CONCEPTION (The Others) (40 page)

“Then they must have something else in mind.”

“But what?” The feeling of unease increased. Even with their
abilities, they were a good fifteen minutes from the compound.
Edie, you are
well?

He had to wait for her response, and when it came, it was a
clumsy endeavor, but that she tried soothed him, considering how sensitive she
was about sharing thoughts.

Yes. Marlika and I are having coffee.

Coffee is not good for you.

Her
Don’t even think of messing with my caffeine
shook a smile past his worry.

It is not your place to give orders.

Another awkward pause and another staccato effort.
I’m
giving this one.

You are being disrespectful.

Deal with it.
The lack of concern with his
displeasure in the stuttering reply twitched the corner of his lips. His little
human was very bold, courting his discipline. He would have to deal with her
when he got back. His body hummed pleasurably at the thought. In the interim,
he needed her to be alert.

Be careful.

Is something wrong?
Worry shrouded her laughter.

Yes.

What?

I do not know, but do not take chances.

I never do.

For once, I would like that to be the truth.

Her love touched him with a soothing stroke. If she uttered an
apology it was lost in her efforts to communicate. But he took the light touch
as one, anyway.

I will accept your tribute later.

Her
Fat chance!
spurred a chuckle past his control.

“She is well?” Bohdan asked.

Deuce ran his palm over his hair as he faced his brother. He
should not be smiling, but she did amuse him with her natural independence.
“She is having coffee with Marlika.”

“Coffee is not good for her.”

Deuce dropped his hand to his side, shrugged and tried to
wipe the smile off his face. “So I told her.”

Bohdan’s weary expression lifted with his own amusement.
“She was not impressed?”

“No.” She was neither impressed with the fact that he was
her Chosen mate, nor with the laws he laid down. It was irritating and
intriguing at the same time.

“It is good that a human mate brings so many other
pleasures, because I have not found obedience to be one of their strong
points.”

“The Maker knows it is not one of Edie’s.” Deuce agreed,
noting the thread of nostalgia trailing behind Bohdan’s words. “Your mate did
not obey well, either?”

For a second Bohdan froze, and Deuce feared he’d gone too
far, but then Bohdan sighed and shook his head, staring off toward the
mountains. “She was just a little thing, small even for a human, but she didn’t
seem to know it. She was always testing limits and challenging authority.”

They had never spoken of Bohdan’s loss. Perhaps, it was
time. “She must have given you much stress.”

Bohdan shrugged. “None that I minded.”

“I am sorry that you lost her.” For the first time in three hundred
years, Deuce felt comfortable saying those words to his brother.

Bohdan nodded, his expression hardening to granite. “Thank
you.”

Tiny slivers of the pain Bohdan lived with leaked past his
guard. Deuce wanted to drop to his knees from the enormity of what his brother
suffered, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. To speak of the pain would be to make it
real, and he didn’t know if Bohdan could survive a living, breathing recreation
of the agony he suppressed.

“Maybe she will come in again.” It was the only solace he
could offer.

Bohdan gave him a perfectly polite agreement that emphasized
how hopeless his situation really was. “It is a hope.”

Not a huge one, Deuce knew. Though legends of mates reborn
littered the stories of the Chosen, he couldn’t think of a single time it had
ever happened. “It is a hope we will hold onto.”

He couldn’t fault Bohdan for the eyebrow he cocked at him.
He never gave orders to his brother, but he would not surrender him to despair.
If ordering him to hold onto hope kept him alive one more second, then he would
give orders until all the Chosen passed over. Bohdan stepped over the man and
stumbled. Deuce caught his wrist.

“You are still weak.” He extended his arm. Bohdan was
shaking his head before he could present his wrist.

“You cannot afford the weakness.” He jerked his thumb in the
direction of the human. “There are more of these about.”

It bothered Deuce that the human had been so near and
tempting. The Coalition knew what comprised the nature of the Chosen and
Others. Knew their habits and weaknesses. Not all, but enough to set a trap. “I
find that fact too convenient.”

Bohdan paused in searching under the tent. “You think they
are setting a trap?”

