Ashes

  “I ate as much as I could,” said Harper defensively.

  “She did,” Knox confirmed. “She can’t spend much more time sitting here anyway, since she has to get ready for work.”

  Meg glowered at her. “You are going to work?” She went on to lecture Harper, just as Knox had known she would.

  Ignoring the rant, Harper scowled at him. “Throwing me under the Meg bus was just plain mean, Thorne. And it won’t make me stay home, if that was your end game.”

  Knox shrugged, mouth curving. “It was worth a try.”

  Harper rolled her eyes at him. “Thank you for caring,” she then said to Meg, “but I can’t stay in this house for the rest of the pregnancy. I will go insane. Do you really want a crazily bored imp-by-nature-sphinx for company? ’Cause I gotta tell ya, they’re not fun to have around.”

  Meg humphed and snatched Harper’s plate. “I will prepare you healthy snacks to take with you to work, and you will eat all of them.”

  Harper sighed at her retreating back. “I’m not looking forward to telling the others, because there’s a good chance they’ll react just as protectively. I can’t handle that level of fretting. They’ll swarm around me like locusts.”

  Knox drank what was left of his coffee. “I’d say I’m sorry that they’ll coddle you, but I’m not.” The more people protecting her, the better, as far as Knox was concerned. Eyes narrowing, she flipped him the finger. Knox just chuckled.

  In the coffeehouse later that morning, Harper stood at the end of the counter while the barista prepared her order. Hearing the bell chime, she glanced at the door. Not Carla, she noted. Good. She’d checked each time she heard the bell. It would be just her luck that the woman sought another confrontation. Her demon really wouldn’t do well with that right now.

  “How are you feeling today?” asked Wren.

  Harper smiled. “Good, thanks. You?”

  “I’m fine.” Wren put the last of the cups on the tray. “Frothed vanilla milk for you again, I suspect,” she added quietly with an odd gleam in her eyes

  Harper stilled as the implication of that comment sank into her brain. “You knew?” All this time, she’d known? “How?”

  “I sense these things. I wasn’t sure if you knew or not, but I’ve noticed you’re scanning the room as if potential threats may be lying in wait. Your demon’s paranoid, huh?” Wren leaned forward to make the conversation private. “Don’t fear that I’ll share what I know. You’ve had to deal with many people who would like to see Knox fall. It means you haven’t quite realized just how many people wish him to thrive.”

  “Thrive?”

  “Knox is everything a lair could want in a Prime. There are many who would defend him with their lives, though he doesn’t need their protection. If he produces a child who might one day take his place, our lair will continue to be strong. I won’t do anything to put that child at risk. And it would be at risk, but you’re smart enough to already know that.”

  Harper gripped the tray tight. “Does anyone else suspect the pregnancy?”

  “Not that I’m aware. I’ll let you know if any whispers begin to spread. I can assure you that the lair will close ranks around you, Knox, and your child. Most will be happy for him, just as they were happy for him when he took you as his mate. We want only good things for our Prime. Oh, there are those who have their grievances with him, but all will support him in this. As I said, they want the lair to be strong for their children, their grandchildren, and their grandchildren’s grandchildren, and so on and so on.”

  “In other words, don’t worry so much?”

  “A child is always a blessing. A pregnancy should be a time of celebration, not fear.”

  She had that right, thought Harper. “Thanks.” Lifting the tray, she walked to the condiment trolley, where Raini was waiting.

  As they added milk, sugar, and toppings to the drinks, Raini asked in a low voice, “How did Knox take the news?”

  “Very well, thank God. I’ll tell the others tonight.” Harper had already invited everybody to the house later. “Um, thanks for pushing me to take the test.”

  Raini smiled. “You can thank me by taking things easy. I get that you’d rather be at work, but pace yourself and work shorter hours.”

  “God, you sound like Knox.”

  Raini just snickered. “You don’t look as tired today.”

  “According to the doctor I spoke to, the fatigue will start to wear off. It’s no wonder I looked like shit the past few months. Every bit of goodness I took in was going to the baby.”

  “And you weren’t resting like you should have.”

  Harper held up her hand and pledged, “I will not overdo it. My demon wouldn’t allow me to anyway.”

  “Good. Then let’s get moving.”

  As his visitor entered the office, Knox rose from his seat. “Pamela,” he greeted simply. Ever since Linda and Wyatt mentioned that Talia’s mother had appeared at their home, he’d anticipated that Pamela would eventually come to speak with him about McCauley. Pamela Winters wasn’t a she-demon who backed down. She was a hard, strong-willed woman who could crush a person’s confidence with just a look. In that sense, it wasn’t surprising that she intimidated Linda.

  Pamela was also very conscious of public opinion, so he’d imagine that Talia’s lifestyle had been deeply embarrassing for the judge. That may have been why she rarely spoke of her daughter but raved about her son – a very well-known defense attorney who lived in Chicago.

