Bleacke Spirit Read online

  Badger returned, muttering under his breath. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Um…” Ken swallowed hard. “Hey, Bebe, tell Gampa Bada what you just told me.”

  She laughed as she pointed at Badger. “You weeeeeally wuffy tonight, Gampa Bada.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Did she jus’ say—”

  “Yep. She did.”

  Badger literally face-palmed. “Oh, bloody hell. I don’t need this on top of everythin’ else tonight.”

  “On top of everything else what?” Ken asked. “And what’s going on with Nami? Is she okay?”

  Badger ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “She’ll be right fine in about nine months, give or take a week or two.”

  “WHAT?”

  Badger waved his hand in the direction of the kitchen. “That’s right. She’s pregnant.”

  Dewi skidded into the room, looking around with a nearly panicked expression on her face. “What? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Ken said. “But Nami’s pregnant? Since when?”

  “Literally since last Sunday.” She pointed at Lu’ana, Da’von, and Reggie, who were still standing where Badger had left them. “You want help with them?”

  “No, go on. I got ‘em. Is she gonna tell them tonight? That’d make my life easier.”

  “Um…” She craned her neck to look through the kitchen. “I don’t know. Let me go find out.” She dashed out of the living room again.

  Bebe grabbed Ken’s face in her tiny little hands and made him look at her. “Does dis mean I’m gonna be an auntie now?”

  He couldn’t help it—he burst out laughing. “No, sweetheart. It means you’re getting a cousin.”

  “Dwat. I want to be an auntie.”

  She threw back her head and howled.

  Fuck it. Ken joined her.

  Chapter Seven

  Malyah’s head was still spinning when she and Joaquin left to return home before Dewi and them were even close to being ready to leave. Dewi, Badger, and Duncan were still making sure they’d completely Primed Lu’ana, Da’von, and Reggie to adjust their memories of the night’s revelations.

  Still…

  Despite using birth control, Nami had gotten pregnant anyway. By the time they’d left, Nami had finally swung from feeling stunned to what Malyah hoped was happy, but…

  It left her thinking really hard about her own situation.

  Joaquin chuckled. “Would you like me to start using two layers of condoms, in addition to your birth control pills?”

  “Might not be a bad idea. Maybe we should throw in some extra insurance, like that contraceptive foam, and a diaphragm.”

  Joaquin snickered. “This isn’t unheard of. Even among humans who have no connection to wolf shifters. Birth control failure is a fact of life. What is amazing is that we have not one, but three Primes among our inner circle, who could confirm it so early.”

  In fact, one of the things the Primes had to do was fudge the timeline a little for their siblings, so that Nami could lie and say she’d found out earlier in the week and was nearly two months along, but had waited to say anything because they were afraid the “car accident” in Idaho might have caused complications.

  Badger, Dewi, and Duncan could help blur things even more as her pregnancy progressed so that, by the time Nami’s baby was born, their other siblings wouldn’t think the timeline was off at all.

  Malyah’s hand rested on Joaquin’s thigh during their drive home to Dewi’s. “I just hope Nami meant it about signing off on us buying a house.”

  His hand came to rest over hers. “She’s simply having a hard time adjusting to letting all of you go,” he said. “Empty nest. And now she has a baby on the way to distract her even more. Don’t rush her, sweetheart. I don’t mind waiting her out. Dewi’s fine with us living there.”

  “I’m not fine living there.”

  He scowled. “What? I thought you liked Dewi?”

  “Oh, I do. I love her. All of them. But I want our place. I’ve never lived on my own before, and I’m tired of worryin’ about how much noise we’re makin’ so Duncan and Badger can’t hear us.”

  Joaquin smiled. “My love, they are both Prime Alphas. Trust me, even if we taped our mouths shut, they can hear us.”

  “That’s what I mean! I want…privacy.”

  “I am sure it doesn’t bother them.”

  “It bothers me.”

