42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Rosie's was wonderful as always. Maxwell hung out with Greg and me, and the boys had some beers together.

Life almost felt normal again, as if I were a regular person and not a werewolf queen with a power-hungry organisation that had her in its sights. Like Voltaire, I now fully accepted that bringing down The Order would be a lifetime's work, and I was game for it. I had never shied away from hard work.

As we drove away from Rosie's, I realised we weren't heading back to the mansion. ‘Where are we going?' I asked Greg.

He shot me a grin. ‘You only just noticed we weren't going home?'

It warmed me that he called it home, so I ignored the jab at my woeful observational skills. ‘I was wool-gathering,' I admitted.

‘I thought we'd go to your parents'. Check on your dad.'

‘I love you.' The words came without restraint. How did he always know exactly what I needed, often even before I did?

‘And I you, Peaches.' His hand left the steering wheel to squeeze my thigh.

I blew out a long breath. I did need to see Dad, and Mum, too. I was feeling so emotional; I so needed a hug.

‘I asked Ben to come,' Greg said, glancing sideways to check my reaction. ‘And Noah, if he wants to bring him. Is that okay?'

I smiled. ‘That's perfect.'

When we drew up to my parents' house, Ben's car was already in the drive. I hopped eagerly out of our car and knocked on the front door. Dad opened it with a flourish, the symbol of the Other realm on his forehead and clarity in his eyes as he looked at me.

Tears threatened again as I flung myself into his arms.

‘Lucy?' Alarmed, he looked over my shoulder at Greg. ‘Is everything okay?'

‘It's fine,' I managed. ‘I'm so happy you're okay.' And back with us properly. It was such a blessing to be able to talk openly to both my parents about my life again.

‘Greg rang to say you were alright after that attack,' Dad mumbled. ‘But you're obviously not.'

It hadn't even occurred to me to ring them. I was a dick daughter. ‘I'm okay,' I promised. ‘Just a bit emotional. I'm so relieved to see that damned triangle on your head.'

His eyes softened. ‘Me too, kid.' He wrapped an arm around my waist and led me into the lounge. There was a new carpet on the floor but in my mind's eye I could still see the spot where Ben had been bleeding out.

Dad followed my gaze. ‘Me too,' he murmured again. ‘Your mum and I have been talking about moving. It's been hard seeing the reminders. I think we both may have a little bit of PTSD,' he admitted. ‘We've been having nightmares and flashbacks. That was the one good thing about the clearing,' he admitted wryly. ‘I got a decent night's sleep. Anyway, we're looking into seeing someone to talk about it.'

‘That's a great idea!' I enthused. ‘I'm sure I could find you an Other psychologist, someone you can talk to about everything . I doubt counselling would work well if you had to censor yourself all the time.'

‘Maybe,' Dad conceded. ‘But wouldn't we risk telling them sensitive information about you?'

I grinned. ‘We can get a magical vow of confidentiality. If they break it, they die.'

He blinked. ‘Well, that would make me hold my tongue. '

‘Exactly.' I pulled out my phone and texted Amber.

After all the stuff with Geneve and Mindy, I wanted to move away from using my brethren contacts. I knew it would be hard for Greg to let that side of his life go, but I was starting to see that it was necessary. The brethren's loyalty was to their dragon, even if their dragon turned out to be a malevolent master of malice. Say that three times fast.

Mum bustled into the lounge with Ben and Noah. I squeezed Dad one last time and turned to the others. ‘Noah,' I greeted him, embracing him briefly. I turned to my brother. ‘Hug?'

He pulled me in and held me close, but we were careful not to let our skin touch; I didn't need him having more visions of my future right now, and evidently neither did he. He was an undercover seer without the purple skin to warn people that he could see what was coming. In that sense, we were alike because I had my piping skills that no one could be forewarned about. We were both dangerous in our own way.

Ben held on to me for too long and I was happy to let him as I felt something between us settle. ‘I love you,' I said as I pulled back, tears filling my eyes again. What the hell was wrong with me? My emotions were all over the place; that wasn't unusual but they weren't usually so close to the surface.

Mum noticed. ‘Okay?' she asked softly.

‘I'm just a bit emotional,' I sighed.

‘Are you due on?' she asked.

We haven't bled for five weeks, Esme noted.

I froze. Are you serious?

Yes.

I pulled out my phone and scrabbled through my calendar. I always kept a note of my periods, a habit from when they'd been infrequent when I was growing up. I scrolled back to the last one I'd noted and counted forward. She was right. I was more than a week late.

I whirled around to Greg, my eyes wide with panic. ‘I'm late. I'm a week late!' Sure, I wanted kids – but eventually . Hypothetically . I wasn't ready for actual kids.

He pulled me close. ‘Don't freak out. Everything will be fine. Do you want me to go to the pharmacy and get a test?'

I swallowed hard as I suddenly thought of the gentle hug the orb had given me and the pink and blue light it had showed over my tummy. Oh boy. Twins? Was I reaching? Possibly. Was I freaking out? Most definitely.

Two pups would be great. Esme was wagging her tail like crazy. Three would be better .

Bite your tongue! I almost fainted at the thought of triplets.

‘A test. Yes. Get a test. Get five!' I ordered. He gave me a brief kiss and left the house.

‘He's ever so obedient.' My mum sighed dreamily and cast a sidelong glance at my dad. ‘That must be nice.'

