Chapter 32
Seven hours. Seven long, impossible, fear-filled hours had passed since Emma had injected Zane with stem cells from the baby’s umbilical cord. Janie perched on a folding chair and cradled her baby, watching the man she loved.
Her silent, too still, in-a-coma mate. Zane lay on the one table, his long legs extending over the end. Blood and dirt still matted his hair, but the gray shone through. His chest barely rose with shallow breaths.
Completely out—but not dead. A coma he could awaken from . . . or not.
She patted the sleeping baby’s back. “That’s your daddy,” she whispered to her beautiful daughter, glancing down at the full dark head of hair. Just like Zane’s. Janie kissed the soft head. “I think you have my chin, though.” How was it possible to feel such contentment and such incredible fear in the same moment?
“Wake up, Zane,” she said softly. “Please.”
The warrior didn’t stir.
The virus had stolen the deep color of his hair, the muscles in his body, the youth of his eternal skin. But even after the virus had weakened him, he’d drawn enough strength to teleport and save her from Suri. With bullet holes spitting blood from his chest. A man who could dig deep enough for such strength deserved to survive.
Emma strode wearily into the room, shoving black hair from her face. “Any change?” she whispered, her gaze on Zane.
“No.” Janie shifted her weight on the hard chair.
Emma glanced at her. “We should get you into a bed.”
“I’m not leaving him.” Janie snuggled her nose into her daughter’s soft hair, keeping her gaze on her aunt. “How is everybody else?”
Emma sighed and reached for Zane’s wrist. “The same. Dage and Conn are basically in comas. Talen, Jase, and Max are unconscious but breathing better than the other two. The other vampires in the facility are in similar states. We haven’t lost anybody.” She released Zane’s wrist. “Yet.”
Janie’s stomach swirled, and her entire body ached. “Do you think we have a chance?”
“Yes.” Emma smoothed gray hair off Zane’s broad forehead. “If the antibodies are associated with the X chromosome, then we just injected a
vampire’s
blood, including the X chromosome, into our mates. It has to work.”
Janie said a silent prayer for the cure to work. “Where’s Dr. Morose?”
“After he declared you and the baby perfectly healthy, I put him to work in the lab synthesizing the cure. The baby’s blood is . . . unique.” Emma smiled. “Of course, she is the youngest prophet ever claimed.”
“She’ll be her own person, prophesy or not.” Janie tucked the baby closer.
“Totally agree. You choose a name?” Emma asked.
“Not until Zane wakes up. God, I hope he wakes up soon.”
Emma’s eyes softened. “Me too.”
Janie drew in a deep breath. “All right. Most of the vampires here are out cold. How vulnerable are we?” If she had to take up arms to protect her child and Zane until he awoke, she was going to need a painkiller.
“Nobody knows we’re here,” Emma said. “Even so, the healthy vampires have suited up and are ready to fight. You should see your brother—quite the leader Garrett has turned out to be.”
Pride lifted Janie’s chest. “I have full faith in Garrett.”
“Me too. Sam has made public the treaty signed by Dage and Zane, so for now, the demon nation is holding tight.”
“Waiting for Zane to make an appearance,” Janie said. If Zane didn’t step up soon, would the demons turn on them again? Or could Sam hold the nation together?
“Yes, and Felicity has sent out a video showing support for the treaty and pretty much threatening anybody who rises up against Zane. Then she gave orders for the demon nation to attack the Kurjans at their secondary location. That should buy us more time.” Emma smiled. “I like Zane’s mother. A lot.”
“Me too,” Janie agreed. Felicity had instantly sniffled tears at seeing her granddaughter, declaring her to be the most beautiful baby in the world. Felicity had good eyesight, and the street smarts to pitch the demons against the Kurjans while the Realm recuperated.
If it recuperated.
A rustle sounded, and Cara Kayrs moved into the room. “I came to check on my baby.” She smiled and brushed a hand through Janie’s hair. “And her baby.” Delight somewhat lifted the worry from her eyes as she tucked the blanket more securely around her granddaughter. “She is perfect. Just perfect.”
