The WindWard Wolves (WindWard Triad Book 3)
The WindWard Wolves
Noah Harris
Contents
Johnny
Ash
Johnny
Ash
Johnny
Ash
Johnny
Ash
Johnny
Ash
Johnny
Epilogue
About the Author
WindWard Book Three
Noah Harris
Published by Books Unite People LLC, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 by Noah Harris
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. All resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Editing by: Jo Bird
Beta Reading by: Melissa Ratcliff.
Johnny
Waves lapped gently against the shores of the mountain lake. Johnny Oakes took a deep breath, relishing the smell of the fertile earth and moss. As he lay atop the soft cushion of grass on a small hill near the lake, he smiled gently. The world outside the mountaintop retreat and all its troubles seemed a galaxy away.
There came a tug at the edge of his senses, and his inner wolf stirred. Tilting his head, he caught the sound of heavy footsteps approaching through the undergrowth and an annoyed grunt. A few seconds later, Kell pushed his way through the thicket of trees, dark eyes searching the lakeshore.
Johnny smiled, pushing himself up onto his arms so Kell could see him. It didn’t matter if it had been only an hour or an entire day, every time he saw his red-haired mate, Johnny felt his breath catch, and his heart stutter from its steady rhythm. Kell’s normally warm brown eyes were cast in shadow, partly from the shade of the trees, but also from the frown creasing his forehead. Johnny’s momentary pang of worry disappeared when Kell smiled as he caught sight of Johnny, marching over to him carefully.
Pushing himself up to his feet, Johnny made his way to his mate. Kell watched him, a wry smile on his face as he took his time maneuvering through the grass. Kell’s pregnancy was nearing its end, and his protruding stomach had begun to make life difficult. The small man was determined to do just about everything on his own, refusing to be helped even when he found it hard to do something as simple as walk casually. It didn’t stop everyone from trying however, and from the amusement Johnny could see sparkling in Kell’s eyes, he was at least in a good enough mood to find humor in his current condition.
“I always found it funny when pregnant women griped about wanting their kids out of them. Now I want to go back in time and apologize to every single one I ever rolled my eyes at,” Kell told Johnny once he was close enough.
Johnny chuckled, taking Kell’s hand. “I believe that may be beyond even your powers.”
“Yeah, well, walking in a straight line faster than a snail’s pace seems to be beyond me right now, too. I get the whole ‘an omega wolf can get pregnant even though I’m a guy’ thing, or at least I’ve just learned to make peace with it. Still, I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to it.” Kell sighed as he was led to where Johnny had been sitting.
“I suppose some things just take getting used to,” Johnny said as he moved to help Kell sit.
Kell shook his head. “Don’t. If I sit down now, we’ll just have to wait until I’m no longer pregnant before I’ll be able to get back up again. I really can’t get over how much of a pain this is.”
“And yet you’ve been managing,” Johnny said.
Kell snorted. “Look, I’ve been forced to accept that witches and werewolves exist. I’ve had to accept that there’s an entire supernatural aspect to the world, including an insane human group who wants to wipe them out. I’ve even had to accept that not only am I one of them, but I’m some elemental force that’s even stronger than pretty much every other Child of the Moon out there. But you know, I think my breaking point is this whole me getting pregnant thing.”
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to logically point out that despite your denial, you are still in fact, pregnant?” Johnny asked wryly.
Kell looked down at his midsection. “I acknowledge that I’m pregnant. I also acknowledge that it’s bullshit. I need to ask Maya if there’s an omega wolf version of getting my tubes tied.”
Johnny let out a bark of laughter. “What, don’t want a whole brood?”
Kell looked up at him in horror. “You shut your mouth before you curse me! One pregnancy is enough.”
Johnny bent, kissing the top of Kell’s head. “I’m sure Maya will know something, or someone else will. Speaking of, how did your visit with the healer go?”
“Well, that’s the reason I came here looking for you, I wanted you to be there when I announced the news to you and Ash,” Kell said.
Johnny raised a brow, wondering what news Kell could possibly have that would require both he and Ash to be there. Maya had carefully chosen a werewolf healer months before, when Kell was still in his first trimester. The WoodWard had been very careful to find one who would both be skilled and covert in their evaluation of Kell. As the WindWard, Kell was a prime target for a world that wanted him dead, and he was even more vulnerable while pregnant. No one had wanted to risk Kell being caught out in the open, especially as the pregnancy had drawn on. The healer the old WoodWard had found had been both of those things, and even Kell’s initial doubts about using a healer rather than a doctor had been assuaged with time.
Johnny eyed Kell carefully, noting the heavy shadows under his eyes. “Is it the pregnancy or the dreams which have been keeping you from resting?”
Kell winced. “Being unable to roll over hasn’t exactly done me any good.”
Johnny chuckled, resting his hand on Kell’s stomach. “Well, let’s get you back to the cottage where you can at least sit down. Then when you’re feeling up to it, you can give Ash and me your news.”
