by Tamsin Baker
Her muscles turned to jelly and she slid to the floor beside him. She lay an arm over his chest and wept.
****
Kody had been swimming in black ink, his head barely above the water. But sunshine appeared, an arm reached out to him and pulled him to the shore.
It was his mate. Her perfect skin and rose birthmarks glinting in the sunshine.
Was she an angel helping him to Heaven?
Everything hurt.
Nope. Not heaven. He wouldn’t hurt this much if he was away with the Gods.
He opened his eyes and he wasn’t on a beach, nor was there any water anywhere to be seen.
But he was alive.
Chanti sobbed against him.
Were they on the floor?
“Chanti?”
The sobbing stopped and she lifted her head, her tear streaked, exhausted face the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
“Are you back? Really back?” She climbed on top of him, her boiling hot body almost too hot to touch.
But he did. Reaching up for her flaming face.
“Yes. What happened?”
Her face crumpled and she collapsed onto his chest, her wet tears streaming down his skin.
He held her tight, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.
“It’s all right. Shhh.”
He didn’t remember much. They’d been fighting the New Orleans Voodoo people, and the other… had someone stabbed him?
Oh fuck.
“Are Tania and the baby okay?”
Chanti nodded against his chest and pushed back so that she sat next to him.
He tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t work. Damn. What had happened to him?
She wrapped a hand around his arm and pulled.
He gripped hard and got himself seated, his head spinning with the effort as pain exploded through his gut.
Shit.
He was naked, but that wasn’t unusual considering the amount of times he shifted.
“Where is everyone?”
“We’re over here.”
Carefully, and with a prickling like pain tugging at every cell in his body, Kody turned around and pushed himself to his feet.
He wavered, his knees like jelly.
Chanti tucked herself under his shoulder and they limped to the couch opposite the bed.
“Oof.” They landed, the exhaustion in their bodies incredibly high.
What on earth had happened?”
He looked over at the bed and gasped at the amount of blood.
Tania was covered from the waist down.
“Where’s the baby?”
“I sent him off with your mum. We should go tell her everything’s okay.”
Chanti pushed herself to her feet and staggered out of the room, tripping and falling against the door as she walked out.
“You okay.”
She didn’t answer, so Kody turned back to his brother, who was covering his dirty mate in kisses.
Even Marty’s face was covered in blood.
“Is someone going to fill me in? I seem to have missed a whole chunk of time.”
Marty chuckled, his eyes still on his mate. Then he turned around, his eyes sparkling with a crazy type of happiness. “You didn’t just miss time. You died, brother.”
“I… what?”
Impossible.
“Chanti brought you back, don’t ask me how. And she helped me save Tania. And our son. She’s a pretty incredible woman you have there.”
A lump lodged itself in Kody’s throat.
“How?” He asked, looking towards the other Voodoo priestess in the room.
Tania shrugged. “I have no idea. Your brother was busy saving me from death, but Chanti comes from some pretty incredible lines of Voodoo women. Fuck… what a day.”
Kody laughed. How could he not? The whole world had turned on its axis.
He looked around the room. There was people everywhere. Fallen like dead flies.
“Ah, what’s with all the people?”
Tania glanced over, her face creasing with worry. “They’re all friends of my parents, and that’s my mum.” She pointed to the woman in the corner. “I’m not sure what happened to them.”
Marty chuckled. “It was Chanti again. Not sure what happened there, but she got pretty angry, and then they all fell. Incredible actually.”
Kody shook his head in wonder.
“Woah.”
The door opened and Chanti stepped back in, followed by his mother, who was cradling a small whimpering bundle in her arms.
“You’re all alive. I don’t believe it…” There was tears on his stoic mother’s face as she handed the babe to it’s mother.
Tania pushed aside the material covering her and offered her breast to the baby.
He latched on quickly and the small cries stopped.
Sharon caressed Tania’s face and then moved over to Kody, embracing him with a tight hold. “My son.. I am so thankful you came back to us.”
He let his eyes close as his mother’s love washed over him. She had never been very demonstrative in her feelings. A classic Alpha mate, she was hard and strong.
“I love you.” She whispered as she pulled away.
Kody reached for Chanti’s hand, tugging her back down onto the couch with him.
She looked like she’d flown through a hurricane. She smelled of blood and sweat, fear and exhaustion.
“I owe you my life.” He said, bringing her hand to his heart.
A smile trembled on her full lips.
“I love you. I couldn’t let you go.”
The sweetest words he’d ever heard.
He pulled her in close for a kiss, her distinctive flavour lost amongst the day’s events.
“Shall we go home and shower?” He suggested, needing to get clean and close to her.
She nodded and stood up.
As they walked past the people on the ground, Chanti stopped to check them.
“Are they dead?”
She shook her head. “No. Thank the heavens. I didn’t want to kill them. But they were posing a threat and I, well… I don’t really know. But they got knocked out.”
