It took us no time to leave the underground and stride through the forests that were our home. The weather was still cool, but I could sense the turn of nature in this wilderness, the new buds of flowers just waiting for enough heat to burst into life, the first flickers of foliage pushing through the black of winter-dead trees. Spring in Stratford was the best time of year, the birth of life, the time of rejuvenation. This spring I would have a child born to this world. I still couldn't really believe it.
"I'm going to find Mischa," I said to my brothers when we were close to home. "I have some convincing and begging to do. I don't want her at Jonathon's any longer. She needs to be here with us, in the safety of our pack."
They all nodded, and I felt through our bond that each of them loved Mischa too. That she was accepted and trusted as a precious member of the pack. Braxton halted me, his hand on my arm, his eyes staring off into the distance. I recognized the mind-speak thing. Jessa was in his head.
"Mischa is inside with Jess," he said, turning back to face me. "They've been preparing dinner for us."
The four of us kind of froze, the same wide-eyed expression across our faces. Jessa wasn't exactly the domestic kind of female, she was more into eating food and kicking ass when she felt like it.
"Is this some kind of weird pregnancy thing?" Jacob was pretty much whispering, his eyes darting left and right like we were about to be attacked. "I feel like we should be on guard. Something is off here."
I sent my consciousness along the bond toward Mischa, but other than feeling that she was happy and not in any pain, I couldn't sense any more. She'd never shown me any signs of being someone who loved to cook, but then again, I'd worked really hard to not pay attention to her after our night together. I never even knew she painted, and that was clearly something she not only loved to do but was damn good at. I was going to find out everything about the enigma which was my human-raised, wolf-shifting mate. Everything.
Tyson was wringing his hands together. "We can do this, guys. We've weathered Jessa's crap before. Whatever she is about to throw at us … we can handle it." He was all jittery; his reassurance meant nothing in the face of his nerves.
Braxton was practically pissing himself with laughter now. "I've seen you face down ancient ravenous beasts with more calm than you're currently displaying. I'll handle Jess." He was all confident as he strolled up to the front door.
I shook my head. "Poor, dumb bastard."
Tyson snorted. "And that's the last we ever saw of him."
Braxton flipped us off. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Not one to let my brother take the lead, I strode quickly to his side, Tyson and Jacob right behind us. The house was quiet; even with complete focus I could hear nothing. There weren't even any heartbeats or breathing noises. "Are you sure they're here?" I murmured. "Can't hear signs of life … "
We were creeping down the hallway, all of us on high alert. "She's definitely here," Braxton said, his voice deep and low. "I can feel the bond, even if she has me blocked out of her thoughts."
Well, great. Not only was Jessa up to one of her schemes, but she now had an accomplice to help out. Mischa. Two gorgeous brunettes with too many brains and plenty of payback to dish out. Not a great combo.
Actually, I was really looking forward to … whatever was going to happen. I loved to see glimpses of the fire which burned deep inside of Mischa. I had no problem handling the heat.
The hallway had never seemed so long, but eventually we stepped one by one into the large circular living area. Jacob murmured something and fire shot from his hands to land in the huge hearth. Flames and warmth burst from the fireplace, filling the room with flickering shadows and light. Just as I was about to step across and hit the light switch, shadows moved and all four of us fell into fighting stance.
It was an ambush.
My fangs descended and I was about to charge when the room lit up. The brightness was blinding for a split second, and then the shouts started:
"Surprise!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Three cheers for our new council leaders."
It took me a minute to get myself under control again and tuck my overly starving and angry vampire back inside where he would wait for the next moment to rip supes to pieces. The room was filled with at least fifty of our friends and family. Our parents were across at a long table loaded down with food, talking with Jonathon and Lienda. Nash was stuffing his face full of chocolate. Our adopted brother was keeping Jo and Jack on their toes, but I knew they wouldn't have it any other way. Mom had only ever been able to conceive us; she'd have probably had twenty kids if she could have.
