by Tami Lund
He had healing abilities but had chosen to become a guard instead of training to be a healer. Despite his lack of training, he usually accompanied Alexa Cymbeline whenever she tended to a serious healing, and always managed to help her through the process. If Carley’s pain-clouded memories were correct, he had been there when Alexa found her, a crumpled mess at the bottom of the cliff, the day Miguel had pushed her from the top.
“Carley Santiago?” His voice registered surprise.
She nodded and cast her gaze to the side. “Yes. I’ve come back.”
“Where were you?”
A shriek of pain pulled their attention. Jake turned his head to glance over his shoulder. His features shifted to worry.
“Is the birth not going well?” she asked. The queen had had a difficult birth with Olivia, and had been unable to conceive any more children afterward. She had suffered bouts of depression ever since.
Jake’s grimace said it all, but he answered anyway. “Alexa is pushing herself too hard. And she won’t let me help.”
“Why?” Alexa and Jake, although not mated, had been a couple for at least half a decade, maybe longer. Carley never understood why they hadn’t officially mated, when they seemed so perfect for one another.
He shook his head. “Long story. Stupid mistakes. And Alexa’s one of the hardest-headed females I know. Which is good for her patients, but it’s a pain in the ass for her…”
“Boyfriend? That’s what the humans say, when they are dating someone, but unsure if they plan to mate with that person.”
He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Yeah, well, I’m not even that status anymore. Sorry, did you want to come in? I’m sure the princess will be thrilled to see you. The king and queen as well.” He opened the door wider, an invitation.
Carley hesitated. Not because she did not want to see Olivia and her parents, and not because she was afraid of their reaction when they saw her. No, she hesitated because of her own issues, because of the babe she had lost four short months ago.
She had never dealt with the pain, the emotional upheaval caused by such a significant life event. Initially, she’d simply been afraid for her life, and her fear pushed her to focus entirely on staying alive, on escaping the coterie and carving a new way, far away from Miguel and his evil intentions. After she’d settled in Chicago, found her routine, her job, her roommates, and friends, she’d then refused to deal with it. She had a new life; there was no time to dwell on the past. It was just that, past, over, gone.
It had been easy to do, really. Most of her coworkers were young, single, working too many hours, and when they weren’t at work, they played just as hard. None were at that point in their lives where children were a consideration. Roman was the only one who was older than she, who actually did have a family, but his ex-wife, after the divorce, had moved them to Texas to be closer to her family, and Roman rarely saw them anymore.
Now, though, with the lightbearer princess about to birth a half-shifter, half-lightbearer babe, when at one point, they had been pregnant at the same time, all of Carley’s demons were coming back to haunt her. Miguel, the babe she’d lost, the Chosen One, her parents, all the reasons she’d fled in the first place. She had a very real urge to turn around, rush down the stairs, seek out Reid, and demand he take her back to Chicago. As selfish as the thought was, she knew he would do as she asked.
“Carley. Olivia, sweetie, look, it’s Carley. She’s come back to the coterie. Isn’t that exciting?” Cecilia was there, pulling her into the suite, dragging her through the sitting room and into the bedchamber.
Her gaze quickly swept over the inhabitants of the room. The king and queen were huddled in a corner. The king had his arm around his mate, who was crying gently into a linen handkerchief. Tanner’s mother, Arianna, was standing near them, trying to offer her support.
Tanner sat on the bed next to his mate, brushing the sweat-soaked hair out of her face and murmuring something so low that only she could hear. His face was carved with worry lines.
Alexa sat on the bed near Olivia’s feet, looking utterly exhausted, but determined to help Olivia through the next contraction. Dane stood near the head of the bed, on the opposite side as Tanner, looking anxious and annoyed at the same time.
“Let me help,” he pleaded with Tanner.
“If you touch my mate, I’ll rip your arm off,” Tanner said with a snarl.
“Alexa cannot do it alone,” Dane complained as he waved at the exhausted healer. “If this experience doesn’t kill your mate, it could kill her.”
