Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) (40 page)

"You know I don't have any experience making choices, wolf. I'm not sure I'd be very good at it."

"When you were with me at Elk Mountain and I asked you to stay, that was a choice and you knew what you wanted."

"That's exactly my point. I didn't know what I wanted. I knew what I was
supposed
to want, but now I don't think that's the same thing."

"It's not complicated. It's easy. I'll tell you something about this and something about that and then you say how you feel about it. Like a game."

She looked uncertain, but said, "Okay. Let's try it."

"Choice number one. We could go back to Elk Mountain and there are some good things to be said about that. But I passed leadership on to my son and they are not expecting me back. They may have already moved into my lodge."

Luna looked disappointed.

"That's not all about choice number one. That world is getting more and more populated. One day the humans are going to become envious of our land and break their agreements. It's already started. In the future there won't be anywhere safe for werewolves to go and hide our nature."

Her mouth formed an "oh" and she looked pensive.

"Choice number two. You remember me telling you that half my people migrated to a new world to start over? Well, there's more to it than that. Many of the young males from my tribe have taken human mates. If we went there and joined with them, you'd have lots of human company. You could be instrumental in forming new traditions. And it's beautiful, Luna. Clean air. Clean water. There's so much land and the resources are untouched.

"We'd be surrounded by other tribes of werewolves so it would be safe. It would be a wonderful place to raise little ones. A wonderful, safe place."

Luna had never personally experienced a sales pitch before, but she would have had to be very dim not to recognize which option made Grey animated and excited.

"Little ones?" she smiled.

"Yes. If you want. But we don't have to. For me, the only constant in this equation is you. You're the beginning and the end, the requirement and the deal breaker. So what do you say?"

"Am I making a choice about babies or about where we're going to live?"

"Where to live. The other might have been too much information."

"Alright. I pick choice number two."

It was evident that he was suppressing a grin. "Are you sure? I don't want to influence you one way or the other."

She laughed at that. "Yes. I'm sure."

He grabbed her up and twirled her around.

***

CHAPTER_21

It was Storm's night to get dinner. Litha was due back from an errand any minute. She didn't say what exactly. Something about relocating that werewolf again.

He drove the Aston Martin to town for take-away Chinese and spent the time mapping out his life as far as he could conceivably plan, which was the next hour. He returned with Litha's favorite, which was shrimp with Chinese greens and his, which was General Tso's chicken. He tossed the keys on the kitchen counter, set the bag down, and started to set the table with plates, napkins, and real utensils. Litha didn't mind that he got take-out on his nights, but she did mind cartons and plastic forks.

He had expected her to be sitting at the table by then. Shrimp with Chinese greens usually brought her running. He ducked his head into the den then started down the hallway toward their bedroom. When he got to the doorway he heard a sharp hissing intake of breath. He hurried to the bath and found her there on a wet floor and clearly in a lot of pain.

He sank down next to her. "Baby. Is it time?" She couldn't even get out a decipherable answer and her eyes looked a little scared. "Can you take us to the clinic?"

Her reply was a scream that was stifled by a sob.

Storm's mind was racing. If she couldn't get them to Edinburgh and going to a regular hospital was out of the question, for obvious reasons, then what in the name of Hades could he do? He was near panic, when he saw the black diamond pendant roll across the v-neckline of her shirt. Bracing her upper body against his, he took her hand, curled it into a fist around the pendant, and squeezed gently.

In a heartbeat, Deliverance responded to the charm he had given his daughter and was standing over them. Storm gathered Litha into his arms. As he struggled to get to his feet, holding her without slipping on the wet floor, he was overcome with the déjà vu of reliving performance of a similar feat when Elora Laiken arrived in their world.

The demon looked every bit as scared as Storm was feeling. He carefully placed Litha in her father's arms saying, "Get her to the headquarters clinic in Edinburgh. Ask for Doc Lange. And come back for me before you do anything else."

Without another word, they were gone.

Standing there in pants that were wet, he realized he was shaking. Not from the cold. Deliverance was back in under three minutes, but it had felt like so much longer to Storm. When they popped into the clinic, he was already yelling, "Where is she?"

The nurse attendant on floor duty pointed toward the end of the hall. They asked him to wait outside the door while they changed her clothes and prepared her for delivery. Apparently they had awakened the doctor and he still hadn't arrived. Litha's moans were getting louder.

Storm turned to Deliverance. "Find that worthless medic and get him here now even if he's not wearing pants." The demon vanished and Storm decided he'd waited in the hall long enough.

They didn't try to stop him from entering. They'd already cleaned her up and gotten her into a hospital gown.

He brushed the damp hair back from her face. She looked up at him and tried to say his name, but the only sound that came out was a cry of pain. The door opened a second later and the doctor hurried in, as he was more or less pushed from behind by the anxious grandemon.

They had discussed the use of drugs with Doc Lange ahead of time and concluded that they couldn't risk it because they had no idea how Litha and the baby, with their unusual genetics, would handle various chemicals. Or even if they could. That left Litha facing what sounded like a difficult delivery with no help.

"What can I do?" Storm asked her helplessly. She was trying to say something, but she was clenching her teeth so hard he couldn't understand her. She tried again. He thought he understood, but couldn't believe she had asked for Elora. "You want Elora?" Litha nodded, at the same time she gripped his hand hard enough to break the bones.

