by JL Madore
“Is that possible?” she asked Danel directly, wondering if he was thinking the same thing.
“I have no idea.”
Danel’s hamster bounced around inside his head like he’d fallen out of his wheel and been sent ass over ears. He didn’t know what to think. He took a mental vacay while the two of them retraced their steps from the day before. Ronnie’s doctor ordered all the same tests they’d just completed and had them go to an off-site lab. He’d put a rush on them . . . and so they waited.
A cloud of cautious skepticism loomed over the two of them, but he hoped—no, prayed—that what he thought might have happened was, in fact, what happened.
If making love to Ronnie transferred enough of his healing ability to keep her alive, the two of them would never leave his bed. No good to the garrison as a one-handed warrior, maybe his new mission in life was to love Veronica Hennington.
He could do that. Reality check. He was already there.
His beast exploded within him as true realization hit. It broke through the bullshit of duty and protocol. It defied the obstacles they still had to face.
He wanted her. To mate her. To claim her.
It was fucking sublime. It stood out as the most definitive moment in his life, and not by a little bit, but by an epic margin.
“Are you all right?” Ronnie asked.
He turned in his plastic chair and looked at the pale green walls and bad contemporary artwork. How had they gone from that nightly annoyance at the coffee shop to there? He couldn’t go back. “We never talked long-term. And if I’m the reason you’re healing, it changes things. I want you healthy and strong—I do—but am I who you want in your bed? I’m an asshole. I’m moody and proud and hold grudges longer than you could possibly imagine—”
She pressed two fingers over his lips and shook her head. “Don’t do that. Not yet. I can’t.”
Right. He sank back into his chair and tried to breathe. Of course she wouldn’t want to lock things down with him. Could he go the ‘friends with benefits’ route? If she wasn’t with someone else . . . maybe. If she took another lover—
“Stop growling.” She shoulder-bumped him and the door flew open.
“Okay,” the nurse said. “We sent the results over to your doctor’s office, but he said to go ahead and tell you the results stand. He said our findings were the same as those explained to you earlier, only better.”
“Better? Better today than yesterday?”
The nurse shrugged and headed to the door. “Not sure, hon. I’m just the messenger. Take your time in here. I’ll be busy in the other room for a bit.”
The click of the door turned off his brain. Better than yesterday. He knew it! He couldn’t count the times he’d lost himself inside her last night and this morning. That was the reason. He knew it was. “It’s super-healing semen.”
Ronnie snorted. “Don’t say that in front of my father. Man, how will we explain this to him? He knows as much about this disease as I do. He’ll never stop asking questions.”
Danel shook his head and raised a trembling hand. He’d had iron nerves and steady hands his entire adult life. Now he couldn’t pick up a mug without wearing coffee.
“You’re hyperventilating, Broody. Put your head between your knees.” She pulled at his neck and folded him in half. When the room stopped fun-housing him, he sat upright and waited for the blood to stop pulsing in his head. “Okay, ask me your question again now.”
“I’m sorry? What question.”
“About, you being an asshole, and whether I want the whole package or just the sex to keep me alive.”
The amusement in her expression lifted some of his anxiety but he wanted to hear her say the words before he got his hopes up. “Veronica, you know I can be a difficult man. If you can’t see yourself with me long-term, you need to be frank and up-front with me. I love you, Ronnie, and want you as my own. If you’re not one-hundred percent—”
Her lips cut off his words as she pounced into his lap. The warm swipe of her tongue along the seam of his mouth demanded entry. She kissed him senseless and then pulled back, lips red and cheeks flushed. “Say that again.”
He dipped her to the side, caging her in his arms as she hung over the floor. “I love you, Ronnie.”
“True story,” she said, her smile radiant.
Cocky little thing, wasn’t she? Still, that wasn’t an answer. “Shit, Ronnie, put me out of my misery here. Are we talking forever, or just making this work to keep you healthy?”
