87. Chapter 87

“Jeremy?” Waverly stared down at him in confusion. A part of her wanted to help him up off the ground but common sense and Nicole’s terse warning growling through her head held her back. She stepped back, protecting the living room, and the key hidden there, whilst giving her love the kitchen to work with.

God, she was distractingly gorgeous! Her big strong body all bristled up with her rich red coat shining as she stalked closer, her white teeth flashing as she snarled and growled at Jeremy.

“Waverly, focus please!”

“Sorry Baby.” Clearing her throat, Waverly caught Jeremy’s attention. His usual bright smile crossed his face as he craned his head around and saw her but it quickly dropped as she spoke. “Why are you here, Jeremy?”

Jeremy felt his eyes widen at the gravel in Waverly’s voice. He knew she was a wolf but she was always so bright and bubbly that hearing it come out like that and seeing the seriousness of her expression chilled him. “I- I was just passing by?” Yelping at the loud snap of teeth near his feet, he scooted further back across the floor.

“Jeremy,” Waverly scolded him. “One, there is nothing down this way apart from this house so passing by on the way somewhere is doubtful. Two, we didn’t hear a car and our hearing is excellent. Three, you came around the house to the back door and there are no paths or roads on that side for you to have come along. Try again.”

“I was testing how accurate I was! Argh! Oh god! Please, don’t eat me!”

“How accurate? Oh, sit down, Jeremy.”

Jeremy scrambled off the floor and threw himself into the chair at the table Waverly pointed to. He looked around the room, the floor, the ceiling and at Waverly, he looked anywhere he could while trying to avoid the gaze of Officer Haught’s wolf. He couldn’t stop himself from watching through as she walked by, her wolf form was frighteningly nearly as tall as he was standing, sitting down she towered over him, as she moved to Waverly’s side and brushed against her before hopping easily over the couch, almost but not quite disturbing the ginger cat sprawled across the top of it, before disappearing up the stairs.

“Wow. She’s… intense,” he giggled nervously.

“Jeremy, if you don’t talk when she comes back down you’re going to find out just how much more intense I can be,” she warned with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Jeremy dropped his eyes to the table and found a sudden fascination with a swirl in the grain of the wood. He traced a finger around and around until Waverly tapped a polished nail on the table in warning. “I’m not here to cause any harm,” he tried explaining, begging her to believe him.

Waverly held up a hand, shushing him. “Save it, Jer. Nicole will be down in a bit.” Less than that… Waverly could hear her moving around the bedroom, her long stride taking her back and forth across the room. She could hear her thoughts churning over with every step as she tried to work out how Jeremy had gotten so close… too close… without her realising.

Yes, the pack was easier to sense with their stronger scents, but Jeremy was usually bumbling into everything… when he was spotted. The rest of the time he was popping out of the woodwork just watching them or with a list of questions a mile long in his mind and Nicole wanted to know which Jeremy was the real one.

Waverly kept her eyes on Jeremy and saw the shift in his eyes and posture as he somehow managed to track Nicole’s movements even though her steps were light now she was back in human form. “Nic, I want you to try something.”

Nicole stilled, her restless pacing forgotten. “What do you need?”

Waverly quickly filled Nicole in and waited. Sure enough, Jeremy’s actions made it all too clear that he somehow knew the moment that Nicole followed her suggestion and climbed out of the bedroom window and made her way stealthily across the roof and dropped down to enter through the kitchen door behind him. He pretended to act startled but it was the worst piece of acting ever and Waverly could see it in his eyes that he knew he’d been caught out.

Nicole leaned over his back, crowding him closer to the table as she placed her face close to his. “Talk!” she gritted out quietly but firmly, her tone demanding the truth.

“I- I just needed to get closer to you so I can find you!”

“Okay, let’s try this again… talk and make sense.”

“It’s what I do. When I was eleven I was in a car accident… I was trapped for hours before they were able to get me out… still got so much metal from the car and all the pins they put me together with. My mom and dad were in the front,” he baulked, tears welling up as he remembered far too clearly hearing them taking their last breaths. “My little sister was in the back with me… I don’t know if she was thrown clear or if she got out somehow and wandered away, no one would ever tell me. It took them days to find her body… I heard enough to know that if they had just found her a couple of hours before they did I wouldn’t be alone.”

He blinked down in surprise when he saw a glass of water being placed before him on the table. Even more of a surprise was that the hand that had placed it there was Nicole’s and whilst her face was still stoic, her eyes were warmer, softer and full of sympathy. “Thank you,” he took a grateful sip as he tried to compose himself. “I don’t know if I would have been able to do what I can without that happening but since then… when I get close to people… when I get to know them… I can find them.”

