27. Maya

27

Maya

It was strange waking up in Rhyson's arms with his breath heavy in my ear. His arm was slung around my torso, and his fingers twitched on my skin. I held my breath, willing away the images that popped up in my head. I'd meant what I said last night. I would not be the thing that he hated during the day and used during the night.

Enough sun came through the window that I knew it was morning, but I'd probably only gotten a few hours of sleep. I was exhausted, but precious minutes were ticking by. If I was going to find the witch to help me, I needed to do it before Rhyson left. I had no doubt that he would drag me away whether I wanted to go or not.

That didn't stop me from taking an extra second to enjoy the moment snuggling against him. As much as I hated it, his warmth and hold made me feel safe. Made me want things. Made me wish for things I had no business wishing for.

I shifted, just slightly, and his hand slipped down my body. Freezing, I held my breath. Had I woken him up?

His hand moved down to my waist, then up the hem of my shirt. His fingers splayed against my skin, and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing him to be still. If his hands kept moving, I'd be moaning for him in minutes.

He wasn't still. He was very much awake. I could practically feel the smugness in him as his hand slipped to the waistband of my pants. Pretending like I didn't notice, I shimmied out of the bed. Keeping my back to him, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, making a mental note to ask someone if we could do some laundry while we were here. The adventure hadn't been kind to our meager supply of clothing.

"You're not to go anywhere alone," Rhyson rumbled from the bed. "Take one of the guards."

"I'll take Tessa."

"Tessa is not a guard. You will take a guard," he repeated slowly. "Or you will take me."

Well, damn it. "Fine. I'll take Duke."

I thought he'd object, but he didn't say anything as I skipped out into the hall. For a moment, I considered leaving without taking Duke, but the door down the hall opened up and Duke stepped out.

"Can he speak to you telepathically?" I snapped.

He just grinned. "I want breakfast before we go gallivanting off to find some witch."

Rolling my eyes, I jogged down the steps. He was right behind me. It took a few turns before we found the kitchen. It was not empty. A woman sat on the counter, a bowl of cereal in her hands, and she gave Duke a long look. "Anna didn't mention that you were yummy."

"I don't think her mate would let her taste me. You on the other hand…" Duke drawled, his interest evident. I didn't blame him. She was a blond bombshell.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm Maya, and this is Duke. I don't know if your alpha filled you in."

"Kenzi, third-in-command, and yes. I'm aware that the witch dropped you off last night."

"Great. We…um…well, I'm on a sort of separate mission. I was told your witch might be able to help me with a problem I'm having." I felt so awkward talking to her. I really didn't spend that much time with female werewolves.

"And what mission would that be?"

I frowned. "It's personal."

"Not here, it's not. If you want to see our witch, you need to give a damn good reason why." Still completely at ease, she continued to eat her cereal. "Is it about the baby?"

Immediately, my hand went to my belly. "My baby is fine."

"That's good, cause she does not do babies. Love potion? I hear you and your man are on the fritz."

I was really starting to dislike her. "He is not my man."

"Kenzi, is that my cereal? You bitch, I get that special ordered!" Anna snapped as she walked in. "It's the only thing that doesn't make me throw up in the morning."

A thought occurred to me, and I turned to her and gave her a sunny smile. "Good morning."

"Morning," she said warily. "I know you didn't get enough sleep to be this sunny in the morning."

"I was just explaining to your third here that I would like to visit your witch, and it's for a very personal reason that I don't wish to explain to a stranger."

She raised her eyebrow. "Unless you're hiding your connection to our witch, she's going to be a stranger to you as well."

"Yes, but it's like a doctor. She might be able to help me, whereas you will just judge me for it. I'll willing to pay you."

"That's nice, but I don't need money."

"I'm not going to pay you in money." Duke made a strange noise behind me, and I whacked his arm. "One of the things that I received from the…fae, I guess…community is a tonic that eases morning sickness. I haven't been having that particular issue, but it seems you are. Let me speak to your witch, and the tonic is yours."

"Done," Anna said immediately. Kenzi growled, but Anna glared at her. "What? Irene can take care of herself, and you keep eating my special cereal. Besides, if I can have Saul reverse-engineer the tonic, I will be so happy. I'll take you to Irene myself."

That was much easier than expected.

"But you'll have to leave him here."

Oh, damn. Duke immediately stepped forward, but I grabbed his arm. "How far is it to your witch?"

