Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan (25 page)

“I don’t want details,” Pierre said in
exasperation. “I’m just giving you something to think about.”

“Pierre,” Tristan ground his name out between
clenched teeth.

“Fine,” Pierre said. “I’ll leave you with one
final thought. Isabel may not be your bondmate and she probably
won’t shift during the next full moon, but if you locked inside of
her during sex, then there’s a very good chance she’s carrying your
pup.”

Blood drained from Tristan’s face, and he
grabbed hold of the windowsill to keep from falling over. Was that
possible? Had he impregnated Isabel? Just the thought left him
light-headed.

Pierre laughed. “You look like you need
another drink.” He walked over and grabbed the port, then refilled
their glasses. “You’ll only know for sure if you go after her.”

Tristan grabbed the glass and drank the port
like it was a shot, then rushed past Pierre. He heard the Alpha
laughing as he took the stairs two at a time.

“Thought that might change things,” Pierre
shouted. “Have a nice flight.”

* * * * *

Izzy had been back in Oregon for over three
weeks. Tristan had showed up shortly after she arrived, but she had
refused to speak with him. Seeing him hurt too much. Everywhere she
turned Izzy got a constant reminder of what she’d lost.

Her sister Mindy was so blissfully in love
that it was sickening. She was happy for her. Truly happy, but
nothing made someone hurting more miserable than hanging around a
happy couple.

She continued to mourn Everly but had
accepted that there was nothing she could’ve done to save her. That
didn’t make her feel any less guilty, but it had brought a modicum
of peace.

Mindy had been badgering her for the past two
days to come over to the estate where she lived with Nic, her new
husband. Izzy tried to digest the fact that her little sister was
married. So much had changed in such a short period of time.

And it wasn’t just her sister’s life. Izzy
had changed, too. Now when she saw the monsters, she didn’t go the
other direction. Not all of them were bad. Most were just trying to
get by. Her stomach gurgled. Izzy hadn’t been feeling very well
lately, but Mindy’s cheerful persistence eventually wore her
down.

She’d agreed to go to Aidan’s place with one
stipulation. Tristan wasn’t allowed to be there. Her sister readily
agreed, which was why Izzy found herself in a car heading toward
the estate.

She sat in silence as they drove past the big
gates guarding the entrance. Through the trees, Izzy thought she
caught glimpses of movement, but she wasn’t sure.

The car stopped in front of a magnificent
mansion. Mindy turned to her. “What do you think?”

Izzy looked at the house. “It’s very
pretty.”

“Come on.” Mindy tugged her hand. “You’ll
like it more once you see the inside.”

She didn’t need to like the house. It wasn’t
like she’d be living here, but she humored Mindy all the same. Izzy
felt eyes upon her as she exited the car.

She didn’t see anyone, but they were there. A
few times during the week, Izzy swore she’d sensed Tristan in her
mind, but that was impossible. They didn’t have that kind of
connection.

Just the thought of Frosty brought a wave of
sadness. Izzy pushed it aside and smiled, but it didn’t fool
Mindy.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I swear.”

“I’m not buying it,” Mindy said, “but I
appreciate the effort.”

Okay, she wasn’t fine. Far from it. But Izzy
would be eventually. It would just take time.
A few years should
do it
, she thought.

If only Mindy would wait. Her sister had
already talked about setting Izzy up. Just the thought of a strange
man touching her made Izzy’s skin crawl. She couldn’t imagine
anyone holding her, but Tristan. She didn’t tell her sister because
frankly her behavior embarrassed her. Izzy had never been the type
of girl to moon over any man.

A handsome man with shoulder-length black
hair met them at the door. Next to him stood a willowy strawberry
blonde with her arm wrapped around his back.

“Isabel,” he said. “It’s great to finally
meet you. Mindy has told me so much about you. I’m Aidan.” He held
out his hand.

Izzy shook it. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“This is my bondmate, Jenna,” he said.

The woman stepped forward and shook her hand.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said.

Aidan’s nose twitched. He gave Izzy a funny
look then glanced at Mindy and Nic.

“Something wrong?” Izzy asked.

