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Mates Since Birth
A Whispers Publishing Publication
February,8th 2013
Copyright © 2013, Miranda Stowe
Cover illustration copyright © (Elaina Lee)
ISBN Not Assigned
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web-without permission in writing from the publisher.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
Published by: Whispers Publishing, P.O. Box 1165, Ladson, SC 29456-1165.
Mates Since Birth
Miranda Stowe
A Whispers Publishing Publication
www.whispershome.com
For Ivy Bateman
Prologue
Fear lodged in seven-year-old Dane Griffin’s chest as he dashed through the dark night, bearing his jaguar form. His heart pounded a crazy tattoo against his ribs and leapt into his throat as an outside energy shimmered through him, beckoning him. He knew the life force that called for help, its frightened talons of distress reaching for Dane, clinging, begging. Yet the closer he rushed toward it, the weaker it became, its hold on him diminishing…dying.
Worried he might be too late, he skidded on his hind legs as he neared the back entrance of his nanny’s house, swiftly morphing into a naked boy so he could grasp the latch with a trembling five-fingered hand. Upon his entrance, the screams of his nanny, Jaycee, chilled his skin, propelling him toward the stairs.
He reached the second level moments later and scrambled for the bedroom she shared with her mate, Knox.
“Jesus Christ.” Knox’s anguished roar rent the air as Dane shoved open the door. “She’s in pain. Why aren’t you doing something?” The wolf shifter sat on the blood-drenched sheets next to Jaycee’s shoulder, gripping both her hands as he glared at Dane’s mother, who knelt between Jaycee’s bent and spread knees and worked frantically under a red-soaked sheet.
“Back off,” Dane’s father muttered with a scowl toward Knox. “This is Riley’s first time to midwife. A little patience, please.” He hovered at his wife’s elbow, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and a heavy layer of sweat coating his brow.
The four adults didn’t notice young Dane quivering in the doorway and he was too afraid to speak.
Knox growled, his wolf fur shimmering through his skin as his body vibrated with uncontrolled emotion. “I’ll practice patience the moment my female’s life is no longer in danger.”
“Sweet…” Jaycee panted in a frail voice. “Sweetheart, don’t…don’t yell at…” But she couldn’t finish the scolding. Her face contorted, draining of what little color it held, and her pupils dilated as she sucked in a gasp before screaming again.
“No!” Dane couldn’t contain himself a moment longer. Terror propelled him forward.
His father caught sight of him just in time to sweep out his arm and hook Dane around the middle, preventing the boy’s forward progress. “Damn it, Dane. What’re you doing here? Go home!”
“No.” He struggled against Shaw’s hold, needing to reach the thrashing woman.
He loved Jaycee. She was a second mother to him. He didn’t want her to die, almost as much as he didn’t want her baby to die.
“Get him out of here,” Knox boomed, pointing toward the doorway just as Jaycee’s contraction settled.
“No,” Jaycee rasped, letting go of one of Knox’s hands to reach for the boy. “It’s okay. Dane…” Her frail fingers stretched his way.
As soon as his father loosened his hold, Dane wiggled free and dashed to Jaycee, positioning himself at her side opposite the bed from Knox. Taking her proffered hand, he paused in front of the huge mound hidden under her soaked nightgown. Inside, her frightened baby whimpered, pleading for Dane’s help.
“Ari,” he whispered, setting his free hand atop the baby bump. Instantly the moving underneath his fingers ceased. Settled. “She’s scared,” he explained. “And fighting the pull.”
“What the fuck—” Knox exploded, rising to his feet as if to grasp the seven-year-old by the scruff of the neck and physically toss him from the room.
“No,” Riley commanded the soon-to-be father. “Just a minute now.” Keeping her hand held up in Knox’s direction, warding him away, she turned to her son. “Dane, can you calm the baby, assure her everything’s going to be fine?”
He nodded, knowing his touch was already doing just that. But he leaned close to Jaycee’s belly and spoke in a quiet murmur anyway. “It’s going to be okay. I know it’s scary but we all have to do this to be born. Don’t fight it, Ari.”
The female wasn’t even born yet, and he could already tell she was going to be a stubborn one. Not that her obstinacy mattered; he loved her anyway. Since the moment he’d sensed her life force growing inside Jaycee, he’d carried a connection with the fetus, feeling bonded to her in a way he couldn’t understand.
As he continued to murmur quietly and stroke Jaycee’s tightening abdomen, the baby inside heeded his suggestion. Though he could still feel her hesitation and fear, she tried with everything she had to go with the suction of her mother’s body, ejecting her through the birth canal.
Jaycee screamed again. Dane’s mother cursed as his father mopped at her damp face.
Knox began to sob. “I knew this was a bad idea. It’s not natural. Human women aren’t meant to birth shape-shifter babies. Oh God, Jaycee. I’m so sorry.” He buried his face against her neck and wrapped trembling arms around her. “Don’t die. Please don’t die.”
“There we go,” Dane’s mother said with sudden relief. She grinned as she lifted her face. “She’s crowning. I see her head. She has black hair…just like her daddy.”
