Warrior Invasion: A Science Fiction Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 10) (17 page)

What in the hell...?

After Bella cleaned up and dressed, the whole time sucking hard on the melting peppermint that actually seemed to be working to calm her stomach, she did go looking for Mac.

She told herself that it wasn't really to see what else he'd said he had for her, but to find out what the hell was going on, and why no one had left before dawn, like they had planned, to get Sandra home.

Although, she thought as more pained sounds came from behind Sandra's closed door, she figured she could guess that much on her own.

Sandra wasn't going anywhere, she was going to have her baby right here, probably today.

Bella followed the amazing breakfast smells into the kitchen, expecting to see her mother cooking and Mac pulling peppermint out of his ass or something, since she knew it wasn't something common to their kitchen.

She stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, trying to take in the odd scene.

Her mom and Ivy were seated at the kitchen table, talking, laughing and sipping coffee, while Mac, complete with her mother's apron barely covering anything on his huge frame, puttered about the kitchen.

He seemed to be simultaneously flipping pancakes, frying bacon, warming syrup and draining the honey from what looked to be a huge honeycomb into a bowl, all the while adding the occasional low timbered remark to what her mother and sister were saying.

Bella looked around at them, in awe. Her mother never let anyone but her daughters cook in her kitchen, and yet there she sat, not only letting some strange new giant of a man cook, but she seemed to be relaxed and enjoying it!

And Mac, well he looked like he was right at home, the awkwardness of their run-in last night in the garden nowhere to be seen.

"Aw, there she is. Sit Bella, I want you to try something and see if it helps."

She did what Mac directed, following orders out of shock more than any urge to actually sit down.

A steaming mug of something appeared before her and she muttered a confused thank you up at Mac.

"It's more peppermint," he said, answering her unasked question. "Peppermint tea, to be exact. That way you can sit and sip something while everyone else has coffee. It should help calm your stomach, same as the chunk I gave you earlier. Is it working? How do you feel?"

She took a moment before answering, to take stock of herself.

"Ok," she said, surprised to find that it was true. "Much better, actually. How did you know? Where did you get it?"

"You can thank Sandra for the knowledge," Mac said, grinning down at her from above.

She nodded, sipping on the hot liquid he'd given her.

"But as to the where?" Her mom's voice cut in, "Mac went and got it. Along with the honeycomb. He went out and collected the eggs, too. And had this feast in the works before any of us even realized how hungry we were. Thank you, Mac. It was very thoughtful of you."

"It was my pleasure, ma'am. I figured it was the least I could do since you were up helping Sandra all night. I'm not sure anyone got much sleep. To be honest, I was just trying to be useful and stay out of the way."

"I told you, Mac, call me Enid. Anyone who cooks like this can use my given name," her mom said with a smile.

Bella was almost afraid to ask, since she seemed to be the only one in the house who slept like the dead and had no idea what had gone on overnight.

"So, Sandra," Bella waded into the conversation. "I take it she won't be traveling any time soon?"

"Nope. Keelyn and Bane left in the night to go to Sandra's mom's and bring her back here instead. Sandra says she's not far along enough to give birth, that difficult pregnancies run in the family and her mom will come with some herbs to calm the pains, but my guess is that there will be a baby pretty soon. I may not have her mother's knowledge of herbs, but I've seen many an animal in labor. Still though, I hope her mom gets here in time. I'm sure she'd want to be a part of all this."

"Speaking of Keelyn and Bane," Ivy said. "What's going on there, Mac?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, placing a single slice of bacon in front of Bella, and passing out heaping plates of bacon, pancakes soaked in syrup, scrambled eggs and toast in front of Ivy and Enid.

Bella eyed the bacon suspiciously as Mac tried to wiggle out of answering Ivy's question.

"I mean, what's going on with my sister and Bane? There's an odd tension there. Every time I see them talking to each other, or looking at each other, I wager with myself if it's safe to leave them alone together. I'm not sure if they'll rip each other's clothes off or rip each other's throats out."

"Seems like both could be fun," Mac mumbled under his breath with a sly smile.

Bella wasn't sure anyone else heard it, but she did. She also wasn't sure if the chills the words gave her were of pleasure or fear.

"Slow bites. Let each bite settle before you take another," Mac directed the words to her and the single piece of bacon before her, ignoring Ivy as he urged Bella to try to eat something.

He finished with, "Trust me, I'm a doctor."

"Really?"

"No, not really. But trust me anyway."

Mac's grin spread over his face slowly, like the warm, wild honey dripping out of the honeycomb next to him on the counter.

"What are you, then?"

His smile faltered, his eyes cooling as she watched.

"I'm sorry?"

"If you aren't a doctor, what are you? What do you do? Why are you here?"

"Bella! Don't be rude."

"I'm just trying to understand. Keelyn's never returned home with anyone in tow before, let alone four strangers."

She turned back to Mac, finishing with, "How do you know Keelyn, exactly?"

Chapter 4

Mac usually wasn't one to go for a run. A tree climb, maybe. Especially if there was an active bee hive and some honey to be found. He could even get behind the idea of going for a swim. But to run for running's sake, like Bane and his wolf pack liked to do? Nope.

So why am I running now?
Maybe hanging out with wolves as much as I do corrupted me somewhat,
he thought.

Or maybe, between Bella's questions, Ivy's suspicions, Sandra's labor and his bear's insistence on providing for Bella already, by getting her some peppermint and cooking for her and her family, maybe he just needed to burn off some steam. In bear form. Running through the woods surrounding Bella's family's house. Again.

