by R. E. Butler
“Damn straight.”
She grinned and went onto her toes to kiss him. Then she walked to the bathroom and shut the door. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment. In a matter of weeks, her whole life had changed. She wasn’t just a tigress baker with a kickass job anymore—she was an immortal, beloved mate and member of the Cleveland coven. And now she was adding mother to all that.
She’d never suspected things would change so much for her when she took the job at the restaurant, but it turned out to be one of the best things she ever did.
After taking the test, she capped the lid and joined Merrix in the bedroom where they waited for the timer to chime.
He turned the test over, and she smiled at the word “positive” in bright blue in the little window. Tears filled her eyes, and she sniffled and turned in his arms to hug him.
“Happy tears, right?” he whispered.
“Very happy. You’re gonna be a dad.”
“And you’re going to be the best mom.” He kissed her sweetly, then tossed the test in the trash before joining her on the bed for a celebratory snuggle before they got on with their night. She could think of no better way to celebrate their wonderful news than shouting their love for each other to the sky.
* * *
The next night, they met Eynd in the club offices after sunset.
“I wanted to be the first one to give you a gift,” Eynd said, handing Aeryn a pink and blue paper gift sack.
“You didn’t have to do any such thing,” Aeryn said as she opened the bag and took out a bracelet made of gold links. On two of the links, hers and Merrix’s names were inscribed.
“Once you name your baby, you can get his or her name inscribed on one of the links.”
“There are a lot of links on this bracelet,” Aeryn said as she held out her wrist for Merrix to put the bracelet on it.
“Well, I didn’t want to limit ya,” Eynd said with a wink.
“I love it. Thank you.” Aeryn hugged Eynd.
“You’re very welcome. And when you get to the point where you need pregnancy clothes, you’ll have to go shopping for yourself since Gretel doesn’t carry that kind of thing. I know some nice boutiques that you can check out.”
“Sounds great,” Aeryn said.
They headed into the War Room, where a woman with dark brown hair sat at the long table, a spiral-bound notebook in front of her.
“Aeryn, Merrix, this is Grace Atlana.”
She stood and smiled at them, shaking their hands. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Aeryn said. She, Merrix, and Eynd sat.
“It’s my pleasure. I first wanted to tell you that you can count on me being very discreet. I’m not a doctor. I’m a trained midwife, and I specialize in complicated births. I told Eynd that she could tell you I worked with the Centaurs, but normally I don’t go around sharing that kind of information with anyone. A human baby doctor—even a shifter doctor—might not have the knowledge of unique babies that I do.”
“And Valkyries are unique,” Aeryn said.
“Yes,” Grace said, “but the unique aspect of the pregnancy is that your baby is on a fast track to be here in about three and a half to four months. Do you know when you conceived?”
Aeryn told her the date.
Grace looked at a tablet and poked around on a calendar. “Okay, so a typical delivery would be around nine months, give or take a week. We’re cutting that in half and would expect you to deliver somewhere around the four and a half mark. That would be sometime between the end of October and the middle of November.”
“I’m a little concerned about going into labor during the day,” Aeryn said. She reached for Merrix’s hand and squeezed it.
“Of course, but we’ll do all that we can to avoid that from happening. First, we need to establish a place for us to meet for your appointments. We’re going to need to monitor the baby’s development closely, so that means weekly appointments and ultrasounds.”
“I’m on it,” Eynd said. “I just asked Cella and Harmony to join us in the room in ten minutes.”
“I should probably tell Cyrus the good news,” Aeryn said with a chuckle.
“I’ll have him come too,” Eynd said.
“As to the point about the delivery during the daytime,” Grace said, “since we’re monitoring your pregnancy, we can schedule an induction so Merrix can be in a safe place with you, no matter how long the delivery takes.”
“Of course, if I spontaneously go into labor before that, then the plan would go out the window,” Aeryn said.
“Well, yes. But we’ll hope for the best. And it’s always good to have a plan B, C, and D at least.”
Aeryn smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ten minutes later, she told her cousin, his mate, and the female head of the coven about her pregnancy. They brought in Brone because he was the head of the coven’s security and would need to know why resources would be used for Grace. Aeryn and Merrix listened as the small group discussed logistics, supplies, and equipment with Grace.
“How are you feeling?” Merrix whispered in Aeryn’s ear.
“Good. I’m trying not to worry about what would happen if our baby tries to come early. During the day.”
“Keep a good thought. That’s all we can do.”
She tilted her head back and smiled at him. “Did I tell you I love you today?”
“You did, but I never get tired of hearing it.”
She cupped the back of his head and smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Chapter Sixteen
On the night of the full moon, Aeryn and Merrix traveled with Cyrus, Cella, Angie, Vex, and Rage to a large piece of wooded property that Mishka owned. Originally, he’d intended to build on it but had changed his mind, and it had sat unused for years until Angie needed a place to shift into her wolf form. While she and Cyrus were both welcome in their respective groups, sometimes they liked to hunt privately, and according to Cyrus, Mishka’s woods were full to the brim with fun things to hunt.
