Cursed by Destiny (WG 3) (16 page)

•   •   •

Even though we’d both lived in Tahoe a few years, the next day Misha and I did the tourist thing. It would have been a relaxing day if not for the vampire snipers looming at the top of every building we entered, or the hit squad shadowing us. We had just stepped onto the dock on our way to Fannette Island when a young woman frantically waved her arms just a few yards away. “Celia! Celia! Over here.” I recognized her as one of my former labor patients. I rushed to greet her and her little family, but not before I elbowed the vamp reaching for his holster. Thankfully, the family didn’t seem to notice.

The father tried futilely to wipe some food off his screaming toddler’s face, while Mommy held the outrageously bundled baby. “Oh, it’s so good to see you,” she said. She hugged me with her free arm while her eyes fixed on Misha.

“Hi, Celia.” The dad shook my hand.

I smiled. “Hello, Amy, Les. It’s so nice to see you again.”

Amy pushed out her cleavage just a little bit. Misha had that effect on females. “And who’s this?”

“This is my friend Misha.”

Amy raised her eyebrows. “Just a friend?”

Misha offered a thong-dropping smile. “We live together.”

My cheeks burned at Amy’s giggle. “Can I hold the baby?” I asked.

Amy placed the chubby-cheeked infant in my arms and explained how we knew each other. “Celia is just the best nurse! She delivered both my children.”

“Celia has many, many talents,” Misha added with a wink. He extended his arms to the toddler. “May I?”

“Of course,” Les said. “But watch out—Cindy bites.”

“So do I,” Misha answered. I would have killed him if there hadn’t been so many witnesses. The parents just laughed. Oh, wasn’t Misha quite the funny man!

Misha picked up Cindy and instantly captivated the toddler. She stopped screaming and touched her small fingers to Misha’s face. The baby didn’t need charming. He smiled and cooed as I rocked him. I thought back to a time when Aric and I were still together. It had been a similar situation; we’d run into another couple whose child I’d delivered. Aric had watched me as I held the baby. When she reached out to him, he’d taken her like an old pro. It had been such a beautiful moment between us. Now it just made me sad.

Little Cindy hollered when Misha returned her to her parents. We said good-bye and stepped onto one of Misha’s smaller yachts. I was still thinking of that moment with Aric as we took our seats at the elegantly set table.

“Would you like a child?” Misha asked.

Misha had asked me a great deal of personal questions in the past. This one bothered me more than the others. I didn’t want to answer, but I did, figuring it could do no harm. “Yes . . . Someday I’d really like one.”

“I could do that for you.”

I froze in the middle of placing my napkin on my lap. It was a subtle response but one that had our security detail springing into action. The bodyguards surrounded us. On the deck above, a sniper appeared and scanned the area for a possible threat. Misha waved them off. They disappeared with their heads lowered, likely disappointed they didn’t get to lacerate some immortal assailant’s liver.

My attention returned to Misha. “I thought only the most powerful vampires in the world could conceive a child.”

“What do you expect after returning my soul and helping me to acquire the power of several ancient masters?”

“You’re right. I guess I just hadn’t realized the extent of your supernatural muscle.” I moved my utensils around, despite their perfect placement. I’d always wanted children. I considered them cute, wonderful little miracles who needed to be loved and protected. Once I met Aric, my maternal desires became so strong I could taste them. But as much as I still wanted a family, I could no longer foresee one in my future. The dreamworld I’d envisioned in which Aric and I would be married and have a brood of babies was no longer plausible. And yet I continued to desire it.

“What are you thinking, my darling?” Misha asked.

I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned my chin against my palm. My other arm rested against the soft linen of the tablecloth. “Misha, what kind of child could come from a preternatural and someone like me?”

Misha smiled. “I don’t know. Nothing like you or your sisters has ever existed.”

“So a baby born of a union like that could be scary and have, like . . . eighteen legs or something?”

Misha choked on his wine. I’d never seen him laugh so hard. He wiped his eyes. “Kitten, we could not conceive a monster because neither of us resembles one. The only guarantee is that the child would be extremely powerful, seeing as we both are.”

