Snow Time for Love (7 page)

The goblin flapped her apron. “Of course. Shoo. I can see that you two are eager to get under each other’s skin.”

Nova grinned at the phrase, but Reygaer shivered as he led her away.

“What is up with the shiver?”

“That is how goblins mate; they dig in and hold on, under the skin.”

Nova caught his shiver.

His room was pleasantly sized, and a wardrobe stood against one wall. Feeling amused, Nova wandered to the wardrobe just in time to open it and see the lingerie from other women as well as several gowns transform into clothing more suited to a lady.

“Nice one, Reygaer.”

He shrugged. “Still honest, but not stupid.”

She laughed and looked over at his bed. “What about the bed? How much mileage is on it?”

A wave of cool magic swept through the room. The bedding turned from inky black to white and blue.

“Brand new. I have never even slept on it.” He beamed.

She walked over and pressed her hand on it. “Nice and springy. I wouldn’t mind taking it for a test drive.”

He grinned. “A very human term, and I can definitely get behind it.”

Their clothing disappeared in a wisp of her thoughts, and he lifted her in his arms and placed her on the bed with care and attention.

It took him three tries, but eventually, he got the hang of the cat tongue and her cries echoed against the walls.

Two days later, they met the court of the High Lord West. The fey were curious about her, and some eyed her with combinations of lust and hope. It was a very weird mix, and she stayed close to Reygaer.

Four days after their arrival at his home, they visited her family.

Nova watched her sisters ogle Reygaer, and she sat with her mother for a moment in the kitchen while her mate watched the incredible sight of ten children in the small living room.

“Oh, Nova, he seems lovely, but are you sure?” Her mother scowled with a worried expression.

“Sure about what? I am sure, my beast is sure, nothing else even registers with me.” She smiled.

“But can you even have children with him? He’s fey, Nova.”

Little Harold was currently climbing Reygaer’s shoulder and chewing on his pointed ear. Her mate simply held the child and winced.

“I had noticed, Mom. I am hoping we can have children together, because otherwise, I am the victim of an immaculate conception.”

Reygaer’s head whipped around, and his dark eyes stared at her in shock. He was fifteen feet away and surrounded by shrieking children, but he had been listening to her.

Her mother stared. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. The six tests I have taken were all positive.” She kept her tone conversational, but she was looking at her mate.

Tears pricked his eyes, and he swallowed, blinking rapidly and placing Harold down with the rest of his cousins and siblings.

“Mom, I think Reygaer and I need to have a little talk. The wedding will need to be soon.”

She kissed her mother’s cheek and went to her mate, taking him outside into the cold and walking him into the forest behind the large farmhouse. The greenhouses spread out as far as the eye could see, but right now, Nova only had an interest in the woods.

When she paused, she pressed him against a tree. It was easy; he was still stunned.

“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. Mom was working up to a tirade and I wanted to head her off.”

“You are carrying my child.”

She twisted her lips and finally nodded. “Yes. Probably. I will need to see a doctor for blood tests, but yes. I am pregnant.”

He laughed and hugged her carefully. “I did not think it would happen that quickly.”

“It just takes the right timing, and since I have been unable to find a mate, my cycle has been coming rather frequently. This is the reason that they make the female candidates wear the bracelets with the gems. Part of it is to make it easier for the fey; the other part is to hide us from the shifters. Even a lukewarm relationship would have been fine with a shifter who had been seeking without finding for long enough.”

She laughed and stroked his face, smiling at the joy spreading through him.

“I will be a father.”

“You will be a father, and you are already an uncle to that entire brood inside, plastered against the window.”

He blinked in surprise. “I suppose I am. Well, you do not pack lightly.”

“When it comes to family, no, I do not.”

He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head against her neck. “Pardon my lack of sense, but this is not what I expected today.”

“I know. Like I said, I didn’t mean to blurt it out. You should have been the second to know, not overhearing it.”

“I don’t care how I heard it, I am just glad I did. I really want to take you home now.”

She grinned and felt the erection through her clothes and his. “I know, but Dad cooked, and you would not believe how good a turkey can be with a bacon sweater.”

“It has to be better than it sounds.” He kissed her.

She took his hand and hauled him back to the house. “Focus on the bacon.”

They had to get back to their family. Dinner was almost done.

Nova smiled down at the child in her arms and looked over at the exhausted fey next to her.

“They tell me that they changed the binding after we were joined. They hadn’t anticipated this when they crafted the magic. They forgot that this was the entire point of the exercise.” Nova smiled and stroked the pointy ears of her daughter.

He looked over at her and rolled until he could kiss the head of his pale blue little girl. “It was worth every moment of it.”

She laughed softly. “That was my line. So, knowing what is in store, would you try it again?”

“I am just waiting for the chance to try. You heal, and let the little one here get some weight on, and the rest will take care of itself.”

He shifted and held Nova against his chest, and she held their daughter. She let her eyes close as he whispered, “We are going to have to think of a name.”

“Noella.” She smiled. “Noella Frostwind.”

The little fingers opened and closed. Nova stroked the tiny hand, and she felt the chill that echoed the touch of her husband. “I stand corrected, Noella Frostfingers.”

Reygaer put his hand under Nova’s and he chuckled. “She is powerful.”

Nova leaned back with relief. “Good. There are eight other couples out there who aren’t sure that this is going to work. Our darling girl is proof of concept.”

Reygaer chuckled. “She is proof of conception as well. There is no doubting that she is mine. Even the most sceptical fey will have to acknowledge it.”

Nova grinned and dozed. After nine months of uncertainty and snobbery, they finally had proof that the joining of fey and shifter would work. Anyone coming near her daughter with anything other than respect was going to meet the sharp side of the shifter. Unease was over. It was time to make their place in the fey world.

Reygaer held his family as the fey began to stream in with gifts for the new baby. While Nova was out for the count, Noella was wide awake, and she stared at the incoming fey with her solid blue eyes.

One by one, they bowed and left their gifts at Nova’s feet, and she slept through it all. She had kept emotional control for nine months to earn the respect and trust of the fey by having a child who carried the power of both parents, and now that the stress was over, he doubted that she would wake for a day or more.

The gifts piled up and continued to for the next week. Reygaer wore the baby in a sling and helped Nova open the presents, explaining some of the uses for the odd items and the vials of healing and magical solutions.

He smiled as she catalogued everything and prepared a list for thank you notes. Despite her power, she had so many human habits, he sometimes forgot that she had not been able to work magic until this last year.

Noella snuffled and frosted her sling. He let her grip his finger, and he walked up behind Nova and pressed a kiss to her neck.

She smiled and turned to face him. “How are my two precious snowflakes?”

He winked. “She is fine; I am feeling neglected.”

His mate pulled him down for a kiss, and Noella made a gurgling noise that would soon evolve into laughter.

Ice and heat ran through his veins, and he loved every moment of it. He had hundreds of years with his mate ahead of him, and he looked forward to many more of these moments, but first, he had to teach Noella to build ice castles. One thing at a time.

Snow Time for Love
is book 300. Between Viola Grace and Zenina Masters, I have 300 individual titles in active publication as of Jan 1, 2015.

Thank you to the readers who have let me get this far, and I hope they will come with me as the shifters collide with elves for a while.

Snarling at the Moon
is the next Shifting Crossroads instalment, and this up and coming fey will deal with a wolverine who has a bad attitude to everything. She is a hard person to get to know and isn’t shy about using anything she has at hand to make that clear.

Thanks, and I really mean thanks, for reading,

Zenina Masters

http://www.zeninamasters.com

[email protected]

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.