Embrace the Heat (32 page)

Narissa squatted beside her. “I don’t care if
he did manage to escape. I’m turning you over to the vampire
anyway. Maybe I’ll even convince them to brand slave on you,
because that’s what you’ll be for the rest of your miserable
life.”

Simon and Layla met Connor on the way to the
front gate. They were walking quickly, he was running. That was
their first warning that there was trouble. Simon picked up speed
until he reached Connor.

“What’s wrong?” Layla asked.

“Narissa has Raven,” Connor said with a calm
Layla knew he didn’t feel. “Tracking shows them close to the gate
still.”

“Fuck!” Simon yelled and kept pace with
Connor. Layla had no trouble keeping up with them. When they burst
through the gate, they headed straight into the woods.

Layla caught the scent of the wood nymphs,
but it wasn’t in the direction Connor and Simon were heading.

“They’re this way!” she called out.

Connor looked skeptical, but Simon followed
her without hesitation.

Narissa was dragging Raven across the ground.
Obviously she hadn’t planned how to get Raven out of the area very
well. While wood nymphs were stronger than humans, they were
nowhere near as strong as vampires. Narissa likely could have
lifted Raven had she not already been unconscious. Narissa’s lack
of planning was definitely working to their advantage.

“Get your hands off of her or I’ll kill you,”
Connor warned.

Narissa gave him a taunting smile. “I
wouldn’t go throwing around threats, you stupid vampire.” Then her
eyes fell on Simon, and she looked shocked and angry. “No!” she
screeched. “You’re mine!”

Layla stepped forward. “I don’t know how many
times I need to tell you this, Simon is mine. He will never be
yours. Now, let Raven go.”

Narissa drew a knife from the shorts she was
wearing and smiled. “If you come any closer, I’ll slit Raven’s
throat,” she said.

“You do that, and you’re dead,” Connor
growled.

Narissa laughed. “You stupid vampires think
you’re so strong and smart. You’re nothing. My kind has been around
for centuries. We’re not the product of some disease gone wrong.”
Then she turned her attention to Simon. “You have no idea how lucky
you are that I would even consider having you as my mate. You
should be down on your knees begging me to have your baby.”

Layla saw Raven’s eyes slit open. “Why would
he want you?” Layla asked, trying to keep Narissa’s attention from
Raven. “You’re nothing but a spoiled little bitch. Did you know
that he came willingly to me during my heat cycle? That’s because
he wants me to have his baby.”

“Liar!” Narissa shouted.

Raven was struggling to get her mind and body
working right, so Layla wanted to keep Narissa distracted as long
as possible.

“I’m probably carrying Simon’s baby right
now,” Layla continued. “He couldn’t wait to get me pregnant.”

Narissa moved forward with the knife in her
hand. Raven rolled back, grabbed a large branch and clumsily got to
her feet. Narissa’s rage kept her so preoccupied that she didn’t
even notice Raven’s movements until the branch was swinging in her
direction.

Narissa managed to duck in time to miss being
hit in the head, but the blow to her shoulder caused her to drop
the knife. Layla lunged forward and knocked Narissa to the
ground.

With a strength born of desperation, Narissa
fought back and landed a fist to Layla’s nose. Despite the blood
pouring from her nose and the tears streaming down her face, Layla
rolled until Narissa was under her and then pinned her struggling
arms to the ground.

Connor was already by Raven’s side helping
her stay on her feet. Simon grabbed the knife

Narissa continued to spit and throw out dire
threats which made little sense.

“What should we do with her?” Simon
asked.

“We’ll take care of her,” called out a
melodic voice. The group of nymphs seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Layla had seen Raven disappear and reappear around the hidden areas
many times, but it still amazed her.

There were six nymphs. Only one in the group
was wearing clothing. She was dressed in a long flowing white
dress. Her black hair was pulled back from her face, and her grey
eyes were kind and watchful. There was no mistaking the fact that
she was the one in charge.

Connor stood in front of her. “Narissa hurt
Raven,” he said. “She also hurt Simon, who I love like a brother. I
am not going to let you take her and give her a slap on the wrist,
Eledora.”