“No one is going to die,” Tanner growled.
“Not if you let me help, they won’t,” Dane shot back.
“Olivia, look,” Cecilia said when she came to a halt next to the bed. Olivia turned her head and opened her eyes. They were as exhausted as the rest of her body appeared to be. Given the amount of time it took them to drive to the coterie from Tennessee, she had been laboring for at least twelve hours, likely longer.
“Carley?” Olivia’s voice sounded like a croak. Without needing to be asked, Tanner grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and offered it to his mate. She sipped and then pushed it away. “You’re back.”
Olivia’s hair was drenched, dark blonde strands plastered to her head. Her face was pinched, pale, the veins standing out in stark relief against her skin. There were deep circles under her eyes, eyes that were clouded with pain and exhaustion.
She wore a simple dressing gown, and it too was soaked through with sweat. The mound that was her belly quivered with her rapid breathing.
The bed coverings had been removed and replaced with stark white sheets. A stack of towels and several basins of water sat nearby. A tray of discarded plates, piles of picked over food on top, sat near the door. Carley and Jake were the only ones who noticed when a servant stepped into the room and removed the tray.
“Hello, Olivia.” Carley resisted the urge to courtesy, even though it still felt natural to do so. But Olivia had never been pretentious, had always insisted those who worked in the beach house call her by her given name, and treat her as an equal, not a princess.
She stared at the princess’ belly. For a moment, her vision blurred, and she saw herself lying in that bed, laboring to deliver her babe. She sucked in a breath and swayed on her feet. Cecilia squeezed her arm, and the vision was gone.
“Congratulations,” she managed, waving her hand at the bed.
Before she could respond, Olivia’s face screwed up in pain, and Alexa took a deep breath and placed both hands on the woman’s belly. As Carley watched, they both breathed through the contraction together, although it looked as if Alexa was taking on the brunt of the pain. When it was over, Olivia dropped back against the headboard and closed her eyes, and Alexa swayed and looked as if she might pass out. Cecilia rushed to the healer’s side and held her steady.
“Dane’s right, Tanner,” Cecilia said. “Alexa needs help. This pup doesn’t seem to want to come out. We need to pull all the pain, so that Olivia can focus on pushing.” She glanced at the window. “And we need to do it before the sun goes down.”
The look in Tanner’s eyes was haunted. He was clearly frightened for his mate, yet the last thing he wanted was for her former betrothed to be the one to deliver his pup. Everyone knew that Olivia and Dane had briefly been betrothed, since the king announced it last summer, in an effort to keep Olivia and Tanner apart. Obviously, his attempt to manipulate his daughter’s life hadn’t worked.
“Right here,” Cecilia said, pointing at the bed next to Olivia’s belly. “He’ll sit right here. He’ll siphon the pain, while Alexa focuses on getting this pup out. Okay? Tanner, answer me!”
Olivia made the decision for him. She had another contraction, and screamed that she needed to push. Dane reacted and dove onto the bed, grabbing her belly and sucking in a breath as he began to pull the pain away, absorbing it into his own body. Alexa knelt between Olivia’s feet and put her hands on Olivia’s thighs.
Olivia bore down, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth. Her face turned red, she squeezed Tanner’s hand so tightly he yelped—and still the babe did not crown. When the contraction passed, she fell back against the headboard, exhausted.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she mumbled weakly.
“Yes, you can, baby,” Tanner cooed as he cupped her face and smoothed away the dark blonde strands sticking to her cheek. “You need to bring our pup into the world.”
Olivia shook her head. “I can’t.”
Carley stepped away from the bed, moved to the corner where the king and queen stood, anxiously watching their daughter’s progress. Or lack thereof. “Hello, your majesties.”
“Carley?” The queen looked startled to see her there.
“Yes,” she said with a small, reassuring smile. “I was just wondering, did you have this same problem, birthing Olivia?”
