Page 13 of Branches of the Willow (The Ancients #3)

“Thank you.” She managed, again with a thick accent that made it hard to understand. I turned to my mother then, who was still there beside the pregnant woman.

“Did you know?” My mother shook her head indicating that she did not. “I think Sierra will be needed after all. I will talk to her as soon as we are done here.”

I spent the next few hours getting to know most of the women, at least a little, and learning their stories. A few of them were added to my mental list of people to deal with sooner, rather than later. They were the ones that seemed to have developed Stockholm Syndrome, and were in love with their previous captors.

Ashley had come by to bring fresh clothing, blankets, and food with some of the other women from the pack. I had seen Asi come in with her, but now that I was ready to go, I looked around and noticed that the men were all absent. Well, all of them except Evan, who was off in a corner talking to Natalia.

“Where are the guys?” I asked Ashley.

“I sent them outside a while ago. Some of the women in here were starting to get that hungry look in their eyes, and I thought it best if those two were gone. Evan can fend for himself.” She laughed as she nodded in his direction. Another woman had walked up to talk to him, and Natalia was not having it as she quickly growled and sent the she-wolf on her way. Not surprisingly, the one who had made the attempt was on my ‘watch and be wary of’ list. “That’s the reason I thought it was best to send our men out. I’m not sure I’d care what they’ve been through if they tried to get their grubby little paws in my man, I might punch one of them.” Ashley eyed me for a moment. “Hell, you might punch somebody, too.”

I laughed. “Well, let’s just be thankful you had the foresight to send them away then, and call it good. Ashley and I made our way over to the door, and I called to Evan. “Hey, Evan, we’re heading out, are you coming?” He held up a finger and continued talking to the golden blonde. The last time I’d seen that look on Evan’s face, it had been aimed at me, in a club on the first night we met. It was strange how things had a way of working themselves out, and not always how you imagined it would go.

As soon as we got outside, we found Asi and Mikael talking with my father. “Well, what do you think?” My father asked me. My stomach betrayed me and growled out a loud protest about the fact that I hadn’t eaten since this morning.

“I have a list of women who cannot stay here, and who need to be transported to another pack as soon as possible. They may even need to be transported back to their homeland, but they may not stay here any longer than necessary.”

“That’s drastic, especially considering how the old capital is now on a steady influx to come here,” Evan mentioned, his brows furrowed with concern.

“I know that, but they have emotional connections to Antoine, Malachi, or both, and I wouldn’t put it past any of the ones on that list to do something stupid in order to earn more favor with Malachi. I also don’t trust them around the other women. Some women in their situation are victims, others are not, and others still would be the abusers too if given a chance. I want them gone before we begin the process of finding permanent homes for the rest of the women in there. The ones who made my list should not know where the others end up. That means they can’t go to the same packs, so keep that in mind too.”

“Okay, we’ll start making arrangements right away.” My father leaned in and kissed me on the top of my head. “Why don’t you guys head back to the house and get some dinner.”

“I still have to go see Sierra.”

“I think she can wait. Unless of course, you want Sierra to think you’re there to eat her. Your stomach has already given you away, and if you wait much longer it’s going to grow a mind of its own, and make you eat the first thing you see.”

I laughed at my dad. It’s the same thing he used to tell me when I was a little girl and didn’t want to stop playing to come in to eat.

“Seriously, your body’s been through enough, let’s get it taken care of today.”

“Yes, sir.” I turned to see if Mikael was behind me still, but he wasn’t there. Evan came strolling up though. “Mikael is going to be coming along in just a minute. He’s doing something for me.”

“Oh, okay.” I turned back around and started heading toward my parents’ house. “Are you hungry, we’re going to have dinner?”

“Sure, I could eat. I thought I might take something over and keep Natalia company though.”

“Speaking of Natalia, I saw that look between the two of you earlier.”

“What look?” Evan was laughing at me as he asked.

“M-hmm, you know what look. The one that said, given the right place and time, that you would be marking her the same way you marked me on the dance floor of your club.”

“Technically, it wasn’t my club yet.”

