The Wolf Who Hatched an Egg (16 page)

“Okay, Shiloh.”
Liam took a deep breath and opened the car door.

“You can count on us.”

* * * *

Unsurprisingly, it took a while for Liam to find Sandy Anderson.

Even if they had the general address, they still needed to go to some obscure village in the middle of Southampton. Luckily, Soren managed to arrange for a private plane to carry them over the ocean.

Liam would have preferred to see Shiloh and the egg one more time
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before they were forced to leave the United States, but he didn’t have any choice. Shiloh needed to stay behind to care for the egg, and they didn’t have much time before the swans tried to take it back again.

Skylar had enlisted Garth’s assistance for Shiloh’s protection, so Liam was pretty sure Shiloh would be safe. Still, just in case, he sent Brody back to the city and told Nicolas to go with him. His mate would need a couple of friendly faces, especially since it had been established that Skylar would go with them.

Daniel stayed with them, and distantly, Liam noticed the occasional furtive looks between Soren and the squirrel shifter. He made a mental note to inquire into it as soon as was necessary. To a certain extent, it concerned him. The elder might have been okay with Liam taking a mate outside their species, but he already had one son bonded to a male herbivore, and he might not take kindly to Soren doing the same.

In the end, they sneaked into the British airspace without too much trouble. Their pilot dropped them off just minutes from their destination, a small community of shape-shifters. When they landed, they found Skylar already waiting for them.

Skylar explained that according to their original reconnaissance, it didn’t consist only of swans, but also of other species that could coexist. Of course, Liam very much doubted he or the other wolves would be welcome. “It’ll be best if Dani and I go inside alone,” he said. “That way we won’t initiate any hostilities.”

Soren didn’t look thrilled about it, but he nodded. Daniel led the way, and the group of wolves stopped at the outskirts of the village.

Yet again, they were forced to wait, and the feeling of uselessness crowded Liam’s mind. He’d have been of better use by his mate’s side.

The wait seemed to take ages, but at last, Daniel and Liam approached them, followed by a tall, slender woman. “Hey, you didn’t say anything about wolves.” The woman gave Skylar an ugly look when she saw them. “I think I changed my mind.”

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Liam suppressed the urge to growl at her. “Look, we just want to ask you a few questions.”

The swan didn’t seem particularly convinced. “About Charles. I just knew I shouldn’t let this guy convince me. If Charles is involved, it means trouble.”

Somehow, she managed to sound both elegant and sleazy. It must be a feat only a swan would be capable of. Liam kept a stance as neutral as possible and offered her a smile as he started the camcorder hidden against his hip. “Just tell us how you know him, when was the last time you saw him. That sort of thing.”

A casual interrogation would probably be best and would not alert her that she was being recorded. Technically speaking, this would be illegal for a human, but shape-shifters had the advantage of skirting some human laws.

The woman arched a brow. “Very well. He and I met in the States.

I was on holiday and decided to visit some friends there.” She laughed self-deprecatingly. “At first, I thought he might be my mate, but then realized he’s not partner material. He seemed fun enough, so I hung around.”

So far, nothing she’d said was of any use to him. No-strings sex might not be the norm for swans, but it wasn’t unusual for shape-shifters in general, and it wasn’t a crime. “Right,” he prodded. “What else? Did he ask anything of you?”

Sandy tensed. “What is this all about anyway?” she inquired. “I’m not really happy with answering all these questions.”

Skylar wrapped an arm around her waist. “It’s nothing you should be worried about. You just need to tell us what you know, and then we’ll let you go.”

“With my money,” Sandy insisted. “And I won’t get into any trouble for this.”

Skylar nodded, but Liam could sense a tension in the man. He hoped they wouldn’t have problems because of this. It seemed Skylar promised her cash in exchange of her cooperation, but Liam didn’t
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think he could have come up with the idea. “You have my word you won’t have any problems,” Skylar said.

Sandy shrugged and started to speak again. “I suppose it’s not that big of a deal. Most people know anyway. I laid an egg for him. He promised to pay me handsomely if I did it, and hey, who am I to refuse?”

