The Wolf Who Hatched an Egg (8 page)

“Mated,” Clark corrected, looking at Liam expectantly. “So?”

Brody groaned. “Angel, Clark, what did I tell you about asking questions like that?”

“That we shouldn’t.” Angel didn’t look the least bit repentant. “Is it true?”

“We don’t know yet,” Liam answered, unwilling to commit to an answer without Shiloh there. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

Angel let out another happy sound. “You’ll make a great couple, just like Daddy and Papa.”

Liam laughed and kissed the child’s forehead. He put Angel down and reached for the phone. Brody handed it to him. “I’m going to talk to Soren,” Liam told his friend. “I’ll be right back.”

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Holding the phone in his hand, Liam headed outside and dialed Soren’s cell number out of memory. A few moments later, his Alpha and friend replied, “Well, hello, stranger. I hear you’ve been enjoying your stay at Brody’s.”

“I found my mate,” Liam answered.

“So I gathered. Shiloh Holden, right?”

Soren didn’t sound angry, and Liam took it as a good sign. “Yeah.

He’s everything I ever wanted in a mate.”

“And he’s also a swan,” Soren added, now sounding thoughtful.

Immediately, Liam bristled. “Anything wrong with that?”

“Not from my point of view,” Soren answered. “I learned my lesson. Look, I can talk to Father on your behalf. He won’t be happy, but I don’t think he’ll give you too much trouble. Just between you and me, the thing with Brody really took its toll on him.”

Liam sighed and stole a look toward the house. Brody and Carson would never know just how much the wolves had been pained at Brody’s near death at the hands of their own kind. Even those who didn’t agree with the mating between a lamb and a wolf admitted it had gone too far. “Well, since you’re going to talk to him anyway, tell him his son is doing great. They’re really happy, and the kids are amazing.”

“I’m glad.” Soren’s voice sounded choked. The man hadn’t seen his brother in almost six months, since the day of Brody’s injury.

Hell, he’d never even met his nephews. Brody was still very protective of them, and he could hold on to a grudge for an unreasonable amount of time. “Carson’s working on him. He’ll agree to meet you soon.”

“Thanks.” Soren cleared his throat, now all Alpha once again.

“But that aside, I will contact Father today and call you later. As a word of warning, he might want to meet your mate. You should warn Shiloh ahead of time.”

Liam wasn’t very pleased about that, but he knew Soren had a point. After saying his good-byes, he cut the connection and headed
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back into the house. He’d just passed the door when he felt Shiloh wake up and stir at the back of his mind.

“Where are you, Liam?”
his mate asked through their bond.

“Downstairs.”
Liam grinned to himself. “
If I’d stayed, I’d be
tempted to ravish you, and we’ve got innocent kids around.”

“We could be really quiet,”
Shiloh suggested. Seconds later, he took back his own words.
“Ignore that. We’re just gonna have to wait
for privacy.”

Liam chuckled.
“Come on down, baby. Carson and Brody are
making breakfast. If you can believe it, the kids asked me if you and I
are going to get mated.”

Soft laughter invaded their connection.
“And what did you say?”

“I said I hoped we would. They saw right through me, though.”

Technically speaking, they were already bonded by the way of the wolves. They still had a lot to do, however, accepting it through the swans’ customs and actually registering as mates. Liam trusted all that would come in time.

“It will,”
Shiloh assured him.
“Did you talk to your Alpha?”

“Yes,”
Liam answered. He made his way to the living room and sat down to wait for Shiloh.
“He said he’s going to contact the
elder.”

For a few moments, Shiloh didn’t answer. Then, Liam felt his mate’s approach. Shiloh stepped into the living room, looking gorgeous in spite of his frown. “I don’t trust that man,” Shiloh said out loud. He leaned in to kiss Liam, and Liam couldn’t resist but pull his mate onto his lap.

Their lips met, and Liam forgot all about Alphas, elders, and everything else except the man in his arms. His body responded to Shiloh’s proximity, and when Shiloh melted against him and parted his lips, he couldn’t help but release a groan.

