Peter attempted to advance on Bradi, but Christian held him in place. “I would not advise that either.”
“Well, do you advise my best friend and fiancée to fuck each other senseless?”
Christian’s eyes met Marisa’s and she felt color creep over her face. The man had just watched her taking it from behind. It didn’t get much more humiliating than that. “No, I do not advise that, but I do recommend that mated pairs--husband and wife as you refer to them, join as often as possible. In as many ways as they wish to. Our race is dying out and we need all the children we can get.”
“Husband and wife?” Peter asked in disbelief.
Bradi stepped forward. “Pete, I am sorry. I never intended to fall in love with her. It just happened. I swear to you that the only reason I acted upon my feelings for Marisa was because we believed you were dead.”
Peter snapped his head up. “What? You’re telling me that you’re married to her? Oh gods, when the hell...? You never would have acted on it?” Resignation moved over Peter’s face. “You loved her before the crash, didn’t you?”
Bradi nodded. “I will not deny it. I have loved Marisa since the moment I laid eyes on her. Some part of me must have known that she was my true mate, even from the beginning.”
“I don’t give a shit what part of you figured out what, Bradi. You were my best friend. You don’t do that to friends.”
“Peter, you had little respect for Marisa. How many times did you ask me to cover for you when you were screwing someone else down in the private’s quarters? How many times did you tell me that although Marisa was,” Bradi put his hands up and made quotes with his fingers, “a looker, she wasn’t your type, but her family’s money made it all worthwhile?”
Marisa’s mouth fell open as she listened to Bradi accuse Peter of such awful things. Part of her wanted to think he lied, but inside she knew what her husband said was true.
Peter locked gazes with her and laughed. “Oh, don’t look so shocked, Marisa. Why do you think I proposed to you without first getting to stick my....”
“Watch it, Pete. That is my wife to whom you are speaking.”
“And my friend,” Christian added, his tone as deadly as Bradi’s.
Peter chuckled. “No, that’s no one’s wife or friend. That’s a whore and an unfaithful little....”
Bradi was on him in an instant. He pressed his clawed hand to Peter’s throat, as if daring him to say more.
Marisa ran to him and grabbed his arm. “Bradi, no. He’s not worth it.”
Peter’s gaze fell on her. “You let a shifter fuck you? Gods Marisa, if I’d have known it was that easy to get a piece from you, I would have brought my dog along and let you suck my dick while he mounted you.”
Christian ripped Peter back a fraction of a second before Bradi slammed his clawed hand down. He struck the wall, leaving a gaping hole in place of where Peter’s head had just been.
Bradi growled and lunged for Peter. Christian put his hand out and white light spread forth from it, pinning Bradi in place. “Bradiainn, go and comfort your wife. I sense her distress and it is not good for her. I’ll see to this ... thing.”
“Let me kill him, Christian.”
“No, friend. I cannot let you do that. You, of all people, understand the fine line we walk between being like Stegian’s men and staying decent. Allowing you to slay this man that you once called a friend could be your undoing, and I will not let that happen.”
“Thank you, Christian,” Marisa said, moving up and wrapping her arms around her husband’s waist.
“Think nothing of it, little doctor.” He winked as he grabbed a grumbling Peter and stalked away.
“I need a bath. “ Marisa tugged on Bradi. “Come and join me.”
“I think I need to go out for a bit.”
A sharp pain shot through Marisa’s stomach and she clutched it quickly. It passed quickly and she righted herself. “Please, Bradi.”
Laying her head against Bradi’s back, she held him tight. “Why didn’t you tell me about all the things that Peter was doing when we were on the ship? I would have walked away from him.”
“And, you would have terminated your employment with the Commission and I would have never seen you again.”
“You let him make a fool of me just to keep me around?” Marisa was shocked.
Bradi turned and pulled her to him. “No, Doc, I let him make a fool of himself just to keep you around and I would do it again in an instant. Come on, didn’t you mention a bath?”
“Yes,” she smiled mischievously, “I did, dear husband.”
Chapter Twelve
“Thank you again,” Sevan said, pulling her into yet another hug.
Marisa patted his back and laughed. “All I did was assist in the delivery of your boys.” She glanced toward the room where Lorelei now rested.
It had been a long delivery to tell the truth, both she and Christian had been concerned about Lorelei. Her blood pressure had plummeted and they’d lost heartbeats on both babies. Two months earlier, shortly after Peter had left, Lorelei began to experience odd cramps, similar to the ones Marisa now had on a regular basis but kept hidden from everyone else.
“You did more than just assist, Marisa,” Sevan said, his voice low, his tone even. “You combined your power with Christian’s and saved not only Lorelei’s life, but my children’s as well. I will never be able to thank you enough.”
“Sevan,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “She would have done the same for me.”
He nodded, knowing it was true. Glancing back at the door, he smiled and let out a long breath. “I thought that I’d lost her there for a moment.”
Marisa patted his hand and motioned to the door. “Go, sit with her while she rests.”
Marisa rubbed her shoulders and did her best to let the tension out as she watched Sevan head into Lorelei’s room. Strong hands moved over her own and she jumped.
