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BRIAN
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LATER THAT EVENING, Elizabeth and I sat beside the fireplace at her house. James, Jack and Ahmed returned to Red Cliffs after Ahmed had taken the bullet out from my shoulder.
Jack would come tomorrow to take Elizabeth and me home. She had transformed as soon as we came to her house. She was fine, just rattled a bit with the latest events.
Christian had just called with the latest news.
Dennis Simmons’s life had ended that evening after all. When the police came, Madam Nikolaevna, Lani and Christian had a story ready for them. Simmons had broken in, looking for money. Lani and Christian, both Madam Nikolaevna’s former piano students, had decided to visit her that day, which they often did, and found the intruder. Christian, a martial arts expert, had quickly disabled him and phoned the police.
The prisoner on the loose appeared to have lost his mind, but it didn’t upset the police much. Simmons sat without sound, seemingly uninterested in what was going to happen to him. When they were about to escort him to the police car, however, he swiftly turned, pulled the gun from the young officer who was checking his cuffs, and fired at Lani.
The bullet missed her—not that it would have done lots of damage even if it hadn’t. The other two officers had fired and killed Simmons on the spot.
Lani stayed overnight at Madam Nikolaevna’s, and then she’d take her to Copper Ridge the next day. If Madam Nikolaevna liked it there, she could stay forever. If not, her memory would be slightly changed, and she’d return to Boston.
The rest of the search party had already returned home. Only Christian remained for a few more days to make sure no human remembered anything.
The police never found the big wolf. I bet they would now deny they were looking for one.
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“I’M PREGNANT,” ELIZABETH said softly, looking into the fire. “It did happen that night, you know, when we forgot to use a condom. I would’ve never thought it was possible, not with my family history of—”
I made a soft growl to stop her then tipped her chin up with my head. Now that we were both gwerin y blaidd, we could communicate even if we were in different forms, like now.
“I know, cariad. I’m happy. I’m out of my mind with happiness.”
She cupped my head and looked deeply into my eyes. “You are? Oh, Brian, you are! You want our babies as much as I do!”
“Babies?”
“We’re having twins. A boy and a girl.”
Now that was news. “Twins. My god. Elizabeth, I’m so sorry for what I told you before about having a child. Please forgive me.” I pressed my head to her abdomen where my daughter and son grew, safe and protected.
“It’s all forgiven and forgotten long ago. I love you, Brian, with all my heart. And I know that you love me the same.”
“Cariad? My love?”
Her eyebrow rose. “‘Love’? Not ‘beauty’?”
“That you are, too. I lied back then. Cariad means love, darling, friend, all at once. I think I was already in love with you when I first used that word. I just didn’t want to admit it.” I slid my paw under her hand, lifted it to my muzzle and kissed it. Sort of.
“Cariad is the most tender word I’ve ever heard.”
“The most tender of all I know.”
The rug in front of the fireplace wasn’t the most romantic location to ask the love of your life to become your wife, but I would ask anyway. I cleared my throat. “Elizabeth Bertrada Chatwin, fy anwylyd—”
“What does it mean?”
“My beloved.”
She smiled “Ah. I love it.”
“Don’t interrupt, Elizabeth. It’s not easy—”
“How do you say the love of my life?”
“Cariad fy mywyd.” I took a deep breath, if only inwardly, and tried again.“Elizabeth Bertrada Chatwin, cariad fy mywyd —”
“Cariad fy mywyd,” she repeated softly. “Will you teach me Welsh?”
I sighed. “I will. And will you marry me?”
She stopped in mid-motion. Her beautiful silver and golden eyes widened, then she blinked, once, twice, three times.
“Will you?”
She closed her arms around my neck and looked into my eyes. “I will, Brian Canagan, fy cariad, fy anwylyd,” she said in a husky voice. “Oh, I will.”
“It’ll have to do without the ring. But I have it at home. That’s why I stayed in Seattle.”