Raven caught his arm. “Let the nymphs take
her,” she practically begged. “They won’t let her anywhere near us
again. It’s their place to deal with her.”

Connor looked like he wanted to argue and was
struggling with his own thoughts. He was a part of the wood nymph
world now, and that complicated matters. The nymph he’d called
Eledora obviously held an important rank.

Layla still hadn’t let Narissa up from the
ground. She agreed with Connor; Narissa was dangerous and letting
her go back with the nymphs was no guarantee she wouldn’t be
allowed to roam free again.

“We will make sure she doesn’t cause any
further problems,” Eledora said and placed a hand on Connor’s arm.
“I know you worry, but you can trust us.”

“How do you plan to make sure this doesn’t
happen again?” Simon demanded.

The nymph’s eyebrows rose nearly to her
hairline. “That is none of your concern. I allow Connor to question
me because he is new to our ways. You are not one of us.”

“I have a brand on my body that she is
partially responsible for. She tried to injure people in our
settlement more than once. I have a right to know how you plan to
prevent that from happening again.”

“He’s right, Eledora. We are not in your
world now,” Connor said with a nod. “Simon has a right to ask these
questions. You can answer them, or you can leave her with us to
deal with.”

Eledora looked at Raven who was obviously
having trouble staying on her feet. Her face softened when she saw
Raven’s condition. “You can trust us, Raven,” she said. “You know
we have ways to deal with this.”

Raven nodded. “I do, but my friends don’t.
You’ve been around Connor, and you know he won’t let you take her
and risk my safety.”

“He is a good male,” the older nymph said.
“We have ways to strip her of any extra abilities and confine her
to certain hidden sections of the woods. Her term of confinement
will be determined by the justice committee.”

“How long do you think the term will be?”
Simon asked.

The older nymph shrugged. “I really can’t
say. They could decide to be lenient and only confine her for fifty
years, but it may be longer. Likely it will be based on her
rehabilitation. Time alone with the elements often cures mental
instabilities such as this. Our goal is not punishment; it is to
rehabilitate her so she can rejoin us again.”

“So she’ll be alone for years?” Simon asked.
“That seems crueler than death.”

Raven shook her head. “She’ll have her spirit
tree and animal with her. Other nymphs will check on her progress.
I know this is hard to understand, but a nymph is never lonely if
she is near the elements of nature.”

Connor looked at Raven. “Do you believe this
will work?”

“Yes,” Raven assured Connor. “I’ve seen
others do better after time in seclusion.”

Connor gave a reluctant nod and several
nymphs moved forward to claim Narissa. When Layla stood up to allow
the nymphs to grab Narissa, the nymph broke free and rushed toward
Simon, throwing herself on her knees at his feet.

“Please don’t let them take me away,” she
begged. “We belong together. You know I only did those things to
prove that to you.”

Simon turned away from her and didn’t respond
as the nymphs dragged Narissa away. He walked to Layla and stripped
off his shirt. Then he used it to clean up the blood on her face.
Her nose had stopped bleeding already, but she was sure she was a
mess.

“You really are something else,” he said as
he kissed her forehead.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am now,” he said and then looked across at
Connor. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention Narissa’s involvement
sooner.”

Connor waved off his apology. “You were
injured. I’m not blaming you. There was too much going on at the
time. Besides you helped me rescue Raven, so we’re good. Now let’s
go home.”

As soon as Connor scooped Raven up in his
arms, Simon did the same with Layla.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking,” she
said.

“I know,” Simon said with a smile, “but I’m
not sure I’m ready to let you go.”

“Hopefully, you never do,” she said.

Layla squeezed Mitchell’s hand as Ian’s
celebration of life ceremony came to an end. Eloise stood at his
other side. Losing Ian had left Mitchell devastated.

Eloise had been by Mitchell’s side since he’d
learned that Ian was gone. Thankfully, Eloise had a lot of
experience taking in wounded children. Still, Layla felt like he
needed something more. Hopefully, Simon would agree.

“Would anyone else like to speak?” Connor
asked the crowd.

Mitchell surprised them all by clearing his
throat and stepping forward. Connor clapped him on the back and let
Mitchell take his place at the front of the crowd.

