Faith (3 page)

“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked.

Before he could explain the unexplainable, Hale heard the telltale beating of wings that signaled Fenix’s arrival. The hawk shifter circled the cabin twice before swooping down to land in front of them. As usual, he shifted mid-flight, and stood before them in his human form.

“You have visitors,” Fenix announced. “Two juveniles.”

“I know who they are,” Hale said. “What are they doing here?”

Fenix shrugged. “The male isn’t talking and the female seems to want to talk about anything but that. Laurel’s escorting them to the den.”

“Who is it?” Taylor asked. “Friends of yours?”

“Family,” Hale said.

“Oh, wow. Can I meet them? Who are they?”

Hale hesitated as he considered his options.

The right thing to do would be to tell her to wait in the cabin while he went ahead, assessed the situation, and performed the necessary damage control.

The very least he could do was inform her of what she was about to encounter.

Hale did neither of those things. His wolf was tired of making concessions for Taylor and his brother. It was high time she saw that Alder wasn’t as perfect as she seemed to believe.

“Of course you can,” Hale said, a slow smile spreading over his face. “It’s my niece and nephew. Caim has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but I’m sure you’ll love Snow.”

Taylor freshened up as quickly as possible before they set out for the den. Hale walked beside her, bare-chested. The alpha had insisted that she wear his bear fur as a cloak. It was heavy and a little scratchy, but it was a rare treat to have him dote on her, so she didn’t protest.

She was excited to meet Caim and Snow, though for mostly selfish reasons. She wanted to see what the twins’ niece and nephew looked like because it would give her some insight into what her child may look like. Not to mention, aside from Glenn—who was only a few years younger than she was—she hadn’t met any young shifters before.

They ascended the path to the den entrance in a companionable silence. As they neared the mouth of the cave, three figures came into view, two women engaged in conversation and one very large wolf.

The wolf was almost as big as Hale in his animal form. He had a wavy black coat that appeared glossy in the moonlight. His bright eyes were focused on Taylor and Hale, but he simply stared, making no move to greet them.

Taylor recognized the taller of the two females as Laurel. She was one of the many pack members that Taylor knew by name, but had never really interacted with. Laurel was talking about something with a girl who could only be Snow.

Snow stood nearly as tall as Laurel, though Taylor could tell from the soft curve of her facial bones and her narrow hips that Snow was a young adolescent. Even so, she had the makings of a stunning woman.

She bore a striking resemblance to her uncles, sharing their dimpled chin and almond-shaped eyes. Although her hair was black, it had the same frizz-free curls as Alder and Hale’s. Something Laurel said made her grin, and Taylor could have sworn she was looking at a female version of Hale.

It was probably because Snow looked so much like the men she loved, but Taylor felt instantly endeared towards the girl.

As the reached the crest of the path, Laurel turned to acknowledge Hale with an incline of her head. It drew Snow’s attention and her face lit up.

“Uncle Hale!”

She cleared the distance between them in three strides, swinging her arms around Hale’s neck. To Taylor’s surprise, Hale hoisted Snow up and nuzzled the side of her head.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he set her down. “Where are your parents?”

Ignoring the question, Snow peeked around Hale to get a look at Taylor.

“Is this your mate?”

Not waiting for an answer, Snow sidestepped her uncle to pull Taylor into an embrace. Taylor had never been much of a hugger, but Lark had thoroughly desensitized her to abrupt violations of personal space, so Taylor was quick to hug Snow back.

“Nice to meet you,” Taylor said.

Snow released her. The cheeky grin on her face was made even cuter by her pointed canines. “I never thought any female would want to be with Uncle Hale. You must have the patience of a saint.”

Hale’s hand clamped down onto Snow’s shoulder. “How did you get here, and where are Cain and Sarah?”

His deep, authoritative tone caused Snow to flinch.

The black wolf let out a low growl.

Turning to the wolf, Hale glared and growled back.

“Please, don’t fight,” said Snow. “Caim brought me here to see Alder. He was supposed to visit over a month ago, but he never came. He’s never late…”

Tears welled up in Snow’s eyes, making her look younger and vulnerable. Taylor realized that Snow’s distress was entirely her fault.

“I’m the reason Alder wasn’t able to visit,” Taylor admitted, regaining their attention.

She tried to think of a way to explain the circumstances around the day she met Alder, without mentioning the whole ‘fugitive’ aspect.

“Alder’s truck broke down,” Taylor said. “I stopped to, um, give him a jump, ya know? But then my car wouldn’t start. So we just decided to Halcyon…”

Even Hale cringed as she recounted the fictitious events. When had she become such a terrible liar?

Fortunately, Snow seemed eager to accept the answer. “So, Alder brought you back to Halcyon and then you met Uncle Hale?”

“Uh, yeah, pretty much.”

“Wow, so
both
of your cars broke?”

“Yup. That’s exactly what happened.”

Snow’s eyes widened. “It’s like destiny.” She looked between Taylor and Hale. “Was it love at first sight?”

Hale’s lips curved. “Yup. That’s exactly what happened.”

Taylor made a face at him before Snow looked at her again.

Snow said, “I haven’t been in love yet, but I’m sure it will happen soon. I saw a wolf on the way here, but my stupid brother chased him off.”

“As well he should have,” Hale said, all of his playfulness gone. “Where did you see this wolf?”

