FOREVER The Constantines' Secret: A Covenant Keeper Novel

by S. R. Karfelt

  Carole’s hand flew to her head and she smoothed the mess self-consciously. “Like what?”

  “Make it look more like hair and less like a dandelion gone to seed.”

  Ted grinned but Carole scowled. Beth scurried across the creaking floorboards and pulled bottles off a shelf, glancing back at her mom. The distraction appeared to have worked. Carole’s eyes were already glazing over in boredom and her gaze wandered toward a sunny window. Beth’s heart skipped a beat as an unnatural formation of light shimmered outside that exact window. Old Guard! Shit! Purposefully she dropped the heavy glass bottles to the floor. Several shattered, drawing her parents’ attention back to her.

  “Don’t move!” Carole crossed the room in an instant, somehow already holding a wastebasket. “That’ll cut right through your shoes!”

  Ted crouched beside Carole and lifted Beth’s foot out of the goo as though she were two and unable to manage it on her own. For once it didn’t bother Beth, and she glanced out the window to see the sparkle had gone.

  “I’m hungry!” said Beth, realizing with surprise it was true. This was the first time she’d felt hungry since she’d gotten pregnant.

  “You’re hungry?” said Ted, his eyes darting around with the intensity of a hunter providing for his starving family. “You have food here, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but all I really have is crackers, because I’ve been avoiding stocking much food. Even the sight of it usually makes me sick. You know what I’d like right now though? There’s a place over in Coventry that Kah—Kent and I found right after the wedding. It has Greek salads, the real kind with good tomatoes and cucumbers and slabs of feta. Mom, what do you think? I could murder a salad and a plate of hummus. They make their own pita bread, too.”

  Carole’s brows lifted in interest and Beth had a feeling her mom hadn’t even made breakfast before they’d come hunting her. Beth should have been texting and calling them like she usually did, but the last couple of weeks she’d done little besides lie around and wish she could vomit pemmican. Until today. Today she’d woken early, made love to Kahtar twice despite whatever bull Welcome Palmer had said about no sex, eaten all her pemmican and half his breakfast eggs, and not wanted to vomit even once. She’d headed for her shop as soon as he’d left for the Arc.

  Ted immediately lost interest in showing Beth all the pink clothing he’d brought, instead peppering her for directions to the restaurant while Carole busied herself cleaning busted bottles. Beth shoved more shampoo into a box, relieved when her dad took the box and headed outside. Anxious to leave before anything weird happened, she followed Ted and Carole.

  The cold sent her scampering back in for a jacket. “I’ll be one minute! Turn on the heater!” she called, letting the door slam shut on her mother and heading for the cluttered pile of coats on a bench a few feet away. A big hand grabbed her arm and pulled her deeper inside the shop. Beth turned and met Kahtar’s angry gaze.

  “You didn’t call them, did you? I told you to make sure you called them! You said you would!”

  “Kahtar, I forgot! You know how sick I’ve been!”

  “Blazes, Beth! No excuses! There is no room for mistakes! If your mother senses the hearts of the clan and finds us, she’ll be susceptible to our rules. You know what happens to Covenant Keepers who blend with seekers! Get them out of here and make sure they never come back! Do you have any idea—Beth, the Elders are already gathering in the Arc to discuss this!”

  “How am I supposed to make sure my parents never come here?” Beth demanded.

  He leaned closer, his steely eyes fierce. Beth tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let go. “They will die if they discover us. Do you understand me?”

  Tears filled her eyes. It wasn’t fair. She nodded.

  “Fix it, Beth. When you come back you’re going to have to give your word to the Elders this will never happen again!”

  Kahtar let go of her, almost pushing her toward the doorway. Beth raced out, forgetting about her coat. Her parents were already at the car. Carole took one look at her and met her halfway, her watchful eyes scanning Beth’s face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Beth blinked back tears. “Mom, you guys can’t come here. Not ever. No matter what. Please?” she whispered. “I-I need space. It was Dad’s idea to live close to me, but this was my dream. You know I love you both, but I really have to have some space with m-my shop and m-my stuff.” The explanation sounded lame and ridiculous, like that of an abused wife. Or a daughter who’d joined a cult that was a threat to her parents’ lives.