“I know,” Janie said softly to her mother. “She has your eyebrows.”
Cara chuckled. “I think she does.”
Emma headed for the doorway. “I’ll be back. Just want to check on Dage.” She disappeared into the hallway.
Janie blinked. “How’s Dad?”
Cara lost her smile. “The same. Garrett is with him now. Talen hasn’t awakened.” She focused on a too-silent Zane. “How about him?”
“Nothing.” Janie’s shoulders drew back. “He’s still alive, so that has to be good. Right?”
“Right.” Cara touched the sleeping baby’s cheek and then straightened. “I’ll check on the doctors in the lab and then go back to—”
“Mate? When I wake up, I expect you there,” said a rough voice.
Janie’s head jerked up. Talen stood at the doorway, an arm around his son for support.
Cara gasped and ran for her mate, sliding both arms around his waist. “You’re awake.”
Talen lifted an eyebrow. “I noticed.” His gaze took in the room and landed on Janie. “My granddaughter?”
“Yes,” Cara said, easing to his side and helping him forward.
Talen reached the baby, awe filling his eyes. “Look at her,” he breathed. “A little Kayrs baby.”
“Kyllwood,” came a hoarse rasp from the bed.
Janie jumped to her feet. “Zane?”
Zane blinked several times and shoved himself to sit. He groaned. “How am I still breathing?”
“That’s a long story.” Janie smiled through her tears. “For now, meet your daughter.”
His chest rose and he held out his arms. Janie placed the baby in them, a sense of rightness clicking into place. She turned to include her parents, but they’d disappeared with Garrett. No doubt giving her space. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
Zane’s gentle smile filled her with hope. “Better. I can feel the healing cells awakening in me again. I’d forgotten the tingle.” He rubbed his nose into the baby’s hair. “You fulfilled your prophesy by first negating Suri’s power and then by having a girl vampire who just may have saved the Realm.”
Janie shook her head. “No. The first destiny was mine—the next was hers. She’s less than a day old, and she’s already fulfilled a fate.”
“My girls. Overachievers.” Zane sighed and pulled Janie up next to him on the table. “I have no doubt the two of you are just getting started.”
Janie smiled through her tears, hope welling in her. God. Had they cured the virus? Could it be possible she could have a life with Zane and her baby?
Emma poked her head in, a huge smile curving her lips. “Just finished taking blood and running analysis. We’ve got it. The virus is going down.” With a happy hop, she disappeared from sight again.
Janie’s chin dropped to her chest. Emotion rushed through her so powerfully, she let out one low sob.
Zane held her closer, their baby protected between them. “We’re all going to be okay, Belle.”
“I know.” And she did. For the first time in so long, she believed. “I tried to be strong, but I don’t think I could’ve made it without you.”
“You’ll never be without me.” He turned his head and brushed her cheek with a soft kiss. “I promise.”
Janie lifted her chin and met his lips with hers before drawing back. “You can’t make that promise.”
“Sure I can.” Green began to sizzle through his pupils, filling them with color. “I’ve loved you every second of this life, and if I died, I’d love you every second of the next. That, my beautiful Janie Belle, is something neither fate, destiny, nor stubborn will can change. Ever.”
She closed her eyes, love washing through her with a completeness she’d never imagined. Then she opened them, not wanting to miss another moment with her family.
Zane stared at their daughter. “What should we name her?”
There really was only one possibility. Janie smiled. “Hope.”
Zane smiled. “Hope Kayrs Kyllwood.”
The baby, the future, awoke and looked up with serious, dark eyes full of light—and smiled.
Chapter 33
One year later
Cara Kayrs finished tucking in the African violet in a green pot, humming softly to herself in the small atrium off her kitchen. The lake outside shimmered in late fall weather, boosting her already good mood. She added a little jiggle to her butt.
“Now that’s a damn fine sight,” Talen said from the doorway.
