Prowled Darkness (Dante's Circle Book 7) (7 page)

He crushed her to his body and she grabbed onto him like a lifeline. “We’ll figure it out. It’s going to be okay. I promise you. You’re not alone, Eliana. Never again. Do you hear me? You’re not alone.”

She leaned in to him, her belly making it difficult, but she didn’t care. The baby kicked again, apparently wanting to be near Malik, as well. Everything had changed so quickly, and she felt like she kept running to keep up and couldn’t quite do it.

Malik ran his hand through her hair and murmured in her ear, his warm breath soothing her as much as the words themselves.

“I thought I’d turn into a witch or maybe something that I’ve already met through the group. I figured we’d exhausted the amount of paranormals out there and I wouldn’t have to go through anything too new or scary.” She closed her eyes. “Boy, was I wrong.”

Malik pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. “I think the Conclave wanted to see what each of you could turn into. I don’t think they would have liked repeats.”

Her eyes widened and she held back a curse. “I didn’t even think about that. Damn it. Why didn’t I think about that?”

“Because you’re having a baby and we’re dealing with the fact that I left because I was an idiot. You don’t have to think about everything. That’s what a mating is for. I can help you think.”

She didn’t narrow her eyes at his choice of words but it was close. Hopefully, the man would realize that he didn’t have think
for
her but
with
her. One problem at a time, though, and since she couldn’t quite figure out which one to wade through first, she figured she’d go with something out of the box.

“Will you shift for me?” she asked quietly.

He stiffened for a moment before pulling back to look at her. “You want me to shift?”

She nodded. “I…I can’t think about everything at once or I’ll stress myself out more than I already am. So can you shift for me? Show me what you look like as a lion? I know it doesn’t make any sense, but maybe if I see you in your other form, it will make this all a bit more real. Because, frankly, this feels more like a dream than anything else right now.”

He ran his thumbs over her cheekbones and nodded. “I can do that. Then I’ll show you how to glamour yourself so you can leave the house and figure out the next steps. How does that sound?”

She smiled softly. “I think that sounds like a perfect plan.”

Malik let out a breath. “Good, because I’m kind of freaking out, too.” He smiled sheepishly. “It’s been a long day.”

She snorted. “Will you stay?” she asked suddenly. “After you shift back, will you stay? We can figure out the next step in the morning.” She was afraid if he left, he might not come back, but she wasn’t sure that was all of it. She loved this man and wanted him with her. He was her
mate
now, and that made her feel so many emotions she couldn’t quite quantify them. This man, this lion, was
hers,
and because she’d taken that leap, she had to traverse the world and this new path at his side, rather than worrying if he’d leave her once more. Because if she didn’t do that, there would be no true happiness in this mating.

He was hers, and he was the father of her unborn child. No matter what happened next, she wouldn’t be alone in dealing with it. She’d find out what it meant to be a phoenix and what the curse meant. She would figure out her powers and how to protect her child in a world where things weren’t just light and dark, but also grey and far wider than anything she’d known before. She’d find a way to fit into Malik’s life and realm. He would be King, he’d said, and she knew he couldn’t walk away from that. He’d told her he had issues with his family and that his father was dying and there was only so long he could stay away from that. He’d left before for a reason, and now she would have to leave with him because there was no way she could stay away again.

Her life had changed in an instant with the lightning, and now it had changed once again. She was mate to Malik and soon to be a mother. She was a phoenix and an artist. She was still Eliana, but never only Eliana.

And because all of that was too much to deal with after a long and emotional day—especially since she was pregnant—she wanted to see Malik shift into a lion and back again before she passed out from exhaustion.

One thing at a time, she reminded herself. If she just did one thing at a time, she could make it. Because once the baby came, there wouldn’t be another option.

 Malik ran his thumb over her cheek. “Ready, beauty?”

