadn’t meant for that to happen.

“She
has
to have a scent,” Louisa insisted as she turned around to gaze at him. Her shoes sank into the snow again. She sunk nearly a foot into the deep white fluff as she placed her hands on her hips. “How does a person not have a scent?”

“I don’t know.” Greg shook his head, his eyes scanning the wooded area before he glanced up towards the sky. At least the sunshine was out again. It would be warming up soon-hopefully.

“Beau is going to kill me,” she wailed. Her lips were visibly trembling, and he couldn’t be sure if that was from the cold or from her emotions. “I was supposed to be looking out for her.”

“You’re not her keeper, Lou. Beau can’t hold you responsible for that. And besides, it’s my fault. I’m sorry I distracted you, okay?”

He did feel bad about kissing her without warning. He wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking at the time. All he knew was that his bear and the wolf
really
liked her-and he did too.

Stupid, stupid.
He thought, mentally kicking himself.
If Beau gets angry at her over this, I’ll take the blame. She can’t get into trouble for any of this.

“I still feel terrible,” Louisa replied meekly as she dropped her gaze towards the snow covered ground. “He trusted me to take care of her and I have failed.”

“Hey, no,” Greg was standing in front of her in an instant, his hands resting against her tiny shoulders as he frowned. “This isn’t your fault, Lou. Do you hear me? It’s mine. I’m the one who came over unannounced and caused you to shift your focus elsewhere. Don’t feel terrible. Please?”

Louisa slowly lifted her gaze, a frown still lingering on her lips as she sighed, “I always seem to mess up, Greg. It isn’t your fault, truly. I never pay attention to what’s important….” Her lower lip began to quiver as she blinked back the moisture in her eyes and looked away from him.

Oh, Urseth. Please don’t cry.
Greg pleaded mentally as he cupped her cool face between his hands.

“Hey….come on now,” he whispered, crouching slightly so he could be at eye level with her. “It’s not that bad, okay? We’ll find her. She can’t be that far…I mean it’s Kadenburg, you know? She’s close by and we’ll catch up. I promise.”

The sound of a twig snapping caught their attention, and Greg’s head whipped around at the speed of light as he glared towards the mass of trees. They weren’t alone.

“Who’s there?” He called out, pulling Louisa behind him in a protective manner.

He felt Louisa’s fingers tightening around the fabric of his shirt and he could sense her apprehension as he waited for the newcomer to reveal their identity. Seconds passed by as they stood there. Greg didn’t move an inch as he listened, and waited.

And then someone took a step forward.

S
he was so tired. It was hard to do much in the nursery when her energy had seemingly evaporated within a matter of moments. Mrs. Bamey insisted that she take a nap, and though Presley wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with the idea of sleeping; she knew that her body could use the rest.

“I’ll be right across the hall,” Lorcan promised as he kissed her forehead. “If you need me, I’ll be here, Darlin’.”

She trusted him on that. She was terrified of dreaming about her father’s death. She knew that the Liam in her dreams promised not to show her that…but last time had been a
very
close call. It was bad enough to hear her uncle Arnold talk about it-she didn’t need to see it for herself.