“Thank you,” she replied, grateful he hadn’t elaborated on what she’d told him, but she guessed that was his job, to maintain patient confidentiality, even as a clan doctor.
Once he was gone, she looked at Olcan, worried what his reaction to this might be. It was so soon. Sure, they were committed, and they’d just bought a house to share, but a whole brood of babies right off the bat? That was a lot. Instead of any concern, she found that he was all smiles. He beamed down at her.
“I’m going to be a father, a bunch of fathers!” he exclaimed.
“I’m pretty sure you’ll only be one father, no matter how many babies there are.”
“I’m so happy,” he told her. “Are you happy?”
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
“It’s okay. We’ll do this together,” he told her.
“You’re going to have some of them for me?”
“Okay, well, I’ll help you do this as best I can,” he laughed.
She smiled at him and reached up to stroke his cheek, “I’m happy too.”
“I’m glad to hear that, and I promise you that I will never stop trying to keep you that way.”
“You don’t have to try. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed about. There is no chance that I could be unhappy with you.”
“I feel the same way,” he replied, helping her up off the table and walking out with her to get started on the next leg of their beautiful journey together.CHAPTER THIRTYOlcan
“GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN,” Olcan said as Fergus walked into the basement for their first meeting since he and Eimear had returned.
“You too,” Fergus replied. “I hear you lot have been busy while I was gone, killing dragons and Sorley, rescuing kidnapped women, knocking up neighbors.”
Olcan laughed and nodded, “All of that is true, except I didn’t kill any dragons. I’ll have to give that honor to some of our clan brothers.”
“Still, you’ve been a solid Alpha.”
“Ah, I guess that’s the last time I’ll be called that, at least for a while,” Olcan told him.
“No, I don’t think so. I think I’d like to just let you stay at the helm for a while. I’ve got some other things I want to do, and I’m content to let you hold the reins if you’re willing,” Fergus replied.
“Aye. I’m happy enough to stay the course until you say you’re back up to the task,” Olcan told him.
“Grand. Well, I’ll just have my seat down there on the left with those two hammerheads while you get this show on the road,” Fergus teased, pointing to his brothers. He made his way down, giving them a quick hug before taking his seat.
“Well, first things first. As some of you may have heard, I’m expecting a baby or twelve. It’s too soon to tell, but we’ll know in the coming months. So, for the first time in a while, our clan is growing.”
There was applause and scattered cheers for a moment before he held up his hand to bring quiet to the room again.
“Let’s get to the matter at hand then. There’s been no sign of Sorley since he went into the canyon during our fight. Hopefully, that means he is dead, but there’s no way to be sure. If he is alive, he’s keeping an extremely low profile. If he’s not, good riddance, but we can count on his people coming to look for him, especially since we stuck a straw in their finances and sucked them all up for ourselves. I trust everyone has gotten their share of that little transaction. If you haven’t, you know who to talk to about it,” Olcan told them.
Tom raised his hand slightly in acknowledgment that Olcan meant him and then put it back down. Olcan continued with the agenda for the day, mostly focused still on Sorley.
“In other words, we need to take every precaution. We’ve been in contact with some little birds in Dublin to keep an eye on movement of his clan. We’ll know soon enough what they do about his disappearance. If they choose a new Alpha, we’ll know that he’s either been found dead or presumed to be. If they don’t, then he’s still pulling the strings somehow, from somewhere below the radar. We can’t afford to let him sneak up on us ever again.”
“And if he’s still out there?” Niall asked.
“Then we’re going to have to find him. I already have people looking, but he’s nowhere to be seen yet—dead or alive.”
“Who do we think they’ll make the new Alpha if he’s gone?”
“I don’t know. Right now, it looks like it comes down to two shifters. One is a guy named Trill and the other is Duncan Maguire. Sorley’s children are all deceased, leaving his sister’s son, Duncan as the natural heir. Word is that Duncan isn’t inclined. He’s one of those bears who thinks they should be evolving and integrating with regular society. Trill, on the other hand, is popular in the clan. He’s a real hothead but viewed as a force to be reckoned with.”