Shifter’s Baby (Alpha Fantasy Paranormal Billionaire Shifter BBW Romance) (17 page)

“I am not saying that I won’t go, I was just asking if I had to.”

Colin did not like where the conversation was going. It was just starting to slow down with the flack against him because of Lois and it seemed as if the woman was toeing the line again. She had a tendency to push boundaries. It was part of what he loved about her, but some of his family wasn’t so fond of the independent human. They thought she was far too weak to hold the Castine family in her hands, or stomach as it were. But God he loved her and there was nothing else he could do.

“Please Lois. Let’s not talk about this. You will be safe in Grendendale. It is how it has been for hundreds of years. The family would freak out if I asked them for you to stay here.”

“I thought you were King?”

He sighed and pulled the young woman close. He was sitting in the chair and she had been standing over him. “I’m your King.” With a kiss and a touch, dinner was burnt and the conversation was put on hold. He didn’t mind letting a sleeping dog lie for a bit longer. She was more malleable as they ate dinner, her body buzzed with the aftershocks of their pleasure.

“How was your day?”

“Boring. When can I go back to work? It wasn’t that interesting, but certainly better than lying around all day.”

“It will get harder very soon Lois. Enjoy the bit of time that you can still move around.”

“It has nothing to do with my health Colin.” Her blue eyes narrowed at him and she laughed when he looked back at her in that way. She pushed him back as he came towards her. “This is becoming a pattern with you.”

He tried to look innocent, but he was not quite able to manage it. Colin could only think of one thing when he was around her and she didn’t make it any easier on him. He knew there was a risk with a human, but how could he turn down love and fate?

Lifting her up, he set her on her feet. “You can always say no…”

She pushed his chest. “You know that will never happen.”

“Promise?”

Lois laughed and finally went to her tippy-toes to kiss his hot lips. Soon, she was just like him, not able to think of anything else but the one that touched her. Bedtime came early and it was not until the next morning, that Lois thought of anything else. Colin had left for the day and she was left in bed, thinking of everything that she had learned about them. Them. It was still how she thought. She was one of them now, but being just a weak human, it was hard to think of herself in that way.

There was a knock at her bedroom door and she covered herself with the sheet. “Come in.”

Her handmaid Julie came in and bowed. “Please stop that. It has been over a month. Come, what is it?”

“Ms. Merline has asked for you to come meet her in the garden.”

“How long has she been here?”

“Almost an hour, but she wanted to wait until the Master had left.”

Lois nodded and stood up, hearing a gasp from the older woman. She had never met such a timid woman in her life and she had to wonder why she was that way. There were not many humans that worked in the home, but Julie had been there for over a decade from what she had been told. Lois kept telling herself that she was going to find out way eventually, but the time was never right. She was always looking like she was going to have something dropped on her. Very skittish and apparently the sight of a naked body was hard to handle as well.

“Thank you Julie.”

“Would you like help, mum?”

“No, I think I can manage. Have been for all these years now.”

Julie nodded, though she didn’t really ever know what to say, so Lois urged her away. She would just stare at her with those fearful red-tinged eyes and it made her nervous. “I will be out front for when you are ready.” Lois sighed and shrugged. Anywhere she moved in the house, she had to have someone with her. If she went outside, there was always someone in sight of her. She knew that it was because of the Blacks, but it got old. She was not looking forward to another meeting with Merline.

While Lois liked her mother-in-law, there was always a tension between them. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something behind the older woman’s smile that she didn’t quite understand. Merline was like an ocean that was far too deep to ever successfully traverse it properly. She made her nervous and she felt herself at edge when she was around her.

Dressing and moving through the room to the door, Julie was standing there, dutifully waiting for her. It was pointless to tell her that she didn’t need a chaperon, but she wanted to. They walked through the corridor and she could tell that more drapes were opened, the house glowing with the sunlight. It made her feel better, as a good omen.

The sun was blazing outside and she instantly felt sheen of sweat go over her skin. Merline was lying in the sun, working on the tan of her dark skin. She looked like she belonged there more than Lois. It was hard to be around such an exotic beauty. Even at an older age, Merline was a beauty in her own right that could outshine everyone.