Snow didn’t answer. Her attention was drawn to the den entrance, where Alder was emerging, flanked by Fenix.

He seemed to only have eyes for Snow and he stared at her as if he were looking at a ghost.

A muscle in Snow’s throat bobbed. She hesitated for only a second before she ran to him, tears falling down her face.

“Dad.”

Taylor felt as though she’d fallen through ice and into frigid water. Her mind went completely blank, save for one word, playing on repeat.

Dad… Dad…
Dad
…

Someone was trying to talk to her.

Hale?

She didn’t know.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she surrendered to unconsciousness.

When Taylor came to, she was on the furs in her cabin. She could hear Hale yelling and as her vision came into focus, she saw that an obstinate-looking Holly and terrified-looking Lark were the recipients of his rage.

With considerable effort, she raised herself into a sitting position and grabbed the nearest object—a pillow—and hurled it at Hale.

She attempted to say “stop yelling at my friend” or, if she was going to include Holly, “
friends
”, but all that came up from her throat was bile.

Gagging as the bile filled her mouth, she covered her lips with her hand and looked around frantically. Hale was there immediately, thrusting a pot at her. Taylor managed to catch on to part of their conversation over the sound of her own retching.

Holly asked, “Aren’t you going to hold her hair or something? Don’t just stand there.”

“I’m the one who got her the pot,” Hale retorted.

“Maybe we should rub her back,” Lark suggested.

Taylor clutched at her gut. She felt hot all over and all she really wanted was some breathing room.

When she was able to speak, Taylor asked, “Tell me that was a nightmare and Alder doesn’t have a teenage daughter.”

Hale said, “Technically, she’s not a teenager. She’ll be thirteen in March.”

Taylor vomited again.

Hale crouched down and began patting her back in what he must have thought was a soothing manner. It felt more like he was smacking her.

“You’re being too rough,” Holly told him. “You, rub her back.”

Lark was behind her within seconds, rubbing the small of Taylor’s back. It helped a little and Taylor was able to regain a modicum of her composure.

She looked up at Hale. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He averted his gaze. “Shouldn’t you be asking Alder that?”

“You took me to meet her and you didn’t even say anything. You let me get blindsided.”

“Alder should have told you,” was his stubborn reply. “It wasn’t any of my business.”

Taylor threw another pillow at him.

“
I’m
your business,” she shouted. Everyone in the room recoiled. “We’re in a relationship! We’re having a baby! Anything that affects me is your business!”

Hot tears burned her eyes. She knew that she wasn’t being totally fair to Hale, but Alder wasn’t there and she had more hurt and anger than she knew what to do with.

Tentatively, Hale said, “Taylor, I’m—”

Holly cut him off. “She’s right. You lied to her. Lying by omission is the same as lying. You’re really no better than your lying brother.”

Taylor would have been flattered by Holly’s defense of her had she not known how much Holly thrived on conflict. This was probably the most interesting thing that had happened to the fox shifter all week.

Hale became livid. “Will you stay the fuck out of this?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Holly said with a smirk. “I guess it is
none of my business
.”

Sensing that this was only going to escalate, Taylor decided to end it.

“Please leave,” she said to Hale.

His feet remained rooted to the floor as he ran a hand through his hair. After a moment’s hesitation, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Taylor questioned the two females, asking them if they had known about Snow.

“Are you kidding?” said Holly. She nodded towards Lark. “This one couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.”

“Did you know?” Taylor asked Holly.

Holly shrugged. “I may have heard them talking about her a few times, but it wasn’t any of my business.”

Yep, Holly was definitely not going in the ‘friend’ category.

Lark rubbed her shoulders. “It doesn’t change anything, Taylor. Alder still loves you very much.”

“It changes everything,” Holly said. “How can she ever trust him again?”

Lark bit her lip, not seeming to have an answer.

Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation, Taylor began to cry. Holly looked away while Lark tried to console her with an awkward hug.

In between sobs, Taylor confessed, “I… I didn’t actually want… Hale to leave.”

As if he’d been waiting for a cue, the door swung open and Hale stepped back into the room. He was wet, and for the first time, Taylor noticed that it was raining out.

“You heard her,” Hale said to the women. “Beat it”—his nose wrinkled—“and take that pot with you.”

Holly grumbled something under her breath, but left without a fight. Lark gave Taylor a final pat on the back before grabbing the pot and leaving as well.

When they were gone, Hale joined Taylor on the furs and gathered her up into his arms. Not caring that he was wet, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. His bare skin was warm.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the apology resonating in the empty room.

Taylor closed her eyes. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“Because I love you and for once, I didn’t want to be the bad guy.”

She sniffled. “That’s not love. That’s selfish.”

His hand rubbed circles in her back. “Yeah, well, I’m still trying to figure this shit out.”

She let him hang for a few moments before tightening her embrace.

“I have faith in you.”

His hand moved towards her breast.

Taylor smacked it away.

Alder couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so conflicted. But as much as it distressed him not to be with his mate, he knew that he had to address Snow’s arrival first and foremost. Although he was still pissed at his brother, he couldn’t help but be glad that Hale would be there for Taylor in his place, if only for a few hours.

He sat by the lake with Snow, pretending not to watch her as she shot furtive glances at him. It had been months since he’d seen her, though a part of her had never left him. And now that Taylor’s scent had changed, he’d found it even harder not to think about his daughter.