21. Lucy

Jade and Flora came over to the house for breakfast.

"Vera, your cooking is incredible," Flora said. "Maybe I should come over every day for food. Do you think that Micah would accept payment for a meal plan?"

Vera laughed. "I don't know. You would have to ask him."

Michelle said, "I always told her that she could open her own restaurant, but she's happy just cooking for the family."

"Running a restaurant would take too much energy. I would have to do paperwork, talk to people, run the staff, and all that. I just want to cook."

Flora looked at Lucy, who was rubbing her belly. "I think we need to talk about having a baby shower."

"That sounds like fun," Jade said. "The only problem is that Rose would want to invite every person in town."

"Plus, there wouldn't be anything left in the stores. She would buy everything out," Vera said. "I've seen that woman shop."

Jade cocked her head and pursed her lips. "I wasn't at Howlers' when Caroline unleased her claws yesterday. I heard that you handled her very well."

"I hold my own," Lucy said. "Bullies don't like it when people stand up to them. She thought she could embarrass me in front of other people and I just wasn't in the mood to take it."

"Good for you," Michelle said. "That's my girl."

Flora fixed Lucy with a knowing look. "When are we going to get invitations for your and Micah's mating ceremony."

Lucy choked on her bite of waffle. "We aren't ready for that. We did have a conversation. He said he had feelings for me and wanted to see where our relationship went."

Michelle laughed loudly. "He just now figured out that he had feelings for you? The rest of us have known for a long time. The boy is a little slow."

"I think that he just wants to take baby steps and not make any mistakes," Lucy said.

"What about you? How do you feel?" Jade asked.

"I've fallen in love with him. At first, I thought it was just hormones. I had just been rejected by Leo and came here. Micah was sweet and we had fun hanging out. Then, we had sex so I could get pregnant. Plus, I was taking hormones to make sure that everything was on track," Lucy said.

"What made you realize that it was actually love?" Flora asked.

"I want to be with him whenever I can. We don't have to be doing the same thing. The other day he was working in the kitchen of his flip house, and I was peeling wallpaper in the other room. Just knowing he was there felt good. His scent haunts me. It's like it is constantly around me, like a soft cloud. Then, there is the fact that he pulls at my heart and soul."

"Sounds like fated mates," Flora said. "Angie said the same thing about Noah's scent."

"Olivia and Zac also talked about the scents. I think that you and Micah are fated mates," Jade said.

"Fated mates? I don't think I believe in that."

"Do you really think that it was a coincidence that Leo left you at the altar, you came to the shifter world, and that you happened to decide to be a surrogate about the time that Micah randomly decided that he wanted a kid?" Vera asked.

"Anything is possible," Lucy said. "I think you guys are ganging up on me. That's not nice."

After another hour of laughing and talking, Flora and Jade went home. Jade had a baby to take care of and Flora had a presentation for her job to work on.

Micah came home for lunch. Lucy was waiting excitedly for him.

"I think I just felt them move," she said.

He put his hands over her belly. "Are they developed enough for us to feel movement? It could just be twitches or indigestion."

Lucy laughed. "Mundane women can feel babies move as early as thirteen weeks. Shifter babies grow a lot faster. Remember, they carry babies for forty weeks. Shifters carry babies for about twenty-four to thirty weeks."

"Makes sense," Micah said. "It kind of feels like there is a soccer game going on in there."

"I'm pretty sure you're right," she said. Lucy reached up and touched his face. "You and I are going to be great coaches and referees."

"We'll be great partners in raising these kids together. They're lucky to have us." Micah smirked.

"Yes, they are." Lucy laughed.

Lucy was happy and a feeling of absolute happiness filled her soul. All was right with the world.

Micah had an afternoon meeting, so he went back to the office after lunch. Lucy decided to go to the gazebo to work on her book.

She stared at the computer screen, but the words wouldn't come. It was hard to think of a terrifying stalker character when her mind was on babies and Micah. The colorful flower garden called her name.

"Maybe a walk will help me focus," Lucy said.

She had just made it to the creek when three men jumped out from behind the bushes. One of them grabbed her and put a knife to her neck.

She screamed and her heart stopped. Lucy couldn't breathe. Her hands automatically covered her belly.

"You will walk with us or I will slit your throat," he growled.

The knife pricked her throat and she felt a tiny trickle of blood dribble down.

Lucy knew that she was likely going to die anyway. The adage was that if a victim was taken to a second location they would die. However, she had no doubt that if she tried to fight, they would cut her throat and disappear into the bushes. If she went with them, she might buy enough time for Micah to find her.

"Please don't hurt me or the babies. Micah will pay a lot of money to get us back. He can get you anything that you want," Lucy begged as they dragged her away.

"We know who Micah is and we know that he has a lot of money," the man with the knife said. "But we're men of honor. We signed a contract with this other guy, and we'll honor it."

Lucy scoffed. "Men of honor? You are kidnapping a pregnant woman at knifepoint. There is no honor there."

They stuffed her in a truck and drove for a while, taking a barely passable mountain road. There were two men up front and one who sat in the back seat with her, holding a nasty-looking knife.

Her attention was focused on it. One side had huge serrations on it. The other was wickedly sharp. There was a large hook at the tip, designed to rip the insides of a person or animal.

She closed her eyes. Micah, find me. Three men have taken me on the mountain. They have a large knife. Please find me. They're going to kill me and the babies.

Lucy kept saying the words over and over again, hoping that he would hear her. When shifters were spiritually connected, they should be able to hear each other over long distances.

The truck lurched to a stop and Lucy felt her stomach drop. "Where are we?"

"Someplace private. We like to have a little fun with our prey before we kill it. You're very beautiful, even if you are knocked up. The guy who hired us said he didn't care what we did with you, as long as you didn't come back.

Micah, please find me.

They led her into a cave and tied up her hands and feet. One of them took pictures of her.

"I don't have a signal," he said.

"Sit tight. We'll be right back," Knife Man said.

Lucy found a rock and started to rub it against the rope. It frayed and started to come loose. She wiggled her hands around and was able to pull them free. Lucy quickly untied her feet.

Listening hard, she didn't hear the men so she peeked out. No one.

Not bothering to undress first, she shifted into bear form, hoping it wouldn't hurt the babies and she started running down the mountain, calling for Micah the entire time.

A minute later she heard the men yelling. They figured out that she was gone. Lucy ran as hard and fast as she could. Bears could run fast for short distances, but they weren't marathon runners and the wolves easily caught up to her.

One of the wolves jumped on her back and bit her neck. Another ran in front of her and clawed at her chest. The third wolf hit her hard on the side.

She raised her paw and hit the wolf in front of her, cutting his eye. He yelped in pain and backed off long enough for Lucy to turn around and bite the second wolf in the side of his neck. The wolf on her back bit a chunk out of her shoulder.

Lucy fell to the ground, hard. She curled up in a ball the best that she could, trying to protect the babies. The world started fading to black.

Micah, please help. Please, Micah, find us.

She thought that she could hear someone calling her name right before the world went dark.