Chapter 9 - Kira #2
A muscle twitched in Joshua’s forehead. “So? You can have magical children, Kira, and you want children. You’ll have them someday, and you will teach them and protect them. One day, you are going to be a wonderful mother, and they can’t stand it.”
The words should have been flattering. Should have been soothing, even.
He thought she would be a good mother. He was complimenting her even in this argument.
But his words only slammed harder into her stomach, only made her heart feel like it was cracking open to bleed.
You will have children. You will teach them. You will protect them.
I can’t be a mother if you won’t be a father. Not while we’re married. Her hands clenched. That was too raw, too open, to admit.
“They’re not targeting me,” she insisted again.
“Yes, they are.”
“No, they’re not.”
Joshua stormed closer. His hands clenched and unclenched as he leaned in, invading her personal space. “Don’t be stupid.”
Heat tangled up in Kira’s lungs. Her face flushed, and her vision narrowed onto his face. “Don’t call me stupid!”
“I’m not calling you—”
“You just did!”
Joshua leaned back. “Don’t.”
They glared at each other.
Kira took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. “Let’s just wait to see what the special ops find, shall we?”
Joshua turned away without a word. For the rest of the day, he was never far from her, even when she called Chelsey and asked for privacy.
She sketched out a brief warning to her younger sister, and Chelsey promised to keep an eye out for any demon activity in her space.
But for even as close as Joshua was, they didn’t speak again.
That night, after she retreated to her room, Kira saw him in his wolf form prowling around the outside of the house. She watched him for longer than she cared to admit, her stomach tightening. If he really thought there was that deep a danger…
But there were no attacks. No further signs of demons all through the night. The special ops reported nothing, and when morning came, Bael called Rafael to tell him there’d been no demon activity in his territory, either.
“Maybe it was a demon that’s limited to the water,” Kira suggested at breakfast, trying to reassure him. She thought it was quite diplomatic, giving him a reason for why he was the only one to have sensed a demon without calling him paranoid.
Joshua grunted in a non-committal way. “We’re going to see the Elder Council today.”
Kira looked up from the pancakes. “What?”
“We’re going to see the Elder Council.”
“Why?”
Joshua didn’t answer.
Surely they weren’t going to start harping on them to have children already!
They’d only been married for a few days.
Does the Council know we haven’t had sex?
The thought made her cheeks burn. She ground her teeth as she finished cooking the pancakes and served them up.
Joshua had set the table, and they ate in silence.
He was finished eating first and washed the dishes quickly as Kira finished.
She dressed in a button-up blouse and a pair of black slacks, then put her hair into a bun to get ready for the council. She hesitated over her makeup, but decided she didn’t want the feel of it on her face today. She’d be glamming it up for work in the afternoon, anyway.
In the car, Kira tried again, “Why does the Council want to see us?”
“I asked for the meeting.”
Surprise rippled through her. “Why?”
Joshua’s jaw clenched, and he didn’t answer. Again. She stared at his profile, searching for some answer in his tightly guarded expression.
The Elder Council was just serving up their morning coffee when Joshua stalked into the room, Kira following behind him. They seemed annoyed, but Elder Priest Thera took her seat and folded her hands over the table.
“What is this about, Mr. Woods?” she asked calmly.
Joshua pressed his fingertips to the table as he leaned forward. “We need access to all of the witches’ books regarding any sort of camouflage that the demons might possess. We also need to learn what sort of attacks they made on the witch-shifter children in town,” he added.
One of the Elders, a man with eyebrows that would put Eugene Levy’s to shame, looked on with open surprise. “Is she pregnant already?”
His gaze dropped to her stomach, and clearly, he was doing some mental mathematics.
Disapproval colored his expression. Funny how forcing them to marry in order to have children was fine, but the idea that they may have already been sleeping together, resulting in a pregnancy before the wedding, was somehow something to disapprove of.
“I’m not pregnant,” Kira snapped.
“Not yet,” Joshua corrected. She hated that he was speaking for her, but he kept talking. “A demon targeted Kira yesterday, but was able to hide itself not only from her, but from the means we use to trace the demons. We need more research to know exactly how the demon has done this.”
That actually was quite smart. Kira couldn’t think of a reason to argue against it.
“Do you have reasons for why the demons would attack her now, as opposed to her sister?” Thera asked.
Joshua nodded once. “Her magic has come in, and she’s able to do spells now.”
Kira’s heart stuttered. What? How did he know that? She didn’t tell anyone! A chill stole down her spine. Had someone seen her? Or… no. No, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t have been spying on her!
Thera frowned. “We do not like to let the materials leave the archives.”
“Perhaps we can come to the archives to read through them, then,” Kira suggested. She, Gwen, and Chelsey had done it before. “I won’t have a lot of time with my shifts at the diner, but—”
“I’ve already told Kelsie you won’t be coming into the diner for a few days,” Joshua interrupted.
Kira stiffened. “What?”
Joshua turned toward her. “Gwen is going to put a secondary protection spell over my property. We are aware that the barriers surrounding the town have weaknesses, and we can’t inspect the entire area.
The diner is far too close to the edge of the protection to be safe.
” He glanced back at Thera. “I will be bringing the records to Kira at my house. They’ll stay there while we are researching. ”
That sounded quite a bit like, ‘She won’t be leaving the house.’ Kira opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. The Council hadn’t cared about her autonomy when they decided she was going to marry him. Why would they care about it now?
Arrangements were made to deliver various resources to Joshua’s house, and they left the town hall. Testing him, as soon as they stepped outside, she turned from the car and started toward Main Street.
“Where are you going?” Joshua demanded.
“To the bookstore.”
Joshua strode past her and blocked her path. She moved to step around him, and he blocked her again.
Kira shook her head slowly. “Don’t do this, Joshua.”
“We’re going back home.” His voice was hard, flat.
Kira hesitated. She could think of no good reason to capitulate, but she did anyway. Her mind raced as they drove back in silence.
Back at his house, she asked, “So am I your prisoner now?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Are you going to let me come and go as I wish?” One look at his face answered it. Kira drew herself up. “So I’m your prisoner now.”
Joshua shook his head. “It’s only temporary.”
“Why?” Kira demanded.
“The demon—”
“Is the demon even real, or are you just looking for excuses to lock me up?” she barked.
Joshua snarled under his breath. “I don’t want to lock you up!”
“Then why are you doing this?” she shouted.
“Because I’m not going to let you get killed,” he exploded, reaching as though to grab her.
He pulled back and gripped his own hair instead.
His golden eyes burned as they bored into her.
“I can’t. I fucked up so bad, and I know you want nothing to do with me, but I am not going to let you get hurt, Kira. I can’t… I don’t know how…”
Her mouth was dry. She stared at him, trying desperately not to fill in the blanks. Because it sounded as though he felt… like he wanted…
His chest heaved as his gaze searched hers. He reached out again, slowly, giving her plenty of time to back away. She stayed still as he cupped her face with such tenderness that it made her knees go weak.
“I’ll die before I let anything happen to you,” he whispered.
He was going to kiss her. She knew she should pull away. She shouldn’t let this happen. Whatever he felt, it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t make up for the past. Wouldn’t…
Her lips tingled even before they touched his. Kira’s resistance melted. She closed the distance between them, needing him. Her eyes fluttered shut as she molded her body to his. For the first time in years, she felt as though she was home.