Chapter 21

Konner glanced at Malachi. He was watching his mate and his expression said he wasn’t sure what she was thinking either.

“We’re family?” Terah sat forward on the chair and looked from Raelyn back to him.

“Distant cousins, but yes, you are.”

Terah turned to Raelyn. “I don’t know what that is. Cousins.”

The shocked look on Rae’s face faded and was replaced with a smile. “The details don’t really matter.” She took a deep breath and then blew it out and changed positions so breathing would be easier in her condition. “Any family is important right now.” She looked at Konner and nodded as if asking him for clarification.

“That’s true.” There were so few blood connections in their clan. “From the other side of Terah’s family tree, her great, great grandparents on her father’s side we from two different Alpha lines.”

Malachi’s head jerked around to look at him. “I read something in one of the journals that they were discussing doing that to strengthen the lines, hoping to hold onto more of our natural traits.” He looked at Terah, his eyebrows raised. “I guess that worked. Your song, some of us have never heard it out of the water.”

Confusion filled Terah’s expression; Konner could see her trying to puzzle out what everyone was saying. She looked away from Malachi and back to him. “I don’t know what that means, to be from two Alpha lines," she said slowly, tasting the words as she spoke to them.

Konner leaned back in the chair, now that Rae’s reaction had settled, he didn’t feel the need he may have to spring into action. “Well, at this point, it means you hold stock in the assets that have been held in reserve for those two clans.” He gave Malachi a quick look. “As there are no others here from them.”

“Assets?” Terah was gripping her own hands tightly as if she was wringing them dry.

“I took all of the clan’s properties and sold them, then put the money from the sale into trusts and invested most of it in companies that we’ve started. You have a lot of money.” He shrugged.

“I don’t know what I would need money for.”

His heart was breaking, watching the lost look on her face. She had no knowledge of money or any dealings that were normal outside of captivity. He gave her a brief, understanding smile. “You don’t need to worry about it right now. Later, we’ll get into it, and I can explain.”

Her gaze locked on his face for a moment and then she nodded. “When I can read.” She glanced to Raelyn, then Malachi. “Lucus and Paxton are going to teach me.” She looked quite pleased with her announcement.

“That’s wonderful.” Raelyn smiled. “It will also give them something to do.” She looked up at her mate who sat on the arm of the chair, watching her. “Maybe talk to Nolyn, she’ll have good books to start with.”

“Okay. I will.”

Konner cleared his throat. “I haven’t read all the journals yet.” He rubbed his eyes, which felt gritty; he’d barely managed a quick shower before bringing Terah to Malachi and Rae’s house. “But I have a general idea of how old you are as well, Terah.”

She looked at him so quickly, he had to wonder if it hurt her neck doing it. “We would have birthday parties for the children.” She smiled. “Sometimes the men that kept us would sneak in cakes and treats for them.”

Konner grinned. “Well, I’m sure we can come up with a cake if you want.” He paused and watched her face; she was trying to sit there patiently and not look too excited. “You’re twenty-five.”

She held his look for a second, no more, then lowered her gaze to the floor. She sighed audibly, “I understand ten.” She lifted her gaze back to him. “Is that old? Twenty-five?”

Konner couldn’t help the laugh that almost choked him. “No.” He looked at Malachi, then back to her. “In fact, it makes me feel like an old man.”

Raelyn’s sob had them all turn to look at her, she was struggling to get to the edge of the chair, Malachi stood up took her hand, and helped her to her feet. Tears were running down her face now. Konner’s back stiffened, he didn’t know what was wrong.

She shook off her mate’s hand and went over to the couch and awkwardly dropped down onto it beside Terah. Knowing she was carrying two babies made sense now, how big she had gotten. he remembered when she was pregnant with Lillee, and she’d still been running around at the end of it.

“I can’t believe you were there that long,” she sobbed again. “Your whole life.” She reached out and touch Terah’s face. “It’s not right.”

Terah leaned over and wrapped her arms around Rae’s shoulders. “I’m here now and I’m not going back,” she said in a soothing tone.

“We’ll have a birthday party for you.” Rae swatted at the tears on her face. “With cake and presents and anything you want.” The tears started flowing again.

“Shh.” Terah shifted so Rae’s head could rest on her shoulder. “You’re going to upset the babies.” She began to hum. The sound echoed from her to fill the room around them.