“You still had that look.” I laughed at him for trying to change the subject.

“She’s been through a lot. I don’t want to push myself on her.” A worried crease in his brow told me exactly how much truth there was to his words.

“I don’t think she’d mind at all, but maybe it’s wise to take your time.” I elbowed him in the stomach playfully. “I think she could use a bit of a good thing in her life.”

“Oh, so now you think I’m a good thing!” Evan was teasing, but the words still stung a little too.

“I’ve always thought so. You were just meant to be someone else’s good thing.” I smiled up at him then and he responded by pulling me into a giant bear hug that reminded me of the ones Jack used to give me, which made me smile even more.

“I am so sorry for all the trouble I’ve brought into your life, Jess. First my family, and then I couldn’t even do right by you. You deserved far better than what I had to offer.”

“Don’t you dare apologize. You brought me Mikael.” My face lit up as I said his name.

“You’re glowing. Did you know?” He smiled down at me again. “I wonder, if my brother was smart enough to figure it out yet?”

“Figure what out?” I watched as Evan scrutinized every fiber of my being with those cobalt blue eyes of his.

“You’re pregnant. I can see it all over you.”

Shock colored my cheeks, and painted my lips into the shape of a giant O. “How?” It was all I could manage to get out before he pulled me into another giant hug.

“My brother is one lucky bastard!” He spun me around once, and then put me back down on my feet. “And if I have to tell you how, then maybe my brother wasn’t the best match for you. I’m quite sure you should have known how it happened.” Evan quirked up an eyebrow in a highly amused gesture.

“I know how it happened, you idiot!” I smacked Evan’s chest playfully. “I meant how did you know?”

“I told you, you’re glowing.” He took everything about me in once again. “He doesn’t know yet, does he?”

“No.” When disappointment flashed across Evan’s face, I figured I had to finish telling him why. “I just found out, myself. I wanted to wait. My body has been through a lot and, well, to be honest, I’m worried that something’s going to happen, and we’ll have had our hopes up for nothing.”

“But you feel okay, right?” Concern quickly overshadowed his earlier disappointment.

“Other than being tired, and a little nauseous once in a while, yeah.”

“Then, why the worry?” Evan stopped dead in his tracks when something seemed to occur to him. “You don’t think it’s someone else’s do you?”

“What? No! Why would you think that? I’ve never been with anyone else.”

“I didn’t know if anything had happened while you were, you know…”

“No. Nothing happened. It’s Mikael’s. I just worry that I will get his hopes up, get my hopes up, only to have it all pulled out from underneath us. I don’t have the best of luck with this happily ever after stuff everyone keeps going on about in the fairytales.”

“Jess, your time is now. You should tell him. He’s going to be angry if he finds out you’re keeping it from him.”

“I know. Just, give me a little time to tell him, please?”

“You got it, but seriously, the sooner the better. I’m not making up weird excuses about you swallowing a watermelon whole on a dare in a few months.” He held his hands out in front of his stomach, miming how it would look to be pregnant as he teased me.

I rolled my eyes at Evan, and then found myself standing in front of my parents’ house. “Seriously, Jess, the rest of us can handle things around here while you get some more rest and catch Mikael up on what he needs to know.”

“Those girls can’t wait any longer. None of you seemed to understand why they were too afraid to go take a damn shower. I’m not saying I have all the answers, just that, maybe because of what I’ve been through I can see things from their perspective a little better.” I sighed, as I climbed the porch steps.

“Don’t downplay your strengths. You’re right. Hell, my family held those girls, and you, captive. My family have never been pillars of virtue, but I never knew they had it in them to do those things. Every time I go in there, I see some of them cringe, and I used to think it was because they were just shell shocked, but when you started talking about Stockholm Syndrome earlier, it clicked. A few of those women tried sucking up to me when we brought them back with us, rather than being afraid. Malachi looks a lot like me. Do you think they all thought I was there, and taking them, for the same reasons my father and brother had? To do what Antoine and Malachi had done to them?” Evan was lost in thought for a moment before he spoke again. “What about Natalia? Do you think she feels that way?”