A jolt passed through Dane as Jaycee began to laugh and cry simultaneously, gripping her husband’s head. “Did you hear that, Knox honey? She has your hair.”
Knox glanced up, looking dazed.
Dane couldn’t believe it either. Whenever he thought of the baby, he imagined a miniature Jaycee, blond-headed and blue-eyed. Still, it mattered nothing to him what she looked like. She’d still be his. He felt that much for certain, deep in his soul.
As he heard her calling out to him in his mind, he leaned closer to Jaycee’s belly. Ari remained scared; not even his presence could appease her any longer. Something kept her trapped inside.
“M-mama,” he spoke in a wobbly voice. “Hurry. She’s…something’s wrong. She can’t breathe.”
“It’s okay,” his mother assured, keeping her eyes on her task. “When Jaycee’s water broke, the amniotic fluid containing her air supply made her use her lungs in a different way.”
He shook his head. “No. This is different. Something… something’s wrapped around her neck.”
The adults perked to attention. “The umbilical cord?” Dane’s father asked his mother.
Rile
y paled and shook her head. “I don’t know. But we’re going to have to rush things. Shaw, give Jaycee another shot to numb the area. Knox…” She lifted her voice as she moved in deep toward the action. “You’re going to have to hold her tight to the bed. Dane, tell Ari to tuck her chin down and pull her hands and feet in as close to her body as possible.”
Dane set to his task, murmuring to the baby as Jaycee let out a scream to put her previous wails to shame. His hands began to shake. Tears leaked down his cheeks. If anything bad happened to Jaycee or Ari, he didn’t know what he’d do. His entire life had changed the moment Ari had reached out to him from her mother’s womb and managed to communicate with him.
“Don’t fight it,” he repeated. “You’ll make it through. Come to me, Ari.”
She did. Moments later, his mother gasped. Jaycee bowed up her body, digging her heels into the mattress and arching her neck back in unspeakable pain. Then, yes, there was a choked sputter before he heard the first tiny whimper, followed by a baby’s squawk.
She was born. His Ari had arrived. Jaycee’s hand lost its grip with Dane’s as she slumped back onto the bed. Focused on the newborn’s cry, he left her side and hurried around her bent knees to see the baby just as his mother lifted her for Shaw to swaddle in a waiting blanket. Her gooey miniature arms and legs flailing from a tiny body, she did indeed have a thick swath of dark hair.
His breathing grew clunky as his chest expanded with pride while his parents cut her umbilical cord and tied off the end. He wanted to reach out and grab her into his arms. He wanted to claim her that very moment.
But Knox’s strangled voice caught his attention. “Jaycee?” he rasped, his voice achy and desperate. “Oh God, sweetheart. Wake up. Wake up.”
“Shaw, I need you,” Riley commanded, her hands slippery with blood as she returned to Jaycee.
Dane’s father glanced around, looking helpless as he held the swaddled and bawling infant. Immediately, Dane held out his arms. A frantic Shaw thrust the little girl toward him. He accepted her eagerly, curling her close against his young chest.
Instantly, Ari stopped crying and turned her head his way as if sensing who he was.
“Dane,” his mother commanded in a stern voice. “Take her into the nursery. Now.”
He paused, clutching Ari tight as he glanced up at his nanny’s pale and prone face, her eyes shut and cheeks sunken in. “W-will Jaycee be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. Just go.”
He did. Once he and Ari reached the nursery, he took her to the changing table and laid her down so he could spread the blanket open and get a good look.
She was so small. A month premature, according to all the adults. But she was still perfectly formed, perfect in every way, except for the blood and slime covering her from head to toe.
Wanting it off, he morphed into his jaguar and swiped out his tongue, letting his animal instincts take over as he cleaned her, licking her spotless. Ari allowed the ministration for a while but grew fussy toward the end; he could feel her hunger pangs in his own belly as hers cramped, needing nourishment.
“Don’t worry,” he assured after flashing back into his human form so he could smooth his hand over her thick, dark hair and rewrap her. “Once your mommy’s better, she’ll give you a great big drink. Doesn’t that sound good?”
But no noise rolled down the hall, not even Jaycee’s screams. He picked Ari up and paced the floor with her, jiggling her to keep her happy. But she could feel his tension and fear, and grew upset.
He wasn’t sure how long he could honestly comfort her. What if Jaycee didn’t get better? What if she died?
Ari began to cry in earnest.
He panicked.
If his nanny died, who would take care of her baby? His Ari. He needed to look after her safety himself. He needed to ensure she stayed healthy. Alive.
Instinctively, he knew what to do.
Laying Ari back on the changing table, he rolled her tiny body onto its side, facing her away from him, and lowered her blanket just enough to expose her nape. After placing a brief kiss to the tender spot, he sank his teeth into her flesh, his jaguar canines growing just enough to impale.
Initially, she jerked and whined, but as he poured strength and life into her, she settled and relaxed, then cooed. When he retracted the fangs and licked the bite closed, she let out a little sigh and closed her eyes as if ready for a peaceful nap. Dane gathered her back into his arms, not fully comprehending what he’d done, simply knowing he’d fixed her for the time being.