“You have to teach me how to do that,” Raelyn said in a raspy voice.

Terah only nodded closed her eyes and continued to sing.

A shiver went down Konner’s spine as the notes hit him. He watched Terah as she held Raelyn, encouraging her to lay back and relax. Her song was light, and it felt like it gripped his heart in its hand as she continued. A motion beside him forced him to look away from her. Malachi stood there pointing to the door.

With a jerk of his chin, Konner got up and walked out of the room. Once out the door, he turned to see a stressed-out man behind him. He was shaking his head as he walked out.

“When are you going to get the healer—” he waved a hand at the room they’d just left “—the emotional outbursts are getting bad.” He rubbed his hand over his head in a jerky motion. “The babies are coming soon.”

“I’m going first thing in the morning. Make sure the chopper is fueled and ready.”

Malachi nodded. “I won’t survive it if something...”

Konner put his hand on his shoulder and gripped it hard. “It’s going to be fine.”

He could see the pain in Malachi’s eyes and knew he was remembering the baby they’d lost five years ago. “With Terah here and Shaelan coming, it’s going to be fine.”

Nodding, Malachi turned and looked back into the room. “I don’t care what lines she’s from, Konner, but if there are more like her out there,” he said, snapping his head back to look at them. “We have to find them.”

Konner crossed his arms over his chest and stared in the door to see Raelyn was lying down now and Terah was standing beside the couch and pulling a blanket down over her. “They recovered records and I have someone tracking sales of the tanks they used, so we should have some directions to go in soon.”

“Good.” Malachi sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. “Is the Alliance going to help?”

Konner smiled at Terah as she started walking toward them. “The prince himself has assured me they will.”

“The prince?”

Konner nodded slowly. “That’s where Terah was taken after she was found, to his campground.” He smirked. “the princess is very invested in finding and freeing all of those from our world.”

“I can’t. Knowing there are more, it’s just...” He looked at Terah who stopped and stood just outside the door. “You’ve brought us hope when we had none left.”

Terah moved just her eyes to look at Konner before speaking. “Hope never runs out,” she said, smiling at Malachi. “You just have to look for it sometimes.”

Malachi nodded his head in almost slow motion. Konner could see the emotion in his eyes. “Thank you for helping her.”

Terah looked over her shoulder to where his mate lay sleeping. “New life renews hope, always.”

Malachi released a shaking breath. “I’m going to get some tea brewed and make Rae a snack for when she wakes up.” He glanced at Konner.“I’ll go get the chopper ready when Olanna comes over to sit with Rae.”

“We’ll go back over to my place; I have to get the plans to take to Blair when I pick up Shaelan and Calum.”

“We’ll build them a damn mansion if they want it,” Malachi said with a tone of conviction as he stomped toward the kitchen.

They walked without talking until the house was in view again. Overall, the complex had all of the homes far enough apart that everyone had their privacy but getting from one to the other was no more than a five-minute walk. He glanced back to Malachi’s home and wondered if they would need to add to it to make more room for three children. He smirked and looked down at the ground, if they had to expand it ten times, they would. Although with how harrowing it was to bring a child into the world, he hoped they didn’t go for that many. Their kind lived longer and had children at a later age than most did, but that didn’t mean it was without risks.

The few women in the clan felt it was their responsibility to repopulate the clan’s number. Konner agreed, within reason. He glanced at Nolyn’s door as they went by, it was black again, thankfully. He still couldn’t believe she had considered getting pregnant to bring another life to the clan. Of course, when the options for available father came down to himself or Reeves, she’d changed her mind. For the longest time, Konner thought the two had a clandestine romance happening, but other than the odd look between them, there was no proof.

“You are leaving?” Terah stopped and stood where she could see the lake. “Malachi said he would have the helicopter ready.”

He stopped and crossed his arms over his chest, watching the ripples in the water. “I’m going to go get Shaelan so she can check on the babies.”

“She can do that?”

He looked down to see she was watching him now and not the water. “With a machine, yes she can actually see the babies. It’s called an ultrasound.”

“Can I see the babies?”

Konner shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

He was rewarded with a brilliant smile, which cued his own whether he’d felt like smiling or not. She had some sort of contagious chemistry. “I will leave in the morning and be back before dinner time.”