“Good morning Merline. How are you this day?”

“Good dear. Come sit down.”

Lois had a knot in the pit of her stomach and she was nervous for some reason. Something wasn’t right. “I remember our talk yesterday and I know you are feeling like a prisoner here. So I was wondering if you would like to get out for the day?”

“Like shopping?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“Sure. Um, when would you like to go?”

“Right now.”

Her eyes were different and the look in them made Lois pause. She didn’t want to be rude though and she looked down. Lois tried to tell herself that the glow was still yellow, instead of red, as she had seen. When she looked back, the woman was standing up, and the glow was gone. She felt a pressure in her head and then blackness, as the red glow in the woman’s eyes was present once more.

Colin paced. His anger cleared. “Well where is she?”

“She went with your mother earlier in the day. I was told to escort her to the gardens and then leave them alone.”

“Impossible Julie! My mother was in meetings all day. What is going on here?”

The woman shook in his terrifying presence. She was beside herself with fear and it was only when Colin’s eyes lost the fearful yellow glow that she was able to speak again. “I’m sorry my Lord, but it was her. I saw her with my own eyes.”

Colin’s muscles tensed and he looked as though he was going to explode. Instead he walked to the exterior and shifted into his true form. His eyes narrowed and he went to the one woman that could truly help him. He just hoped that what he truly feared was not true, that the Blacks had somehow found a way to get into the compound and take away his wife. It was obvious to him that something had happened. Lois wouldn’t just leave him in that way, would she?

He tried to shake the thoughts from his head. It was almost dark when he got to the small house, nestled on the edge of a cliff hundreds of miles away. The seer was always on his mind, but it had been some time since he had made it out there. It was her that had told him of Lois and reminded him that he had still not found his mate. If Aria could not find Lois, no one could or she had already left this earth. His heart broke at the thought. It would be a loss of everything that he had come to love and the family that would not be able to move on.

He landed, dust unsettled, as his large dark wings flapped and furled underneath him. The old woman was at her door, waving to him. “Come Colin. I have been expecting you.”

Colin nodded and bent down to get into the small doorframe. The woman was old, his skin wrinkled and her hair a dull grey. One would think that she was on her last leg, until they looked in her eyes. There was something there that was more alive than anything or anyone else. Colin found it hard not to stare at the amethyst eyes looking back at him.

“So you know why I am here?”

She smiled, “Of course. Lois is alive, but she is far away. The Blacks have taken her deep underground and it has muddled my view. All I can see around them is dirt and dirt hallways, doors, they are underground Colin.”

“What can I do?” His voice sounded desperate and it was such a strong emotion. He was torn between crying out with grief and going to the Blacks, ending it once and for all. Colin figured if there was none left, than it would be okay.

“You will have to be patient Colin. I know this is hard for you, but you will not find her.”

“Is she lost to me forever?”

The old woman nodded her head. “No. She will come back to you changed, but it has to be her that does it. If you rescue her, you will ruin everything. Know that this is the way it is supposed to be. Lois will bring peace to the Dragonkin and it will be done, once and for all.”

Colin was speechless, his jaw slightly open as he looked at like she may be mad. He had never doubted her words before, except about Lois. He had given up finding a mate and now that he had her, he would do anything to keep her with him.

“This can’t be. I can’t just sit idly by… For how long?”

“You know I don’t see time as such. I just see what will happen. Sometimes it changes, but for now, it will be some time.”

That wasn’t a good enough answer for him and he wanted to yell back at her that she had to be wrong. Colin knew better and she was already giving him a sad smile and a pat on his hand. “Stay for dinner. I made your favorite while I was waiting.”

He nodded. The woman had taken care of him when he was little and there was nothing he could deny her. Never had been, but now, he wondered if he could heed her words. Could he really just wait for her to save herself? He had no doubt that she could, but it wasn’t enough for him to do nothing. He already felt so unsettled that he was going to come out of his skin.

