“No one,” Colton shook his head.
“The gift bag on the coffee table. Did you bring it? It doesn’t match everything else,” Wess said.
Everyone looked at the bag. Colton didn’t bring it. That much was clear over our family link.
“Out of the house!” Wess said and I thought he was about to go off on Colton, but he was pushing me out of the house and grabbing the back of Mori’s shirt trying to get both of us out with one hand without putting down the baby.
“Stop yanking on me!” Mori growled. “I’m trying to take care of the tree. Sure, it usually survives winter but not the polar bear balls you just tossed at it!”
“Now!” Wess growled and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Our neighbors who were home had come out of their houses and I started to wave to let them know everything was fine but Wess shouted that one of them should get Barry right now and everyone who had just came from the party headed back towards my parents’ house as if there was a prize for getting there first.
“Take the baby and stay here,” Wess said, trying to pass Baby Andy off to me. “Well, stay further down the walk but stay outside. If you get cold go to your parents’ house.”
“What’s going on? It’s a gift bag. Surprises aren’t all that uncommon here…” I started but he shook his head.
“Mate, does Baby Andy have a grandmother who isn’t Sharon?” Wess asked and my blood ran cold in my veins.
“No, but….”
“Do you or Mori have a grandmother? Because I don’t.”
“No, but…” I started and he shook his head at me.
Baby Andy had a death grip on his sweater. He stopped trying to pass him off for a second and kissed the top of his head.
“I’m going to see if Venal is still…” I started but Wess grabbed my arm. I looked at it and then at him and I would’ve bitten anyone else as hard as I could’ve. Only it was Wess. He’d been nothing but kind and protective since arriving in Nightshade Bear Territory. He wasn’t hurting me and I could’ve pulled away but the look in his eyes told me he really believed what he was saying.
“The tag on the giftbag says ‘to Andy from Grandma.’” He said a second later.
“Motherfucker!” Mori swore under his breath and sprinted back into the house. “If she’s trying to blow someone up it’s not going to be the tree!”
Colton followed on his heels and I made a dash for the backyard to cut through to where Venal was buried in the snow. Wess still had Baby Andy and he’d do anything to keep my baby safe. I didn’t look over my shoulder to see if anyone followed me until I saw the snowbank where he was buried. It didn’t look disturbed, but it had been snowing so hard that footprints might’ve been hidden and any holes dug refilled. I dropped to my knees and dug where we had just checked on him this morning. I dug and dug until my fingers were numb and then I finally saw him – frozen beard and all. I covered him back up before flopping onto my back in relief. I panted, sinking into the snow and letting the cold spread over my body. Sure, my hands were cold but the rest of me wasn’t fairing too badly. I let my eyes drift closed and then the world exploded. Birds flew from the trees as the ground shook. I glanced at the house, waiting for the pieces to fly in every direction.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wess
Nightshade Bear Territory
Iwas almost too slow to save Mori. I was stuck on the walkway up to the house, trying to soothe Baby Andy as he cried big, wet tears because the world had lost its ever-loving mind. Barry arrived more quickly than I expected, having picked up bits of information over the group link. He charged past me and into the house. A second later fire shot out the front door. Not sure what else to do, I froze the blazing flames out of reflex and when it hit the ground it sounded like a bomb going off. The ground shook and shards flew in every direction. I hit the ground before it did, covering the baby with my body as he wailed and yelled “Mo! Mo! Mo!” over and over again. Mori didn’t feel injured over the group link but I wasn’t the best at navigating links yet.
“Wess?!” Barry’s voice reached my ears from the porch. The air was thick with cold fog and icy bits. His plan hit me over the group link. He had intended to chase the fire not only out of thehouse but into the snow itself using elven magic that didn’t quite make sense to me.
“Fine! We’re fine! He’s just scared!” I said, unwilling to move yet. What if the bag hid another explosion inside of it? What if Sharon was blasting her way through the house as we spoke? My cold magic spread out over my limbs ready for another strike.
“ANDY!??” Preston’s voice broke through the chaos and a second later my mate was rolling me over – shoving me onto my back really – and snatching up his crying baby as if I tried to blow him up. Baby Andy clung to his carrier, and I breathed in deep breaths as I counted people. Everyone was there. Colton and Mori stood on the porch not looking any worse for wear even if Mori was a bit wobbly.
“What the fuck happened in there?” Preston demanded, dropping the f-bomb in front of the baby and breaking one of his biggest rules. No one was brave enough to point that breech out to him.
“It blew up,” Mori said, coming down the pathway. “The bag just had a book in it. I thought Sharon was having one of her oddly sweet moments. So I pulled out the book and when I opened it – it just blew up and—” Mori trembled. Was he in shock? His life had flashed before his eyes. Only he wasn’t going to die any time soon. He’d meet his mate. I knew he would. I felt it in my knowing. He wasn’t close to it yet but itwouldhappen.
“I kicked the fire outside and your mate froze it. I was going to put it out in the snow but he had his own plans. Then that exploded too. That was the explosion everyone heard. Super cooling dragon fire has that effect and if he would’ve waited two seconds, I would’ve told h---” Barry went on, explaining someelven magic in rapid fire succession but I couldn’t pay attention because Preston was on top of me, still holding onto Baby Andy with one arm. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, and I held onto them both. The breeze shifted and the scent of a dragoness came in. Everyone else moved into action except Mori standing frozen not far from us.
“Annila?” Mori called out and a woman came into view. I couldn’t see her face clearly, but she was tall like most dragonesses I’d got a glimpse of throughout the years.
“I’ve lost her scent, Mori,” the dragoness panted, her hands on her hips, slightly bent over for air. “I tracked her this far but then it’s like she disappeared.”
“I know her! That’s Annila!” Mori shouted as everyone turned on the dragoness. “She’s a friend! She wants to carve out Sharon’s heart!”