“Find, how?”

“B.B.D. have been trying to figure that out and help me understand it. Sometimes I get a flash of where someone is and sometimes it’s more like getting coordinates. It all depends on how far away they are at the time. But I can only do it with people I know well enough though. People I feel connected to.”

Waverly leaned forwards in her chair, eager to hear and learn more even though she could tell that Nicole was less than impressed by what she’d heard. “So that’s why you’ve been hanging around asking questions?”

“Yes,” Jeremy beamed, leaning closer to Waverly. “I can already tell where Agent Dolls is from working with him before. The same with Shapiro and even Lucado. It’s weaker with them as the connection is purely work-related. I needed to get close to everyone else though… Needed to get to know you.”

“Who told you to do that, get close to us?”

Jeremy pulled himself back at the sharp edge of steel in Nicole’s voice. “No- no one did, Nicole… Officer Haught,” he looked at the two women nervously. “I swear. Not many in Black Badge know what I can do and it gets overlooked more for my brain and talent in the lab because of how long it can take to build up a connection. Agent Dolls was always kind to me… he helped me to do a chin-up once!” he smiled sheepishly at the memory. “I know how much you all mean to Agent Dolls and I saw what it did to him to lose people before and I don’t want to risk him losing anyone if I can help it. And…” he sighed. “If I’d been able to do this before the accident, maybe… I could have found my sister in time.”

“So, this,” Waverly gestured to him being there, “is?”

“I was just seeing how accurate I was getting now I’ve gotten to know you a bit better. I mean, I know where you live but I wanted to see if the numbers tied up,” he showed them his phone. “I kind of got distracted and didn’t pay attention to just how close I’d gotten until you jumped out.”

“So you didn’t bring anyone with you then?”

“No, Perry’s meeting me at ‘The Green Bamboo’ later.” He sighed and felt heat rushing through him as he thought about the other man.

“Jeremy, I meant Shapiro or Lucado?” Nicole shook her head at the wistful look on his face and also Waverly’s giggle. Despite everything, Nicole could tell that Waverly was warming up to him because of his loss and his more than obvious fondness for Perry Crofte.

“Why would they… Oh! Oh no, they don’t know I’m out here! No one does! Lucado is in New York at the moment I think, never really gotten close enough to her to get an exact lock on her. Eliza…” he focused for a moment. “She’s in the air, flying in from Washington… actually… she just crossed into Canada airspace.”

Jeremy looked at Nicole nervously. He could tell that she wasn’t sure if she could trust him… and given the stalking and turning up he’d done and what Lucado and Eliza had done at the Homestead he couldn’t say that he blamed them. He just wasn’t sure how to put her at ease. “I just want somewhere I can call home and if I can be of use... I would kind of like to see if it can be here. I don’t know how to prove it but I swear, I’m no danger to anyone.”

“Apart from locking you up until Black Badge get done here, there’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do… but… if you do anything I don’t like… there’s a whole hell of a lot of wilderness out there Jeremy. Would be awful easy for someone to go missing if you catch my drift.”

“Drift well and truly caught, Officer Haught,” he swallowed nervously.

“Well, go on then, go enjoy your meal with Perry.”

Waverly stared at Nicole as Jeremy left almost as quickly and gracefully as he’d arrived. “Officer Haught… threatening to make him vanish, really? You nearly scared him to death,” she chuckled at the little smile that lit Nicole’s face.

“Mostly I would just take him for a long ride them kick him out at the nearest bus station or something,” she admitted readily. “If anyone threatens you though… all bets are off!” she growled.

The protective growl vibrated through Waverly’s body and set her writhing in desire and the need to rub her scent all over her Alpha. “Now I’m all horny again!” she whined.

“Hold that feeling, Baby,” Nicole purred. “I’ll take care of all that when we’re done with our run… and done explaining to your Aunt and Uncle that you’re pregnant with my baby.” Groaning at the thought of that conversation with Wynonna no doubt making sassy quips at any given moment, Nicole flopped forwards across the table with an overly dramatic groan.

Rolling her eyes at the soft THUD, THUD, THUD of Nicole’s forehead against the wood.  Waverly rubbed Nicole’s back anyway and played along even though she knew that it was a blatantly attempted to gain some sympathy. “Giving yourself a concussion isn’t going to get you out of this, Baby. Gus isn’t as fierce as she seems. Well, okay, maybe she is a little,” she smirked at Nicole’s pointed glance. “Curtis is just a big softie though. Just get him talking about tomato plants or archaeological digs and he’ll be putty in your paws.”

