The Werevamp Diaries: Moon Beam Dream (The Lynlee Lincoln Series Book 5) (3 page)

“So why aren’t you with the pack?  That’s probably part of the little guy’s problem.  He needs the comfort of his fellow wolves.  And I didn’t even know you’d taken a mate.”

Not that she would have been invited to the ceremony or anything.  Since she’d chosen to abandon the pack to become a doctor and a veterinarian, her fellow wolves didn’t have much use for her.  Of course, even when she’d been among them, they weren’t really keen on her.  She was a freak from the moment she’d become a werewolf/vampire hybrid.

“I don’t,” Rhetta said, curling her legs up under her and looking pitiful.  “Have a mate, that is.  I joined another pack last year.”

That wasn’t all that unusual.  Werewolves sometimes switched packs, especially when searching for the best mate.  Her father’s pack had always been a small one, so it wasn’t surprising that her sister would look elsewhere.

But females without mates didn’t have children.  So that was definitely not the norm.

“You might as well spit out the entire story.  I have a boyfriend who will be here in about ten minutes.”

Rhetta’s eyes widened, and twinge of annoyance rattled up Rhiannon’s spine.  Why was the fact that she had a boyfriend so surprising?  With a slow inhale, she gritted her teeth and waited for her sister to speak.

“His father... he already has a mate.  My baby’s illegitimate,” the other woman murmured in a soft voice.

“Oh, Rhetta.  What were you thinking?”

Shaking her head in panicked jerks, Rhetta dropped to her knees and crawled over to her. “Please, we just need a place to stay for a few days.  I promise we won’t be a bother.”

“Let’s just get one thing straight, sis.  I don’t hold with the pack rules, and we’re not going to refer to my nephew as illegitimate.  I assume he has a name, right?”

“Remington.  I call him Remy.”

Rhiannon smiled, then glanced over her shoulder when the doorbell rang. “Remy, I like that.”

She was surprised to see Sandy on the other side of the door since he usually just dropped directly into the room.  “I didn’t want to pop in since you had company,” he explained.

“You’re a sweetheart.” She leaned in and gave him a little kiss, then grabbed the five boxes of pizza from his hand and jaunted off towards the kitchen.

“Sandy, this is my sister, Rhetta.  Rhetta, this is my man Sandy.  Now let’s eat!  I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Rhetta announced, standing up quickly and following her older sister.

“Hmmm,” Sandy frowned. “Five pizzas might not be enough for one sandman and two werewolves.”

T
he pizza was all but obliterated by the time Remy woke up.  Rhiannon still thought his cries sounded like a child who was hungry, but she bit her tongue when her sister brushed off that remark and instead sequestered herself in the bedroom with the baby.

Sandy leaned back in his chair and gave her a cock-eyed look.  “What’s going on here?”

Rhia blew him a kiss then picked up their three plates and carried them to the sink. “She says the babydaddy has a mate.  Which is a huge no-no in packs.  They won’t want a boy were raised away from his father, so I imagine the pack wants the child to live with him and his mate.  In other words, Rhetta’s at risk of losing custody of her baby.”

Scoffing, he stacked up the empty pizza boxes. “That seems harsh.  A baby needs its mother.”

Rhiannon inclined her head in agreement, but her brows were pulled together in a severe frown as she stared down the hallway where her sister had disappeared.  “There’s something else going on here.”

“There is?”

“Yeah, I have a gut feeling.  She’s not telling me the whole story.  She was always like that.  You know, I remember one time for Christmas she wanted the dolly I got, and so she switched the presents under the tree.  I could tell she’d done something, but it was weeks before she finally ‘fessed up.” Rhia offered him a big grin. “but she
always
‘fesses up.”

Sandy stood and stepped in behind her, wrapping his arms about her waist and squeezing. “Well in the meantime, I hope she isn’t putting you in any kind of danger.”

“Pfft.” Rhia shook her head. “Danger?  Don’t you know by now I can take care of myself?”

“So sue me for worrying.  I happen to care about you.” As if to prove those words, he rubbed his hips against her backside and nibbled her earlobe.

“Damn her,” she hissed. “I was really looking forward to enjoying every inch of your body for dessert, too.”