  Pamela gave him a gracious nod. “Mr. Thorne. Thank you for seeing me.”

  Knox gestured for her to take the seat opposite him, and they both sat down. “It seems an inadequate thing to say, but I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Pamela’s smile was brittle, and he got the feeling she’d heard the words so many times that she was tired of hearing them. “Thank you. I know Talia was an addict and had her problems, but she wasn’t a bad person.”

  “I never thought that she was.”

  “Even when you heard about the boy?”

  Knox leaned back in his chair. “From what I understand, Talia had her reasons for giving him to humans to care for. I do not at all condone that she switched him for a human child, especially since she didn’t seek permission, but I do understand what motivated her to do so.”

  That seemed to ease the tension in Pamela’s shoulders. “McCauley has been through a lot.”

  “It would seem so.”

  “Being with his family, his real family, would help him heal. Help him feel he belongs somewhere.”

  “I hear you went to see the Sanders.”

  “He’s my grandson; of course I did.” She let out a long, steadying breath. “I know that Linda and Wyatt are good people. I can see that Linda would be happy to keep and raise him. But she wants him for the wrong reasons. I’ve watched them together. He could be anyone to her. It’s not so much McCauley that she wants, it’s a child to care for.”

  Knox couldn’t deny that. Linda clung to McCauley because she wanted a child, not because she loved him. That wouldn’t be good for the boy in the long run.

  “I truly sympathize with Linda,” Pamela went on. “But there are plenty of children out there who need a home and have no family to care for them. McCauley does have family who can care for him. He does have somewhere to go. Linda could foster or adopt one of the others.”

  Elbows braced on the arms of his chair, Knox knitted his fingers together. “I’m not opposed to him going to live with you, Pamela. But I won’t abruptly remove him from the Sanders’ home. It would not be good for him.” And it would be risky, considering there was every reason why Pamela might not want to keep him. She wasn’t the type of person who would blind herself to a child’s nature. “I’ll arrange for you and your mate to meet him and spend time with him. We’ll take it slow. If and when McCauley feels comfortable going to live with you, he can do so.”

  Pamela’s fingers flexed. “With all due respect, he is much too young to ma
ke such a serious decision.”

  “His demon is very tense right now, Pamela. It wants to protect him. It won’t appreciate you pushing McCauley to do anything he’s not ready to do. Win his demon’s trust and approval.”

  Her forehead wrinkled. “Talia said she believed that his demon was latent.”

  “It may have been latent for a while, but it isn’t any longer.”

  After a long pause, Pamela spoke. “When can we meet him?”

  “I’ll speak to the Sanders and ask what time would suit them best.”

  “Linda will put off the meeting for as long as she can.”

  “I suspect she will try to do so, but I will make it clear that the meeting must happen no later than Sunday.”

  “Thank you,” said Pamela with a slight bow of her head.

  “I have to warn you, Pamela. He may not be what you’re expecting. It seems that his demon has acted as a parental influence.”

  Pamela was silent for a moment as she digested that. “Once it realizes that my mate and I will care for McCauley, it may settle down.”

  “Let’s hope so.” After she left his office, Knox grabbed his cell and called Wyatt. It rang four times before the demon finally answered. “I’ve just had a visit from Pamela,” Knox told him.

  A brief silence met that statement. “She wants to take McCauley.” Wyatt sighed. “She may change her mind once she speaks with him.”

  “I don’t want to pluck him from your home, Wyatt. But the Winters want to be part of his life. I’d like him to meet Pamela and her mate, and to let him get comfortable with them. It may be that he doesn’t wish to leave you and Linda, but they’re his family. They should have the chance to build something with McCauley, even if it doesn’t result in him going to live with them.”

  A long exhale. “You’re right. It can only be good for him to have family around him.”

  “How has he been?”

  “No different. Linda’s tried to form some sort of relationship with him, but it hasn’t worked. I worried that the longer he was with us, the more attached she’d become to him. But she’s not attached to him as a person, she’s attached to the idea of him.”

  “Which is why it will definitely be good for him to meet his maternal family,” Knox pointed out.

  “I’ll speak with Linda and get back to you with a good date and time.”

  “No later than Sunday, Wyatt,” Knox warned. “For McCauley’s sake.”

  “Right. No later than Sunday.”

  Later that day, the girls, Jolene, Tanner, Keenan, and Larkin were scattered around the living area of the mansion, talking and laughing. At first, Harper’s demon was on its guard while so many people were on its territory, even though it knew and partially trusted them. After a while, it lost its tension, though it remained alert.

  The day had gone by pretty fast, which could have been because Harper found herself disappearing into her mind between jobs – mentally listing everything she’d need to buy and do to be ready for the baby’s arrival.

