Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory (19 page)

Dev, who had looked up from Cale to watch the byplay, grinned. “Nope, but we’ll just have to keep suffering in silence.”

Jenny glared at him in mock indignation. “How can you say that to the woman who just bore your children?” But she smiled, grateful that Devlin always seemed to know when things were getting too maudlin for comfort.

Damien straightened. “I’ll go get Jake.”

Jenny nodded. They had talked a little about the situation, after the babies were in her arms and the nurses and doctors had left them alone to bond. (Tom hadn’t questioned it at all when Jenny had told him during one of her prenatal visits that both the brothers would be present at the birth. He’d agreed, his gaze shrewd and knowing. If the idea of a ménage-à-

trois relationship bothered him, he hid it well, and if the nurses had wondered, they’d kept their mouths shut.)

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They had decided that Jacob would be introduced to their friends and neighbors as a close college buddy of Damien’s who had relocated to Wyoming and was now working for them, moving onto the Blake estate to assist in managing their conservation efforts in the area.

Of course, there was also Jacob’s son to consider.

Damien returned. “He’s on his way.”

A minute later, Jake entered the room. He waited until the door thumped closed, shutting out the curious glances of passersby in the hall, then stole Jenny’s breath away with a deep, hungry kiss that left her toes tingling.

“Wow.” She ran her free hand through her sweat-damp, tangled hair, suddenly self-conscious. She’d been living with Damien and Devlin long enough to be comfortable around them no matter how she looked, but this thing with Jacob was still new enough that she hated him seeing her at less than her best.

She needn’t have worried. He had eyes only for the boys. Collin was awake again and had managed to free one tiny hand. “Hey, little fella.” Jake held out his pinkie, and Collin instinctively grasped it.

Jenny’s heart ached as a flash of sorrow flickered across Jake’s face, quickly masked. He must be thinking of the lost twin.

He jiggled his finger, murmuring nonsensical noises until Collin let go, his face screwing into a wrinkled mass as he opened his mouth and began wailing.

Jenny shifted him closer to her chest. He turned his head, rooting in his blanket. “Uh-oh. I think the little man’s hungry.”

She untied the side of her gown and flipped it back, then released the flap of her maternity bra. She held her nipple, waiting while Collin searched, then guiding it between his lips when he opened his mouth wide. He sucked a couple of times. Stopped. Sucked again. Stopped. She felt the sensation of quickening she’d begun noticing late in her pregnancy.

Collin made a funny sound in the back of his throat, and she started to pull her left nipple away, thinking he was choking, but then his gums clamped down, and he was swallowing noisily.

Jake smiled. “Greedy little sucker.” He laughed. “Pun intended.”

Everyone chuckled. “I’m supposed to be the comic around here,” Dev protested in mock indignation.

Jake moved around to squat near Damien and Devlin. “This one’s wide-eyed and bushy-tailed,” he observed. Everyone laughed again. “Oops.” He chuckled. “Actually, no pun intended that time.”

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Jenny glanced over at them. Cale’s arms waved, his dark blue gaze darting here, there, and everywhere, seeming to take in every detail of the room, though Jen knew newborns couldn’t really see that well.

She looked down at Collin, whose tiny fist rested on her breast. His eyes were open again, and his gaze traveled over her, from her eyes to her nose to her mouth and back to her eyes. Then again, these were weyr babies. Even half-weyr had sharper senses, and there’d been a fifty-fifty chance these twins would be full weyr. Maybe they were seeing a lot better than she would expect.

Curious, she raised a finger on her free hand, holding it before his face, wiggling it a little until he seemed to have it in focus. She then moved her hand slowly to the left, then to the right. He tracked her movements perfectly. When she took the finger away, his gaze went right back to her face.

“Yes, dear?” Damien had noticed her little experiment.

She blushed. “It seems like they can see us. I mean, really see us, even though infants aren’t supposed to be able to focus on anything for several weeks.”

Damien nodded. “Yep. They’re both full weyr. Our eyesight’s a lot sharper and develops faster. Also, you might not be breastfeeding for long. Our teeth come in sooner, and sharper, than humans. Might not be too comfortable for you.”

