The Werewolf's Pregnant Bride (19 page)

"I am sorry that has happened to you," Nathaniel said. "Our packs have also been reduced from the recent wars. Many of our women are marrying non-were and so we are having fewer and fewer were-children born into our pack," Nathaniel said.

"It is different from what we do," Una said. "Like you, we have many more women than men. We have done away with traditional couplings and simply shared the men that remain as much as we are able without consanguinity. It is not an easy task. The men of our mother's tribes are werebear but living on reservations. Our father's people are werepanthers if they are were at all. We are a rarity amongst our people."

"What happens if a werepanther and a werebear have a child?" Nathaniel asked.

"None have lived long enough to say," Una said.

It seemed as if her people were in much more dire straights than his own. He wished he had a way to help them but at the moment there was nothing to be done but to stop the poachers who were diminishing their already limited numbers.

Chapter 27

Sophronia could feel the change in the air as days passed in the werebear encampment. Even if no one had told her that the full moon was approaching she might have guessed it from the tension.

She and Mercy helped Una and the other women smoke meats and grind seeds and nuts into fine powder for breads.

"Tomorrow we will pack the supplies we need and then we will make our way to Bear Mountain," Una explained.

"Who guards the mountain during the moon?" Nathaniel asked. She had been attuned to his restlessness for days. Una had tried to put him to use but he had difficulties being still. At the moment he was cutting meat strips as Una had showed him to but every few moments he would put the meat and knife down and walk around them in circles for a few moments before returning to his seat.

"Bear Mountain has a reputation as being dangerous. Very few people bother it and if someone was foolhardy enough to go there during the moon they deserved the consequences. When we started finding skinned werebears we recruited a few people to stand guard at the most likely places where one could scale the mountain. There are only so many ways up and most would leave an intruder unsheltered and easy to see," Una said.

"Have you ever had a werewolf join you at the moon?"

"We have not. Though there was a pack of werepanther who joined us for a time. That was when we were attempting to see if a union between werepanther and werebear resulted in one, the other, or another were-creature child. There were never any concerns. I will not say I guarantee your safety but I have no reason to believe harm will come to you," Una assured him.

"My wife and sister?" Nathaniel asked. Sophronia wished he would relax. His restlessness was making her anxious. She did not know why he could not simply trust Una as she did.

"They will be safe here. There are a few in our number who are not werebear and who will be here to serve as protection should it be needed. Even so, look around you. We appear exactly as what we are. This is an impoverished encampment of the children of blacks who were either freed or runaway slaves. Most people do not even see my mother's people in us. They see only the color of our flesh. We are like hundreds of other encampments. People do not want to see us and so they do not," Una said.

He continued to pace until the sound of hoof beats filled the air. Sophronia watched him hurry in the direction of the horses and she shook her head.

"This is unusual. Even near a full moon," Mercy whispered to her. "It could be that his unrest is caused by being separated from the pack but he was not like this on the ship."

"I believe he is anxious about the fate of the other werewolf," Una said. "Adam met with me privately and told me that Nathaniel asked him to attempt to bring the she-wolf back when they returned. He should have made his request to me but I will forgive him for being ignorant of our ways. I told my brother that if the she-wolf seemed to be in danger or being held against her will that they could intervene. Otherwise, it is a problem for the werewolf and not us. I will not risk the lives of my people on a rogue wolf," Una said. Her words were not unkind but they were stern.

"My brother is an idiot," Mercy said.

"He loves Claire. I am sure she would be heartbroken if anything became of her sister," Sophronia said. She did not like Vivian but she did care for Claire. If her own sister was missing she would hope that Nathaniel and even Eldon would help her find her missing sister. Vivian was family.

"I do not believe this is about Claire," Mercy said.

"Is it another werewolf thing I cannot understand?" Sophronia asked. Una had been kind enough to answer the questions she had about the werebear and Sophronia was trying to learn and understand what she could before returning to Wolstenholme. She thought that if Nathaniel had indeed stayed with her that morning and answered her questions she might not have been terrified enough to run away. Knowing only that her husband could become a wolf was terrifying but as she tried to understand the ways of the werebear she found herself fascinated as she might be if she was exploring Antarctica. Hearing the trials they faced made her feel much the way abolitionist speakers had made her feel about slavery and helping escaped slaves. Werebears might be different from her but they were still human and they were more alike than they were different. Werebears might turn into bears under the full moon but they also lived, loved, learned, cried, and bled just as she and her sisters did.

