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Rutley’s head lifted upon hearing the question, and
there was a sparkle of acknowledgement in his blue hues as his mouth fell
open. Was he surprised that Dimitri knew about his nickname? Was he
confused? Maybe. Dimitri felt a little confused, too.

“Uh,” Rutley blinked. “That’s a really funny story,
actually,” he laughed nervously. “It’s short for Chipmunk.”

Dimitri quirked a brow.

“It’s because my middle name is Alvin,” Rutley
admitted. “Everyone always made that association whether I wanted them to or
not. Alvin the chipmunk, Chipmunk, and then eventually it just got shortened
down to Chip.”

“Oh,” Dimitri nodded slowly. Well, that did make
sense, now didn’t it? He smiled a little, reaching out to pick up the picture
of Liam with Mrs. Bamey. Memories were all any of them had now.

“I miss him,” Dimitri said after another moment. “You
know, when we decided that we wanted to be exclusive as a couple……I told him
that it would be too dangerous. I didn’t want him to get hurt.”

He felt the sting of tears assaulting his sinuses and
he immediately blinked back the moisture attempting to gather. As much as his
heart was hurting, he couldn’t cry in front of a damn werewolf hunter. He
couldn’t let Rutley see the soft side of him-at all.

He was Liam’s best friend,
his mind argued.
He
can’t be that bad of a person if Liam trusted him.

“I miss him, too, you know?”
Rutley offered, reaching out to rest a hand against Dimitri’s shoulder. “I
still can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Well believe it,” Dimitri suddenly snapped as he
glared at him, pulling away from his grasp. “Breslin made sure of that.”

He immediately regretted his overreaction as he saw the
look on Rutley’s face. The male seemed stunned, and there was definitely some
sort of devastation causing the frown on his lips. Dimitri sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I didn’t
mean to snap at you, Rutley. I think I’m just tired.”

Tired or not, he was still blinking away the tears that
needed to fall. The tears that always surfaced when he thought about Liam; the
tears that managed to escape from time to time, but they never gushed like a
waterfall as he knew they needed to. He couldn’t let himself do that. He
couldn’t accept Liam’s death just yet.

“Yeah,” Rutley whispered. “I’m tired, too.”

They stood there for a solid five minutes. Neither of
them spoke as they gazed at the picture of Liam with his mother. Time became
nonexistent as they remembered the kind, compassionate male staring back at
them. A man they would never get to see again. One had loved him, and the
other one had been in love with him.

“I guess I’ll let you go to bed now,” Rutley whispered
suddenly. His voice was cracking with emotion and he had to clear his throat
in an effort to regain his composure. “Goodnight.”

Dimitri’s eyes watched the male’s retreating back, and
there was a part of him that wanted to ask him to stay…..but that was wrong.
He had no right to ask Liam’s best friend to stay and comfort him. He did not
deserve that comfort. He was responsible for Liam’s death and he deserved
every ounce of pain that came his way. It was unforgivable.

“Goodnight,” Dimitri called after him.

Twelve

A
s everyone else settled in for the night, Lorcan
found it difficult to fall asleep. He tossed and turned, and punched his
pillow in frustration as he tried to make himself tired. It just wasn’t
happening.

He was glad to be back home and completely alert to
everything going on around him. Presley was safe, Dimitri was alive, and they
were far away from that raving lunatic. He should’ve been happy, yet he
wasn’t.

“Why the hell can’t I sleep?” He wondered aloud,
closing his eyes and willing his body to shut down for some much needed rest.
Maybe it was just because he was trying to sleep on the couch. Could anyone
actually get a decent night’s rest on such furniture? He’d have better luck at
sleeping on the floor.

Forget this.
He got up from the couch,
scratching the back of his head as he trudged down the hallway. He could hear
various snores coming from every direction. He wasn’t surprised that it got so
noisy when multiple ursithropes were sleeping under the same roof; especially
when the majority of them were male.

After using the bathroom and splashing his face with
water that was so cold it could rival the deepest depths of Alaska, he opened
the door to exit the bathroom.

But then he stopped.

Her scent hit him with a vengeance and Lorcan damn near
lost the use of his legs as his head turned in the direction of where she was
sleeping. She was in his bedroom, of course, which was the only way he agreed
to let anybody else have his bed for the night. If anyone was going to sleep
in his room besides him, it had to be Presley or no deal.

Yet now that he thought about it, maybe letting her have
his bed was a very bad thing. He was nearing the door before he realized it,
and then he was closing the door carefully behind himself. It was pitch black,
and all he could hear was the steady sound of her breathing.

Dear Urseth, what are you doing?
He asked as his
feet carried him towards the bed. Her scent was intoxicating, seeping into his
veins and heading straight for his heart as he licked his lips.
She’s asleep,
you idiot. Don’t wake her up.

