Silver Silence
Page 52
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Nova laughed. “It’s too late, Seelichka—you smell of us now. Mostly of Mishka, but a little of my Barnacle, hints of others who you’ve been around.”
Silver realized she was at a sensory disadvantage in ways she hadn’t truly comprehended before now. “There are no secrets when it comes to relationships within a clan?”
“Not really.” Nova’s glance was penetrating. “That bother you?”
Silver took time to think about it. “Only because I don’t have the same advantage.”
“Oh, that.” Nova waved it off. “The information gets around so fast, you’d think we were the telepaths. Trust me, you’ll never miss out on the freshest gossip.”
Moira’s laugh was cut off with a harsh suddenness. Moss-green eyes wide, she clutched her belly. “Nova.”
Nova went from smiling clanmate to highly competent healer in a heartbeat. “Silver, watch for the wild bears. They won’t harm us, but they may get too curious. If that happens, growl and look big.”
Silver had never growled in her life. “I’ll make sure they don’t get close.” She took in Moira’s position—the other woman had gone to the ground on her hands and knees, her face stark white.
“Do you want me to contact the clan, request help?” She had her satellite-linked phone in her pocket; had she left it behind, she’d have telepathed Arwen, had him make the call for her.
“Yes. Ask for Lizabeta,” Nova said, her attention on Moira. “She’ll know what to bring.” Nova rattled off the comm code.
Silver did as asked, then kept watch on the bears who’d exited the den and were lingering nearby, until she heard Moira cry out. Going to the other woman’s side without turning her back to the wild bears, she knelt down and put her hand on Moira’s back, careful to watch for any sign the contact was unwelcome.
Moira didn’t throw off her hand. Instead, she put one hand on Silver’s thigh, bore down hard. “It’s too early!” The words were a scream.
“Bear babies are tough,” Nova said, her voice perfectly calm. “You just listen to your body and push when you feel the urge.”
Silver stroked Moira’s back through the contractions. When the laboring woman begged for distraction, Silver began to tell her of the current hot topics in the PsyNet news cycle.
“That is the most boring thing ever,” Moira complained. “Don’t Psy gossip?”
“Right now, the current hot topic is Silver Mercant’s torrid affair with a bear. Most people believe I’ve either a, lost my mind; b, decided to attempt mind control on a notoriously uncontrollable race; or c, lost my mind.”
Moira snorted with laughter that turned into a moan. “Nova?”
“You’re doing fine, milaya moya. Better than fine. Just one more push.”
Silver brushed Moira’s sweat-damp hair out of her eyes. “Have you decided on a name for your child?”
“What?” Moira lifted a dazed face up to Silver, the moss green unfocused. “No, we’re still thinking.” Her breathing grew even more jagged. “Wanted to see him first. Name him so it suits. Like you with your eyes.”
Silver didn’t correct the other woman; yes, her name matched her eyes, but the name itself was a familial one born of the tendency for that eye color in their genetic line. “All newborns look like they’ve been squashed, so you’ll have to wait some time.”
Moira laughed, her eyes lighting up. “Silver, I think we’re going to be friends.”
Then there were no more words. The largest wild bear rumbled out of the trees in a beeline toward them, Silver did her best imitation of an alpha growl, and Moira screamed right before a child’s thinner cry split the air. Collapsing against Silver, the other woman tore at the top of her dress so it split open, then held out her arms for the squalling child Nova held with firm tenderness.
The adult bear—who’d frozen at Silver’s growl—took a few more steps forward, this time with cubs at her heels. Silver didn’t need to scare them away this time. Two other bear changelings had just emerged from the woods. One of them was Valentin. He was sweaty, his hair wild from the run, and his grin at seeing his tiny new clanmate a dazzling thing.
Another man, almost as sweaty but with a far more bloodless face, collapsed onto his knees next to Moira. “Damn it, a chuisle mo chroí.” A hard kiss as he spoke the latter words in a language Silver guessed might be Moira’s native tongue. “You had to do it your way.”
Laughing, Moira placed the baby into his arms. “Kiss our cub, handsome. Then we have to let Nova do her thing. He’s come too early.”