"I do not believe so. I am hesitant to share it but I know there was a time he cared for Vivian as more than a sister. He knew from the start that they could never be together. Her father would never have let her marry a second son when she was such a sought after mate. It would have been senseless. Still, I believe that his desire to save her might come from those old feelings," Mercy said.

"He loves her?" Sophronia asked. She felt like the wind had been knocked from her lungs.

"No. Of course not. He loves you. I am only saying that she once meant something more to him and perhaps that is why he is in such fear for her safety," Mercy said. Sophronia almost wished she had said nothing.

She wanted to ask Mercy a million questions about Nathaniel's relationship with Vivian but the sound of feet stopped her. Adam, several of his men, and Nathaniel were approaching Una. Nathaniel looked exasperated. Vivian was not with them.

"What news have you?" Una asked.

"Seidel left for a house party lasting until the end of the week. Our sources tell us that such parties are where he and Astor meet to arrange the pelt drop offs. It is unknown if Seidel will have pelts with him or if he will only be arranging the time and places for their exchanges," Adam reported.

"It may also have another purpose. If anyone ever suspects his involvement in the murders there will be hundreds of witnesses claiming he was with them. He and Astor will never be brought to justice when they were at house parties together during the times of the murders," Mercy said.

"If his men are attacking were-creatures and he is at a party would that not leave Vivian alone and unguarded?' Nathaniel asked.

"There are several servants on the premise. The butler particularly is known for his belief in old chivalry. He will die before allowing the girl removed against her will. Besides, even if that was possible, we will be on the Bear Mountain during the moon and there is no way we can rescue her tonight and still get to Bear Mountain before dark tomorrow."

"Did you even attempt to see if she would come with you?" Nathaniel asked.

"I have seen her on the arm of Seidel. She is in no distress and appears able to leave at will. We have been unable to approach her directly without revealing ourselves," Adam said.

"Do you believe her to be in any danger?" Una asked.

"No. We have a servant who has been sharing information with us. He says that upon her arrival a room was made with a thick door and indestructible furniture. The servants were told that when her moon blood comes she becomes mad for three days. It is some female problem that the doctors are unable to cure. When her bleeding time approaches she will alert her maid and be locked into the room for three days. No servant is to enter lest they be injured in her madness. The word is that Seidel plans to marry her. He loves her even with such an unusual female ailment. She is living with him, though in another wing of the house and with a chaperone for propriety sake, so that his own doctors may attend her."

"The doctors could be using medicines to make her complacent. She might be unable to resist Seidel," Nathaniel said.

Sophronia could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her. Adam had assured Una that Vivian was in no danger and yet Nathaniel was fighting for her rescue like a lovesick schoolboy. She was carrying his child inside of her belly and all he could do was worry about the safety of a woman who he had cared for but who never would have married him. She felt sick in her stomach. Had Nathaniel bedded Vivian?

She was not a maid when she married Nathaniel. She had not expected that their wedding night was his first time with a woman. Men of his rank often enjoyed prostitutes and other such women.  She could accept that. She could not however accept that a woman who would spend time in her home because she was the sister of her sister-in-law had lain with her husband. Worse, that she might still be lying with her husband if his current distress was any indication.

Nathaniel put his arm around Sophronia. Her back was against his chest and her ass was leaned against his cock which was not yet fully erect but on the way to such a state.  They were lying in the hut Una had given them on a bed of rough blankets and furs. Her body stiffened against his arm. Surprised, he pulled it away. Since they had been reunited she had willingly come to him every night. He wished he could tell her how much he needed her this night. He needed to be inside of her. He needed to touch her.

"Are you well?" he whispered in her ear. Perhaps the babe inside her was making her ill. She had seemed fine earlier in the day but her mood had changed as evening progressed.

"Mercy told me that you once loved Vivian," Sophronia whispered.

Nathaniel sighed. He had not expected Mercy to reveal such a thing to his wife. Still, he supposed his sister would believe that the cause of his behavior. He could not blame her. He wanted to tell Sophronia that the care he had once felt for Vivian was nothing like what he felt for her now but he doubted she would believe him. She would believe him even less when the sun rose and he was gone.

