Chapter 67

“You are a woman much sought after by these human males and I am beginning to find it tedious.” Her eyebrow shot up. 

“Tedious?” she echoed. “Do I hear a veiled threat in there somewhere?” He bent his head to kiss her. 

“It was not all that veiled.” His grin was boyish and seductive at the same time. “I cannot very well admit I am bothered by those who seek your attention when I am your lifemate. As an ancient I am above such trivial things.” Miah found herself laughing. 

“You’re above something all right, but I’m not entirely certain what it is.”

 “Watch yourself tonight, Miah,” Alexander cautioned as he glided through the room toward the door. “You must always remember you are a target now, and so is Shaina.” 

“I’ll send word to Aidan’s family, asking them not to delay. That way if Shaina is home, she can be protected while we sleep.” Her dark gaze was suddenly anxious. “Alexander, don’t let Luther undermine your confidence in yourself. I really need you and so does our child. Our children.” He paused at the door, looking back at her, his world, the only real joy he had known. “I love this home of yours,” he answered softly. She watched him leave. 

“Ours,” she corrected, knowing he could still hear her even though the door was closed. Alexander’s hearing was phenomenal and he often shared her mind. It was their house, their life. Alexander had to separate himself from his twin if he were to survive the battle that was to come. Miah was carefully folding quilts into large boxes when it suddenly occurred to her that Luther might lead him out of the city and far away from her. Her hand went protectively to her throat. 

“Stop worrying over what has not happened.”

 There was a wealth of love in Alexander’s voice. It felt like a caress. She glanced at herself in the mirror. “Quit mooning about and get to work. You have much to do and little time to do it in.” She was very stern with herself but a curling heat stole through her body as Alexander’s warm laughter echoed softly in her mind. Miah completed as many tasks as she could. She took orders for her stained-glass pieces and her quilts. She sent out the ones she had completed and paid her bills meticulously. 

There were the shelters to call and the hospitals. There were charities she had neglected and friends she wanted to keep in touch with. Because they had risen late and spent a great deal of time talking together it was already well into the evening and past time to call too many. She kept each conversation brief, but very upbeat. It was necessary to maintain the appearance of being human at all times. She was firmly entrenched in society and it wouldn’t do to simply disappear. Her contacts would be helpful to Shaina.

 Once her phone conversations were concluded, Miah drove to the hospital, scanning the surrounding area along the way. She was worried about Shaina, worried that something was going to upset their careful plans for her. 

She had been vaguely uneasy ever since her encounter with the reporter. Something about him bothered her immensely. He was the type of man who could cause her tremendous trouble. 

She walked into the hospital, greeting the nurses with a little wave of her hand as she made her way down the hall toward Shaina’s room. Her heart dropped when she caught a glimpse of the reporter lurking just a few feet from the room. Miah paused for a moment, waved her hand to create a clonelike image as she blurred her own. 

She sent her soft musical voice out ahead, so that her body seemed to be moving quickly along the hall as she called to an unseen nurse around the corner. At once the reporter turned his head, catching a glimpse of her slender shape and long hair. He hurried down the hall in an attempt to catch up to her. Miah laughed softly, waiting until he disappeared before entering Shaina’s room. 

The girl turned her head, her soft dove-gray eyes wide and beautiful. There was a welcoming look in her gaze that hadn’t been there before. “I was waiting for you.” Her voice was stronger and Miah noticed for the first time how melodious it was. 

“I thought you’d never get here.” “I had quite a bit of work to do,” Miah said, seating herself and reaching for Shaina’s hand. “I make stained-glass windows and also quilts for people in need.” A slow smile curved the young girl’s mouth. “I had my friend here to keep me company.” She hugged the stuffed wolf to her

. “I like the way you say that. ‘People in need.’ People like me. I’ve noticed you have a way of making me feel like everything is going to be all right. Sometimes, when my mind is very chaotic, I think of you and feel you in my mind.” Her long lashes swept down, concealing her expression, but Miah was holding her hand and could read her mixed feelings. The girl was struggling to come to terms with the idea of entering life again.

 “I’ll be with you every step of the way, Shaina,” she softly reassured her. 

“You won’t be alone, and you won’t be expected to take on more than you can cope with. I see you are worried about school. It isn’t necessary to think about it at this time.” Shaina turned her face to wall. “Dr. Bert said I would have to go to school immediately so I wouldn’t fall behind. I didn’t want to tell him, but I hardly ever went to school. I’m different. I could never fit in.” 

“You are different,” Miah affirmed, “but that is not a bad thing. It doesn’t matter about school. You are gifted, quite brilliant actually. We can provide tutors for you and I can help when there is need. It is certainly nothing to worry about. Dr. Bert is a good man and he wants what is best for you, but he doesn’t have a clue about your special talents and gifts. He does not understand what it is like to be a woman and be abused as you were. 

He does not understand what it is like to be a child and have no guidance, no one to love you unconditionally. He has no say in your future, Shaina.” Shaina’s fingers twisted together, a small betrayal of her nervousness. “I don’t like it here. I never feel safe unless you’re here, or…” She trailed off as if she had done something wrong. 

“Sometimes the other one touches my mind and I feel reassured.” Miah’s heart skipped a beat.

 “Not Alexander?” “He is there sometimes, but it is different. The other one never really says anything, he’s just there, touching me, but I can feel I’m not alone and he only comes when I’m very frightened. Like when I have a nightmare and I wake up. In the middle of the afternoon there was a stranger in here. I didn’t like him and I was so scared. That’s when the other one touched my mind. It was soothing and comforting.”

 Miah bit her lip. The other had to be Luther. Was he so strong, then, that he could defeat the daylight and reach out to touch Shaina when she was frightened? Was he already so connected with her that he could read her fear even when his strength was at its lowest ebb? She forced air through her lungs, remaining calm.