Out of the Ashes

by L. A. Casey

  “No!” she cried, and to me, she said. “Truly?”

  I bobbed my head. “Surkah confirmed it.”

  She gasped and looked at her daughter, a lingering question in her violet eyes.

  “Scent her, Mother,” my sister-in-mate encouraged. “If you do not believe your eyes or Nova’s words, believe your nose.”

  Not a second after the words left Surkah’s mouth, the Hailed Mother nudged Surkah’s hands off my stomach then pressed her face against the base of my exposed stomach. If she had been anyone else, I’d have smacked the daylights out of her for putting her nose so close to my nether region, but being that she was the Hailed Mother of the people, I could do nothing but lay deathly still and allow her to do whatever it was that she wanted to.

  “Thanas,” she stated after she inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times. “I can scent offspring. It is a mixed scent, but that must be because she is human.”

  “Actually,” I piped in, “it might also be because I’m carrying twins. A male and a female.”

  The Revered Father tipped his head back and let out a roar—of what I now knew was delight thanks to Surkah’s explanation on Maji roars—and he was quickly mimicked by the Hailed Mother who put her arms around me and hugged my stomach to her face as she spoke her thanks to Thanas. It was such a bizarre moment to be sharing with two people, but I put myself in their shoes and looked at it from their point of view. They had just recently found out their son had found his fated mate when the last Maji to do so died on the old Maji home world. Not only was I pregnant from their son and would make them grandparents for the first time, but I was also carrying twins, a male and female. Proof that humans really were compatible with Maji. They had just been informed that the Maji’s gamble to save us humans to save their species was a gigantic success.

  There would be future generations of Maji, and my two babies would be a huge part of that.

  “Send for Kol!” the Hailed Mother demanded as she jumped to her feet. “Right now.”

  “Already done, moonlight.” The Revered Father smiled before he looked at me and aided me in getting to my feet from the sofa. “Do you still require your space from Kol?”

  I managed to laugh as I readjusted my clothing. “No, I think we have had more than enough.”

  He grinned. “My mate is not my fated mate, but she is my sun, my moons, and my sky. Kol’s feelings for you must be double what mine are for my mate, so I cannot imagine how he is able to force himself to be away from you.”

  I felt like I was suddenly sucker punched, and I lost my smile.

  “It’s my fault,” I admitted. “I told him to give me space, or he’d never see me again.”

  The Revered Father nodded. “May I request why?”

  “Because,” I said, my shoulders slumping. “I didn’t want him to want me just because the glow in his eyes was telling him to. It’s like he craves my body, but not me. Does that make sense?”

  “You wished to test his restraint?” he quizzed. “To prove that his heart wants you and not his body?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “And do you not feel he has done that already?”

  “I do. I truly do,” I instantly answered. “But it’s not that simple now that I’m pregnant. Things changes things, and I don’t want him to think I want us just to be together now because I’m having his babies.”

  “He will not think that,” the Revered Father assured me. “Maji do not think like you humans.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “I guess … I guess I’m just nervous. We’ve been apart for weeks, and I’m now about to hit with my pregnancy news.”

  “He will rejoice,” the Hailed Mother said, and Surkah nodded in agreement.

  I looked back at the Revered Father and then at his mate.

  “Congratulations,” I said to them. “You’re going to be grandparents.”

  “Grandparents.” The Hailed Mother trembled.

  “I’m going to be a grandfather.” Her mate beamed.

  I felt almost as happy for them as for me and Kol. “You are.”

  “Thanas blesses us,” he said.

  I jumped when the Hailed Mother suddenly growled. “Kol has rejected to come and see his female; he said he informed her that when he saw her next, she would have to come and seek him.”

  I paused, remembering that he said those very words.

  “That’s fine,” I told her. “He wants me to be sure about when I come to him. I am very sure, so tell me where he is and I’ll go to him.”

  “He is in the dining hall with his brothers.”