She loved that he called her that. He hadn’t called her that before, only her name. Now it was though he was finding small ways to be close to her since he didn’t have to hold back as much as he had before. Or maybe it was just her putting too much emphasis on a word. Either way, he was
hers
and he’d have to fight her if he ever wanted her to let him go.

“I’m ready.”

Malik grinned and took a step back. “I can shift with my clothes on and have them come back because of my royal line. The baby, once he or she learns to shift and gains enough power, should be the same. But we might have a naked baby crawling around for a bit.”

She grinned at the idea, even if her mind whirled. It was scary enough to think she would have a baby, now that she was apparently having a
cub
, it just made it that much more monumental.

“When can lions shift for the first time?”

Malik frowned. “Soon after birth. I know I shifted about an hour after birth because I apparently wanted to curl up and nap, but it’s different for each baby.”

Thank the goddess she hadn’t gone to a human doctor to have this baby. Because, holy hell. “Shift for me?” she squeaked.

He winked then glimmered out of sight for a moment. It was so fast she’d barely caught it, but one moment he was all sexy brown skin and man, the next he was a lion of such exquisite beauty it took her breath away.

He was larger than what she figured normal lions were. Much larger. And he had a black mane on golden fur. She’d known lions with black manes existed and had even heard a news report about a famous one at one time, but she’d never really seen one.

“You’re beautiful.”

Malik chuffed, and she figured that was some form of lion laugh.

She smiled and reached out to touch him, only to freeze at the feeling of an inward snap. Wetness covered her legs and she looked down in horror and shock.

“Oh, dear goddess.”

Malik shifted back right away. “Eliana? Did your water just break?” Panic filled his voice and she couldn’t blame him.

She met his gaze and clutched her belly. “I think so. I think the baby’s coming, Malik.”

She tried to smile, tried to think, but all she could do was freak out. Because she wasn’t ready for this, and yet she knew no matter what, her life was about to change yet again.

Eliana had told herself she would remain calm once she went into labor and the baby came, that she wouldn’t freak out, but she had a feeling she was freaking out anyway. She’d literally
just
run through all the new and challenging things in her life and she’d
told
herself that she’d deal with things one at a time.

Apparently, little squirt had different ideas.

Freaking squirt.

Malik had her in his arms and in is Rover before she could tell him to take a breath and not freak out with her. One of them had to be calm, and she would have preferred it to be the large lion.

“Malik,” she gasped as the first contraction hit. Her friends had lied. All of them. There was no way the girls hadn’t used drugs for these because this
hurt
. Her stomach tightened and something rocked through her before ending in a cramp from hell in her back. She was going to die. That was it. The first contraction, and she already knew she wasn’t strong enough for the rest.

Some mother she was turning out to be.

“What’s wrong? Does it hurt?” Malik cursed but didn’t start the Rover. “Of course, it fucking hurts. You’re having a baby and we’re not ready. I’m not ready. But it doesn’t matter about me. We need to worry about you.”

For some reason, seeing Malik freak out like he was even though he was usually the one who was calm and growly and took charge calmed her.

“Malik, honey, I need my bag. And my purse.” She looked over at him and gripped his hand. “I have a bag packed for the hospital and I need my purse. It has my phone in it.”

“You can’t go to a hospital.”

She nodded. “I know. You’re going to take me to your realm and they are going to help me.” She only guessed that was the right course of action, but from the way some of the tension left Malik’s shoulders, she figured that was a good plan to start with.

He gave her a solemn nod. “Stay right here.”

“It’s not like I’m in position to leave right now,” she said dryly.

He didn’t laugh, and she didn’t blame him. They were both on the verge of a mental breakdown as it was. He left her to get her things, and she sat alone in his Rover, her hands over her belly.

