Seeing Eye Mate (20 page)

“Right,” he agreed. “A big
human
girl who has no idea what a pack of shape-shifters can be like.”

He had her there. Her heart thumped when Liam reached out and twisted the doorknob in slow motion.

“Now there’s an apology,” Liam said from the corner of his mouth. “You need to work on tact, Son.”

The door opened and Tieran felt like she was entering another world. Would they all be in their wolf suits? Was that a bark she heard? Suddenly she wanted to run again, but her feet were glued to the floorboards. Caelan gave a little shove on the small of her back and ushered her into his home.

The huge entryway was filled with men and women. Every single one of them stopped what they were doing and turned to the door in anticipation. Her breath hitched and her cheeks superheated in embarrassment. They were all looking at her. An agoraphobic’s nightmare to say the least.

Caelan stepped around her and held her hand to his chest. His father stayed to her right, still patting her hand in the same soothing rhythm. The silence was deafening. There was nothing like being the center of attention.

At first no one moved. They just stared in awe at her as if she were the one who was part dog. Wolf, she amended quickly. To her right, an older man lifted his nose and sniffed the air. Once, twice, three times. He cocked his head and grinned.

“She is with child!”

As one, the group lifted their noses and gave a collective sniff. Abruptly, the foyer erupted with cheers and claps and God, was that a howl? Tieran tried to step behind Caelan’s broad back and hide. He wouldn’t let her, the cad. Instead, he stood there smiling like a loon. They were all psycho. She hadn’t decided if the so-called baby was real or not, yet the entire crowd of people had decided it was based on one man’s sniff.

“My mate,” Caelan declared, holding their joined hands high.

God, could this get any worse?

Yes, it could. The crowd stepped forward as a pack. Literally. With a squeak, Tieran ducked behind Caelan again, this time jerking her hand from his hold and cowering from the crush of people. What a time to bring out the cowardice. They must think she was some piece of work. Liam pushed forward and held a hand up.

“As I know you’ve all surmised, your Prime’s mate is human, and not used to our ways.”

That was a huge understatement if there ever was one. Tieran noticed one woman separate herself from the crowd. She smiled and held both arms out.

“Perhaps if we refrain from all the touchy-feely, it might make Tieran more comfortable.”

Tieran stood up straighter, tears threatening behind her eyelids at Liam’s verbal support. Unbelievably they all took a step backward. Everyone except the woman.

“My father has an amazing talent for making people listen.” Caelan chuckled.

“Hmm. It didn’t seem to work with you outside on the porch.”

His grin stretched across his profile. “That’s because he doesn’t scare me with his former Prime persona the way he does all of them.”

“No, it means they have more respect for him than you do.”

“Either way,” he said with a full-out laugh now. He shrugged. “Mother.”

The suave woman stopped before them. She had dropped her arms at Liam’s announcement and Tieran found she instantly liked Caelan’s mother. By all rights, the woman could have touched her any way she liked. Whether it meant a welcome-to-the-family hug or a you’re-not-good-enough-for-my-son slap to the face.

Looking at the petite woman, Tieran wondered how she had given birth to the more than six-foot giants her sons now were. Judith, she remembered Liam calling her, winked at her.

“I’ll save my
touchy-feely
for later.” She turned and addressed Caelan. “She is beautiful, Son. Many congratulations to you too, Tieran. If you have any questions about what’s happening, you can come to me. I know what you’re going through.”

She turned again and, reaching up, slapped Caelan on the back of his head. “You and I will talk later on how crudely you just introduced your mate. Shame on you.”

Tieran laughed at the contrite look on Caelan’s face. Apparently it wasn’t only his father who had the ability to make his ears go red.

“Caelan, we must meet.”

Tieran started at the voice spoken close to her ear. She hadn’t even known the man was there. On closer inspection, it was the man who’d originally made the announcement she was pregnant. Must have made him feel important somehow. He was beaming at her like he’d won a million dollars.

Beside her, Caelan shifted his weight and sighed so heavily, she stumbled. He caught her with a quick jerk on the hand he still held, bringing her back to his side.

“Perhaps my mother would like to show you around. If I don’t get this meeting out of the way, they’ll hound me all afternoon.”

He was going to leave her here alone? Cripes. Everyone was still looking at her. And then they weren’t. Tieran did a double take. Caelan strode away with the elder, she guessed, and his mother laughed.

“It doesn’t take them long to corral the Prime. You’ll get used to it, my dear.”

Oh God. She sounded just like her gramama. Warm and inviting. Like someone Tieran could snuggle up next to and tell her innermost secrets, just as she did with Gramama.

“I’m just going to go over there and get us some drinks before we start the tour, dear. Wait here?”

Tieran nodded without really thinking about what she was agreeing to. Her mind was a complete whirlwind. At least her heart was settling into a more agreeable pattern. Talk about being put on the spot.

She tensed. Eli was heading her way, weaving his way through the crowd, a determined smirk on his face. Her heart hammered again and sweat broke out on her upper lip. She’d been hoping to avoid him today if for nothing else than to not have to lie to his or Caelan’s face.

She was not a good liar.

“You never were, Tulla, and you shouldn’t be lying now. Bring it up, see what happens.”

“Why don’t you bring it up?”

Tieran cringed at her shortness. It wasn’t her gramama’s fault she was in this predicament. Well, wait a minute, yes it was her fault. She’d arranged the meeting between the two werewolves and Tieran. The older gentleman who’d carted Caelan off a minute ago waylaid Eli on his way across the room.

Time to make a getaway. She slunk down the wall to the opposite corner and was almost at the door when a nearly gentle hand clamped down on her forearm.