  His fingers curled around hers and he gently squeezed. “You’re so adorable, sweetheart.”

  “Why? Because I want to be able to fuck my husband without worrying about who’s gonna be smiling at me over my morning cereal?”

  “You realize it isn’t a big deal to any of them, don’t you? Dewi and Ken certainly don’t worry about it.”

  “It’s Dewi’s house. I wouldn’t expect them to worry about it.”

  They drove in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “I won’t deny I feel safer knowing that, if I’m not home, you aren’t alone. And that the house is isolated, with no way to readily track you to it.” She hadn’t changed her mailing address yet and picked up mail from Da’von at the apartment when anything arrived for her.

  “Why?”

  “Because we still haven’t tracked down Manuel Segura. No one’s been able to locate him. I won’t truly rest until he’s dead.”

  “What if no one finds him? Do we spend the rest of our lives in fear?”

  “The longer we go without anyone hearing anything, the better, but I won’t be satisfied until he’s dead. Neither will Dewi or Peyton or the others. Segura’s men could have killed Ken and Nami, or anyone in the pack compound.”

  “Or you. They were looking for you. Then what would I have done without you?”

  “I wasn’t worried for myself, sweetheart.” He squeezed her hand again. “I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to you, or someone else. And it almost did.” He shook his head. “It was bad enough seeing how distraught Beck and Dewi were when we discovered the car crash. I would never wish that on anyone, the fear they experienced.”

  Now she understood. “Ahh. So that’s why you haven’t been pushing Beck to coax Nami into easing up, huh?”

  Joaquin sighed. “She and I are on the same side—we both worry about you. And unlike Lu’ana and Reggie and Da’von, Nami knows the full truth about what happened in Idaho. She was on the run from those thugs, her and Ken both.” He sadly shook his head. “I still feel badly about that.”

  “About what?”

  “That they were after me and could have killed them. I never would have forgiven myself.”

  “For starters, they didn’t die. So don’t beat yourself up for it. It wouldn’t have been your fault.”

  “In a way, yes, it would,” he said. “They were hunting me.”

  “But you did your job,” she protested. “That piece of shit raped and murdered a girl.”

  “I botched my job. I was too upset and emotional and tired. I should have waited. Gotten Raul alone. Tracked him.” He slowly shook his head again. “I still cannot believe Dewi and Peyton didn’t rip me a new one for that. It was sloppy on my part.”

  “Nami and Ken don’t hold it against you.”

  “I hold it against me.” He gently squeezed her hand again. “Mates are sacrosanct, love. Because of me, two mates, human mates, were put in immediate danger. That’s not counting the men who roamed the compound before they were tracked down and eliminated. They could have hurt mates or pups.”

  When they stopped for a light, he looked at her. “You know how you told me Nami raised you all to look out for each other?”

  “Yes?”

  “Wolves are raised to look out for each other, and for other mates, and children. Especially if they are human. That is the main reason Ken was able to convince Duncan to stay with them and help them. To reveal himself to them. From before written records, it’s been a law of our kind. Ken thought fast and reminded Duncan tha
t mates must be protected.

  “Right now, let’s not push Nami, hmm? It isn’t that I don’t wish to have a home of our own. I do. But it is more important to me that we focus on Nami right now and what makes her comfortable. She has spent your entire lives worrying about all of you and protecting you. I do not mind waiting a few more weeks for her to come around.”

  Malyah groaned. “Weeks? Ugh.”

  “I doubt it will be much longer than that. If it is, I’ll talk to Beck and ask if there’s anything I can do that might ease her mind.”

  “I’ve spent my entire life walking a line for Nami. Don’t get me wrong—I love her. But I want my life now.”

  “And she gave up her life for the three of you,” he reminded her. “She kept you all together, and kept you safe.”

  “We could ask Duncan or Badger or Dewi to make her do it.” She wasn’t even kidding.

