Chapter 31
Eight months later …
Esral’s eyes were bloodshot. She looked exhausted but happy. Her smile was a mile wide. The female sat propped up in bed.
“He’s so incredibly beautiful,” Charlotte gushed, her gaze moving back to the tiny bundle in Esral’s arms.
“Do you want to hold him?” Esral’s eyes were bright.
Charlotte bit down on her lower lip. “I’m not sure I can. He’s so small.”
Esral rolled her eyes. “Of course you can. In fact, I insist. You really need the practice.” The other female looked pointedly at Charlotte’s belly. The shirt she was wearing pulled tight around the bulge. Charlotte rubbed her hand over the deep curve, a feeling of love welled up in her.
“Not long now,” Esral sounded excited.
“No.” She could feel she was beaming. “Less than two weeks. Did the birth hurt?”
Esral smiled. “It’s better if I don’t tell you anything.”
Charlotte widened her eyes, feeling panic creep in. “That bad, huh?”
“It’s all worth it in the end. That’s all you need to know. That and biting and hitting your mate helps make it feel better.”
Charlotte laughed.
“Here,” Esral held out the tiny infant to her, “you need to give him neck support like this. His head is floppy.”
“He’s so very small.” Charlotte couldn’t believe how tiny the swaddled infant was. “I’ve got this,” she said more to herself than to Esral as she took the teeny, tiny baby. Careful to support his head.
The little one gave a yawn and wiggled for a few seconds and fell back asleep. His features were delicate, his ears were pointed, as well as his tiny fangs. In short, he was perfect. “He’s beautiful.” Her voice was filled with awe.
“Your baby will be too,” Esral said.
Charlotte swallowed hard, she was nervous about the birth, but not just because of the labor.
“Push!” Becky shouted. “That’s it … yes, keep going.” Her head was positioned between Charlotte’s thighs. Her belly pulled tight. Pain threatened to overwhelm her with exhaustion following a close second. Charlotte gave a yell as she neared the end of her contraction. Her seventy-eighth contraction to be exact. She slumped back onto the pillow and lowered her legs as well. She could feel sweat bead on her brow. Her lips felt chapped.
“Do you need something to drink?” Keto’s brow was sweaty too, his eyes were filled with fear. It was the first time she had seen him so afraid. He got up and sat back down. He didn’t know what to do with himself, or how he should help. It was so sweet.
“I’m doing fine.” Her voice was croaky from all the groaning and growling and … screaming. So what, who was judging? Birthing hurt like hell. More than she ever thought possible. Her stomach clenched with worry. No! She wasn’t going to think about it. It didn’t matter. Not to her. It would all be fine. It didn’t matter either way.
Her belly began to tighten with another birthing pain. Charlotte gripped her belly.
“Here we go,” Becky sounded excited. “Your baby’s head is already right here.” The healer looked between Charlotte’s legs as she spoke. “I can see the hair. It’s a full head of the stuff.”
“What?” shouted Keto.
“Keep your eyes on me,” Charlotte groaned. “Hold my hand.” She grit her teeth.
“One more good push and your baby will be here,” Becky sounded upbeat. “He or she has black hair.”
The pain was becoming unbearable. The need to push hit. It hit her hard.
“Black hair.” Keto smiled. “How the hell did that happen?”
Charlotte pushed with all her might. With everything that was in her. She could feel herself stretch. Pain, so much pain and then relief.
“Yes!” Becky shouted. “A beautiful baby.” She heard the sound of an inhalation and then a tiny moan. “A perfectly healthy daughter.”
The little one gave an angry yell. Becky seemed busy checking the baby. Then she looked like she was wiping her.
“She takes after you.” Keto kissed her. Charlotte was both laughing and crying. She was still panting heavily. Her hair stuck to her forehead but none of that mattered.
“Here you go.” Becky placed the squirming infant in her arms. Oh wow! Charlotte was still a little out of breath. She looked down at the tiny baby. A full head of black hair was an understatement, the little one had a ton of the stuff.
She balled her fists and gave another almighty yell. “She definitely takes after her mama.” His voice was choked as Keto reached for one of her hands. “Beautiful and uncivilized as hell.”
“Hey!” Charlotte smiled. Her heart felt light.
“She’s perfect,” he said.
“Yes, she is.” Charlotte couldn’t take her eyes off the little girl they had created. Her ears were pointed. Very pointed. Her eyes were a pale blue but that might still change within the first few months, although, she was certain they would stay that color. Just like her father’s.
“She has your mouth.” Keto sniffed and she realized he was crying. He wiped his eyes and smiled at her. “You are amazing, you know that?”
“Are you really happy?” It was a stupid question, she could see he was. “It doesn’t bother you that she’s a girl?” It was her own insecurities shining through. Even though Keto was already making great strides, the elven community still had a long way to go before it treated males and females as equals.
