Piper was curled on the seat of the airplane, her feet resting in Anson’s lap. They were flying first class again. She had a drink by her elbow and Anson was asleep, his head tilted back.

It was Saturday and they had finally decided to go home. Piper didn’t want to. She had decided that her plan to live in Vegas was much better than going home to the cold and chaos that awaited her. Between laughing and drinking in front of slot machines and lounging by the pool, Anson had kept her apprised of the escalations at home.

Her parents had received a call threatening them. They’d moved into a hotel at King’s insistence. “Babe, I’m covering the expense. They’re family.” She’d tried to argue they could pay for their own hotel, or she could, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

Both Tristan and Darius had been in touch, responding to KSI as soon as they were contacted. Both men said their caller was agitated and angry. Piper could almost understand his frustration. Whoever he was, he had an idea in his head of how things were supposed to go. She was screwing up all of his plans. Anson too.

There was something different this time. Piper wasn’t afraid for herself. She was still afraid for her family, they were innocent. But she wasn’t afraid for herself. After five days with Anson, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would stand in front of a train for her. He was like her second skin. Always there, always protecting her. He moved around her, always shielding her even if there wasn’t a threat.

After just a few days, she was used to it. She felt comforted by it. More importantly, she needed it. Piper had made a decision. Her home was no longer a safe space. She needed to move. But now she had more than herself to think about. That thought gave her seriously warm feelings now. The man next to her, he was all she could have ever wished for, and he was hers.

When she mentioned she didn’t want to go home, he was thrilled. He said he’d have her stuff packed and moved to storage. Piper had wanted to go back to get her personal items and he said she could as long as he had at least two KSI members available to keep watch. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Anson said that as soon as she wanted, they could go house hunting. Piper didn’t know if she wanted a house. That seemed like a lot of responsibility. It was just the two of them, how much space did they need? His eyes twinkled at her when she’d said that. Damn him, he was just as bad as his parents. Then again, Piper’s parents weren’t going to be any better once they found out about him. Knowing that she didn’t have to sleep on her couch when they got home was a relief.

“Baby, you never have to sleep alone again.”

Those words were almost as good as ‘I love you’ to her ears. She never had to stay awake afraid of what went bump in the night.

They were about an hour out from Seattle and Piper couldn’t sleep. Using her time to stare at her husband, she let her mind wander to planning. Plans that she had told herself she’d never indulge in again. Home, family, future. She was ticking off that list quickly. Without thinking, she reached her hand up and traced her mate mark at the neck of her shirt.

Anson’s eyes popped open and sought her. “Babe?”

“Sorry, I forget,” she said quietly.

“It’s okay. Was I snoring?”

“Not this time.”

“Baby, I’m a bear, we can’t help it.”

“Pfft, we’re getting one of those adjustable beds when we get back.”

“Whatever you want,” he said with a yawn.

“Anson, do you really want babies?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? Strong little girls that look like you? Smart little boys that look like me?”

“But, I mean do you want them right now?”

Anson sat up straight. “Don’t you want them?”

“I do, I love kids. I guess most couples always make a plan on when that happens. They have to factor in money, work, a lot of different things.”

“Okay, well, money isn’t a problem. I’ve got plenty of money. You make a great salary. I didn’t think you would want to quit your job, but if you did, it wouldn’t change our lifestyle. Work is the same. My job takes me out of the state and the country, but we both have family close by and we have the Clan. There is never a problem finding babysitters. What else is there?”

Piper tried to think of something. She loved him, he loved her. There was only one fly in their ointment.

“It’s just not safe right now,” she said.

Anson sighed. “You’re right. But the Great Mother knows when it’s the best time. If we leave it up to her, I think that we will find that things will work out exactly how they should. Or we could try to ask the Crone, not that she would give me a straight answer.”

Piper had heard the term Crone before. She always thought it was a cruel sounding name, even though the Kindred said it with such reverence.

