“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “But you need to chill.”

“Chill? I’ll not have my bairn, or someone else’s, ripped out of its mother before it’s born.”

She looked as shocked as if he’d slapped her. Her face went as pale as the vampires in Tristol’s fortress. “You think I’m trying to kill my baby? Are you insane?”

Tavis stepped back, confused. “You’re not?”

“No, I’m not, you ass.” The color was back in her face. Her cheeks were hot with anger. She turned and walked back to her horse.

“You weren’t,” he said to her back. Shite. “Anna, wait.” He ran after her. “I saw you bouncing around up there without a saddle, and I thought you were trying to lose the bairn.”

“What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“I don’t…I mean, you’re kind, but they said you didn’t want a family.”

“I don’t. But I wasn’t trying to lose my baby. I would never do that. Even…”

Even if she’d been forced.

“I thought I saw someone I recognized.”

“And you couldn’t talk to him later instead of racing bareback across the field with a bairn barely set up in your womb?”

Her face paled again. “I didn’t think about it.” She looked devastated. “How can I be a mother? I don’t know how.”

Tavis slid his arms around her shoulders. “You’ve had some harsh things to deal with, and I’m sorry for my part. But you’re good, Anna. You’ll make a good mother, and you’ll raise a good child. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know who the father is.” God forbid he wasn’t human.

“I do know who the father is.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

TAVIS STEPPED BACK. “You know? How?” She had been with him and the hybrid within hours of each other.

“I haven’t had sex with anyone but you.”

“But I thought…” Tavis’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. “You mean it’s mine? For certain, it’s mine?”

She nodded, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I’m going to be a father?” He couldn’t breathe. He looked at Anna’s stomach, flat and lean. His bairn was in there. His throat tightened, and his eyes began to sting.

“I need to go.” He climbed on the horse and rode hard for the woods. When he reached the thick trees, he stopped and dismounted. He walked to a large oak tree out of Anna’s sight and sat down. He put his head in his hands and cried. For his family, for the son he’d never known, and for the child he would know. For finding Faelan again. And Anna. He felt a prickle across his shoulders. Someone was watching him. He jumped up, thinking Anna had followed him, and then swiped a thumb over his eyes so she didn’t see his tears. But she didn’t appear. “Who’s there?”

No one answered, but a bush moved. Frowning, he started toward it, and then he heard something behind him. He turned and saw Faelan.

“Tavis. What are you doing here?”

“Just thinking.”

Faelan frowned. “You all right?”

“Aye.”

“You don’t look it. I saw Anna back there. She told me you’d come this way. She had the same look.”

“The bairn’s mine.”

“She’s certain?”

“She was never with the hybrid. I don’t know what to do.”

A smile broke across Faelan’s face, and it reminded Tavis of when they were lads. “We’re going to be fathers. Both of us.” He grabbed Tavis in a hug, and Tavis wondered what having one child who would be more than a century younger than his sibling would do to the family tree.

When they got back to the house, everyone was searching for Matilda. “She wanted me to give her a cooking lesson, of all things,” Coira said. “But she didn’t show up.”

“She probably forgot,” Shay said. “She gets distracted easily.”

“Distracted?” Nina said. “She’s insane. Ask Jamie about Matilda and the Secret Service. I swear I’m going to put her in a home.”

Cody walked into the room and sighed. “What’s she done now?”

“We can’t find her,” Nina said.

“She was inside the secret passage in my room before,” Tavis said. “She was looking for the cat. She was worried about him.”

“I’m afraid something is wrong,” Coira said. “The cat is here. She’s always got that cat with her. And I didn’t pay it any mind, but she’s been asking a lot of questions about the time vault.”

Bree frowned. “She asked me too. She wanted to know what it was like inside. If I felt anything. And she was asking Tavis about it. You don’t think…”

Shay closed her eyes. “Oh God.”

Several of the warriors split up to search the castle and grounds, just in case she had gotten lost. Cody, Faelan, Shay, and Nina went to Bree and Faelan’s house so they could check the chapel cellar. Tavis went with them since he needed to return the time vault now that they had the key.

“Make sure she’s not in it first,” Shay said.

“Or make sure that she is,” Cody said.

Shay smacked his arm. “Cody!”

“My car isn’t here,” Nina said. “She shouldn’t be driving.”

