There was nothing more to say—nothing more he could say. In his eyes she saw the truth of his promise, and in his face, the strength he needed to keep his word.
Selma raised up on her toes so she could wrap her arms around his thick neck. Without a word, she kissed the man who’d finally set her free from a lifetime of fear. All that mattered was his love, because in that she had found her own power, along with the knowledge that even in the darkest of nights she would never again be alone.
Epilogue
Kain
There was no white picket fence and no porch swing on his father’s estate.
There was, however, one of the best secured properties on the continent, along with a very powerful demon as determined to keep Selma alive as Kain was.
“Have you seeded the breeder today? She is exhausted.” Kirigan frowned at his very round mate, the perpetual glass of bourbon in his hand momentarily forgotten.
“I have. But I will do so again after my meeting with Lord Inesso from New Mexico. The little one seems to need more and more power the closer we get to his due date.”
Selma wasn’t the only one exhausted from this pregnancy. At nine months, she needed his seed five times a day for their baby not to start siphoning her life force. It was a pleasurable task, to be sure, but between taking care of Selma and securing their borders against the Europeans, Kain was running on fumes.
“Consider asking Kesh to share the burden. It’s not unheard of for an unmated brother to discreetly help out during the final trimester, especially not with a baby as strong as your son promises to be.”
Before he could tell his father that fucking no one was “sharing the burden” of keeping Selma with enough semen to feed her little unborn monster, his mate sucked in an outraged breath—and unleashed.
“For fuck’s sake! What’s wrong with you, you insane pervert?! This is not a free-for-all. I’m not some shared fucktoy to be passed around!”
Kain swallowed a grimace and instinctively put a hand on her shoulder, easing her a half-step behind his body in case her outburst ignited his unstable father. Though he shared at least some parts of her sentiment, he knew the mad demon could easily be pushed off-kilter and lash out in ways they’d all regret.
Much to his relief, Kirigan seemed entirely unfazed. He tilted his head, regarding Selma’s ire with something akin to academic interest.
“Do you not feel the exhaustion all the way into your bones, little one? The constant drain on your strength, even with your mate’s seminal contributions? You will handle birthing and the first demanding weeks of motherhood with more ease if you allow more regular seedings, and even if Kain increases his deposits, the potency with such frequent coupling will suffer too much to be of much use to you. The obvious solution is to bring in another virile male who won’t trigger Kain’s natural possessiveness too much.”
Despite an instinctive flare of offense at the suggestion his mate needed “another virile male” to keep her in peak health, he couldn’t deny there was some logic to his father’s reasoning. She’d already been through so much in the early days of her pregnancy, depleting her reserves while he’d been held captive, unable to provide for her. She’d denied Kesh then, too, but with the birth of their son looming near, perhaps… Perhaps they both needed to push through the discomfort, for her well-being.
“My love… he has a point.”
“No.” She leveled him with a flat stare, and that one look told him all he needed to know about his chances of changing her mind. “No, he does not. If you’re worried about your potency, then drink a fucking protein shake?—”
“You know demons don’t drink protein sh?—”
“—and eat some pumpkin seeds?—”
“Pumpkin seeds? Selma, what?—?”
“—and have a damn stretch, because you are not ‘sharing the burden’ of fucking me!” With a final glare in his direction, Selma spun on her heel and waddled off in the direction of his old bedroom.
“So much fire,” Kirigan murmured. He took a swig of the amber liquor in his hand, then turned back to the ancient texts he’d been reading in the hopes of uncovering any clues on the European royal family’s vulnerabilities. “Make sure she doesn’t burn out.”
“I’d rather watch the world burn a thousand times over than see her extinguish. I don’t need your cautioning,” Kain growled, irritable at having set off his mate’s hormonal anger with a perfectly reasonable suggestion yet again, not to mention his father’s unnecessary reminder.
“But you do need help. Your son eats a little more of her every day, despite what you give her. He’s strong—extraordinarily strong. If she were any less powerful, he would have drained her life force by now.” Kirigan flipped a page in his book, eyes scanning the text. “She has days before he will need more than her light and your semen can provide. Then he will have to feed on her life itself. Call Kesh. If you don’t, the possibility that I may have to step in to save her would be… distasteful for all parties, I’m sure.”
It was all Kain could do to contain his immediate and visceral anger at the idea of his monstrous father on top of Selma. He exhaled a sharp breath, forcing his hands to unclench. “I will speak with h?—”
“Son of a bitch!” The agonized shout echoed through the mansion, interrupting him with a wave of blind panic.
His mate!
Kain was down the hall in less than two seconds, finding her hunched over and leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
“Selma? What’s the matter?” He grasped her hands gently so to not risk further harming her, his gaze sweeping over her body in search of injury.
