“Nick?” Kara asked. She looked from his hand to the Great Luna.
“This,” the goddess opened her palm and suddenly an image, as real and tangible as he and Kara were, floated just above her hand. It was a womb with a child growing inside. “This is what he hears.” She pointed to the child’s chest, where they could see the flutter of the heart.
“What?” Kara’s word rushed out in a breath as she rose from the bed. She stepped up to the goddess, directly in front of the image.
“This is your child, Kara. Yours and Nicks. The child you said you would give up when the sacrifice needed to be made. She did not come into being in the way you expected. But she is not a mistake. Nor is she evil because of the conception that was beyond her control. She, like you and your mate, is my creation. And I have known her since before she was even a single cell. Come closer.”
Kara’s eyeswere glued to the small baby, snuggled warmly in the womb held by the Great Luna. She placed her hand on her stomach, where Nick’s had been moments ago.
“See here.” The Great Luna pointed to the feet. “You can count her tiny toes. And here”—she motioned to the child’s face—“you can see she already has a penchant for sucking her thumb. See her tiny ears that will hear your voice as she grows inside of you. Look at her small legs that will one day carry her across the floor as she runs into her father’s arms. And this”—the Great Luna pointed to the little girl’s neck—“is where her laughter will bubble up out of her as she discovers the world around her, safely protected by her parents. You and your mate.”
The image faded and Kara reached for it, wanting to hold her, but then Nick was there, turning her to face him. He dropped to his knees and his hands framed her stomach as he pressed his ear against her.
“You will complete the Blood Rites,” the goddess said. “And your mate’s blood will flow through her veins because of that. She is both of yours. A blessing, a reminder that there is no evil that I cannot turn for good. Your daughter will be a living example for others who suffer as you have suffered. A sign that there is life after death, no matter what kind of death it might be. Love her with the love you never had as a child. Protect her as the precious gift that she is. And know that she means more to me than your finite mind can ever grasp. All of you do.”
Kara looked down at her mate who was now kissing her stomach and speaking so softly that she couldn’t hear his words. When she looked back up, she saw the goddess was gone, but the warmth she’d brought with her remained.
Nick stood and rested his hands on either side of her neck. His eyes shone with unshed tears. Kara felt through the bond that these were tears of wonder and radiance. “We have a child,” he whispered.
Kara nodded, still unable to believe it.
“I know this isn’t how—” he began, but Kara placed a finger over his mouth.
“Iwas the product of such a union, Nick,” she said, sharing something she’d never shared with another soul. “I was born and left to die in an alley. Does that make me any less valuable or special than a child conceived another way?”
“Absolutely not,” he answered without hesitation.
She nodded as she felt tears once again run down her cheeks, but these were different from the ones she’d cried earlier. These were tears of gladness, jubilation, elation, and even relief. “We’re going to have a baby,” she said, repeating his words.
His smile grew, and she knew hers matched his. “Yes, we are. And she will be every bit the renowned warrior that her mother is.”
“I love you, Nick.” The words slipped out, and she heard the desperation in them. She wasn’t sure what she was desperate for.
He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and leaned down, his lips a hair’s breadth away. “And I love you.” His lips touched hers, tentatively at first, but as she stood up on her tiptoes to get closer, he drew her in and pressed his mouth more firmly to hers.
“The Blood Rites,”she said through the bond, realizing what had brought the desperation into her voice.
“If you’re ready. But nothing more, not yet.”
Kara leaned back from the kiss and looked into his obsidian eyes. She nodded. “Okay.”
Nick carefully picked her up and sat on the bed, settling his back against the headboard with her on his lap. He gathered her hair and brushed it around her shoulder, revealing the left side of her neck. She could feel her pulse as he pressed his lips into the bend just below her ear.
As she felt his mouth open against her flesh and his teeth press in, breaking her skin as he bit, she heard his voice in her mind.“On this day, I hold you close, as your humble servant, to ask if you will make me whole. Will you give yourself to me? Finally calming the beast inside, bringing order to chaos, shining light where there has been only darkness? Will you bind your life to mine, your fate to mine, and your soul to mine and, in doing so, complete the mate bond?”
Kara would have answered if she could have, but after the quick stab of pain, pleasure had quickly followed. She gripped his head, holding him against her. It was over much too quickly as he released her. Kara’s eyes fluttered open as she felt the warmth of his palm on her face. He turned her to look at him, and the love she saw there took her breath away. “Ready?” he asked, his voice deep and rough with the desire she could feel pulsing through the mate bond.
Kara nodded and let him guide her head to his neck. Like most of the things that she’d encountered in the supernatural world since being introduced to it, instinct seemed to kick in. Kara felt an overwhelming need to mark him, to bite him and take his essence into her body, which would then flow into their child. She felt Nick tense as she placed her teeth on his flesh and then bit. Warmth permeated her mouth as his blood flowed. Then words flowed into her mind and through the bond.“On this day, I will make you whole as you make me whole. I will give myself to you, calming the beast, bringing order to chaos, and shining light where there has been darkness. I will bind my life to yours, my fate to yours, and my soul to yours and complete our mate bond. I will take you for my own, forsaking all others.”
Nick lether linger a little longer than necessary as she drank his blood, enjoying the feel of how their souls joined and how complete he felt with her against him. But then he knew it was enough. She would carry his scent, as would his child that grew safe and warm inside of her. “It’s enough, sweetheart,” he told her and smiled as he felt her disappointment.
When she sat up and looked at him, all the pain he’d seen earlier was gone. In its place was trust, love, and hope. “It’s done?”
He grinned as he ran a finger over the fresh bite mark on her skin, his mark. “Almost.”
Kara blushed as she let out a small laugh. “Almost,” she agreed.
Nick knew that despite the overwhelming joy they both felt now, there would still be times when the past might haunt them. But it would not win. It would not rule their lives or dictate their future. Nothing can dim the light love sheds. He pressed his hand to his mate’s stomach and felt love like he’d never experienced before.