Vaguely, he understood he’d bonded her life force to his. But that was okay with him; he already knew she was his. Physically biting her merely seemed like a symbolic act at this point. He didn’t regret it at all; it would ensure she wouldn’t immediately starve to death.
Ari slumbered against him, her cheek resting alongside his heartbeat as the two organs thumped in sync with each other. He watched her as he sat quiet in the nursery’s rocking chair, soaking in every feature of her delicate, newborn face. He felt calmer now that he’d taken measures to protect her. With his own energy now swirling inside her, she had a better chance of survival.
He’d just kissed her temple when Knox appeared in the doorway. “Where’s the baby?” he asked in a quiet, hushed voice. “Jaycee wants to see her.”
“Jaycee’s awake?” Dane asked, springing to his feet and waking Ari in the process. “Is she okay?”
Ari’s father nodded. “She’s weak, but I think she’ll be fine. Give me the baby.”
Dane resisted the urge to grip Ari tighter. A full-blood wolf shifter, Knox Roland was one scary male. Like Darth Vader, he could probably cut off Dane’s air supply by just looking at him.
Three-fourths human, Dane’s blood was so diluted, he knew he would never stand a chance against a full shape-shifter like Knox. Plus, Knox was Ari’s father. He couldn’t begrudge Ari her father, so he regretfully held the infant out, trying not to feel bereft when Knox scooped her up and paused a moment to stare in awe at her face.
“She’s so perfect,” he whispered, sounding stunned.
Of course she was perfect, Dane wanted to give the indignant mutter. How could his Ari be anything other than perfect? He bristled when Knox leaned down to nuzzle his nose against her cheek. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to be the only male to touch her, but even her own father’s attention chafed him raw, an abrasive irritation.
Knox barely grazed her delicate skin, however, before he paused and yanked back with a growl. His nose twitching, he slowly pinned an accusing stare on Dane.
“My God,” he whispered, sounding horrified. “What have you done, cub?”
Dane blinked, startled the wolf shifter had been able to smell the bond…but even more startled Knox did not look pleased by it.
“I-I-I protected her,” he said, feeling suddenly unsure of his actions.
Shouldn’t Knox be happy he’d taken measures to keep Ari safe? He knew a blood relative couldn’t bond with her; why wasn’t Knox pleased Dane had stepped in to help?
“You didn’t protect her,” Knox boomed, looking angry enough to slaughter Dane. “You just bonded with her. Do you even know what that means? You made her your mate.”
Dane blinked. He had?
Oh, well. His mother and father were mates. Knox and Jaycee were mates. Since he already knew Ari would always be his, he didn’t mind if she was his mate. And just because his mom and dad liked to kiss a lot and Knox and Jaycee were constantly hugging each other, didn’t mean he and Ari had to do anything gross like that. They would be the awesome kind of mates.
He shrugged, nonplussed by Knox’s explanation. “Okay.”
Knox fumed, his face growing red. “No,” he shouted, making Ari whimper. “It’s not okay. She’s much too young. You’re much too young. This is unnatural. It goes against everything a mate should be. You just doomed her…and yourself.”
“But how?” Dane asked. He hadn’t doomed her; he’d protected her, helped her.
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Hadn’t he?
“When you hit puberty and she’s still just a little girl, trust me, kid, you’ll know exactly how. Because I’ll be damned before I let you claim her before she’s of age.”
With that, he tucked Ari close and marched out of the room, fury vibrating out his every pore.
Chapter One
Twenty-five years later
Ari Fallow loved cats. Too bad cats hated dogs and she was about as canine as a wolf shifter could get. Shoving an irritating shock of dark hair out of her face, she once again held her hands up toward the lowest branch of the oak tree in her front yard, straining on tiptoes to reach the stuck kitten.
The feline laid its ears back flat and hissed at her, inching away on its precarious ledge.
“Oh, come on,” she muttered. “I don’t smell that much like a dog, do I?”
Damn it, she did.
With a frustrated rumble, Ari glared. If anything, her growl alarmed the tabby even more. Her new pet mewled out a pitiful yowl as it leapt up onto an even higher branch.
“Fine,” Ari muttered, setting her hands on her hips. “Be that way. You can sit up there and rot for all I care.” But she really did care. She wanted the stupid animal to at least like her.
Spinning away to huff toward the house, she paused only to pick up her purse and bag of groceries she’d spilled onto her front lawn the moment she’d spotted Whiskers trembling in the tree.
It was one thing to come home from work to find your cat stuck in a tree; it was another to be unable to win said cat’s love and affection. This had to be the twentieth kitten she’d picked up from the pound too; the nineteen before had run off, wanting to get as far away from her wolfy self as feasibly possible.
Clutching her possessions tight to her aching chest, she unlocked her front door and marched through the house, determined to forget about Whiskers, and his lack of adoration. Except, ugh, she craved a connection with the idiotic kitten.
Mates Since Birth (Half-breed Shifter Series) Page 1