  Joaquin’s firm response caught her off-guard. “Absolutely not. I will not ask Beck to let his mate be manipulated like that, for this reason, even if she wasn’t my sister-in-law. Besides, that wouldn’t resolve the issue. She would still be worried about you.”

  “But you’re okay with messing with everyone else’s minds about the baby?”

  “That is different. It’s necessary. It’s to protect all of you, and us as well. Buying a house isn’t an immediate necessity for us. We have a warm, dry, safe roof to protect us, a place where we are welcomed. I would prefer to let Nami do this at her speed.”

  “You know, it’s sweet that you want to respect her like that, but as your mate, don’t I get a say in this?”

  “You are having your say, sweetheart. Right now. But do you really want to hurt your sister’s feelings? You could simply pick a house, tell me which one, and I would start the paperwork to buy it. I told you that when we returned from Idaho. And yet, you haven’t. You are deferring to Nami every bit as much as I am.”

  Malyah glared at him. “I hate that you just used logic on me.”

  He smiled. “Love, I shall use my tongue on you later in other ways that will make you stop feeling irritated at me.”

  A shiver raced through her. “I’m sure you will.”

  * * * *

  Lucky bastard.

  That was the thought currently throbbing through Joaquin’s brain regarding Beck. Joaquin would have wondered if Nami’s pregnancy was truly accidental, except Beck had reacted just as shocked as Nami by the revelation. There was no way to fake that.

  Plus, Joaquin had asked Duncan, who confirmed Beck honestly hadn’t known.

  Which relieved Joaquin. He didn’t want to think the other shifter would have done something unethical like that—especially to his own mate—but after the Endquist matter, and now the Segura cartel, Joaquin wasn’t taking any chances with his mate or her family.

  Joaquin knew he’d need to talk to Duncan about that development later. And Beck. Joaquin was keenly attuned to Malyah and her cycle, even this soon. He’d already figured out when to avoid intercourse with her, just in case. He would have thought an older and more experienced wolf like Beck would have that figured out. Especially after having been with Nami for several months now.

  But Joaquin needed to know if that wasn’t as foolproof a method as he’d always thought it was.

  If not, then the joke about using two condoms—among other things—wasn’t so much a joke as it was an insurance policy.

  Unfortunately, Joaquin knew they should wait before having children of their own. Not with Manuel Segura still out there. That was unfinished business. Dewi had promised Joaquin that, if possible, he could be there to kill the bastard himself.

  If not, that she would personally guarantee the fucker was dead and disposed of in such a way as to make sure his remains would never be found.

  After what Manuel Segura did, what they’d discovered he’d apparently allowed his brother to do for years, the man didn’t deserve a decent burial. He didn’t deserve the right to have his family mourn his body.

  He didn’t deserve a permanent resting place, where people could pay their respects.

  What fucking respect? The man had allowed a child rapist to run free.

  And they call wolves predators?

  Sure there were bad wolves. Endquist, for example. They were the exception. He’d seen far more shitty things done by humans than by wolves, even when taking the population densities into account.

  His own petty, childish games with Beck’s sister aside, those hadn’t been evil. Even back then, had there been a threat to their pack, he knew damn well he and Sadie and Beck would have fought shoulder-to-shoulder, without hesitation, to protect the mates and children, and would have put their differences aside.

  Once he and Malyah had returned to Dewi’s and were safely locked in their room, he pulled Malyah into his arms.

  His beautiful mate. He loved running his hands all over her body, loved kissing every inch of her flesh. “Are you still irritated at me?” he asked as he nibbled the side of her throat.

  She draped her arms around his neck. “Mmm-hmm. I think I’m very irritated. I think I’m gonna need a lot of persuasion from you and that golden tongue of yours.”

  “That can be arranged, my love.” He smiled, slowly sinking to his knees in front of her, which put him at the perfect height to start kissing her tummy while he worked on unfastening her shorts.

  She raked her fingers through his hair. “It’s starting to feel like baby fever around here, I suspect.”