He reached down to knead Shiloh’s buttocks, and his mate gasped into his mouth. Their tongues tangled, and Liam actually began to
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take Shiloh’s shirt off. He might have gotten even further if the sound of a cleared throat didn’t interrupt them.

Cursing, he broke away from Shiloh and turned to face Brody.

Much to his dismay, he spotted the two kids behind his friend.

“See?” Clark told his brother, sounding smug. “I told you so.”

Angel did a happy dance, seemingly quite excited for Shiloh and Liam. Liam wanted the ground to open up and swallow him, especially when Carson showed up as well. Brody was arching a brow, but Carson just looked amused. “Breakfast’s ready,” he said before ushering the children out of the room.

Brody followed after him, thankfully without comment. Shiloh groaned as their friends left the room. “God, this is hopeless.”

Liam pressed another peck to Shiloh’s sweet lips. “Unfortunately, baby, it would seem we’re going to have to cut our visit to Brody’s short. I don’t think I can keep my hands off you, and I doubt our friends appreciate us giving their kids a show.” He sighed. “Life is so strange. A few days ago, I was laughing at Brody’s predicament, and now I understand how he feels.”

“Well, let’s look at it on the bright side.” Shiloh left his lap, snickering. “It’s good practice for when we have our own kids.”

Both of them froze at the same time. Shiloh seemed to have realized exactly just what he’d said, while Liam tried to process its implications. Shiloh opened his mouth then closed it, the result making him look like a beautiful blond fish. The thought was funny enough that it snapped both of them out of their trance.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Shiloh said hastily. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

Liam forced himself not to make any interpretation of Shiloh’s words. “You don’t want kids with me, then?”

“I…Uh…” Shiloh looked lost. “I just…It doesn’t scare you?”

Shiloh’s uncertainty called out to Liam. “The only thing I’m scared of is that one day you’ll change your mind and decide I’m not good enough after all. But we don’t have to make any decisions now.

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I do want a family, but for the moment, let’s just take it one step at a time.”

Slowly, Shiloh relaxed. “One step at a time. Yes, I like that.”

Hand in hand, they joined their friends for breakfast. And as the happy sounds that spoke of family surrounded them, Liam caught a stray thought coming from Shiloh. “
I’d love to have this with him.”

Liam couldn’t agree more.

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Shiloh fidgeted on the seat of the car, more and more nervous with every passing second. Now that they’d said their good-byes to Carson and the kids, they were headed toward Liam’s pack land. Brody had insisted he come with them, and Shiloh appreciated the additional support. Still, he was scared of what would happen when he would finally meet the elder of the werewolves eye to eye. Liam claimed the man had learned his lesson, but Shiloh just couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

“Stay calm, baby,” Liam said. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you. And if push comes to shove, you can simply fly away.”

“But unless you changed species in the past five minutes, you can’t,” Shiloh shot back. “How do you possibly expect me to leave you at that man’s mercy?”

“It will be all right,” Brody said. “I don’t trust him either, but he has left me and Carson in peace.”

Shiloh frowned and cursed his previous decision of not taking his gun along on the trip. Of course, he couldn’t bring a weapon in a home with two small kids, especially one designed to kill paranormal species. Nicolas had a little obsession with guns—a very unusual thing for a hummingbird—but it had helped them defend themselves in the big, bad city. Whether it was silver bullets, toxic gas, or even swords of all types, Nicolas had them. Alas, Nicolas’s gift to Shiloh was still in his apartment, and it wouldn’t help him should the elder wolf decide he didn’t like Shiloh after all.

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The trip seemed to take forever, but at the same time, not long enough. By the time the car stopped, he felt so antsy he wanted to scream.

Liam and Brody got out of the car, and Shiloh took a deep breath.

This moment meant so much, and Shiloh would not fail his lover. He was a swan, no longer just Shiloh Holden, but the proud bonded mate of Liam Denning. He would act as such if it was the last thing he did.

His head held high, he followed after Liam and Brody. His senses were assaulted by the feel of predator as, for the first time, he faced elder Kevin Wade. To his right was a man who looked a lot like Brody—obviously Brody’s brother, Soren. To Shiloh’s knowledge, Soren was on their side, so his presence might be a good sign. A beautiful young lady stood to his left. There was something familiar about her, but Shiloh couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He hoped the elder wouldn’t try anything funny like he’d done with Brody. No bitch was getting her paws on his man.