Genevieve glanced at her mate. “It was difficult, yes.”
“What did you do?”
Genevieve’s gaze was on the king. His lips were white around the edges, he was compressing them so tightly.
“We, er, the healer, uh, cut the babe out.”
“Excuse me?”
The king looked faint, and Genevieve nodded. “I’m afraid that might have caused my inability to have any more babes,” she admitted. “But the healer said it was the only way to get her out.”
Carley cut her gaze to the laboring woman lying on the bed, her mate murmuring in her ear, the two healers conversing in quiet tones nearby. For the moment, Olivia was resting, but another contraction would hit soon.
“I hope Olivia is not having the same struggle.” But it was obvious she was, at least, having some sort of struggle. The babe should have been delivered by now. Most lightbearers, in Carley’s experience, would have birthed the babe before they’d even arrived from Tennessee. They should have walked into a serene scene, with mother propped against the headboard, the babe nestled against her breast, eagerly suckling. That was what should have happened.
The queen burst into tears. The king awkwardly patted her back while his gaze darted from his mate to his daughter and back again. Alexa skirted the bed and hurried to the queen’s side.
“What is it?” she asked.
Genevieve shook her head.
“Carley,” the healer commented, as if noticing her for the first time. “You’re back. And you look well. Are you—”
Carley nodded. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. It’s Olivia we’re concerned about.”
“I would still like to examine you when this is done. Where have you been? Have you taken care of yourself? Have you…” Her gaze dropped to Carley’s flat abdomen. Carley lifted her hand, pressed it there.
“Not now. Please. The princess. What if—what if she is suffering from the same issue the queen had?”
That pulled Alexa’s attention away from Carley. Her head shot up and a fearful look, chased by a thoughtful expression crossed her face. “I’ve never…cut someone before,” she whispered, low enough that Olivia would not hear.
But Tanner heard. With shifter swiftness, he was there, towering over the group of lightbearers, glaring at each of them in turn. “What are you suggesting?” he demanded.
Alexa, to her credit, did not shrink away from him, despite the imposing image he portrayed. “She should have given birth hours ago. Both mother and babe are beginning to suffer. It may be the only way.”
Olivia began to whimper, Dane called out that she was having another contraction, and Alexa and Tanner rushed to her side. This one was longer than the others, and despite Dane’s best efforts pulling the pain away, the laboring mother screamed and cried and begged for it to end. It was so difficult watching the normally confident, relaxed princess writhe in agony and beg, although for what, was not clear.
“I can’t,” she sobbed when the contraction finally subsided. “Don’t make me do that again.”
Tanner climbed onto the bed and hugged her tightly, his gaze lifting and all of his shifter intensity focusing on Alexa. “Do what you must to save my mate and pup,” he commanded.
“What is he suggesting?” Dane demanded, although it was clear by his suspicious tone that he already knew. “She could…she could die,” he said, without waiting for an answer.
“She will die if we do not,” Alexa responded. “And the babe is in distress. His heart rate is too slow. We need to get him out. Sooner than later.”
“Do it,” Tanner said, his voice a near shout. Tears glistened in his glowing eyes, and he clung to his mate as if he never intended to let her out of his arms.
Alexa straightened and twisted her long blonde hair into a bun behind her head. She began issuing orders. “Everyone out.”
“I’m not leaving my mate.”
“Everyone except Tanner, Dane, and I,” she modified. “Jake, you guard the door. I don’t care what you hear in here, do not let anyone in until I tell you. Do you understand?” Before he even began herding the remaining lightbearers out the door, she had already shifted her attention to Dane. “Are you ready for this? We are both about to do a crash course in human-style surgery.”
The last thing Carley heard before Jake ushered her out the door was, “We won’t let her die.”
Cecilia clutched Jake’s arm. She was another one Carley had never seen so distraught. “Can they do it, Jake?” she asked, her voice pleading.