He chuckled against her neck. “I was looking forward to doing the same with your body.  But tomorrow’s another day.  Best get her and the baby settled.  If things are calm, I’ll plan to stay tomorrow night.  Deal?”

With an abject sigh, she agreed.  Sandy twisted her around in his arms and pressed his mouth to hers.  She opened her lips and delved her tongue inside, teasing his in quick jabs and sweeps until he groaned and grabbed her backside with both hands.  “Good night, Sandy.”

He lifted one foot and took a step back. “Good night, sweetheart.” His body transformed into sand from top to bottom until it disappeared entirely.

“He’s a sandman?” Rhetta asked, standing in the doorway with a much calmer Remy in her arms. 

Rhiannon put a smile on her face and reached her arms out to the baby.  His crystal blue eyes stared into her in a way that made her feel funny, but after just a moment’s hesitation, he slapped his hands at the air and reached for her.  His grin was all gooey with drool, but she didn’t mind as she cuddled him close and enjoyed his baby-scent.

She could feel Rhetta’s eyes on her as she crossed to the living area and sat down on the couch, setting Remy in her lap facing her.  She had his hands in hers, his tiny fingers clutching her thumbs while she softly gabbed to him in baby talk.

“You’d make a good mom, Rhia.”

She just shrugged, smacking a kiss to the baby’s forehead and making him shriek in glee.  “Probably.  But it just wasn’t in the cards.”

After her vampire transformation, she’d known she likely wouldn’t be able to have kids.  Later, when she’d started studying medicine, she’d run tests just to be sure.  The change had ruined her chances to conceive.  Sure, she’d lamented that for a while, but the truth was it was just as well.  In the rare instances when paranormal species mixed, the offspring many times didn’t survive. 
That
would be more than she could handle.  And suppose the child did live?  She couldn’t in good conscience create a hybrid even if it were possible for her to have a baby. They were the outcasts of the paranormal world.  Who would stick a kid with that sort of stigma?

“You know the pack will look for you here, right?  I mean, just because I’m not a part of them doesn’t mean they can’t find me.”

“I know.” Rhetta dropped her head. “Like I said, we’ll only stay a few days.”

“Then what?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

Rhia stared hard at her sister, conveying loud and clearly how worried she was.  Remy gurgled bubbles of spit from his adorable lips and leaned forward, bumping his head into her chin.

“You are a handsome fellow,” she told him, applying little sucking kisses to his cheeks.  “Does he nurse well?  Have you started him on solids?”

Her sister sniffed and sat up a little taller.  She was definitely hitting a nerve every time she brought up the issue of the baby’s eating habits.  “Yes, a little.  He’s picky.”

“Well, Auntie Rhia will have to help you learn to appreciate one of the best parts of being a werewolf, won’t she?”

Rhetta stood up and took the baby, kissing his chubby cheek.  “We won’t kick you out of your bed.  The couch will be fine.”

“Oh no, my nephew gets the bed, which means so does his mom.  Did you bring any of your stuff with you?”

Her sister was staring hard at the baby, her expression intense with tender affection and a little sadness.  She smiled a little at him as they communicated with one another in the special way that only a mother and her child could.  Not taking her eyes off of the baby, she replied, “No, I didn’t have time to grab much except Remy’s things.”

“Well c’mon, and I’ll find you something to sleep in, then I’ll be out of your hair. You and Remy can try to settle in.”

About an hour later, Rhiannon closed the door to the bedroom, leaving Rhetta and the baby alone inside.  After a quick shower, she plopped onto the couch and crossed her legs, rubbing the damp ends of her hair between her hands to dry them.  When flipping through the channels and finding nothing worth watching bored her, she picked up her phone to pull up Sandy’s number.

Miss me?

She barely had time to lean back against the arm of the sofa and bury herself with blankets when her phone dinged a response.

Absolutely.  Was thinking of you the moment you texted me.  Everything okay?

Her insides did a belly flop while a smile split her face. 
Everything is good.  Rhetta and Remy have the bedroom.  I have the couch.

Guess that means I probably shouldn’t sneak over with a plan for ravishing your body
.

Rhia snorted and giggled. 
I love it when you go all romance novel on me.

She tossed the phone down to wait for a response, mentally taking stock of what sort of snacks she had in the pantry when her belly rumbled.  Gasping in surprise, she grabbed the phone when its ring filled the house.  She swiped it quickly then brought to her ear to answer. “Silly!  Why are you calling?  You probably woke the baby.”