It felt right when they were
this close to one another. Despite the fact they weren’t connected like his
mother and father, Lorcan longed to be near to her all the time. He couldn’t
help himself; Presley was the one for him, and his desire to be with her
overpowered any common sense he had.

The soft creak of the mattress reached his ears as he
seated himself beside her, his eyes scanning the darkness in an attempt to
catch a glimpse of her beautiful face.

“Mm,” she sighed gently, shifting on the bed as she
stretched her legs out beneath the blankets. “Mhm.”

He wondered what she was dreaming about, and he thanked
the great Urseth above that she wasn’t having a nightmare. He could only
imagine how vivid those would be once he did manage to slip out of
consciousness; but for now, he was entirely content on just being by her side.

“Mhm,” she repeated, releasing a harsh breath through
her nostrils as her knee bumped his hip gently. He bit back the smile
threatening to spread as he pressed his palm against the sheets, leaning down
to listen to what she was mumbling.

“Baby,” she murmured, shifting again as her palm fell
open near his fingers.

He couldn’t help but to brush his fingertips over the
smooth skin of her wrist, feeling the static electricity that surged through
him from the simple touch. It was amazing how she could take his breath away
by simply existing.

Baby?
Now he was even more intrigued with what
her dreams consisted of. Was she dreaming of him? It was a flattering
thought; he dreamed about her all the time.

Moving a little closer, Lorcan lifted his hand to touch
her jawline, memorizing the warmth of her silken flesh as his lips parted.
There was no denying that what he felt for her was the real deal; it always had
been. He didn’t care about her because of the ways of the ursithropes.
Perhaps, at one time, he’d been under the impression that that’s how it was
supposed
to happen, but deep down, he knew that Presley had been holding his heart for a
very long time. She’d possessed it before he even understood what the coupling
ceremony meant.

“Baby,” she repeated in a gentle sigh.

“I’m here,” Lorcan whispered, letting his lips touch
lightly against her cheek as he pushed her hair away from her face. “I’m right
here, Pretz.”

–––––––-

It took a few seconds before the fogginess of dreams
cleared in her mind. She blinked slowly, trying to recall where she was. She
knew she was safe, and she knew she was warm-but what stirred her from sleep in
the first place?

Her bear knew it before she did, but it didn’t take
Presley long to catch up. She smiled in the darkness of the bedroom, allowing
Lorcan’s scent to invade her brain as her body hummed in pure delight. It was
so weird, now that she thought about it. Never in her life had she experienced
such a physical connection with anyone before. Perhaps it was an ursithrope
thing, but Presley could definitely get used to feeling so happy.

“Lorcan?” She asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Lorcan replied. She could hear the
smile in his voice. His weight shifted on the bed and she felt his warm palms
cupping her face. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“No, it’s okay,” Presley insisted as she pushed herself
up into a sitting position. She ran her fingers through her curls, yawning.
“What time is it?”

“Late,” he replied quietly. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I don’t even remember going to sleep,” Presley
frowned. She gazed around and sighed. “So do they know what happened?”

Lorcan’s thumb traced over her cheek as she awaited
his answer. She couldn’t help but to feel a little nervous about her uncle
learning the entire truth of the situation. Would he be upset about Natalie?
Would he go on a rampage if he found out about what Breslin planned to do? Oh,
it was too much to worry about right now.

Don’t stress yourself out. It’s not good for the
baby.

What a strange thought. It was
still a little surreal for Presley. It had barely been a month since she’d
experienced that horrible night, and her Aunt Natalie’s discovery stunned
Presley.

Perhaps getting close to Lorcan so quickly had been a
terrible idea –though she hardly thought so-but what about the little baby
forming in her womb? Was
it
a terrible idea?

It’s my second shot at this mother thing,
she
determined as she rested her hand against her stomach absentmindedly.
Timing
has nothing to do with it.

“Did you hear what I said?”
Lorcan asked.

Presley blinked, frowning in the darkness as she
quickly moved her hand from her stomach to her forehead. “Oh…..I’m so sorry,”
she whispered. “I completely zoned out. What did you say?”

“I said that we’re going to have a discussion about it
tomorrow. I told them I didn’t want to talk about it without you.”

“Oh,” she nibbled at her bottom lip, exhaling quietly
as she closed her eyes. “I guess we do have a lot to talk about.”

“We do,” Lorcan responded in that same gentle tone.
“But right now, I just want to make sure you’re okay. You fainted on us, you
know?”

That’s right. She did faint. And the reason why
suddenly came rushing back to her as her stomach twisted into sickeningly tight
knots. “Do you remember the conversation we had that day on the steps?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember what you told me would happen if we
broke the rules of Urseth?”

