A sudden jolt of panic had me grabbing his arm.“Don’t let anyone take her, not without my seeing them.”I tried to shake it off but found I couldn’t.“Demons can shapeshift.So can the fae.”My heart was racing.“Too many have come after me all my life, and that was before the queen said she had plans for me.”I squeezed harder.“What if that plan involves my child?”
He patted my white-knuckled hand.“You forget,” he said, his voice low.“I have a great deal of power myself, and I would never let anyone steal or hurt your child.”
My eyes flooded with tears and I shook my head, looking up and blinking.“Sorry.My emotions are all over the place.Stupid hormones.”
Declan raced around the corner of the gallery, making Bracken and me jump.“What?What happened?Are you okay?”
“You could hear my heart beating from your place?”How had I not known that?
He shook his head.“I wish.I was walking over to have lunch with you when I heard it.”He gestured behind him.“I was at the road.”He crouched at my knee.“You’ve been crying too.”He looked between Bracken and me.“What’s going on?”
Bracken stood and patted my shoulder.“I’ll let you two talk.I need to go through my journals and see if I can find that answer for you.”He strolled away and Declan took his spot, wrapping one of his big hands around mine.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”I leaned my head on his shoulder, suddenly tired.“We were talking about his new apartment.”I looked up at him and smiled.“He wants a bigger living room so people can visit, and a playroom for this one.”I patted my stomach.
Declan’s eyebrows rose.“He does?”
The stupid tears rushed back when I nodded.“He was saying he’d keep her close when the gallery is open, unless Mom comes and pulls rank, taking her.”
Declan grinned, stretching out his legs.
“But then I panicked,” I told him.“We’ve seen how demons and the fae can alter their appearance to look like anyone.What if one of the king’s assassins pretends to be Mom and takes our child from Bracken?”
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in tight.“We’ll have to ask your Dad about that.I’m sure he can come up with a ward that protects his grandchild.And while you and the little one are here, next to the ocean, you have his guards keeping watch too.”He kissed the top of my head.“If you and I can’t keep her protected, I don’t know who could.”
Nodding slowly, trying to make myself believe it, I said, “That’s true.And Bracken is more powerful than a normal wicche.He promised he’d never let anything happen to her.”
“She’s going to be surrounded by protectors.We can ask Tyler and Jake to continue working security on days like today, when you’re here alone.”
I waved away the suggestion.“They have jobs.They can’t drop everything just because I’m nervous.”
“Sure they can.”He stood and pulled me up with him and walked into the hot shop.“They’d thought the job would be a lot longer than one day when they agreed to guard you.”He looked at the completed octopuses.“Did you get more done this morning?”
“Three.They’re in the annealer.”
“No wonder you’re tired.”He led us into my studio.“You need a break.And last time I heard, you had a few months to finish that order.You don’t have to push so hard.”
I plopped down at my worktable.“I’m not sure what’s going to happen and when.That’s what Bracken is checking.Is this pregnancy nine months?Two?Somewhere in between?”
I closed my eyes to the wind rushing in through the open doors.The gates at the ends of the deck hadn’t gone up yet.Declan was carving something special.Until then, I’d added a new ward about halfway from the front of the gallery to the back that made people want to turn around.My friends and family could get through, but it was designed to push away the random person who was too curious for their own good or mine.
If I was on my own, I’d probably lock up on the off chance someone got past my wards.As Declan was with me and had excellent hearing, I figured I’d enjoy the cool breezes.I seemed to be running warmer these days.
Declan went through the refrigerator and pulled out our Thai leftovers from last night’s dinner.While he heated the food, I went into my downstairs bathroom to clean up.Looking in the mirror, I saw a red face and the telltale tightness around my eyes that said I was getting less sleep than usual.
After doing a quick glamour spell to hide the over-heated exhaustion, I went back out.Declan had food on the worktable and was dishing it onto two plates for us.I got a couple of napkins and some drinks before sitting down, suddenly ravenous.Declan easily ate three to four times as much food as me, but you wouldn’t notice unless you were paying close attention.He had excellent table manners and never shoveled it in.
I took a bite and realized he was looking at me, not eating.Eyebrows raised, I chewed and waited.
“You don’t have to hide behind glamours with me.I’m sorry I’ve been away and you’ve been left alone with nightmares.”
Shaking my head, I swallowed.“You have a responsibility to all those pack members to keep them and their families safe.”
“I have a responsibility to you and the little one too, and you need sleep.”
I nodded and he finally started eating.Being a werewolf meant burning through a ton of calories every day.He needed to eat.“Maybe I’ll start taking afternoon naps,” I told him, glancing over my shoulder at the couch.I’d been joking, but that actually sounded really good.
Declan’s head came up and he looked toward the hot shop.“Someone’s coming.”He paused, listening.“I think that’s Hernández’s walk.”