“Your helicopter goes fast.” She didn’t sound amused.

“I think it’s more that I don’t have to follow roads to get where I’m going.” He cleared his throat and looked back to the water. “Listen, I know you’re probably wanting to go swimming, but for the next while, I need you to avoid swimming with the others.”

She gave him a distraught look. “You do not swim together?”

He stepped back and motioned to the path. “We do. I’ll explain it while we’re on the way to the fishery.” He grinned down at her, “I thought you might like to see it.”

“I would like to see the fish.” Her tone was much lighter now.

“We don’t eat from the fishery.” He gave her a quick look.

“I understand, I will behave.”

“We can go see the greenhouses too if you like.” He kept the pace slow, appreciating that this was the first time he’d been able to walk along at an easy pace, without looking over his shoulder.

“What is a greenhouse?” Terah bent down and pulled off her shoes. “The path is smooth.” She clarified her action.

“It’s where the flowers and plants grow that we use for health research.” He noted she looked relieved to have the shoes off. “That stuff we mix to drink came from many years of researching the right plants.”

“The taste is different, but not bad.”

He shrugged. “It’s come a long way.”

“Yes. I would like to see the greenhouse.” She turned her head and looked into the trees that surrounded the complex.

He wanted to explain to her as much as he could about their kind before he had to leave. It was for everyone’s safety. “The reason I want you to wait before you swim with others is for a few reasons.” He glanced to see she was giving him her complete attention. “First, you’ve never swum free with others, it could trigger underlying aggressiveness.” He looked down to see if she was trying to understand. “Our kind, in the past—” he thought of trying to get close to Olanna and Reeves when he’d found them “—were very territorial, protective of their area. Because you haven’t been in the water with others, I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt accidentally.”

“I understand.” She nodded her head quickly. “It is so new, swimming like that. I was exhausted after the first time, but I feel stronger each time.”

Konner smiled, if that was her weak state in the river with the rushing water, he didn’t know if he wanted to see her full strength. “There’s another reason and I don’t expect you to know about it, because you’ve been isolated from your own kind for too many years.”

She stopped and put her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?” She searched his face, compassion bleeding from her eyes. “Your tone is tense as you speak of this.”

Konner hadn’t even realized that he was expressing that outwardly. “I’m okay, I just have a lot on my mind.”

“I understand. You are a very important man to your people and others.”

“Our people,” he corrected.

Her eyes rounded, as the corners of her mouth turned to smile. “Our people.”

He motioned to keep walking. “Anyway, the other reason I’d like you to wait, is for another reason entirely.”

Terah watched him closely, he had to focus on keeping his legs moving and not stopping to watch her watch him. He needed sleep soon. “One of the males here could end up being your mate.” He rubbed his jaw, trying to figure out how to explain it. “We don’t know until we’re in the water with them and...” He looked away and into the trees, trying to gather his thoughts, then looked down at her. “It can become quite aggressive.” He searched her face to see if she understood. She was puzzling it out, but he kept going, not wanting her to think he was calling her weak or unworthy. “You feel good now, but after years of neglect, I’d like you to be much stronger, internally.” He motioned in a circle in front of his stomach. “Inside your body.”

She nodded in a slow, jerky motion. “You do not want me to get hurt?” She said the words slowly.

“No, I don’t.” He rubbed his hand against the side of his neck, trying to figure out if he should keep going, or just leave her with that to ponder. “If it’s one of the younger males, instinct will help control you. As much as your maternal instinct is with the little ones, I have no worries with that.”

“One of the young could be my mate?” Her brows were creased.

Konner nodded. “If they’ve changed the first time, then yes, you could be one of theirs.” He stared at the ground, not wanting her to see the internal thoughts he was having about one of the guys being her mate. Again, he was sure it was because of wanting to protect her after the atrocity that had been her life so far.

“So, Lucus or Paxton could be?” She tilted her head and looked at him. “Or Reeves, and you?”

Konner cleared his throat. “Any of us could be.”

“What if no one is?” Terah touched his arm, but didn’t stop him this time. “Can I still have babies with no mate?”

As uncomfortable went, Konner was at a high ten on the scale right now. “Yes. You can. Unlike some of the other clans, we do not need a mate to have children.”