She rolled her eyes, her smile softening. “It may have taken me a year to get you to notice me, but the truth of it is . . . I claimed you from the beginning, big guy. It’s on, baby.”
Danel and his beast both roared in triumph. For the first time in two thousand years, he released the tether on his darkest, most powerful impulses, and became one with the primal part of himself.
Red-hot agony lit up his cells and ignited inside him. His system shattered, bursting like a pipe-bomb, throwing a million shards through his body.
He doubled over and dropped to his knees.
“Danel, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”
“My . . . transition.”
“Should I get the nurse? Can she help you?”
He gritted his teeth, sure he was being cleaved in two. Fury erupted. Being helpless in front of his female filled him with an anger purer than anything he’d ever felt. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Ronnie swiped away her tears and tried to swallow. Sorry? Sorry for what? After everything they’d been through, was he the one going to die?
“No, child.” A stunning raven-haired woman in a blue pant suit solidified from within a golden mist. She crouched beside them, her skin emitting a soft luminescence. “The two of you share lives bound, e’ermore. Your warrior apologizes for his display of weakness and for frightening you.”
Ronnie stared, the electrical charge in the air raising the hair on her body in an odd tingle.
Danel gasped and struggled to roll. Trembling and sweating with his exertions, he fought to push himself to his knees. “Apologies . . . Milady.”
“Be at ease, Warrior.” She cupped the back of Dane’s head and eased him back to the cool linoleum. “I bring you aid in your transition.”
A man strode from the corner. A very big man.
“Tanek,” Danel gasped, his voice cracking. “My brother.”
The dead roommate?
“That looks painful, D.”
Danel writhed on the floor, his breath coming out in heaving gasps. The snap of bone ricocheted in the small room. He twisted, screaming as his spine . . . his shoulders and then his ribs seemed to shatter from within.
Ronnie sobbed. “Help him, please.”
Danel torqued onto his stomach. “My back . . . on fire.”
“I’m here, my brother. We’re all right here.” Tanek knelt at Danel’s hip, gripped his shirt at the collar and ripped it straight down the back. Tossing the two flaps of fabric to Danel’s sides, he unsheathed a terrifyingly long and sharp knife.
“Hang on,” she sputtered, leaning over Danel’s back. “What do you think you’re doing with that?”
“Helping him,” Tanek said. “You need to trust me. I would never let Danel or any of my brothers come to harm.”
Danel gripped her ankle, white-knuckled, and nodded.
Everything within her wanted to shove this stranger away. Danel was suffering enough.
Tanek eased her out of his way and poised the knife. “You don’t understand what’s happening to your mate. I do. You must trust that I would never harm him.”
Dizzy, she sank back on her heels and focused on breathing.
With the precision of a surgeon, Tanek cut a line down each side of Danel’s spine. The skin split and peeled back. Danel’s knees came up tight and he screamed again.
Bones broke through his skin, blood streamed down his sides and soaked into his torn shirt. Ronnie’s head spun. She laid down on the floor ne
xt to him and tried to lock onto something to keep her conscious.
Darkness blanketed her as a rush of sound filled her ears.
The brunette lady leaned into her line of vision and Ronnie felt herself plummet into the depths of her gaze. Falling. Whirling. She felt the feather touch of the ethereal woman in her mind. “Welcome to the Otherworld, Ronnie. May you be everything he needs and more.”
And then . . . she blacked out.
Phoenix set the last of Austin’s boxes down and made sure everything was pushed out of her way. It amazed him how little her lack of sight affected her life; still, in a new environment, he didn’t want her to trip over anything. She navigated Zander’s loft like she possessed perfect vision, but the racetrack home was five times that size, at least.
“Thank you,” she said, reaching out to take his arm.
He took her hand and guided her to the wall of boxes. She ran her hands over the stacks and then turned and found the bed. Walking along the edge of the spare bed. He’d seen her do this before. She was making a mental map of her surroundings.
She never ceased to impress him.
“I guess we should get downstairs and see what Zander and Bo have cooked—” She winced and pressed a hand to her stomach.
