More Than Just Baser Instincts.

Lia and Natasha were two beautiful girls, and it was obvious that they were their parents' children. They both had Anne's tiny nose (which were permanently wrinkled from the huge grins on their little faces), and they had heart-shaped faces—again, like their mother. Their wide chestnut eyes sparkled with warmth and innocence, immediately reminding me of Bryce and how jovial and delightful the male was. Their skin was already tanned perfectly, as the people around here tended to be, and dimples were splattered about them like rain drops on a sidewalk. Their hair was also coming in, and they both had beautiful honey hair. Lia's was long and wavy, but Natasha's was cut short and was perfectly pin-straight. I guessed that Lia, then, was a Mommy's girl while Natasha was a Daddy's girl. Elaine and Cameron had also been nice enough to take in Leonard Jr. and Elliot until Quince and I had sorted everything out with the lead pair business.

Cameron was also perfectly happy to play with the sisters who could have passed as his younger triplets. He actually began crying when Anne hoisted Lia out of his reach and handed the giggling babe to me. Bryce grabbed Cameron and began tickling him until the little boy forgot of his troubles and cried out, "Daddy! That tickles!"

"Where is Quince anyway?" Anne asked me as she twirled her finger around Natasha's hair. "I can't believe he's letting you out of his sight."

I smiled absently, choosing to redirect my attention on the baby that was bouncing in my lap. Quince was busy. He had stepped up to his job as lead male, and he had told me, before he left this morning, that he was resigning from his position at the school. He hadn't asked me to do the same... But I knew that he was only putting it off for as long as he could. I was selfish to not quit now.

"You know, he has responsibilities now," I murmured to Lia, shaking her little hands as she gurgled and cooed in my face.

Anne frowned. "We've done this long without a lead pair. I don't see why we even need one anymore. I mean, we're a well-established society, aren't we? Besides, the last lead pair wasn't even much of a pair..."

"You mean Quince's father?"

"Mhmm. And his marked female." She smiled sadly to me. "Do you know that Quince's mother died?"

"I do. Quince never really told me much about his father's...'marked female.'" I shuddered.

"I basically grew up with Quince." My eyes darted to Bryce, but his eyes were on Cameron. "Him, Camden, and I were all but littermates. So when Lila passed away and Seria moved in... It was weird. Really, really weird. Quince refused to have anything to do with her, and his father, Jerald, kept his distance. The woman was miserable. As soon as Jerald died, she begged Quince to take up the post so she could leave.

"Of course, Quince hadn't met you yet. But he didn’t want Seria 'living in his mother's house.' So he approached the council about it and managed to make them agree that the village would be lead-less until he found and marked his mate. And Seria became the first and only shifter to ever leave Home."

"Is she famous for that?" I muttered, reflecting bitterly. Quince, when trying to get me to move in, had told me explicitly that no one in the history of Home had ever moved away.

Anne's hand suddenly fell to mine, and she smiled gently. "Quince pretends she never existed."

I wanted to ask more, but the firm knocking on the front door pulled me from my thoughts. Bryce apologised quietly before pushing himself from our circle on the floor. Anne watched him curiously for a moment before smiling to me. But her smile fell far too quickly.

I had a feeling this was about me... But how did anyone even know I was here? I put Lia in Anne's lap, beside her sister, and pushed myself to my feet.

"Can I help you, sir?" Bryce asked, adjusting Cameron on his hip as he stepped aside.

"You may. Where is the female?"

The man was elderly, obviously, as his hair was gray and thinning. He pushed his bifocals farther up his nose as he shuffled into Anne's house. Anne tried to stand, but I gripped her shoulder and pushed her back onto her rear. She gave me an exasperated look.

"I assume you mean me," I muttered regretfully, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Yes... Quince's female is a White. Then you are Elaine." There was no question in his voice, so I said nothing. "Then tell me about your cub, the one that Quince brought with him to the council."

"I suppose you mean...that it's not Quince's?" I squeaked, backing up as the man stepped forward. "The cub was fathered by Tiberius of the Northern Sector..." I looked down, unable to take his stern gaze.

"I had hoped you would not say that," the man sighed. "Quince cannot take up his position until he has a cub of his own. And that child does not count if it is the product of another male."

"What does that mean, then?"

"He was roaring about taking over the Northern Sector. But we cannot follow him; he is not the lead male. Not yet."

"But a cub will take months, even if we mated now! We can't wait that long! My sister is there! My mother is there!"

I had not even realised that I had lunged at the man, not until Bryce's arms grabbed me and held me off of the ground such that I flailed in the air. Then I broke into tears, and Bryce dropped me to the floor. My legs buckled beneath me.

"But Rory is Quince's cub! His first child! Doesn't that count for anything?" I choked, shaking my head fervently.

"It's not by blood. I have to give word to the council."

"After condemning my family, you can just turn your back to me and calmly leave to your unscathed home?" I spat, pushing myself onto wobbly feet. "You men are heartless monsters! I'll have Quince kill you!"

The man's eyes were blank.

"You think he would kill for you, the woman who slept with another lion?" My heart lurched into my throat. No... Why should he? "Much less, you think he would kill his own grandfather?"

So much for making a good impression on what remaining family Quince had...

Then the man shuffled back from whence he came, and Anne's hand was suddenly on my back as she rubbed what were supposed to be soothing circles.

But he was right. Quince didn't deserve this.

And if I left... He would be forced to mark another woman, and he would be forced to mate her. The pain would all but kill me, but he would have the family and title he deserved. Instead of just a slut of a mate.

"Anne, I'm going to go home," I whimpered, dragging myself to the door.

"Elaine, I don't know if you should—"

I wrapped my arms around her and effectively silenced her, save a quiet mumble that I couldn't hear.

"Thanks for taking care of me when I was just some outsider," I told her, forcing myself to let go before I talked myself out of things. My gaze drifted to Bryce, and he smiled.

"Quince is really lucky to have you, Elaine."

"Anne is really lucky to have you. Thanks for treating her like the angel she is."

He smiled. "Okay. Now, don't do anything stupid."

I only nodded, bid the girls and the boys goodbye, and hurried outside before they could realise what I was about to do. They would try to stop me, they were such good people. The best friends I could have.

Quince returned home a few hours later, and he looked so very tired (though he tried so painfully to hide it). He told me what I already knew. He apologised, ignoring the crying baby in his arms as he did so. I took Rory from him and put him in his crib.

"Has he said Dada?" he asked, watching the crib. "I've been practicing with him. He's almost there."

"Quince," I mumbled, reaching up and caressing his jaw with my hand.

A soft smile formed on his lips as he leaned toward me and kissed me softly.

"I love you, Elaine," he murmured. "I know things don't look good right now... But I'll do something."

"Quince, make love to me tonight." For the last time.