  Carole glanced from Ted in the car to the little house next door hiding an abstract inside. Beth wondered if she’d chosen the wrong words, if she’d already said too much and condemned her parents to the mists.

  Carole held her gaze intensely. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, Mom. I am, but I’d be better if you’d just—not come here. Please?”

  A faint sound of humor escaped Carole. She looked again at Ted, who was now fiddling with the heater and gesturing impatiently at them, before looking again at the abstract house. Beth’s mom shivered and she turned toward the car. “Let’s go, then.”

  Beth wondered if she should say something more, secure a promise from her mother—or heaven forbid, say something to her dad. But as she climbed into the front seat at her mother’s insistence, she noticed her dad too eyeing not her pretty Victorian house, but the little one next door. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and the red hair on them seemed to be standing straight up. Ted shivered.

  Good lord, they sense it. Beth looked toward the innocuous looking house, knowing it had to be full of Warriors of ilu this morning. Could they see out? She shivered too and met her dad’s eyes for a brief moment. For the briefest space of time there was a question in them, but it faded as he stepped on the gas pedal.

  “Going to call that husband of yours and invite him to join us for breakfast? I could swing by the station and pick him up.” His voice sounded shaky.

  “He’s not working there this morning, and he already ate breakfast with me about an hour ago.”

  Ted laughed, but it sounded forced. “So you’re hungry for second breakfast, Beth? You’re awfully tall for Hobbit habits.”

  Beth put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. Ted ran the stop sign at the end of the street.

  He won’t come back. Ever.

  BLOOD MOON—BEFORE THE EASTER HOLIDAY

  DESPITE MILLENNIA OF war and battle experience, Kahtar couldn’t defend himself against his wife. She cheated with far more skill than any desperate man on a battlefield. Beth held the blankets up, bare skin beckoning in the moonlight.

  “Take your clothes off and come teach me a lesson,” she purred, ignoring the threatening glare he was trying to maintain. A wicked smile flickered across her lips.

  She always sees through it! Who would have thought lying to your mate was so important? He’d yell, but had a bad feeling she’d laugh.

  After months of nausea and holding down little but pemmican, Beth had spent her sixth month of pregnancy eating—and holding down—enough food to feed four good-sized warriors a day. The hollows in her cheeks had filled in and dark circles vanished. Her complexion glowed, and her breasts looked fuller. Kahtar forced his gaze away from them and swallowed.

  Beth waggled the blanket open, revealing more. “I have been very bad today. I think I broke nearly all your OCD rules. Whatever are you going to do with me?”

  “Beth,” he warned, tugging his shirt off, “don’t joke about it.” She wins, she always wins.

  “Okay. You can stand there and lecture me about how dogs in the house are a precursor to the fall of civilization while I lay here and get colder, all by myself. Oh, look! I’m getting goose bumps!”

  “It’s not about the stupid dog,” he said, although he could sense Wolves slinking around the kitchen downstairs in search of crumbs on the floor. He had noticed a correlation between the ridiculous pampering of canines in Ro
me, Alexandria, and even Atlantis, and the fall of those great civilizations. Unbuckling his belt, Kahtar dropped his trousers to the floor and hurried under the covers. Arguing would increase Beth’s stress level. He mentally excused his submission as cooperating with the doctor’s orders rather than the enticing things goose bumps did to the female body. “It’s never been about the dog,” he couldn’t help pointing out. “It’s about obeying rules. There were complaints today for both excessive use of your car and for causing trouble at Cerulean Blue.”

  Beth snuggled against his body, her long form fitting against his like corner pieces in a puzzle. Everything in the pit of Kahtar’s stomach and below seemed to liquefy. He really didn’t care whether she drove her car to the clinic or took a tesseract. He did both. It helped them blend into the town better to be seen driving. As far as the eatery in town next to Beth’s shop, the proprietors of Cerulean Blue probably resented the fact she brought a couple more seekers to town. As long as they weren’t her parents, they really had nothing justifiable to complain about. They had never welcomed her like members of a clan should.