His eyes turned stormy. “Not even a little bit.” He set his teeth, looking both fierce and proud. “This little princess is going to rule the kingdom one day if I have anything to say about it.” He smiled, his eyes shining with determination.
Charlotte gaped. “What?” she laughed. “A female, take the reins?”
Keto nodded. “She is my firstborn. I can tell she’s going to be a handful.”
Their daughter gave another almighty yell. They both laughed.
“She has a decent set of lungs on her,” Becky chuckled, packing away some instruments. “I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ll be just outside, so call if you need me.”
Charlotte nodded, she bundled her baby more securely in her arms, still in awe of the little life. A miracle. A true miracle.
Then she looked up at Keto, who smiled at her with such love and tenderness. “When do we start trying for the next one?”
“Oh no!” She laughed. “Only if you do the pushing.”
Keto pursed his lips, his gaze hardening. The birth had been hard on him even though he hadn’t physically felt the pain. “Believe me, I would if I could. You mean everything to me.” He leaned forward and kissed her.
The baby began to squirm and moan. “I think we may have our work cut out for us.” Keto widened his eyes, a smile on his lips.
“It’s going to be amazing though.”
“Without a doubt. Please, can I hold my princess?” Keto reached down and took the little one into his arms. She stopped wiggling and fussing instantly.
“Daddy’s girl.” Keto beamed, cradling the little one against his wide chest. “My little Esme.” They had decided to call the baby, if it turned out to be a girl, after his late mother. She looked so small wrapped in his arms. It had to be just about the best thing Charlotte had ever seen. Her heart overflowed with love and joy.
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Saturday night is shifter night.
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About the Author
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I live on an acre in the country with my gorgeous husband and three sons and an array of pets. You can usually find me on the computer, completely lost in worlds of my making. I believe that it is the small things that truly matter like that feeling you get when you start a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.
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Also by Charlene Hartnady
The Chosen Series:
1# Chosen by the Vampire Kings
2# Stolen by the Alpha Wolf
3# Unlikely Mates
4# Awakened by the Vampire Prince
5# Mated to the Vampire Kings (Short Novel)
6# Wolf Whisperer (Novella)
7# Wanted by the Elven King
The Program Series (Vampire Novels):
Book 1: A Mate for York
Book 2: A Mate for Gideon
Book 3: A Mate for Lazarus
Book 4: A Mate for Griffin
Book 5: A Mate for Lance
Book 6: A Mate for Kai
Book 7: A Mate for Titan
The Bride Hunt Series (Dragon Shifter Novels):
Book 1: Royal Dragon
Book 2: Water Dragon
Book 3: Dragon King
Book 4: Lightning Dragon
Book 5: Forbidden Dragon
Book 6: Dragon Prince
Demon Chaser Series: (No cliffhangers)
Book 1: Omega
Book 2: Alpha
Book 3: Hybrid
Book 4: Skin
Demon Chaser: Boxed Set Book 1-3
Excerpt
The Program Series
A Mate for York
Chapter 1
Cassidy’s hands were clammy and shaking. She had just retyped the same thing three times. At this rate, she would have to work even later than normal to get her work done. She sighed heavily.
Pull yourself together.
With shaking hands, she grabbed her purse from the floor next to her, reached inside and pulled out the folded up newspaper article.
Have you ever wanted to date a vampire?
Human women required. Must be enthusiastic about interactions with vampires. Must be willing to undergo a stringent medical exam. Must be prepared to sign a contractual agreement which would include a non-disclosure clause. This will be a temporary position. Limited spaces available within the program. Successful candidates can earn up to $45,000 per day, over a three-day period.
All she needed was three days leave.
Cassidy wasn’t sure whether her hands were shaking because she had to ask for the leave and her boss was a total douche bag or because the thought of vampires drinking her blood wasn’t exactly a welcome one.
More than likely a combination of both.
This was a major opportunity for her though. She had already been accepted into the trial phase of the program that the vampires were running. What was three days in her life? So there was a little risk involved. Okay, a lot of risk, but it would all be worth it in the end. She was drowning in debt. Stuck in a dead-end job. Stuck in this godforsaken town. This was her chance, her golden opportunity, and she planned on seizing it with both hands.
To remind herself what she was working towards, or at least running away from, she let her eyes roam around her cluttered desk. There were several piles of documents needing to be filed. A stack of orders lay next to her cranky old laptop. Hopefully it wouldn’t freeze on her this time while she was uploading them into the system. It had been months since Sarah had left. There used to be two of them performing her job, and since her colleague was never replaced it was just her. She increasingly found that she had to get to work way earlier and stay later and later just to get the job done.