When Nova did reclaim the child within seconds, Valentin went to stand behind her, his thickly muscled arms cradling his sister’s softer ones. As if he were giving her his strength in an unknown changeling way. In Nova’s hold, the small baby gained a noticeably healthier glow before the healer tucked him back against his mother’s chest.
“He looks like me.” With that proud statement, which made Moira laugh, Moira’s husky mate lifted mother and child both into his arms to put them on a stretcher two other clanmates had brought out in the interim.
Valentin, meanwhile, was leaning companionably against the large wild bear, the smaller bears padding along beside Moira’s stretcher until their mother called them back with a low sound.
“Come on, Starlight.” Valentin held out an arm after he’d petted both cubs. “I have to spend more time with my new clanmate, especially with him coming so early.”
Silver rose to her feet at last, realized her legs were shaky.
“Whoa.” Valentin tucked her close to the heated brawn of his body, his size comforting in a way she couldn’t explain.
“Do you know what he said? A chuisle mo chroí?”
“A pulse of my heart, I think.” Cuddling her in a possessive hold, Valentin added, “Leo drove us crazy repeating the Gaelic over and over when he was trying to learn it so he could shout it up to Moira’s balcony on the second floor of a college hostel.” A pause. “I climbed up a building for you,” he said pointedly. “That’s better than shouting love words from the street.”
“Bears.” The word came out shaky. “I’ve dealt with terrorist attacks without blinking,” she said in an effort to find her equilibrium. “Why is this affecting me so intensely?”
“You saw a life come into the world. Even an alpha’s heart beats harder, faster at that instant.” He looked affectionately at the wild bears who’d decided to shadow them. “They’re excited, too. Tonight’s party will be zaebis, Starlichka. We’ll blow off the roof.”
“A party? With a premature infant in the clan?”
“He’s a bear. He’ll like it.”
• • •
IT turned out that the infirmary section of Denhome was well insulated against noise—a fact Silver learned from Pavel after Valentin left to help settle the infant in the infirmary.
“Little guy will be fine,” Pavel reassured her. “When Yasha and I were born, they put us in baskets in the center of the Cavern and put up a disco ball so bright it permanently damaged my eyes.” His grin turned into an “Ouch!” when a tall woman with aqua-green eyes identical to his, her hair a silken fall of red, slapped the back of his head.
Silver realized she was at a sensory disadvantage in ways she hadn’t truly comprehended before now. “There are no secrets when it comes to relationships within a clan?”
“Not really.” Nova’s glance was penetrating. “That bother you?”
Silver took time to think about it. “Only because I don’t have the same advantage.”
“Oh, that.” Nova waved it off. “The information gets around so fast, you’d think we were the telepaths. Trust me, you’ll never miss out on the freshest gossip.”
Moira’s laugh was cut off with a harsh suddenness. Moss-green eyes wide, she clutched her belly. “Nova.”
Nova went from smiling clanmate to highly competent healer in a heartbeat. “Silver, watch for the wild bears. They won’t harm us, but they may get too curious. If that happens, growl and look big.”
Silver had never growled in her life. “I’ll make sure they don’t get close.” She took in Moira’s position—the other woman had gone to the ground on her hands and knees, her face stark white.
“Do you want me to contact the clan, request help?” She had her satellite-linked phone in her pocket; had she left it behind, she’d have telepathed Arwen, had him make the call for her.
“Yes. Ask for Lizabeta,” Nova said, her attention on Moira. “She’ll know what to bring.” Nova rattled off the comm code.
Silver did as asked, then kept watch on the bears who’d exited the den and were lingering nearby, until she heard Moira cry out. Going to the other woman’s side without turning her back to the wild bears, she knelt down and put her hand on Moira’s back, careful to watch for any sign the contact was unwelcome.
Moira didn’t throw off her hand. Instead, she put one hand on Silver’s thigh, bore down hard. “It’s too early!” The words were a scream.
“Bear babies are tough,” Nova said, her voice perfectly calm. “You just listen to your body and push when you feel the urge.”
Silver stroked Moira’s back through the contractions. When the laboring woman begged for distraction, Silver began to tell her of the current hot topics in the PsyNet news cycle.
“That is the most boring thing ever,” Moira complained. “Don’t Psy gossip?”
