Page 50 of The Alliance

Dee grinned her shark grin at him and that same combination of love and terror flickered over his handsome features. I could never quite understandwhy he was afraid of her, since it was clear that she loved him and he was also the best fighter in the whole clan. Even Nana said that, so it wasn’t just me being biased about it, either. There wasn’t a real reason he should be afraid. Even I wasn’t that scared of them, now I’d got to know them a bit better.

Dee hissed, “Don’t you trust us to teach your baby, Lew?”

“Oh, um, sure, we’d love you to, um…?”

He trailed off, unable to finish that sentence and looked to me as though I’d save him. It made me feel a flush of pride, even if it was amusing to see him so cowed by his half-sister.

Arram, the dryad, saved us. They were Dee’s mate and a solid, reliable presence in the chaos that was her life. “Do not worry,” they said. “I shall ensure they do not allow your child to encounter any weapons before they come of age.”

Dum muttered, “Spoilsport.”

It was my mother who brought the whole thing under control again. With dignity and kindness, she asked, “When are you going to start the proceedings?”

“Actually,” I said, and then trailed off. I knew we should have told them before we started it, but we’d been so excited and we didn’t want to overwhelm ourselves… now they were going to be upset that we hadn’t told them first.

Glenwise spoke in his crisp, authoritative voice.

“Judging from the heartbeat of the foetus, I’d say that it was perhaps six weeks old.”

Everyone turned to look at Nadia. Well, specifically her stomach. My eyes went there, too, and my cheeks pulled into a smile. They always did, and I could never stop it from happening, no matter how often I thought about that little baby inside there, mine and Lew’s baby.

“Oooh,” said Alfie, “Let me see if I have a bond with it!”

He looked hard at thin air for a moment. I’d known Alfie could see bonds because he’d told me when we were still children but, since I’d never been able to see them, I couldn’t really picture what he saw.

After a while, he huffed and said, “I can’t see anything yet but I promise I’ll let you know as soon as we form a bond! I must be able to do it, right?Because I’ll be their uncle, even if they’re born into the Hoskins clan.”

He glanced at Nana, as though wondering whether she’d fight for the right to claim my child as one of her clan.

“The child will unite the Hoskins and Somervilles, Alfie. The product of a fated pairing between our two clans.”

“Maybe I’ll only get a bond when they’re born? Or maybe when they develop a bit more?”

Nadia surprised me by saying, “You can touch my belly if you like. To see if that helps.”

Alfie moved round the table so quickly that he tripped over his chair. His face flamed red as he went but I could see he was determined to do it, so he must really, really want to.

As Alfie approached, Nadia presented her flat stomach and we all watched as Alfie pressed his hand against it.

“I still don’t have a bond yet but I think that helped. Thank you.”

Nadia gave a benevolent tilt of her head. “You’re welcome. I don’t mind you touching my belly again at a future date. I also won’t mind it if you fuss over me and make me comfortable.”

Alfie nodded and pushed her chair back in from where she’d had to move it to give him access. He poured her some more orange juice, only then realising that she’d been refusing wine. I smiled to myself again and buried my face in Lew’s shoulder. Alfie really was the sweetest man. I still could hardly believe that he was the Somerville elder. He just wasn’t scary enough. I watched him fuss round Nadia until she was ready and then he returned to his seat and clutched his own little mate’s hand with excitement.

Nana raised her glass and said, “To Morgan, Lew, and their child.”

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted us, and I felt more happy tears leaking out of my eyes. It felt wonderful, to have my whole family there – both sides of my family – and have them all show me that they were pleased for me, that they accepted my mating with Lew and our future child.

I raised my glass to Nadia, and met her eyes.

“Thank you,” I mouthed.

She smiled at me and I could see the happiness and satisfaction she felt radiating out from her.

Then I turned my eyes to Alfie. He was beaming at me. He raised his glass to me and drank.

It was only after a few moments that I began to hear the conversation going on around me. I’d been too focused on my own overwhelmed happiness. As I began to pay attention, I heard Laura say, “We’re thinking about starting a family too.”

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