Defying Destiny (54 page)

baby.”

“You know this Wolf, I take it,”

William huffed as they entered the house.

Maralee nodded and moved to clear a

path to the parlor where William laid

Nash down upon the loveseat. She gasped

when she saw the quantity of blood on

William’s jacket. She dropped to her

knees beside Nash and buried her face in

his furry neck.

“Nash, you can’t leave me,” she said.

“I’m the stupid one who leaves. I’m sorry.

I’m sorry! Please, Nash. Please!”

“Nash?” William said breathlessly.

“This Wolf is…”

Nash whined and blinked open his

eyes slightly.

“Nash, you have to revert to your

human form,” Maralee said. “William, has

that doctor left yet?”

“Yeah. He left a few minutes before

you did.”

“Go after him and bring him back.

This is an emergency.”

“But he’s not a vet. He’s a human

doctor.”

Nash’s ironic laugh drew their

attention to the loveseat. William stared at

him with shock while Maralee covered

her mouth at seeing the horrible wounds

on his throat. He seemed entirely capable

of bleeding to death at that moment.

“Don’t fret over me so much, Maralee.

I’m immortal, remember?” Nash said and

tried to sit up. His face paled visibly and

he collapsed back onto the loveseat.

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

“The curse has lifted,” Maralee

whispered.

“What?”

“I don’t think…I don’t think you are

immortal any longer,” she said before

turning to William again. “William, go

after the doctor. Hurry now, before it’s

too late.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed and headed

for the parlor door to obey her wishes.

Maralee turned her attention back to

Nash. She had never seen him look so

poorly and she had seen him survive more

than one fight.

“Did you say the curse was lifted?” he

asked her quietly. “How can you know

that?”

“I injured those two wolves with my

father’s sword, but they were immune to

the silver.”

“You tried to kill them?” he asked, his

eyes wide. “Why would you do that? You

promised that you wouldn’t kill anymore.”

Maralee touched his face. “Would you

have me stand there and watch them kill

you? You gave me the sword.”

“Only because I know you treasured it.

I never meant for you to use it again.”

“I’d kill for you, Nash, not because

they were Wolves, but because they were

threatening you. I love you.”

Trayburn appeared in the doorway.

“What is going on, miss?”

“Trayburn, bring some clean cloth,”

Maralee told him, unwilling to leave

Nash’s side for even a moment. “We need

to stop this bleeding.”

“Who is this man? Bleeding all over

the parlor sofa. Naked… Why I’ve never

—”

“Just get the cloth, Trayburn. Do you

want the father of my baby to die?”

This motivated Trayburn into motion.

He left the room at a run.

“Baby?” Nash murmured.

“Yes, Nash. Your baby. I am with

child. Our child. I was on my way back to

you when those Wolves attacked me.”

“I know I’m dreaming now,” Nash

whispered. “If I close my eyes and open

them again, will you be beside me when I

wake up? That’s all I want, you beside

me.”

“What are you rambling about, Nash?”

Maralee said. “You’re not dreaming.

Don’t go to sleep. I’m afraid you’ll never

wake up.”

“I can’t decide if this is a good or a

bad dream,” he murmured, his eyes

blinking slowly as consciousness insisted

on escaping him. “I’m dying—I feel it—

but you are with me, Maralee. I’m so glad

I found you. I’ve been searching for days.”

“Yes, Nash. I’m here. I won’t let you

die, so don’t talk like that.”

His thoughts shifted to the vision of

her standing over him with her sword wet

with blood. Wolf blood. “Why did you

break your promise? You used your sword

with the intent to kill.”

“And I’d do it again to protect those I

love. To protect you, Nash. To protect our

baby. Myself.”

He found her hand with his and

squeezed it. He understood that. The need

to protect. “You’re going to need a

stronger metal than silver, if the curse is

broken.” His strength waning, he struggled

to keep his eyes open.

“Don’t close your eyes, Nash. Please.

Don’t leave me to raise this child alone.

He needs his father. The curse, our pasts,

none of it is important. The only thing that

matters is making a future together. You

need to be there for our child, damn it. I

need you, Nash. I do. This is the destiny I

choose. The one with you in it. Don’t

close your eyes, my love. Stay with me.”

Despite his physical pain, he smiled.

Her words had soothed his emotional

turmoil. “You finally understand, Maralee.

I’m glad I’m not dreaming.”

Maralee leaned closer. Her hot tears

seared his cool lips. She kissed them

gently. “Let’s dream with our eyes open

from now on.”

“Yes,” he agreed, as he drifted away

from her.

Maralee placed a hand on her distended

abdomen. A forceful kick struck her palm

and she smiled lovingly. The baby was

active today. Soon she’d glimpse their

little one for the first time. She peered

across the front lawn of the manor and

called out to the two Wolf cubs frolicking

in the yard.

“Cort. Leland. It’s time to come in and

wash up for supper.”

One cub, black as night with a white

crescent over his left eye, and the other,

white as snow with a black crescent over

his right, hurtled past her and into the

house. When she turned around, two naked

four-year-old boys were wrestling on the

floor.

