Black Hills Desperado (Black Hills Wolves, #3)(18)

Xio sighed. “Fine. I guess you’re right. I made a lot of money before. I can do it again with money I earned honestly. But I want to go on the record that this sucks.” She nodded at the laptop. “Those are all the account numbers. Everything.” It was a good thing Marcus had made friends with a few criminals over the years, or she might not have a way to get it into federal hands without ending up in prison.

After he’d rescued her, she’d decided she needed to tell him everything. She just hadn’t realized that meant she’d have to give it all up. But as usual, he was right. It was all linked to crime one way or another, and she no longer wanted anything to do with living that life. She’d keep no more secrets from him.

Starting with breaking the news about the twins.

Here? In the bar? Her internal wolf paced. Nervous. What if he wasn’t ready for a family? He’d mated with a felon and saved her life from some very nasty men. That would make the best of men change their minds about settling down.

What? I should wait? Like that’s ever worked in my favor.

Some of the medication she’d taken to treat her injuries after the explosion had caused her birth control to fail. Since the pill smelled a lot like pregnancy to a wolf, Xio was fairly certain Marcus didn’t have a clue. Not something she’d wanted, but over the last few weeks, the idea had grown on her. She could do this wife-and-mother thing. After all, how hard could it really be?

Things would be different. Her children were going to know about their heritage, and they’d have parents who cared when they screwed up, made sure they learned right from wrong.

And there were two. After Diego had taken her down to the floor in The Den, she’d been sent to the hospital to make sure she didn’t have any injuries, and they discovered not only was she pregnant, but she carried twins. At first, she’d freaked. How would she handle this? She didn’t know anything about kids. Then she realized her children had a chance at a life she could have only dreamed of growing up. Speaking of which—time to learn about her family, so she had something to pass on.

Xio glanced over at Gee, who polished glasses at the bar. She’d been practicing really hard the last two months. “Hey, Gee. You want to tell me a story?”

“You ready to listen to the way I need to tell it?”

She smiled and grabbed Marcus’s hand, giving it a squeeze. She wasn’t the only one who’d been learning to speak Chinese—Marcus had learned right along with her, and between the two of them, they were quite a fluent duo. “Yes, we are. Need to have some stories to tell the kids.”

Marcus’s mouth dropped open. “We’re having a baby? I mean, I thought I smelled something off with you, and you’ve been really moody, but I thought maybe you were just adjusting to being mated.”

“Moody?” Xio growled.

“Never mind. So, a baby.”

Xio smiled and raised two fingers as Gee came over, handed him a beer, and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations.”

The beer slipped out of his grip, rolled off the table and onto the floor, leaving a trail of suds in its wake. “Twins?” Marcus jumped up, grabbed her, and spun her around like a rag doll, only stopping when Gee cleared his throat. He quickly set her back on her feet and pulled out her chair. “Two of them? You’re serious.”

She nodded and he laughed, sinking back into the seat.

“We’re going to have babies.” Marcus shoved a hand in his hair and began to pace. “I never imagined…twins.”

“Well, they do run in the family,” Xio said. “Sit. Now about that story, Gee.”

“On it.” The bear spun a chair around and straddled it. But before I start, I want to tell you something. What you do with the information is up to you. Your mother isn’t dead, Xio. Magnum ran her off after your father died in the “hunting accident.” The old Alpha didn’t agree with mixing humans and wolves. He was going to drown you and your brother in a stream, but the pack stopped him.”

“Where is she?”

“Texas. She’s living with the El Paso pack. They took her in after they learned what happened and threatened to come up here and start a war if Magnum did anything to you or your brother.”

“I don’t understand? How could he do that? We were babies. She was our mother.”

Gee shrugged. “He was crazy. He planned to mate you with one of the alpha’s sons down in Texas when you came of age and create a treaty of sorts to get the pack off his back. What he didn’t realize is that fate already decided you belonged to one of them. Marcus, one way or the other, would have been your mate. Soul mates. As the story with your grandparents, so are you.”

“I can’t believe she’s alive.”

Marcus sat up. “What’s her name?”

“Lily. She’s a pack doctor but was a surgeon in Rapid City. It’s how Xio’s father met her. He’d gotten shot by a hunter targeting weres—someone old-school who used silver, knew what they were doing. The wound nearly killed him. When Magnum discovered they’d secretly married months later, and worse, started a family, he went off the deep end. I think you’ll discover Xio and Xan’s father’s death was no accident. Lily always wanted to come back for you, but couldn’t. By the time Magnum was dead, you and your brother were gone.”