The Elf's Royal Match (Book 4 The Wolves of Winter Valley)

Chapter 6 - A River Of Mud

Adam POV

After my last training session, I decided to head to the packhouse early to hang out with Seth and the kids before our weekly leadership dinner. We used to eat together every night as a family. But that all changed with the addition of mates and kids. After spending all day, every day together, each individual family unit wanted the evenings to themselves. This was completely understandable, but we still gathered once a week to maintain that family dynamic and instill its importance in our kids.

Well, their kids.

Mine had yet to arrive, and it didn’t look like she was in any hurry to get here. Tomorrow was Megan’s due date, and she hadn’t even started to dilate yet. I huffed out an impatient sigh as I crossed the packhouse lawn. I was more than ready to move on to the next phase of parenthood, but my little angel wasn’t cooperating.

On a positive note, after today, Megan was officially on maternity leave from Nebula, so I could stop worrying about her being so far away and going into labor.

Goddess, I hated being apart from her.

Even before she’d become pregnant, I had difficulty with it, and I blamed that on Megan’s psychotic mother and the succubus who’d targeted her to get to Seth, Natasha, and Harmony. I even placed some of the blame on Sinead and her discarded plot to erase the mate bond between Megan and me.

From the moment we met, every time we turned around, someone was trying to separate us. So much had happened in that short time that I started to fear her being out of my sight. Even now, long after the threats had been neutralized, the fear still lingered.

Something in the air jerked me from my thoughts as I mounted the packhouse steps. I sniffed, trying to figure out what it was that had captured my attention. There was nothing amiss, no strange odors, but a feeling of dread was steadily growing in my stomach.

Probably just my paranoia again. Brushing off the annoying tug of worry, I pushed open the door and went inside. Seth was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Lane and Camilla in front of him.

“There’s my main man!” I exclaimed enthusiastically, making Lane squeal and reach his chubby little arms up toward me. I skirted the couch and scooped him up, offering my fist for a bump. Instead of meeting it with his own hand as I taught him, Lane clamped his tiny mouth around a knuckle and started gnawing.

Seth laughed. “Little man is teething,” he informed me just as Lane’s two teeth dug into my flesh.

“Thanks for the warning….” My retort died on a hiss when he chomped down on bone. Slowly and gently, I extracted my fist from Lane’s mouth and passed him to his father. “Here chew on him. He deserves it.”

“I see I wasn’t quite quick enough,” Natasha chirped strolling in from the kitchen with a little plastic ring in her hand. She leaned over the back of the couch and held the ring in front of Lane, who snatched it and shoved it right into his mouth.

Natasha straightened as the sound of glass clinking together filled the room. Her head swiveled around, looking for the source. “What is that?” Suddenly, Camilla started to cry. Natasha hurried around the couch and picked her up, stumbling when the whole house began to shake.

Omegas came running from all parts of the house. “Everybody out of the house!” Seth ordered, placing a hand on Natasha’s back, and urging her toward the door.

Colt POV

I’d intended to spend the evening tuning up my bike and polishing the chrome, but I’d no sooner put a wrench to the motor, and I was surrounded. Mercy, Dorit, and Cressida had decided that watching me work on my bike was much more fascinating than whatever was on the television. So, they’d dragged out lawn chairs and settled in, making suggestive comments and appreciative sounds every time I moved.

The chrome never got polished. After finishing the tune-up, I packed up my tools and headed back to my room to the chorus of their pained groans. I was so tempted to tell them I had a mate, but there would have been questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer. It was safer to just ignore their blatant flirting and avoid being caught alone with either of them. Which I quickly learned was going to be easier said than done.

There was a knock on my door as I was stowing my toolbox under my bunk. To my horror, a scantily clad Cressida was standing on the other side with a seductive smile painted on her face. She stepped forward intending to walk past me into the room, but I blocked her.

“What can I do for you, Cressida?” I asked her, not even bothering to conceal my irritation.

Her smile widened as she lifted her hand and dragged an elegantly manicured finger down my chest. “I was hoping there was something I could do for you, sugar,” she said, then hooked that finger in the waistband of my jeans.

I lifted her hand away without shifting my gaze. “Look, Cressida, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but I’m not interested. It’s not that you’re not attractive. You’re all gorgeous. I’m just not interested in anyone who isn’t my mate,” I said truthfully.

Unfortunately, Cressida wasn’t willing to accept my explanation. “Oh, come on. Purity before finding your mate is an archaic practice. Don’t you want to be able to please her when you find her? I could teach you all sorts of fun things,” she said as she pressed her body against mine.

“I’m 89 years old. I haven’t been pure for a very long time, but there does come a time when random, meaningless s*x with random, meaningless women becomes boring and unfulfilling. I reached that point several years ago.” I hated being rude, but it was clear that she wouldn’t get the hint otherwise.

Cressida backed up; her face contorted in anger. “s*x with me is never boring,” she said as she walked away, then turned back with a smirk on her face. “I bet the rumors are false. I bet the only thing long and thick on a panther is their tail.”

I didn’t bother to answer. I just grinned and closed the door. So, that was what was fueling this campaign to get my attention. They all thought I had an anaconda tucked into my jeans. I chuckled and reached for the snap, intending to take a shower. Something stopped me. I looked around the room and noticed a ripple in the glass of water I kept by my bed. Quickly, I pulled off my shoes and socks and waited. The vibration was barely noticeable at first, then grew until the steel of the building groaned under the pressure. I opened my door and was greeted by my housemates running for the exit and the relative safety beyond. I slammed my feet back into my shoes and joined them.

