by Kali Argent
Together, there wasn’t anything they couldn’t face.
No storm they couldn’t weather.
Nothing they couldn’t do.
They had their flaws and their quirks, and maybe they weren’t perfect individuals.
But they were perfect for each other.
EPILOGUE
“Well, what does it say?”
Luke grinned but didn’t look away from the holo-screen as he poured over the latest set of lab results.
“Well?” Three feet away, Jael paced as she twisted her hands together and shot furtive glances at the readout. “Did we do it? Is it clear? Did it work?” She shook her head, a cute frown tugging at the corners of her lips. “You know I can’t read it. Luke, what does it say?”
“I’m reading, beautiful. Give me a minute.”
“Well, read it out loud,” she insisted.
It had been six weeks since they’d returned to Earth, and eight weeks since Jael had almost died in his arms. Looking at her now, no one would ever guess that she’d been sick. No one would ever know that for the longest seventeen seconds of his life, her heart had stopped beating.
He knew. It wasn’t something he would ever forget, and it made him profoundly grateful for every moment he had with her.
Even when she was impatient and bossy.
“Everything looks good. No fever. No seizures. No side-effects at all that I can tell.”
“Yes, yes.” She paced faster. “I know that part already. Did. It. Work?”
Her sassy attitude probably shouldn’t turn him on, but his dick either didn’t know that or didn’t care, because it twitched behind the fly of his slacks and began to swell. The reaction didn’t go unnoticed, but the glare she sent him only acerbated the problem.
“Luke!”
“Sorry.” Clearing his throat, he adjusted his trapped erection and returned his attention to the holo-screen. “So, subject one was given the healing flower that grows beneath the Adderstone. We administered the zisa flower to subject two. Three was given the pocca sap, and subject four was given the nasal spray.”
While they still didn’t know how to transport water samples from Xenthian, they had returned with an extensive collection of other specimens from each of the Five Isles to test. In fact, it was from those samples that he’d been able to develop the various substances Nico Artane had requested.
By combining crushed leaves from the enderash bush with berries from the qanisai tree, he’d been able to address both Magnus’s insomnia and Nico’s nightmares with a single remedy. Taking into account the Krytos’ elevated metabolic rate, just one, tiny caplet of the stuff induced a deep, dreamless sleep seven times more powerful than Somnium.
For Raz, they’d combined purified caffeine powder with cold-pressed oil from the truna canes that grew on the Western Isle to great success.
Naturally, Nico had offered to pay him, but Luke didn’t want credits. He wanted a favor, a little quid pro quo. As such, and in return for the treatments they couldn’t find anywhere else, the Artanes had agreed to create a program for him that instantly translated written documents into each of the known languages.
Yes, the Alliance had something similar, but it was a far cry from perfect, and Luke wanted his mate to have instant and accurate access to their work. With the reopening of the Hart Pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, he also wanted to make sure his employees from every race had exactly what they needed to do their jobs well.
“And?” Jael insisted, pulling him out of his musings. “What are the results.”
“Oh, right.” Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the holo-screen. “The healing flower was a success, obviously.”
Jael tapped her foot. “Obviously.”
“The zisa flower also produced positive results, though it took a little longer to work. The pocca sap was actually pretty effective in treating the female’s sinus inflammation, but her test results are still negative for fertility.”
They’d expected that, so it wasn’t overly discouraging. The sap still served a purpose, and he looked forward to researching it further to see what other ailments it might treat.
“And the nasal spray?”
Figuring out a way to administer the antidote in large quantities had been a challenge. By calculating the number of infertile human females from the Alliance’s database, they’d estimated that each flower petal needed to produce approximately one hundred and seventeen treatments. When adjusted to include undocumented rebels, they’d reached a number roughly somewhere in the vicinity of two hundred and four treatments per petal.
A tall order, for sure, and not something easily accomplished.
They’d tried a number of methods and combinations over the weeks before having a flash of inspiration while working on their side project for the Artanes. By mixing the healing flowers with the zisa flowers, binding it with the pocca sap, then diluting the whole thing in saline, they’d transformed the concoction into a fine mist that could be administered nasally.
The best part was that a single petal from each flower produced quantities far beyond their expectations, with one batch of the drug treating roughly six hundred females.
If it worked.
He read the report three times, his smile growing wider with each repetition. “No fever, seizures, restlessness, or fatigue. The test subject reported no ill-effects after leaving the lab.”
“Luke,” Jael practically whined. “Did it work?”
“Test results for fertility…positive.”
“Oh, my stars! Oh, wow.” Laughing like crazy, she flung herself into his arms and squeezed him hard. “That’s so wonderful. We did it! By the ancestors, we really did it.”
Threading his finger through her hair, he tilted her head back for a long, lingering kiss that made his head spin and his cock ache. Now that they were bonded, and he shared her magic, it had become a lot easier to suppress his syphon abilities. He still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of how to use magic on purpose, but there had been very few mishaps lately.
It probably didn’t hurt that Syrie and Osian practiced with him every day, finding new and inventive ways to test his control.
True to their word, Jael’s siblings had left behind everything familiar to follow her to Earth. It had been strange at first, having a quartet of elves running around his house, but he was used to it now. With Cami and Tariq in Jade City managing the children’s sanctuary, he was actually glad to have the company. Besides, it made Jael happy, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to see her smile.