So, they were full weyr. Though she could sense weyr blood, she hadn’t been able to tell for sure. She didn’t know if that was because she was only half-weyr, or if it was because she was simply untrained. “Oh, well. I’ll just do it as long as I can.”

Collin had fallen back to sleep, not really sucking anymore. She slipped her nipple from his mouth. She looked at Damien. “Can you take him? I want to talk to Jake.” Her husband jumped up and carefully lifted his son from her arms.

Jake walked back to the right side of the bed, pulling a third chair close to the rail.

Jenny depressed the trigger that lowered the side rail. He leaned in, resting an elbow on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his. “What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you about your baby. Theron. That’s what Tara decided to name him, after her grandfather. If that’s all right with you.”

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

She took his hand in both of hers, resting it on her tummy. “You need to know, she asked if Damien and I would adopt the baby.”

“What?”

“She was the first person I met when I came to this town, and we’ve become the best of friends, as close as sisters. She grew up with Damien and Devlin. She knows what they are, and she knows her baby will be half-weyr. She wants us to adopt him and raise him as our own.”

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She saw the muscle in his jaw jump as he clenched his teeth. “She doesn’t want our baby.”

“It’s not like that, Jake. She’s worried that she doesn’t know enough. Isn’t prepared to raise a weyr. She knows how confusing it’s been for me since I found out what I am, what world I belong to. She doesn’t want that to happen to Theron.”

“I thought…I don’t know. Now that I’m here, I thought I’d be able to help her with that.”

“I suppose she might consider it, but…there’s someone else in her life. Someone she’s begun to care a great deal about. It would be hard, trying to raise Theron in the Way, while having to keep it a secret from Marshall.” She turned onto her side, a little painfully, and brought his hand up, resting her cheek against his palm. “I think if I tell her exactly what the situation is between us, she’ll give you full custody, if that’s what you want.”

He relaxed. “You know it is.”

She smiled. “The guys and I have been talking. There are a couple of empty cottages on our land. The story’s going to be that you’re an old college buddy of Damien’s who ran into Tara in New Orleans. When you found out about the pregnancy, you decided to relocate to Wyoming, to be near your son, and Damien hired you to head our conservation efforts on the mountain. We’ll lead people to believe that you’re living in one of the other homes, but of course you won’t have to do that.”

“Sounds plausible.” But he frowned. “Do you think Tara will still want to be a part of Theron’s life?”

“Not as a mother. I think she’ll be satisfied with being our friend and being able to watch him grow in that capacity.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “All right.”

Jenny studied his face. “Jake?”

“Hmm?”

“What did you feel for her?”

His brow creased. “I’m not sure. She’s attractive, of course. And she knew what we were. It was exciting, having sex with a full human that wanted us so badly. Wanted us specifically that way. We’d never had sex with a full human in our weyr forms before.” He shook his head. “But mostly, it was Johnathan. He used to have premonitions…” He peeked at her from beneath his long lashes, as if he thought she wouldn’t believe him.

“I understand. Devlin’s the same way.”

“He told me she was the one. That we were fated to mate with her. I didn’t feel that way, but he never doubted his visions, so I went along with it. But I guess he didn’t see…the rest.” His eyes searched hers. “Does it bother you?”

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Jen shook her head. “I believe everything has happened this way for a reason. How else would we have met? Maybe Tara’s pregnancy and…other things have all been leading to this, to you joining our pack.”

A shadow of pain crossed his face. “I would have wished for an easier way.”

“Oh, Jake.” Jen kissed his hand. “Me, too. But you’re here now, head of the pack, and your son will be here soon. Your brother would be happy for you, don’t you think?”

He grimaced, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I can’t do it without you.”

“You don’t have to, Jake. I’m yours, and you’re ours. Forever.”

“Jen’s right.” Dev had settled Cale in his crib and snuck up on them. He flung an arm over each of their shoulders. “You’re stuck with us now. That’s what you get for choosing a pack while you’re rogue.”

Jake stiffened at first, then started chuckling. He leaned back, tears in his eyes, but a smile on his face. “Is he always like this?”

Jenny grinned. “Always.”

A few hours later, she rested quietly in bed.