Merrix got out of the SUV and held out his hand to help Aeryn from inside. She hopped down and inhaled deeply. “Wow, it smells great here.”
He followed suit and inhaled. “It does. I’ve lived downtown for so long I didn’t realize I’d miss the smell of the outdoors that much.”
“My tigress likes being outside.”
Angie joined them. “Have you been up to the roof yet?”
“Roof of what?” Merrix asked.
“The club. Vex and Rage built an amazing garden up there. We planned to use it for when I needed to shift but couldn’t be with the pack. It’s nice just to go hang out up there though. The view from the top of the building is amazing.”
“But you come here too?” Aeryn asked.
Angie shrugged. “Sometimes I don’t mind padding around the roof, and sometimes I really, really want to take in a good run. Is your cat as temperamental as my wolf?”
“Sounds like it,” Aeryn said with a chuckle.
“We’ll get you the codes for the rooftop,” Vex said. “There’s a protected stairwell, so if Aeryn would like to be out during the daytime, you can still hang out with her without risking a burn.”
“I’d be stuck in the club for the day though,” Merrix said.
“Ah, right. I keep forgetting that not everyone lives in the club.”
“If you wanna see a sunrise sometime, I can take you to watch it and then bring you to the apartment,” Cyrus said.
“Thanks,” Aeryn said with a smile. “I’m not missing sunrises right now, but I’ll let you know.”
“It’s funny what you miss until you can’t do it without effort,” Angie said.
There was a quick discussion on how long everyone wanted to stay out, and it was decided that they’d be hunting no more than two hours. Anyone who finished early would simply wait in the SUVs.
The three groups split apart for privacy. Ae
ryn and Merrix walked for a while, and then she said, “I think this is good.”
“What do you look for in a shifting place?” he asked, glancing around.
“Nothing in particular, I’m just anxious to shift. I’ve been feeling out of sorts all day, and I’m sure that shifting will help settle it.”
They’d made love well past dawn, and his feisty kitten had woken him up before sunset with her talented hands and mouth. Her eyes had often flashed to the blue of her tiger, and he could tell that her beast was riding close to the surface.
“You know, I always thought wolves were the only ones who cared about the full moon.”
She toed off her shoes and reached for the hem of her sundress. “They’re just more vocal about it than tigers. We keep our traditions and ceremonies to ourselves. It’s not that the full moon drives us to shift. It’s just the time of the month that our people have chosen. It could really be any time. But I’ve been shifting on the full moon for as long as I was able, so it’s kind of ingrained in me.”
He took the dress from her, letting out an appreciative growl for seeing her nude body on display. He hadn’t been crazy about her only wearing a dress and nothing under it, but she’d told him it was just easier to have less to take off.
She blew him a kiss. “See you in a minute.”
He chuckled and hung her dress on a low branch, setting her shoes underneath it. He watched as she changed forms from a gorgeous woman to a beautiful tigress. She was dark orange, with a white underbelly and black stripes. Her paws were white and tipped with dark claws, and when she stretched like a house cat and whipped her tail back and forth, he had the urge to find her a giant ball of yarn.
He dropped to his knees as she padded to him and sank his fingers into her thick fur. “You’re amazing, sweetheart. So pretty and fierce.”
She let out a humming purr as he scratched behind her ears, her eyes closing and her whiskers twitching.
He couldn’t believe he was petting a tiger in the woods. It was the craziest, coolest thing he’d ever done.
She pressed her head to his with a purr and let out a murmuring yowl.
“Yeah, let’s go find you something tasty.”
She tilted her head and sniffed the air, and he watched as she moved around slowly, scenting loudly. She inhaled sharply and then looked over her shoulder at him in question.
“I’ll keep up, I promise.” He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, ready to take off when she did.
A snarl curled from her lips, and she lunged into a hard run, disappearing into the darkness on the trail of something. He followed, having to keep up a good pace to not lose her. He hadn’t needed to run full tilt in a long while. If he were still human, he’d have needed a breather at some point, but being a vampire came with a lot of perks, stamina and speed among them.
Aeryn darted around a tree, and he followed close behind, almost losing her in a dense section of the woods. She growled low as she paused by a creek, and he froze behind her, listening and watching. Then he saw it—a group of deer drinking downstream. The only movement from his sweetheart was the twitching of her whiskers.
And then she exploded toward them, a furry orange blur with fangs. The deer scattered, but she managed to catch one, taking it down and snapping its neck in a swift shaking move. He was incredibly proud of his sweetheart.
She settled on the deer and began to tear big chunks of flesh away, gnawing happily, her purrs echoing around them. He moved to the other side to face her and sat, resting his arms on his knees.
Pausing mid-chew, she gave him a curious look, and he said, “You’re amazing. I mean, I knew you would be, but it’s pretty damn cool to watch in person. I wish I ate meat so I could join you. After I cooked it, of course.”
She yowled, which sounded a lot to him like she was agreeing, then tucked back into the deer. When she’d eaten her fill, she moved to him and sat, cleaning her paws and face with long strokes of her tongue. Her eyes were bright blue and glowing, and she practically preened with happiness.
