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“I’m sorry, but if she happened to be right, and I lost our child…”
He hugged me, whispering, “That’s not something you should have contemplated going through alone.”
Footsteps approached, and we glanced around a heartbeat before Ciara swept her arms around us both and hugged us fiercely. “Congrats, big brother. You are going to be a most excellent dad. And Liz? Welcome to the family.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them back rapidly. “Thanks.”
A throat was cleared to our right, then a big man with graying hair rose. He wasn’t a typical-looking O’Connor—his coloring was darker, his features swarthier. Aiden’s pack was a little smaller, numbers-wise, than the norm, even if there were five distinct family lines within it, which made the national/international exchange programs vital to prevent interbreeding. This man had obviously married in from elsewhere.
“I appreciate the desire to celebrate such news,” he said, his tone gravelly but pleasant, “but this compound was almost destroyed, and we really need to understand how an embryo could possibility be responsible for it.”
“In truth, we don’t understand it either,” I replied. “But it’s pretty evident from the wellspring’s actions over the last few weeks that, even if it makes no damn logical sense to any of us, the child I carry has to be bathed in the wellspring’s power, otherwise these attacks will continue until the compound is destroyed.” I hesitated. “In fact, it was only my promise to do so that stopped the attack today.”
“How is walking into the wellspring not going to kill you both?” Ciara asked bluntly, voicing the question—and the fear—I could see in Aiden’s eyes.
“Mom survived immersion. I should be able to.”
“‘Should’ is not a very comforting word,” Aiden muttered. “When do you plan to visit the wellspring?”
“I don’t want to do anything without Belle, Monty, Ashworth, and Eli here, because we have no idea what will happen when I enter the spring or how it’ll react. They can protect the compound—or at least its people—if necessary. As to when—there’s stuff we need to do to prepare, so this evening would be best. I have no idea how long the wellspring will wait before it attacks again.”
Aiden glanced at the wolves gathered in front of him. “Is everyone in agreement to allowing the witches entry?”
A round of mostly “ayes” swept the room.
Karleen rose and cleared her throat to gain attention. I hadn’t heard her voice in the “ayes” but she hadn’t given a no, either. “Given what now has to be done, can I suggest the vote relating to where our new alpha and his mate will reside be deferred until this matter is over.”
Until it was clear whether I lived or died was what she meant.
Another round of “ayes” swept the room. It did make sense to delay, but I could feel the annoyance radiating from the man still holding my hand.
Another man rose. Though I didn’t know him, his features were similar to the big man with graying hair. A son, perhaps? There wasn’t a woman sitting in the area next to the older man, so perhaps their son had taken her place. “Are we able to witness the event?”
I hesitated. “The wellspring is ringed by magical protections that will prevent you from getting too close. And to be honest, I’m not really sure there will be much to see, given wolves are incapable of seeing magic.”
“If you are to be a part of this pack, then this pack needs to understand your relationship with our wellspring,” he said.
“I agree,” Aiden said, surprising me. “Does everyone agree to the attempt being made at dusk?”
I glanced at him, eyebrows raised, but didn’t question his statement. Not here, not in front of his pack.
A murmur of assent ran around the room. Aiden dismissed the meeting, then tugged me from the room. We walked silently through the main compound and were halfway through the canyon—and well out of earshot of those who’d been watching us—before I asked, “What’s the point of agreeing to the pack being there when you know they won’t see anything?”
“Because of what happened in the hall, when you punched your hand into the ground.”
“When the wellspring’s power swept through me?”
He nodded. “For the briefest of seconds, you were incandescent and amorphous. It was fucking scary, let me tell you. They need to see that. They need to understand the risks you—and the others—take for us.”
I squeezed his fingers lightly. “Sorry to worry you.”
“It’s not like you had a choice in the matter. And it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve done something dangerous.” He paused for what seemed ages. “But it is the first time that it’s not just you I’ll lose. It’s our daughter, too.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried for lightness. “You never know, my dreams could be wrong, and ‘she’ might well be a ‘he.’”
“Your dreams are never wrong.” It was wryly said. “But I guess I should take heart in the fact that those dreams mean shewillsurvive this immersion. Which, thankfully, means you will as well.”
“The book did say bathing was necessary to ensure guardianship could move smoothly from one generation to the next. It wouldn’t do so if there was little chance of survival.”