“Calm down, woman, it’s me.”
“Mmm, Bradi,” she said, rolling her shoulders under the weight of his touch. “That feels so good.”
Bradi wrapped his body around hers and she felt his cock digging into her back. “I could make you feel even better. Once, you’re rested of course.”
“Of course,” she said.
His hands slid around her and came to a rest on her very swollen belly. “How’s my son doing this morning? His mommy’s had a rough night and I’m worried about them both.”
As if on cue, the baby kicked out hard. Bradi yanked her back to him with such a force that it knocked the wind out of her. “Was that what I thought it was?”
Marisa coughed and patted his large arms, encouraging him to loosen his hold on her. “Bradi.”
“Oh, sorry.” He kissed the top of her head gently. “Got excited.”
She ran her hand over his and pressed down lightly on her stomach. The baby immediately pushed back and Bradi gasped. “He’s a stubborn little thing with a hell of a kick.”
“Have you thought about a name for him yet?”
Marisa turned to talk to her husband and the room suddenly seemed to spin around her. She swayed and Bradi grabbed her. “Doc?”
Righting herself, quickly, she smiled up at him, not wanting to alarm him. His stubble-covered jaw line was tight and she knew he was concerned about her. The pregnancy had been plagued with problems for the last couple of months, but she’d done a fairly good job of hiding that from Bradi. He had enough to worry about as it was. The added stress of knowing she wasn’t doing as well as expected wasn’t something she wanted to concern him with.
The spies they had in Stegian’s camp had reported that his people were up to something again, so Bradi and the rest of the group had been busy preparing for the inevitable. Telling him that she wasn’t sure she’d make it through the pregnancy seemed wrong to do to him at a time like this. His people needed him level-headed, not worried and grieving. One problem after another had arisen and Marisa had done he
r best to heal herself, but for some reason, her powers couldn’t seem to fix this.
She chanced a glance down at her belly. Only entering her sixth month, she didn’t hold out much hope that the baby could survive on its own if it came early. Her knowledge of the behind the scenes happenings was the reason she refused to name him. The thought of losing him already kept her up nights as it was.
“Doc? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She really hated the fact that Bradi and his shifter sisters could sense lies. It made it extremely hard to hide the problems in the pregnancy from them. “I’m just tired, honey. Really. I need some rest.”
* * * *
Bradi swept her up in his arms and headed toward the front door. One look at her told him that it was getting worse. Christian had warned him that Marisa and the baby were not doing as well as expected, but he didn’t want to believe it. Marisa had told him over and over again that all was well, and that she and the baby were fine. Seeing her so pale, so sore, and so tired concerned him.
Chapter Thirteen
Bradi rose slowly from the table and glanced around the briefing room. Sevan seemed preoccupied, most likely from lack of sleep. Twins will do that to you. Jordan hadn’t taken his eyes off Nina since he’d arrived, but he proved to be well versed in the art of war so Bradi let that slide. Nina was completely engrossed in the latest reports on Stegian and Christian was staring Bradi right in the eyes.
“What troubles you, old friend?”
Bradi forced a smile to his face and did his best to look as though he had no cares in the world. Christian shook his head, indicating that he wasn’t buying it and Bradi shrugged. There was no way that he was about to pour his heart out about being concerned over Marisa. She’d seemed fine when he woke up this morning and had insisted that she was going to go and visit Lorelei and the new twins later today. Against his better judgment, he agreed to let her go.
“What of the news regarding Stegian’s interest in Dr. Langston?” Nina asked, always one to get straight to the point.
Christian leaned forward and tapped his hand on the table. “Nina, is it so hard for you to refer to her by Marisa or even Dr. Janelle? She is your brother’s mate now.”
Nina rolled her eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Bradiainn, I meant no disrespect.”
Bradi waved his hand in the air dismissing it all and walked toward the back wall. They’d been gathered around the conference table for the majority of the day and had made minimal headway. They did manage to discern that the ship that had brought Peter had landed near Stegian’s fortress, but other than that, they were at a loss.
“Relax,” Christian said, appearing next to him. “Pheebes is guarding Marisa.”
“I know. I just can’t help but worry about her. Things are not as they should be with her pregnancy.”
“I know.” Christian drew in a deep breath and patted Bradi’s back.
No part of him wanted to ask the question that had to be spoken aloud, but he had little choice. He had to know. “Will she live, Christian?”
“Are you not concerned about the child?”
Bradi slammed his fist into the wall, dangerously close to Christian’s head. All eyes fell upon him, but he didn’t care. “Of course I am concerned about my son, but I cannot lose my mate, my wife, my world. I can’t lose either one!”
“It may come down to a decision, and I believe that Marisa will choose the baby, Bradiainn.”
“I know.” Bradi hung his head, hoping that no one would notice the unshed tears in his eyes.
“If she instructs me to save the child and not her, then I will abide by her wishes, old friend.”
Bradi nodded, unable to offer anything further to Christian. He knew that Christian would honor whatever Marisa wanted and he knew that he hated the fact that the possibly of having to pick between his wife and his son was fast becoming a reality.