He walked ahead, keeping her behind him. How much time had gone by? Was there still a threat?
“How are the other wolves? Is there still a fight going on?”
She shrugged, her eyes wide and alert as they moved to the front of the house and pushed the door open.
He had no idea what to expect. There was nothing unusual he could see yet.
“Let’s walk down to our place, but keep your eyes open.”
They crept along the road, but they didn’t see anything. Someone had come along and collected the bodies, that was obvious. It was like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone?” Chanti asked.
He shrugged. Not liking this at all. “Hopefully the wounded have been taken home for repairs.”
He doubted that, but it was possible that the women were tending to the men.
They arrived back at his home, and opened the door. Kody took one more look around, then seeing nothing, locked it behind him.
“Shower time?”
“Absolutely. Then you can tell me what happened.”
Chanti smiled as she undressed, throwing all of her clothes straight in the bin.
They climbed under the hot water and washed the stench of the fight away.
Chanti regaled him of her last few hours. Saving the baby, and Tania. Blasting all those Voodoo people who’d come into their town and Marty’s house, then demanded she save Tania from death.
Kody still couldn’t remember much. Running. Killing someone. It was a blur.
He gathered her close and their lips met. Her perfect scent back now that the shower had washed away the stink of battle.
Of his Voodoo Queen’s win.
She’d conquered them all. And with nothing more than her own two hands.
“You’re pretty incredible you know
that?” He said as he drew her to bed.
“Me?” she made a snorting sound, but as she averted her eyes and a pink blush stained her cheeks, he could see that his compliment had pleased her.
“You know, I think it had a lot to do with our mating. I have never been so powerful. I think when you died you passed on your strength to me.”
He loved that idea, but hated it at the same time.
“Hopefully you’ll be strong, even with me alive. I’d hope our bonding would help you. And if it did, then I am eternally grateful to my ancestors for that gift.”
They lay down on the mattress, their bodies fitting together like a lock and key.
He groaned as her warm body pressed against his side, her breasts squashed on his ribs that still ached.
“What’s going to happen now, Chanti?”
She ran a hand over his chest, her fingers dancing on his skin and running around his nipple.
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Do you think your prophesy has come true?”
“Well… nothing fell. Except the Voodoo practitioners in Marty’s house. But they’re not dead.”
“So, was the blood connected, or whatever you said needed to happen?”
“I’m not sure, but I tried. I used my blood to heal your wounds. And then there’s the baby, and Marty mingled his blood with Tania’s. So yeah, I hope its enough.”
There was a strange movement at his hip and Kody looked down.
“What was that?”
Chanti rolled onto her side, a rather large bump between her hips that he’d somehow not noticed in the shower.
“I think it’s the baby.” She cupped her hands over her stomach and a gorgeous little chuckle emerged between her full lips. “Yeah. It is.”
“Show me.” He pushed her hands aside and rolled over, placing his palm over her rounded abdomen.
There was a push and a roll.
“Oh my God.” They had a child. “So our blood has mixed together, too?”
“Yes. There will be two babies of Werewolf and Voodoo blood. It will be a new era.”
“Yes. Come here…”
He pulled his gorgeous woman on top of him and grabbed her face for a kiss.
In a time like this, there was only one thing to do. And that was to make love to his beautiful mate, and thank the Universe that had brought her to him.
Chapter 9.
Chanti pulled an old royal purple dress on over her head and tied a silver belt high on her waist. She was getting bigger by the day.
If she was right, then her baby would be here on the next full moon. She had twenty-seven days to prepare.
“Ha!” She laughed out loud.
Not only did she never think she would have a baby with a werewolf, she never thought she’d have less than six weeks to get used to the idea.
Talk about a life full of surprises.
The bedroom door banged open and Kody came in, hopefully with news from the pack.
“There’s four men dead, and a lot more hurt, but Daniel’s with them. And all the children are safe thanks to you warning us so early last night. Considering the war that went on last night. I think we did okay.”
Chanti blew out a long breath. Four men in a town this small was still a high percentage. If only she’s been able to do more for them last night.
“All right. Well, please, you stay here and deal with the pack. I have to get home and sort out my life. I refuse to lie here in fear, waiting for them to attack again.”
She had more to do than just that. But she didn’t want to tell Kody that. She was going straight to some Voodoo elders and sorting this out. She refused to live her life in fear, and not to mention the fact that she had a home and a business to run.
After last night, she was no longer afraid of anyone in New Orleans. Her powers were so much stronger than they should be, or were before. Whether it was the baby, the werewolf blood, or this was who she was always meant to be, she wasn’t sure. But she no longer feared the wrath of their church, or their people.
“Are Tania’s parents and the other people still knocked out in the other house?”