"Long ago," Nathaniel said. Sophronia rolled over to face him.

"If it was long ago then why can you not trust Adam and Una's judgment?"

"They do not know everything. Vivian is no angel. I am much more aware of that than my sister credits me," Nathaniel said thinking back to her attempt at seduction under the willow.

"But you believe she is there against her will?"

"Her father and mother were killed. I cannot believe that she knew Seidel was involved in the death of her parents and she is still with him willingly. Either she is not aware of the scoundrel Seidel is or she is his prisoner. I cannot believe anything else could be true," Nathaniel said.

"Have you bedded her?" Sophronia asked.

"No," he said. He saw her face relax a bit.

"If Eldon died without a son you would have been heir to Wolstenholme," Sophronia said.

"Do not even speak of such evil," Nathaniel said putting a finger on her lips. Eldon was a bloody fool but he was also his only brother.

"I only mean that if your lack of a title was all that was holding you back from Vivian-"

"God's good sense was holding me back from Vivian," Nathaniel said. He knew now that Vivian could never have made him happy. Sophronia was all the things Vivian was not. His wife was just as beautiful though in a way he had not immediately recognized. Sophronia was smart and kind. She was brave and at times too bold for her own good. She had run away from him to return to America but when she had seen Vivian she had deserted her course and followed Vivian trying to return her to his family. Sophronia loved Keturah even though her daughter was a creature she would never fully understand. All of that was why he loved his wife.

"Could she really mean to marry Seidel?" Sophronia asked. That had been nagging at him as well. There was a shortage of male werewolves but Vivian could have her pick. The shortage was more an issue for the tenants not the titled. He supposed it was possible that she loved Seidel and had no idea the monster he was. It was also possible that Seidel had manipulated her. He would know soon enough but at the moment the answers evaded him.

"I do not know. I wish my father was here. He would know what to do," Nathaniel said. Likely his father had not even been alerted of their situation yet. Damn the time it took to get a message overseas.

Chapter 28

Sophronia shivered. She rolled over trying to find warmth from Nathaniel. When she did not find it she opened her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room but once they did she was shocked to find herself all alone. She called out his name in a whisper but there was no answer.

In her heart she knew he had gone after Vivian.

Her instinct was to rouse the werebear and send a search party to retrieve Nathaniel but with the full moon approaching the next day she knew there was no possible way that Una and her people could help even if she awoke the whole encampment at that moment.

She barely knew Vivian. Perhaps she was not being fair. If Vivian was indeed being held prisoner than it was right for Nathaniel to rescue her especially with the full moon upon them. It would be a loss to the werewolf community to have another breeding female fall from their numbers.

Still, she had seen Vivian enter Seidel's house willingly.

She just did not know.

She would wait until Mercy awoke and seek her council.

Sophronia rolled over and closed her eyes though she knew there was no way that she would be able to sleep again. Even though she knew it was far too early she was sure she felt her child moving within her. She put a hand on her belly.

She wanted to curse Nathaniel. How could he not realize all that was at risk from his foolhardiness?

Nathaniel had waited until the moment Sophronia fell asleep. Then, he grabbed a small satchel that had held the supplies he and Mercy had traveled with and crept out of the hut. He loathed the idea of running as a wolf. He had gotten so miserably sick before and this time there would be no Owen or his father with remedies to ease his suffering. Yet, it seemed the only way. Horses were faster than his human feet would be but he loathed the idea of being a horse thief and equally was unsure the horses would obey him as they did Adam and the werebear. On horseback the journey would still last almost two days. If he ran on his wolf feet through the night and then on his human legs during the day he might make it to Vivian before nightfall. He felt sure that if he could take out her guards and help her escape that they could find somewhere safe for the moon. Two wolves would draw less notice than an entire pack and two wolves together would be safer than one. He wished the werebear were willing to help. He wished his father and his pack were there. No matter what he wished he was alone and tonight was the moon. Tonight Vivian would be vulnerable and if the ruffians who were selling were-creature pelts had her in their clutches he had to do all he could to save her skin and her life.

He would never forgive himself if he did not try.

He felt around the satchel to be sure there was a clean shirt and pants. The other contents of the satchel, except for some dried fruits and nuts, he dumped behind the hut where his wife slept.

