Winter's Dawn (21 page)

The first snow of that year was the most fun they had in a long time and playing naked in it would end up being one of the most blissful memories they had of Susie’s puppyhood. It mattered little that Max was full-grown, because her puppyhood had always been much more important to him than his own.

Chapter Twelve

“I’m dying!”

“No, no, don’t say that,” Max begged, brushing sweat-drenched hair away from Susie’s forehead. “You can’t die.”

“He’s taking everything!” Susie screamed, leaning forward and placing her hands on her bare stomach that was swollen with his child. “He’s killing me!”

“Don’t push yet, Susan.” His father looked up from his spot at the foot of the bed. “There is still five minutes until the equinox. He must be born to the minute if he is going to be the Autumn King. “

“Shut up!” Max yelled at him, turning from his spot by Susie’s side to glare at his father. “She can push if she wants!”

“But, the Autumn King,” his father argued, his voice harsh and commanding. “That is her job. To produce the other pairs.”

“It’s not her job!” Max turned back to Susie and wiped at her wet hair again, pushing it away from her moist neck. “He doesn’t want to be king, Susie Bee. No one would want this. Don’t leave me just to torture that poor creature with this existence.”

“But, I’ll do it for you.” She sobbed and turned bright blue eyes on him. He saw they were swimming in tears as her face contorted in pain. “You won’t have to rule all the seasons on your own anymore.”

Max shook his head. “I don’t want to lose you. I can rule for an eternity if you’re with me. What if we don’t meet on the other side?”

Susie fell back against the pillow and great sobs started racking her body. Her whole frame started shaking with the effort it took to hold back from pushing and finally another scream burst out or her.

“Push!” Max yelled in panic. “Do it now!”

Susie obeyed and pushed. Her face grew red with the effort as she screamed once more, this time hitting an ear piecing pitch that caused the hair on the back of Max’s neck to stand on him. It made the wolf in him what to shudder from the pain of it.

“Gods Be, Maxwell, my watch was wrong,” his father said, holding a large, bawling baby in his hands. “He has blue eyes just like his mother.”

Max frowned and leaned over to look closer at the baby, seeing the male was exceptionally large and did indeed have brilliant blue eyes. “No Autumn King could have blue eyes,” Max argued. “There is nothing blue in Autumn.”

“They are blue.” His father looked disgusted with Max. “Can you not see that?”

His frown deepened and he shook his head. “Something is wrong.”

“Max.”

Max turned away from the baby to look at Katrina, who was on the other side of the bed, gently caressing Susie’s still wet hair. He raised a questioning gaze to her when she shook her head sadly.

“What?”

“She won’t wake.” Katrina turned around to look at Serena who was standing by her. “Why won’t she wake?”

Max turned back to Susie then, shaking her lightly. “Susie Bee?”

As he shook her, Susie’s head lolled to the side and Max stared in horror at her wide, unseeing eyes, a glassy ice blue that no longer knew him. He fell back in horror, landing on the floor of his bedroom with a painful thump and realized he was suddenly wet. Moisture was everywhere and he lifted his hands, seeing they were covered in blood.

He looked around frantically, watching as the pool of blood grew larger, covering everything in sight and he screamed in terror when he realized it was Susie’s blood.

“No!” he shouted, the walls quaking under the strength of his grief.

“Oh, Maxwell, they’re your eyes,” his father said in understanding, looking up from the baby in his hands. “You killed your mate.”

“Susie!”

Max jerked awake, finding that he was no longer in bed, but lying on the floor beside it. He sprang to his feet, desperate to find Susie. He found her curled into the blue sheets, her face relaxed in sleep, but Max was still trapped in that strange realm between dreams and reality. He ripped back the covers to find her bare body was slim, not burdened with pregnancy.

“Max,” Susie mumbled, blinking up at him. “What are you doing?”

“Huh?” He was still staring at the gentle curve of her hip and the way the slope of it rolled into her small waist as she lay on her side.

“Did you have another nightmare?” Susie asked with a yawn as she rolled onto her back and stretched tiredly. “Do you need your pills?”

He shook his head, his gaze now resting on her flat stomach. “No, I’m fine. I just fell out of bed.”

“It’s only two days until the full moon.” She turned her head to the side and gave him a heavily lidded, icy eyed stare. “Maybe you ought to go down the hall for a while. It’ll help you sleep.”

He scowled. “I don’t need to go down the hall or take pills.”

“Very well.” Susie reached down, retrieving the covers and pulling them back over her. She snuggled under them. “Take a bath if you do go down the hall, I can’t bear that scent.”

Max sat down on the bed next to her. He ran both hands over his face and then though his hair that was moist with sweat. Every time he closed his eyes to rest Susie died. It had been like that for months now and it was staring to wear on more than his body. It was starting to damage his soul.

He closed his eyes, trying to will away the terror that was still pulsing through him, making the wolf wild and vicious. He felt murderous. It left Max wondering if he would take more than himself on a journey to the higher plane if he should have to follow Susie in death.

He moaned, bending in half to rest his forehead against his knees as his senses sharpened. He suddenly smelled what was down the hall and squinted to deny both the scent and the decadent feeling of pure desire it caused. Waves of yearning washed over him, flowing into his limbs and settling in his groin so forcefully it hurt.