Mischa and Jessa were standing front and center, both of them radiant. The pregnancy glow was no myth.
Braxton moved quickly. He had his mate up in his arms in seconds. Jessa's laughter carried across the house and I could hear her clearly.
"Of course you four idiots would think this was an attack. First instinct is always violence."
Tyson and Jacob were at their side, already waiting for their turn to hug her. "You've never thrown us a … a surprise party. I mean, what the hell is it even supposed to mean?"
Jessa tilted her head to the side, her eyes resting on her twin. "Mischa said it's something humans do a lot of. They surprise those they love with parties like these to celebrate their birthdays. We thought it was a great opportunity to celebrate all the good things."
I was moving then, unable to stop myself from crossing to Mischa. She remained frozen in place, no doubt my determined gaze making her nervous. And yet she didn't look nervous. Her cheeks were flushed, pretty and pink. She wore a deep purple dress which brought out the highlights in her blue-black hair. The outfit draped nicely over her rounded belly, and it was hard to believe she was almost ready to give birth. She was still so tiny.
My plan, as I crossed to her, was to simply wrap my arms around her and hug her close, show her how much I appreciated her beautiful, giving nature. She always wanted to make others happy. This surprise party was something special she'd done for me and my brothers, and I would never forget that.
Yep, my plan was just a hug. But the second I scooped her up and pulled her tightly into me, the hunger inside me roared to life. There was no stopping my lips from slamming against hers. I wasn't sure what reaction to expect, but she didn't resist me at all. She wrapped her arms around my back and opened herself completely to me. As she returned my fire with equal amounts of her own, it just about dropped me to my knees. The room faded away and there was nothing in my world except Mischa. Her weight was barely noticeable. I could have held her like this for days, kissed her for hours, but I knew she was probably growing uncomfortable with such a long, public display.
Humans weren't as blasé about this sort of thing. Supes wouldn't even look twice at a kiss like ours. I fought for the strength to pull my lips from hers, when all I really wanted to do was carry her to my room, strip her bare, and bury myself inside of her. The thought of her naked beneath me … it was enough to destroy the small amount of self-control I'd been working on. Shit. I could do this for Mischa. When I finally managed to pull back, she protested with these cute little growly wolf noises and snuggled herself closer again.
Joy so pure it was actually painful exploded within me.
I felt her choose.
Choose me.
Choose us.
She did not pull away; she did not care about those who stared. This was Mischa loving me and I didn't deserve it, but I was going to take it and hoard it like the greedy asshole I was.
She was mine now, and I would never let her go again.
Mischa Lebron
That kiss. It was like … holy sweet gods above. I had been kissed before – twice by classmates, human males, who immediately ignored me afterwards and pretended it never happened – and there had been one other time, a guy who didn't understand the meaning of the word no – he'd eventually understood my fist in his throat, but that was another story …
The majority of kisses in my life had been from this vampire. The moment his lips touched mine it was like losing my mind completely and not even caring. I never wanted to separate from him. Didn't care that dozens of eyes were locked on us right now. I needed him.
My mom was a damn hero. Now I really understood how much she had sacrificed to keep me and Jessa safe. It might have been cruel for me in some ways, lonely, but because of her I was alive to have this moment. To have Maximus. She had left part of her heart and soul behind to do that for me.
I owed her a huge hug, and possibly an apology when I was done kissing my mate.
"You drive me insane." His voice was low, raspy against my ear. My entire body went on high alert – hello, pregnancy hormones, time to meet the wolf whisperer. I was on fire, and he had barely even touched me yet. I had not forgotten one second of our night together. I remembered what he could do, and something told me that the next time we were together it would be even better. No alcohol, no worrying about Jessa and Braxton, just the pure attraction and emotion between us.
Was the belly going to be a problem? The thought struck me suddenly, and then it was all I could think about. I was far too inexperienced for this. I needed to speak with my sister. If anyone knew how to have awesome sex with a pregnant belly, it was going to be her. As far as I knew, she and Braxton were very much experts.