Mated & Blooded, A Blood Ties Novel, Book 1

by Kalalea George

“just like that” She smiled again and I too smiled back at her.

  I sat down next to her and patted her hand. I could tell my daughter was nervous and I wanted to comfort her even though technically she wasn’t in any pain

  “I would imagine if this is similar to a typical wolf birth things should move along pretty quickly. As soon as your men can stop nagging the doctor he should be able to check your dilation and give us an idea of timing.”

  No sooner had the words left my mouth then the doctor walked over to the bed.

  “Well now young lady, I am going to need to take a look and see how we are doing down there”

  He looked at Kalli and waiting for acknowledgment before lifting the bottom of the sheet. I could tell that Lucas was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Nikoli and the old vampire seeing her private parts, so I moved beside the doctor and blocked their view.

  Nikoli realized immediately what I had done and I was surprised when he asked Kenyan to move to the other side of the room so that he wouldn’t have a clear visual line to Kalli’s birth canal. Lucas looked over at Nikoli and nodded. Kenyan harrumphed but moved quickly towards Kalli upper half.

  I was surprised that Lucas allowed Nikoli to stay and watch the doctor examine Kalli. If I didn’t think he’d been sexually active with her before I was convinced now. The doctor made a couple of Hmms and Umms then finally said

  “Well, you are much further along than I would have guessed. In fact you are already ten centimeters dilated and should start pushing”

  The old vampire clapped his hands in what I would have to guess was excitement

  “Excellent” he boomed out loud

  “Now we shall see what type of babies these are”

  Nikoli and Lucas both moved to Kalli’s sides and took one of her hands. Then the doctor commanded she push and Kalli pushed. I lost track of time as I found myself rhythmically following the commands and pushes. Suddenly I watched as a tiny little blue head crowned out of the birth canal then sucked back in. I gasped and blurted out

  “No, what happened why did it just go back in” the doctor laughed and said

  “Easy now, Kalli push and let’s get this pup out”

  Kalli pushed again and this time the pups head and shoulders cleared her birth canal. The doctor looked quickly at the baby and handed him to me.

  He was beautiful and perfectly normal healthy little babe. His ears, skin color and texture were perfect. I found myself weeping in joy. I managed to say out loud

  “It a boy and he looks perfect”

  I wrapped him in a blanket and handed him to his father. I then moved back to the doctor to wait for the next one. We’d done an ultra sound and knew Kalli was having triplets. Again the doctor said

  “Now Kalli, push hard now” and I watched in amazement as the babies shoulders cleared her birth canal. Again the doctor looked over the baby then handed her to me. I again checked her ears, skin texture and gums.

  She was perfect. I said out loud.

  “It a girl and she’s perfect too” then I wrapped her in a blanket and laid her on her mother’s chest.

  I again returned to the doctor’s side. The next babe was already coming out. Again the doctor said

  “This is it Kalli, last time. I promise, push for me”

  I watched as the babe pushed clear of the birth canal. I watched as the doctor looked at him then slowly passed him to me. I looked down and saw his pointy little ears and I knew. I knew he was different than his sister and brother. I felt his skin and knew it was cooler than the other babies, I opened his mouth and saw he already had little nubs where his fangs would grow. I wrapped him in a blanket walked towards his father and said.

  “It’s another boy and he’s perfect, absolutely perfect and it looks like he is going to take after his mother.”

  I couldn’t help a small tear from slipping down my face. He wasn’t going to have the easiest of lives but he was perfect and I knew that he would be loved as much as his siblings.

  Chapter 42

  (Kenyan’s POV)

  It was hard to believe that it had been over five years since last I visited with Kalli and Nikoli. Their life was a strange one but I was always amused and pleased after I spent time with them and the BlueRidge wolf pack. I was returning because Kalli was expected to give birth again any day now.

  I was excited and pleased to have been invited back for another birth. The first round of brats had gone wonderfully. They had all been healthy. Two were pure wolf pups and the last one was another hybrid. Seems he was just like his mother, he even required weekly wolf blood feedings to boot.

  Nikoli and Kalli had an odd relationship for beloveds'. While they spent an enormous amount of time together, they continued to remain sexually platonic. I know that some thought they were sexual when no one was watching or maybe when she was astral projecting but they never were. She was faithful to Lucas and has never been sexual with Nikoli since the night they realized she was pregnant.

  Now that doesn't mean they weren't intimate. It turns out that as long as Nikoli and Kalli are near each other their souls are happy and content. They dance like every normal vampire couple. As vampires we really don't require the sex to be intimate just our soul blending and whola we are happy. Well, I would have to imagine she was a lucky girl getting the best of both worlds.

  Lucas and Nikoli were actually very friendly which had most people raising their eyebrows. In fact Lucas trusted Nikoli enough that he actually made him his beta. Who would have ever thought that a vampire could be a wolf packs beta? It was true though, they actually fought side by side against rouges and intruding packs that thought they were weak.

  I approached the pack house and could barely contain my excitement. I couldn't wait to visit with the kids. The oldest boy Nathan was my favorite. He was always so happy and full of energy. He just loved to sniff up trouble to amuse himself and his siblings.