“Tomato plants and archaeological digs? Did one lead to the other? ‘Cause I don’t think tomato plants get put in all that deep, Waves.”

Waverly swatted Nicole’s shoulder. “Okay, so the digs are more grab a shovel and hope but he prefers to call them archaeological digs. And he sure does love his tomato plants. Gus says more than he loves her.”

“And Gus, what does Gus like?”

“By the end of tonight, she’ll probably have a new hobby… Terrorizing little Alpha wolves that knock her Niece up.” Smirking, Waverly planted a kiss on Nicole’s cheek and danced out of reach before her Alpha could grab her. “Come on HaughtDaddy, time to go face the music,” she winked.

While Waverly made her way upstairs, with a seductive ass wiggle and a wink that had Nicole itching to chase after her, Nicole moved that damned key from her desk where it was doing a fair tell-tale-heart impersonation on her nerves and hid it under a prised up floorboard in the closet. Which made it feel even more tell-tale-heart but at least it was a bit less obvious than the desk. She hoped.

She’d just finished making sure that Calamity had food and water when Waverly skipped back down the stairs and made Nicole want to kneel down and give thanks to the creator of Lycra yoga pants and sports tops.

They were devilishly distracting… to the point that Waverly managed to slip behind the wheel of the Jeep and have it started before Nicole could even think to protest until Waverly told her to ‘buckle up, creampuff’ a millisecond before she put her foot down on the accelerator and didn’t let up until they shot under the lynch gate at the Homestead.

Slapping a hand against the porch rail, Curtis let out a deep laugh as the young officer staggered out of the Jeep and shot a glare at a completely unrepentant Waverly. “I’m surprised you haven’t ticketed that girl yet!”

“She keeps me at a disadvantage, Mr McCready… I can’t write one and hold on for dear life at the same time.” Holding out a hand, she watched as it disappeared into his huge calloused one. There was nothing about the man that wasn’t huge from his height to his bushy salt and pepper beard and if it wasn’t for his equally huge smile and laugh, Nicole might have found him intimidating.

“It’s Curtis as well you know, Officer,” he teased, smiling as she corrected him and gave him permission to use her own name in return. Grunting he wrapped his arms around his niece and lifted her feet off the ground as she barrelled into him at full speed for a hug as always.

“I thought I heard a vehicle. It’s about time you two young ‘uns got here.” Gus handed a bottle of beer over to her husband and opened her arms to her niece as he slapped a beefy arm around Nicole’s shoulder and dragged her into a conversation about ideal tomato plant growing conditions. “You look happy, honey… you’re positively glowing.” Even if Gus hadn’t known the reason behind it, the person, it was more than obvious by the way Waverly and Nicole’s eyes couldn’t stay away from each other like they wanted to devour each other… and knowing young love and mating bonds they probably did.

“HaughtDaaaamn… ‘Sup, slackers! ‘Bout time you two turned up!”

Alpha or not, Nicole was tempted to reach out and slap the other woman for her, knowing Wynonna deliberate, slip up with her choice of nicknames. She settled for rolling her eyes and pretending it didn’t happen. “Despite an unexpected visitor, we’re not even late, Earp.”

“Only because of my excellent driving,” Waverly pointed out with a grin.

“I helped to teach her how to drive but the speed is all from her Aunt,” Curtis stage whispered loudly. “Always in a hellfire hurry to get somewhere instead of enjoying the view.” He grinned at the disgruntled expression on his beloved wife’s face.

“If I didn’t drive we would never get to see anyone ‘cause you would be too busy looking at the view or sitting outside watching your damn tomatoes growing!”

“Don’t hear you complaining about them when I bring you the first of the crop from the garden or a nice bowl of soup.”

“Damn it, Curtis!” Gus slapped at his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her and made her feel small and protected with his big body and the gentle way he held her. “I’m trying to be mad at you and your tomato obsession!” she grumbled only slightly bitterly as he chuckled and held her even closer.

Gus slapped his shoulder again and pointed a finger at him as he finally released her. Fully aware that he’d left her red-faced and feeling too much like a giddy teenager again, she turned her back on them all before they could see… and knowing Wynonna, spend the rest of the week teasing her about it. “I’m going to check the soup.”

“Sun-dried tomato soup,” Wynonna whispered to Nicole as Gus hurried away, “homemade from Curtis’ crop, delicious… and almost as red as Gus’ face, she laughed as she saw Gus giving her a middle finger through the window. So, Haughtstuff, who was your ‘unexpected visitor’?”