Colin sat back down. He had gotten up to pace before he even realized what he was doing. Aria had brought out the meatloaf that he remembered as a kid and he went to the cupboards to get them something to drink. She had never changed anything since he was young. Aria still had the same wine jug from her homemade dandelion wine and his first taste transported him back to a time that he had long since remembered. They sat for a while and said nothing; there was nothing to say. Colin didn’t want to push her, but he needed more information, more answers.

“How do you know she will save herself?”

She smiled and him, another hand pat like he was a child. “Because I know. Just like I knew she was the one for you. We cannot question the way things are supposed to be. Lois will bring great value with the union. She will bring peace that Castines have been unable to accomplish for centuries. What more could we ask for than that?”

“Her home with me, my children home with me. Where they are supposed to be.”

“Soon Colin. You will just have to have more faith in the universe. Things are going to end up the way they are supposed to and it will all be well. You will see. This time apart will make you grow stronger and when she comes back, all the Castines will accept her with open arms. Is that not what you really want?”

He nodded. It was all he had wanted, passed wanting her. When he realized that his mate would be human, there were two fears that went through his mind. There was the fear that the Blacks would try to take her or hurt her and the fear of his own family resisting the marriage. It seemed that both of the things he had worried about happening, had now happened.

“I don’t know what to do without her. If something happens to her…”

“Stop all that. Go home!  Go about your business. Your Queen is taking care of things as we speak. It will take her some time, but she will come back safely to you. This I promise.”

“What of our children?”

“They too will come back to you as well. All of them. I wish sometimes you could see what I do, though you would probably go and muck it up with all your worry.”

He nodded, sure she was right. Colin got up and started to clean up from the meal. He had been washing dishes for her since he was young and his eyes looked for the old wooden stepstool that he had used to use. “It is in the corner boy. The silly things you remember.”

Colin left well into the night. They had stayed up and talked for some time. He had fixed a few things that were broken in the house and promised to come back and see her soon. “Do that Colin and bring her with you next time. I can’t wait to meet her.”

He waved goodbye, changing once again and taking off from the high cliff. The moon was full and left him able to see for miles in all directions. His heart was a mix of sadness and hope. Where was Lois?

Lois woke up with a start. She grabbed her head, remembering the sudden sharp pain that had overtook her, but there was no bump, no lump and seemingly no residual pain. Checking her hand, it was clear there was no blood as well. She was puzzled, not sure what had happened and she became even more alarmed when she looked about her and all she could see was darkness and dirt.

Sitting up and her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was shocked to find several pairs staring back at her. Backing towards the corner of the room, she didn’t stop until she felt what she thought was the wall behind her. Instead it was a large man and when she looked at his eyes, she saw the similar red glow that she had seen in the old woman. The woman that was supposed to be her mother-in-law.

“Where am I?”

“You are in our shelter Lois. Do not be frightened.”

“Frightened? I am mad! What have you done? Where am I?”

Her voice was not filled with hysterics, but anger. She was obviously mad about what was going on and there were several shocked gasps. No one spoke to Kain like that. He was the King of the Blacks for goodness sakes! Lois didn’t care though. She just wanted answers.

“Well?”

“I can see that Colin is still favoring the spirited ones, though I am surprised he picked a human.”

“Why is that? Because humans are weak?”

“Yes of course. But there is something about such a weak female human, especially you. I can see what he saw in you.”

“Why are you using past-tense?”

“Because he will never see you again.”

“So this is your revenge. Take his children and kill off the family?”

There was a tittering amongst the people around them. They were shocked that she knew so much and even more shocked that she didn’t seem to be the least bit worried about their plan. “Do you really think it is best to argue with me Lois? I mean you are in quite the quandary it would seem. If I were you, I think I would be less vocal about your fate.”

“Well you are not me and I have had enough of you guys looking down on me. So I am human, so what? If I was nothing, then why am I here? Can you really not handle them, so afraid that you have to pick on us lesser beings?”

The tall man’s face was scowling more and more with each word out of her mouth. He had expected her to beg, cry or be traumatized into silence. He had not been expecting the fiery eyes of the woman before him. His own desires pushed out the anger that he felt. He knew that he should stop the conversation, or at least send the others away, but he was transfixed. Kain looked at her and waited for her to say more.

“Hello? Why are you just looking at me? Say something dammit!”