He’d also be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed the perks of living with a bunch of magical beings. Since their abilities were weaker and unpredictable away from their home world, the siblings were conservative in their use of it, but by working together, they’d been able to repair the damage done to his lab in a matter of minutes.
Witnessing it had been nothing short of amazing.
“Yes, beautiful, we absolutely did it.” He kissed her again, then tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “It needs a name.”
“Right. Yes.” Her lips pursed, and her eyebrows drew together as she stared blankly at his shoulder. “I don’t even know. What do you suggest, neelum?”
“I think we should call it MoonMist.”
The expression on her face was priceless. “I…you want to…but I’m not…”
“None of this would have been possible without you. This medicine is going to help a lot of females, just like you have.” It was also a way for him to honor her siblings for the way they’d come together to save his mate’s life. “So, what do you think?”
Moisture gathered along her lashes, but she smiled beautifully and nodded. “I would be honored to call it MoonMist. Thank you.”
“Uh, Luke?”
Pressing his forehead to Jael’s, he closed his eyes and groaned as Osian’s voice rang from the speakers in the ceiling. Of all the Moonmist siblings, he’d had the most trouble adjusting to life on E
arth, and every day brought some new misfortune.
“What, Osian?”
“There’s a slight situation in the kitchen.”
“What did you—”
Alarms blared through the speakers as the house’s security AI informed them that there was a possible fire threat in the kitchen. In other words, Osian had tried to cook again.
Laughing, Jeal kissed the tip of his nose and stepped out of his embrace. “I’ll go. You did it last time.”
Well, at least it was never boring. “Let me know if you need me.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Be right back.” Then, she disappeared.
There was still a lot of work to complete on the infertility project. They still had to get Hart Pharmaceuticals back up and running smoothly. Eventually, however, he planned to return to Xenthian.
He could manage his business from anywhere in the universe. Honestly, the only thing keeping him on Earth was his sister, but Cami was all grown up now with a mate and life of her own. Besides, it wasn’t like he was moving to another dimension. He could always visit whenever he wanted.
His mate hadn’t said anything, but he knew she missed her home. She also missed being able to use her magic freely without growing tired or worrying that a spell might go sideways.
The most important reason for his decision, however, was in the report he had just pulled up on the holo-screen.
After Jael had almost died, he’d turned into a paranoid idiot, subjecting her to lab tests every couple of weeks just for his own piece of mind. She never complained, but he knew she thought he was crazy. She would be right, but until he stopped dreaming about her cold and limp in his arms, that wasn’t going to change.
Her tests always came back normal…until that morning.
Taking a couple of steps toward the screen, he focused on just two words out of the entire report. Pregnancy: Positive
Jael had been ecstatic about the news. Her siblings had cheered and congratulated them while they expressed their excitement about having a niece or nephew. Luke, however, had just stood there and stared at the report, much like he was doing now.
She’d already given him so much, and it felt selfish to want more. The moment he’d learned he would be a father, however, he’d wanted that future with a ferocity that had been slightly terrifying.
“Okay,” Jael announced as she popped back into the room. “There wasn’t too much damage this time.”
Grabbing her, he crushed her close and buried his nose in her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, neelum.”
“Thank you.”
Her hands traveled up and down his back, petting and soothing him. “Whatever for?”
For so many things, he didn’t even know where to start. For her work on the project. For loving him. For giving him a family. For believing in him. For giving him something to believe in. For giving him hope. For irrevocably changing his life. Just for being her.
He’d been so lost, drowning in his own self-loathing, and she’d come along and rescued him from the abyss.
“Thank you,” he repeated in a whisper, his voice thick with emotion, “for being mine.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born with a silver tongue and a pen in her hand, Kali spends her days crafting scandalous romances filled with flawed heroes and kick-ass heroines. When she's not writing, she can be found curled up in her favorite chair with a good book and a steamy cup of coffee.
Self-proclaimed introvert and supporter of the selectively social, Kali currently resides in North Texas with her insane family, including two lazy dogs and one tragically misunderstood cat.
Seriously, though, the cat is evil.
For More Titles by Kali Argent, Visit:
www.kaliargent.com/library
The 3013 Series
3013: MATED by Laurie Roma
3013: RENEGADE by Susan Hayes
3013: CLAIMED by Laurie Roma
3013: STOWAWAY by Susan Hayes
3013: SALVATION by Laurie Roma
3013: MENDED by Kali Argent
3013: TARGETED by Susan Hayes
3013: CHAOS by Laurie Roma
3013: ALTERED by Kali Argent
3013: FATED by Susan Hayes
3013: GENESIS by Laurie Roma
3013: REVOLUTION by Kali Argent
3013: PRIMAL by Laurie Roma
3013: OUTLAW by Kali Argent
3013: ALLEGIANCE by Laurie Roma
3013: FEVER by Kali Argent
Novellas
3013: SYNERGY by Laurie Roma
3013: ASYLUM by Kali Argent
3013: SCARRED by Susan Hayes
3013: EXODUS by Laurie Roma
3013: BROKEN/3013: TRINITY by Kali Argent
3013: KISMET by Laurie Roma
3013: REMEDY by Kali Argent
Find links, blurbs, excerpts and more at www.3013theseries.com