  Beth’s teeth grazed down his throat and he slid his hand to her bottom, pulling her closer. The swell of her pregnant belly poked against him, reminding him of the doctor’s orders, and he let go. “We need to be careful.”

  “Huh-uh,” Beth mumbled, her hand trailing down and into outright cheating territory. “Neither of us is frail. We’re normal and healthy and I haven’t had any problems in the past six weeks. I have way more energy now too! I’m down to three naps a day. You can scan inside me as well as any Covenant Keeper doctor can. Is there any danger, anything abnormal? I know there’s not. I feel great! Better than before I got pregnant.”

  Kahtar closed his eyes and tried to will his body under control. Since the clan doctor had restricted lovemaking, their relationship had become a bit like Sampson and Delilah. Although Kahtar enjoyed being the captive of a seductive temptress, he wanted her more than his next breath of air, and his body and heart responded to her touch despite the orders of his mind.

  The months of abstinence hadn’t been about sex. As a warrior chief constantly meting out punishment against his own wife, it felt like far too long since they had joined heart and body to strengthen their bond. Despite the times of bending Welcome Palmer’s rules a bit, they hadn’t been together in the way they needed. Without a way to reset their relationship physically, Kahtar didn’t know what would happen between them, and he feared distance more than he feared hurting their unborn child.

  Beth spoke the truth. He could scan inside her and know there was no medical reason for lovemaking to cause harm. Not now. Still, habit made him resist breaking orders, even those of the clan doctor. Rubbing his thumb over her lips, he whispered, “As you’ve pointed out nearly every night lately, there are other ways to get to where we’re going.”

  Beth slid one long, smooth leg over him. “I’m up for hitting them all tonight, but I need you. No more games.” She sounded desperate.

  “You have me. It’s only three more months.” Even as he said it, it sounded like eternity, and his heart and brain rejected the words as though they’d come from someone else entirely. Giving in without ever really intending to, Kahtar slid her pillow from beneath her head and tossed it, gently rolling her onto her back. “We’ll go slow. If you feel anything uncomfortable, or if I sense anything at all, we’re stopping.”

  BETH SMILED AS Kahtar dropped onto the mattress at her side, sweating and breathing hard. With her heartbeat thundering in her ears, she floated in that disjointed, jelly-bones feeling lovemaking left behind. Thank Heavens. If he’d said no again tonight, I think I would have cried.

  Kahtar’s large hand found hers and he threaded their fingers and held tightly. Beth sighed into the night, secure in the feeling of their hearts once again entwined securely.

  It’s been every bit as hard for him. He’s just ridiculously obedient to even the most inane suggestions at this point. For once being able to sense the truth that it would be okay had been reassuring, even though Kahtar hadn’t seemed to believe her.

  Still flat on his back, Kahtar began to snore.

  That’s ridiculous! The sound made her smile, and she hoped he’d sleep peacefully, untroubled by night terrors. Burrowing comfortably into the mattress, she pulled the blankets higher with the hand not held captive by Kahtar’s and shivered with delight. Everything felt so good and she shivered again.

  Suddenly Beth bolted straight up in bed and doubled over, her heart rate accelerating with fear.

  I just have to pee, she reassured herself.

  Kahtar shot up as though he hadn’t been sound asleep a split second earlier. In one fluid motion he was kneeling in front of her, his attention on her bulging stomach. He slid their linked hands over the mound of belly, and Beth fought another shiver.

  “What’s going on? What do you feel?” he said.

  “It’s nothing,” Beth said between clenched teeth, certain nothing was wrong. “I think I just have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Are you sure?” said Kahtar. “Old Guard!”

  “No, don’t!” Beth protested, already too late. The blinding, shimmering light of one of the giant men filled the room, and she leaned forward even farther, fighting the feeling of needing to empty her bowels right in front of them.

  “Get Welcome Palmer here!” Kahtar ordered. “Is my wife in labor? I can’t tell!”

  Beth felt the Old Guard’s scan cut through her. Kahtar often insisted only warriors felt scans, but she was quite aware of the warmth of it down there. It made the need-to-go feeling worse and she kicked at the blankets to free herself, tugging her hand out of Kahtar’s.