“Jeremy. Yeah, that Jeremy.” she clarified as Wynonna’s eyebrow rose in query and her lips thinned in anger as Nicole filled her in on everything that had happened. “I know that Xavier trusts him, and his intentions seem to be well-meaning, but… I’ve spent too much of my life running and hiding to be comfortable with the thought of someone being able to tell where I am like that.”

Wynonna knew what she meant. Just thinking about it made her remember far too many wildlife documentaries where some poor unfortunate animal ended up getting darted and wearing some big assed collar with a satellite tracker on it.

“Not like I plan on going anywhere. I did kind of threaten him though,” Nicole reminded her, “and I think he believed it.”

“Nicole, he nearly peed his pants,” Waverly thwapped Wynonna on the arm as she went to give Nicole a high five. “Come on, smells like the soup is ready and is that...?”

“Yep, all kinds of nachos for when we get back,” Wynonna grinned in anticipation. “Don’t worry, there are even a few vegan choices for you weirdoes.” Throwing her arms around Waverly and Nicole’s shoulders, Wynonna steered them towards the house and the followed the delicious scent of soup waiting for them in the dining area. “Nicole… I’ll have a word with Xavier again, see if he knows of his buddy’s superpowers, ‘kay?”

Gus looked up as everyone settled down at the table and started eating. “I was talking with Maggie earlier, you remember Maggie right, she works in the drugstore?”

“Oh my god!” Waverly moaned. “I knew I should have just gone into the city for those pregnancy test kits!”

Waverly looked up and covered her mouth at the shocked expression on Gus’ face made it clear that Maggie had said nothing about what she had been in there for. “Oh, fudgenuggets,” she moaned and wished the ground would open up beneath her.

“Well,” clearing her throat, Gus carefully put her spoon down and looked across the table at her niece. “I was going to tell you about the holiday she was thinking of taking but it seems you’ve got something more important to tell us?”

Putting her own spoon down, Nicole pushed aside her dish and reached for Waverly’s hand. Linking their fingers together she gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, Baby.”

“Oh god! I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that!” clutching Nicole, Waverly buried her face against her Alpha’s shoulder in an attempt to hide her embarrassment and gain comfort.

“Probably not something to spill over soup, huh, Baby Girl?” Wynonna chuckled and sat back in her chair to watch the fun.

“Shut up, Earp,” Nicole fixed Wynonna with a glower as Waverly whimpered against her until the other Alpha held up her hands in surrender. Though the teasing smirk of anticipation stayed in place, Nicole was pretty sure that if Wynonna thought there truly was going to be a problem with their news she wouldn’t be looking how she was.

Nicole turned her attention to Gus and Curtis. Curtis was looking around as though trying to work out what had interrupted his enjoyment of his soup and Gus… she was a little more difficult to read. “Gus, Curtis… You’re family and we wanted you to know before the rest of the pack found out… Well, you probably guessed after that,” she kissed the back of Waverly’s hand to let her know everything was still okay. “But, Waverly’s pregnant… we’re having a baby.”

Gus looked at the couple, her eyes moving back and forth between them rapidly. She could tell that Nicole was happy enough but then she was still in that honeymoon phase of being mated and would probably forgive Waverly just about anything. “You’ll have to forgive me for being blunt here but it’s just my way and this is all very sudden… You say ‘we’ are you being all noble and sacrificing? I mean, we’ll accept the baby either way, I just want to know if I need to kill anyone.”

“It’s mine.”

“Oh… Ohhh! I didn’t think that was possible anymore!” Gus couldn’t remember the last time she had ever heard of a female Alpha being able to sire a baby… She’d only known because of a fondness for reading obscure history books… a passion she shared with her niece… and even then it had been viewed more as a myth than a fact. And yet, there was Nicole, living proof that it was indeed a fact.

Moving around the table, Gus wrapped her arms around Waverly and Nicole, congratulating them both. Looking at the taller redhead as she pulled away, Gus gave the girl a firm poke with her finger and a warning glare. “I didn’t get to say this before you got mated but, Waverly is special and you’d better take care of our girl, you hear?”

“Always,” Nicole promised easily and without hesitation as Gus blinked away the tears welling in her eyes.

“Good girl,” pulling herself back together, Gus smoothed the front of her shirt down and straightened her belt buckle. “Now that’s out of the way, let’s get this meal over with so we can go for a run.”

Curtis looked at his wife as she came back around the table. “What in tarnation is going on?”

“Waverly’s pregnant… It is Nicole’s… Eat your soup, dear.”