  The younger boy Liam was quiet and tended to over think things before he took action. Typical of so many of my race, I guess he got more from us than just his looks. But the little girl Natalie owned my heart and soul. She was the sweetest most precious little girl. In fact I knew that aside from my own beloved I had never cared for a female as much as my little Natalie. Even my own daughter Ena had not managed to pull at my heart strings the way Natalie had managed to. I knocked once and was surprised when Marie threw the door open. It was so reminiscent of the first birth I couldn't help but say

  "Well woman, are you going to continue to stand their ogling me or would you mind moving aside so I can go upstairs and be of service to the birthing beloved?"

  Marie started laughing and pulled me in for an embrace. I'd gotten close to Marie during my time at BlueRidge. When the pups had been born I stayed for the first three years of their lives. I had grown to love the wolves at BlueRidge. Their passion and joy of life reignited my own love of life.

  I most recently have been staying with Lucas's brother Ryan at Rockledge getting to know that pack a bit better. His mate just had her third litter. They were now proud parents of six pups. The wolves were such a delicate but sophisticated race. I truly had come to appreciate them and there way of thinking. Marie pulled out of my embrace and said

  "Kenyan it is so wonderful to have you back. How is Rockledge pack? How are Ryan and Lily? The babes? Don't tell me you like staying with them as much as us?"

  She tossed question after question at me as we moved towards the parlor and continued to talk. The kids must have sniffed me out because I was suddenly assaulted by three brats all at once

  "Uncle Kenyan" they shouted then proceeded to play pile on the vampire.

  One after the other they jumped into my embrace until I was holding all three of them. I looked down smiling at them and started to place fast kisses on their cheeks while I told them of how I missed them. I finally put them down and looked at Nathan.

  “My goodness Nathan you are really filling out. I cant believe you are only eight ye
ars old. You have the muscles and body of a human of twelve or thirteen. My god boy what is your father doing to make you grow like that?"

  Nathan looked up at me with such pride on his face and said

  "Uncle Kenyan, you know I'm gonna be an alpha like my daddy, I just grow bigger cause I'm posed to. Besides, I aint got no super speed like Liam I need to grow big and strong just to keep up with him" he said pointing over at his smaller younger brother.

  "Yeah, you know that Uncle Kenyan" said Liam

  "He may be taller and wider but I'm still stronger than him and Natalie together" he said with the biggest smile.

  I couldn't help but reach out and pinch his little cheek. Natalie took that time to make sure she had my full attention. She was standing straight and tell with her little hands on her hips.

  "Who cares how big Liam or Nathan is Uncle Kenyan. Neither one of them are as pretty as me are they?" she said

  I couldn't help myself I reached out and lifted her high in the air and said

  "Of course not princess. There isn't anyone walking the earth that is as pretty as you are"

  I started rough housing with the kids and just having a good time when I heard Kalli shout out

  "Mom, get Lucas and Nikoli its time"

  The kids tore out of the house yelling at the top of their lungs

  "Dad! Uncle Nik! Mommies having the babies now! Hurry up and come home"

  The birthing process went much the same as last time except now we had three youngins in the room vying for attention and a chance to look at the new babies as they were born. Kalli and Lucas became parents to four more pups. This time three of the four appeared to more vampire than wolf pups. I couldn't help but wonder how the blood exchanges between Nikoli and Kalli might have been influencing that.

  I kept my opinion to myself though since they all seemed to be happy with the results. There were three girls and one boy. The girls were all hybrids like their mom; the boy looked like he was a pure wolf. They named the kids alphabetically in order of birth Laura, Leona, Linda, and Noah.

  I stayed on at BlueRidge for several weeks while the pups were young and they needed and extra set of hands. Eventually I realized I had outstayed my welcome and knew it was time to move on. I was going to miss being with them again. I had some of the best day of my life since my beloved had passed away living at BlueRidge. These people and this wolf pack were the most loving accepting people I had ever known. The managed to make sure that they lived every single day like it was their last. I was amazed at how easily they all interacted with each other.

  On my last day at BlueRidge it occurred to me that Kalli looked like she hadn't aged a day since the first time I met her and we were approaching ten years since I first met her. Yet today she still looked like a young girl of seventeen or eighteen. I looked over at Lucas and could tell that while he had aged minimally, he had aged.

  I kissed them all goodbye and promised to come back for monthly visits for as long as I stayed at Rockledge. I couldn't help but wonder if Kalli, had more in common with my race than we had first thought.

  I chuckled hard to myself when I realized every single child that shared vampire qualities they subconsciously chose an L name for like Lucas, those included Liam, Laura, Leona and Linda but the children who were clearly wolves were given N names like Nikoli giving us Nathan, Natalie and now Noah.

  Chapter 43

  (Lucas POV)

  “Good evening Ladies and Gentleman, can I have you all settle down please.”

  I looked around at my pack and smiled brightly. It was hard to believe we had grown so much over the past thirty years. The BlueRidge pack had certainly come into its own.