The older wolf offered Brody and Liam a neutral smile. “Brody, how nice to see you again. Liam, Soren tells me you’ve found a mate.” Looking toward Shiloh, he said, “And this must be him, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Elder,” Liam answered. “This is Shiloh.”

Shiloh made a short bow. “It’s an honor to meet you.” He kept his voice level and polite, and somehow managed to find the cool, neutral façade his mother had taught him.
First, be polite,
she’d said.
Then, if
they don’t listen, you protect what’s yours, at all costs.
And that was exactly what Shiloh intended.

The elder didn’t seem hostile. There weren’t any other wolves present, save for Soren and the girl. Liam took Shiloh’s hand and squeezed it. “Come on, baby,” he whispered. “I want you to meet someone who’s very special to me.”

The two parties walked toward each other, while Shiloh noticed Liam was giving the female werewolf the eye. He frowned to himself, not liking the situation very much. Someone special to him, huh?

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He felt the moment when Liam intended to say something, but all of a sudden, the bitch shot forward and lunged at Liam, hugging him tight. When Liam hugged her back, a little switch snapped inside Shiloh, and he jumped on the two wolves, forcibly breaking them apart.

“Hey, hands off,” he snarled at the she-wolf. “Get your own mate.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected from her, but it certainly wasn’t what happened. She started to laugh, and a mix of fury and humiliation coursed through Shiloh.

Before he could scratch her eyes out, Liam held him back and said, “Shiloh, this is my sister, Carlie. Carlie, this is my mate, Shiloh.”

Shiloh’s face heated at the realization of what he’d done.
“I’m
going to kill you, Liam. Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?”

“I was going to. I just didn’t realize Soren would bring her
along.”

Shiloh couldn’t find an adequate reply and focused on fixing the poor impression he’d made on the werewolves. “I’m terribly sorry,”

he said. “I didn’t know Liam had a sister.”

He tried to hide his embarrassment and convey his utmost regret.

Thankfully, Carlie just laughed. “That’s fine. Anyone who protects my brother like that is okay in my book. I think you and I are going to get along great.”

She sounded so convinced of the fact that Shiloh found himself smiling. “I think you might be right.”

Carlie took position next to him, and they looked toward the elder and Soren. “Well, you’re certainly not what I expected, Shiloh, I’ll give you that. I don’t have anything against you mating Liam.

However, I’ll ask you exactly what I asked your lamb friend a while back. Do you have what it takes to give Liam a replacement for his pack? It won’t be easy, and even with my support, you and he will not be able to live with Soren.”

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Shiloh felt Brody tense up as the elder mentioned Carson. Shiloh spoke before the wolf could do something they would all regret. “I think we can build our pack in time, step by step. The most important thing is that we care about each other. As long as no one stands in our way, we’ll build our own path.”

“From my part, you don’t have to worry,” the elder said.

Strikingly, Shiloh realized the man was being honest. He and Liam might actually have a chance. “But what about your kin, Shiloh?

Won’t they be angry at you mating a wolf?”

Shiloh sighed. Truth be told, he’d tried not to think about that too much since deciding to attempt a relationship with Liam. His mother would most likely be hurt, his father shocked, and everyone else outraged. “They won’t be happy about it,” he answered, “but I’ve long ago severed ties with my roots. I don’t depend on them. They can’t do anything to stop us.”

Or so he hoped, at least. Swans might be territorial, but they were unlikely to come after him and Liam for something like this. “Fair enough. Should you require assistance, you can always contact Soren.

Liam, I still consider you one of us, even if circumstances force us to part ways.”

“Thank you, Elder Wade,” Liam answered. “I appreciate all your help.”

“No thanks are needed, my boy,” the elder answered. He then turned toward his son. “Now, Brody, could I have a word with you in private?”

Brody seemed to struggle between agreeing with his father and denying the man’s request. “Very well,” he said at last. “I’ll be right back,” he told Liam and Shiloh.