“Amelia, my daughter… this is great news!” He took her free hand and raised it to his lips.
“Thank you,” she whispered gratefully. She could breathe easier now that she knew Roman took it so well. Blake, on the other hand, had yet to say anything. Her fingers were cold and limp in Amelia’s hand.
Blake couldn’t believe her ears. She kept staring at Seth, hoping the Yako would wink or something, let her know it was all a joke or she hadn’t heard well. Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen. Everyone around her was patting her back and kissing Amelia on the cheeks, and Blake’s mind eventually registered that it was real. Yes, Amelia, her best friend, the shifter bride who was there to cover her scent, was pregnant with Seth’s child. With her future Yako’s child. With the child that would become Blake’s own heir. Such a convoluted mess… So many things to make sense of… So many details to pay attention to, and so many possible repercussions to take into consideration. But for now… for now, Blake had to play her role. She finally stood up and faced Amelia.
“I… this…” She swallowed heavily and decided to squeeze Amelia’s both hands. She had to sound convincing. “This is the best day of my life. Amelia, my love, you have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.” She leaned in and captured Amelia’s lips in a soft kiss.
Cheers and applause exploded around them, and Blake knew she had played her part well. They broke the kiss and looked into each other’s eyes for a long time. While Blake’s uncles probably thought the two lovers and future parents were having an intimate moment, completely different things were going through Blake’s head. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she thought. “You sneaky bastard… catching me off-guard like this. You and Seth…” She forced herself to smile. It wasn’t that Amelia had necessarily done something wrong, but the last thing Blake liked was to be kept in the dark.
The first thing Amelia felt was Roman’s hand grazing her arm. The second was the fish on his plate making contact with her skirt and legs, burning her skin in the process. She yelped and turned around in time to catch the old Inari before he hit the floor. She grabbed his arm and was surprised they didn’t both fall under the table. Then she looked up and saw his brother, Julian, was holding Roman up. Amelia wouldn’t have had the strength. The fox-shifter had moved so quickly that Amelia hadn’t seen him jump to Roman’s side.
“Oh my God! Are you all right?” Amelia had had no idea her voice could sound so high pitched.
“Father…” Blake almost pushed her aside so she could help Julian steady the old Inari.
“I’m fine, I’m fine… Just a bit dizzy… Must be the wine…” He didn’t get to say more than that. His faded purple eyes rolled in his head and he let out a silent gasp before his weak body went completely limp in Blake’s and Julian’s arms.
“Father… What’s happening? Oh my God, what’s happening?” She looked frantically around her. “Seth, do something! Call the doctor!”
Seth stepped away from the table and grabbed his phone.
“He’ll be all right,” said Julian. Sebastian and Charles had stepped closer.
“How do you know?” Blake couldn’t believe how calm her uncles were. Her father could be dying, and they were just standing there, doing nothing. “How do you fucking now? You don’t care, do you? You just want him gone!”
“Now, Blake… You don’t mean that. You’re just scared. We all are. But the doctor will be here any second, and everything will be all right. You’ll see. Roman is just a bit tired.”
Sebastian’s words made her even angrier. “You don’t look scared to me…” she mumbled. She felt Amelia’s small, trembling hand on her shoulder and she struggled to keep it together. This was not a good time to throw accusations around. “He’s not tired…” she added. “My father is dying…” Tears stung the back of her eyes, and she blinked fast and inhaled sharply to keep them at bay.
“The doctor is coming,” said Seth.
“Seth. Help me carry my father back to his room.”
The Yako didn’t say a word. He simply knelt beside Roman’s unconscious body and helped Blake lift him up. Amelia followed them out of the dining room and up the stairs, as did the two Ninkos, Elena and Aaron. She noticed Roman’s brothers stayed behind.
After the servants cleaned the mess as best as they could, the three Inaris sat back down at the table and asked for more wine.
“I say we should wait here,” suggested Charles.
“Yes. Let’s hope the doctor’s news is as good as Amelia’s,” said Sebastian while sipping his wine.
“But is Amelia’s news actually good?” asked Julian.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Children should always be celebrated.”
“This is not a simple child. It’s an heir.”
“It won’t make any difference, brother. You’ll see.”
END OF BOOK TWO
CHAPTER ONE
Loss
Amelia wrapped the coat tighter around her body as she closed the gate behind her. Winter in Alaska was magical, but so cold that it took her all the courage to leave the warm, comfortable house. The werefoxes of Clan Sylfur cleaned the streets of snow as often as necessary, but it was still difficult for her to walk down to Seth’s cabin. It had snowed just an hour before, and it was so dark that she could barely see a couple of steps ahead, but it was Christmas Eve and nothing would stop her from spending it with the Yako. She had thought of calling him to invite him at the mansion, but then realized it was better for her to go to him and spend one night away from everyone and everything. She sighed and watched, mesmerized, how the thick steam of her breath floated in the freezing air. As much as it pained her to admit, the truth was that she didn’t want to spend Christmas in that house. Blake was her best friend, and she loved Roman like a father, but the past three months had been a nightmare. Yes, the truth was that even if they had a tall Christmas tree in the living room and there were lights and decorations all over the house and outside, in the courtyard, the place smelled like… death. And Amelia couldn’t take it anymore.
At the end of the street, she went right and disappeared between the trees. The forest didn’t scare her. She knew this place like the back of her hand, and she could find her way to Seth’s cabin even in pitch darkness. She did use the flashlight on her smartphone to make sure she didn’t trip on something. A ten minutes’ walk and she’d be in the Yako’s big, warm arms. She shivered at the thought, her body eager for his touch. They hadn’t spent much time together since Roman had collapsed. The news about her unexpected pregnancy had shocked everyone, especially Blake. Long after that, Amelia had blamed herself for Roman’s situation. She shouldn’t have given him the news like that, she shouldn’t have invited his brothers to dinner. Even if Blake and Seth had tried to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault and it could have happened at any time, she still couldn’t get it out of her mind that she had been the cause of the old Inari’s stroke. And for his brothers to see him like that… Helpless, on the floor… Bile rose in her throat every time she thought back to that day.