Flames of Fury

Magnolia

Despite my efforts to keep my head down and remain inconspicuous, there’s an immediate hush that befalls the conversations of pack members when we pass them in the hallway.

Their silence makes it easier for me to hear the elevated voices coming from the kitchen.

“You can’t just undermine my authority, I wanted them brought straight to me.” A gruff voice growls out.

“Showing some hospitality to two young women, one of whom is with child mind you, is not undermining your authority. If you can’t show some compassion to those clearly in distress then you are not the man I raised you to be, much less an Alpha.” Bunny responds sharply.

She’s in such a flustered state that she nearly knocks us over with the large tray of food in her hands as she backs up and turns to leave the kitchen by where we’re standing.

“Goddess, girls, what are you doing standing there? I told you I’d come up.” Her expression quickly brightens from exasperation to delight. “I’m glad the clothes fit, you both look lovely.”

A blonde man with ice blue eyes turns the corner, his eyes widen and his mouth pops open into an “O” when he sees me. Recognition floods me a fraction of a second later. It’s Alec, one of Ro’s and Varian’s best friends. I haven’t seen him since Kat’s birthday party, and though we were all in masquerade I’d recognize those baby blues anywhere.

“Syble? Holy shit, look at you!” He takes both of my hands in his and plants a kiss on the back of each. He bites his bottom lip, shamelessly drinking my eyes in like a parched man in the desert. “Goddess, your eyes… they’re extraordinary.” Bunny clears her throat and Alec remembers where he is. “Ro and Varian have been holding out on me, they didn’t tell me about the pup!”

“Don’t blame them just yet, they don’t know.”

He cocks his head to the side, clearly perplexed by what I’ve just said, but then a second later his hand slaps across his mouth. “Shit, it’s not theirs is it? I’m so sorry, Ro told me at the party that you’re mates so I just assumed –”

Bunny does her best to casually shoo away the eavesdroppers and busy herself while discreetly listening in on the gossip my life has turned into.

“Alec you’re fine, the babies are theirs.” My smile slips, “A lot has happened since Kat’s party. I’d love to fill you in but I need to get back to Shadowmoon, we need to get home.” I gesture to Ember who has been standing silently next to me when I say “we.”

“Of course, whatever you need. Let me grab my keys, I’ll drive you over there now and you can call them from the car if you want.”

I throw my arms around his neck, and even though he’s surprised he catches me easily in his arms, a pillar of strength.

He pats me on the back awkwardly and chuckles, “Easy now, Ro will literally kill me if you show up pregnant smelling like me.”

What I don’t say is that Ro may kill me anyway. Mentally I’m prepared for their wrath, I’m even prepared for them to distrust me for the rest of our lives, but I hold out hope that beneath all that they’ll still want me and want our babies.

Alec helps Ember and me into the back of his SUV and we start heading towards Shadowmoon.

“How long until we’re there, Alec?” I go for casual but the tremor in my voice betrays me.

“Not long, just under an hour.”

Once we’re past the gate I hear the trilling of Alec’s phone. He’s calling the twins. My breath catches in my throat in anticipation of hearing their voices again. I can’t believe this is happening.

The phone rings twice more before it connects.

“Ro.”

I puddle in my seat, his low, gruffy voice bowls me over. Everything was spinning out of my control for so long, then he speaks a single syllable and my world snaps into focus, sharp and clear.

“Ro, it’s Alec. I’m on my way over, I’ve got quite the surprise for you.”

“If it’s more of that mystery sangria your uncle makes then don’t bother, that shit had me laid out for two fuckin’ days.”

Alec laughs uninhibitedly. “I told you to pace yourself, old man. But no, it’s not the sangria.”

Ro grumbles. “You going to tell me or are you really going to be an adolescent and make me guess?”

“Let’s just say I have something that belongs to you and I’m on my way to return it.”

“Tell him if he’s talking about Serena we don’t want that back.” Varian’s voice calls out clearly at a distance away from Ro.

“Nope, not Serena, but you’re getting warmer. It is a girl.”

“Fine, I’ll bite. Who?” Ro huffs.

But Alec isn’t done playing with them. “You know, you really should keep better track of your things.”

“Alec, it’s Varian. Cut the bullshit, who do you have?”

Alec pauses for dramatic effect, the twins can’t see it but Alec’s mouth twists into a cocksure grin. “I have your mate.”

Silence bleeds through the car’s speakers, my ears begin to ring from the tension that each passing second brings. It stretches on uncomfortably long, my chest constricts under the weight of my anxiety from their prolonged reaction — or rather lack of reaction.

A low growl sounds over the speakers, like the strike of a match against the box, igniting and overcoming the darkness that fills the car.

“Tell me the truth, Alec. Did our mother put you up to this?” Ro grits out, his jaw audibly clenched tightly shut. His words are accentuated with malice, with acid.

Alec’s eyes find mine in the rear view mirror and he furrows his brow in confusion before responding.