The man visibly shook his head to clear it and he took a step towards her. Quickly he had scooped her up and headed down one of the red-dirt hallways. Moving her into a room, he tossed her on the bed gently. She looked at him like he was a monster, scrambling off the bed. “If you think I am going to sleep with you, you have another thing coming.”

“Don’t be serious Lois. We don’t force women, not even humans.”

Lois didn’t know why, but she believed what he said. There was lust in his eyes, but that was usual. She apparently had a scent that the dragon shifters liked, or the fact that she was a Castine Queen.

“Can I ask you something then?”

“What?”

“Why am I here? You don’t look like the sort that would be involved in kidnappings and murder, so why?”

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. The row between the two families enraged him, but there was nothing he could do. It was there before him and he was expected to do right for the family. It was hard to when the family expected blood. Through the years, the animosity had grown and the Castines were blamed for all of the problems that landed on the family. It was only in desperation that he had taken her. After a month of steady meetings with elders, he was forced to take action.

“Because if you understood why, you would understand why I have to.”

“What happened before did not involve me or you or Colin. Actually I have been told that most of the Castines don’t even know why you guys are fighting with each other for. How important can it be?”

“I have my obligations Lois and I am sorry that they involve you. It is not fair to be dragged into this, but it is your husband’s fault.”

Lois was herself exasperated. “He was not even alive back then, nor was I. Hell, either were you. Is anyone still alive from that time?”

“I was told there was one Black child that made it. She was large enough when the mother died and survived. The Castines raised her and I hear that she was a very special Dragonkin. She doesn’t age after thirty.”

There was a flash in her mind and she wondered about someone that she had wondered about many times before. It couldn’t be, could it? “What does she look like, do you know?”

The man covered his eyes and rubbed his face. Why was he talking to her? Hell, he didn’t even really have a plan of what to do with her. He had not thought past taking her. It was hard enough to get into the garden of their complex, so now that he had her, what was he going to do?

“She was redheaded and green eyed. But that was just the legend. You have to understand, that it was hundreds of years ago. Although the legend says she can’t get older, many believe that that part of the legend has to be wrong. While we may age slowly, we still age.”

Lois nodded. There was something in her facial expression that perked his interest. “Why do you ask?”

“How important is she to you?”

“Very. It is what keeps the hate alive, that they have one of us.”

“Like you have one of theirs? Well many of theirs? How will this end Kain?”

“Yes like we have their kin.”

“So what if they gave you back the Black that they supposedly have? Would you let me go then, like a swap?”

Kain looked at her like she had grown a second head. What was she getting at?

“It doesn’t really matter about all of these what-ifs. She is long since dead I am sure and that is why it will never be over. I suspect that the two families will go to war until most of one side and all of another die.”

“That is your plan?” She snorted, unable to help herself.

“I have to leave now. I will be back later and if you enjoy your safety, you will stay here.”

“Before you go, promise me you will think about what I have said. I have no desire to have my children in some underground hovel without their father. I will give you your kin, if you release me.”

He looked back at her one last time. What sort of game was she playing at?

***

“Kain, you know that this girl is just lying, trying to save her own skin.”

“I have told you before. We are not going to kill her.”

His Aunt’s face screwed up and like many in the room, she did not want to argue about it anymore. As far as Carol and many of the others on the council were concerned, Lois should have already been dead. If nothing else, they could have thrown her in the holding cell and waited until she had the children, taking the oldest and killing all of the rest. The Blacks could taste revenge on the horizon and that was all they could focus on. While Kain had his own misgivings about the plan, he had gone along with it to some degree. Lois was there, he had went in and taken her, but after meeting her, there was no way that he could kill the young woman. After speaking to her for a few moments, she had him questioning everything. Could it really just be as easy as a swap?

It was something he liked to believe, but as he looked out at the other faces in front of him, he knew that it was not going to be easy, to get everyone else to see things his way. “Carol what if she does know who she is and she really is still alive? Are there really so many of us, that we can give up one that is supposed to be so powerful?”

He would have liked to have made the case that peace could come from it, but peace was the last thing that his clan wanted to hear. They had been put to bed with the stories as he had been, feeling the rage that was supposed to be appropriate to feel. But what if it was all-wrong?