  Startled, he looked up at her.

  “Oh, please,” she said. “I can feel it in you. Before we know it, Ken will be wanting one. I know Reggie wants another baby.”

  He sighed, sitting back on his heels so he could look up at her. “Do we need to talk about this now?”

  “No. We already did.” She ticked off points on her fingers. “I’m going back to school, that psycho is still out there, and we don’t even have a house of our own.” She played with his hair again. “I’d really like for life to be settled down and calm before we bring a baby into our lives.”

  “Do you want to go to your doctor and perhaps get an IUD, then?”

  “I don’t know.” She stepped back and sat on the end of the bed. “Everything came at me so fast, I’m still trying to…process.”

  He stood and joined her on the end of the bed. “Do you want to give notice sooner? Take some additional time off before you return to school?”

  “I don’t know. I’m still trying to process this is all…real. I know I keep using that word, but it’s what I’m doing. Processing.”

  * * * *

  As Malyah always did when she thought that, she looked at her left hand, at the beautiful engagement ring and golden wedding band on her ring finger.

  Joaquin reached over with his left hand and held his next to hers.

  The matching wedding band on his hand drew her gaze. Seeing that there, it helped keep her grounded and focused. Reminded her that yes, he was real, this was real.

  They were real.

  That it had happened, the good…and the bad.

  She had met her handsome knight.

  Okay, so he could turn into a wolf and had a psycho drug lord hunting him.

  No one was perfect.

  Still, he was pretty fantastic, all things considered.

  She leaned against him, tipping her head onto his shoulder and sighing with contentment when he draped his arm around her shoulders and nuzzled her temple. Warm, sweet heat filled her.

  “I love you,” he whispered. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

  She gently raked her nails along the top of his thigh, down his jeans, the denim coarse and molded over his hard, lean muscles. She smiled at his sharp intake of breath.

  “Who will keep you safe from me?” she teased.

  “No one,” he murmured as he kissed his way to her ear. “Nothing can keep me safe from you, baby.”

  Gooseflesh rippled her skin as his teeth lightly grazed her flesh. She’d wante
d to drag him into the woods earlier that afternoon, after watching him practice with Badger and Ken. Sure, she could see Joaquin was holding back with Ken. First, the two shifters demonstrated stuff to Ken with each other, Badger apparently none the slower despite his three hundred and ten years and a missing eye.

  It was borderline erotic watching Joaquin spar with him. Her husband had taken off his shirt—likely to deliberately wind her up, because he’d winked at her after he did it—and she’d sat there watching, entranced.

  At five-eleven, Joaquin was slender and lithe compared to Beck’s brawny, broad shoulders, or even Badger’s stout and sturdy build.

  He was also sexy as fuck.

  “What are you thinking, love?” he playfully whispered in her ear. His hand lifted the hem of her shirt and lightly traced patterns across her flesh. Every nerve ending in her body seemed tuned to him and his, as if waiting for him to speak, to move, to make love to her.

  She caressed his face, cupping his cheek with her hand. “Someone promised me something earlier.”

  He chuckled, a deep, low rumble that reminded her more than anything of his wolf side. In one smooth move, he rolled on top of her and stared down at her with a darkly sexy hooded gaze over deep brown eyes.

  “As you wish.”

  She peeled her shirt off and cast it to the side before lying back on the bed. His hands settled over her breasts, his thumbs brushing against her nipples through the fabric.

  Another frisson of pleasure washed through her. He kissed his way up, through the valley between her breasts, his gaze holding hers. Down again, over her tummy, tongue swirling around her navel, lower. Deft fingers opened her shorts and peeled them and her panties off her legs.

  He slithered down, knees on the floor and shouldering between her thighs as a smile creased his face. “Hold on, love.”

  When his mouth closed over her pussy, she had to bite down on her lower lip to muffle her hungry moans. Her hands tangled in his hair and he rewarded her with a happy growl as she ground against him.