  I raised a brow. “All of them?”

  The Hailed Mother nodded. “They were sparring, and after they cleanse, they eat, so they’re all together.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “Everyone can find out together about the babies. Will you bring me to him?”

  The words barely left my mouth before the Hailed Mother took my hand and whisked me out of Surkah’s wing, down multiple hallways, and eventually into a huge dining hall. I was thankful to my mother-in-mate for not pausing on our journey here; it meant I didn’t have to focus on what I was about to do because I knew if I overthought it, I would freak out. I wouldn’t run, though; I was done running. I would just probably freak out in the one spot.

  My eyes found Kol right away; he was sitting at a huge table with his back to me. All his brothers were seated at the same table. Some saw us enter the room, and some didn’t. Other tables in the hall were occupied by servants who were retaking their seats and continued to eat their food after they bowed to myself and the other royals behind me.

  Kol.

  Silence then a quiet, Yes, my shiva?

  My heart warmed. Come to me.

  No, he replied. If you want me, you come to me.

  I smiled as I stared at the back of his head.

  “Kol,” I called.

  He didn’t turn around, and that ticked me off because I knew he could hear me. I knew he sensed me the second I stepped into the dining hall. He always told me how attuned to my body he was, so I didn’t believe for a second that he couldn’t hear me.

  “Kol,” I called out again. “I will go to the nearest male and request his assistance if you do not give me yours in the next five seconds.”

  He didn’t budge.

  “Are you going to make me count?”

  When he remained still with his back to me, I deadpanned and opened my mind to him.

  You’re going to make me count. Fine.

  “Fine,” I huffed. “Five, four, three, two and a half … two … one … one and a quarter… one … half of one … I’m getting really close to zero, sweetheart.”

  I saw Mikoh, who was next to Kol, grin at him, clearly amused by my actions.

  With a grunt, I turned, and locked my eyes onto the male closest to me, and it just so happened to be Aza, Kol’s younger brother. The male was walking towards his parents, but he froze to the spot when he realised that I approached him with a bright smile on my face. He kept flicking his eyes back and forth from me to Kol who I knew was now standing and walking in my direction based on Aza’s behaviour. The closer he got, the more nervous Aza became.

  I slowly reached out with the intent to place my hand on Aza’s shoulder, but a hand came from over my shoulder and clasped my wrist, halting my movements.

  “You’d touch another male in front of me?” Kol growled from behind me, and I’d be a no-good liar if I said his vibrations didn’t go straight to my clit.

  “Didn’t leave me much of a choice, did you, mate?”

  He moved closer to me, and the second I felt the hardness of his chest brush off my shoulders, I shuddered as tingles broke out over my body. Kol inhaled then growled violently.

  “My torture arouses you?”

  Oh, damn.

  “No,” I said firmly, “your bossiness does.”

  Aza snorted but looked down when Kol growled in his direction. His lips were still turned up in a grin, though, and it made m
e chuckle. He respected Kol, and I knew he knew deep down that Kol would never truly harm him.

  “Nova,” Kol almost snarled. “I have not got the patience for you right now. I cannot be rational. Your arousal is making things very hard.”

  I reached back and grazed his very hard cock with my hand.

  “I can tell.”

  He hissed as he turned me in his direction. I knew what he was about to do, but I stopped him from flinging me over his shoulder just in time, and he glared down at me because of it.

  “What are you—”

  “I don’t want to go over your shoulder, not for a few more months anyway.”

  Kol’s brows furrowed. “Explain.”

  I glanced around the room and saw we were the focus of everyone. I wasn’t going to hide it from them; it was just as much their news as it was mine. I reached down, gripped the hem of my top, and pulled it up, exposing my barely swollen pregnant belly to Kol and everyone else. I heard gasps, but I didn’t smile until Kol’s eyes widened. He staggered back a little, the shock of what I revealed clearly overwhelming him.