  Devon and Khloë had commented on her “acting weird”, not at all appeased by her promise to tell them everything later. Tanner and Keenan hadn’t commented, but they had watched her closely. Too closely.

  Everyone in the room quieted when Knox and Levi finally joined them. Even as they all exchanged greetings, Knox made a beeline for Harper.

  Sitting on the sofa, she smiled up at him as he bent down and dropped a lingering kiss on her mouth. “Hey,” she said simply.

  “Hey.” Knox sensed her nervousness and gave her nape a comforting squeeze. His demon relaxed now that she was close – it had harassed him all damn day to find her and stay with her. He’d telepathically checked in with her many times, but it hadn’t done much to placate his demon. I missed you.

  And I missed you. “How was your day?”

  “Relatively good.” Knox nodded in thanks as Raini and Devon shuffled along, making room for him on the sofa. He took the seat next to Harper, draping his arm over her shoulders. How’re you feeling?

  Nervous, Harper replied. I know they’ll be happy for us and I’m confident that they won’t spread our little announcement, but it’s hard not to be… protective of the news.

  I understand. We can keep it to ourselves a little longer if that’s what you want.

  No, it’s better that they know. Hearing a throat clear, Harper realized that everyone was looking at them expectantly.

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense, Harper,” said Jolene. “You know I don’t like that.”

  Harper crossed one leg over the other. “We only want to do this once, so we figured it would be easier to just get you all in one place.” She took a deep breath, but no words came out.

  Linking their fingers, Knox took pity on his mate. “She’s pregnant.”

  “I knew it!” crowed Devon, a huge smile on her face.

  The whole room pretty much descended on Harper and Knox, excitedly passing on their congratulations… aside from Keenan, who said to Knox, “Quick, run. I’ll hold her down if she tries to chase you.”

  Harper sighed at him. “You’re an idiot.”

  “I’ve known this for a while,” said Keenan.

  “I can’t wait to be an aunt!” Raini clapped her hands a few times. “How pregnant are you?”

  “Sixteen weeks,” replied Harper.

  “Ah, that explains so much,” said Khloë. “I should’ve seen it.”

  Devon’s eyes widened. “Ooh, we get to go shopping for baby clothes!”

  “Um, actually, you don’t,” said Harper. “If a bunch of you buy baby clothes all at the same time, people will guess pretty quickly who they’re for.”

  They all fell silent for a moment. Then Khloë spoke. “We’ll take Aunt Kayla with us. She’s pregnant. People will just think the stuff is for her.”

  Devon pursed her lips. “That would work.”

  “Have you had an ultrasound scan yet?” asked Jolene.

  “Yes.” Harper took the picture from her purse and handed it to Raini, who cooed over it before passing it on.

  “The baby’s fine,” said Knox, “albeit slightly on the small side.”

  “So was Harper,” said Jolene, her smile nostalgic.

  Harper raised her brows. “Really?”

  Jolene nodded. “You had a growth spurt near the end of the pregnancy. You were still tiny, but not dangerously tiny. There was no need for you to go into an incubator or anything.”

  “Are you going to find out if it’s a girl or a boy?” Larkin asked, eyes lit up.

  “Personally, I’d rather have the surprise.” Harper looked at Knox. “You?”

  “Whatever you want,” he told her. He truly didn’t mind either way.

  On the sofa opposite them, Khloë leaned forward. “Got any names yet?”

  Harper scratched her nape. “I haven’t even thought about names.” Of course, everyone then helpfully started reciting their favorite names. It wasn’t long before they then all began criticizing each other’s choices.

  Knox spoke above all the noise in the room. “We plan to keep the news quiet for as long as it’s sensible to do so. I’m sure we can trust you all to keep it to yourselves.”

  “Of course,” Jolene told him, sobering. The others nodded.

  “No one,” Knox stressed. “You share it with no one – not even members of your family or lair. Do it for Harper and the baby’s sake.”

  Raini put a hand over her heart. “We won’t say a word.”

  Satisfied, Knox nodded.

  Jolene and the girls stayed for a while, arguing with Harper about throwing a baby shower. Harper saw it as yet more “fuss”. They weren’t sensitive to her plight, however, and seemed determined to arrange the shower. Once that argument had past and Tanner was done riling Devon, Jolene drove the girls home in her Mustang.

  Finally alone with Harper and his sentinels, Knox poured himself a gin and tonic and then returned to Harper’s side. “I don’t think I need to tell you al
l that we need to tighten the security around Harper.”

  “The problem is that if she has several guards, people may guess why,” said Tanner, sprawled on the sofa opposite. “Now that I know she’s pregnant, I can see it. The fatigue, the weight loss, the dark circles under her eyes that show she’s not sleeping well – they’re obvious signs. We attributed it to stress, so others probably did too. But if she suddenly has several guards, people will speculate.”

  Beside the hellhound, Keenan nodded in agreement. “That will spread like wildfire.”