Closing his eyes, Bradi did something he hadn’t done since his mother was alive--he prayed. For a moment, he could have sworn that he heard the sound of a young woman giggling. He knew Nina’s voice and that wasn’t it.
Looking up, he searched the room for signs of her but found none. “What the...?”
Christian’s lip twitched. “It would appear my upgrades to Jacquelyn’s computer interface may have been successful after all.”
“Her what?” Bradi asked, still searching for signs of the girl.
Lorelei and Nina had explained in detail that Christian had hooked Jacquelyn’s body up to machines after she nearly died at the hands of their father. They told him that Jacquelyn could manifest into the holographic form of the age she had been when the attack occurred. Since he’d arrived home, he hadn’t seen his baby sister do anything of the sort. No. He’d spent many a day checking in on her vegetable state, her body in a bed, barely recognizable as human--more machines, wires, artificial life than anything else.
Something had gone wrong shortly after Sevan and his vessel had arrived. Jacquelyn had apparently rushed in and saved Lorelei’s life and that of her unborn child. In the end, whatever Jacquelyn had done had proved to be too taxing on her body, her mind and she’d shut down, gone into herself.
Christian had spent a great deal of time tweaking her machines, building new technologies that he was sure would help ease the strain the old ones placed upon Jacquelyn’s human body. No one but Christian thought it would work.
Hearing the faint echo of a young woman’s laugh again, Bradi began to rethink doubting his childhood friend. If Christian had succeeded, even just a tiny bit, then Bradi’s baby sister, who, according to Nina, had been locked in the age of twelve for years would now be permitted to virtually age at her correct pace.
* * * *
“Tell me, witch, what news have you?” Stegian asked, as he approached one of his favorite old crones.
She tipped her head and lifted her arms upwards. “Ah, I drain the child of its lifeforce as we speak. Every day I take more and more.”
“Why is it not dead?” He grabbed her arm and jerked her to him. “I do not wish to have to kill you, but I will.”
With her face this close to his, he could smell her stagnant breath. His stomach turned at the sight of her wrinkled, pale green skin and hairy chin. She gave him a wide, milky-eyed stare and he knew that she looked into his soul, or what little was left of it. “You fear the coming of the child. Why?”
“I fear nothing.”
Her foul breath brought bile up in his throat and he needed blood to wash it down. Lacing his long fingers around her neck, he tipped his head and smiled down at her. His power poured through him and he watched with a sick satisfaction as her skin pulled back from her bones. She shrieked out and reached for him. Before she was able to touch him, he let her go. Her face returned to its normal, ugly mess as she panted. “Master ... I drain the child to near death each day, but its mother’s healing powers bring it back.”
If what the crone said was true then this child would be born not only part werepanther, but also with the power of a healer like no other. That was not acceptable. He’d spent too many years building his empire here to allow another generation of daywalkers to threaten him. “Then we shall kill the mother.”
“Master,” Yunoc said from behind him. “They keep the compound tightly guarded and the women are watched constantly.
Stegian turned and put his hand out toward the door. “I know the perfect bait.”
Chapter Fourteen
Marisa walked slowly toward Lorelei and Sevan’s home. She didn’t need to look behind her to know that Pheebes followed her. He’d been trailing her for the greater portion of the day. She knew that he meant well, but it was annoying all the same.
“Can’t you go to lunch or something?” she called out.
“No, I have sworn to protect you and that is what I shall do.”
“Fine, but could you at least take a break to eat and bring me something w
hile you’re at it? I’m craving just about anything sweet so take your pick and I’ll eat.” She turned to see him closing in on her.
“As much as I would love to assist you, Doctor, I was instructed to stay with you.”
“By whom?”
“Too many names to list. I can assure you that all have your well-being on their mind.”
Marisa didn’t like the idea of a permanent babysitter, but couldn’t deny that after the stories she’d heard of Stegian, the vampire terrified her. “The suns are high in the sky, Pheebes, and you yourself told me that the compound is safeguarded to notify you all of suspicious weres, so why can’t you take a minute to bring me lunch? Oh, I bet Lorelei would be thrilled to have someone bring her something as well. She’s nursing twins and needs all the nourishment she can get.”
Pheebes seemed to mull over her words. His gaze darted toward the village and she knew that she had him. Laying it on thick, she ran her hand over her swollen belly. “Oh, the baby kicked. I bet he knows that uncle Pheebes is going to make his mommy happy.”
“You will go straight to the Devi’s home?”
If Lorelei hadn’t told her that the natives called her Devi, then she’d have been lost. “You have my word that I will go straight to the Devi’s house.”
“Very well. I will meet you there.”
She exhaled as she watched Pheebes walk away. He was a kind, handsome, man but the thought of him acting as her shadow for the rest of her life scared the hell out her.
With a light skip in her step, she headed for Lorelei’s.
“Marisa.”
She glanced over toward the compound fence looking for signs of life. Something moved in the brush and she was just about to scream when Peter walked out. His clothes were tattered and torn, and his hair was a good deal longer than when she’d last seen him.
“Peter?”
His eyes locked on her and she felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach. Clutching herself, she staggered toward him. “Peter, I thought you’d gone.”
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