“Matilda shouldn’t be doing a lot of things she does,” Cody said. “Her recklessness is going to get us all killed.”

“Calm down.” Shay patted his arm. “I’m sure she’s just being typical Matilda.”

“You’re a saint to put up with her,” Cody said to Nina.

“If she doesn’t settle down, I’ll be meeting Saint Peter ahead of schedule.”

“This brings back memories,” Tavis said as they entered the cellar. This time, they had battery-powered flashlights which were a damned sight better than lanterns.

Shay stepped into the dark cellar. “Tavis, you’re a brave man.”

“Heavens, yes,” Nina agreed. “I can’t imagine coming down here and climbing into a box knowing you were going to sleep for so long.”

“He is brave.” Faelan thumped him on the back. “He’s been watching out for me for as long as I can remember.”

“Someone had to,” Tavis said. “It’s there.” He pointed his light at the time vault.

“Look at that.” Shay moved closer and touched the wood. “It’s beautiful. And to think they’re intended to hold something so ugly. If the demons I’ve seen are any indication, you and Faelan are the best looking things to come out of one of these.”

“It’s closed,” Cody said, examining the lid.

“That was a thump,” Faelan said. “Quick, open it.”

The vault wasn’t locked, so the lid could be lifted, but it was heavy. Faelan and Tavis opened it, and Matilda popped up like a jack-in-the-box. “Oh my God,” she gasped. Her hair was wild, eyes round, and she was panting.

“What the hell are you doing?” Cody yelled.

“Calm down, Cody,” Shay said. “Matilda, what the hell are you doing? You could have suffocated in there.”

The men helped her out. She clutched at Faelan and Tavis for support.

Cody was furious. “Dammit, Matilda.”

“I wanted to see what it was like to lie inside one. Research for my book. I didn’t mean for the lid to close. I had a block of wood to stop it, but it fell. It was so dark. But I felt everything. I remember every terrifying moment.” She patted her face. “Do I look any younger?”

Nina stomped her foot. “You don’t look any younger, Matilda! You look like something your damned cat spit up.”

“The cat. He’s probably worried about me,” Matilda said.

“He probably knocked the block of wood out from under the lid,” Cody muttered.

Nina looked exasperated. “Matilda, you have to stop exploring like this. You’re driving us all crazy.”

“I am?”

“Why do you think Jamie’s avoiding the castle?”

“He’s busy,” Matilda said. “I think he still has a few loose ends to tie up from our little adventure. Her name is Sam.”

“He’s staying clear of you,” Nina said.

“What did she do to Jamie?” Tavis asked.

“What hasn’t she done to him?” Cody said. “She drugged him and carted him off in a wheelbarrow.” He grinned. “That was kind of funny. This latest disaster involved an assassination attempt on the president with the cat and Matilda loose in the White House. Jamie’s not speaking to Matilda at the moment.”

“It was just a little adventure,” Matilda said. “The Secret Service could take some lessons from you warriors.”

“Secret Service! Bloody hell.” Cody held up his hands. “If you don’t stop these little adventures, I’ll stick you in the time vault again before Tavis sends it back.”

Matilda turned a scornful eye on Cody. “Cody MacBain, I’m practically your aunt. Show some respect.”

Bloody woman. No wonder the cat was avoiding her.

* * *

Anna heard voices in the kitchen. She stood out of sight, trying to decide whether to go in.

“I wish I’d been there,” Brodie said.

“It wasn’t funny, but if you’d seen her pop out of there,” Shay said. “She looked just like a jack-in-the-box with her red hair and too much makeup. I thought Cody would choke her.”

“Where is she now?” Bree asked.

“Sleeping,” Shay said. “She still thinks the time vault did something to her.”

“I hope it took some of the sass out of her,” Bree said.

“Not too much,” Brodie said. “She’s growing on me.”

Anna stepped into the room, and everyone looked up.

“Anna.” Guilt was written all over Bree’s face.

Brodie was closer to the door. He walked over and patted Anna awkwardly on the arm. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

He looked at her stomach again. “So can we talk about the baby now?”

“Brodie!” Bree frowned at him.

“If she’s pregnant, she’s pregnant. We’re all thinking about it. It’s the elephant in the room.”

“Don’t you have someplace to be?” Bree asked.

Brodie shook his head. “No.”