Through his connection with his mate, Liam sensed Shiloh’s disgust.
“No wonder she doesn’t live in a swan community, with that
kind of attitude.”

Liam smiled tightly. “Did he say why he wanted it?”

“Not at first,” Sandy answered. After a small hesitation, she continued, “I really won’t get into trouble for this?”

Skylar nodded. “Don’t worry about a thing. I take full responsibility. Go on.”

Sandy seemed pacified. “One night, though, he got a little drunk and told me he had a plan.” She laughed unpleasantly. “Apparently, he’s stuck on this guy who dumped him years back. Shiloh, I think his name was? Anyway, he was going to take the egg and give it to the guy, then, after a while, accuse him of having stolen it. The only way for this Shiloh person to keep the egg would be to mate him.”

“And it didn’t bother you to have your egg taken?” Skylar asked softly.

The woman shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve lain eggs for same-sex couples. Whatever they choose to do with them afterwards is their business.” She arched a brow at Liam. “So, I’m assuming he got into trouble for it. Well, as long as no one badgers me for it, I don’t care.”

Liam grinned back at her. “I appreciate your cooperation, madam.

Don’t worry. No one will bother you.”

They had what they’d come for, and he suspected Shiloh’s parents would be very interested in it.

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Shiloh fidgeted on the chair, as nervous as hell. He stole another peek at the clock on the wall. God, it was taking them forever to get here.

Through Skylar’s assistance, they’d managed to set up a meeting with his parents, Charles, and the swan elder at the agency. It made Shiloh anxious that the situation even reached the elder, but at this point, he couldn’t back down. It didn’t help that he missed his egg like crazy. It was in the nursery, cared for by professionals, but he still wouldn’t be happy until he had it with him again.

Liam took his hand and squeezed it. “It’s going to be all right, baby. With what we have on Charles and all of Skylar’s research, there’s no way that custody won’t be granted to us.”

Shiloh offered his mate a tremulous smile. “I hope so, Liam. I hope so.”

Thankfully, he was not forced to wait for much longer. A few minutes later, Garth entered through a side door. “Ready?” he asked.

Shiloh nodded and got up. As Liam followed his example, Garth gestured them to the door. “This is how it’s going to work. Skylar will be explaining the situation,” he said. “I will stand by with all the documents and the video. You two don’t say anything unless you absolutely have to or you’re asked a question.”

Shiloh nodded in acquiescence of Garth’s instructions. Finally, the other man led him and Liam to Skylar’s office. As they walked in, he almost sensed the hostility thicken in the air. Of course, Skylar was there, accompanied by several guards, but they weren’t the ones who held Shiloh’s attention. His mother sat on one of the chairs, and his
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father stood next to her. They gave Shiloh twin pained looks, but didn’t speak. Charles glowered at them, and the elder was the only one who smiled.

“Shiloh,” he said. “Look at you. How long has it been since we’ve seen each other?”

“Uh…Five years?” Shiloh replied. He knew Elder Kingston acted diplomatically in any occasion. As a rule, the man was fair, but also harsh. Shiloh hoped the elder would see the truth in their words and not give them any trouble. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be in your presence once again,” he added formally. “This is my mate, Liam Denning-Holden.”

The elder’s smile dimmed. “So I see. The wolf. I didn’t think it was true until now.”

The elder didn’t look pleased, but Shiloh refused to back down.

“Our official bonding is a new development,” he said with a dishonest smile, “but we’ve been together for months.”

A vein twitched in the older swan’s forehead, and it almost seemed like a cue for Charles. The man shot forward, pointing at Shiloh angrily. “You see, elder?” he shouted. “He is actually planning to keep the egg in the proximity of this predator.”

“Shiloh, is this true?” the elder asked.

“I don’t see the problem,” Shiloh answered. “Liam and I have adopted the egg and taken responsibility for it. The fact that he is a meat eater is irrelevant.”

“I disagree,” the elder answered. “With the situation as it is, the most logical course of action would be for the egg to return to Charles.”

Shiloh had expected this conclusion, but he relied on his friends to present their case to the elder.