She yelped and turned around. “Don’t startle me like that.” Taking off her gloves, she glanced down at her casual skirt and blouse to ensure she hadn’t spilled any dirt. “We have a party to attend.”
“A quick party. Then back here, and I’d like to see that dance again.” His gorgeous golden eyes darkened.
Heat filled her face. On all that was holy. After two decades of marriage, after she had birthed his son, the vampire still had the ability to make her blush. Her empathic abilities allowed her to feel inside his skin, and sometimes his passion burned hot enough to singe them both. “I’m not missing a minute of my granddaughter’s first birthday party, Talen. You’ll just have to control yourself.”
Big mistake. Or rather, a big challenge, which she’d meant wholeheartedly to throw down.
He advanced toward her, all male intent.
She chuckled and looked frantically for an escape. The vampire was between her and the door.
He grinned. “You didn’t plan this room well, did you?”
She shook her head and drank him in. Healthy, virile, and strong. The gray hair had fallen out, leaving a world of bald vampires for the briefest of time as the virus cure took effect. Then health had descended upon them, and the color had returned to their eyes and skin just as their hair had begun to grow. Talen’s thick brown mass now curled over his collar, although a gray strip remained as if a grim reminder of how close he’d come to dying.
“You know, I kinda liked you bald. You were a Mr. Clean badass,” she teased, angling to the side for her one shot at the door.
He lunged and caught her about the waist, swinging her up with one arm. Easily.
The renewed, much darker brand on her hip began to burn. The Kayrs marking in full force after Talen had mated her again. Her golden cuff encircled her wrist again, and she clunked it against his jaw as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed her up against the wall, settling comfortably between her legs. “Why do you always try to run?” he asked.
“So you can catch me.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “I’ll always catch you.”
“I know.” Happiness burst through her chest. “Thank you for the atrium. I love this room.” She wiggled against him, gratified when his eyes flared.
“The structure is sound and will withstand any blast.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Although maybe we should’ve included another exit to the tunnels in our aboveground home.”
She smiled. “We have six passages from our home alone. That’s enough.” The vampires had built a subdivision at the northern end of an Idaho lake, burrowing another headquarters underground into the massive mountains. This time they’d included missiles and defenses in the lake itself. “We’re safe here.”
“Unless there’s another full out assault.” Talen shook his head. “We had to bribe and threaten too many humans last time to keep our nation secret.”
Cara pressed her breasts against his chest to distract him. “Who’ll attack us? We’re allies with everyone except the Kurjans, and they’re so wounded, it’ll take centuries to rebuild. Now stop worrying and start making me happy, mate.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “Keep talking like that, and we won’t make it to Hope’s party.”
She grinned. “It’s our party, too. We started everything—all the matings, all the love. It was us, Talen.”
His gaze gentled. “No, mate. It was you. All the love—only you could’ve created this for the Kayrs family and for me. Always you, Cara.”
Well now. That was the sweetest thing ever. She bit her lip. “I think I might be getting baby fever.”
“You want another baby?” Talen gripped her butt, opening her to him. “With Garrett and Logan going off to explore the world after Christmas, it’s going to be lonely. Maybe it’s time to have a few more sons.”
Cara fingered his dark hair. “Or daughters.”
Talen chuckled. “Vampires only have sons. Although Zane and Janie had a girl, that was a one-shot deal, I’m sure. Because of Zane’s lineage.”
Cara lifted a shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. You’ve had a vampiric X chromosome put into your bloodstream that actually changed and healed your pairs; it might be possible for you to have a girl. We won’t know until we try.”
He blinked. “Another daughter?” Then his smile split his face, and his head lowered toward hers. “Let’s give it a shot.” Then the sexiest, most dangerous, heavenly vampire leaned in and kissed her until she forgot to breathe.
Finally, he lifted his head. “I promised you forever, mate. Here it is.”
Emma Kayrs sat on the settee in their bedroom, reading from a stack of printouts and swinging her leg. “Our scientists haven’t found a way to use the virus cure for any human diseases. So far, we’ve only cured vampires.”