I smiled then. “No, I think Natalia is a different story completely. Don’t give up on that one. I saw the way you both looked at one another. There’s something there.”

“She was the newest.” Evan mentioned as we made our way into the house.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure where my father found her, but she was the newest one to join his little prison camp. I never asked her directly, but the other women say she was lucky, in that she was untouched, because they found her somewhere in the Czech Republic right before my father came here. He had his men take her to the cells while my family continued on with their travels to come meet you.”

“That’s a good thing, Evan. At least you won’t have those thoughts tainting anything in the future.”

“What’s my brother mucking up now, that his future will be tainted?” Mikael had finally caught up to us and leaned down to nip at my neck as we found our seats around my mom’s kitchen table.

“The pretty blond girl with the big blue eyes.” I smiled over at Mikael as I explained.

“Ah, you noticed them ogling each other too, huh?” I laughed as Evan huffed in indignation.

“I would have to be blind to have missed it.” I mentioned. Evan rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his smile. “What does everyone want to drink?” I stood up from my chair, yawning, prepared to get everyone started on their meal.

“Sit.” Evan ordered. “I’ll take care of the drinks. You’re…” he hesitated just long enough for Mikael to take notice, but then he recovered, “tired.”

Mikael tugged on the hem of my shirt to get me to follow his brother’s instructions. Evan knew his way around the kitchen well enough, so I sat and avoided Mikael until he reached over and took my chin in his hand to pull my face around, so we were eye to eye. “What was that about?” He asked softly. It wasn’t accusatory, just a question laced with concern.

“Nothing. I’m tired, and I haven’t been taking breaks to eat enough.” His eyes probed me, ever watchful, waiting for me to elaborate, but I didn’t.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s get you fed, and then we’ll get you home.”

“Okay, but I want to stop by and talk to the women in the meeting hall once more before we go for the night. I have a couple questions that really can’t wait.”

“Jess, if you’re tired, we can just go home, and you can come back in the morning.” Mikael was serious, and his voice had taken on a stern edge. Evan stopped a few feet away with glasses in hand, not wanting to interfere.

“I’ll be fine, I promise. I just need to get this over with tonight, so that maybe tomorrow morning we can get straight to the business of making travel plans for everyone.”

“Wait!” Evan placed the glasses on the table. “Travel plans for who? All of them? What are you thinking, Jess?”

“Not all. That’s why I want to talk to them first and give each the option to go or stay.” Evan visibly relaxed, his shoulders sinking lower as the tension released from his stance.

“Oh, okay.”

“Fine, but if you start looking ill or too tired at all, I’m going to toss your ass over my shoulder and carry you home whether you like it or not.” I grinned at Mikael. It was rare that he put his foot down with me, and he was sexy as hell whenever he did. “What? Why are you smirking at me like that? I’ll do it!” He stood so fast his chair pitched back behind him, smacking down on the floor with a thud, and before I could say a word, I was being thrown up and over his shoulder. Laughter bubbled up out of my mouth, as I reached down and smacked his ass hard. Then, the movement got to me, and more than laughter threatened to bubble up. It took every ounce of will power I had, not to vomit right there. Evan could see my face turn green from where he was standing, and he jumped in to save the day.

“I’m fairly sure that’s Jameson coming now. You know how cranky he gets about Jess; you might want to stop manhandling his daughter in his kitchen.” I could have kissed Evan in that moment. He was so nonchalant about it, like nothing was really up besides getting reamed by a mate’s father.

Mikael put me back down, but he noticed the unsettled look on my face when he did. “Shit, did I hurt you?”

I slowly shook my head no, but kept my mouth closed, as I was still trying to keep the bile from rising any further in my throat. To my surprise, Evan hadn’t been lying about hearing my father coming. My mom and dad both walked in, effectively distracting Mikael from me long enough to get myself back under control. I mouthed a quick, “thank you,” to Evan. He simply nodded, and then everything went back to normal as we all gathered around to eat.

