“I know.” Bradi’s chest tightened.
“She’ll live and be able to have more children. But she will require more time to heal. Time to gather her strength. In the meantime, your son needs you. Go and spend time with him. I will sit with Marisa.”
Marisa’s eyes popped open suddenly, and she looked from Bradi to Christian.
Bradi stood quickly and touched her forehead. He looked at Christian with wide eyes, relieved she was awake but scared something else might be wrong. “I thought you were willing her to rest?”
“I was,” Christian said, seeming as shocked by Marisa’s awakening as Bradi. It was rare for Christian to be caught off guard with anything relating to medicine or healing. He was an expert. A man born to the art.
Marisa’s gaze went to her stomach and Bradi saw the pain in her eyes. Her breath caught. “Oh gods, no. Bradi, no.”
“Shh, Doc, it’s all right. Everything is all right.”
Her head shook violently. “No, it’s not all right. The baby?”
“Nina!” Bradi called out, needing to see his wife at peace but wanting to yank her up from the bed and hold her close. Gods, how he’d missed her.
The door to the room opened and he heard his sister there before she even spoke. “Bring in my son, Nina. It is time he met his mommy.”
Confusion covered her face. “I had him? He’s here? Already? Is he okay?”
“You did, Doc,” he said, taking her hand in his. “He’s healthy and he’s perfect.”
Nina came back into the room and Bradi turned to see her carrying the baby wrapped up tightly in a blue blanket. Pride welled in him, just as it had every moment he looked upon his son.
“Here you go,” she said, handing the child to Bradi.
He took his son gently and looked down into his eyes. “He has your eyes and my hair. Hope he has my temper. It’s way better than yours.”
Marisa choked out a half laugh, half sob. “Right. Your temper is crap, Janelle.”
Bradi sat on the edge of the bed and held the baby so that she could see him.
Marisa let out a half sob and reached for the baby. “I didn’t think I was far enough along for him. And he was under so much stress.”
Christian cleared his throat. “Your healing power surged once we brought you back with us. At first we thought that you were dying, but once the light cleared, we realized that you were not only alive, but had saved the baby. He is part shifter, so he is naturally stronger than a normal human baby, but Marisa, whatever you did brought about a perfectly healthy baby boy. I was just telling Bradi that you should be able to have many more children. Now that the hag is dead, they will not be drained of their life forces.”
Bradi watched his wife’s eyes light up as she held their child and he wrapped them both tightly in his embrace. “You scared the shit out of me.”
Marisa pressed her lips to his and he felt them trembling. “Nice. Romantic.”
“Well, you did.” He kissed her back.
She smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Bradi touched her cheek and looked down at the baby. “And you too, little man.”
“Does he have a name?” Marisa asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“No, I wanted you to name him.”
She smiled. “I’d like to name him Eli Bradiainn Janelle.”
“Eli?”
Marisa looked hurt. “You don’t like it?”
Bradi shook his head. “No, it’s a fine name. I just wondered what made you pick it.”
She laughed. “Oh, it’s in honor of the first thing to welcome me to your home planet. A giant eel.”
“Giant eel? Where?” Christian asked.
“In the red sea that we crashed into,” Marisa said, holding their child tight to her bosom, where he belonged.
“Interesting. I had always thought him a myth. Remember when our fathers told us of the ancient guardian of the waters? The one that protected the innocent?”
“Yes, they said it was an…eel,” Bradi said, stunned that Marisa had seen it. Laughter welled up inside him, and he was left no choice but to let it out. “Eli is a perfect name for our son. If he is anything like his mother, he will become a legend as well.”
THE END
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Bradi: Paranormal Shifter Fated Mate Galactic SciFi Military Romance (Interstellar Alphas Book 2) Page 14