Laura's Legacy

by Lilli Carlisle

  “I will, love, and Mary will be here soon to help.” Dedric didn’t know if he was trying to calm Laura or himself.

  “No she won’t,” Laura stated matter-of-factly as she began spreading a sheet underneath her patient. “She’s gone to the Soloman pack to pick up supplies.”

  Shit. He’d be making sure someone else took over those duties from now on, especially with the flow of pregnant women that would be in residence. Dedric took another handful of towels and set them beside Laura.

  Amirelle was panting heavily, fear evident in both her and Rion’s eyes. Laura was calm and centered; if she had any reservations she didn’t show them.

  “First we have to deliver the baby and stop the bleeding. Amirelle, I need you to concentrate on me at all times and we’ll have your beautiful baby delivered in no time.” Laura spoke calmly and sent that calm out into the group.

  Her legacy tattoo began to glow even brighter, bathing the area in her blue light. Several pack members gasped at the sight; not everyone had seen Laura use her legacy powers before. She lowered her head slightly and talked directly to the baby.

  “Hey there, little one. I need you to calm,” she cooed as she placed a hand on Amirelle’s belly. “Your parents are so excited to hold you.”

  Laura looked up at Amirelle and told her, “With the next contraction I need you to push.”

  His mate looked like a goddess, with her wild blonde hair and blue glow. It felt like she’d been touched by the gods, which in a sense, she had. Dedric could see those in the gardens praying for this small life to be born healthy. He was never prouder of his pack.

  Amirelle bared down and pushed, releasing a scream to the sky. Through it all Laura kept talking to the baby in calm, even tones. Dedric prayed his mate had learned enough in the other births when Mary was there to safely birth this one. To anyone else, Laura looked calm and sure, but Dedric could feel the stress and fear warring inside her.

  “Okay, the baby is almost here. One more push and we should have this beautiful boy delivered.” Laura reached up, took Amirelle’s hand, and squeezed it. “You’ll be able to rest soon.”

  That seemed to spark the mom-to-be into action. Her determination was something to be seen. Dedric was forever humbled by the strength of women, because if that were him he’d have passed out by now.

  Rion gently wiped the perspiration from his mate’s forehead and kept whispering loving words into her ear. It was easy to see their bond was strong. Dedric prayed that this didn’t end with either the baby or mom dying.

  Another contraction ripped through Amirelle’s body and she began pushing. Almost immediately, a small head was pushed out and the body slid right behind. The baby boy was bathed in the same blue glow of Laura’s legacy power, protected and healthy. Laura and a few of the other women of Dedric’s pack quickly cleaned and swaddled the crying little guy after tying and cutting his umbilical cord.

  Laura handed the precious bundle over to the parents who were both crying with relief and happiness. Dedric noticed Laura hadn’t stopped working. The placenta had delivered all as should be, but he could sense his mate was in a panic.

  “What is it?” Dedric asked. Perhaps he’d find a way to help.

  “She’s bleeding internally. I don’t know where but I have to stop it.”

  Dedric knew what his mate was going to do next without saying a word. She placed her hands on top of Amirelle’s stomach and began healing her. Slowly the small group noticed that something wasn’t quite right and all attention turned back to Laura. The new mother’s eyes began to close and her mate took hold of their son.

  “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Rion asked, his voice coming out as a growl causing Dedric to growl right back.

  “Enough,” Laura growled and both men backed down. “She’s hemorrhaging and I’m trying to repair it.”

  His mate reached for him and Dedric immediately gave her his hand. The blue light seemed to engulf his body before he felt the draw on his power. Minutes passed without either Laura or Amirelle moving. Dedric began to fear the worst. Suddenly, the draw on his power stopped and Amirelle opened her eyes. She was weak but she was alive.

  Laura opened her eyes and tried to move back but she had no energy to pick herself up. Dedric gathered his amazing mate in his arms and cradled her to his chest. She looked exhausted, and then it struck him that if she healed Amirelle, Laura took on her pain for a time.