  “Lay back down,” Kahtar ordered.

  Beth swung both her feet to the floor and half stood, covering what she could with her hands under the black gaze of the man she was certain was some type of angel. She walked half-hunched over toward the bathroom.

  Kahtar followed. “Beth, listen to me and lay back down. Welcome can do something to stop labor if it doesn’t go too far. Walking hastens it!”

  “I’m not pooping in the bed in front of an Old Guard!” Beth hissed. The light in the room brightened and suddenly several more of the big men were there. “Oh! This just gets better!”

  Trying her best to preserve some sense of dignity, Beth shuffled out the door. The Old Guard seemed to be following with her husband, but blessedly didn’t attempt to enter the bathroom. Beth shoved Kahtar away and slammed the door in his face. “Give me a minute!”

  “Don’t lock it!” he warned, but Beth dropped the old fashioned latch into the metal hook anyway. Privacy was important to her, and she’d bought the hook and latch at Lowes, sneaked it through the veil and nailed it up herself. Kahtar had had a fit. Apparently nails were as wicked as dogs in the house.

  The flame from a single lamp flickered by the sink—a necessity approved only because pregnancy involved a nightly trip or two to pee and she couldn’t scan in the dark like her husband. She shuffled to the toilet.

  “What are you doing?” Kahtar shouted through the door as Beth sat down. She knew he was scanning and could tell exactly what she was doing.

  “Really?” she shouted back. “I’m going to the bathroom like I said! Stop it, Kahtar. Some things should remain a mystery between us!”

  Kahtar didn’t respond, and she could hear the grumbly sound Old Guards made when they spoke low. Beth hurried, grateful when everything proceeded as normally as she’d suspected it would. She made it to the sink and washed her hands, planning to give Kahtar a piece of her mind.

  The shivery feeling hit again and something warm spurted from inside her, dripping a wet trail down both legs. Now afraid, Beth touched the dampness. The dim light from the candle showed faint streaks of blood on her trembling fingers. “Kahtar!” she wailed.

  He kicked the door open, sending it slamming against the wall. Crossing the floor he lifted her into his arms as easily as he had before s
he’d gained twenty-five pounds in six weeks, and carried her out.

  In the hall right outside the bathroom, an Old Guard took hold of Beth’s wrist. “Set her down,” he demanded.

  Kahtar obeyed, laying her on the hardwood floor facing the railing. In the oddly reddish glow of the moon outside Beth could see the great room below. She could see Wolves through the windows, his wet nose leaving streaks of snot over the glass as he tried to see the commotion. The coward was more afraid of Old Guard than she was.

  A blanket appeared to drape over her midsection, protecting Beth’s nakedness. Another urge to empty herself hit and she leaned forward, unable to resist it.

  “Don’t push!” Kahtar warned.

  “It’s too late,” said an Old Guard. “It comes.”

  “Where’s Welcome?” Kahtar shouted. “I want him right now!”

  Beth turned her head to try to read him. Fear showed plainly on his broad face and in his steely eyes. Her heart sank. This early they’d lose the baby. At six months it wouldn’t be able to breathe. It would be too small. Covenant Keepers didn’t have Neonatal ICU.

  What have I done?! Why didn’t I listen? She’d been so certain it would be safe. Kahtar’s fear seemed far away and wrong, and a sense of normalcy and reassurance warmed the edges of her frightened heart. Why does it feel right when it can’t be? Why did I think it was okay when it wasn’t? Why didn’t I know the truth? My baby will die!

  Kahtar dropped a big arm across her shoulders, supporting her, half-holding her up as he pressed his head against hers. “If you can, don’t push!” he pleaded.

  Beth watched him move his head to growl at an Old Guard busy examining Beth far more intimately than even Kahtar had ever done. “Did you not hear me? I said I want Welcome Palmer. This is not a request!”

  Beth tried to not push, but the reflex felt almost like vomiting, and her muscles contracted in a downward heave. Instinct made her pant and she struggled to suck oxygen in and fight her own body, refusing to allow it to expel her baby. A second downward heave hit hard and Beth dug her fingernails into Kahtar’s hand, holding his gaze.