He tugged at his hair aggravation. “Shit.”

“Go, Maxwell,” Susie said sleepily. “You’ll never rest otherwise.”

“I don’t want to go.” He sat up and glared at the back of her head. “Why are you always encouraging this? What kind of dense female are you?”

“Call me dense again and we are going to have a problem,” Susie said in a low voice. She didn’t turn to him, but her body had tightened in anger. “I don’t play dominant wolf.”

“I know that.” His voice was also low in frustration. “Believe me, I know that.”

“I’ll go into heat soon,” she told him softly, her body relaxing again. “I’m almost seventeen, maybe this winter will be good to us.”

Max stared at her, remembering his dream, seeing the vision of her eyes wide and sightless as though it were real. He saw the blood and remembered the horror of knowing he had been the one to kill her.

“You don’t need to go into heat,” he whispered as he reached out to touch one of her long, white blonde braids. “Stay sweet. I’ll go down the hall.”

Max left Susie drifting off to sleep. He pulled on a clean pair of black pants, seeing easily in darkness because his senses were sharp from the wolf stirring under his skin, still wild from the dream. He was too close to the moon now to calm himself without help.

He padded barefoot and bare-chested into the bathroom and flipped on the light to look at himself in the mirror. He frowned at what he saw, leaning in closer to stare at his eyes that were no longer icy blue like Susie’s. They swirled molten silver. Other werewolves flashed when they got close to the full moon and their more carnal natures were brought sharply to surface. There had been times when Max had gone a full twenty-four hours with silver eyes.

“Hell.” He pushed away from the sink, still glaring at his reflection.

Max was so angry with himself he felt like breaking something, but he refrained for no other reason than it would upset Susie. Instead he sulked out of their suite and headed down the hallway, dreading having to wake up Serena or Katrina at two in the morning.

He paused at their rooms, which had been arranged to be conveniently close by Susie. They hosted more running parties at the Winter Palace than they had before Max had become full-grown because it wasn’t always convenient to travel with Susie still in school. Sadly, Katrina and Serena had set up a second residence at the palace. Their suite came complete with a bathroom, an office for Serena to do her work, and a large changing room to hold all the clothing they left there.

He stared at the door, wondering if he could just calm himself on his own. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to wear dark glasses to work. Carl would just have to warn anyone who called or had meetings with him not to test his patience.

Max jumped when the door opened on it’s own. He stumbled back when Katrina flew at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Like most werewolves, she slept naked and Max cast a look down the hallway to see if anyone happened to be around to witness Katrina is such a state.

“You smell heavenly,” she hummed as she buried her face in the curve of his neck. “You woke me out of a dead sleep you smell so good.”

“Gods, really?” Max tugged on one of her braids lightly to look into her light eyes. “That’s bad, Kat. You aren’t the only unmated female in this palace. Do you think others can smell me?”

“Who cares?” She gave him a playful grin. “I’m the one that gets you first. Those other arctic bitches don’t get here for another day.”

Max rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to stop spending your sister’s money to come in early. She’s going to catch on that you’re using shopping as an excuse and don’t call them bitches.”

“Why not?” Katrina hummed against his skin. “I hate them all.”

“I think you’re picking up bad habits from your sister,” he said, still wearing Katrina as a necklace, her feet dangling nearly a foot off the floor. “You need to be a sweet Kat.”

“I
am
a sweet Kat.” She tilted her head back to grin at him again. “Can I call you Max tonight?”

“Sure.” He cupped her chin and looked down at her glowing face. “But, tell your sister and I’ll deny it.”

“She’ll be jealous.”

Max snorted. “Yeah, that’s it.”

He started walking towards another room, because he didn’t want Serena hearing Katrina being so casual with him. Katrina was still hanging off him and neither of them noticed a strain on their strength.

“Tell me you like me the best,” Katrina hummed as he opened a door to the guest bedroom next door to her and Serena’s suite of rooms. “Please, say it, Max.”

“Nope.”

“Why?” Katrina whined.

“You’re in the top three,” he told her with a smile as he walked into the bedroom and kicked the door shut.

“Tell me I’m number two.” She pouted. “I know you love Susie the most, but say I’m next.”

He shook his head. “I’m not saying it, Kat, and I want you to behave.”

She grinned. “I’m a good Kat.”

“Yes, you are,” he agreed. “And you look very pretty with two braids.”

Katrina beamed. “I know you like two.”

“I sure do.” Max fisted both braids, tugging her head back gently. “Are you going to stop talking and help me get this nasty silver out of my eyes?”

“I think you look handsome with silver eyes.” Her eyes flashed from light blue to silver and back to blue again as she looked up at him. “You’re the most handsome male anywhere. Did you know that?”

“I’ve heard that.” He frowned at her. “Why can’t you find a mate, Kit Kat? You’re a real sweet wolf.”

“Oh.” She lowered her gaze and shrugged when she finally dropped to the floor. “I’d never leave Serena all alone. Who would braid her hair and dress her in pretty things?”

“And spend all her money,” Max added.

Katrina laughed. “Yes, that too. She’d miss it terribly.”