Free to Love (The Tribe MC: Chase of Prey Book 3) (6 page)

“Not exactly. But the Tribe and the Fallen are mixing now. We have no choice. You’ve always known that to be an enemy of the Tribe was a terrible thing. To be an enemy of the Tribe and the Fallen when they stand as one is the worst thing that can happen, Detective.”

“Like I said, I won’t hunt you so long as you don’t go beyond the pale.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Cara said. “I have no reason to go beyond what you call the pale. I’m on your side, believe it or not. In fact, everyone in that house and out here in these RVs is on your side. We’ve always been on the side of the Hunters. At some point, the Hunters stopped just hunting the rogues and started hunting down the Fallen, even though the Fallen had made a pact not to eat humans. Whatever animosity lies between the Hunters and the Fallen, it is because the Hunters would never leave the Fallen alone.”

Detective Johnson said, “I see. Well, let’s call a truce, shall we?”

Sebastian and Cara both held out their hands. Detective Johnson took Cara’s hand in one of his and Sebastian’s in the other; they all shook on it.

CHAPTER 7

The Tribe was scattering. The RVs were packed and rolling out of town. That morning, at a hasty makeshift breakfast, the Elders had decided that the best thing to do would be to get the women and younger people out of the city. If there were rogues elsewhere, they had not made themselves known yet, but here in New Orleans there was still a pack of rogues thirsting for Tribe or Fallen blood.

Nico charged several of his best men, all of them true Tribe, to go along with the caravans. They would need protection as they left not just the city, but the state. Several of the Fallen decided to go along to protect the others as well.

The news had given them a good idea of what was going on inside their warehouses and safehouses, but they knew that the reporters had been instructed to hold some things back. There was no place that was actually safe.

Cara had been able to scrounge a pair of jeans that clung a little too tightly, a t-shirt that showed quite plainly she didn’t have a bra yet, and a pair of heavy boots from amongst the people in the caravans. She’d pinned her black hair back carefully, but a few tendrils had broken loose and hung around her face in appealing little curls. Sebastian had also managed to get some clean clothes and his jeans, like Cara’s, were a little too small, his firm butt cheeks lifted and outlined nicely within that casing of tight denim.

As the last of the RVs rolled out of sight Cara leaned against Sebastian and asked, “What do we do now?”

“Get on with our lives.” He kissed her firmly. “That’s what we are going to do.”

CHAPTER 8

The woods were quiet. The long, leafy limbs of the centuries–old live and water oaks stretched out far, blocking most of the brutal summer sun. Cara lay on a blanket below a tree, staring up through the shifting patterns of shade and sunlight with a thoughtful frown on her face.

Beside her on the old red blanket lay a book and a set of files. The heat seemed to be climbing with every breath. The humidity pressed down on her, causing sweat to shimmer along her body and pool inside her navel.

There was a strong kick from inside her belly and she placed her hand on it, stroking the child cocooned in her own flesh. A single tear slid down her face. This was not how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be surrounded by Tribe women chanting and casting spells. Instead, the only singing that was going on was coming from the birds and the occasional babble from the tiny yet busy creek that lay a few feet from where she had spread her blanket.

Cara would have given anything to have had the circle of Elders surrounding her, waiting to give approval to a child born of the purest Tribe blood. But the blood was no longer pure; it was now mixed with the blood of the Fallen.

She would never regret that. This was Sebastian’s child that would be coming soon. This would be a child who, like its uncle Gregory, would be of mixed blood, and who might be capable of magic such as they had never seen before.

Her back cramped again, a vicious and steely spasm that made her roll over onto her side with one hand to her mouth to smother her cries. It took all her willpower to not forcibly bear down as hard as she could. It wasn’t time yet.

So much had changed since that last battle. The tide of rogues had been slowed. They might never know the true extent of Gregory’s treachery, but they had found out was that the rogues that he had turned through sharing his blood were not able to create more rogues with the same abilities.

That had been a huge relief. There were not many of them left these days. The few Hunters who had survived that night at the old plantation had vowed to hunt down the rogues across the globe, and to leave the Tribe and the Fallen alone so long as they were not rogues themselves.

The Tribe and the Fallen had intermingled so much that they had no choice but to treat each other civilly as possible. Not that all of them did — there were still deaths and infighting and there probably always would be. The motorcycle club known as the Fallen and the one that had been known as the Tribe had formally disbanded, but a new one had sprung up from its ashes: Phoenix. It had members of both and they had headed for Las Vegas, looking for money and good times. From what Cara heard, there were plenty of both to be had.