Megan POV

What a rough day! This pregnancy was really making it impossible to run my business. How did other women do this? I’d heard some women worked right up until they gave birth, then took maternity leave. I was lucky if I could walk across the restaurant without needing to sit down for an hour. Well, to be fair, I was carrying a larger than average baby. Human babies typically weighed between 6 to 10 pounds at birth. My daughter’s pre-birth weight was currently 13 pounds. Well, at least it was at my appointment two days ago. Wolf pregnancies progressed much faster, so who knew what she weighed now. I released a deep sigh.

The day was over. I was officially on maternity leave, and I was on my way home where a nice warm shower waited, and one of my sexy and sweet mates would pamper me. Oh… Wait… It was Saturday. That meant it was family dinner night at the packhouse. Well, s**t… I guess my shower will have to wait. I turned the corner onto the road leading into Winter Valley and slammed on the brakes as a herd of deer came running frantically out of the woods as if something were chasing them. One by one, they bounded across the blacktop and disappeared into the trees on the other side without looking back. I waited patiently for all of them to get across, then resumed driving with a shake of my head.

When I rounded the bend, I looked up. There was a nest at the top of the pine to the left with a pair of warriors keeping watch. Though I couldn’t see them, I lifted my hand to wave and was struck by a pain worse than any I’d ever felt. Again, I slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop, then lay a hand over my belly.

“Oh, baby girl, not yet. At least wait until I get to your daddy so he can drive us to the hospital,” I whispered to my unborn child, then focused on breathing through the pain. When the contraction subsided, I eased off the brake, depressing it again when a huge boulder bounced across the road ahead of me. “What the hell?” I asked with eyes wide. Another boulder followed the first, and I gripped the steering wheel, questioning whether I should try to make a run for it or stay where I was. The vinyl-padded steel began to tremble in my hands, and my breath hitched, thinking my car was about to stall right there in the middle of the street. I put the car in Park and started to open a channel to Adam when another contraction sliced through me worse than the first.

“Holy s**t!” I yelled out as tears began to stream. “Not now, please, not now.”

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Come on, Megan, you can do this. Just point the car toward home and punch it.

The whole car started to shake, drawing my attention to the mountain on my left. My wide, horrified eyes watched as evergreen trees were swept away by a raging river of dirt, rocks, and mud, and it was headed right for me. Another contraction doubled me over, and I screamed in both pain and fear, knowing that I’d never get the car out of the path of the mudslide. I forced myself to focus and opened a channel to Adam and Aiden.

Adam! Aiden! I’m in trouble! I don’t think we’re going to make it! I love you, both!

Clinging to the steering wheel, I prayed for a miracle as the slide breached the tree line.

Sinead POV

Colt’s behavior over the last week had kept me in a constant state of confusion. We’d turned a corner that morning when he kissed me, or so I thought. A greater understanding had been borne between us, hadn’t there? He said he wanted me. There were just reasons he couldn’t claim me. I wanted to ask him about those reasons. Were they insurmountable? Was there a chance that he could claim me in the future? I had planned to bring it up when he arrived at the pitch a few hours later. It was one of the reasons I’d arrived so early. So, we could talk before anyone else showed up. He seemed like he was in a good enough mood, then he growled at me for no reason, and I changed my mind.

Every day that followed went the same way. When he arrived at the pitch, he seemed almost happy to see me. He spoke to me normally. Later, if I got close to him, he would growl or snap at me without provocation, and I would retreat to the other side of the circle, hurt and confused. This constant back and forth left me feeling drained and angry by afternoon, so I’d gone to Natasha and requested that I continue my rotation in the nests alone. I needed the solitude to find my balance and prepare for the cycle to begin again the next day.

Birds roosted in the trees around me suddenly launched into the sky, squawking in irritation. I tilted my head to watch them, curious as to what had caused such an abrupt reaction. My attention was dragged away by the sound of hooves striking the earth in a thunderous rush, followed by the slight squeal of tires. A dozen deer were on the run. From what, I didn’t know. The only other sound I heard was the car that stopped just before hitting them.

The nest rocked as the boughs around me shook, though the air was still. Something was amiss. I opened a channel to Isabella.

Izzy.

Si.

Are you able to teleport my staff to me? I think I may need it.

Si. Where are you?

Southwest nest at the corner of Valley Road.

Okay. Keep channel open and hold hand out palm up.

I did as she instructed and waited. Within seconds my staff appeared in my hand.

Thank you, Izzy.

Sinead. Get out of tree. Now!

Just as the channel closed, Megan came around the bend and stopped. I remained where I was, despite Izzy’s warning. I’d just wait until Megan continued on into the village, then I’d leave the nest. It had been months, but I still wasn’t ready to face her. When Megan’s car started to roll forward, I started down to the platform. The tree began to shake so violently that I nearly lost my footing. While I clung to the ladder, waiting for the tremors to stop, I looked around to see what was causing them. My heart leaped into my throat as a large boulder bounced across the road, narrowly missing the front of Megan’s car. I couldn’t wait for the tremors to stop, I had to act, so I hurried the rest of the way down. As soon as my feet touched the platform, I leaped to the ground. A second boulder rolled over the pavement, drawing my attention up. A mudslide was barreling down the mountain right at Megan. With staff in hand, I ran forward, skidding into the path of the slide.