Wolf Tales 12 (34 page)

The act of pushing a baby from her womb took on a mystical quality, a timeless effort of heart, mind, and soul, of many minds, many souls. Many hearts, all beating as one, all working toward this amazing act of birth, this show of maternal courage.

He would never, ever grow tired of this—of the birth of a new member of their pack. Her contraction eased and Liana took a moment to take deep, steady breaths. Pulling himself out of the self-absorption of sharing Liana’s experience, Anton focused on her mate. Adam’s face was a study in fierce love and tangible fear. He’d assisted Logan in the delivery of almost every single child, yet this was his mate, his child.

The risk was entirely personal, the love and fear profound.

And yet the fear lifted. The pain subsided. Liana cried out; Anton tightened his grasp on her hands and whispered encouraging words. His eyes never left her face—there was something so amazingly beautiful in the struggle to give birth, from the lines of strain bracketing her mouth to the veins standing out, stark and defined across her forehead as she labored to push the child free.

Yet he felt no pain. He was pulling her pain to him, but there was none to take. He was aware of her straining muscles, her laboring heart and lungs. He felt the fullness of the baby’s body sliding through the birth canal from womb to world, and yet, even as he experienced the act of giving birth through the link with Liana, there was no pain.

She gave a final, powerful push. Her hands clamped down on his so hard he felt the bones shift in his fingers, but he steadied her, gave her the solid strength of his body for leverage as Adam let out a shout—a sound of joy, of relief. Liana sighed, and their daughter opened her mouth and announced her presence to the world.

Anton closed his eyes against the unexpected rush of his tears, leaned down, and kissed Liana’s forehead. “Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Filled with awe at her own creation, Liana barely raised her voice above a whisper. Adam carefully laid their daughter on her mother. Logan shoved a scalpel into his hands.

Adam’s head shot up. “When did you get here?”

Logan laughed. “A few minutes ago. You didn’t think you guys were going to do this on your own, did you?”

Anton raised his head and laughed. The room was filled with members of the pack. Not everyone, but at least a dozen had squeezed into the small space. “No wonder the pain went away. Were all of you . . . ?”

Mei knelt beside Liana. “I can’t believe you weren’t going to tell us. Oliver’s with the kids—they’re still sleeping, but if Anton hadn’t called out, we would have missed this.” She laughed and kissed Liana’s cheek. “And I never, ever would have forgiven you!”

Liana tilted her head and frowned at Anton. “When did you call them?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Mei, what did you hear?”

Mei and the others looked at one another. Giggles started in one corner and spread from smile to smile, until everyone was laughing. “I think it was something along the lines of, ‘son of a bitch, that hurts!’ ” She nudged Millie standing beside her. “Is that what you heard, Millie?”

Nodding sagely, Millie agreed. “It was about the time Anton decided to shoulder Liana’s labor pain.”

Tinker pushed through the crowd and reached for Anton’s hand. “Put ’er there, boss. It takes a real man to help a woman in labor. Believe me, I know.”

Grinning broadly, too jubilant to be embarrassed, Anton shook Tinker’s hand.

Adam finished clamping his daughter’s umbilical cord and moved aside so that Logan could finish up with Liana. Then he kissed his wife and stared silently at their little girl, who was already rooting at her mother’s breast. “You’re right, Tink. I tried it and didn’t last very long. Hurts like hell. Damn, Liana. You are amazing . . . and you’re absolutely beautiful.”

Anton gently shoved a pillow beneath her head and moved out of the way. The rest of the pack members quietly filed out of the chamber behind him. It was time to give the new parents a few moments alone with their daughter.

And though it was still too damned early, probably time to think about facing the new day and the changes in their lives. He watched as everyone quietly returned to their personal space within the large cavern. He didn’t know why he was so surprised to see them settling back down for a few more hours of rest.

Everyone was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He certainly couldn’t begrudge anyone time to catch up on sleep. There was nothing they could do until the sun came up. That would be soon enough to face what waited for them above ground.

He stood there for a moment, unsure what to do next. He was way too wound up to sleep with an excess of adrenaline still coursing through his body, his mind spinning and going nowhere fast.

But damn it all . . . what now?

