Hierarchy (21 page)

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Bronwyn had been wavering between embarrassment and indignation that the doctor had taken it upon himself to explain it in so much detail—although she had considered that it might not be impossible to keep her secret under the circumstances.

The last remark sent alarm through her, though. “High risk?” she echoed in dismay.

“Multiple births can be risky—and you’re not an ideal candidate given your age—but we’ll keep a close watch and take the best of care of you and the babies.”

Bronwyn was indignant all over again. He talked like she was a grandma! She was barely thirty, damn it! So she was a late bloomer!

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Needless to say, neither she nor Luke were in a mood to talk on the way back to her house. Luke was clearly torn between the certainty that all three were his and the nagging worry that none of them were—or that only one was and Constantine and Caleb had managed to horn in on
his
party.

Bronwyn was torn between her discomfort that the damned doctor had told the guys just how weird she was, anxiety at his suggestion that she might have problems, and rushes of excitement alternating with dismay at the discovery that she was carrying triplets.

She had been thinking twins. Nanna had said ‘babes’ and she had firmly fixated on the possibility of twins. Actually, she’d been trying to dismiss that part. She had sort of accepted the possibility, though—but three?

What the hell was that? Damn it!
Nobody
had said she was going to get her entire family in one lick! Nobody had warned her! What was she going to do with three—at once? She wasn’t even sure that she could handle one baby. She’d figured she could get a little practice in with one and then, maybe, she’d consider having one more.

Try though she might, she couldn’t dismiss the thought that she’d been the center of four different prophesies and had ended up fulfilling all of them when she’d been sure
two
had to be some kind of mistake, that she must be intended for one of them—or none.

It was the freak-thing. If she hadn’t been born so weird, she wouldn’t have been the ‘promised one’.

Which meant she wouldn’t have met Constantine, Luke, or Caleb.

That was a more unhappy thought than the ordeal she had in front of her—

carrying three, delivering three, and then having to figure out how to deal with three babies all the same age who might or might not just happen to be part witch, and part vampire, lycan, and Raja.

She was abruptly certain that she was having one for each of them, in that way fulfilling the prophesy, or least her part of it, for each of them.

She didn’t know exactly how she felt about that, but she felt a tentative lifting of the shock, maybe even an odd little thrill.

She was still bone deep scared that her first was going to be, or at least could be, a complicated pregnancy.

She tried not to think about the fact that her mother had died from complications, but it wasn’t something she could put completely from her mind. Her grandmother had never actually gone into the details and it wasn’t something she’d wanted to know. She’d always felt guilty about it. Nanna had never blamed her, but how else could she feel about it knowing her mother had died because she had her?

She wished now, though, that she’d demanded to know everything.

So she could be a
lot
more scared!

She shook the thoughts off. As that nasty doctor had pointed out, she wasn’t young. It had been thirty years since she’d been born. A lot of things had changed for
127

the better.

The doctor hadn’t seemed particularly worried.

Of course, that was because
he
wasn’t the one that was thirty and facing a triple delivery!

She wondered what was going through the guys’ minds. None of them had actually talked to her about it. They hadn’t actually talked to her at all. She supposed they’d been shocked, too, although she was sure part of Constantine’s swift disappearing act had had to do with that awful suit he’d had to wear just to go outside in the daylight.

No wonder he’d been so anxious about the prophesy! It must be awful never to be able to walk in the sun!

And, of course, he never would, but his son would—if she was having his son.

It flickered through her mind, briefly, that Nanna had said she’d ensured that the baby was conceived in love, but she wasn’t quite as trusting of her grandmother as she’d been before she’d discovered her deception. How could she know that comment wasn’t also a tall tale? Or possibly a white lie. After all, if she loved them then the baby was conceived in love whether they cared about her at all!

She wasn’t going to find answers in the prophesy—any of the versions.

The hard fact of the matter was that she was on her own now. She didn’t have her grandmother’s guidance to fall back on and the damned prophesy had never actually been much in the way of guidance. She could comfort herself that it seemed to insure that the babies would survive. Unfortunately, there was nothing to say she would, but she decided that she simply couldn’t allow that to rule her. She needed to focus on taking care of herself, which would in turn take care of them, and then she had some hope of a happy conclusion in that, as least.

The rest—well, she was still going to have to work it out. Maybe, as her grandmother had suggested, she was going to give birth to a baby for each of them and fulfill their desire to sire the great leaders they all expected. And maybe, since it was important to them, she could at least look forward to having them in her life, for the sake of the babies if for no reason.

But maybe the babies would create at least a semblance of the bond she wanted with their fathers?

* * * *

Constantine apparently decided it would be less of a blow to his dignity to call rather than throwing pebbles at her window to get her attention. He suggested he drive down and pick her up, then drive her to the city for dinner. It occurred to her that it might be another bid to capture her and play keep away, but he hadn’t tried before when she’d met him in the garden. Besides, it seemed now that she’d settled in the boarding house and none of them could get to her unless she permitted it—or they managed to waylay her beyond the protection of the house—that they were satisfied enough just knowing that the others couldn’t get to her either.

She agreed to the date only if he promised to ply her with wine and seduce her.