To add insult to injury, there were many days that her a-hole boss still had the audacity to come down on her for not meeting a deadline. He refused to listen to reason and would not accept being understaffed as an excuse. She’d never been one to shy away from hard work but the expectations were ridiculous. Her only saving grace was that she didn’t have much of a life.
There had to be something more out there for her ‒ and a hundred and thirty-five thousand big ones would not only pay off her debts but would also give her enough cash to go out and find one. A life, that is, and a damned good life it would be.
Cassidy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. If she asked really nicely, hopefully Mark would give her a couple of days off. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken leave. Then it dawned on her, she’d taken three days after Sean had died a year ago. Her boss couldn’t say no though. If he did, she wasn’t beyond begging.
Rising to her feet, she made for the closed door at the other end of her office. After knocking twice, she entered.
The lazy ass was spread out on the corner sofa with his hands crossed behind his head. He didn’t look in the least bit embarrassed about her finding him like that either.
“Cassidy.” He put on a big cheesy smile as he rose to a sitting position. The buttons on his jacket pulled tight around his paunchy midsection. He didn’t move much and ate big greasy lunches so it wasn’t surprising. “Come on in. Take a seat,” he gestured to a spot next to him on the sofa.
That would be the day. Her boss could get a bit touchy feely. Thankfully it had never gone beyond a pat on the butt, a hand on her shoulder or just a general invasion of her personal space. It put her on edge though because it was becoming worse of late. The sexual innuendos were also getting highly irritating. She pretended that they went over her head, but he was becoming more and more forward as time went by.
By the way his eyes moved down her body, she could tell that he was most definitely mentally undressing her. Oh god. That meant that he was in one of his grabby moods. Damn. She preferred it when he was acting like a total jerk. Easier to deal with.
“No, that’s fine. Thank you.” She worked hard to plaster a smile on her face. “I don’t want to take up much of your time and I have to get back to work myself.”
His eyes narrowed for a second before dropping to her breasts. “You could do with a little break every now and then …so could I for that matter.” Even though she knew he couldn’t see anything because of her baggy jacket, his eyes stayed glued to her boobs anyway. Why did she get the distinct impression that he was no longer talking about work? Argh!
“How long has your husband been gone now?” he asked, his gaze still locked on her chest. It made her want to fold her arms but she resisted the temptation.
None of your damned business.
“It’s been a year now since Sean passed.” She tried hard to look sad and mournful. The truth was, if the bastard wasn’t already dead she would’ve killed him herself. Turned out that there were things about Sean that she hadn’t known. In fact, it was safe to say that she’d been living with and married to a total stranger. Funny how those things tended to come out when a person died.
Her boss did not need to know this information though. So far, playing the mourning wife was the only thing that kept him from pursuing her further.
“What can I do for you?” His eyes slid down to the juncture at her thighs and she had to fight the urge to squeeze them tightly together. Even though temperatures outside were damn near scorching, she still wore stockings, skirt to mid-calf, a button-up blouse and a jacket. Nothing was revealing and yet he still looked at her like she was standing there naked. It made her skin crawl. “I would be happy to oblige you. Just say the word, baby.”
She hated it when he called her that. He st
arted doing it a couple of weeks ago. Cassidy had asked him on several occasions to stop but she may as well have been speaking to a plank of wood.
She grit her teeth for a second, holding back a retort. “Great. Glad to hear it.” Her voice sounded way more confident than she felt. “I need a couple of days off. It’s been a really long time—”
“Forget it,” he interrupted while standing up. “I need you ... here.” Another innuendo. Although she waited, he didn’t give any further explanations.
“Look, I know there is a lot to do around here especially since Sarah left.” His eyes clouded over immediately at the mention of her ex-colleague’s name. “I would be happy to put in extra time.”
As in, she wouldn’t sleep and would have to work weekends to get the job done.
“I’ll do whatever it takes. I just really need a couple of days. It’s important.”
His eyes lit up and she realized what she had just said and how it would’ve sounded to a complete pig like Mark.
“Anything?” he rolled the word off of his tongue.
“Well …” It came out sounding breathless but only because she was nervous. “Not anything. What I meant to say was—”
“No, no. I like that you would do anything, in fact, there is something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.” His gaze dropped to her breasts again.
Please no. Anything but that.
Cassidy swallowed hard, actually feeling sick to her stomach. She shook her head.
“You can have a few days, baby. In fact, I’ll hire you an assistant.” Ironically he played with the wedding band on his ring finger. His voice had turned sickly sweet. “I’d be willing to go a long way for you if you only met me halfway. It’s time you got over the loss of your husband and I plan on helping you to do that.”
“Um … I don’t think …” Her voice was soft and shaky. Her hands shook too, so she folded her arms.
Wanted By the Elven King (The Chosen Series Book 7) Page 22