“Not with anything you can detect.”

“It is widely known that the Chosen hunt. And that they hunt
alone.”

Bohdan eyed the man. Deuce could feel the energy churning
his thoughts. “It would be natural for us to assume their sentries are easy
pickings.”

“And for them to count on that.”

“But what could they gain by that?”

“I can only think of one thing.” The unease Deuce had been
battling surged to the fore. “Complacency.”

He headed for the edge of the clearing, reaching for Eden
with his thoughts.

Bohdan took the realization to the inevitable conclusion as
they launched into the air. “They are not worried about breaking in, because
they already have someone inside.”

“Yes.” The delay waiting for Edie to respond stretched to
eons. Deuce swore and strove to keep his thoughts calm. Where was Edie? Waiting
on her answer was an agony. As soon as he got back, he was locking her thoughts
to his and to hell with the privacy she put such stock in. He called to her
again. This time her response was immediate and crystal clear. Everything he
could have hoped for. With the skill of one long used to telepathic thought,
she projected across the miles.

A crystal clear, perfectly tuned, terrorized primal scream
of his name.

* * * * *

Marlika reached across the table that had been set up in the
suite to touch the dimple in Jalina’s cheek as the little girl waved her hands
and cooed. “She likes her new carrier.”

Eden gave the brightly colored plastic carrier a rock with
her toe. “Thank you for bringing it. And thanks for getting some clothes for
me.”

“Deuce was not pleased with my choices for you.”

And that still tickled Marlika’s sense of humor. Eden could
tell from the way she smiled. The clothes Marlika had picked were bright, sexy
and formfitting. In other words, what every other woman her age was wearing.
And she loved them. “He needs to come out of the dark ages.”

“All Chosen do.”

Eden couldn’t argue with that. The brightly patterned tunic
she wore now was as comfortable as Deuce’s T-shirts, but much sexier. Deuce
hated the low neckline. She loved it even more because of that. And jeans, well
even new jeans were like old friends to her body. “At least he liked what you
bought Jalina.”

Marlika finished off her coffee. “Next time I go back to
that store, I’m taking a lot more money. There are so many cute things she must
have.”

Eden raised her brows and took a sip from her own cup. “Must
have?”

Marlika’s smile spread to a grin as she met her gaze.
“Absolutely. Our little princess cannot do without.”

Eden propped her chin on her hand and put the cup down.
“Since when is she a princess?”

“Since the day the Others found out of her existence. In
case you haven’t noticed, there’s a line of people out the door wanting to
spoil her.”

“I noticed. It really has been a long time since the Chosen
or the Packs have had babies.”

Marlika’s smile faded. “Too long, and the last few, I’m
told, were so sickly it was painful to see them, and impossible to make them
smile.” She chucked Jalina under her little chin. “But Jalina is so healthy and
happy, she brings joy with just the sight of her.”

“And to think I was worried you all would resent her.”

“You cannot know what Jalina means to the Chosen or The
Others. She’s hope, happiness, and pleasure.”

“I know what she means to Deuce.”

“He is truly a doting father. You will have your hands full
when he decides it is time to find her mate.”

“There’s a long time between now and then.”

Marlika shook her head. “As fast as she’s growing, maybe not
so long.”

“She’s sprouting like a weed all right.” Try as she might, Eden
couldn’t detect anything about the woman to indicate that she was a werewolf.
She’d been discreetly studying her through two-and-a-half cups of mediocre
coffee, and so far not a stray hair, fang or claw had made an appearance.

“If you give me a hint what you’re looking for, maybe I can
help.”

Oh good God, she’d been staring again. And this time she’d
been caught. Just her luck. “I’m sorry. I just find it incredible that you’re
one of the Others.”

“Would you be more comfortable if I wore a sign?”

“Seriously? Yes.”

Marlika drew back. Before the other woman could totally take
what she said wrong, Eden clarified. “It’s not that I care, but unlike everyone
else in this place, I’m the only one who can’t tell Chosen from Others, human
from Chosen.” She dropped back into her seat and waved her hand dismissively.
“Forget about choosing between the
types
of Others.”