“That is good.” She dropped her hand and smiled up at her, her eyes sparkling. “I want ten babies.”

Konner choked on the air he was trying to take into his lungs. “Ten?” He stopped walking this time. She nodded. He knew she understood how many ten was, but still found himself holding up both hands with his fingers extended. “That many?”

Her smile was beaming, and he wouldn’t have done anything to dim it. She was breathtaking.

“I guess you’ll need a big house,” he finally settled on saying.

“Yes, with a big pool like yours. I was born in a pool, my mother told me.” She walked alongside him now. “She said it was the best moment of her life when I arrived—except it had tap water and she wasn’t happy with that.”

Konner frowned. Childbirth was hard on both mother and child, tragedy was the result often. “Okay, with a big pool.” He would have to get one of the women to talk to her about this because he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

They reached the fishery ponds and Konner raised both eyebrows to see Auburn and Reeves tossing feed into the water.

“Malachi didn’t want Raelyn to try to walk here,” Auburn said over his shoulder.

“I came looking for you.” Reeves shrugged and tossed more in.

Terah went over quickly and leaned down to look in the water. “There are so many.”

“They’re not fully grown yet.” Konner pointed to the waterway they’d designed. “As they grow, we release them into the lake.”

“Is the lake full too?”

Konner smirked. “There are enough.”

Terah nodded and went over to Auburn and held out her hand. “I can do that?”

Auburn looked at the pail in his hand and then held it out to her. “Just walk around them and toss it in.”

Terah smiled. “I will.” She lifted the pail and inhaled. “More good food for them means bigger fish.” She grinned and walked toward the other pond.

Reeves set the pail down and came over to stand with Auburn and him. “I know you have to get ready for tomorrow, but I need you to return some calls before you.” He shrugged. “Supplier issues.”

Konner blew out a breath and nodded. “I’ll do them when we go back.”

Auburn watched Terah walking slowly around the pond. “How’s she doing?”

He watched her for a moment. “We should get her to help here until Rae is ready, Malachi already has enough on his plate.” Both men nodded. “I just explained why she shouldn’t swim with anyone for a while.”

“How did she take it?” Reeves jammed his hands in his pockets and looked at him.

“She understands, mostly, I think.” Konner cleared his throat. “She wants ten children, with or without a mate.”

Auburn’s eyebrows went so high that they almost blended into his hair. “Ten?” his voice cracked.

Konner nodded, then turned to see Reeves giving Terah a thorough assessment. He blinked and looked at him then at Auburn. “Sorry, just...” He shook his head. “Does she know how dangerous that is?”

Konner shook his head. “I’m going to get the girls to talk to her.”

“Ten,” Reeves whispered. “Hopefully she’ll change her mind once she finds out.”

“I don’t know, Reeves.” Auburn gave Konner a quick sideways glance. “She lights up as bright as the sun when she saw the kids.”

Konner smirked, realizing Auburn wasn’t going to pass on a chance to harass the younger man. “It’s true, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants a dozen at least.” Reeves was the most awkward adult around children, their size and intellect didn’t compute in that man’s statistical brain.

“Who knows, those could be your dozen children,” Auburn said, trying to keep a straight face.

Reeves looked at Terah, then back to them, his brows knitted. “I need to get back to the office.” He took another step and then slipped off the edge of the wooden platform.

A splash followed.

Auburn laughed so hard that he started choking.

Konner couldn’t help but laugh even as he went over and extended a hand down to an unimpressed Reeves looking up at him. The tie holding his long hair back off his face had come off and half his face was covered in it now.

“I didn’t think we could swim here,” Terah called over to him from the other platform.

Konner chuckled. “We don’t.” He gripped Reeves’s hand and lifted him high enough he could get his hands on the wooden walkway.

Auburn was bent over, still laughing.

“Bastards,” Reeves muttered and walked the other way. The squishing sound from his shoes only made Auburn laugh harder still.

“He’s going to pout for hours now.” Konner looked to the man behind him. “Is Olanna over at the greenhouses?”

Auburn nodded, as he took deep breaths, trying to settle himself down.

Konner looked over at Terah. “Want to take Terah over? I told her I’d show her the greenhouse, but if we’re having supplier issues, I need to get on it, so it’s sorted out.”

Auburn blew out a long, deep breath. “I’ll take her over after we finish here.”