“Don’t you know by now, we can smell you no matter where you hide?”

“I’m not hiding,” she said, peeved, and twisted her arm out of his grip. The thunder of her heart would give her away no doubt. She felt the color drain from her cheeks.

Eli grinned at her obvious flustered look. “Caelan said you might try to run.” He crossed his arms over his chest exactly like Caelan did when he was annoyed with her. “I never figured you for a coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” she said bringing her chin up and facing him head-on. Not that you could tell that by the way she’d hid behind Caelan’s back earlier. “I was…looking for your mother. She’s supposed to show me around.”

He smiled. “Right. I believe my father intercepted her. Perhaps I could take you.”

Her breath slammed into her throat, nearly choking her.
Not on your life
.

“What woman has the black hair and green eyes?” she blurted and cringed, mortified that had actually come out of her mouth.

Eli’s eyes widened, then narrowed sharply. “What do you know about her?” he hissed softly, swinging his gaze from side to side. Who, or what, was he looking for?

“Did you see her? Tell me,” he commanded when she didn’t speak quickly enough. He shook her, making her teeth rattle. If she’d been a little girl, the look on his face might have been enough to make her pee in her pants. She was pretty sure she might anyway.

His lips flattened into a thin line and he stared at her arm where his fingers dug into her skin.

“Fuck.” Eli slowly released her, caressing the red flesh as he did so. “I’m sorry, Tieran. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s good, Eli.” Not. It was downright spooky. Not to mention it made him look even guiltier than hell in her mind. “I’m just going to go out and get some fresh air.”
And maybe run a few miles.

She backed away from him and searched the crowd. One of his parents had to be out there somewhere. She felt safe with them. Damned if she knew why though. Caelan. He stood with two other men, gesturing to an open door on the opposite side of the room. If she could get his attention…

Tieran darted across the room, mindful to politely dodge the well-wishers every few feet or so. She thought she even smiled to several of them.

When she glanced back, Eli was gone. No, there he was, walking to the front door. His features were a mixture of emotion. Anger? She couldn’t tell from this distance. He stopped at the doorway and faced her.

Gasping, she tapped Caelan on the arm. “I’m going to go out…” and what? What exactly was she going to go out and do? She didn’t even know where she was. Then she remembered what she’d seen driving up. “…to look at the horses.” She stumbled over the words in her rush to get away.

Caelan glanced over her shoulder and nodded. By the time she turned around no one was there. “Be careful, my own. The ground is pretty rough out there.”

“Yes, uh-huh. Careful. Gotcha.” Tieran backpedaled. Another one of his I’m-just-doing-what’s-good-for-you moments she guessed. Whatever. She needed the space. Suddenly the confinement and noise of the entryway was too claustrophobic. Besides, she needed time to assimilate what had happened with Eli.

If anyone thought she was running, so be it. Hell, they would be right.

Tieran jerked with a gasp at the fingers touching her arm from behind and her eye made a barely conceivable twitch. Odd. Normally it went crazy.

She shivered in the heat, a tingly feeling swarming her where his fingers made contact.

Whoever he was, the man’s shields were thicker than the CDC’s highest-level containment facilities. Not a scrap of emotion out of him. Because she didn’t want to offend someone who Caelan might regard with respect, she slowly pulled out of his loose grasp. Her heart rate returned to normal as she turned to face him.

He didn’t look familiar to her, but then there’d been a lot of people in the house. She would have remembered him though. Tall and dark-headed, he was very similar to Caelan and Eli. If she hadn’t known there was just the two of them, she might have thought this man was another brother.

“Sorry.” He chuckled insincerely. “You looked a little lost. I wondered if, perhaps, I might escort you back.”

Tieran found the sophistication in his voice fake and wondered why he felt the need to hide his true personality. A warning trickled down her spine. She glanced back at the house. Fifteen minutes ago—God had it only been that short a time?—she’d wandered out here to try and escape the mob inside.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. She
had
hated being looked at like a bug under the microscope by the multitude of bodies in the house, but mostly she’d come to get away from Eli. No way did she want another run-in with him.

There. She said it. She’d come out here to escape Eli so she wouldn’t have to explain to him and Caelan why she just couldn’t be around him.

Besides, it was peaceful out here, or had been until now, and she thoroughly enjoyed the view of the horses grazing in the paddock.

And now she knew what they felt like being watched the way she was watching them. The sudden interruption of her newfound solitude rankled.

“There’s nothing between the house and here.” She raised an eyebrow to punctuate her next statement. “How could I possibly be lost?”

She swore the man growled, but then a grin split his lips. “Well then I guess when I say lost, I mean lost in thought, not in actual direction.”

Now that was about as clever and cool a comeback as you could get. Tieran didn’t believe him for a minute. His touch might not have given anything away but there was definitely something off about him.

He reminded her of the tow-truck driver who’d spit tobacco on her car. Not in looks, because this man was classy, or nicely dressed anyway. The classiness came across forced. No, it was the attitude. She got the impression he felt he was better than everybody else and therefore also knew what was best for her so there was no need to let her make a decision. Of course, Caelan had been doing the same thing since meeting her, but she liked him. Okay, more than liked. She admitted it freely.

The man leaned in, invading her personal space and causing her to take a step back when she wanted to stand him down. He sniffed the air around her.

“Do you mind?” she asked, swatting toward his nose like he was one of the pesky flies the horses were constantly flicking with their tails.

“You’ve already conceived the Prime’s whelp,” he condemned, obviously trying to hide his complete disdain for her.

“I prefer to think of it as a baby, thank you,” she sneered, surprising herself with the admission. At what point had she decided there really was one?

Now, when this disgusting man called her child a whelp.