A deep blush found its way to my cheeks. I hadn’t meant for Misha to think I was soliciting him to be my baby daddy. I should have said something, but didn’t want to embarrass or hurt him, especially in the presence of his hit squad. Instead I munched on the goat cheese salad placed in front of me. Misha took a bite, too. I watched how he neatly chewed on the greens. “Why do you still eat food if you don’t have to?”

Chef swore as he banged pots and pans from the galley. The guy was just loads of fun.

“I still enjoy the taste, and I suppose . . . Well, never mind.”

“What?”

Misha leaned back in his seat. “It’s nothing of importance.”

“Tell me.”

The waves splashed harshly against the boat as I waited.

“No,” he finally answered.

I flicked a crouton and nailed him in the nose with it. By the look on his face, you would’ve thought I tossed him a severed toe.

“Celia, your table manners are—”

“
Tell
me
.” I growled, but couldn’t manage a straight face.

He chuckled before speaking. “I suppose it makes me feel human.”

My lips parted. Most of the time I forgot Misha was a vampire. If it wasn’t for his necessary diet, he could have passed for any average supermodel on the street. “Ever wish you were human again?”

His eyes never left mine and he took his time answering. “No,” he said finally.

I realized I had caught Misha in a lie. I didn’t push it, though; some things were better left unsaid. And some vampires shouldn’t be messed with.

CHAPTER 13

I didn’t want to move.

The day of Aric’s wedding had finally arrived. I didn’t get up for breakfast, preferring to lie in bed and wallow in my misery. It was the ultimate jilted ex-girlfriend moment. Empty boxes and wrappers of Tastykakes littered the bedroom floor while Celine Dion’s “All by Myself” blasted away for the hundredth time. Tears streamed down my face as I devoured the last cupcake. There was no point in getting out of bed. I had Celine, a box of tissues, and was moving on to the Butterscotch Krimpets next.

My phone rang all morning. My sisters left several messages, claiming their calls were just to say hi. I knew better. Eventually I just shut it off and prayed the Tribe would invade Tahoe City so I could have something to kill. Around dinnertime, there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, a tremendous brown wolf tackled me to the floor. The wolf slobbered all over my face. “Bren, get the hell off me.” He didn’t move; he just wagged his tail and bombarded me with sloppy kisses. I adjusted my hips and tossed him across the kitchen floor and into my living room. I wiped my face with the sleeve of my nightshirt. He grinned at me with his giant fangs. When he bounded to my side, I knelt down and patted his head. “What are you doing here?”

Liam and Danny raced in; my sisters stumbled in behind them. Everyone babbled in loud, excited, breathless voices all at once. I couldn’t hear or understand a thing. Especially once Liam pulled me to him and spun me in the air, howling like a crazed beast.

I pressed my hands into Liam’s chest until he put me down. Everyone stared at me, smiling, their cheeks flushed with excitement. “Aric couldn’t go through with it,” Liam said.

I gawked at him, unsure I’d heard correctly. It felt as if my brain had abandoned my skull and my body was hovering above the wood floor.

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly. “Did you hear me, Celia? Aric didn’t marry Barbara. He bailed at the last minute.”

I clasped my hands over my mouth. “Oh, my God,” I whispered. “What happened?”

Liam wore a navy suit and red tie, but his brown eyes shimmered with the excitement of a three-year-old and his blond hair spiked out of control. “Well, we knew all hell was going to break loose when Aric showed up at the civil ceremony dressed in the jeans and T-shirt he’d obviously slept in and lookin’ ready to maul. Barbara ignored him and said her vows like there was no way he’d ever have the stones to back out.” He chuckled. “Aric couldn’t or wouldn’t say shit. Barbara threw a major fit and called Anara. Anara ripped Aric a new asshole over the phone and ordered him to marry Barbara. Aric flat-out refused and hung up on him. Well, then the shit hit the fan. Barbara marched up to Miss Eliza and told her she’s been throwing herself at Aric and since he’s failed to respond she must have birthed the gayest wolf on the planet.”

My lids peeled back and I had to grip the counter to keep from falling over. “What happened after that?” Good Lord. I could barely spit the words out.

“You’re going to love this. Miss Eliza was all calm. She smiled real sweet like and said, ‘That’s so strange, dear. I don’t recall Aric ever having problems showing Celia affection.’”

Oh, snap!

My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t believe it. I was almost out of my mind with joy. I tried to hide my brimming tears. Liam stopped me by clasping my hands. “I think Aric was able to resist Anara because he doesn’t want to be with anyone . . . unless it’s you.”

