Fated for Her Wolves - Tara West Page 0,58
so. She realized she’d fucked up by putting her mates to sleep and battling the demons alone, but she was too weary to rehash her mistakes. After she finished here, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her babies and sleep for an eternity.
“Eilea?”
“Yes?” She was shocked to see the haunted look in his eyes.
He bowed his head. “Thank you for saving them.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” She reached for him, pleased when he didn’t pull away. “They’re my family, too.”
He pulled her close. “I’m sorry for being so angry with you.”
“Don’t be.” Relief swept through her as she sighed against him. “You had every right to be angry. I tricked you, and I’m sorry.”
He nuzzled her ear, a low rumble rising from his chest. “I can’t stay mad at you for long.”
Her lips sought his, and she moaned into his mouth when he cupped the back of her head and tenderly kissed her. He tasted of vodka, not that she blamed him. They’d had several trying days, after all. “Do you speak for all your brothers?” she asked, looking over his shoulder, saddened that she didn’t see his younger brothers with him. Geri and Marius would come around. They always followed Boris’s lead. Jovan she wasn’t so sure about.
He grimaced. “You know Jovan doesn’t always follow the pack.”
And that’s what she was afraid of, the infamous second alpha grudge. No doubt he was still angry with her, especially since she’d carried his unborn child into a demon’s den. She expected him to stay mad for a while. She only hoped that in time he’d forgive her.
EILEA’S GUT CHURNED when she followed Constantine and his brothers into the back bedroom. Constantine held the sleeping Tatiana as if she was made of fragile porcelain. Andrei and Dejan lugged Dimitri as if he was a bag of bricks.
Wrapped in a bathrobe, Tatiana was as pretty as a flower preserved under glass. After healing her, Bunica and Tatiana’s mother had bathed and swaddled her as if she was a babe. The girl had slept through all of it. Eilea suspected her fatigue came more from her ordeal than the sleeping spell she’d used on her. Dimitri’s brothers had cleaned him up, too, though she suspected they hadn’t been as gentle or thorough after joking about hosing him down in the barn.
Constantine set Tatiana down on the bed, removing her robe before slipping her under the sheets.
Andrei scowled at Dimitri’s feet as if they were made of rotting fish. “Where do you want him?”
She pointed to a mattress on the floor beside the bed. “Right there.”
Constantine stepped over it with his big, dirty feet. “Unbonded mates shouldn’t sleep together.”
“They’ve been through an ordeal,” she explained. “It’s best they wake together to prevent panic.”
Dejan and Andrei unceremoniously dumped Dimitri on the mattress.
“How long will they sleep?” Dejan asked, looking longingly at Tatiana.
“I’m not sure.” Eilea tried and failed to push the memory of the taint out of her mind. Her magical strength had multiplied tenfold in a few hours, so why did she still sense something black within Tatiana and Dimitri? Could it have been her imagination? She certainly had been under a lot of duress the past few days. Perhaps she only needed to rest. She’d try again after they woke.
“Eilea, I can’t thank you enough for healing our brother and mate,” Constantine said.
“Please don’t thank me, Constantine.” Heat flamed her cheeks, and a wave of guilt washed over her. What if Atan was right? What if she couldn’t drive away the Hoia Baciu’s taint? What if those dark seeds sprouted? Would she be able to heal them? She prayed the goddess would visit her in her sleep tonight, so she could ask her what to do.
Constantine placed a hand on her shoulder. “You need sleep, too.”
He was such a kind stepson. All of them were. What if she failed them?
She pushed back dark thoughts. “Of course.”
After Constantine and his brothers shuffled out, she gave Tatiana and Dimitri forlorn looks before shutting off the lights and closing the door. They looked so peaceful when they slept. Surely they had been fully healed, and she was worrying over nothing. At least she prayed it was so.
Chapter Fifteen
TATIANA SAT UP, HER wolf-touched eyes instantly adjusting to the dim light. She blinked at familiar floral wallpaper behind an antique ivory dresser. It was dark outside, and the clock on the nightstand told her it was just past midnight.
She looked at the flowery quilt