He knew Kell was evading the question, but he didn’t want to push him into answering truthfully. Anyone who shared a house with Kell would know of the man’s troubled dreams, which left him muttering darkly, his face pinched against the unwanted visions. Johnny wanted to attribute them to the events over the past year. Between fearing and fighting for his life, and being pushed to take a human life, the life of someone who had once been a friend, had inevitably left its mark on Kell. Yet whenever he tried to ask about it, Kell shook his head, mouth going thin and stubborn, changing the subject before Johnny could push.
“You know you’re going to have to talk about it at some point, right?” Johnny asked, unsure if he meant the dreams or the hard choices Kell had made.
Kell sighed, looking up through the trees. “It’s way too nice a day out for you to be talking so seriously Johnny. Why do you want to talk about bad dreams?”
“When they’re dreams where you’re muttering a certain someone’s name and you look like you’re going to cry?” Johnny asked.
“Even more reason to enjoy a bit of sunlight and clear skies, because they’re obviously not always going to be like that,” Kell continued nonchalantly.
Johnny wasn’t buying his mate’s cavalier attitude for a single moment. Though he and Kell had endured a lot during their first escape from the Children and the xenophobic human group, the Vigil, those events had never given Kell bad dreams. When they’d once again been ousted from their home, Kell and Johnny were separated from one another, with Kell in Ash’s care and Johnny on his own, Johnny had been told Kell’s sleep and his state of
mind hadn’t suffered. The whole world had turned against them, and even then, Kell had been sound of mind. Yet that final blow Kell had laid upon Carson, the man who had played at being Kell’s friend for years and had ultimately proven to be a liar and backstabber, had done more harm to Kell’s enduring and warm personality. Taking a life consciously could be haunting enough, Johnny couldn’t imagine what it would be like to take the life of someone you once thought to be your friend.
Kell, either oblivious or consciously ignoring Johnny’s brooding, sighed wistfully. “It seems fitting, doesn’t it? Spring is here, with summer right around the corner, and I’m getting ready to give birth soon. I called it poetic to Maya, and she just chuckled at me.”
Johnny smirked. “That sounds like her.”
“Do you think I’ll live to be centuries old like her?” Kell asked as they neared where their cottage stood.
Johnny hummed thoughtfully. “Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought until this moment. I suppose it’s possible, but then again, we don’t know if Maya’s long lifespan is true of all Wards, or because of something about her personally.”
“Yeah, and she’s not telling me anything. Every time I ask her about it, she just gives me this knowing look and winks at me. She’s about as helpful as Ash is in the kitchen,” Kell said.
Johnny snorted. “He can cook.”
“The man can cook meat over an open flame, and heat a can of beans, that’s not what I call cooking. I don’t even want to know what he was living off before he came with us,” Kell said with a shudder.
Johnny shook his head. “Well, at least he’s not a danger in the kitchen.”
With the topic shifting to Ash, Johnny could feel the faint impression of the man’s mind nearby. Kell’s efforts last autumn to free the once sealed werewolf within Ash had been done through a shared connection the WindWard had developed with both men. The attempt had been effective, granting Ash access to the other half of his soul, but it had also had the side-effect of binding the three of them together.
Johnny had yet to determine if it was like the mate bond which formed between an alpha and an omega. It felt as if it operated on the same mental and spiritual level, with the three of them aware of one another’s presence when close enough and even sensing when something was wrong. There had been times when both he and Ash had been woken in the middle of the night because of Kell’s emotional dreams intruding on their own sleep. There had even been the time both Ash and Kell had known Johnny had cut himself badly while preparing dinner one evening.
“Home sweet home,” Kell said as they broke through the line of trees.
The cottage wasn’t much, being just enough for he, Kell, and Ash to live together in relative comfort. Johnny still wasn’t sure how Maya had managed to have it built so quickly, with it seeming to have appeared overnight in the woods. Kell had joked that as the WoodWard, Maya had formed it with her powers, but considering how much power an inexperienced Ward like Kell had, Johnny still wasn’t sure it was much of a joke. True to form though, Maya had simply smiled when asked about the cottage, and gone back to whatever it was she did when she wasn’t around them, leaving the three of them to christen their new home.
The idyllic scene of the small cottage nestled in a meadow, surrounded by forest was marred only by the heavier than usual smoke drifting out of the kitchen window. It was accompanied by the vehement swearing of what sounded like a man fresh from the heart of Georgia. Johnny smirked at the sound, thinking that for all Ash’s attempts to diminish the appearance of his southern roots in his voice, it still shone forth when he was upset or surprised.
Kell sighed. “That’s probably the bread he’s burning. And you said he wasn’t a danger.”
“I’m willing to amend my statement to not normally a danger,” Johnny said with a grin.