Kody shook his head. “No. Marty said when they woke up this morning, everyone was gone. He should have tied them up, or something, but with the baby, and Tania still being so weak, it was the last thing he was thinking of last night.”
Kody tugged off his old shirt and began to dress in clothes that Chanti distinguished as town clothes.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going with you. If you think for one minute I’m letting you go alone, you’ve got rocks in your head.” He grinned as he tucked in his shirt, and slicked his long hair back.
“But what about the pack, making sure everyone’s okay here?”
“They’re fine. Marty’s out there with Tania, her baby strapped to her chest in some sort of wrap thing.”
Chanti tried not to giggle at the image her mate painted, but failed when she saw the bewildered look on Kody’s face.
If the Fates had been correct, and she saw no indications that it had been wrong so far, then Tania would grow into an incredible leader. Being out there, with her baby strapped on while she sorted out her pack was completely fitting.
“That’s great. Well, let’s go then.”
A werewolf protector probably wasn’t a bad thing, and she knew they’d be stronger together, rather than apart.
They got in Kody’s truck and headed off to New Orleans, the silence in the car a comfortable one as they drove the fifteen minutes or so to the borders.
“Where are we going first?”
She needed to go to her house to pick up some things, but she could do that anytime. She had everything she needed for her own protection, she had nothing stronger at the shop. So there was only one other place she had to go.
“To Tania’s parents house. There’s no need to go to the church, or any other group yet, I don’t think. Tania’s parents are as powerful and influential as they come, so if we can convince them to stop the attacks, then that should be enough. Nobody else will come after us after that.”
She planned to do a lot more than just convince them to back off, and if the legends were true, then she would succeed.
The hit New Orleans and Kody slowed the car down, weaving through the small streets and parking around the corner from the huge white mansion.
“What if they capture us, like they did with Marty?”
She gave her mate a smile and unlatched her seat belt. “They would not be who they are if they did not have protection spells all over their house. Are you wearing the amulet I made for you?”
He nodded, briefly touching the centre of his chest where her amulet obviously lay.
“Good. Then you’ll be fine. Just make sure, like last time, all your thoughts are on protecting me, nothing about harming them. And we’ll both be fine.”
His mouth thinned and his lips drew downwards into a frown.
She cupped his face in her hands and put as much warmth into her face as she could.
“It’ll be fine. Okay?”
Kody seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded and together, they got out of the car.
“Let’s go.”
Chanti touched a hand to her own amulet and focused on her memories of her grandmother. A woman who had passed on too early in Chanti’s life, but who’s power still flowed through her.
They walked across the quiet street and went straight up to the door.
She could sense her mate’s hesitation and then she remembered the dolls.
“Don’t forget, I wove a spell over Mary and her husband. Their powers have been weakened. They would struggle to do any real harm to us, and I guarantee they will not.”
And speaking of which, she still had the dolls in her bag.
She lifted her hand and banged on the door.
It opened soon after and she greeted the old butler with a smile.
“Good morning. Can you tell Ma
ry and James that we are here please?”
She stepped into the house without being invited to do so, and the old man scuttled off.
She looked around the house, searching for the strong magic she’d sensed last time. It wasn’t there.
Something was different.
“Come this way please.” The butler called from the ground floor hallway.
She gave Kody a wink and stepped along the marble floors, down the corridor and into a large living room.
A fire blazed in the fire place and Mary stood by her husband, who sat on one of the expensive couches.
Nobody spoke as they walked into the room and stood a few feet from Mary and James.
James had an angry grimace on his face, but Mary looked like she was bursting to say something.
Chanti turned to Mary and cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes, Mary?”
“Is my daughter still alive?”
She inclined her head and smiled. “She is. As is her son.”
The relief on Mary’s face was priceless and at odds with the snarl of disgust from James.
Chanti turned her attention to Tania’s father. “What’s wrong, Mr. Thomas? Not happy about your grandson being the new Alpha line of the New Orleans pack?”
The angry look in his eyes said it all.
And she was enjoying this tension a little too much. Odd for her.
“Please sit, Kody.” She said to her mate with a sweet tone.
He did as she asked, mirroring the pose of the couple opposite them.
“Shall we continue with the niceties or get down to business?”
“I will get you thrown out of the church, and New Orleans. You know that, don’t you? You disgusting slut!”
Kody’s fist shot out so fast she didn’t have time to stop him, nor would she have wanted to, if she had.
The crack that echoed in the room was huge and James’s head went flying back against the couch.
Chanti grabbed Kody and pulled him back, worried for the powers that may come down and bite him for doing such a thing.
James Thomas was as close to a Voodoo King as they had in New Orleans.
Fear began to skittle along her veins and she pushed it away. She was so much more than that, and as she stared at Kody, who was still healthy and breathing hard from anger, she knew they were safe.
“Don’t waste your strength on him, Kody, it’s a waste.”