He chuckled a little uncomfortably at her joke and she realized with a mixture of amusement and warmth that that was exactly what he’d had in mind.

“You’ll have to manage without the wine. The doctor said to stay away from alcoholic beverages.”

She heard him sigh.

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“Maybe I should just be … hogtied!” he said bitterly.

The suggestion sent Bronwyn’s imagination into overdrive. “Can I do it? That sounds like fun, actually. I could have my wicked way with you and you couldn’t do anything about it.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line for several moments. “I think I just came,” Constantine murmured ruefully.

Bronwyn chuckled huskily. “Just wait until you see what I have in mind,” she promised.

She was pretty sure that she was as thrilled as she had been the first time he’d asked her out. It didn’t outlast a view of herself in the mirror. Her belly had mounded just enough to be an unsightly blob nothing could disguise.

It was just as well the damned cops had her pretty black dress. It would’ve looked like hell on her.

Of course, she’d worn that the time before anyway, she comforted herself.

There wasn’t time to rush out and buy anything even if there’d been a store in Greenville that had anything she would want. And the cops had all of her favorite things so she was stuck with the clothing she hadn’t really wanted to take with her.

Depression quickly overtook her initial excitement, but she determinedly beat it back and searched until she found a blouse loose enough it didn’t hug every unsightly bulge and a pair jeans that were almost new from her last ‘fat’ period. It was more depressing that they actually fit but she tried to look on the bright side. At least they didn’t have the well worn look of most of her clothes.

Maybe she’d suggest they grab take out and head his place?

Bracing herself when she heard a vehicle pull into her driveway, she ignored the temptation for a last look in the mirror and headed out to meet him. The vehicle parked in her drive definitely wasn’t Constantine’s limo. It looked an awful lot like the black van Luke had been driving.

He grinned at her lazily when she reached the van. “You look good enough to eat. How about dinner and little of you, baby?”

This was awkward!

“I’d really love to … but I can’t.”

He looked her over speculatively. “You look like you’re ready for a night out to me.”

Bronwyn released an irritated huff when she realized there was no avoiding an argument with him. “Constantine asked me out to dinner.”

He got out of the van. Leaning back against the door, he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Did he, now?”

He didn’t sound angry. He actually didn’t even sound surprised and she didn’t quite like the tone of his voice. “Yes, he did. He called.”

“Mmm. Well, he isn’t here. You might as well go with me.”

Bronwyn frowned. “I already told him I’d go to dinner with him.”

He nodded. “The thing is—I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to make it.”

The nagging suspicion that had been flickering in the back of her mind became full blown. “Why would you say that?”

“He had a nasty encounter with garlic … from what I heard. And he has this really gods awful reaction to it. Makes him break out in boils. Nothing to worry about,
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I’m sure, but I imagine he’ll have to take a rain check on dinner.”

Bronwyn gaped at him. “Luke! You didn’t!”

He touched his hand with his chest. “
Moi
? Hell no!” He held out his arms.

“Take a whiff if you don’t believe me. I don’t have a smidgeon of garlic on me and, believe you me, whoever dusted the inside of his limo with garlic powder is bound to smell like it.”

Glaring at him, she stalked back into the house and phoned the club. Stephen answered, gave Constantine’s apologies in a tight voice, and informed her that he was indisposed at the moment. She was fuming mad when she hung up. She was tempted to park her butt in the house and ignore Luke but too pissed off to refrain from venting.

He had the rear door of the van open when she stalked back outside. “That was a dirty trick, Luke Gray Wolf!” she snapped.

He turned to look at her. “You think?” he growled. “Well, paybacks are hell is all I can say, baby!
Some
body put a skunk in my place last week and he ‘scented’ me and half my pack brothers before we could get the little bastard out.”

Bronwyn stared at him, aghast, trying to decide if she was more horrified or more amused. She didn’t dare laugh, however, considering the look on Luke’s face. “Where in the world would Constantine get a skunk? And how would he get him into your place without anyone noticing?”

“He’s a vampire. He can go anywhere he damned well pleases without being seen just by cloaking himself—and
somebody
stole a skunk from the city zoo, so I’m guessing that’s where he got it from.”

Bronwyn shook her head. “I just can’t imagine Constantine doing such a thing—

maybe one of the others.”

“You think any of them make a move that he doesn’t know about and approve before hand? You think any of the others might have a motive to make damned sure I didn’t go anywhere around you for a while?”

She might’ve suspected Luke had only made the tale up to head off her anger over his prank—which must be painful for Constantine if it was true—but he seemed angry enough to be completely believable and that experience couldn’t have been pleasant for him either.

She could see he was just as angry with her for defending Constantine.

The depression from before descended on her again, except despair prompted it this time.

This wasn’t going to work, she realized. All of them were alpha males and they couldn’t handle not having full possession. She didn’t delude herself into thinking it had anything to do with love for her. She didn’t think they’d actually been more than peripherally aware that she was a person with a mind of her own to begin with and she was pretty sure, despite the wakeup call she’d given them, that they still didn’t think of her as anything but the prize they were all determined to have. They were still more focused on outdoing each other.