There was silence on the phone, and she frowned and cocked her head to the side. 

“I wasn’t aware you had a child.”

The voice on the other end of the line most definitely wasn’t her boyfriend’s.  She took it away from her ear to glance at the screen, but the number was restricted.  “Who is this?” Her voice was low and rough with caution.

“It’s Prieto,” he said his name with a roll of the tongue that was sexy enough that she shivered.  “I require your assistance.”

“Hmmm.” She narrowed her eyes. “Require, huh?”

Vincent Prieto was an Enforcer, which was basically a high-level law enforcement operative in the paranormal world.  Lynlee was a Neutralizer who helped try to keep Magical And Undead Creatures out of trouble, but Enforcers were the heavy lifters, responsible for not only keeping their kind out of trouble but also making sure they never got into trouble again.

“Yes, require.  I will be there to get you in ten minutes exactly.  You’ll need your medical tools.”

And with that he hung up.  Enforcers could be pretty heavy-handed.  Rhiannon tossed the blankets aside and stood, heading straight for the kitchen.  Sure, she could be annoyed about Prieto’s rude call, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it if he was using his Enforcer authority.  Besides, he’d insisted she have her doctor supplies so that must mean someone needed help.

“But I’m not going out on an empty stomach,” she told herself softly as she grabbed two double decker moon pies from the cabinet.  Opening them both, she joined them like a giant chocolate covered marshmallow sandwich and quickly scarfed it down. 

With her system recharged by sugar and carbs, she grabbed a change of clothes from the dryer, frowning at their wrinkled state.  She wondered if she had time to fluff them a bit, then decided against it.  She was barely decent by the time he appeared in her house amidst a cloud of purple smoke.

“Shhh.” She put her finger to her lips when he opened his mouth to speak. “My sister and my baby nephew are in the next room.  Let me get my bag and then you can explain once we’re out of here.”

S
uddenly purple smoke surrounded her, and Rhiannon was startled to realize she wasn’t standing on solid ground anymore, but was slowly gliding along into nothingness.  Within a few moments, the earth below her reformed and she settled on terra firm, her head spinning. 

The truth was she’d been transported by all different types of paranormals, but never by an angel before.  There weren’t many of them in the MAUC world, at least not many that people were aware of.  Prieto was a fallen angel, which basically meant he’d become separated from God by choosing to live apart from Heaven.  It was a choice that couldn’t be undone, at least as far as she knew.

“So.” She swallowed and shook her head to clear the fuzziness. “Tell me what this is about.” 

There was a teeny bit of distrust in her voice as she examined her surroundings, and with good cause.  When Enforcers appeared, it usually meant someone was in big trouble.  Last year, Lynlee had been contacted by Prieto when one of her MAUCs was involved in an incident which might have revealed the magical world to humans. That was a big no-no. Turned out that Prieto had also been intent on recruiting her BFF to become an Enforcer.  Tig insisted that Lynlee wouldn’t be able to say no when the time came, but so far the Enforcers hadn’t pressed. 

“Well, as you know, Dr. Blackmeade, there are certain MAUCs who commit infractions that endanger our world.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.” She leaned forward to look down at what appeared to be a long hallway made of stone. “Are we underground? Wait, is this...” She gasped in awe. “Is this a dungeon?”

Prieto raised a black eyebrow, frowning at her in condescension. “In a manner of speaking.” He flicked his hand with a twist of his wrist, indicating that she should follow him.  The walls of the place carried the echo of his heels thumping the rock floor, and she hurried to keep up with him.

“The location of this place is classified.  So is anything or anyone else you might see while here.”

“Listen.” She shifted her bag to the other hand, gripping the leather handle like a vice. “I’m pretty sure I never signed up for this sort of thing.  I intentionally chose not to become a Neutralizer because I don’t want to be bound to any of you higher-ups.  I’m a doctor.  Nothing else.”

She saw his shoulders tighten in response. “I believe there are certain confidentiality rules in medicine, are there not, Dr. Blackmeade?”

Rhiannon snorted, but didn’t argue. 

“Have you had any interaction with a phoenix?”

“A phoenix?  Or
the
phoenix?”