Dage nimbly buttoned up a black dress shirt. “I don’t see how the cure would apply to any other species.”
“It hasn’t.” She sighed and set the papers on her dresser to study her mate. Very nice muscles filled out his shirt, while he’d tied his black hair at the nape. Even with the sliver of gray remaining mixed among the black, he looked young and virile. She smiled. “Talen is ticked your hair grew out faster than his.”
“I know.” White teeth flashed in Dage’s grin as he fetched a grape energy drink from the dresser and took a big draw. “I texted him earlier and asked if I could borrow a hair band. He told me to bugger off.”
Emma snorted. “You were in serious meetings with the witch, shifter, and demon nations earlier, and you took the time to mess with your brother?”
“Of course.”
“How did the talks go?” Emma asked.
Dage toed on dress shoes. “They went well—mainly because of Zane. He has the demon nation well under control.”
Emma shifted her weight to get more comfortable, glad she’d chosen a light dress for the party. The expertly cut material was sleeveless and showed off her beautiful Kayrs marking on her shoulder blade. “You sound impressed with Zane.”
Dage nodded. “I am. Zane’s a good leader, even though he doesn’t want to rule.”
“Maybe that’s the key,” Emma murmured. “Where did you go after the meetings? I thought you’d be home sooner.”
He chuckled. “You’re the psychic. You tell me.”
She shrugged. “I get visions but never when I want them. My last vision included seeing Garrett and Logan partying next spring break with a bunch of human girls. Believe me, I saw more than I wanted.”
“Now that’s funny.” Dage rubbed his chin. “Earlier, Jase and Conn were training in the southern gym, and I went to watch. They kicked the crap out of each other.” Joy filled the king’s laugh this time.
Emma shook her head. “It’s amazing to see everyone back to normal. Healthy and ready to hit somebody.” She gasped. “Oh my gosh. I forgot to tell you the news.”
Dage lifted one dark eyebrow. “News?”
“Yes. We managed to synthesize Virus-27. The characteristics of the virus that negate the allergy aspect in mates.”
He blinked. “So you can take away the mating aspects in widows and widowers?”
She nodded. “Yes. Well, and conceivably even in mated couples if wanted.”
“Immortal divorces. Not sure I like that.”
She’d figured he’d be concerned. “Freedom matters, King. You know that.”
“I agree.” He sighed. “Though you haven’t tested the new serum with mated people still alive, now have you?”
She couldn’t help but smiling. “No.”
Triumph filled his gaze. “So it might not work—I mean, if both parties are still living.”
She winked. “Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we have so many vampires healthy and living now. Finally some peace.”
“It is good to be alive.” Dage’s graze dropped to her barely swelling tummy. “Speaking of life, how are you feeling?”
“Better.” She’d thrown up for the first three months of her pregnancy, leaving Dage worried and as grumpy as a wounded bear. “The moment I hit the second trimester last week, I just felt hungry. No more nausea.”
“Thank God.” He finished the drink and tossed the empty into an antique trash can.
Emma rubbed her belly, warmth cascading through her. “So long ago, when we were running through that scary forest from the Kurjans, did you think we’d end up like this?”
“Like what?”
She glanced down, her heart expanding. “Happy?”
The king strode toward her and dropped to his knees between hers. One large hand flattened over her abdomen. “Yes.”
She looked up into shining silver eyes streaking with blue. The blue was just for her. The most powerful being in the world, possibly ever, knelt in front of her, giving her everything. Giving her him. “I love you,” she whispered.
The blue overtook the silver. “I dreamed of you for centuries, and the reality of the true you blows every fantasy I created out of existence. Without you, love, I don’t have a life.”
The words slid right into her soul. “Dage—”
“With you, I have the universe. Only you, Em. Always.”
