We were drowning in my element, lost in the depths of the ocean and struggling to surface. I held on to her as she clung to me, our lungs failing us both.
Until we surfaced on a collective breath, our lips crashing into each other as we mated our tongues in a dark dance of fate and expectation.
I fucking loved this woman.
She took everything I had to give and gave it back tenfold, her body a pillar of worship that I would forever kneel to.
And inside, life had taken hold.
I could feel it in my very being, the source rejoicing in our mating and showering us in icy kisses that stung my already damp skin. Claire giggled, her smile the most beautiful sight.
Rather than speak, she kissed me again. Then she grabbed Sol and dragged him in for a kiss. Followed by Titus, Vox, and then Exos.
I was still joined to her below, could feel her walls fluttering with renewed vigor, her happiness a drug we all wanted to indulge in.
My hips flexed, giving her what she craved.
We’d already created life, but I didn’t mind fucking her again. Just as I knew her mates wouldn’t mind joining.
Now it was about celebrating. Worshipping. Cherishing. Existing.
Our Claire had just given us all the biggest gift of our lives. And we intended to show her our gratitude for as long as she wanted.
Thank you, little queen, I whispered, kissing her jaw as Sol took her mouth again. I love you, I added, palming her belly. Both of you.
TEN DAYS LATER
“CLAIRE!” Titus shouted, making my eyebrows scrunch as I pulled the blanket over my head. He shook me, albeit gently, as he insisted on rousing me from the best sleep of my life. When I didn’t respond, he pulled the sheets away, making me squirm as cool air rushed over my skin.
“So tired,” I mumbled as I tried to fend him off with a wave of my hand. “Go away.”
“Thank the source you’re finally awake,” he said on an exhale. I peeked at him with one eye, finding him leaning back on his heels as he watched me. “How… how are you feeling?”
A blanket of fatigue draped over me in response to his question, refusing to lift its weight entirely, but the concern in Titus’s eyes made me sit up.
“What time is it?” I asked, confused. Sunlight streamed in with pleasant rays that banished the strange chill in the room, but it felt like no time had passed at all since I’d laid my head down.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, it’s midday.” He continued to stare at me, his eyes running over me as if he was searching for a source of injury.
“What is it?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you slept much longer than I expected.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. It wasn’t like I hadn’t ever slept in before. “And that concerns you… why?”
He sighed and took my hand, warming me with his magic. I jolted at the unforgiving warmth, frowning. “Because you’re pregnant, Claire. It’s my job to be concerned.”
Yes, I was pregnant, and just the affirmation in my mind made my heart flutter with joy. There could be no denying the surge of life I’d felt through my bond with Cyrus and all of my mates.
“Is the faeling doing okay?” he asked after a moment, as if it was something I should have confirmed already.
“What?”
“The faeling,” he said again, his words coming out in that slow, calm way when I knew he was starting to worry. “Can you feel it?”
I frowned. “Should I be able to?” Could he not feel the life thriving through the bond? It seemed pretty real to me. But maybe I was mistaking it for something else?
He stilled for a moment, as though trying too hard not to show a reaction. “Exos didn’t think we should prod you about it, but now that you’ve passed the incubation period, you should be able to feel something.”