The first time he'd ducked out for some alone time in bear form was right after Bella had cornered him with questions about who he was and what he did. He'd never been so happy in all his life to hear pained screaming coming from a pregnant woman before.

Sandra's muffled, distant sounds chose that perfect moment to escalate to a pitch almost up into dog and wolf only hearing range, and Mac breathed a sigh of relief when the kitchen cleared out. Ivy and Enid left their coffees on the table as they leaped up to go help Naythan out with Sandra as they all prayed Sandra's mom would arrive in time.

After a hard look in his direction, Bella followed her sister and mother, turning back to grab the peppermint tea he'd prepared for her.

"Thanks. For the tea, I mean. It does seem to be helping."

She seemed to thank him almost against her will. He guessed that manners overpowered distrust inside her, at least for a minute. He had no doubt though that his time in the spotlight of either hers or Ivy's attentions would come back around again soon.

As she walked out of the room, he watched the sway of her hips as she retreated, his bear growling his need for her just under the surface of his control.

His mind flashed back on the way her lips had felt under his fingertip as he slid the peppermint inside her mouth just outside of the bathroom earlier.

Soft, pillowy, warm lips teased his memory. Even the fact that she was having morning sickness couldn't tamp down the shock of electricity he'd felt just by grazing her lip as she stood before him, angry accusations in her eyes as he told her to suck it.

He'd meant the peppermint, obviously. But watching her take it wrong in that first instant led his mind where hers had gone, and it took all he had to turn away from her and walk away.

His bear wasn't happy with that decision, and wanted to go back. To touch her again. To tell her what he knew to be true, that she would be his, that he would protect her and take care of her, and that everything would be ok.

After the women went to Sandra's aid, he tucked the uneaten food into the refrigerator for later, cleaned up the kitchen so the women wouldn't have to after attending Sandra, and he let himself out of the house, intending to just go for a bit of a walk and get some fresh air.

Instead he found himself ducking into the woods, stripping his clothes off, tucking the bundle high up on a tree branch, and shifting into his bear to escape for a while.

The second time he used his bear to get away for a bit was later, after Bane and Keelyn came back with Sandra's mom, who arrived just in time to tell Sandra that there wouldn't be any herbal calming of her pains. Just as everyone thought, Sandra was in full-on labor.

Mac tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, preferring to take care of those taking care of Sandra instead of jumping right into the middle of a human birthing a werewolf cub.

Tensions were high right after the baby was born though, since Enid, Bella and Ivy had no idea Naythan, and therefore Naythan and Sandra's new baby, was anything but human.

According to a whispered conversation Mac had with Bane after his return, Sandra's mom did know her human daughter was mated to a werewolf, but that information had so far been kept from Keelyn's mom and sisters, since they were a well-known were-hunter family by trade.

The biggest source of tension surrounding the babe's birth was the question of how soon the baby would shift into wolf form. Were-cubs were born human, but the ability to shift was different with each and every child. Sandra's baby could be human forever, since Sandra was human, or, since Naythan was a werewolf, the baby could also possess the ability to shift. The problem was that the cub could stay human until puberty hit, shift minutes or hours after birth, or anytime in between.

Mac kept an eye on everyone, throwing food their direction, or tea and coffee, when they would wander, exhausted, into the kitchen he'd practically taken over.

Mrs. Mitchell, Sandra's mom, put Keelyn to work as a sort of midwife's helper, which Keelyn really seemed to enjoy.

Good,
Mac thought happily.
Maybe she will leave her days of hunting and killing were-kind behind her, now that she has Bane and his pack.

Mac watched Bane watch Keelyn, smiling to himself as he decided that Bane and Keelyn really would be fine. They'd work out their issues and settle into being mates, Mac was sure of it. Naythan and Sandra were as close as ever, in the middle of ushering their first cub into the world. Mac was very happy for his friends and their mates. He found himself wondering if he'd ever be so lucky himself.

Yes, he'd found his mate in Bella. His bear was quite insistent on that fact. But the path from scenting her to claiming her as his looked like it was going to be a rocky one.

He'd decided he couldn't care less if she carried another man's cub, since it wasn't her choice. It's not like she loved another or anything. His bear had no issues taking care of her, or her growing child. Animals in the wild had been known to adopt and take care of babies who sometimes weren't even of their own kind.

His bear just saw Bella's growing baby as a part of Bella, and since Bella was to be his mate, then that meant that Bella's baby was to be Mac's baby too, end of story.

If only it would be that easy to convince Bella,
he thought.

Mac watched as Bane tore by him, through the kitchen and outside, his mind obviously in turmoil. It wasn't very long before Keelyn followed in Bane's footsteps, a determined look on her face.

Yes, go to him,
Mac thought in Keelyn's direction, sending her support in thought if not in words.
You two are destined, mated. If a werewolf and a were-hunter can make it work, maybe there really is hope for a bear shifter and a pregnant, angry, were-hunter's sister, as well.

* * *

A
few hours later
, Bane and Keelyn still missing in action, Naythan and Sandra spending time together with their brand new son, and Enid, Bella and Ivy all resting, Mac took advantage of not being needed. He wandered out into the woods again, finding the tree he'd been using to store his clothes in and tucking them there again. He shifted into his bear form and headed off at a lumbering run toward a stream he'd discovered nearby. He figured some stream fishing and some yummy salmon would do him good, and help him relax.

On his way back, sated with fish and cooled off from his swim, he spotted a taller than normal Keelyn moving through the trees. He sped up and headed to cross her path, noting as he got closer why she was suddenly so tall.

She was riding Bane in his wolf form, straddling the wolf's back as they seemed to be heading back toward Keelyn's.