“She’d know if we were having children? And when? And why would you call her a crone? Isn’t that a mean name? It sounds so… witch in the woods.”

“The Crones of ancient times were the healers, the spiritual guides, the ones that spoke and guided the Clans. It’s an honor to be a Crone and we respect them. They don’t mind the name so much.”

“But how? How do they know all these things? Know who should be together?”

“We’re not exactly sure how it works. They may just take really good notes about people and gossip together for info. Most Kindred truly believe they have a connection to the Great Mother. That connection means we trust their words and their wisdom.”

“I don’t know if I want them looking into such a personal thing.”

“Then we can play it by ear?”

“I guess. I just don’t want to bring a child into a place of danger.”

“I’m handling that. Luca is picking us up. We’re being chauffeured to my place. I apologize in advance. It’s not much, but it’s temporary. We’ll continue your escorts to work. Eden has agreed to relieve your assistant for a few days. We want to keep up appearances that you aren’t changing your patterns. But we don’t want you not covered in the office.”

“Poor Eden, she’ll be bored to tears,” Piper moaned.

“No, she will get into character and enjoy the hell out of it. She’s been on babysitting duty most of the year. This will be a nice break.”

“Babysitting?”

“We cover Bliss Hartley when she’s on tour.”

Piper sat up straight in her seat. “Bliss Hartley? Seriously?” she asked excitedly.

“Not you too,” Anson groaned.

“She’s great! I’ve never seen her in concert, though.”

“Well, she’s nicer on television than she is in person. She’s got your problem times ten.”

Piper gave a shudder. “I bet there are lots of creepy people after her.”

“We keep her safe. That’s our job.”

“Eden usually does that?”

“We have a team, but she manages it. Zion is giving her a break for a while.”

“Oh man, I’d love to meet her.”

“If she comes to Seattle, I’m sure I can get you tickets.”

Piper made a happy noise then attempted a cabbage patch dance at her seat.

“Dork,” Anson said, dropping his head back with a grin.

“Whatever. I like her.”

“Good, you and Nadia can bond. She drives us nuts with that stuff.”

“What’s Nadia’s deal?”

Anson gave a shrug. “She’s been with us for years. She was the only human that didn’t run scared during the interview.”

“You didn’t want a Kindred doing that job?”

“Sure, but we found humans get nervous when they’re outnumbered.”

Piper made a snorting sound, but it wasn’t untrue. She could only imagine the interview with King and who knows who else. Big hulking bears looking scowly and displeased.

“She seems tough,” she agreed.

“She is. Our job can be tough but she’s never cracked under the pressure.”

“Must be nice.”

Anson sat up then and faced her. “Listen, you can’t compare Nadia doing her job to you being harassed for years. You’ve been tough, you’ve handled your shit and you should be proud of that. Not once have you backed down from this. Piper, you keep standing up for your right to your life and that makes you the strongest person out there.”

“You might be the best cheerleader I’ve ever seen,” she said to him in a mock dreamy voice.

“I’m not wearing any weird outfits so you can get your kink on.”

“Hah, if I wanted to get my kink on, I’d tell you to join me in the bathroom. Mile-high club and all.”

Anson sat back again. “I’m not getting stuck in an airplane bathroom just so you can try that. That’s what private planes are for.”

“Hmm, flying private. I like that.”

“Something to look forward to. Now, why don’t you close your eyes and get some sleep?”

“Nah, I’ll just sit here and stare at you.”

“Sounds good, wake me when we land.”

“Asshole,” she said quietly.

“Okay, night.”

Piper huffed happily. He was fun to play with. He made her forget about her worries and more importantly helped her get out of her own head. His jerky state seemed to be a way to shield her from her own thoughts. It worked, so she wasn’t going to give him shit about it.

Settling back, she tried to keep her eyes on her mate, but the impending shift back to reality had her seeking the blanket of sleep where there weren’t boogeymen hiding in the shadows.