“If I may, Sir,” Skylar piped up. “I believe you don’t know all the information.”

In silence, Garth provided Skylar with the video of Sandy’s confession. Skylar pressed a button on his desk, revealing a large
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entertainment center. He inserted the disc into the DVD player and pressed play.

Shiloh had seen the entire thing before, but it was somehow still a novel experience. On the wide, flat screen, Sandy seemed even more truthful and disdainful than he’d originally thought. Her words echoed through the room, hitting them all like an avalanche. Shiloh looked away from the television in favor of observing the rest of the occupants of the room. His parents looked shocked and horrified, while the elder’s expression had turned completely blank. Charles had gone a funny shade of gray, and Shiloh hid a smile at the sight.

Several times, Charles tried to speak, but the elder lifted a hand, stopping him. At last, the recording ended, and Charles unleashed his vitriol. “Everything she said is a lie,” he shouted. “She’s lying! You heard it yourself. She said that they would give her money. It’s Shiloh who stole the egg.”

Skylar cleared his throat. “It’s true that Miss Anderson required some monetary persuasion, but given the circumstances and the limited time at our disposal, we couldn’t do anything different.

However, I can assure you she spoke the truth.”

“In addition, Mr. Meyer, you don’t have any evidence to support your claim that Mr. Shiloh Denning-Holden stole your egg.” Garth arched a brow. “I have here documents attesting to the fact that you were in LA the day he found it. Could you tell us why you came here?”

“You know, I always wondered about that.” Shiloh’s mother brushed an invisible piece of lint off her skirt. “How would the egg ever get to Shiloh? You were not supposed to be out of the valley, Charles, especially not with an egg.”

Charles looked nervous. “I never left. The egg disappeared from my home.”

Garth handed the papers to the elder. “Registers of the hotel where Mr. Meyer stayed. We also have the security video to prove his presence there.” Garth offered him an unpleasant smile. “And that
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includes the moment he left the hotel with the egg, and returned without it.”

Garth retrieved another video, but Charles took a deep breath and hastily said, “All right. I admit I was here. I intended to contact Sandy again and perhaps reunite. I did take the egg with me. At one point, I looked away from it for a second, and it was gone.”

“That makes no sense whatsoever,” Shiloh’s father said. “If you’d wanted to contact her, you could have easily done it from the valley.”

“Even if what you say is true,” the elder added, “what you did is very irresponsible. A mere moment of inattention can be fatal for an egg. You know that as well as I do.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. That still doesn’t make them better parents than I could be.”

“Perhaps not,” Shiloh’s mother answered, “but you tried to shoot at Shiloh’s car with the egg inside. The wolf took a bullet for them. I do believe that has to be taken into account.”

The elder turned so fast it was almost a blur. “You did what?” he said to Charles as he grabbed the man and shook him.

“I…Shiloh was getting away with my egg. I had to stop him.”

“And you risked both Shiloh’s life and that of the egg for your own selfishness.” The elder released Charles in obvious disgust. He turned toward Liam and Shiloh. “Liam, is it?”

Liam nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Tell me, Liam, why are you so intent on keeping this egg?”

“I would think that it’s obvious,” Liam answered without missing a beat. “It’s my egg and Shiloh’s. We love our child.”

It was such a simple explanation, and exactly what Liam needed to say, more so since anyone with a brain and a heart could see Liam’s honesty.

The elder nodded, looking thoughtful. “It seems I’ve been quite poorly informed. But I’m not a man afraid to admit his own mistakes.

Keep the egg, Shiloh, and take good care of it.”

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A boulder lifted off Shiloh’s chest. “I’m no longer accused of stealing it, then?”

The elder shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that.

Even if you had stolen the egg, a fact which I very much doubt, you’d have been protecting it from inappropriate parents.” He paused and gave Charles a look full of meaning, then turned toward Shiloh once again. “Of course, you’ll have to contact us more often to tell us about it, and yourself.”

“Don’t worry, elder,” Skylar offered. “Here at the agency we always make sure children adapt well into their new homes. I have taken quite an interest in this case and will personally make sure the baby is safe at all times.”