“What do we do with the carcass?” he asked as she stood and stretched, her claws digging into the dirt.
Jerking her head to the side, she tilted as if she was listening in that direction. He listened too and heard the soft growls of other predators.
“Ah, the scavengers are waiting.”
She nodded and he gave her a few scratches behind the ear. “Ready to shift back?”
She nodded again.
“Let’s go get your clothes, love.”
Once they found their way back to the place he’d hung her dress, she shifted back. She stood and went onto her toes, stretching fully with a groan, before she joined him, hugging him as she said, “Holy shit, that was awesome.”
“It looked awesome.”
“Thanks for hanging with me. I’ve only ever hunted in a group before, not with one person.”
“I’m glad I could be here.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to shift for the next full moon.”
“No?”
She stepped away and took the dress from the tree limb. “No. I’m at six weeks now. Females usually can only shift during the first two months of pregnancy, and then the cat’s urge to shift goes away until after the baby is born. At the next full moon, I’ll be past the two-month mark, so I don’t think it’ll matter to my cat. But maybe we can just be outside and walking. I don’t want to give up the full moon entirely.”
“We can hang out on the roof like they suggested, or we can come here with them. Whatever you want is yours.”
“Aw.” She stepped into her shoes and then kissed him. “I just want you right now. So, let’s get back to the SUV so we can get home.”
“The sooner, the better.”
They reached the SUVs around the same time as Angie, Vex, and Rage, and ten minutes later, Cella and Cyrus appeared. Everyone had good luck hunting, and Merrix was glad they’d come. After Cyrus dropped them off at the apartment complex, it took only minutes for Merrix and Aeryn to get into their apartment and tumble into bed, which was his favorite way to end their nights. He couldn’t think of anything better than shouting their pleasure to the sky and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
* * *
Merrix strode into the kitchen the following night at three a.m. He’d finished work at the hotel and was encouraged by how fast the fourth floor’s remodel was going. The hotel would be outfitted with the latest security measures, including a staffed security desk that would patrol the interior and exterior building twenty-four hours a day. Gossip around the water cooler said that Mishka and Harmony were going to have a suite on the fourth floor as well, for those times they wanted to stay somewhere besides their underground chamber.
“Hey, baby,” he said, pecking her cheek.
“Hey, yourself.” She wiped a towel carefully around the edge of a plate with a layered chocolate cake decorated with swirls of light and dark chocolate.
“Looks amazing. Who’s it for?”
“Kelly. We’re going to stop on the way to our apartment and drop it off. She was hungry for something sweet, and the restaurant was closed when they called for delivery, so I said I’d bring one over.”
“You’re very sweet. Can I help with anything?”
“Nope, I’m almost done here, but you can carry my dinner back for me.”
He looked over at the counter where a cardboard box held several containers. “Is that from Marcus?”
“No, it’s from here. The special tonight was strip steak with butter-poached lobster, and I’m in the mood for lobster after smelling it all night.”
“Did you make yourself something sweet for dessert?”
“I thought you were my dessert?” she teased.
He grinned. “You read my mind.”
“But yeah, I also saved myself a crème brûlée. That will be my second dessert.”
“Smart kitten.”
When she’d finished boxing up Kelly’s dessert, he te
xted Bellamin to tell him they were on the way to the club so he could meet them at the side door.
Merrix carried Aeryn’s dinner box, and she carried the dessert. Bellamin opened the door and smiled at them.
“Thanks for taking care of this. She told me earlier tonight she wanted something sweet, and when I reached out to the chef, he only had some apple thing. Kelly wanted chocolate. I’ll owe you one.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Oh, before I forget, Kelly wanted me to tell you that she believes there are some books in the archive related to your situation.”
“Situation?” Aeryn asked.
Bellamin’s head dropped, and he stared at her stomach.
Merrix chuckled. “Our little one?”
“Yep. Mishka asked her if she’d seen any books or materials on the subject, and she thought she had. So just let her know if you’d like to go poke around, and we’ll make the arrangements.”
“I’d love that,” Aeryn said. “Could we go tonight?”
“I can’t take the night off, love,” Merrix said.
“Oh.” Her face fell.
He didn’t like to see her disappointed, so he added, “But I’m sure we can arrange plenty of security if you don’t want to wait until I can join you.”
“One hundred percent,” Bellamin said. “I’ll have Kelly reach out, and we’ll get the arrangements made. Thanks again for the dessert. See you after sunset.”
Aeryn and Merrix said goodbye to Bellamin and hurried across the street to the complex. When they were in the lobby waiting for the elevator, she said, “Are you sure?”
“About what?”
The door opened, and they stepped inside. She pressed the button and entered the code for their floor. “Me going without you. I can wait until the weekend if you’d feel better about it.”
“No, love, it’s fine. I mean, I’ll go crazy knowing you’re out without me, but I’d never try to keep you from doing something you wanted just because I’m an overprotective nut.”
“You’re not a nut,” she said. “Most of the time.”