He took off his clothes and called on his wolf. Then, he grabbed the satchel in his teeth and ran with all the speed his wolf form could muster.

Once the dim light of dawn began to fight away the darkness Sophronia rushed from her hut to Una's. She opened the door to find that Una was already awake but the rest of the women, including Mercy, slept.

Una was sitting on a pile of furs. Her legs were crossed and her hands were on her knees. Sophronia was not sure if she was saying some kind of Indian prayer but she hesitated to make a noise until Una finally opened her eyes and turned her face.

"Your husband has done a reckless thing?" Una asked. Sophronia was surprised that Una had suspected it.

"He has," Sophronia admitted.

"There is nothing I can do for him now," Una said.

"I know that."

"It would be dangerous for you to go after him," Una said.

"I know that as well," Sophronia said.

"You may take two of our horses. We can also give you a silver dagger. I can ask my brother to draw you a rough map of the way back to Seidel's residence but it is not an easy journey. You could become lost. You could be captured. You could be killed," Una said.

Mercy sat up abruptly.

"Nathaniel went after Vivian on his own?" Mercy asked.

"It appears so," Sophronia said with a sigh.

"I have offered you all the help I can. What you chose to do is up to you," Una said.

"Do you really believe Vivian is there of her own free will? Would she let Nathaniel be captured?" Sophronia asked. Part of her was terrified and wanted Mercy to give her a good reason to stay at the encampment and let Nathaniel retrieve Vivian and return the hero.

"My brother cannot see what is past the tip of his nose. My father suspected a traitor had given away the locations of the moon lodges. It was the only way that made sense for the hunters to get in. It is not as if hunters lurk in the woods on the night of a full moon waiting for werewolves. We have witches guarding the lodges and strong magic to keep outsiders away. There would have to be a traitor to bypass that. Vivian was at both lodges when the attacks happened. Her father was a weapons designer and dealer. Any number of packs throughout Europe might have invited them to their moon retreats if her father was serving in their area. If attacks happened outside of England we may not have heard about them. I cannot say Vivian is a traitor but we must suspect it. If she is the traitor then my brother’s life is in danger," Mercy said.

"The information Adam and my other scouts have brought back do seem to support that," Una said softly.

"But her own father and mother were killed," Sophronia protested.

"Which is the only reason I cannot accuse her outright," Mercy said. "Still, have you never read a book where things appeared to be one way but were another?"

"This is serious. If we attempt to rescue Nathaniel and he has already rescued Vivian we put ourselves in danger for nothing. If he has been captured by Seidel's hunters there is no way we will make it to him before tonight's moon even on horseback. If Nathaniel is still alive when we arrive we have no plan to get into Seidel's home nor any weapons beyond the silver dagger that Una will allow us to borrow. That might injure Vivian but I doubt I can wield it in a way that will injure any ruffians guarding her," Sophronia said. She sank to the floor. It all seemed so hopeless. She wanted to crawl back onto her bed of furs and pray that Nathaniel returned safely with Vivian at his heels. She wanted Mercy to be wrong and Vivian to be a victim instead of a traitor.

"We also have a pistol, if Nathaniel did not take it with him," Mercy said.

"That is a small comfort," Sophronia said. Still, they had to rescue Nathaniel. She did not want to deprive her children of their father. She took a deep breath. She had longed to do great things. She had wanted to go to college, help escaped slaves flee, fight for the rights of women to vote, visit Antarctica, and a number of other brave feats. Now, she needed the bravery she believed she had and that she had believed would be wasted as the wife of Nathaniel Wolstenholme. It would take every bit of courage to rescue her husband and she was not sure they even could. She wished they had the strength of Una and her werebears or the numbers of the wolf pack.  It was nothing more than a wish though and she knew the truth that it was only her and Mercy. Their combined wisdom and learning might give them a shot at a miracle.

"We had better prepare," Mercy said. Sophronia nodded.

Nathaniel was sure that he had no strength left yet he pushed himself forward. He was running on bare feet through the streets and he looked half pauper and half lunatic. His feet were burning along with his lungs when he reached Seidel's house. He had known the general direction of the place but had needed to ask locals for more specific instructions to get there. It had taken up time and he now regretted that he had not asked Adam more questions.

