Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Gillian
Beck drove her and the baby back to Dewi’s. He’d just left when Dewi appeared in the hallway.
“Hey. How’d it go?” Dewi asked.
“The boring stuff is underway, kiddo,” Gillian said. “By this time next year, your house will no longer be a multi-tasker, and you will completely have your privacy.”
But Dewi frowned. “I don’t want Badger and Duncan to move out. Frankly, I feel better with them here.”
“No worries,” Gillian said. “They aren’t, as far as I know.
I meant no more needing to take meetings here, or having people show up here who don’t need to be inside your home.
Your office will be only a five-minute drive away.
We’ll put in a road with a gate between the properties so people don’t accidentally wander over here. ”
“I appreciate that.” Dewi took Adair out of her carrier and held her. “I don’t mind letting people hold runs here, as long as I’m notified and sign off on it first, but it really will be nice to have that level of privacy.”
It was one of the things Gillian both loved and hated about their house in Idaho—that it was so close to other houses. Not right on top of them, but within easy shouting distance.
But it also meant Charles and Chelsea were found sooner. Not that the proximity offered them any safety.
“Oh, by the way, something arrived for you while you were gone,” Dewi said.
Gillian scowled. “What? I didn’t order anything.”
“It’s out in the pool house.” She bounced Adair on her hip. “Want me to watch her for you for a little while? Let you get a shower and rest?”
“Thank you, Aunt Dewi. She should be due for a bottle and a change soon.” She kissed Dewi on the cheek and headed out through the sliders leading to the pool lanai.
Then she hesitated at the door to the pool house. Something was…
Odd.
She reached for the doorknob when she realized she was scenting something.
No, wait. That was someone.
With her heart suddenly racing, she threw the pool house door open and started to scream with joy when she saw Peyton on the couch, but he immediately held a finger to his lips and she saw why.
On his chest lay a baby, at least several months older than Adair.
Sound asleep.
She clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide as he playfully smiled.
“Hope you don’t mind I didn’t come back empty-handed, honey,” he said. “Brought you a souvenir.”
Shocked, she realized she couldn’t make her feet move.
Then she heard Dewi open the sliders behind her and step out onto the lanai. “Yeah, sorry. Rat Fink made me promise not to warn you. He wanted to surprise you. He showed up about two hours ago.”
Gillian took a step, stopping just inside the doorway, her hands still covering her mouth. The child—she couldn’t yet tell its gender—had wispy, hay-colored hair and wore a yellow onesie.
“There’s a story,” Peyton continued, now looking far more somber than she could ever remember.
“Yes, he was rescued. He was born there.” He didn’t need to specify where he meant—she knew.
“And,” he continued, “we suspect he’s a Prime.
We checked the records and everyone’s DNA who we rescued, and he’s not the biological child of any of them.
We’re still going through records and think his parents are not only dead, but they might be long dead.
No idea who his surrogate was. Very likely, they’re either dead or a clueless human prisoner they used in exchange for giving her time off her sentence.
Apparently, they did that a lot. As far as we can tell, there aren’t currently any other pregnant surrogates. ”
She realized she was nodding and took another step closer, finally pulling her hands away from her mouth. “So he’s ours?” she whispered.
He sadly smiled. “I hope so, because I already have Trevor drawing up paperwork and an adoption for us. Thought it’d be easier to handle it over there.”
She sat next to him on the couch as Dewi joined them in the pool house. “He’s a cute little stinker, isn’t he?” Dewi said, smiling. “Does he have a name yet?”
Peyton smiled. “I decided to leave that up to Mommy here. If she says yes.”
“Does he already have a name?” Gillian asked.
Peyton’s smile faded. “No,” he gently said. “None of the children did. They were assigned numbers, not names.”
Gillian was already reaching for the baby, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Hey there, Marcus Godwin Bleacke. Welcome to the family.”
“Marcus Godwin Bleacke.” Peyton smiled and draped an arm around her shoulders. “I like it. Your dad will be over the moon.”
She nodded. Since Trent and Asia had already honored Charles and Chelsea, Gillian wanted to honor her father. Her sister had already named one of her daughters after their mom.
“Should I tell Trevor?” he asked.
“Tell him what?” She was too busy marveling over this little miracle in her arms.
“That it’s his official name? So he can finalize the paperwork?”
“Oh. Yeah. How old is he?”