The eldest of the council stood up and the room hushed. There was not a sound uttered as they waited for Jonston to speak. “I will speak to the girl Kain. We will see if what she says is real.”

There was a gasp in the crowd and the elderly man walked out from the rows of those gathered. Kain took his arm, helping him as his feeble bones creaked with each step that he took. No one knew how old Jonston was, but the legends were that he was a boy when all of what started the feud happened. The only thing that gave Kain hope was that if Lois could convince Jonston, than maybe the rest would follow suit. He was more powerful than he appeared and many in the clan were afraid of him.

As they walked, the old man was quiet. When he spoke, his voice was stronger than Kain could have imagined. “Do you think this is true Kain?”

“I do.”

“Then if it is, we must make the trade. We need to get her back in the family.”

“Why?”

“Because I have dreamed of her and what will come if we go down the route we are on. It is wrong.”

Kain’s heart surged. He couldn’t have agreed more and having one other person say it out loud, made him want to shout with joy. “I couldn’t agree more, but it seems that everyone else is out for blood. I don’t know what to do Jonston.”

“You have to do what you feel is right. If I think she is telling the truth, I will smooth it all over. They still fear me even as a bag of bones.”

“Aye, they fear what they have been told about you. The legend of the war is a common bedtime story for many of us growing up.”

The old man chuckled and then had to stop in a fit of coughing. “That was a long time ago, but I am thankful that people see me as more than the shell I am now.”

Kain stopped at the room she was in. He pulled back the curtain and she was sitting on the bed, braiding her hair. She didn’t seem bothered and she smiled at him when he came back in. “I was wondering where you were.

The older man moved forward, his dark eyes taking in the human in front of him. “I hear that you know where the missing Black is?”

“Well if she is how Kain described, than yes, I think I know who she is.”

“Tell me about her.”

“She is very quiet, timid and skittish, but she is the sweetest girl I have ever met.” Lois found it imperative to not mention that fact that she was a servant in the house, though she was one that was respected the most. “Quite a lovely girl and she has this red glow in her eyes that I have seen in yours. I actually thought she was human by the way she acted, she just doesn’t fit in. Though I am starting to think it is because she is one of you guys.”

She stopped talking and the other two were silent as well. The older man looked at her, her eyes feeling heavy. “Is what you say true?”

Lois nodded her head. She could feel him trying to get into her thoughts, so she pictured Julie in her head, to give him foresight into who she talked about. She didn’t know what made her think of Julie in the first place, but she knew that she was right. There had always been something different about the girl, though apparently she was one of the oldest Dragonkin living, if that was who she was.

The old man said nothing for a while, his mind searching hers and when she saw a wisp of a tear, she knew that he had seen what she wanted him to see. It was their kin and the old man seemed to know who it was personally.

“You will take her back Kain. Tonight.” Turning to Lois. “You will keep your promise, miss.”

“Of course. I do not want our families to fight anymore. There are too few to keep this up anymore. It will take time, but all old wounds can be healed and I think there has been enough space and time in between.”

Her words surprised both of the men, but then Jonston shook his head and walked out of the room. Lois tried not to feel so hopeful, but with the old man’s words, she almost knew that it was going to be okay. She hoped she was right, but knew in her heart that Julie was not just some scared human. While she may have been a maid there is the Castine home, it was clear that she was still revered in her own way. She was never yelled at like the others, nor was she asked to do much of anything. She took care of Lois for the last month or so, but even then, it was as if the woman was above her station. It was like she was really just not supposed to be there.

“I hope you are right about all of this Lois. If not, you will start a war that none of us will be able to stop.”

She nodded. She knew that what Kain said was true. He grabbed her arms gently and walked her out. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held her fast. “Trust me. This is for your own good. Not many people are going to be happy that you are walking out of here alive.”

“Thank you Kain. I will not forget your kindness and soon I would like our two families to meet at a table and work this out.”

“Do you really believe that that is possible?”

“Of course, don’t you? You guys are dragons for Christ’s sake. I believe that anything is possible nowadays.”