His heart pounded in his chest, his frustration rising. He wanted to talk to her, to communicate, but with him mute and her blind, all he could do is listen or speak through other people. But sometimes the things he wanted to say were personal.
“Whew, baby Nio is excited about the move. Would you like to feel how she’s squirming?”
He nodded, thankful that even though she was blind and he was mute, since Zander brought her back to life with his powers, she could, at least see him.
Austin pressed his hand to her loose-fitting blouse. Beneath his broad palm, her body wriggled and moved as the baby girl inside stretched the boundaries of her protective home.
He closed his eyes and focused his gift, sensing the innocent soul of the life within. Hello baby, Niobi. You are very loved, little girl. The child was radiant. Content.
She was also Otherworld. He could sense power within her.
Subtle but strong.
He breathed deep and kissed Austin’s forehead. Thank you, he thought, wishing she could know how he’d longed for that brief connection. With his days and nights filled with ugly, angry, and meaningless, he couldn’t wait to hold the baby in his arms. He may even be as anxious to meet her as her parents.
Stetson barked downstairs and Austin’s smile lit up. “Will you walk me down? Sounds like we’ve got company.”
In lieu of words, he took her elbow and led her down the sweeping staircase, back to the open foyer. Stetson stood with his nose to the door and his tail wagging. When the door opened, Kyrian and Cassi stepped inside.
“Knock-knock,” he said, ushering his mate inside. He closed the door and took her coat to hang in the closet. “So, this is the night, is it, sweetheart?”
Austin beamed. “Yep. We’re all moved in. Tonight will be our first night sleeping under the roof of the new homestead. Bo and Zander are busy in the kitchen.”
Kyrian kissed Austin’s cheek and patted Stetson’s head. “Why don’t you ladies go see what’s happening in the kitchen. I need a moment with Phoenix, if you don’t mind.”
Cassi linked arms with Austin, and the two women strolled off toward the smell of grilled meat.
Phoenix raised his hands. Everything okay, Greek . . . with Cassi? She seemed upset the other night.
Kyrian watched the ladies go and shook his head. “She’s having trouble finding herself. A lot has changed in just a few months.”
Phoenix nodded. It’ll change again in a few more. Niobe is going to be a special child.
Kyrian cast him a sideways glance and frowned. “Special, like ‘every child is wonderful and unique’ kinda special?”
He shook his head. More like, ‘how is she doing that’ kinda special. It won’t take her fifteen years to come into her powers. She’s already building strength.
Kyrian swallowed. “Let’s keep that between us for the time being. Zander and Austin are already worried about delivering her safely. Let’s not complicate things.”
I should warn Drina. In case it affects the delivery.
“Agreed.” Kyrian unlaced his boots and set them on the rubber drying mat. “What about that other issue we discussed. Any luck tracking down Rayvn’s contact?”
Phoenix shook his head and glanced down the hall to ensure they were still alone. Turning to face the Greek, he spoke so only he could read his hands. I’m heading to the Choir tonight. I have an idea how to find a dark priestess. I should know more by morning.
Kyrian nodded. “Zander and I are going out with Rayvn and Andrew tonight. I’ll let you know what we’re dealing with.”
Danel carried Ronnie over the threshold and wondered how his life turned on its ear in less than two weeks. He stretched his wing and shut the door behind them. If someone had told him that he’d mate a human and be asking Zander if they could move in with him and Austin, he would have checked their blood-alcohol level. Crazy. But here they were.
“Are you going to put me down?”
He kissed Ronnie and set her on her feet. “Are you sure this is okay? We can go back to your warehouse apartment if you like that idea better.”
She shook her head. “I’d see dead men splattered on my walls and floor every time I came out of my bedroom. Here, surrounded by hulking men, Daddy won’t worry so much, and we can both make a fresh start.”
Danel took her hand and headed towards the laughter in the front room. The place was lit up; tiny white lights strung across the top of the window wall, their light reflecting off the glass, candles burning along the mantle, and the orange glow of the hickory logs burning in the fireplace.