He was silent for several seconds before he responded.
“Yes.”

Her bottom lip quivered before she latched onto it again,
her brows knitting together as tears blurred her vision. “Aren’t you scared of
what’s going to happen?”

Lorcan’s arms hugged around her suddenly, crushing her
to his chest as he buried his face into her curls. “No one really knows about
that,” he whispered. “Only you and I know those rules, Presley. Dimitri
doesn’t understand them and Rutley’s my brother’s best friend. I hardly think
he counts as a random human.”

“But he
is
human,” she argued in a quivering
voice.

“Are you going to report me?”

She pulled back quickly, staring up at him in
disbelief. Even if he couldn’t see her face, surely he caught the gasp of
shock as it escaped her lips. “Why would I ever do something like that,
Lorcan?”

“I’m not saying you would, but I’m trying to tell you
that it’s the only way I could get into trouble. You would have to report me
to the elders, and in turn they would carry out my punishment. If you aren’t
going to tell then we don’t have anything to worry about, okay?”

She felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders as
she leaned against him again, wrapping her arms around his muscular torso.
“Okay,” she whispered, nodding gently. “Good to know.”

Lorcan pulled away again, cupping her face between his
hands. “Is that why you fainted? You were worried about me?”

Well, when he put it that way, it made her feel
incredibly silly. “Yes.”

She didn’t have to see his face to know he was
smiling. He chuckled softly and then his lips were closing over hers. She
returned the surprise kiss.

“You’re something else, Presley Goult,” Lorcan
whispered, pecking her lips again. “And I absolutely love you to pieces.”

Warmth flooded her chest and stomach as she felt his
fingers tangle into her curls. She leaned in to kiss him once more, but
completely missed. Her lips landed against his chin instead. “I do love you,
Lorcan,” she confessed. “I’m just trying to catch up with everything that’s
happened between then and now.”

“No rush,” He promised, his fingers tracing down her
spine as he kissed her forehead. “I know it’s a lot to take in and no one
expects you to accept everything all at once. I know you’re still trying to
come to terms with the bear thing.”

The ‘bear thing’. What a way to word it. She wanted
to laugh at the statement, but she didn’t have it in her to do so. Maybe the
baby was keeping her level headed and admirably calm…..

“Speaking of which, I’m really impressed with how you
kept your bear in control tonight,” Lorcan added. “I stupidly went into kill
mode, and you weren’t even the least bit upset. I don’t think many ursithropes
can do that in the presence of a wolf.”

“It wasn’t just any wolf,” Presley offered as her back
arched from his touch. “It was Dimitri. I think I knew, somehow.”

“I’m not surprised. My mom has this weird ESP thing
going on, too. I think females are meant to be more perceptive, maybe even a
little clairvoyant.”

“Clairvoyant?” Presley repeated as Lorcan dipped his
head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
Focus, Presley. You’re having an
actual conversation about things that matter. Don’t be distracted.
That
was easier said than done though as Lorcan’s fingers laced with hers and his
lips moved to the side of her neck. “You think I’m psychic or something?”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say psychic,” He replied
between gentle kisses. “But when I was seven, Liam and I were playing in the
woods and I stumbled into a ravine. I broke my ankle and Liam was trying his
best to get me out of there. He was sort of wimpy back then though…..” He
chuckled softly, sadly. “We were so far away from the house. I was certain I
would die before anybody found us. Now that I think back on it, I was a bit
overdramatic, huh?”

Presley shook her head slowly. “No, I remember that
day fairly well, actually. Your dad was helping Uncle Arnold fix the lawn
mower and all of the sudden…..he just got wide eyed and said he had to go. I
didn’t understand it at all, but my uncle didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact,
I think he knew, too. I was the only one left out of loop.”

Lorcan pulled back slightly, letting the tip of his
nose touch against hers. “Liam’s frantic cries travelled further than I
realized back then. Even before his call reached our father’s ears, Mom was
already on her way. She got there a good ten minutes before he did. I can
remember watching her slide down the embankment to get to us. Her dress got
really dirty but she didn’t care. She just grabbed us up in her arms and held
us close while I cried. She didn’t care about the dirt or the ravine…she just
cared about getting to us.”

Presley was silent for a few moments, trying to imagine
how it would feel if her mother would put herself in harm’s way for her sake.
Yeah,
that’s never going to happen…..

“You know how they say that a
mother is capable of finding inhuman strength if her child is in danger?”

She nodded.

“Well, that rings pretty damn true for Mama Bears.
They will do anything to protect their cubs.”

I’m sure all of them will except for mine,
Presley thought sadly as she pulled away from him, hugging her knees to her
chest. She frowned and buried her face against her arms.