Marlika’s even features relaxed into a small smile. “You’re
stressed and out of sorts.”

Trust a woman to understand. “Absolutely.”

“By any chance is it near your time of the month?”

“I’ve decided that’s never happening again.”

“I’m sure Deuce will be disappointed.”

“Which is the whole reason I’ve decided to go on some sort
of forever Pill.”

“You do not want him to have the pleasure of your flow?”

“I’m just having a really hard time thinking of it as a
pleasure. About the only emotion humans associate with ‘that time of the month’
is
ick
!” She cut the other woman a
pointed glare at her chuckle. “And that’s a capital “I” on
Ick
!”

As if she could read her mind, Marlika said, “You are mated
to a Chosen. Anything associated with blood is erotic.”

“Great. Just another of the great ‘grossities’ I have to get
used to.” She grabbed up her coffee cup and swirled the pale contents. “And no,
it’s not ‘that time of the month’.” Thank God. She had no idea how they would
work out that discrepancy in taste.

“Dusan is your mate. He’ll find a way to make you
comfortable with the idea.”

“Maybe I don’t want him to work this out.”

Marlika snagged a doughnut off the table. It was her tenth
one so far. “You want to leave him?”

“No, I just want him to work with me sometimes rather than
presenting everything as a
fait accompli
.”

Marlika took a bite of the doughnut, chewed and shrugged.
“That would be hard for him.”

“Why is it so hard?”

“Because his whole life he has trained for two things.” She
waved the doughnut for emphasis, powdered sugar sprinkling the air like fairy
dust as she elaborated. “To lead his people and to defend his mate. Being a
warrior, he’s more inclined to action than to talk.”

“Being human, I want talk.” She brought her cup halfway to
her mouth, took a deep breath of the fragrant aroma, and then replaced it on
the table, untouched. If she had any more, she’d only succeed in proving Deuce
right that the caffeine would make her sick.

“Do you need more coffee?” Marlika asked, brushing the
powder off the wood tabletop.

“Nah. Any more and I’ll be dancing around the room.” Right
after she heaved it up. She pressed her hand to her stomach. That third cup had
definitely been a mistake.

“Which would be why Dusan did not want you drinking any.”

“He so doesn’t get the allure of caffeine.”

Marlika nodded and took a drink of her own coffee. “The
Chosen do suffer from a few drawbacks.”

Marlika’s dry sense of humor was just one of the things that
Eden had come to appreciate about her. That and her willingness to risk her
life so she wouldn’t have to be alone. “I want to thank you for volunteering to
keep me company.”

Marlika shrugged, her smile an open expression of
friendship. “It’s not like it’s been a hardship. I’ve had a cute baby to play
with and made a new friend.”

“Being with me is dangerous.”

“We’re in a compound bursting its seams with
testosterone-laden Others and Chosen who’re just itching for an excuse to
fight. I wouldn’t call the risk high.”

“High enough that other women avoid me like the plague.”

“Don’t hold it against them. They’re humoring their mates,
but it won’t last much longer.”

Eden’s heart made the jump from her chest to her throat.
There was only one reason she could believe the men would stop worrying. “You
think the Coalition will make a move soon?”

Marlika shook her head, the long, delicate gold chains
dangling from her ears swinging, catching the light, reflecting it back in
mesmerizing flickers. “I think the women are going to revolt.” She reached for
another doughnut.

Eden watched in amazement as she made short work of it. “How
can you eat that much and stay so slim?”

Marlika smiled and wiped a smear of power from the corner of
her wide mouth. “One of the perks of being Pack. Fast metabolism.”

“I have so gotten the short end of the stick when it comes
to this whole Chosen, Other thing.” She grabbed a doughnut. It would serve
Deuce right if she got so fat she couldn’t fit through the door.

Marlika took the doughnut from her hand and dropped it back
into the bag. She touched her finger to hers. “You have a daughter and a mate
who honors you above all others. From now until the day you die, you will never
know loneliness or want. Do you really find your situation so bad?”