Looking at the house now he was unsure how he would enter it. The house was two stories high with windows in the second story room. The windows were made of glass and he thought if he could get up to the rooftop he could break a window and climb through it though there were no obvious ways onto the roof. He thought he might pose as a vendor and try to gain access through the servant’s quarters. Once he was inside he had no idea how to find Vivian.

He was still standing in the street and looking up at the house when a familiar voice sent chills down his spine.

"Hello Nathaniel," she said.

She reached out and grabbed him roughly. He tried to pull away from her but her grip was too strong and he was too weak.

He thought if anyone on the street saw him they would think nothing more than that a matronly lady was helping an intoxicated man into the house.

"How?" Nathaniel gasped.

"It is quite a long story but there will be time for it all soon enough," Claire's step-mother said.

Sophronia shifted on the back of the horse. She and Mercy had been riding all day and still they seemed eternally far from their destination.

"Have you given any thought to how we will get into Seidel's home?" Mercy asked.

"No," Sophronia said. She doubted that two women could break into any home by force unnoticed. If they broke a window or a door it would surely draw the attention of at least the servants and most likely Vivian and whoever might be guarding her or worse yet guarding Nathaniel.

"I believe subterfuge will be the only option. I am just unsure what guises we have available to us. I have thought back on all the books I have read but not one idea seems like we could use it," Mercy said.

"Tell me the plans you considered," Sophronia said. She cared less about the plans Mercy had devised and more about talking. It would be evening soon and they would need to ride through most of the night if the horses had strength. They had located the pistol and could use it to frighten animals and perhaps even to fend off any attackers who might accost them but the fact that were-creatures would be out that night sent shivers down her spine. They were ill equipped to deal with were-creatures."

"I thought that we could dress as boys and say we are there on some errand. Perhaps to sweep the chimneys," Mercy said.

"I do not think either of us could pass as boys," Sophronia said with a laugh.

"I agree. If we did it would be terribly suspicious showing up with no sweeps," Mercy said.

"What other ideas did you consider?"

"I thought we could say we were prostitutes ordered by Seidel," Mercy said.

"If he was not away at a house party that might be believable. I cannot imagine a man ordering prostitutes while a woman he intends to marry is in his home and he is away," Sophronia said. She did not add that Mercy did not seem sensuous enough to impersonate a prostitute. She was not sure she would be able to either. Even if they could pull it off it might open them up to some advances by male servants and there was no way any man but Nathaniel was going to touch her lasciviously.

"That occurred to me as well. I thought perhaps we could say we were servants. I imagine it would be easy enough for mix ups to happen with servants," Mercy said.

"Though they might not let mixed up servants into the house," Sophronia said.

"And we certainly could not pass as servants in our clothes," Mercy said.

They had given up their skins and returned to the clothes they had arrived in. They were not their best finery but the clothes did label them as well bred ladies. Two well bred ladies out for a ride would arouse much less interest or suspicion than two women with their complexion riding around in animal skins.

"Then, I remembered that in one of Jane Austen's books a woman becomes ill and the man she had met was forced to put her up in his home until she recovered. I thought we could say that we were friends of Seidel and that one of us had fallen ill. Adam did say that the butler was a chivalrous man. He would not turn us away if we were women friends of Seidel in distress," Mercy said.

"He would perhaps be too chivalrous and send for a doctor and rouse the household," Sophronia said.

"I have no other ideas. Perhaps by the time we get to Seidel's house one of us will really have fallen ill and the butler can fetch a doctor while the other of us is tended to," Mercy said. Sophronia could hear the merriment in her voice and knew she was teasing.

"Suppose we were two women in distress but not of the nature that would require a doctor or any intervention at all," Sophronia said.

"Have you thought of something?" Mercy asked.

It was a crazy idea but it was so crazy that perhaps it might work.

"I have. Though once we are in I do not know what we can do. I dare not leave Vivian to come after us or reveal us to whatever bandits she is working with. It will be days before we can enlist the help of Adam and Una," Sophronia said.

"The docks are not far from where Seidel lives. Perhaps, for the right sum, I know someone who would assist us," Mercy said.

"Will they put their lives at stake to help us rescue Nathaniel?"

"I doubt they will. They are the kinds who want to live to spend their money. Getting Nathaniel out will be all up to us but I believe they will help us keep Vivian and my brother safe until the full moon is over and we can turn Vivian over to Una and her werebears for safe keeping until my father arrives.