“You did what you had to, honey,” she whispered in Elain’s ear. “Maureen would have been proud of you.”
“I don’t feel very proud of myself.”
“He got what he deserved.”
“I could have stopped. I didn’t have to go that far.”
Callie hung back and flanked Elain’s other side. “Listen. Those kind of people only understand force. Period. Rodolfo Abernathy will think twice before fucking with this Clan or your pack. And I guarantee you Paul won’t make any more waves, either.”
Elain wished she felt the same. A nagging, shadowy feeling at the edge of her conscious wouldn’t go away. Like, no matter what anyone else said, this wasn’t the end of the war.
That maybe it was just the beginning.
Once they reached the rock on the shore, the women gathered around the old Seer.
She favored Elain with a kindly expression. “I know you’re not liking what you did, but see it for the act that it was.”
“What, me popping his balls like grapes?” Elain snarked.
Lacey smiled. “Protecting your pack and your Clan. It’s what a good Alpha wolf does. They stand up for their pack and Clan. They protect those weaker than themselves in their pack and Clan.”
Elain looked at her hands. She’d slipped off to the bathroom several times at Daniel’s house and scrubbed her hands again, so that her flesh looked red and felt nearly raw.
Lacey’s hands closed around hers and the old Seer waited until she looked up at her. “This isn’t the end of our Clan’s troubles by any stretch of the imagination. But today you established yourself as an Alpha not to be messed with. You did good, whether you like what you did or not. It’s our way.”
“I could have let him go.”
Lacey smiled. “Be honest. You wanted to kill him.”
Elain’s face heated even more, but why lie about it? She nodded.
Lacey laughed. “Elain, you haven’t known your inner wolf until just a few days ago. That is normal. That is what happens. What you should be proud of is you did have control. You might see what you did as going too far. There are those who would argue you didn’t go far enough. In olden days, had you not wanted him for your mate, it would have been completely acceptable for you to rip his throat out.”
Elain felt a little queasy at that despite what she’d felt earlier.
“In other words,” Lina said, “cut yourself a break.”
“He wouldn’t have cut you one,” Mai added. “If he’d come out on top, he would have gladly killed you if his grandfather told him to finish you off.”
“Without hesitation,” Lacey said.
Callie grabbed Elain’s hand. “Come on. I know what you need.” She led Elain off the rock and over to the surf, where they knelt beside the water. Callie held Elain’s hands in hers under the water, against the sandy bottom.
“Goddess above,” Callie chanted, “Goddess below. Goddess within, Goddess without. Goddess of all, hear my call. Clean and pure, swift and sure, bless this wolf, and bless us all.”
Elain felt a slight tingling in her hands, then a white light engulfed them both, startling her.
Callie apparently expected it, and didn’t let go. After a moment the light disappeared and Elain felt the pleasantly soft and yet gritty sensation of the sand against her palms.
“Clean,” Callie whispered, finally pulling Elain’s hands from the water while still holding them in her own. “Clean and pure. Innocent. Strong and protecting.” After a final squeeze, she released Elain.
Elain knelt there, staring at her hands for a moment, then looked at Callie. It did feel better somehow, lighter. Like a little of the stain on her soul had disappeared.
Callie smiled and nodded. “Perk of the rank,” she quipped, then hugged Elain.
Elain closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt the sun on her face, smelled the cool salt air from the ocean in her lungs, the scent of damp sand underfoot.
“Thank you,” she whispered in Callie’s ear.
“Hey, that’s why I’m here. They’re right, you did good. Now go home with your pack and enjoy life for a while until we have to kick those cockatrice’s asses again.”
Chapter Nineteen
The return drive to Florida took longer because they decided to hit tourist attractions along the way. With the mood lighter, Elain, Lina, Mai, and Carla became nearly inseparable at their stops. It wasn’t uncommon for Liam to get politely evicted from Carla’s car to make room for all the women. Then he took turns riding with the other men.
Four days after their return to Florida, Lina got Mai an appointment with her ob-gyn in Tampa.
Mai nervously sat between her men in the waiting room and held Micah’s and Jim’s hands. When it was her turn, as one they all rose and followed the nurse into an exam room. The nurse took her vitals before giving her a gown and instructions to disrobe. Then she left them alone in the exam room.
The men helped Mai put the robe on and assisted her up onto the exam table.
She looked into Micah’s blue eyes. He smiled. “It’s okay, sweetheart. This is just routine. Everything’s going to be fine.”
She didn’t know if it was paranoia on her part, or a result of the dreams, but she couldn’t shake the fact that she felt like something was wrong. “But why haven’t I had any morning sickness?”
He shrugged. “Maybe it’s a coyote thing. I don’t know. We’ll ask the doctor.”
“Please relax,” Jim said. “It’s not good to work yourself up like this.”
“Lina said she puked her guts up the first couple of months she was pregnant.”
“Lina is also carrying dragon twins,” Jim reminded her. “I’d be surprised if she doesn’t have permanent heartburn.”
The doctor walked in a few minutes later and offered up a kind smile. Her shoulder-length sable hair was streaked with grey. “Mai Gallatin? I’m Doctor Alberto.”
Mai nervously smiled. “Nice to meet you. These are my mates, Micah and Jim.”
“Nice to meet you all. Before we start, I wanted you to know some of my nurses are human, so when they’re in the room, keep things hush-hush. Also, I use a very small, privately owned lab run by a cousin of mine. We are very careful to keep all results anonymous, but sometimes it takes a couple of days longer than using a larger lab.”
Mai nodded.
“Now, let’s take a look at you.”
“I haven’t had morning sickness at all and I should have. What’s wrong with me?”
Dr. Alberto smiled. “I don’t understand the question. Are you worried there’s something wrong, or are you missing the puking? Because I have patients who’d love to trade places with you.”
Mai realized she must have looked scared, because the doctor patted her arm. “Relax, it’s okay. Everyone’s different. Some women don’t even experience morning sickness the same way from one pregnancy to the next.” The doctor examined her and performed an ultrasound.
“I keep having dreams,” Mai quietly admitted.
The doctor looked up from the ultrasound machine. “What kind of dreams?”
Mai blushed as the men stared at her. She’d never revealed this to them. “After I realized I was pregnant, I started having them. They’re always the same. It’s a girl, and as she’s being born there’s something horribly wrong with her.”
Dr. Alberto kindly smiled. “It’s common to have dreams about your baby,” the doctor said. “Lots of moms have dreams like that. It’s all right.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Really.” She returned to her work. “Do you want to know your baby’s sex?” the doctor asked.
Mai nodded. “Please.”
Dr. Alberto took a still shot and used her cursor to highlight a place on the screen. “I hope you like pink.”