Not waiting for the Black Bear to respond, he turned to Cyrus, smiled, and teased, “So, you thought this was a good place to stop, have a chat, and freeze the scales off your ass?”
Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Cy couldn’t help but laugh. “Yep, you know me so well.”
“That I do, Lad.”
“How did you know?”
“Let’s just say, when I promised your father that I would always be there for you, I meant what I said.”
“I don’t want to know, do I?”
“No, you do not.” Apparently done with that conversation, Carrick’s expression grew dark. “There will be time to catch up later. Your Mate is in trouble.”
“No shit,” Cyrus emphatically agreed. “Lead the way, Captain, my Captain.”
“Do remind me to kick your ass when all this is over.”
“Can I watch?” Luke chuckled.
“Oh, you can do more than watch, my friend,” Carrick grinned. “You can help.”
“With friends like you two, I’m not sure I need enemies,” Cyrus grumbled.
“But we love you,” the Black Bear laughed out loud.
4
Damn near jumping off the table when there was a knock at the door, Vanessa pulled the paper gown tight across her chest and called out, “Come in.”
“Hey, Vanessa,” Dr. Cynthia Walton cheerfully greeted as she stepped into the exam room. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah,” she chuckled nervously. “Haven’t really needed to see a doc since…”
“Since you got that piece of silver in your hip,” Dr. Walton stated, not looking up from the chart. “…when you were still very young.” Looking up and over the rim of her glasses, the Great Condor Shifter’s dark brown eyes were alight with a knowing gaze. It was the same look she’d given them, Vanessa, Bonnie, and Maggie Mae, when they showed up at the Clinic, after hours, with tears streaming down their faces, begging that she not call their parents and them that they’d been out exploring the Forbidden Zone of the desert.
Holding perfectly still, afraid she knew what had prompted the staring contest but still not sure, Vanessa slowly counted to four before the doctor matter-of-factly stated, “So, you’ve met your Mate?”
Nodding, Vanessa inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled before filling the silence with, “Yes, ma’am, I believe so.”
“Oh, I think you know so,” the oldest and most respected Shifter Physician in all of Texas and most of Mexico countered.
Not waiting for an answer, she rolled the short, round stool to the center of the room, put her butt on the tan, vinyl seat, and pulled the silver table close. Laying out the folder she had in her hand, she started reading, “Your bloodwork looks good. Blood cells are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. And of course, you have no infections.” Another glance over the silver rims of her glasses. “So, I’m guessing the dad is also a Shifter.”
“I-I’m preg… ahem… pregnant then? For real? Like... I'm gonna be a mom?”
“Yes, for real. Yes, you’re gonna be a mom,” Dr. Walton nodded. Smiling, she reached across and laid her hand atop Vanessa’s. “But you already knew that.”
Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, a nervous habit she’d had for most of her life, it took three tries, but she was finally able to whisper, “Yes, ma’am. I guess I did. I just… Well, I just…”
“You just needed me to confirm it for you and tell you that you’re gonna be a great mom.” Not waiting for an answer, the doctor gave Vanessa a loving pat, something the doc had been doing since Nessy was a little girl, then she got to her feet. Motioning with her other hand toward the top of the exam table, she instructed, “Lie down and let me make sure everything looks okay so far.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If my calculations are right, looks like you’re gonna be gettin’ the best Christmas present of all.”
And just like that, the scene in her dream changed. One minute she was in the doctor’s office, and the next she wasstanding in the middle of the massive Council Room. Facing off with the tall, thin Necromancer, Fogarty Petersen.
“What do you mean there’s a penal colony in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert?”