Another cramp struck her and she clenched her teeth.

Above her, the branches of the trees rustled, and she did not dare look up. The smell of blood coming from between her legs now was heavy and rich. She could smell copper and iron; she could feel the pain clawing its way through her as her child struggled to make its way out into the world.

In one corner of her vision, black engineer boots appeared, coming closer to her. When she tilted her head just slightly, she could see the motorcycle parked under the tree.

Sebastian came closer, his blond hair shining in the afternoon sun. “Are you sure this is how this needs to be done?”

“You sound afraid.” The words came out in a gasp.

“That’s because I
am
afraid. I’m fucking terrified. You should be in the hospital getting drugs pumped into your system. Somebody from your family should be here. I don’t know a damn thing about bringing kids into the world. For all I know I’m going to screw this up and lose you and our child.”

She laughed at his panic, but it was not really humorous at all. They both knew how high the stakes were. The vision she’d had the night that the Hunters and cops had crashed through the door of the house where they now lived had been strong, so strong that even though Gregory was dead and years had passed between the original rebellion of the rogues and this moment, she still did not trust that her child was out of danger.

Her hands slid down to her distended belly. Her child. Her lips curved in a smile despite the pain that she was enduring.

They had chosen to come to this house to live and wait for the baby because they needed privacy. But it wasn’t just the rogues that they feared — it was the child himself.

Cara was not afraid that her child would be born evil, but she knew that he would possess the same capacity for evil as all humans, and all of the Fallen. What was more, he would have a family history to live down — he would always be known as the nephew of the shape-shifting son of the cursed Queen and her Wolf lover. He would have to be taught how to temper the wild magic in his veins and the Wolf lurking below his skin.

His own parents were both Tribe and Fallen. It would be up to her and Sebastian to make sure that their son did not repeat the history that his uncle Gregory had written.

“Hospitals are for sissies.”

Sebastian scowled at her. “Are you calling me a sissy?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I need to be ready for trial next week — how about you open that file over there and start briefing me?”

Sebastian’s eyebrows arched. “Are you serious? You’re thinking about a case at a time like this?”

“It’s going to be hours yet, Sebastian. I might as well do something that makes me feel better.”

Sebastian sat down on the grass next to her and picked up the file. Cara noticed that his fingers were shaking slightly as he did so. “I don’t know how a murder case will make things any easier for you today.”

“Because the defendant has been accused of murder before and he’s always gotten off. This time he’s going to jail; I’m going to make sure of it. That’s what he deserves.”

“Spoken like a true member of the Kris family.” Sebastian brushed a light kiss across her cheek as he placed to the folder in her outstretched hands.

“Ah, but you are also a member of my family now. Maybe we should get you into law school.”

“At this point I think med school would’ve been a better choice.”

“I think it may be a little too late for med school. You would look awful cute in a nurse’s uniform though.” Sebastian roared with laughter, which relieved Cara greatly. There would not be much to laugh about soon if her vision came true.

She had told Sebastian about the vision she’d had the night that the Hunters had come in and killed so many of the Fallen. When she became pregnant, he had insisted that there was no way in hell she would to have the baby out here at this house. He was not going to chance a rogue attack her while she was having their child.

Cara had told him that it would be inevitable, that no matter where they went, no matter how far away they ran, fate would conspire to bring them back here to this place. Destiny was a wheel, and you could spin it as many times as you liked, but you would always wind up back in the same spot eventually.

Sebastian had not wanted to hear that, but after four months of Tribe women telling him the same thing, and Nico’s insistence that Cara’s vision would come to pass, he had finally relented. Sebastian had been working for months to make sure that Cara and his child would be as safe as possible when the time came, but Cara could tell by his aura that he was still worried. Not afraid, but worried.

She smiled up at him and asked, “Do you miss it sometimes?”

“Miss what exactly?” His eyes went to one of her nipples, plumped out now with the beginning of what promised to be an ample supply of milk for the infant. He placed his index finger on that nipple and stroked lightly, moving his fingertips slowly in gentle circles, barely brushing the flesh and sending shivers all the way through her body.

“All of it. The motorcycle club, running in packs, Hunting. The last several years have been very quiet. You’ve been living the life of a rather sedate businessman and a husband. Do you miss the wildness?”

“There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, that could ever replace this. Besides, I still have my motorcycle. If you’d listened to me, we could’ve taken it out for a ride earlier today and shaken our little bundle of joy loose from your womb.”