He shook off the odd sense of depression and wandered in to check on Jake. It was quiet in the makeshift clinic, and Shannon and Jake slept soundly. Anton watched them for a while, thinking of the night past, the horrible fear they’d all felt for Jake. The pain he’d suffered, and yet his injuries were healed.

Incredible. Shaking his head in amazement, Anton went back into the main chamber. Keisha had gone back to sleep, and when he checked on Adam and Liana, they were sleeping together on their pallet with their new daughter between them.

He sat in a quiet corner, feeling unaccountably melancholy, watching over his pack. He was still sitting there when Igmutaka and Sunny crept in from one of the side passages. Smiling, he watched the spirit guide lead the young woman to an empty pallet, and the two of them lay down together.

Now, that could be interesting, especially since he knew that Ig already felt connected to Tala and Mik’s little Star. But, as with everything else, things would work out the way they were meant to.

Silence settled over the chamber, and for the first time, he thought of all that he’d learned tonight from Lily. Maybe that was the source of his odd anxiety. He couldn’t wait to share his knowledge with the rest of the pack.

Why not now?

The voice in his head was so clear, he twisted his neck looking from one side to the other for the Goddess. She sounded as if she were standing right next to him.
Eve?

Who else invades your waking dreams?

Her soft laughter teased his nerve endings.

I should have known you’d be here. Did you come for the birth? We have a new pack member. Adam and Liana just had a little girl.

I know. I was watching. Liana’s such a wonderful mother. I’m glad you could share the experience.

It was . . .
He thought about it a moment, the way Liana had labored to deliver her daughter. How it had felt to be there with her, a part of it.
It was magic. Pure magic.

As are all of you. Sleep, Anton. Sleep and dream, and share your dreams with the others. Lily’s given you everything, but it’s not for you alone. The others need to know the truth of their legacy. It’s meant to be shared. It must be shared.

He thought of all the information that filled his mind—a history of their kind he’d not even begun to assimilate. So much to try to make sense of.
But what of the children? Are they ready for so much information? I don’t want to confuse them.

They’ll only be aware of what they can understand. Sleep. Your body is exhausted, your mind needs a chance to understand what you’ve learned. It’s time to share the burden, along with the knowledge.

With Eve’s soft words, exhaustion swept over him, almost as if the last vestiges of adrenaline left his system all at once. He barely made it to the pallet where Keisha slept so soundly. Kicking off his shoes, he didn’t even bother with his clothes. Morning was only a couple of hours away. A little sleep would do him good.

Eve was right. This was the perfect time to share what he’d learned. Now, while all was quiet, while they were here, all of them together under a single roof. Who knew what the new day would bring? What they would find outside when the sun rose?

He lay beside Keisha and the children. Gabe and Mac gravitated toward his warmth. Drifting in that dreamlike state between wakefulness and sleep, he felt his sons curling close against him like warm little puppies. As sleep claimed him, he remembered to open his thoughts. Remembered to connect with the other minds.

Strange, the sensation of linking with every mind here, older minds and younger, even to Adam and Liana’s brand-new babe. He carefully organized his thoughts and set them free, aware on some level that each mind was unusually receptive, open and inviting. Every soul in the cavern welcomed him as he shared what he’d learned.

A thought filtered through, that it was sort of like sending a group e-mail. . . . Stefan would approve. Wasn’t he always harping on Anton to sharpen his computer skills? He’d have to remember to tell Stef his perceptive analogy in the morning.

Sighing, smiling lazily, Anton’s eyes drifted shut, and he let his dreams take flight.

Chapter 24

Mei, Oliver, and Jazzy Blue already had the long table at one end of the cavern loaded with fresh fruit, sliced ham, muffins, and scrambled eggs when Anton finally awakened. Groggy after sleeping so soundly, he wandered across the cavern past tangled bedding and a few still-sleeping bodies to the waterfall at the end of the pond, stuck his head under the spray, splashed more water on his face, and finger-combed his hair.

“Wondered when you were going to join the living.”

Anton glanced up as Stefan handed him a soft towel. “Thanks. I didn’t think to grab one.”