  “I’ll get you to the house my love, just hold on,” Dedric murmured as he stood. He turned to his beta, Samson. “Can you handle this from here?”

  “Yes, Alpha,” Samson was quick to say, and with that assurance, Dedric turned away from the happy new family and carried his silent mate to their bed.

  “Say something, my mate. I’m beginning to worry.” Okay, so that was a lie—he’d been worried since this whole thing started.

  Laura gave him a small smile. “I’ll be okay in a little while. I need to rest.”

  “Are you in much pain?”

  “It’s fading quickly,” Laura responded. He knew that wasn’t an answer to his question but he’d let it go.

  “Promise me you’ll tell me if something’s wrong or if it doesn’t feel like it usually would when you heal someone, okay? I need to take care of you.” Dedric ran his scruffy chin over his love’s soft golden hair.

  “Promise I won’t keep anything from you. You’re my mate; it’s a given anyway,” Laura teased as Dedric opened their front door and walked in, heading directly for their bedroom.

  He laid her on the bed and took off her sandals before unbuttoning her stained sundress and removing it. Once he had Laura naked and cleaned, he pulled the blankets up over her and crawled in. There was no way in hell he’d leave his mate’s side at a moment like this. He would care for and protect her until she felt better.

  “Love you, my mate,” Dedric whispered as he pulled Laura into his arms.

  “Always love you,” she responded in a soft voice as she drifted off to sleep.

  Dedric lay awake for a long time, the day’s events replaying in his mind. He couldn’t understand why the gods would give his mate the ability to heal but make her suffer whenever she used it. It seemed unfair and cruel, but who was he to judge the gods?

  He would do everything in his power to make Laura as safe, comfortable and loved as she used her legacy powers for the wellbeing of all shifters.

  Chapter Eleven

  By early the next morning Laura was feeling more like herself and desperately wanted to share her happiness with her mate, who was still asleep. She’d talked with other women of the pack about ways she could pleasure her mate and she was ready to try out some of the suggestions.

  Laura slid her body over her mate’s, exhilarated by the feel of Dedric’s chest hair against her heated skin. She felt her mate’s hands rubbing her back and arched into them.

  “What are you doing, beautiful?” Dedric asked in his sleep-roughened voice that sent a thrill through her body.

  “Exploring what’s mine,” Laura half growled before running her extended canine over her mate’s hard nipple and making him hiss.

  “All yours,” he moaned, giving her the confidence she needed as she ventured further down his hard body.

  Laura had explored before but she’d always been tentative; not this time. Tentative was over. That realization came to her last night as she fought to save the young mother’s life. Their time on this plane of existence could be shortened in the blink of an eye and she didn’t want to miss a thing.

  She licked and kissed her way down his defined abdomen on to her final destination, Dedric’s hard cock. He’d given her so much pleasure since they’d been mated and she intended to do the same for him. The mated women in the pack shared with her what to do to accomplish that.

  Hovering above her prize, Laura looked up to find her mate staring at her with the golden eyes of his wolf. The tips of his canines were peeking out from under his top lip, showing how excited he was,
which made Laura smile, and brought out her own canines in response. She lowered her head, his scent intoxicatingly alpha male and all hers. Licking from the base of his cock to the tip brought Dedric’s hips off the mattress and assured her that what she was doing brought him pleasure.

  Careful of her canines, Laura took the head of his thick cock into her mouth and began licking the smooth flesh and into the slit at the tip. Dedric was groaning his approval, louder and louder as she went on enticing her to take more of him into her mouth. Taking him deeper, careful not to gag by going too far, she wrapped her hand around the base and began to pump up and down in time with her mouth.

  “Oh gods, mate…what you do to me,” Dedric moaned as he spread his legs wider, cradling Laura and giving her more room to explore.

  She reached with her other hand and gently massaged his heavy balls while continuing to suck on her prize. Laura was lost in a world of sensations. The need to have her mate come, mixing with her own increasing passion, drove her forward.

