Fates Entwined

55

The midwife smiled at me while pressing a cool washcloth to Ayla’s face. My beautiful friend was tired and sweaty, but she looked radiant.

"I'll give you a few minutes, but call me if you need anything," the midwife said, before leaving the room.

“How are you doing?” I asked as the door closed behind me.

"I'm tired and sore but I’ve never been happier in my life," Ayla said with an exhausted smile.

"You did such a good job." I kissed Ayla's forehead. “Now you just need to rest and heal. Let us do everything else."

"Sounds good to me."

I adjusted her pillows and blankets, fussing over her. "Do you have a lot more visitors coming?"

"Just Larkin and Celeste, but they should be here soon."

"What about Wesley?" I asked. “I'm surprised he's not here too."

Ayla sat up a little in bed and took a sip of water. “Oh, you just missed him. He came by really early this morning when I was still in labor. He just went back to the cabin to get some rest.”

"Oh... Good."

Ayla pinned me with one of her knowing looks. "Were you hoping to see him here?"

"No!" My response was a bit too vehement and I coughed. "I mean, um, we saw each other last night."

She perked up at that. "Oh really."

I held up a hand. "Nothing happened."

"Not yet..."

"Not ever."

Ayla took my hand. "Why not? It's obvious the two of you are mates. I think you should give it a chance."

“It’s not that easy,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze before pulling away. “Even if I wanted to be with Wesley, I can’t be a Cancer again. Not when Adriana is a Pisces.”

“I understand. The moment I saw Jack, I knew I’d do anything to keep him safe. But you deserve to be happy, and Adriana wants that too." Her voice lowered. "So would Aiden."

I blinked away the sudden sting of tears. I’d spent so much time thinking about what was best for Adriana and ignoring what was best for me. But maybe having a mother who wasn't miserable was what was best for my daughter.

"The stars are bringing the two of you together for a reason," Ayla continued. "And the more you fight it, the more miserable you'll both be."

"You’re right,” I said, sniffling and swiping at my eyes. “I’ll go talk to Wesley. I can’t promise anything more, but we can at least talk.”

“That’s all I can ask for. He's staying in a cabin just outside of the village. Kaden can give you directions." She shooed me away. "Now get out of here, and don't come back until you've worked things out with my brother."

I laughed and stood up. "All right, all right, I'm going, but I'll be back in a bit. I promise."

“Don’t worry about me." She settled back against her pillows. “In fact, take all the time you need. You know everyone will be fussing over Jack and me for the next few days.”

“Good. You're always so busy helping everyone else. You deserve to be fussed over for a bit." I leaned over and gave her a hug. "I'll see you soon."

Hopefully, Ayla would be able to get a little bit of rest before the next visitors came. I closed Ayla's door and headed back toward the living room, where Stella was holding baby Jack, while Adriana crawled on the floor toward Jordan, who held out a small, squishy ball to her. Kaden was standing to the side speaking with his beta, Clayton, who had clearly just come from outside. His hair was dusted with snow, along with his coat and boots. Neither of them were smiling.

“The storm has gotten worse,” Clayton said in a low voice. “It’s moving in fast, and in a few hours we’re all going to be snowed in.”

“We need to make sure everyone gets to their homes and has supplies,” Kaden said. "I can⁠—"

"No." Clayton put a hand on Kaden's arm and shook his head. “You get your family home. I’ll handle everything else.”

Kaden clapped Clayton on the back. “Thank you. I know the town will be in good hands with you.”

I chewed my lip, worried. Ayla had said that Wesley was staying in a cabin just outside of the village. Would he be out there by himself in the snow?

After Clayton left, I approached Kaden. "Can you give me directions to where Wesley is staying? I need to talk to him."

“Sure." He gave me quick directions to a spot just outside the village, and then added, "The road's a bit bumpy because we don’t use that cabin very often. It's one of our older cabins and not very big or very warm. Usually Killian lives there, but he's visiting some other vampires at the moment."

“Why is Wesley staying there?” I asked, panic rising in my chest at the thought of Wesley out there alone during the storm.

“It’s the only place we had available,” Kaden said. “With the Moon Witches staying here, we’re packed full.”

"Couldn't he stay at your place?"

Kaden hesitated. "He could, but he asked to stay somewhere else."

Great. Wesley was out in the middle of nowhere in a freezing cold cabin all alone because of me. Did he even have supplies there? What if he got snowed in for days? "He probably doesn’t know about the storm coming, does he?"

“I doubt it,” he said. “He left before we knew how bad it was going to get."

Ayla called for Kaden, who rushed into the room to check on her like the most overprotective alpha ever. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket and dialed Wesley's number. His phone rang several times and then went to voicemail.

“He’s not answering," I said to Stella and Jordan, who were watching me intently. "I need to find him and make him come back to Kaden's house before it’s too late. It’s my fault he’s out there in the first place.”