He’d already started texting Trevor. “A little shy of six months.”
Shocked, she looked at Peyton. “What? He’s only six months old? He’s huge!”
“I know, right? We thought he was older until we talked to the head guy and found the records.” He reached over and stroked the baby’s head.
“He’s a monster already. Eh, in the adorable meaning of the word.
I’m sorry I made the executive decision but, understandably, Bryn and Callum preferred not to take on the additional responsibility.
And I felt he needed to be with a Prime family. ”
“Of course it’s okay,” Gillian said, closing her eyes and inhaling the baby’s scent.
He didn’t smell like any of the Targhee wolves.
While obviously no one smelled exactly the same, she was used to their packmates at least having the underlying hint of familiarity to their scent. “He’s a wolf shifter?
“Yeah.” Peyton heavily sighed. “It’s fortunate that we raided the lab when we did, because he might have been dead or destined for a life as a lab rat. They preferred to keep girls alive. They didn’t realize he’s a Prime.”
“Kept them alive for breeding?” she whispered, horrified.
“Pretty much, yeah. He wasn’t showing signs of being a Prime yet, but Callum and I both agree he probably is. At the very least, he’s a strong Alpha wolf shifter.”
“How many?” Gillian asked.
“How many what?”
“Did they kill? How many children did they kill over the years?”
He took a long moment to answer. “We don’t know for sure,” he said.
“Of kids born there, countless embryos and fetuses, which were vivisected to study. We’re still going through records, but they killed at least one hundred babies who were born alive, and dozens of kids of various ages.
Some kids were adopted out to families. Tracking them will take a while.
We also don’t know yet how many children were captured and then killed, but it’s far beyond a non-zero number.
This little guy was the last one born, though.
And they were preparing for another round of IVF with ten surrogates chosen, so our timing was fortuitous. ”
Gillian closed her eyes and leaned her head against Peyton. “I hope those fuckers burn in hell.”
Dewi cleared her throat. Gillian looked to see her smiling. “Glad I’m not the only one with a swear jar,” Dewi teased.
Peyton smirked. “I’ll allow all swears today. Situation kind of warrants it.”
“All kidding aside,” Dewi said, “what happens next?”
“What happens next,” Peyton said, “is that Ken’s already made us a reservation for a month at the beach resort you two love down south, a unit overlooking the beach.” He caressed Gillian’s cheek. “As long as you don’t mind one extra coming with us. I doubt he’s ever been outside before all this.”
“Will he have bad memories?” Gillian asked.
“No. Callum took care of that. While I held him, we played videos for him to listen to while Callum did it, of you with Adair, talking to her before and after she was born. To imprint your voice on him.”
Gillian looked around. “Oh, where’s Ken?”
Dewi grinned. “Shopping. Hope you don’t mind we sent him out for the basics. I know you’ll want to buy your own things for him, but we’re getting matching carriers and all that kind of stuff, and a batch of clothes to get you started. Plus diapers, because I’m certain Adair’s will be too small.”
“And baby food,” Peyton added. “He’s got several teeth in already and was doing great with soft food.
The pediatrician over there said we can probably start him on regular table food after we give him a few weeks for his body to fully adjust. He doesn’t need to be on formula as long as he’s drinking water and staying hydrated. ”
“I wish he’d wake up,” she said.
“He was awake most of the way across the Atlantic,” he joked. “I’d be shocked if he woke up.” He let out a yawn. “Sorry, he wasn’t the only one awake the whole way.”
“You didn’t put him to sleep with your Prime so you could take a nap?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. This poor guy’s been through enough already. Time to let him just be a normal baby with all the normal things that go along with it.”
“When are Callum and Bryn coming to the States?” Gillian asked.
“Not right now,” Peyton said. “They understandably need time to recover and decompress. Plus, Callum wants to be there at the house to help the others, especially the children.”
“What about the other children?” Dewi asked.
“Well,” Peyton said, “let’s just say that it’s a good thing Trevor and Elizabeth have a big house. They’re taking in all the younger kids, besides Moose here.”
“Moose?” Dewi asked.
He laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been calling him.”
“I’m sorry to admit I really didn’t pay much attention to the kids while we were there,” Dewi said.
“It’s okay. We were trying to limit their interactions at first to help reduce their stress.”
“What about the older kids?” Gillian asked.