“When I first came here, I was no more than a
monster in the making. Ian saw something more. He took me in and
became my father.” Mitchell’s voice caught. “I loved him. Each
night I dream of him. In my dreams I see him with a beautiful woman
with long red hair. She’s caring for him and healing him. In those
dreams, he is with Kate finding the peace he deserves. No matter
how much I love him, I’m glad he has this peace now, and I'm
thankful that he was my father for that short time. Goodbye,
Dad.”

Eloise came up and wrapped her arms around
Mitchell as he wept. Layla felt overwhelmed with the sadness of
Mitchell’s loss. She’d also felt strangely overwhelmed with sadness
when she’d started bleeding a week ago. Now, that twinge of sadness
that there was no baby hit her again.

Simon pulled her into his arms, and she
wasn’t sure if it was to offer comfort to her or take comfort from
her. Maybe it was a little of both. All she knew was that she was
relieved when it was time to head home.

Neither of them spoke until they made it
inside. An idea had come to her recently, but she wasn’t sure how
Simon would react. The idea had started to form the first time
Mitchell sought her out for comfort, and each time she was with him
she became more convinced it was the right thing to do.

“Are you okay?” she asked Simon. “Ian was
your friend.”

“I’m not sure I believe he’s dead, but that
could be because Rand came back to us. Probably just wishful
thinking.”

“There was no body, so it’s hard to accept
that he’s gone. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he’ll come
walking up to the gate one day.”

“Before Mitchell, Ian’s death wouldn’t have
bothered me as much. For years, he wasn’t really living. Ian went
through the motions. He got out of bed every day and consumed
enough blood to keep his heart beating. At the end of each day, he
went home to a house full of memories. I was his only friend, and
he kept me at a distance. Mitchell changed all of that, and I’m sad
that he had to leave his son.”

“Are you okay with the fact that I’m not
pregnant?” Lately Simon had taken to rubbing her belly with a far
off look in his eyes. A baby was obviously something he wanted, and
she had to admit that she’d warmed up to the idea too.

This time he gave her a genuine smile. “I
won’t lie to you; there’s a big part of me that wants to see your
belly swell with my baby. I’d love to hold our child. Hopefully,
you’ll feel the same way someday.”

Layla lifted up on her toes and kissed his
chin. “I’ve already changed my mind about having your baby. Maybe
we should try in a year or two.”

Simon’s smile was brilliant. “Really?”

She nodded. “If we’re lucky, shifter genes
are dominant.”

He chuckled. “I’m actually going to agree
with you on that one. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about
something kind of related to being parents. It’s about
Mitchell.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about him too,”
Layla admitted. “He keeps finding me. We’ve talked a lot over the
last week.”

Simon looked a little uncomfortable. “Eloise
is great.”

Layla nodded. “I agree. She’s been a big help
to Mitchell, but I’m kind of worried about him staying with her
long term. They barely know each other, and she’s raised a lot
of kids already.”

“It would also be nice if Mitchell had a man
in the house,” Simon added. “He was really close to Ian.”

“Are you trying to tell me you want Mitchell
to live here with us?” Layla asked.

“Not here,” Simon said. “We’d need to get a
bigger place in the family section. I checked with Connor, and
there are some homes available close to Mitchell’s school.”

Layla just shook her head until she saw
Simon’s face fall.

“You’re right, this is a bad idea. You told
me you want to wait to become a parent, and I’m trying to get you
to adopt already. That wasn’t fair of me.”

With a hand on each of Simon’s cheeks, Layla
pulled his head down for a kiss. “I was going to suggest the same
thing.”

Relief flashed across his face. “Are you
sure?”

“Yes,” she assured him. “I already talked to
Eloise. She seemed relieved that we want to take care of Mitchell.
As much as she loves having him around, she’s too busy to follow up
on all of his appointments and feedings. I told her that if you
agreed, we’d go by there to talk to Mitchell about it
tomorrow.”

Simon pulled her into his arms and kissed
her. When he finally let her go, Layla was breathless and thankful
for his arms around her. “Since this is our last night alone, I
guess we should make the most of it.”