Sarah Petrovsky straightened up the lesson plans spread across the kitchen table, taking a moment to feel the vibrations from an old stack of geography maps sent by a shifter teacher in Wyoming. Warmth and happiness cascaded from the paper. Apparently the elderly wolf liked teaching as much as Sarah did.
“Milaya?” Max strode into the room, holding a bouquet of yellow daisies.
Sarah gasped, pleasure sparking through her from the nickname as well as the flowers. “For me?”
“Of course.” Max handed them over. “My pretty one.”
The name sounded just as lovely in English as Russian. “Thank you.” She inhaled the flowers’ rich scent and plunked them in a vase on the counter. “I love them.”
His massive shoulders relaxed. “Good.” He tugged his shirt over his head and turned for the laundry room. “Do I have a dress shirt anywhere?”
“Hanging up and already ironed,” she said, her gaze eating him up and landing on the jagged tattoo of a phoenix winding over his right shoulder. Those shoulders, fully healthy now, could probably shield a village.
The scars lining his lower back, raised and white, spoke of his difficult childhood.
He reached in and grabbed a pink shirt, and the smile he flashed spoke of a happy adulthood. With the Kayrs family and with her. “I am not wearing pink.”
“Come on. Hope giggles whenever you let your vampire eyes show.” While all vampires had a secondary eye color, only Max had pink. A beautiful, stunning, sizzling pink that was only a shade lighter than it had been before the virus had nearly taken him away.
Max scratched his head. “Yeah, she does. Well, okay.” He shrugged into the shirt and rapidly buttoned it up.
Sarah grinned. Even in the delicate color, the vampire looked deadly. A strong and rugged face with messy brown hair swept back made him look like he’d never even been sick a day.
He moved toward her, ferocious and wild, completely solid. “Keep the smile. You owe me for each and every dig I take from my family today over the pink shirt.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she murmured.
He reached her in two strides, both hands grasping her waist and lifting her onto the table. “We trying for a baby again tonight?”
“What? Twice this morning wasn’t enough for you?” She pressed her thighs in on his, her hands flattening across his muscled chest.
“No.” He tangled a strong hand in her hair. “It would’ve been three times, but I had to check on Hope.”
Sarah nodded. The second the vampires had begun to heal, she’d followed him as Max had shown up outside Janie and Zane’s temporary room and declared himself bodyguard to the baby. The demon had taken one look at Max’s serious face and had nodded. That Zane was a smart guy. “Little Hope is still smiling the most at you?”
“Of course.” Max’s chest puffed out, and amusement filled his rapidly pinkening eyes. “Ticks Zane off every time.”
“You’re terrible.” Sarah laughed.
“That’s not what you said this morning.” Max leaned in and nuzzled her neck, shooting sparks directly south to her sex.
She pushed. “We have to get moving. The party starts in just a few minutes.”
“I bet I could change your mind.”
“Yes.” She levered herself back to cup his whiskered chin. “Always.” Then she glanced at the pretty flowers. “Although you don’t have to keep bringing me flowers, candy, and presents. I mean, I love it, but you can relax.”
He shook his head. “I made you a promise, years ago, that I’d court you.”
Love for him welled through her. “We’ve been mated for decades.”
“I know. After I mated you, I promised I’d still court you. Then the virus hit, the war went crazy, and we had to go into survival mode. Things are good now. So, Sarah?”
She smiled, her gaze on her one true love. “Yes?”
“Be prepared to be courted. A lot.”
Connlan Kayrs leaned over the crib to tickle his son’s belly. Bright green eyes sparkled up from the babe’s seven-month-old face, full of fun and a little craziness. Yeah. Definitely Moira’s child.
His brother kicked pudgy feet next to him, his gaze more thoughtful and serious. His eyes glowed a burnished silver.
Twins.
Conn winked at the little guys. His wild witch of a mate had given him twin boys. One had already set the nursery on fire. The new nursery in the subdivision was fireproof, as was most of the house.
Moira’s boots echoed on the tile outside, her lilac scent preceding her arrival. “You mixed up the food in the refrigerator again.”