  Moments later she felt Dedric sit up and reach under her arms. He quickly lifted her so that she was straddling his hips before he dove in for a raw, needy kiss full of tongues and teeth. When they broke apart, Dedric lay down on his back and flexed his hips underneath her.

  “Put me in you, love, and ride me,” he moaned while rubbing his hard cock through her wet folds.

  They’d never made love this way before but Laura quickly figured out what her mate wanted. She lifted herself onto her knees, lined the head of his cock with her core, and slowly slid down until Dedric was buried deep inside her. Both were panting by the time she stopped. She took a moment to feel his hard shaft opening her wide and rubbing all those sensitive nerves, which sent sparks of desire through her body.

  “Move, love,” Dedric groaned and Laura was all too eager to comply.

  Slowly at first she raised herself up on her knees and then back down. The more she did it the more she got into a rhythm and soon she was riding him hard and fast. The room filled with moans and cries of ecstasy; their canines were bared and their eyes shone bright with their wolves.

  Dedric grabbed onto Laura’s waist and began pumping himself in and out of her. She flew as her orgasm overtook her. The walls of her vagina squeezed tight around her mate’s cock, making him struggle to move until he came deep inside her. The warmth filled Laura body and spirit. She felt sure she’d given her mate as much pleasure as she could.

  Laura collapsed down onto Dedric’s chest gasping for air, her body tingling from head to toe. After a few moments, Laura opened her eyes and she snuggled further into her mate’s arms. She gazed lazily at Dedric’s mating tattoo. It was stunning, as was hers, and she couldn’t help but admire it. Laura watched Dedric’s tattoo begin to change. One of the eight small buds was opening.

  She sat up and looked at her own mating tattoo and sure enough, it had done the same on hers. Dedric seemed to catch on quickly as he looked between his arm and hers.

  “We’re…pregnant?” Dedric asked more than stated.

  “I believe we are,” Laura whispered, as if saying it any louder would make it not real. “We’re having a baby.”

  Laura watched as the emotions played across her mate’s handsome face. Shock, excitement, happiness and then pride. He reached up and wrapped his arms around her before rolling them both until she was on her back. She couldn’t help but smile like a loon. She was pregnant.

  “Thank you, my mate, for such a precious gift. I swear to you I’ll be a great father. My child will want for nothing and will be safe growing up within our pack,” Dedric promised as if trying to convince Laura of his worth.

  “I know you will. Our children will be fortunate to have such a strong father and pack.”

  “They’ll be even more fortunate to have you, my mate, as their mother,” Dedric stated with conviction.

  They lay there staring into each other’s eyes, lost in the moment, until Laura’s stomach broke into their happy little bubble and made it known: she was hungry.

  “You didn’t eat supper last night. Again. You have to eat,” Dedric chided before he released her, stood and lifted her up. “Time to have a shower, my love, and then I’ll make you a big breakfast.”

  Through it all Laura smiled knowing that now that she was pregnant Dedric would be even more concerned about her health, if that were even possible.

  Ceva appeared in the living room, making Gabi scream. “Warn a girl when you’re popping in like that.”

  Ceva laughed and sat down on the couch next to Laura and Jennifer. “What would be the fun in that?”

  Gabi grumbled as she walked back into the kitchen, something about “fun” and “ass.” Ceva didn’t seem offended. In fact, she seemed like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Well, you’re looking good,” Laura commented. She hadn’t seen Ceva since her return to Black Ridge a few days after her daughter’s birth.

  “I feel great. Motherhood agrees with me,” she announced. “I feel as though we are finally a family.”

  Laura couldn’t wait to hold her little one, but that would be nine long months away.

  “Where is your little one?” Lily asked as she sat down in the chair across from them.

  “Home with her daddy. I swear she’s going to be daddy’s little girl at the rate this is going. She cries, he’s there. She’s hungry, he’s there. She makes the slightest noise from her crib, and he’s there. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Ceva laughed and Laura knew she was happy. “But talk of me is not why we’re together today, is it?”