"Fifteen-minute walk. Depending on what you need from Irene, we'll be back in an hour."

"Why do you need her alone?" Duke asked. "If you're hoping to use her as bait, she is not Rhyson's mate."

"She's not bait, even if she was his mate. I want to chat with her, future mama to future mama. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather have Kenzi give you a tour of our pack while Jax and Rhyson meet so Rhyson can grill you on everything you saw and heard later, isn't that correct?"

Duke hesitated and looked at me. He knew that my wolf could hold her own, but he also had orders from his king. "It'll be nice to chat with someone who is also pregnant," I told him. "Make sure some of the weird things I'm feeling are normal."

"We have Tessa for that," he growled.

"It's not the same."

"Here." Kenzi opened a drawer with her foot and smiled at Duke. "Radio. Your little pregnant wolf can have one and you can have one. She'll let you know if she's in distress."

I knew there were phones on this mountain. I'd seen quite a few wolves with them, but maybe coverage was spotty. Whatever the case, walkie-talkies were very popular. Duke walked to the drawer, deliberately letting his fingers skim Kenzi's bare leg before he grabbed a radio and handed it to me. I tried not to roll my eyes. It was clear Kenzi was trying to distract Duke, and I thought I knew Duke well enough to think he was just playing along.

But hell, maybe he was just thinking with his dick.

"I'll feed you before we head out. You two can eat at the witch's," Kenzi said dismissively. Anna muttered something under her breath, but I didn't quite catch it. It wasn't until we were outside that I was brave enough to speak.

"You're her alpha-mate, aren't you?" I asked.

"Oh, when it comes to it, Kenzi will always follow me," Anna said with a laugh. "But there was a time when we were ready to kill each other. She still likes to remind me of the time we weren't friends. For her, those are fond memories."

"Weird."

"We're a strange group. We've been through a lot, but I have a feeling that you could say the same of your little menagerie," Anna said as she pointed to the path. "How long have you known Rhyson?"

Is this why she wanted to get me alone? She wanted answers? "Long enough to get pregnant," I said truthfully.

"Vague," Anna chuckled. "Look, I just want you to know that…"

"You're a sanctuary, and I can stay if I'd like? I totally look like someone who's been beaten and abused my whole life and totally needs rescuing?" I finished for her wryly. "You're the third person to offer me that. Gosh, everyone is just so nice!"

"So you know you need rescuing," she murmured. "And you're offended."

"I'm not offended, and I do appreciate the offer, but I don't know any of you. I got here on my own steam, and if I wanted to leave, I could leave."

"And die fairly quickly. Some rogues are not known for their kindness when it comes to unmated females, especially pregnant ones, although I'm sure you already know that. All I am saying is that there was a time when I was forced here against my will, and while it wasn't ideal, I knew that it would be worse if I left. I want you to know that it might not be worse if you left than if you stayed here."

Stopping short, I stared at her. "Are you kidding me right now? You're mated to the alpha and judging from what I saw last night, the two of you are a team."

"We are, and it took some time for us to get there," she acknowledged. "Perhaps that will happen to you and Rhyson."

Snorting, I starting walked again. "Please. I believed in romance at one time. Maybe even thought he'd be the one to save me, but pregnant women don't have time for romance. Especially pregnant women in my situation."

"And what situation is that?"

"The situation where I'm surrounded by people I don't know who keep asking me personal questions. Look, there may have been a time when I was a victim, but I'm not that woman anymore. I don't have the luxury of being that woman anymore."

We walked a little farther, and I thought from her silence that I'd offended her, but it turned out that she was just thinking carefully. "Are you scared to be a mother?"

I glanced over at her. "I haven't really had much time to think it over. So much has happened since I realized I was pregnant, but it really wasn't even all that long ago. Are you?"

"I was, at first. Here, I'm lucky. I have a pack who will help me."

"Well…I have a pack as well," I lied. "Well, people. You don't need to worry about me."

A scream shattered the otherwise quiet of the forest, and my wolf surged forward. "What was that?" I gasped when Anna didn't even twitch.

She studied me closely while I battled shoving my wolf back down. Now was not the time to lose control, unless I was walking into a trap. "That's our witch, Irene. She's been in a bit of a mood, lately."

That was her in a mood? "Maybe now is not a good time to see her."

"Unluckily for you, I don't think you have the luxury of making an appointment. Especially if you let that feral wolf out onto my land."