“N—no? Syble showed up at my door, she stumbled out of my woods a bloodied mess. But don’t worry, Bunny took care of her and now we’re on our way over.”

“Wait, what?”

“Shit, I knew that sangria was strong but fuck, Ro. Syble. Your mate. In my car. On our way over to you.”

“Syble’s not my mate, and even if she were you know we don’t want one.”

***

Syble’s not my mate.

We don’t want one.

Syble’s not my mate.

We don’t want one.

Syble’s not my mate.

We don’t want one.

Ro’s words echo endlessly in my mind. It’s confirmation of everything I feared of letting someone get close to me, of opening my heart up to someone, of being vulnerable. Maybe they just wanted the power that came with marrying a dragon queen, maybe they just wanted to fuck someone they couldn’t burn, either way it’s obvious that they got to have their cake and eat it too. They got a taste of me, my resources, and when I disappeared they didn’t bother coming after me and wiped my existence from their minds, so much so that they’re calling me by my alias.

Because I’m not actually their mate.

They don’t want me.

I rub my hand over my belly, the babies must be sleeping because no one is kicking me or stretching at the moment. If Ro and Varian want to discard me to the side and act like I never existed, that’s fine. I’m a big girl. But they both got me pregnant, and I won’t allow them to treat these babies like they’re treating me. Like they’re nothing.

On the other hand maybe we should turn around. Maybe we shouldn’t even go to Shadowmoon. The Alphas still don’t know about the babies and it could easily stay that way — they never have to know. I’ll go back to the grove and take my place as queen, maybe I’ll even marry Xander. He’s a good fuck and is great with kids.

As soon as that thought enters my mind it feels like I took a bullet to the heart. My chest constricts painfully, unrelentingly, forcing me to confront the fact that my bond with the Alphas is, or was, real. I can’t deny it as easily as they can apparently.

I’d like to see them look me in the eye and tell me they never loved me, tell me that the children I’m bearing for them are a mistake. And then I’ll disappear from their lives forever, as it should be.

The hour we spend traveling to Shadowmoon passes by faster than I would have liked, I’ve hardly had time to settle on a proper way to kill them.

“We’re here.” Alec announces softly to Ember and me. “It’ll be okay Syble, we’ll figure this out. I know they’re crazy about you. I mean hell, Ro threatened to kill me at Kat’s party just for looking at you.” He reminisces with a slight chuckle.

Alec gets out of the car and opens Ember’s door first before walking around to the other side of the car to open mine.

Alec leads us silently up the stairs to the front door of the pack house. Even from out here I can smell them, their earthy, rainy scent. The door opens and the babies decide that this is the appropriate time to start tumbling around in my belly furiously.

Ro and Varian occupy the entire door frame. My body reacts to them immediately; my heartbeat quickens, my breathing becomes irregular, and my core clenches as if it anticipates their imminent occupation of my body.

I’ve imagined this moment for months, the moment we saw each other again, the moment they realized I’m home and safe and carrying their heirs. I imagined them scooping me into their arms, holding me tightly against them, never letting me go. I’d know a lecture would be coming later about running off, but all that would fall to the wayside when they first laid eyes on me – their love for me and relief to see me overcoming any rage they felt after I left.

That is not this moment.

Not even close.

Ro doesn’t say a word to Alec, or the rest of us for that matter. Instead he stands there silently, staring at me like it’s the first time he’s really seeing me. His pupils dilate, irises flash between his usual enchanted forest green and black, his lip fights to keep a snarl at bay, and the sounds rumbling from within his chest are half purr, half growl.

“Shit! Fuck, fuck, fuck,” a nervous voice mutters from behind the Alphas within the house. The voice grows louder with each expletive so I assume they’re approaching us.

“Oh, fuck.” Runidar comes up alongside the Alphas and stares at me like he’s seen a ghost. His eyes drop from mine down to where my hand rests protectively over my belly. “Ohh, fuck.” Runidar’s hands fly up to his head and comb through his hair disheveling it such that it looks as anxious as he sounds.

He rushes towards me and wraps his arms around me, squeezing me to him in a tight embrace. It’s no doubt confusing, but more than that it’s down right infuriating that I’m getting a warmer reception from their fucking Beta than I am from my own mates.

“Sweet Goddess, Mags,” he breathes then releases me and holds me away at an arm’s length, again looking at my belly. Relief ghosts across his eyes before being quickly replaced by pity. “What happened to you?”

“Get your fucking hands off of her.” Varian growls out the command.

“Sir, I think we should maybe move this conversation into your office.” Runidar says carefully as he releases his hold of me.

Ro grabs Runidar by the neck and slams him into the nearest wall. “You have ten fucking seconds to explain what the fuck is going on.”

“Rohanor!” A voice bellows from the driveway behind me. Raine and Accalia quickly make their way up the path towards us. Raine walks past us straight towards the Alphas. “Let him go, son. Let’s all go to your office and we’ll discuss things there.”