Nurses had taken the babies to the nursery for the usual round of checks, and the guys had gone out to get something to eat. With dominance established, they appeared to be settling into an easy camaraderie, though she didn’t kid herself that there wouldn’t be times in the future when they’d butt heads.

Soft tapping interrupted her train of thought. She glanced up as Tara peeked her head in. “Hey, Jen! You up to a visit?”

“Yes!” Jenny raised the head of the bed and held out her arms.

Tara walked in and gave her a hug. “I went by the nursery. Oh, my God, they’re adorable!”

“Thanks.” She suspected she fairly glowed with pride. “How are you feeling?”

Tara made herself comfortable in the chair Jake had been using. She patted her stomach. “Everything’s going fine. Tom’s making me come in every week, since…you know.

The baby’s heartbeat is strong and regular, and he’s looking normal, growing right, according to the sonograms.”

“I’m so happy.”

“Me, too.” Tara toyed with the strap of her purse. “Um, have you guys thought any more about --”

“Ohmigosh. I have so much to tell you.” Jen arranged herself more comfortably against the pillows and raised the lighting. “I almost don’t know where to begin.”

“What is it?”

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“Well…” She paused a moment, gathering her thoughts. “The day you told me about Jake, Damien and Devlin discovered there was a rogue weyr on our property.”

“A rogue?”

“Yes. It’s involved, so to make a long story short -- when Jake found out he’d lost both Johnathan and one of the babies, he went a little nuts, spent all his time as a wolfie. A rogue.

The prognosis isn’t good for weyrs who lose their twins, so Damien and Devlin were going to…” She swallowed. “Well, they were going to put him down.”

Tara’s brow wrinkled. “Pu -- you mean kill him?”

“I promise, I’ll explain everything someday, but for now all you have to know is, I convinced them to bring him in instead. Let me see if I could talk him back. It worked, but…” Heat flooded her cheeks. She looked away. “Um, in the process --”

“Oh, my God. You like him?”

Jen looked back. “More than like him. He’s part of our pack now.”

“Part of your pack?”

Jenny nodded. “He’s going to stay, Tara. He’s living with us.”

Tara’s mouth dropped open, her eyes wide. “Holy cow. And Damien’s all right with this? I mean, Dev was always laid back, but Damien seems pretty possessive.”

“There were some issues, but we’ve gotten them hammered out.”

“Wow. So…where does that leave me and Theron?”

“I talked to Jake today. We wondered if you would…well, we thought you might give him full custody. He’s all right now, and he’ll be living with us -- I thought that might make you feel a little more comfortable with it. Theron will still be raised by weyr; he’ll just be raised by his real dad. And I’ll be there, of course, and Damien and Devlin. And he’ll have Collin and Cale. And Jake has no problem with you remaining in their lives, if that’s what you want.”

“Wow.” Tara shook her head.

Jen’s heart dropped. “You don’t want to do that?”

“No -- I mean, yes.” Tara threw her hands up. “No, I’m not saying no, and yes, that sounds like a good solution. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“Nobody wants to force this on you, Tara. If you’ve changed your mind --”

“No.” Tara rested her hand on her tummy. “I want to do what’s best for Theron. I don’t know if I could let him go if Jake intended to take him far away, but if he’s going to be with you, just two hours away, and he won’t mind Theron knowing his mom, then…yes.”

“Yes?”

Tara nodded.

Jenny held out her hand. “Thank you. This means so much to Jake. To all of us.”

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Tara reached out and clasped her fingers. “The more I learn about weyr, the more certain I am that my son needs to be with you.” She raised her eyebrows. “Three men? Hon, I can barely handle the one guy I’ve got now, and he’s tame compared to your boys. I don’t know how you do it.”

Jenny laughed. “Sometimes, neither do I!”

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Indescribable Bliss

Six months later, Jenny sat in the living room with Theron nestled in her arms. He suckled lazily on her nipple, his dark eyes watching her, his fingers toying with a long strand of hair that had fallen across her breast. She smiled.

“How’s our boy?” Jake dumped an armload of wood in the bin next to the big stone fireplace. He tossed a couple of the logs onto the dying fire, rearranging with the poker until he was satisfied with the blaze, then came and sat by her on the couch.