After we ate, Mikael and Evan walked with me, back over to see the women who had been Antoine’s captives. It was odd to have Evan and Mikael in close proximity without barbs being thrown at one another, and fights starting over who was going to date me today. On the other hand, I liked the new dynamic. Evan was starting to slide right into the brotherly role that was lacking in my life since Jack’s death.

I spent a couple hours getting to know most of the women in the meeting area a little better, and getting a feel for which packs they might do well in. After I spent the time talking to them individually, with Mikael as my translator for those who didn’t speak English well, I figured it was time to get the show on the road. “Okay, ladies, I’m here to offer you your freedom. Your choices are as follows: you can get on an airplane and go back to the life you knew before you were taken prisoner; ask to be placed in a pack, here, within the United States; or you can make your home right here in the St. Marks Pack.” I looked around, taking in the reactions as Mikael translated for me, so that they all understood the choices they were being offered. “You don’t have to decide right now. I will be back in the morning, and if you have made a decision, you can let me know then.”

I noticed that Natalia had a slightly panicked look on her face, and she was gazing back and forth between me and Evan. “We don’t have to go?” She asked in disbelief.

“No, you don’t have to go. We will work on finding you a permanent place here if you choose to stay.” Again, Mikael translated both Natalia’s question and my answer for the others.

“I wish to stay.” Natalia’s eyes were only for Evan now, and he did not bother hiding the smile on his face as she spoke.

“Okay, then we’ll get you taken care of first thing in the morning.” I turned to Mikael then. “I’m ready to go home now, please.” I felt like the last of my energy went rushing out of my body as a wave of dizziness came over me. Mikael reached out, seeing that I was unsteady on my feet, and swept me up into his arms.

“I’m taking you home, you’re going to get some rest, and then we’re going to talk about what you’re doing to yourself.”

“Okay.” It was all I could muster the energy for at the moment, and then I put my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes.

“Is Jessie okay?” Ashley’s voice pulled me back from the void I was about to slip into. It was then that I realized Ash had been there, amongst the girls, trying to help, and I hadn’t even noticed. I had not even said hello to her. I was a horrible friend. I deserved a horrible friend award.

“Hey, Ashley. I’m fine, only tired.”

Ashley snickered. “Maybe I should swoon on my feet and feign being tired so my man will sweep me up and carry me in his arms to our bed.” I’m not sure why Ashley picked right up with teasing, if I was her, I would be yelling at me for being so out of it.

Asi huffed good naturedly. “All you have to do is ask, my lovely little passion wolf, and your wish is my command.” He reached down and swept my best friend up in his arms, with her laughing the whole way. It was so good to see them happy together. Thankfully, I figured Asi was the reason that my best friend hadn’t noticed, or at least hadn’t mentioned, my neglect. I would, however, have to remember to torment them both about Ash being his ‘lovely little passion wolf’. I chuckled lightly at the thought.

Mikael didn’t give me time to watch them be silly though. He turned to walk toward the Jeep that was parked just on the other side of the building. “I’m going to get Jess home. Ashley, can you pick her up tomorrow? I have to get back to the dog rescue for a few hours. I’m training a new manager for the facility before we officially start taking in dogs.”

“Sure thing, Mikey.”

“Don’t call me that,” he admonished, while cocking his brow up in question as to why she’d do such a thing.

“Someone’s gwumpy today!” She teased in a baby voice. I laughed, and Mikael pretended he was going to drop me until he heard me squeak, and then he pulled me closer to him and walked us the rest of the way to the Jeep.

“Make sure you’re actually getting some sleep, Jess! You look like shit!”

“Thanks, Ash!” I yelled back to her as Mikael sat me down in the passenger seat and started buckling me in. When he had me secured, and was moving to get back out the door, he stopped with his lips hovering just above mine. Then, he leaned in just a fraction of an inch so our lips brushed, but just barely. It was the slightest of touches, but my body was scorched where our lips met, and just as quickly he was gone, and the cool night air was taking all that heat with it once more.

“Let’s get you home.”

“I love you,” I told him as he rounded the front of the Jeep. His face turned to watch me as he made his way to the other side and then once he was in, he moved to whisper in my ear. “I never doubt it.”