Cara gave him a reproving glance. “I take it back. You would make an awful doctor.  What doctor would recommend riding a motorcycle to induce labor?”

“Doctor Sebastian,” he said smugly. She chuckled as she opened the file and began perusing its contents.

“Are you hungry?” Sebastian asked.

“I am absolutely starving. Unfortunately, I can’t eat now that this has started. You wouldn’t want me to spew chunks all over you, would you?”

“It’s not the chunks I’m afraid of; I’m afraid I might find myself trying to grab a slippery skyrocketing infant.”

Cara’s laughter was genuine. It rose high in the air and when she was done laughing, her belly was weak from that mirth. The contractions had eased some and she was grateful for that, just as she was grateful for his presence there beside her. His hand clasped her shoulder and he moved the file aside long enough to lean down and kiss her deeply.

“I think you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” His voice held a ring of reverence.

“And I still think you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever known. I love our life, Sebastian. I never thought we would even get to have one together, but here we are.”

Neither of them mentioned the fact that they might be facing death that very night. There was a slithering sound from the trees. Sebastian tensed slightly. His posture gave away nothing and he didn’t turn his head to look through the foliage. They both knew that the small bushes between the trees would conceal any would–be attackers; by the time an attacking rogue made it to the clearing where she lay, it would be too late to hold it back.

The pulse in her throat quickened. Despite all her protests to the contrary, Cara was terrified. But there was no fighting destiny. She’d learned that the hard way.

Another contraction hit, harder and longer than the previous ones. Sebastian said, “They’re still ten minutes apart. What does that mean?”

“It means that it’s going to be a long time yet.”

There was food in a basket beside them and Cara insisted that Sebastian eat. She watched him, her eyes tracing the ridge of the scar on his right cheekbone. That scar would have ruined most men’s faces, but it just made Sebastian even sexier, like a rugged pirate. It made little tingles break out in her belly to consider how good he would look in some tight leather pants, shirtless and standing before a mast with a sword in his hand.

The scar wasn’t the only thing left from Gregory’s attack: Sebastian now had a slight, barely noticeable limp. Gregory had taken a chunk out of his leg, and not even Sebastian’s incredible healing abilities could replace missing flesh.

She concentrated on her files, thinking of all the work she had put in to get to where she was today. She was indeed a prosecutor, as she’s dreamed. She worked for the state, and while the pay was lousy, the rewards were not. In the four months that she been working for the prosecutor’s office, she’d managed to put away two of the city’s most violent drug dealers.

She knew that she was fortunate. Nobody had ever connected her to the Tribe or the Fallen, nor had they managed to connect Sebastian to it. When the legal furor had finally calmed down, the Hunters on the police force had ensured that the press never knew about the werewolves running amok in the city.

They also managed to spin it so that they got the credit for chasing the big bad biker clubs out of town. Overall, it was a win, but there were days when Cara would pass Detective Johnson in the hallways of the courthouses and he would stop and give her a long and lingering look. He never had to say anything, and neither did she. Sebastian was a Wolf, and the Hunter would always be watching, ready to take up a weapon and kill Sebastian if he thought it was necessary.

Sebastian wasn’t bothered by that fact. He knew that the detective felt that he owed Sebastian his life, and Sebastian had no wish to go back to a life of crime. Cara did not either. Now that Nico and Moira were married and Devon was no longer in danger of being murdered by a jealous cousin, they had become an almost normal family. That is, if you considered ex-bikers who cast spells, saw the future and turned into wolves to be anything resembling “normal.”

Dusk began to settle on the open field. A light breeze ruffled the trees, making the bells and charm bottles that hung from their limbs clatter musically. The cheerful tinkling could not take Cara’s mind off of the contractions that were coming harder now, mere minutes apart.

The pain was intense, racing through her like lightning, and she had to clench her teeth together to keep from screaming. The last thing on earth she wanted to do was let Sebastian know how bad it hurt. He had enough on his mind.

Night was falling now. The purple shadows were being overtaken by blackness. The wind picked up, and there was a sigh from the treetops. A faint moon shone in the indigo dome of the sky. The first faint pricks of starlight showed, and the jaybirds silenced as the night birds began to sing.

Sebastian stood and stretched all over, flexing his lean body. She loved to watch that tensing and loosening of his muscles, the way he put both hands into the small of his back and leaned backwards so that his hips came forward. The bulge in his jeans was always more prominent at that moment and she wondered if he knew it. If he was teasing her now, it was a really bad time. She doubted even his lovemaking would ease the pain, and she was also pretty sure if he even suggested anything like that, she would coldcock him.