  The pack had flourished during my reign. I looked out and knew we had over seventy five mated couples and tons of kids. I’d been lucky that through all the years and attacks I had never lost a single pack member due to violence. I was proud of that and even prouder that tonight I was turning the reigns of the pack over to my son Nathan. It was time; in fact it was long overdue.

  “Now, as you all know it is time for me to step down as alpha of this pack. My son Nathan is a fine young man and is going to be a fantastic alpha to all of you. As most of you already know, he’s chosen my other son Liam to be his beta”

  I heard the crowd rumble in excitement and waited patiently for them to get quiet again.

  “As you also all know, tonight is also a farewell party since we will be leaving early tomorrow morning. My Luna and I want to spend some time traveling and since Nikoli is always with one of us of course he too will be coming.”

  Again the crowd got loud with cheers and excitement. I watched as Nikoli raised his hands in the air and the crowd got quiet again so I continued

  “We have dedicated far more years than most alpha couples to this pack. Please welcome my son and wish Kalli, myself and Nikoli many more happy years together.”

  The crowd erupted in rowdy clapping and cheers. I watched as my son Nathan stood up and said the most natural and traditional words any alpha could say

  “I Nathan Madison do hear by claim myself as Alpha of the BlueRidge wolf pack. Any who oppose me say so now and prepare for a death challenge. Otherwise bow now and pledge allegiance to me!”

  I watched as my pack bowed down to my son with pleasure on their faces. Then as a group including myself, mate Kalli and my beta Nikoli tilted our heads exposing our necks to Nathan. I listened as Nathan growled loudly then howled. As a pack we all howled back. Then, as was tradition, we all shifted and ran our territory boundaries.

  We ran four several hours before finally heading back to the pack house for a rowdy party. The party went on for hours and hours and each and every single pack member made sure to give Kalli, myself and Nikoli their personal thank you and good luck comments. I looked over and noticed that Kalli had started rubbing her eyes and knew that it was time for us to call it a night and get some rest.

  I nudged Nikoli with my hip and pointed over at Kalli. He took the hint and immediately started to clear the crowd out. I was exhausted but still felt amazingly well for a man of my age. Technically, while wolves live a bit longer than an average human I should look a lot older by now.

  I am quickly approaching fifty and I know I still look in my mid to late thirties. Even more apparent is that my beautiful and amazingly wonderful mate hasn’t aged a day since I’ve known her.

  They think I don’t know, but I do. Nikoli started feeding me his blood years ago. Right around the time we made peace with each other. I know that he does it because he can’t bear the thought of losing Kalli or I. It was odd how much I really understood and appreciated him as a friend. I let them keep it to themselves, but honestly I am glad that I have had so many wonderful years with them and I’m not ready for them to come to an end anytime soon.

  It’s hard to believe that the one man who could have stolen my mates love and attention ended up being a great friend to both Kalli and I. Nikoli was a man who was above reproach. He was good to his word and was the most faithful and honest person I had ever known. He swore to protect Kalli, myself and our family and he has proven his word good time after time.

  When he swore he would honor Kalli and my mated bond I knew he would and we never again talked of it. He has been with us every step of the way building the pack and raising our kids. He’s been with us through the good times, the bad times and the really hard times. He had become more of a true brother to me than Ryan or Rob.

  Once Nikoli managed to shoo everyone out of the pack house we were surrounded by the kids. They wanted some time with us alone so that we could go through the arrangements again before we left in the morning. I looked over at my two oldest boys Nathan the new alpha and Liam his beta and couldn’t help but chuckle.

  They looked so young and reminded me so much of myself and Nikoli. Nathan looked so much like me with his dark wide body and broody looks. Liam could have been Nikoli’s child with his light complexion and tall lanky build, I chuckled thinking
again how strange nature was. The wolf and vampire Alpha and Beta pair leading BlueRidge pack. Only now the pair wasn’t Nikoli and I it was my boys and I couldn’t be more proud of them.

  Kalli plopped down on the couch in the parlor and patted at the cushion next to her for me to join her. I sat down and placed a loving kiss on my mark at the juncture up her neck and shoulder. She shivered and smiled lovingly at me.

  Nikoli sat on her left and we all looked at the kids. We couldn’t wait to head out and see the world, but the seven faces staring at us made us feel like we were dying not going to explore the world. As usual, our Laura took command of the family meeting. Nathan might be the wolf alpha but Laura acted as the family Godfather or Godmother as the case was.

  “Now, all of you need to understand some very important ground rules before you all start running around out there in the real world. Stay close to each other and pay attention to your surroundings. Never trust a stranger and for god’s sake stay away from other packs territory.” She looked pointedly at me then continued

  “Most packs have heard of you and Uncle Nik and like to challenge you guys for the sheer fun of it.”

  She shifted around and looked at my mate

  “Mom, I want you to have fun, but remember dad is starting to look like he’s twice you age so keep the kinky stuff private. Oh and make sure that you set aside plenty of time for dad to get some sun. He’s starting to look as pale as you and Uncle Nik.” Then she turned towards Nikoli