“Upstairs, you two. And put some

clothes on before you come down to eat.”

“When will Daddy be home?” they

asked her in unison. It was as if the twins

shared the same mind.

“Before dinner. He just had to go talk

to some of the tenants.”

Both boys melted into their Wolf

forms and charged noisily up the stairs,

their claws scratching the hardwood.

She’d long since given up on having

unblemished floors.

“The pair of them are exactly like Cort

was as a child,” Nash’s mother said

nostalgically from the doorway of the

parlor. Stacia had arrived only days

before to help with the new baby. She’d

been surprisingly accepting of Maralee

after she’d been blessed with additional

grandchildren. The breaking of the curse

hadn’t hurt her attitude either.

There was a loud thump above and a

chorus of excited puppy barking that gave

Maralee a start. She waddled towards the

stairs, but Stacia beat her there.

“You take it easy,” Stacia said. “I’ll

go check on them.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I have been

feeling more tired than usual.”

“Nash should be spoiling you more,”

Stacia said with a smile.

“Did I hear my name?” his deep voice

sounded from the recently opened front

door.

Maralee turned and her heart thudded

in her chest at the sight of him. She didn’t

know if it was supposed to be like this

between lovers married for four years, but

every time she saw him, she was stricken

by how handsome he was, how much she

wanted him, and how much she needed

him in her life. What was more surprising,

perhaps, was that he seemed to feel the

exact same way. They stood there staring

at each other as if it had been months

rather than hours since their last meeting.

Stacia chuckled. “I’ll just go and

check on the boys then,” she said quietly,

“and leave you two insatiable lovebirds

alone.”

Stacia’s footsteps carried up the stairs

and down the hall to the twins’ room.

“Did you find out anything about the

Carsons?” Maralee asked him as she

watched him remove his jacket and lay it

across the table beside the door.

“They’ve had a bad pest problem this

year and lost much of their crops. I

decided to reduce their rent until they can

recover their losses. I probably should

have consulted you first,” he said.

He crossed the room and dropped a

tender kiss on her temple. She leaned into

him, craving closeness.

“I trust your judgment,” she murmured,

tilting her head back to look up at him. “If

it weren’t for you, I’d have lost this place

to the bank in the first place.”

Nash chuckled. “It wasn’t all me,” he

reminded her. “The local Wolves were

quite convincing as well.”

It had been amazing how quickly Aunt

Bailey had relinquished all pilfered

money when facing a pack of disgruntled

Wolves.

The

Wolves

had

been

unforgiving of her lies. When they’d found

out Bailey hadn’t really been controlling

Maralee and protecting them from

slaughter, they’d threatened to kill her.

Bailey had fled with nothing but the

clothes on her back and no one had heard

from her since.

Though Maralee had only regained

about half the money her family had left

her, it had been enough to retain

possession of her ancestral estates. She

was grateful for her home, but knew as

long as she had Nash and her children,

she’d be happy anywhere. She had a new

destiny. A destiny she’d created with

Nash out of love.

Maralee’s fingers moved upward to

touch the white scars on Nash’s throat—

reminders of his fight against the Wolves

sent by her aunt to end Maralee’s life. She

had come so close to losing him. She

would never take him for granted. Nash

touched her cheek, knowing what she was

thinking without having to ask. He

understood her fears as well as her hopes.

They kept no secrets.

“I’m not going anywhere, Maralee,” he

murmured, lowering his head to kiss her

soft lips. “You’re stuck with me whether

you want to be or not.”

“How could I not?” she asked him,

melting against him. With her distended

abdomen protruding between them, they

didn’t fit together as perfectly as before.

The baby gave a forceful kick of protest

and Nash chuckled, breaking their kiss.

“This one is definitely a girl,” he told

her with a gentle smile as his hands

moved to rub the sides of her belly. “As

wild and unruly as her beautiful mother.”

“After the twins, I was looking

forward to one more quiet and reserved,

like their father,” she said, grimacing with

mock distress.

He laughed. “Maybe the next one,” he

said, lifting one hand to stroke her hair

away from her cheek. “Besides, Carsha

wouldn’t forgive us if we had another boy.

She’s tired of being the only girl in the

family.”

Maralee chuckled. “I guess so,” she

said. Carsha was present in their home

more often than she was absent. She lived

in a small house with her family including

her new adoptive father less than a mile

away. “Who would have ever believed

that Rella and William would fall in love

at first sight?”

“They seem happy together,” Nash

said, staring down at her intently.

“Not as happy as we are.”

“I didn’t think happiness this perfect

was even possible,” he whispered. He

kissed her again, this time with a passion

guaranteed to consume them both. “Let’s

go upstairs and lock ourselves in our room

for a couple of hours.”

“But the twin—”

“Are with my mother.” He lowered his

mouth to caress the sensitive flesh beneath

her ear. “You know after the baby’s born

we’ll have to wait over a month before

we can make love again.”

Maralee gasped. “I’d forgotten,” she

said breathlessly. “Let’s go.”

She took his hand and pulled him up

the stairs, surprisingly swift on her

swollen feet. He laughed as she waddled