Jamirr took one last glance as he left with his new brothers and his mate and with awe observed the grass was now dotted again with the special purple flowers of the Great Mother. He retraced his steps to pluck one and presented it to Samyra with a kiss.
“For luck,” he said.
“I’ve had all the luck one woman is entitled to,” she said, accepting the bloom and taking an appreciative sniff of the perfume. “I met you.”
“And here we are,” he replied, sweeping her off her feet to carry her to the house.
And here they’d stay.
Epilogue
Three months later…
Samyra looked around the dinner table in the House’s private dining room and could hardly believe it had been three months already since she and Jamirr had claimed each other and come to live in this noisy found family. Kyden insisted on having a pack dinner once a month, with all the brothers and all the mates, even though they saw each other day to day as they trained, fought and performed in the arena and did other tasks for the benefit of the House. He liked to have them all in one place together and she quite enjoyed these gatherings.
Tonight though she was nervous because of what she and Jamirr had to share when the round table time came up after dessert.
Benet had created a marvelous set piece for her and Jamirr for the exhibition shows, She wasn’t formally fighting any more, although she’d stepped into the arena a time or two when Kyden needed an extra person. And if she went onto the sands so did Jamirr. She’d never lose her moves—the thousands of hours she’d spent training and fighting had built up an unassailable muscle memory—but she found the thrill of the combat had fled for her. She was restless, wanting to turn her talents to a meaningful occupation but was at a loss for what. She didn’t enjoy business although Elara was gracious about notifying her of opportunities. Talinn’s mate Bailey was a highly sought after singer but Samyra had no talents in that area. Rennyr’s Jaine was Elara’s special assistant and also helped managed the museum Dmitri and Benet’s mate Marushka had set up to showcase their mutual trove of Outlier empire treasures. Marushka was also a fulltime veterinarian.
Kyden and Benet were involving her in certain aspects of the House of Badari management, however, relying on her expertise and knowledge of the Porter-Tevigni arena setup. She’d been evaluating new candidates for the House’s team, including a few women.
Samyra sighed and toyed with her main course. She wasn’t especially hungry. Macuse, the House’s resident physician, had given her a transfusion of Jamirr’s blood shortly after they’d claimed each other and now her Lajaran’s Syndrome was virtually gone. Macuse was cautious and said she was in remission but Samyra could tell the difference in herself. The Badari blood had cured her. She hadn’t felt this good in years.
She had no slightest temptation to return to Porter Three and make an attempt to restart her House. That era of her life was over. Besides, the arena situation there was chaos from what she’d heard, with both her House and Tirion’s closed and out of business. Mikal was now the top ranked fighter but there weren’t enough quality opponents for his team and himself to battle. The sport’s popularity was waning as a result.
Darryl had been found dead in his apartment in the city, killed in what Kyden told her privately had all the hallmarks of an Amarotu Combine execution. “He must have crossed them or else took the heat for the failure of the plot to kidnap Jamirr,” the Alpha had said. The authorities had found a large number of items in the apartment which had been looted from her estate and records indicating he’d been embezzling from her as well.
Samyra had to let all of that go. Thinking about might-have-beens and if-onlys did her no good.
Elara’s agent had managed to clear the debts of her House by selling literally everything lock, stock and barrel and driving hard bargains. Samyra’s conscience was clear because in the end she hadn’t skipped out on her obligations even if she was now penniless and dependent on her salary from Kyden.
I can hear you thinking too hard, Jamirr said through the mate bond. He squeezed her hand.
I’m fine, she replied. Just anxious to make our announcement.
Soon.
Eventually dinner was done and the plates were cleared. As soon as the doors closed behind the servants, Kyden nodded to Jamirr. “You said you wanted to start the discussion tonight.”
Jamirr rose, holding Samyra’s hand. “We’re pregnant,” he said. “Two months along.”
The other mates exclaimed and the Badari exchanged knowing glances.
“Congratulations,” Kyden said to Jamirr and Samyra. “You do realize we’ve known since the day it happened?”
“Badari sense of smell, to be blunt,” Dmitri added, tapping his nose.
“But we wouldn’t say anything until you chose to announce it,” Rennyr chimed in.
Samyra blushed and thought with chagrin she should have known. Jamirr had told her almost immediately that she’d conceived, saying he could smell the scent of Spring and new beginnings. He was incredibly happy, as was she, although she felt sorry for the other mates, who’d been claimed longer than she had. Elara and Jaine in particular were hoping to start families. She wondered if the transfusion had helped her and promised herself to speak to Elara about the theory privately tomorrow.
After all, the blood is the magic, right? Maybe in this regard as well.
The conversation went around the table, each couple and Dmitri sharing a piece of interesting news, although nothing as exciting as a pregnancy. Then it was Kyden’s turn.
“I made a strange impulse purchase recently,” he said with a grin. “Not like me at all but I was given the opportunity to buy a lot of abandoned zoo animals and I decided the Five Systems could probably use an interstellar zoo. We can build it next to the museum and attract even more people. But of course the question is who could run such a thing for me?”
“You—you bought my animals?” Samyra said, heart pounding.