Austin’s dog trotted over, and he patted him at the entrance to the great room.
“Shit, will you look at that,” Seth said, pointing from behind the bar. “Another one bites the dust.”
The room turned, and Danel stretched his wing open so they could all check them out. “I think I wear them well.”
“You do at that,” Zander said, greeting him chest to chest. “Welcome back, to you both.”
Danel accepted the embrace and, for the first time, allowed himself to see the man Zander had always tried to be with him. He cleared his throat and stepped back.
“Zander. Austin. Ronnie and I wondered if the offer to stay with you still stood? I know you remodeled this place to make a home for us and your baby, but I also know who I’ve been and the damage I’ve—”
“Stop whistling up the wind,” Austin said. “Of course, you and Ronnie are movin’ in. This is your home, right, angelman?”
Zander nodded. “You belong here. Our home is yours, for as long as you’d like to stay.”
He turned Ronnie against his chest, and set his chin on the top of her head. “This is a long-term arrangement. How long do you think you’d like to stay, baby? Twenty years? Forty?”
She nodded. “At least.”
In response to the questioning looks, he explained how Ronnie’s disease had rapidly receded, how Lady Divinity brought Tanek to help him transition, and how the two of them were looking at a long life together.
“Super-healing spunk,” Seth snorted. “You are soooo not living that down, Persian.”
He shrugged. If it meant he could keep Ronnie alive and well, his brothers could rib him as much as they wanted.
EPILOGUE
“Rise and shine, sweetheart. Do you know what today is?” Ronnie’s eyes opened a crack as Kyrian pulled back the drapes one by one and blinded her with the glow of mid-morning sun.
“Uh . . . Friday?”
“True, but not what we were going for.”
Cassi and Austin came bounding in the room behind him. Austin carried a dress bag and Cassi had a silver tea tray laden with cinnamon rolls and coffee. “Oh, thank heavens. Okay. Lay it on me. What�
��s today?”
“It’s someday.” He was absolutely giddy as he made his way around the bed and sat on the vacant spot on Danel’s side. The mattress dipped under his weight as he stretched out and propped himself on his elbow, his mint green eyes practically glowing.
“And what does someday mean?”
“We’re so glad you asked,” Austin said, taking her coffee away before she’d even gotten her fix. “Get up and brush your teeth. We’ve got an army of beautifiers in the bedroom across the hall.”
“Beautifiers? Why? What are you up to?”
“Not us,” Cassi said. “Your black-winged, broody male.”
Heat warmed her cheeks. “Those wings are crazy sexy, aren’t they?”
Cassi and Austin nodded and the three of them giggled.
Kyrian swung himself off the bed and held out his hand. “And on that note, ladies, let’s go. We’re on a schedule here and I have no intention of letting you be late.”
Ronnie tossed back the sheets and blinked up at her new friends. “And what aren’t we being late for?”
Kyrian pulled her onto her feet and kissed her nose. With his face only inches from hers, he whispered, “Your wedding day, of course. Now, come on, your groom is waiting.”
Ronnie jogged behind Cassi into the bathroom, where she started up the program for the shower jets. “Get washed up, then put on your robe. We’ve got hair, makeup, and mani-pedi waiting to get at you. Then Karen K. from Kyrian’s favorite boutique is here for any last-minute alterations on your dress.”
“My dress? I don’t have a dress.”
Austin giggled at the doorway. “Of course you do. And it’s stunning, by the way. Now go.”
The next few hours were a blur.
Danel had planned and executed the perfect morning of primp and pamper. After her nails, hair, and makeup were done, a special lunch order was sent upstairs. Scallops Carbonara and white wine from a family-owned Italian bistro downtown.
Twenty minutes after they finished, Xxan arrived, carrying a box of fresh flowers. Austin’s Seraph bodyguard left her and Kyrian to unpack the contents while Cassi helped with the corset laces and getting her gown on.