Finn’s eyes lit up as he smiled, running to meet them half-way. He threw his arms around Jillian, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her off the ground.
“I was starting to wonder if you guys were ever coming back.” Vincent handed them each a plate of food as they reached the firepit.
“Thank you so much.” She looked over all the different things on the plate, barely able to contain her excitement. She licked her lips as her eyes darted between the venison, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, a fresh roll, and some canned cranberry sauce with a side of green beans.
“What took you guys so long?” Finn picked up his plate and sat down.
“Let’s see…” Jillian stuffed a bite of deer meat into her mouth, savoring the smokey flavor as she tried to think of the fastest way to sum up the last two days. “My father tried to have me institutionalized, and we had to break into his office. Then we had to break out of his office and run because his security guards were after us…” She sat down on one of the four stumps that were arranged in a circle around the fire. “Then I had to blackmail him into keeping DuPont out of here, so we had to hide out in a strip club, and then we took a taxi and had to hike back in which took forever.”
“Sounds like you’ve had an adventure.” Vincent held out a cup of water, and her eyes lit up.
There was a time when Jillian would have turned her nose up to a simple meal like this. Her hands and feet were blistered, and her muscles ached. After the journey behind her, this seemed like a meal fit for royalty. They ate their fill while they discussed plans to add another story onto the cabin.
Vincent mentioned three rooms or maybe four so that when the baby came, there would be a nursery and also a couple of extra bedrooms for any new shifters that showed up and wanted to join their den.
Jillian squirmed in her seat at the mention of a nursery. Was she going to raise a baby out in the middle of the woods? If so, that raised a lot more questions that she hadn’t stopped to consider. Would they get vaccinations? Go to school? What about the actual birth? Was she supposed to do it old school with no epidural? And that’s not even considering if there might be complications. She looked at the width of Vincent’s shoulders and wondered how big he was as a baby. What if she needed a C-section?
All the thoughts racing through her mind didn’t cause her nearly as much anxiety as the most obvious one. Who would be the father of this baby? Who would be the mate that she bound herself to for the rest of this life?
Lying in bed that night, she tossed and turned. When she stood up and looked out the window, just as before, Vincent was standing outside, staring up at the stars. Her strappy night-gown flowed down around her ankles, and she rubbed the chill off her arms as she went out to stand beside him.
“What are you looking at when you come out here?” She lifted her eyes heavenward, once again taken in by the kaleidoscope universe looming overhead.
“My grandmother used to spend hours looking up at the night sky, and I would ask her the same question.” Vincent took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I thought maybe it was where she got the answers to all her questions.”
“What did she say when you asked her?” Jillian’s skin was delighted by the residual body heat lingering on the inner lining of the coat.
“That sometimes being responsible for everyone makes you forget how small you are in the grand scheme of things. Nothing keeps you humble, like looking at how magnificent the cosmos is.” He smiled. “I’m happy that you came back.”
“Of course, I came back.” Jillian frowned. “I gave the spirit my word.”
“That you would choose a mate and be a vessel.” He smiled. “I can tell that you and Conner have taken a liking to one another.”
“I gave my word…” Jillian leveled her gaze at him. “That I would be the oracle and a vessel to this tribe.”
“Hmm.” Vincent tilted his head.
“I wouldn’t just abandon you and Finn after everything.” She looked back up. “Conner wouldn’t, either.”
“So, you’ve made your choice then?” Vincent hung his head.
“Not hardly.” She let out an exasperated breath. “Vincent, I should tell you, something did happen with Conner.”
“Stop.” He shook his head. “I can tell that you feel guilty. You don’t have to.”
“But I do.” She hugged herself. “I care about you, and I would never want to…”
“Listen to me.” He turned to face her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t belong to me. You don’t belong to anyone. If your mind, body, and soul all agree on something, you’re not violating some sacred pact if you give in to what feels right. Those feelings of guilt and shame you’re feeling… those are leftover baggage from your old life.”
“I feel like I betrayed your trust.” She looked down, eyes clouding with tears. “I’ve never been the type of girl to string along multiple guys. It’s selfish.”
“You came back, Jillian.” He lifted her chin, drawing her gaze to meet his. “You didn’t betray anything. The only thing that I ask is that once you figure out what it is you want from