She giggled, then cried a bit, then told me, silly woman, this was the most romantic proposal she could’ve ever imagined, ring or no ring.
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“YOU SHOULD GO TO SLEEP,” I said to Elizabeth after we’d eaten, and she’d taken a shower.
She didn’t complain; she was tired. “How is your shoulder?” she said in a sleepy voice.
“Fine.” To demonstrate it, I flexed the muscles. Ahmed had taken out the bullet. It hadn’t gone deeper than the area under the skin. It was a big caliber, otherwise it wouldn’t have penetrated at all. Tomorrow morning, when I turned, I might only feel a slight discomfort.
“Let’s go to my old room,” Elizabeth said and led the way.
Her room was a lovely, girly space with pale pink, white and plum purple. Her twin bed wasn’t big enough to accommodate us both, but we managed somehow. Elizabeth soon drifted away, tucked against me. I lay awake, too happy to sleep.
For the first time in many years, I could plan the future.
Life would finally get back to normal for all of us: Eve, James, Elizabeth and me.
We’d complete the tinselhouse renovations. We’d offer for Rick and Alain to move to Copper Ridge. Or at least to Rosenthal. They meant so much to Elizabeth, and she to them, it would be a shame if they didn’t live close.
I had to spoil her with romantic getaways, cars, pretty dresses and expensive shoes; convince her to do something with her art collections.
I was looking for those little challenges. Everything was possible as long as she was on my side. My love, the mother of my children, my bond mate.
I lifted my head. Did she know that I felt the bond? Maybe. But did she know when she had felt it for the first time? Not likely. The day had been so fast and furious that we hadn’t had time to talk about our bond.
I couldn’t wait until morning to tell Elizabeth about it. As gently as I could, I woke her up. “Cariad?”
She opened her eyes immediately. “Are you okay? Are you hurting?”
“No, no. I’m fine,” I reassured her.
She hugged me and kissed my muzzle. “Would this be the part in our version of Beauty and the Beast when I declare my eternal love for you, given your injury and all? I save you and we live happily ever after?”
“You saved me long ago, cariad. Do you know that I feel our bond the same way you feel it?”
“I know. I didn’t realize it right away, but I think you felt it the first time when I almost fainted in the music room. I felt it long before you: the first time we touched.”
“No. That wasn’t the first time. It happened long, long before that, my love. Although you felt horrible pain then.”
I looked at her eyes, soft, silvery-grey with gold speckles, the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, and I saw she understood. “When they tried to kill you?”
“And they couldn’t. I lived because you were already born and connected to me.”
She pulled herself up. “If you’re as good as the best thing you’d ever done, as they say, my best deed makes me a worthy person, Brian Canagan. Not that I knew what I was doing, I was only three, but I did a big thing, nonetheless. I saved a great man from death.”
“You’re my real-life hero, if you ask me. And the hottest woman I’ve ever met.”
“I am?”
“That you are. I’ll show you what I mean first thing tomorrow morning when I change. Now go back to sleep.”
“Okay, mate,” she yawned. “Oh, I didn’t have time to tell you how incredible I felt when I turned. It was awesome, Brian. I can’t wait to do it again.”
“You like your wolf.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Oh, do I ever! She’s strong, brave and smart.”
“Because you’re strong, brave and smart. Our wolves reflect our human side.”
“And big. For once I’m not small.”
I smiled. “You’re just the perfect size in both your shapes if you ask me.”
“Thank you.” She nestled herself in front of me, making room for my hand, well, my paw, to rest against her abdomen. I buried my head into her long, silky hair, spilled over the pillow.
“Good night, Beast,” she murmured. “Get well by tomorrow morning. Remember your promise.”
I chuckled. “I’ll keep my promise. Good night, hottie. Beauty.”
She smiled happily. The next minute she was fast asleep.
I felt blessed and humbly grateful for the bliss of holding tightly a pregnant, sleeping woman in a too-small bed of the girlish pink, white and plum purple room of her youth.