“No,” Aidan said, recovering quickly. “Please
come inside. We have lunch prepared.”

“You didn’t need to go to any trouble,” Izzy
said, feeling uncomfortable by the attention. Though truth be told,
she was hungry. More than hungry, ravenous.

“No trouble at all,” Jenna said.

After a long leisurely lunch, Mindy gave Izzy
a tour around the estate. Unlike Pierre’s house, this one was super
modern inside and high tech. She tried to picture Pierre going high
tech and nearly laughed aloud. He liked his antiques too much to
ever do that.

Thoughts about Pierre and New Orleans opened
the floodgates on the emotions she’d been trying to suppress.
Memories of her and Tristan strolling through Jackson Square filled
her mind.

Izzy could almost feel him holding her hand
and kissing her. He’d been pretending they were a couple at the
time, but the kisses had felt real enough for her to forget for a
while.

Her throat thickened. She shouldn’t be
thinking about Tristan or New Orleans. He wasn’t there any longer.
Izzy wasn’t even sure if he was still in Oregon. Tristan had told
her that he lived in the Southwest. Maybe he’d gone home.

Did he think about her and their time in the
Big Easy? Did it matter?

Izzy swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“Mindy, I’d like to go home now.”

Concern filled her sister’s brown eyes.
“Sure,” she said. “Let’s just say goodbye to Aidan and Jenna before
we leave.”

As they drew near Aidan’s office, they heard
shouting coming from the other side of the door.

“I don’t think we should interrupt him,” Izzy
said, turning to leave.

“I’m not going anywhere until I get to speak
with her,” a familiar male voice said.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Aidan
shouted.

Izzy froze. She knew that voice. Knew who it
had come from.
Tristan.
Izzy glanced back at the closed
door.

Words were quickly replaced by loud
growls.

Izzy moved long before reason raised its ugly
head to stop her. She pushed the door open and stepped inside the
room. Two sets of glowing eyes turned on her at once.

“Knock it off, Frosty,” she snapped.

The growling ceased. Aidan’s dark brow shot
to his hairline.

“What are you doing here?” Izzy asked,
ignoring him and focusing on Tristan.

He inhaled, then his mercury-colored eyes
narrowed. “We need to talk,” Tristan said.

“There’s nothing more to say,” she said.

“You may have nothing to say, but I have
plenty,” he said.

Izzy told herself that she only agreed
because she wanted to defuse the situation, but it was a lie. She’d
missed him. Missed him so much that it hurt. Being near him made
her heart lighter.

Tristan glared at Aidan then walked out the
door. He didn’t touch Izzy as they stepped off the back patio onto
the grass, but he stayed close by her side.

A couple times Izzy caught him scowling at
the other wolves they passed as they wandered down a trail in the
woods. But she didn’t say anything. Izzy simply waited.

She should have heard him out long ago, but
she’d been afraid to. Too afraid of what he might say. Izzy
couldn’t go on like this, though. It was too painful.

When they reached a small clearing, Tristan
stopped. He shifted his feet and glanced around, but nothing held
his interest for long.

What had him so nervous?
she
wondered.

“You said you wanted to talk,” Izzy said. “So
talk.”

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck. She saw
his gaze dart to the spot where he’d bitten her. It had healed, but
the mark didn’t look like it was ever going to go away.

Izzy had noticed a similar spot on Mindy’s
neck. When she’d asked her about it, her sister had been evasive.
At the time she’d assumed it was sexual in nature, but now that
she’d seen one on Jenna’s throat, Izzy wasn’t so sure.

He took a deep breath. “I missed you,”
Tristan said, surprising them both.

She’d missed him, too, but Izzy wasn’t about
to admit it. “Tristan, what are you really doing here? Does it have
something to do with this bite?” She motioned toward her neck.

Tristan’s lips thinned. “Yes, and no,” he
said.

“I think if you try you can be a little more
vague,” she said.

He laughed, breaking some of the tension
between them. “I have missed that mouth of yours.”

She gave him a wry glance. “You don’t like
humans, remember?”

“I remember,” he said. “I also recall you
don’t care for monsters. Has that changed?”