Kell strode through the front door, making his way to the back of the cottage to shoo Ash out of the kitchen. A moment later, Ash appeared around the corner from the alcove where the kitchen lay, looking harried and chagrined. Johnny gave him a wink before sitting himself on the makeshift couch. The furniture had been both handmade and new when they’d been given the cottage. He hadn’t felt bold enough to open up the cushioning on the furniture or the mattress, but he suspected they were stuffed with down or feathers, probably from the geese in the area. Whatever had been used, they, like the blankets, were comfortable and warm during the dreary winter months they’d endured.
“Tried baking again while he was away eh?” Johnny asked.
Ash sighed as he slumped into the opposite chair. “I swear I never had this much trouble when I had a real oven.”
Johnny snickered. “Don’t let Kell hear you, he loves that thing.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “I can see why people decided to move to gas and electric stoves. This whole wood burning stove thing is ridiculous, I can never get it to cook right.”
Johnny watched a tendril of smoke creep out one of the open windows. “I believe you overcooked it this time.”
Ash shot him a dirty look. “I noticed, thank you.”
Johnny was still snickering when Kell entered the living space once again. From the look on his face, Johnny figured the bread was a goner. Despite having chased Ash from the kitchen, Kell patted the man’s shoulder affectionately before settling himself on the couch. As soon as he’d eased back, Kell let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes.
“You’re back earlier than I thought,” Ash began after a pause.
Kell nodded slowly. “They didn’t need to see me for long. Which I thought made the whole trip unnecessary.”
“And I’m positive you made sure they were aware of your opinion,” Johnny said.
Kell ignored him. “But apparently they wanted to deliver me special news…about the twins.”
There was an extended pause, and Johnny looked over at Ash with a questioning look on his face. They’d known Kell was bearing twins already from one of the earlier visits Kell had with the healer. Neither Ash nor Johnny were happy that they couldn’t go with Kell on his visits, but Maya had been insistent. No one wanted to attract too much attention to their movements, especially with the Vigil knowing where they were. Despite having seen no activity from the fanatic human group, they didn’t want to risk drawing undue attention. So, Johnny and Ash had resigned themselves to waiting anxiously for the news from each visit.
“Go on,” Johnny prompted.
Kell started slightly, as if jerked from either deep thought or having dozed off. “Oh! Right, sorry, was thinking about…well anyway. Apparently there’s this thing…uh, hetero…paternal…superfe…fecu…hell I don’t remember. It was a really long word, and it’s not something that pops up with humans. I was so damn tired by the time they sat me down and explained everything, I could barely understand a word they said.”
Looking amused, Ash cleared his throat to interrupt Kell. “Well it doesn’t sound like something either Johnny or I are going to be able to guess at. So why don’t you skip ahead and just tell us what it means.”
Kell blinked. “Oh, well, turns out that the twins? They’re uh, both of yours.”
Johnny straightened. “Both?”
Kell nodded. “Yeah, that’s what that really long word I can’t remember is. I mean, I knew it was a thing, because this cat that lived at one of my foster homes got pregnant. She was solid black, but only two of the babies came out that way, the other one was orange. Apparently the cat got it on with two different tomcats and had two different pregnancies at the same time. I guess that’s a thing for a lot of mammals, including wolves.”
“You’re saying that…one of the twins…” Ash began, a hint of excitement in his voice.
Kell nodded, grinning. “One for each of you. I still don’t know how Maya knew I was pregnant so early on, but yeah, they’re not twins, they’re half-brothers.”
Johnny’s heart thudded as he looked across the table between he and Ash, eyes wide. They’d known when Kell had gotten pregn
ant, but they hadn’t known who’d been the one to do it. Neither of them had been shy, both then and since, about spilling inside Kell. The chances of it being either one of them were high, and both had sworn to take care of the children, whoever they biologically were, as if they were their own. Yet, if Ash were feeling anything like Johnny was, there was a great sense of elation in knowing that one of the children was their own, as if some deep instinct had craved it.
Kell smiled. “So this means I get to blame you both for this, not just one of you.”
Ash was the first one up, sitting next to Kell and drawing him close with a laugh. Johnny waited until Ash had released him before settling himself on the floor in front of his mate. Drawing Kell’s hand into his own, Johnny beamed up at Kell, squeezing his fingers.
“And they’re still healthy?” Johnny asked softly.
Kell nodded. “You bet. Healer says my time is drawing close and that I should uh, be careful about my moods as they’re tied to my powers. Which I thought was a really nice way to tell me not to lose my temper or I might blow the whole forest and who knows what else over.”
Ash ran a hand through Kell’s dark red hair gently. “I know how much strain this has put on you, and your self-control. You’re almost there.”
Kell looked between them, smiling. “It’s weird, it’s hard, but I won’t say I’m not happy either. I never thought I’d be able to say I could carry the children of the men I love, but here I am, doing just that. It might be a different gift than I ever expected, but I’m going to call it a gift all the same.”
Ash stroked Kell’s cheek. “You know it wouldn’t have mattered to us either way, right? We would have loved them just the same.”