“Okay, little squirt,” she said as calmly as she could. “This is going to be scary for both of us, but we’re going to make it through. You’re going to come into the world with a mommy and daddy who love you.” She couldn’t help but tear up at that. “I’m so happy Malik is here for you when you come into the world, because despite what I might have muttered about him before, he’s a good man. He’s going to be a good daddy to you and I’m going to do my best to be a good mommy. Now, just don’t freak out in there and we’ll be okay. Let me make it to the healers or whatever Malik called them, and then you can make your presence known. Can you do that? Can you wait just a little bit more?”

The baby gave her a slight kick and she took that as an agreement. At least, she hoped that it was because she knew she sounded more than a little crazy talking to her unborn baby.

Malik walked quickly out of the house with her purse and bag in one hand and a phone in the other. She hadn’t told him
which
bag it was, but considering Lily had labeled the freaking thing ‘Baby Bag,’ she figured he’d found it easily enough.

After he’d put her bag in the back seat and handed her the purse, he got into the front seat and started the engine. “I called Tristan. He said he’d let the others know.”

She let out a relieved breath. “I was going to call Lily and have her start the phone tree, but Tristan is as OCD as Lily so that works. Are they coming? And where exactly are we going?”

She scrunched up her face at another cramp, but it didn’t turn into a contraction. She kind of wished she’d been able to change out of her clothes because she was pretty sure she was ruining Malik’s car as it was. He’d moved too fast when her water had broken for her to care about practicalities like that.

“I can’t open a portal to get into my realm. We have to go through a warded area much like your wolf friend Hunter has to.”

“So the lions are inside the human realm like the wolves are?”

He shook his head even as he drove toward wherever they were going. “We have our own realm, but the entry points for each realm are different. So we have to go to the edge of the forest for this particular point. There are thousands of entries to the lion realm around the world and this is one of them. The others will meet us there as I’ve already relayed a message to my hunters that your friends have permission to be there. Normally, they’d have to go through a process, but I’m a royal and it’s about time I use that to my advantage.”

Another contraction hit her then, and she nodded even as she held back a scream. “I’m glad they will be there,” she panted. She reached out for his leg and dug her nails into his thigh. He let out a curse, and she couldn’t help but feel proud of that. Because having a baby
hurt
. “I’m glad you’ll be there, too.”

He put his hand over hers and patted it. “Just a few more minutes and then we’ll be at the ward edge. Just breathe, okay? Pregnant women in labor are supposed to breathe, right?”

She couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Is that all you know about giving birth?”

He looked over at her with panic in his gaze, but with more determination than had been there before. “If I hadn’t been a fucking idiot, I would have had more time to research and plan. But since I wasn’t and we can’t go back and change things, I’m going to freak out a bit now.” He squeezed her hand. “But I’m not going anywhere. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her lips together, not letting her gaze leave him even as he turned his attention back to the road. They might have had the oddest courtship to date, but they were in this together no matter what. It didn’t matter that they were going about all of this backward. They were finally together, finally a couple with a future. And now they had another life depending on them.

They could do this—and not just because they had to, but because they
could
.

Malik pulled over near a wooded area and turned off the car. He had the Baby Bag on his back and her door opened in the next instant. After he’d helped her take off her seatbelt, he didn’t immediately help her out of the car. Instead, he stared at her.

“What is it?” she asked, ready to be somewhere safe and near drugs to help her through this pain.

“I love you,” he said firmly. “I love you, Eliana, my phoenix, my mate. I just thought I’d say that before the baby comes.” He swallowed hard before putting his hand over her belly. “Happy birthday, baby.”

Tears fell down her cheeks and she hiccupped a sob. “I love you, too, Malik.” She couldn’t lie to herself any longer and hold things back. “And I’m so happy you’re here for his because while I could have done it one my own, I really didn’t want to.”

He cupped her face and kissed her firmly. “Let’s go have a baby.”

She snorted. “I don’t think you’ll be doing much of the having, Lion-O.”

He winced at the nickname. “Cut it out with the cat jokes in the realm, beauty. They have claws.”

She raised a brow. “And?”