“Figured as much. I wanted to let you know that Tinker and Luc went out at dawn to see what was left.”

Anton dried his face and straightened up. “And?”

Stef shook his head. “A lot of the forest is still healthy. Looks like it rained some during the night. The fire’s out, but the house is gone. Mei and Oliver’s cottage burned to the ground, too.” He shook his head. “Hell, Anton . . . not a single structure survived. Luc says it looks like Armageddon out there, though all the vehicles and even the chopper made it through unscathed, so at least we’ve got transportation. Luc contacted the authorities in town, let them know we were all okay. Said he’s got some calls in to a few companies that handle RVs. Thought a few big motor homes or trailers might work best for everyone until we figure out what to do next.”

Anton wanted to kick himself. He hadn’t even thought of what they’d do for housing after the fire. It wasn’t like they could stay underground—not with so many little ones. “Good. I’ll get in touch with the contractor who built that addition to the house a couple of years ago for Adam and Liana. He did good work. We’ll see about getting the house and cottage rebuilt.”

Stefan nodded. “Might want to upgrade the plans. Everyone intends to stay.” He grinned and raised his eyebrows.

“Everyone? Even after this?”

Stefan nodded again. “Especially after this. And after that little ‘dream along with Anton’ trip you took us on this morning.”

It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. “You remember?”

Laughing, Stefan threw an arm over his shoulders and walked him toward the food and the scent of fresh coffee. “You think we’re not going to be aware of a mental download of history that runs like a 3-D sci-fi movie? Good Goddess, man . . . what a rush! I lay there in bed for over an hour after I woke up this morning. Didn’t want to get up and disturb the images that were flashing through my head.”

Anton shot him a sheepish grin. “Pretty amazing, isn’t it? And to think I got all of that out of Lily’s hard little head.” He chuckled softly. “Blows me away. I still haven’t had a chance to think about what I’ve learned, to sort it all out. I remember setting foot on another planet, seeing people I knew in my dreams but have never seen in real life, but the rest . . .” He poured himself a cup of coffee and nodded to Jazzy as she added more eggs to the warmer. “Did you see the part explaining how we change? How we make the shift from human to wolf so fast that no one can see it?”

Stefan grabbed a plate and started to fill it with food. He tilted his head and grinned at Anton. “You mean that little tidbit about altering time and space? The fact that each time we shift, we manipulate time? Oh yeah, I saw it. I still don’t believe it, but I saw it.”

Anton stared at Stef’s plate and decided it looked pretty good. He grabbed his own and began filling it. “Let’s find a seat. I want to talk.”

Stef’s gaze went serious in a heartbeat. “So do I.”

They found a quiet corner away from the growing activity as more of the pack awakened, as more children demanded breakfast. A baby cried, laughter broke out . . . typical morning sounds, with the addition of echoes from the cavern walls and the ever-present trickle of falling water.

“Stef, my biggest concern right now, even more than our housing situation, is how we’re going to face the growing furor over our existence. How much of this history do we share?” Anton took a bite of eggs, glanced up, and caught Mei and Jazzy looking their way. He signaled that all was wonderful. The women laughed and went back to their self-imposed breakfast duty.

“As little as possible, as much as we have to.” Stef leaned back against the rock wall. “You and I need to go public. Nick already has. Luc will have to as well, since Pack Dynamics will need to be part of this, but I think we’re safer if we leave our actual numbers out of it.”

“We have to mention Sunny—the fact we didn’t know she was one of us. The fact that there could be others out there.” Anton hadn’t totally thought it through, but he still felt the need to find the others. To save them from lives like the one Sunny had been living. It was what the Ancient Ones wanted—he felt a powerful need to honor their final request.

“Sunny, yes, since she’s part of Nick’s story. But the rest? Not right away. Can you imagine the nuts that would come out of the woodwork if we did an open call for potential shapeshifters?”

Stef’s laughter was too strained for Anton’s peace of mind, though he had to agree. “Okay. We hold back on that. I think we need to do this all through official channels—offer DNA samples, maybe even physical exams, but only to a single medical team with the caveat that the information be made public. No secrets. The more open we are, the less chance of any conspiracy theories taking off and gaining credence.”