  “No it isn’t. I have something to show all of you if Gabi would get her butt back in here.” Laura raised her voice so that Gabi could hear her from the kitchen.

  “I’m coming.” Gabi laughed as she ran in and took a seat.

  Once everyone had settled Laura removed the cardigan she’d been wearing to hide her mating tattoo. One by one, her three friends figured out what was different.

  “Oh my gods, you’re pregnant,” Lily cheered as she stood and raced toward her.

  Soon she was surrounded by hugging women and tears were flowing. Laura could feel the love pulsing through the room. “We’re going to announce it to the pack later today, but I wanted to tell you four first.”

  “This is wonderful, Laura,” Jennifer gushed. “The pack will be so happy.”

  “How long have you known?” Gabi asked.

  “The bud opened this morning.”

  Ceva looked at her closely before saying, “You have questions.”

  “Yes, about how my pregnancy could be affected by my legacy. Is there any danger to my baby?” Laura wasn’t sure what to do if Ceva said yes. Would they have to take nine months off? What about all the women that needed her help? Though, she’d never put her baby in danger.

  Ceva smiled as if she could read all the worries floating around in Laura’s head. Maybe she could. “You have nothing to fear, my friend. Your grandmother went through multiple pregnancies while still using her legacy powers to help other women.”

  “What about healing people and the pain it causes me?” Laura didn’t want her unborn baby to suffer any of the pain she did.

  “Pain? What pain?” Jennifer asked. Laura had completely forgot she didn’t know the truth about her healing and its side effects. Thankfully, Gabi and Lily already knew.

  “I suffer a certain amount of pain every time I heal someone,” Laura explained, figuring she might as well get it all out as quickly as possible. She was more interested in Ceva’s answer. “You cannot tell anyone, swear it.”

  “I swear, and I’ll do my best to assist you in any way I can,” Jennifer agreed.

  Laura turned her attention back to Ceva. “I don’t want my baby to suffer.”

  Ceva smiled reassuringly. “Your baby is safe. Your grandmother had the same gift of healing as you and she suffered through the pain as well. During your pregnancy you will suffer no pain from healing others.”

  “It stops,
just like that?” Laura was skeptical; she’d suffered that pain her entire life. It couldn’t simply vanish. Could it?

  “Just like that,” Ceva assured while snapping her fingers. “The gods would never make your unborn children pay the price of your powers.”

  Pay the price, what price?

  Laura was about to ask when Dedric walked in. “Unborn children? Are we talking about our baby?”

  “Yep,” she replied before Dedric picked her up and sat her in his lap, arms wrapped protectively around her and their baby.

  “I was saying that she wouldn’t have any pain healing people while pregnant. The gods would never allow a child to suffer for your legacy.”

  “What do you mean ‘for her legacy?’” Dedric asked as if reading Laura’s mind.

  “I’ve done this all wrong. I should have told you after your mating ceremony but then I started having contractions and you know what happened from there. Afterward, it completely slipped my mind,” Ceva explained. “Your legacy is in response to a curse two dark sister witches placed on all wolf shifters hundreds of years ago.”

  “A curse? Why would dark witches place a curse on all of us?” Lily asked, looking a bit pale.

  “Revenge, pain, suffering, all things dark witches thrive on. But this was brought on by heartache, plain and simple. Ethne was the one who initiated the curse but she didn’t have enough power to pull it off. Therefore, she dragged her sister, Ula, into it. Both sacrificed a part of themselves to make the curse hold. Ethne, her eyes; Ula, her leg. But still they couldn’t make the curse affect the entire population, so we never know which mothers will give birth with no issues and the ones that need help.”

  “You said my legacy was in response to this curse. What do you mean?” Laura asked.

  “Your ancestors volunteered to be the ones used as an answer to the crisis our people were facing. Babies were dying at an alarming rate. Your line has been blessed and cursed.”

  Laura didn’t like the sound of that and burrowed further into her mate’s hold. “Cursed?”

  “Yes.” Ceva looked guilty and a light bulb went off in Laura’s head.