Storm turned to Deliverance. "She wants Elora. I'm going to call Ram. You go get her."

Ram and Elora were curled up on the couch watching a movie and Helm was in bed for the night, gods willing. Ram heard his phone on the kitchen counter.

He reached over the bar and grabbed the phone. Looking at the caller ID, he said, "Stormy."

Elora grabbed the remote and paused the video.

"Storm."

"Ram. She's in labor. I think it's bad. She wants Elora."

He sounded scared to Rammel.

"Where are you?"

"Edinburgh. The demon is coming for Elora."

There was a loud knock on the door.

"I think he's here. She'll be there in a minute. I'll follow as soon as I can."

"Ram..."

Ram waited, but Storm didn't finish that thought. "I know. We're on the way." Elora started to open the door, but Ram got there in time to put his hand on it. "Wait! That demon is on the other side of the door. He's goin' to take you to Edinburgh. Litha's in labor and askin' for you." He opened the door and looked at Deliverance. "I have to get the nanny for my boy. Will you come back for me in fifteen minutes?"

Deliverance nodded, gripped Elora's forearm, and was gone. It was Elora's first ride through passes and she wouldn't say she was the least bit fond of the experience or any of the associated sensations. They walked through a wall of mist into Litha's hospital room and Elora didn't waste any time getting to her side.

She took Litha's hand. Looking down into her eyes the fear was so potent she could swear she smelled it, but she managed a little smile. "Hey there. We're gonna have a baby tonight. It's the most marvelous thing in the universe and, when you get on the other side of this, you'll say it was worth it. I promise."

Without looking away from Litha, she asked Storm, "What's going on?"

"She went straight into hard labor. She can't have any drugs because we don't know what they would do in her system. Or the baby's."

Doc Lange was on a rolling stool with a miner's light on his head trying to see what was going on.

Storm looked at his cell phone. "Yeah?" He turned to Deliverance. "Ram says he's ready. Would you go get him, please?"

Elora hissed at Doc Lange. "Tell me something. Now."

"We have a baby on the way." He said it nonchalantly, as only a person who has never given birth can do.

Elora wanted to throttle him and, in fact, made a mental note to do so when the crisis was over. "Idiot. Tell me something useful." Litha's shouts were starting to sound more like screams and Storm looked like he was about to lose it. "The baby is big and we can't give the mother any assistance of a pharmaceutical nature. The combination of those two things makes for a rough ride."

The next time Litha screamed, Storm grabbed the doc and shook him. "Do something!"

Elora couldn't have let go of Litha's hand if she'd wanted to. The witch's grip was like a vise and it crossed Elora's mind that she was lucky Litha had good control on the burn impulse or her hand could end up charcoal broiled.

She yelled for Ram and hoped that he was in the hall where he could hear her. He opened the door and looked in.

"Can you get the dad out of here and get him under control? Sedate him if you have to. That moron may be a quack, but he's the only quack we've got."

Hearing that, Deliverance assisted Rammel in pulling Storm off Doc Lange and dragging him out into the hall by force where he continued to fight them both. Ram was going to have a prize black eye to show for his trouble.

"Storm! Listen to me!" With the demon's assistance, Ram got behind Storm and got him into a throat lock. This wasn't the first time he'd been in this situation. Storm didn't respond well when people he loved were in trouble and he felt helpless to do anything about it. "If you do no' pull it together, we're goin' to have to sedate you. You do no' want to be conked out when your little girl makes her debut into this world." Ram gave him a little jerk. "You can no' help your wife this way."

Storm grew still.

"That's right." Ram took in a deep breath of relief and relaxed his hold a little bit. "'Tis no' easy to wait, but I'll be stayin' right here and Elora has your girl."

Slowly Storm sat up with his back against the hallway wall and Ram did the same. They stayed that way for the next half hour while Deliverance paced the hallway. Just as Storm said, "I hate this," everything went quiet in the room beyond the door. Too quiet.

Storm struggled to get to his feet. He had once told Glen that he had experienced fear. It was a lie. He hadn't experienced
real
fear until that moment. He reached out to open the door, but his hand was shaking badly. Rammel stood behind. Close. Just in case.

When Storm opened the door, the first thing he saw was Elora covered in blood with a shocked look on her face. The white bedding next to her was also drenched in fresh blood. He started to crumple, but Rammel grabbed him around the waist and held him up.

"Litha," Storm's voice broke into a whisper.

Elora smiled. "She's good. Or she will be. Just as soon as we show her that plump baby with all the black hair. Why don't you come take my place here? Hold your wife's hand, give her a kiss, and tell her she's the most beautiful woman who ever lived."

Storm started toward Litha, but one of the nurses stepped in front of him. Before he knew what was happening the woman had thrust a pink bundle into his hands, saying, "Mr. Storm. Would you like to hold your baby?"

She wasn't cleaned off yet, but that didn't matter. He looked from the baby to Litha with the characteristic shocked look of new fatherhood. The new mom was weak, but managed to smile, partly from the joy of knowing all was well with her little girl and partly from seeing that awestruck expression on her husband's face.

"Let me see."

He put the baby on Litha's chest where the new mom could feel the weight and warmth of that precious, pliant brand new little person. Storm kissed his wife and said, "Gods Almighty, Litha. You
are
the most beautiful woman who ever lived."

"Tired."

"Sleep then. We'll be here when you wake up."