‘Hey,' Dad objected. ‘I cook, I do the dishes and I take out the rubbish. I'm a modern man.'

Mum smiled. ‘You are. But you're still not obedient.'

Dad sniffed. ‘You want obedience, get a dog.'

I started to pace. ‘Lucy,' Mum said. ‘It'll be okay.'

‘Right. Sure. Yes. But the thing is, I don't know what result I want.'

‘I can look for you,' Ben offered quietly.

I thought for a moment he meant he could look at the pregnancy test, but then I realised he was offering to look into my future. I smiled. ‘Thank you, but no. There are some things in life you want to find out by pissing on your hand.' Ben laughed and Noah snickered.

‘Tea?' My dad offered.

‘God, yes.'

In the end, I peed on my hand – and the pregnancy tests – three times and they all said the same thing. I was five weeks pregnant. I had been pregnant before Greg and I had even talked about kids, that time in the tunnel. Apparently, the pill didn't work as well on a werewolf's metabolism but usually that wasn't a problem since it was so hard for werewolves to conceive anyway. Though not for me it seemed.

Esme's joy was bouncing around in my skull like I had a whole host of cheerleaders in there, and that was enough to make me beam. Even if I didn't feel ready, Esme was prepared enough for both of us and she would make the most wonderful mother.

So will you, she said warmly.

I turned to Greg. ‘Positive,' I murmured. ‘All three of them.'

Greg beamed, picked me up and spun me round. My stomach lurched. ‘Ugh, no spinny!'

He froze. ‘Do you feel sick?'

‘I do now. I was okay before. I'm sure I'll be fine,' I reassured him.

‘I'll get you some ginger biscuits.' He grabbed his car keys. ‘And pre-natal vitamins. I'll ask the pharmacist if there's anything else we should be doing.' He hustled downstairs and out of the house before I could respond.

He needs to take care of us, Esme said with satisfaction, then she added, I would like to formally mate sooner rather than later now.

I realised I felt the same. Can we wait until Jess is back from her honeymoon? I'd like her to be there since I kind of missed her wedding.

That will be acceptable, she said agreeably. May I greet your mother and father now? In my head, her tail wagged.

Are we okay to shift? I asked dubiously. I mean, in our condition?

Of course! We've shifted a hundred times in the last few weeks. I promise that I will take care of the pups just as you would.

Pup singular. I hope!

Maybe two. She hummed happily. Or three.

I laughed. I guess we'll see. It wasn't that I was averse to the idea of twins – or even triplets – but it would take some getting used to. I'd always envisaged having more than one child and there might be something useful about only having to go through one pregnancy to have multiple children. But the thought of dealing with one baby was daunting; more than one was terrifying.

I left the bathroom and went downstairs. ‘I'm pregnant,' I announced to the room.

Mum let out a squeal so loud the local bats must have heard it and bundled me into her arms. ‘Greg's gone to get vitamins,' I explained.

‘Oh good,' she breathed. ‘He ran out so quickly that I wasn't sure if it was good news or bad news. He didn't say.'

‘I expect he wanted me to be the one to tell you.'

She held me close. ‘I'm so excited for you darling.'

‘Me too,' I paused. ‘But I'm nervous. Wolves miscarry – a lot.'

She kissed my hair. ‘Darling, you were born a fire elemental. Do they miscarry?'

‘Not more than average, I guess. Not as far as I know.'

‘Well then! Besides, you were made a wolf by Glimmer, weren't you? And didn't you say it always does things differently?'

A laugh escaped me. ‘Yeah, and not by half! But it was Lord Samuel that made me a wolf and Glimmer made me a piper.'

‘Still, Glimmer will have had its influence on you. Don't borrow trouble, my sweet. Just be happy. It is a blessing.'

Tension drained from me as I let her comfort me. ‘It is a blessing. We weren't even trying.'

‘Surprise babies are wonderful.' Mum winked at Ben.

Ben folded his arms. ‘Like you haven't already mentioned I was a total accident.'

‘A wonderful total accident,' she cooed.

I grinned. Teasing my brother about being an accident was one of my favourite pastimes. Then I cleared my throat. ‘Mum, Dad, Esme would really like to meet you properly.'

‘Is it okay for you to shift?' Mum asked with concern.

‘Fine,' Noah said confidently. ‘In fact regular shifts are thought to reduce the risk of miscarriage in werewolves.'

‘Well, in that case… I would love to meet Esme! And maybe Rohan too.' She looked at Noah. ‘If it wouldn't be too painful for you, dear?'

Noah smiled. ‘Not at all. Seeing Rohan brings me such joy. I can't describe how good it feels.'

‘Wonderful.' Mum clapped her hands in delight and looked at us both expectantly.

Ben started to remove his clothes but Esme was too impatient to dither and we shifted immediately. I wasn't wearing the crown of Torr, so there went my clothes. Whoops.

Esme trotted to Mum and nuzzled against her. Mum threw her arms around my wolf and gave her a full body cuddle. ‘Thank you for keeping my Lucy safe,' she said.

Esme's tail wagged with ferocious strength and she licked Mum's face, making her laugh. ‘Gosh, but your fur is so soft! You'd expect it to be wiry.' She stroked her again. ‘You're beautiful.'

Esme preened. Across the room, Noah and Dad were making the same fuss over Rohan. It was the most wonderful moment and my only regret was that Red wasn't there to join in.

Soon, Esme promised. Red can meet them soon!