For all she knew, they fought regularly. Even if they didn’t, Constantine and Luke clearly were working up to another huge life or death battle by provoking one another. She was pretty sure each of them were thoroughly enjoying the battle of wills whenever they got one over on their opponent. Even she thought some of it was funny.

But it was
still
a deadly battle of wills between them.

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Luke decided to assert himself while she was distracted with her thoughts.

Grabbing her, he hauled her inside the van and she discovered he’d re-outfitted it for seduction. All of the backseats had been removed and replaced with a mattress that took up the entire rear area. He’d dragged her inside and pinned her beneath his weight before she had the chance to wiggle loose from him.

She stared up at his shadowy face in the dim light from the overhead.

She wasn’t going to lose them, she thought unhappily. She’d never
had
them to start with!

“I can’t do this, Luke.”

He tilted his head to study her. “You’re pissed off about Constantine. I told you it wasn’t me.”

She didn’t bother to point out that sending one of his pack brothers to do the dirty deed was the same thing. He wouldn’t
know
about it if he wasn’t involved. She sighed.

“That either. That isn’t what I was talking about, though. If I didn’t care about of you, I could do it. I wish I didn’t. I’ve never been sorrier about anything. It would be so much easier for me if I just enjoyed the sex and none of the rest mattered.”

His expression hardened. “If this was just about sex, gods damn it, baby, I could get what I wanted a hell of a lot easier some-damned-where else!”

“You think I don’t know that?” she said angrily, feeling her chin wobble with hurt despite her anger. “It was always about that damned prophesy and I think now it’s just because the three of you are enjoying the battle of wills between you!”

“I never believed in the damned prophesy,” he growled. “I don’t give a flying fuck about it, if you want the truth, and never did.”

She stared at him. She wanted to believe him. She really did, and that was why she knew she couldn’t trust her feelings. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Then don’t,” he growled, leaning down to nuzzle his face against her neck.

She closed her eyes, struggling with the insidious warmth that began to invade her and wreaked havoc with her mind. “I wish I hadn’t agreed to see any of you anymore. I should’ve stuck to my guns and just refused. You’re all enjoying your little war games and I’m the only casualty here. I wish I hadn’t even come outside tonight! I wish I was tucked in my bed, sound asleep, and I didn’t have to deal with trying to figure out how to keep you guys off of each others’ throat!”

The tingling rush that swept over her felt oddly unlike a sexual rush. It felt downright peculiar in point of fact. Luke released her abruptly. When she opened her eyes, disorientation swept over her. She found herself staring up at the ceiling of her room instead of the overhead of Luke’s van.

Shocked, certain she was hallucinating, she blinked her eyes several times and finally looked around. It
looked
like her bedroom, but how in the world had she gotten in her bedroom?

Wondering if she’d dreamed everything that had happened before, she finally sat up and climbed from the bed. Just as she reached her living room window and peered out to see if she had imagined the whole thing, she heard a car engine turn over. Headlights flooded the side yard and then Luke backed his van from the drive way, shifted the gear to drive and peeled off, leaving a trail of rubber and ‘pissed off’ in his wake.

Now she felt better!

Her nose stung with the urge to cry, but she sniffed and dismissed it. If he was
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angry, all the better, she told herself. Maybe he wouldn’t come back at all, and that would be better for her in the long run.

She should’ve known she couldn’t keep them as lovers whatever her grandmother had said. She shouldn’t even have tried. It was insane! She didn’t know what she’d been thinking to believe she could juggle three such … powerful, virile, hardheaded, arrogant …
alpha
men!

Well! It was a damned good thing whatever had just happened
had
happened!

She would’ve fallen right under Luke’s spell and that wouldn’t have been right when she’d promised Constantine the night.

And she’d didn’t doubt he’d have heard it. Luke would’ve made damned sure Constantine knew she’d fallen right into
his
bed after telling him she’d go out with him.

He’d have every reason in the world to believe she was no better than
they
were, that she was only into the sex and she didn’t particularly care where she got it.

She sighed. Maybe it would be just as well if that was what they thought? At least for her.

She shook the thought off. The only way it would be good for her was if she actually felt that way.

Leaving the living room after a few minutes, she went back into her room, changed into a comfortable gown and washed her face. She headed to the kitchen after that to look for something to eat since she hadn’t eaten, nibbling disinterestedly on first one thing and then another as she ran across it. She wasn’t really hungry, she realized, mostly because she was upset, but she knew better than to just skip a meal. She’d be barfing her head off in the morning if she woke too empty.

She settled in the living room with an apple finally and turned the TV on so that she’d have something for background noise and then proceeded to ignore it, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.

Magic, she decided, but whose magic? Nanna had said that she would come into her own with the birth of the babies, suggested that it was a process that had already begun with conception. She hadn’t been
aware
of summoning any kind of magic, though. Could she do it that easily? Or was some other force at work?

Her heart fluttered a little with excitement when it occurred to her that Caleb might have had something to do with it, but she reluctantly dismissed it. She hadn’t seen him since the doctor visit—only a couple of times before that. It didn’t necessarily follow that he hadn’t been around. She hadn’t known that Constantine had until he’d told her.