  “Nova, you’re … you’re …”

  “Pregnant,” I finished with a nod. “Yep. It’s your fault, too.”

  “My fault?” Kol repeated, his focus on my belly.

  He blinked his eyes a couple of times as if they were tricking him. I reached for his hand, and he absentmindedly gave it to me then stumbled forward a little when I took hold of it and tugged. I flattened his hand over my small but hardened tummy and looked up at him.

  “It’s kind of a double whammy pregnancy.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked, his eyes locking on mine.

  “It means,” I said with a little shrug, “you’ve got super sperm.”

  Kol continued to look at me in confusion, so I laughed and said, “There are two of them in there. Twins. A boy and a girl to be exact. Surkah confirmed it.”

  Kol’s eyes filled with emotion, but he quickly blinked any evidence away.

  “This is a gift,” he breathed. “Thanas has blessed us.”

  I smiled. “It appears so.”

  “The three of you,” he rasped, “are mine.”

  “Is that so?” I mused.

  He growled, his hold on me tightening. “It is.”

  “Good.” I smiled. “Because if there is ever an inch of space between us ever again, it would be too much.”

  Kol swooped me up in his arms, and with the laughter and cheers of our family, he ran from the room and didn’t stop until we entered our wing and eventually our bedrooms. A room we had not shared together for too long.

  “I feel like I am dreaming,” Kol blurted when he set me down gently on our bed. “This is everything I have ever wanted.”

  “Me too,” I said, my voice tight with emotion. “I never believed I’d have what I have with you.”

  “What do we have, Nova?”

  I leaned my forehead against his after he kneeled before me.

  “We have love, my mate.”

  Kol squeezed his eyes shut. “You accept our mating? You believe I love you truly?”

  “I do, and I am so sorry for doubting you. I thought our love, for you, was because of your physical reaction to me. I didn’t understand.”

  “It is hard to explain, so I know it is hard to understand,” Kol said, brushing hair back from my face. “I want you, Nova. My heart wants you, my body wants you, all of me wants you. I breathe for you, my heart beats for you, blood runs through my veins, and cock, for you?”

  “You’re so romantic.”

  “Nova!” Kol growled, not amused.

  I chuckled. “I love you, Kol.”

  He blinked. “Repeat that.”

  “I love you, Kol.”

  I felt emotion surge through him, and he growled.

  “I tell you I love you, and you growl at me?” I teased.

  His face was still a mess of emotion, but his eyes gleamed with amusement.

  “You like it when I growl at you,” he said, growling for good measure.

  My clit pulsed with an empty ache.

  “I definitely do,” I groaned. “Good, I hurt so bad for you.”

  Kol almost snarled as he plastered himself against me.

  “You truly love me?” he asked. “And not just because you’re carrying my young?”

  “I loved you before I knew I was pregnant, and I love you now that I know I’m pregnant.

  “Before?” he growled. “You truly loved me but wished to stay away from me. Why?”

  His anger was expected.

  “Because”—I frowned—“I didn’t want this whole fated mate thing to be your focus. I wanted you to love me for me, not because some instinct was telling you to.”

  Sadness lurked in Kol’s eyes.

  “It does not work like that,” he said. “I could hate you, but as my true mate, I’d still crave your touch. Having a true mate does not mean instant love; it means an instant bodily bond. Love is an … extra to being a mate. If you love your mate, you will love them until you breathe your last breath. It is forever binding, both body and soul. I will never look at another female and feel sexual desire. I will never consider any other female for anything other than friendship, and if you do not want that, then I will never speak to another female ever again.”

  My heart thudded against my chest.

  “What about your sister?” I tested.

  I’d never go through with asking him not to talk to other females; he could befriend whomever he wanted to because I knew he’d be coming home to me. I was curious to see if he was serious, and testing him with his sister was my go-to card because I knew he adored her. Surkah was precious to him.