“Right now, the current hot topic is Silver Mercant’s torrid affair with a bear. Most people believe I’ve either a, lost my mind; b, decided to attempt mind control on a notoriously uncontrollable race; or c, lost my mind.”
Moira snorted with laughter that turned into a moan. “Nova?”
“You’re doing fine, milaya moya. Better than fine. Just one more push.”
Silver brushed Moira’s sweat-damp hair out of her eyes. “Have you decided on a name for your child?”
“What?” Moira lifted a dazed face up to Silver, the moss green unfocused. “No, we’re still thinking.” Her breathing grew even more jagged. “Wanted to see him first. Name him so it suits. Like you with your eyes.”
Silver didn’t correct the other woman; yes, her name matched her eyes, but the name itself was a familial one born of the tendency for that eye color in their genetic line. “All newborns look like they’ve been squashed, so you’ll have to wait some time.”
Moira laughed, her eyes lighting up. “Silver, I think we’re going to be friends.”
Then there were no more words. The largest wild bear rumbled out of the trees in a beeline toward them, Silver did her best imitation of an alpha growl, and Moira screamed right before a child’s thinner cry split the air. Collapsing against Silver, the other woman tore at the top of her dress so it split open, then held out her arms for the squalling child Nova held with firm tenderness.
The adult bear—who’d frozen at Silver’s growl—took a few more steps forward, this time with cubs at her heels. Silver didn’t need to scare them away this time. Two other bear changelings had just emerged from the woods. One of them was Valentin. He was sweaty, his hair wild from the run, and his grin at seeing his tiny new clanmate a dazzling thing.
Another man, almost as sweaty but with a far more bloodless face, collapsed onto his knees next to Moira. “Damn it, a chuisle mo chroí.” A hard kiss as he spoke the latter words in a language Silver guessed might be Moira’s native tongue. “You had to do it your way.”
Laughing, Moira placed the baby into his arms. “Kiss our cub, handsome. Then we have to let Nova do her thing. He’s come too early.”
When Nova did reclaim the child within seconds, Valentin went to stand behind her, his thickly muscled arms cradling his sister’s softer ones. As if he were giving her his strength in an unknown changeling way. In Nova’s hold, the small baby gained a noticeably healthier glow before the healer tucked him back against his mother’s chest.
“He looks like me.” With that proud statement, which made Moira laugh, Moira’s husky mate lifted mother and child both into his arms to put them on a stretcher two other clanmates had brought out in the interim.
Valentin, meanwhile, was leaning companionably against the large wild bear, the smaller bears padding along beside Moira’s stretcher until their mother called them back with a low sound.
“Come on, Starlight.” Valentin held out an arm after he’d petted both cubs. “I have to spend more time with my new clanmate, especially with him coming so early.”
Silver rose to her feet at last, realized her legs were shaky.
“Whoa.” Valentin tucked her close to the heated brawn of his body, his size comforting in a way she couldn’t explain.
“Do you know what he said? A chuisle mo chroí?”
“A pulse of my heart, I think.” Cuddling her in a possessive hold, Valentin added, “Leo drove us crazy repeating the Gaelic over and over when he was trying to learn it so he could shout it up to Moira’s balcony on the second floor of a college hostel.” A pause. “I climbed up a building for you,” he said pointedly. “That’s better than shouting love words from the street.”
“Bears.” The word came out shaky. “I’ve dealt with terrorist attacks without blinking,” she said in an effort to find her equilibrium. “Why is this affecting me so intensely?”
“You saw a life come into the world. Even an alpha’s heart beats harder, faster at that instant.” He looked affectionately at the wild bears who’d decided to shadow them. “They’re excited, too. Tonight’s party will be zaebis, Starlichka. We’ll blow off the roof.”
“A party? With a premature infant in the clan?”
“He’s a bear. He’ll like it.”
• • •
IT turned out that the infirmary section of Denhome was well insulated against noise—a fact Silver learned from Pavel after Valentin left to help settle the infant in the infirmary.
“Little guy will be fine,” Pavel reassured her. “When Yasha and I were born, they put us in baskets in the center of the Cavern and put up a disco ball so bright it permanently damaged my eyes.” His grin turned into an “Ouch!” when a tall woman with aqua-green eyes identical to his, her hair a silken fall of red, slapped the back of his head.