The tears leaking from my eyes earned me a much-needed hug from Emme. “Thanks, Liam. I needed to hear that.” I wiped my cheeks. “Where is Aric? I have to call him.”

“You can’t do that, Celia,” Liam answered.

I nodded. “You’re right. I don’t want to get him into more trouble with Anara.”

“Oh, no—I don’t mean you shouldn’t. I mean you can’t. Barbara smashed his phone into his face and broke it.” We all gasped. “Anyway, Aric went wolf and took off. We don’t know where he is.” He shrugged. “I’m supposed to help the Warriors search for him. The Elders are worried he’s gone off the deep end and they want us to find him before he eats a mailman or something.” He bent to kiss Emme before jogging off.

My sisters threw their arms around me, thankfully shielding me from Bren’s naked form. He yanked on the jeans Danny tossed him. Taran shoved me into my bedroom. “Get dressed, Ceel. We’re taking you to Hairy Bastard’s to celebrate.”

•   •   •

Hairy Bastard’s was the premier steakhouse in Carson City, famous for booze, big servings, and catering to
weres
.

“There’s that vamp tramp, Celia Wird,” some werehyena said in a barely audible whisper.

The patrons were famous for hating vampires and, apparently, anyone associated with them. I ignored her and slipped into our booth. Bren and Danny kept their sights on her, but it was Shayna who spoke up. “Don’t talk about my sister that way!”

We angled our heads slowly toward Shayna. “You heard her?” Bren asked.

Shayna continued to narrow her eyes. “Well, duh—she said it loud and clear.” Usually such a response fell under Taran’s list of personality traits.

“No, she didn’t, Shayna.” I took a sniff to see whether I could detect any underlying lupine aroma. I couldn’t sense anything. She was still Shayna, but something about her had changed. “It looks like Koda gave you more than just healing abilities.”

Shayna placed both palms on the table. “Dude! Are you serious?”

Taran shut her compact closed. “What the hell’s going on?”

We told Taran and Emme what happened and they began to question Shayna on other new abilities she might have noticed. Shayna jumped in her seat, her pixie face beaming. “I am a lot hungrier now. And Koda did say I’m more aggressive . . . um, in certain situations.”

Bren danced his eyebrows. “Do you mean in bed, Shayna?”

Shayna laughed despite her pink cheeks. “Yeah, but he doesn’t seem to mind.”

“You were also aggressive in how you responded to that werehyena,” Danny said. “It’s not like you to snap at someone—you’re usually the one who keeps the peace.”

Worry erased her building excitement. “You don’t think I’ll get all—” She raised her hands, pretending to have claws, and bared her teeth. “
Grrrr!
”

The wolves and I laughed. She was about as vicious as a newborn chinchilla. Danny covered her hand. “Your werewolf tendencies and your human ones are probably just trying to adjust to each other. You may have a shorter fuse—similar to younger wolves—but I don’t expect you’ll become volatile.”

The waitress brought over a bucket of Coronas. Bren handed me one and grabbed one for himself. “And you’re probably more hot-headed considering the
were
equivalent of Cujo passed you his essence.”

Shayna giggled. “Oh, my puppy’s just a big love.”

Bren stopped in the middle of dividing up the remaining beers. “Your puppy scares people shitless.”

The rest of us agreed in a collective shudder. Shayna laughed and squirmed excitedly in her seat. “Do you think I’ll
change
soon?”

Bren wiped his scruffy beer after chugging his beer. “Nah. If you were going to, you would have following the first full moon.”

Shayna pouted—she would have loved a tail and some fur. Emme leaned forward. “But, Shayna, what you have is so incredible. Your sense of hearing is heightened. You can heal. You can scent—”

“You’re a freak,” the werehyena chimed in.

Her comment caused the group of
weres
at her table to erupt with laughter. My tigress stretched inside me in anticipation of a fight. Taran cracked her knuckles and flashed them an evil smile. We waited for their next move. Bren wasn’t so patient. He was probably one of the greatest friends I’ve ever had. He was funny, loyal, and affectionate—he also didn’t take any shit. He stood, towering above us, and trained his eyes at the werehyena. “You know what? You’re really starting to piss me off.”