by Zoey Draven
“Luxiva…” Vaxa’an laughed. “Fates, I do not know who to thank for bringing me to you.”
“Well, you can start with those ugly, lizard aliens that kidnapped me from Earth,” she joked.
Vaxa’an leaned his forehead against hers as a warm breeze blew in from the Ravrax’tor. The Fates had blessed him with this gift and he would cherish her for as long as he lived.
He opened up his blood bond to her, letting her feel the depth of his feelings, the depth of his love for her, and she gasped, which he swallowed with a kiss.
Afterwards, Kate whispered, “It’s only the beginning, isn’t it?”
“Tev, female. It is.”
Their child kicked in agreement between them.
EPILOGUE
Two lunar cycles later…
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” Kat screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing around the trees.
“Luxiva,” Vaxa’an said quietly, sweat beading his forehead, as he knelt between her legs. “You must push.”
Privanax was observing from a distance away but Vaxa’an wasn’t too concerned, considering he had Kat hooked up to his screens. The doctor could monitor her progress and intervene if he thought something was going wrong. But for the most part, Luxirian birthings were between mother and sire and they tended to be private affairs. Privanax’s presence was one for safety, considering the child would be both human and Luxirian and none of them quite knew what to expect.
What did concern Vaxa’an was how far they were from the Golden City. Vaxa’an had mentioned in passing that it was a Luxirian custom for birthings to happen in sacred places, like the Ravrax’tor, so that the Fates could bless the child and nourish it with strength. Kat had liked the idea and brought up having the child in the lallarix. Vaxa’an had fought it at first, knowing that while he would’ve liked to adhere to the customs of his people, and not to mention have the child in a place that had meant much to his own parents, his luxiva’s health and safety would come first.
True to form, Kat had been stubborn about it and eventually, they’d compromised. They would birth the child in the lallarix—a water birth—but Privanax would be in attendance to make sure nothing went wrong.
Still, their distance from the labs grated at him, especially since his mate had been in labor for hours and was in obvious pain. Privanax had told him that the child was much larger than average human offspring, which only worried Vaxa’an more.
“You are doing well, female,” Vaxa’an murmured, leaning up to brush his lips over her damp skin. She was pale and whimpering and her back would arch every few moments as contractions hit her. He growled, hating to see her pain. He wished he could take every bit of it for her so that she would have a painless birth.
“Vaxa,” she panted, her voice hoarse from the screaming. From one moment to the next, she was either cursing his name for getting her pregnant, or she was seeking his strength. “I d-don’t know if I can do this.”
“Of course you can,” he said. They were in the shallowest pool of the lallarix. The clear water just covered his mate’s rounded belly. “You are my mate, you are the lavrix’an of our people. You are strong and you will do this.”
His hands stroked her inner thighs and he checked between her legs, seeing the very top of his son’s head, seeing a tuft of dark hair and the beginnings of his black horns. The sight made his throat close up.
“He has horns, luxiva,” he told her. “I can see them.”
Tears streaked from the corners of her eyes and dropped down into the water of the silver pools. “He does?”
“Tev,” he said. He slipped her thighs open wider after a brief glance at Privanax who was monitoring his screens. “Come, luxiva. Push so that we may see him, so that you can hold him in your arms.”
Another contraction hit and she screamed, eyes screwing shut. Vaxa’an growled, even as he softly stroked her, trying to see her through.
He tried another method. He rasped near her ear, “Female, you either push now or I will load you back onto the hovercraft and take you back to labs. Do you truly want Privanax to help you birth our child?”
“No,” she moaned, panting. But Vaxa’an almost smiled when he saw the fire he loved so much entering her eyes.
“Then do as I say.”
“Okay,” she snapped, gritting her teeth.
Her screams and groans filled the jungle for what seemed like rotations.
Even the trees surrounding the lallarix were silent, as if they were holding their creaking breaths, not wanting to disturb his mate or break her concentration as their child was slowly brought into the world.
And then, eventually, her screams stopped, only to be replaced by the loud, echoing cries of their son.
Vaxa’an sent a quiet prayer to the Fates, thanking them, as he gently washed his son’s skin, feeling an impossible love swell in his chest. Then, he had the honor of presenting him to his mate.
Kat was crying, her chest heaving after her hours of exertion. She cradled him gently against her bared breasts and sobbed out, “He’s beautiful. He’s beautiful, Vaxa.”
And he was.
Their son looked mostly Luxirian, except that his features held the softened angles of his mate’s face and his eyes resembled his mother’s. He had dark hair and budding horns that would strengthen with the coming spans. His skin reflected the silver of the lallarix, his scales glittering in the light.
Privanax had retreated quietly back to the hovercraft, giving the new parents time to bond with their child. Vaxa cradled them both close, slipping behind his mate so she could lean her back against his chest, knowing that with everything they had dealt with these past couple lunar cycles, with the Jetutians and the risky pregnancy, this was most important. Now, Vaxa’an was a sire to a male that would grow strong and who would one span rule over their beautiful Luxiria, bringing prosperity and peace and protection to their people.
He stroked his son’s face while his mate cooed down to him. When she looked back at Vaxa’an, her eyes shimmered with tears and he leaned forward for a soft kiss.
Against her lips, as their healthy son’s cries filled the jungle, he murmured, “Just the beginning.”
The Warriors of Luxiria series will continue with…
Lihvan!
Late Spring 2017
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Dear awesome reader,
Thank you, thank you for reading The Alien’s Mate!
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ABOUT ZOEY
Zoey Draven loves sexy, insatiable, alpha aliens and loves to write about them even more. The Alien’s Prize is her debut SFR novel. She also writes steamy contemporary romance under the pen name Emilia Winters (www.EmiliaWinters.com).
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