Izzy laughed, but the sound held no warmth.
“Yeah, it has.” She caught the flare of hope in his eyes. “I didn’t
know what real monsters were until I met Stone, Slade, or whatever
his name is.”

Tristan brushed a lock of hair away from her
face. “It doesn’t matter what his name was, he’s dead now.”

Izzy blanched. “What do you mean he’s
dead?”

“The sword I struck him with wasn’t a normal
weapon,” he said. “It was made specifically to kill his kind.”

“What does that mean for Everly?” she asked,
knowing her friend was now alone in the dark world.

Tristan chose his words carefully. “At least
she won’t have him to contend with.”

Being this close to Isabel and not being able
to touch her was sheer torture for Tristan. The proximity was bad
enough, but couple that with the aroma coming from her skin and it
was enough to make a wolf beg.

He had to tell her the truth about the bite,
though it was minor compared to the other news he must share with
her.

“You asked what the bite meant,” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

Tristan pulled her into his arms and kissed
her. She pulled back to argue or protest. He wasn’t sure which and
didn’t care. He continued kissing Isabel until she melted against
his body. Tristan hardened instantly, wanting her more than he
desired his next breath.

Reluctantly, he ended the kiss. Her eyes were
glazed when she looked at him. Tristan waited until she focused.
“That’s what the bite means,” he said. “It’s what it will always
mean, if you’ll have me.”

He kissed her again before she answered.
Tristan was too afraid to hear her response. Couldn’t bear the
thought of her rejection.

Isabel tore her mouth away. “I can’t think
when you’re kissing me,” she said.

“That’s the point,” he murmured.

She laughed. “You know this probably isn’t
going to work, right?”

“It’ll work,” he said. “We will make it
work.”

Isabel pulled out of his embrace and
continued walking until they reached a small clearing.

“You never answered me,” Tristan said.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at
him. “I know.”

Izzy’s hands trembled as she grabbed the
bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She felt more than
saw Tristan’s gaze upon her. It burned her flesh everywhere it
touched. She heard him growl behind her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“You mean you don’t know?” she asked.

Tristan’s long legs ate up the distance
between them. When he neared, he whipped his shirt off and let it
fall to the ground. His godlike beauty left her breathless.

“What now?” he asked, voice harsh.

Izzy wiggled out of her pants then
automatically covered her stomach with her hands. “I’m a stress
eater. I’ve put on a little weight since you last saw me.”

His eyes flashed with banked emotion. “You’re
beautiful at any size.”

She blushed. “Yeah, well, you won’t say that
if I continue my cookie dough affair.”

Tristan shed his pants and slowly approached
her. He gently placed his hand on the small mound she’d been trying
to hide, covering it. “It’s natural for women in your state to put
on weight.”

She frowned. “My state?”

“Yes,” he said. “You’re with child.”

“I’m pregnant!” She didn’t mean to shout the
news. “I can’t be pregnant. I’m on birth control, and we only had
sex once.”

Tristan grinned. “With my kind, once is
enough, if everything else falls into place.”

Izzy swayed. “This can’t be happening!” She
glanced down at the small mound and touched it with trembling
fingertips. “What am I going to do?”

“Is having my child such a bad thing?” he
asked quietly, but there was no mistaking the hurt in his eyes.

Izzy took a deep breath, then took another.
She quickly evaluated what she felt. Shock, check. Panic, check.
Fear, check. All natural emotions when someone found out they were
going to have a baby. The one emotion that she expected to feel was
missing. Izzy searched again. Nope, she didn’t feel an ounce of
regret.

“No,” she said, pressing her hand to his
chest. “It’s not a bad thing.”

Tristan shuddered beneath her fingertips.

“What happens now?” she asked.

He flashed a quick grin. “We finish what we
started.”

* * * * *

Tristan spread their clothes out on the
ground then gently laid Isabel upon them. He’d never seen anything
quite so beautiful in his life, and she was his.

He dropped to his knees at her feet and
lifted her leg to tenderly kiss the inside of her ankle. Isabel
sighed.

Tristan continued kissing her, taking care to
avoid the areas she wanted him to visit the most. By the time he
finished exploring every inch of her, Isabel mewed
incoherently.