“If anyone can, you know Alexa can. And she and Dane will probably damn near kill themselves to try to save her. If you want to help, Cecilia, go find additional healers. Those two are both already exhausted, and I imagine slicing someone open and sewing her up again will deplete whatever they have left.”
Cecilia nodded, grabbed Carley’s arm and dragged her down the stairs to the king’s library, where they found Finn and Reid, not discussing tactics, but arguing over baseball.
“Why are you arguing over that?” Carley asked.
“Because they’re playing tonight,” Reid explained. “And Finn’s going to owe me fifty bucks when the game’s over.” He smirked at his brother.
Cecilia rolled her eyes. “We’re going to head down to the village, to find another healer. The birth isn’t going well,” she announced. “They are going to have to cut the babe out.”
Both men reacted as if she’d said they were the ones to be cut, and they winced accordingly.
“Is that normal?” Reid asked.
Finn strode over to his mate and demanded, “Is this what will happen to you?”
Cecilia stroked his chest. “I have no idea what will happen to me, since I cannot predict the future. And you can stop stressing about it this instant, since I am not currently with child. As for whether this is normal, Reid, the answer is no. It is highly abnormal, actually.” She gnawed on her lower lip, clearly worried for her cousin.
“Tanner must be going out of his mind,” Finn commented.
“I would say that is an accurate description,” Cecilia replied. “And Alexa and Dane have already been working half the night and day. We need to find another healer or two, to relieve them when they burn out their magic.”
“Let’s go,” Reid said, as he leaped to his feet and headed for the door. Carley was so impressed by his willingness to help, that she did not even think of her aversion to the staircase in the cliff until they were standing at the top. The beach house perched on a massive cliff, overlooking Lake Michigan and the lightbearers’ village, which was built on the edge of the beach below. At the moment, the stairs were dry, and clear of snow and ice. But it was still a fairly treacherous walk down a very steep incline.
All the memories of the last time she’d climbed these steps suddenly flooded Carley’s mind, rendering her utterly immobile, as everyone else started down the stairs.
* * * *
Carley felt the compulsion on her mind and automatical
ly fought against it. But she was so tired, her magic was so depleted, and there was just not enough sun in the day to regenerate it. Within minutes she sagged against Miguel, who nearly let her collapse to the ground before hauling her to her feet again.
“What is it?” he asked, his eyes watching the hooded man hungrily.
“They did question her,” the hooded man said slowly. “And she is right. She told them little. But they told her a great deal. Enough to confirm suspicions she already had.” He stood, a fluid, graceful movement. Everyone in the room took a step away, giving him plenty of space.
“Miguel,” the hooded man said. “Keep your mate in line. We would not want her to get ideas into her head and try to thwart our efforts. The rest of you, come with me. It is time to set my plan into motion.”
And then they filed out the door, leaving Carley alone with Miguel. She was so tired, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep until the sun rose again the next morning. But Miguel was fairly vibrating with rage.
“Because of you, I have to stay here and babysit,” he spat angrily. “What did he get out of your head?”
Carley staggered over to the couch and sank down onto it. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. It seemed to be her phrase of the day.
“You must know something,” Miguel said hotly. “Why else would he be afraid that you could ruin his plans? I should be with him. I should be standing next to him, doing his bidding. I shouldn’t have to be here, with you.” He sounded mightily unhappy about the fact that he was stuck home with his mate while everyone else went off to do who knew what.
“Go,” Carley said weakly. “I don’t know anything. And I’m far too tired to go anywhere anyway.” She laid her head on the cushion and closed her eyes.
Miguel hesitated, obviously warring with indecision. He watched his mate, without speaking, for long moments. And finally, he abruptly turned and left the house.
Carley waited for the count of ten, and then her eyes popped open and she pushed herself off the couch. No way was she going to sit here and sleep. Not when Cecilia and Olivia and those nice shifters might be in danger. She didn’t know why, but she felt a certain camaraderie with Olivia—possibly because they were both now pregnant. Whatever the reason, she knew, without a doubt that she had to do something.