  Kol eyes widened, and I saw his pain as he said, “If you wish it, I will not speak to my sister again.”

  I felt my jaw drop. “You’re serious?”

  He nodded.

  “I love Surkah with all my heart, and you love her with all of yours. I’d never come between you, and you don’t need my permission on who you befriend, Kol. You’re my mate, not my property.”

  Tears filled Kol’s eyes.

  “I’m your mate?” he whispered. “Truly?”

  “You’re my fated mate, my male, my pain in the ass.” I smiled. “You’re all mine.”

  He closed his eyes and began to breathe heavily.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been so … difficult,” I said, “but I had to know for sure. I was afraid what we had wasn’t real. I was so scared this mate bond was just about sex, and I couldn’t be with you when I loved everything about you while you just loved my body.”

  Kol cupped my face in his hands, and he reopened his eyes.

  “Our love is very real,” he assured me. “You’re my everything.”

  I smiled and reached up and took hold of his wrists. I placed his hands on my belly and covered them with my own.

  “We are your everything.”

  “Yes,” Kol rumbled. “The three of you are mine. I just cannot believe we’re going to have little ones.”

  I kissed him before he broke it seconds later.

  “I promise not even death will part us, Nova. You own my heart and soul for all of eternity. I am yours.”

  “Mine,” I whispered. “And I am yours.”

  “Forever.”

  I intertwined our fingers. “Forever.”

  I had never felt happier, and from the look on Kol’s face, neither had he … but then his face fell.

  “What?” I asked, knowing he heard something through his comm. “Kol, what is it?”

  “The Earth,” he began, nervously flicking his eyes towards me. “It has imploded.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath, and with a strangled cry, I leaned into Kol’s embrace and wrapped myself around him, taking the comfort he offered. I felt my heartbeat in my ears and pain in my chest.

  “I am so sorry, shiva.”

  I hugged him tighter. “It’s really gone?”

  “Yes,” Kol answered,
pulling back slightly to look at my face. “It is gone.”

  Tears fell from my face.

  “I don’t know why I’m crying so much; I had a horrible life on Earth.”

  My mate brushed away my tears. “You still had some good times on Earth. You had a good family there, and the life you led turned you into the brave female you are today.”

  “Ealra is my home now.” I pressed my forehead to his. “You are my home.”

  “And you are my everything, my shiva.”

  Kol pressed his hands against my stomach, and I covered them with mine, and together, we basked in the news of our pregnancy. My mate was right; Earth made me into the woman I was today, and in a way, I had Earth to thank for bringing Kol into my life. Myself, other human women on Ealra, and even on Terra, would represent Earth always … and we now had a chance to clear her name and restore honour to our planet with our future actions.

  Earth might have been no more, but out of the ashes, a new generation of Maji and humans would be born.

  Book number eleven finished? Check!

  What a rollercoaster of emotions writing OUT OF THE ASHES was! This was my very first book in the Science Fiction Romance genre—a genre that I love to read—and I hope that you guys have enjoyed it, because I loved writing it.

  I have to thank my girls, Yessi and Mary, for being the best friends, and best support system, a person could ever ask for. I love you ladies all the way to Ealra and back.

  Jill, my superwoman, thank you so much for your patience with me. It’s not easy being my PA, but you’re so awesome at your job that it makes me incredibly glad that you stick around and put up with me.

  Editing4Indies, thank you for dealing with my pretty shocking schedule when it comes to sending you manuscripts. You’re one in trillion, Jenny. I appreciate you so much.

  Mayhem Cover Creations, thank you for creating a cover that is truly out of this world.

  JT Formatting, thank you for making my words look pretty. You're a star, Julie.

  Mark, for being a brilliant agent, and not losing your mind when it took me forever to send you the manuscript for OUT OF THE ASHES.

  My readers, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking a chance on Kol and Nova’s story. If you liked their journey, stick around for future books in the Maji series, because I’ve whole lot in store for these two species :)