Chapter Seven
L ike any mates, our hunger for each other is insatiable.
By the third– or was it the fourth?
Anyway, after several hours of ravaging one another and a handful of orgasms, we finally rest in a cuddled ball of sweat and juices.
Yeah, it’s sexier than it sounds. And no, I don’t care if that is just my new matebond talking.
Mate .
The thought is thoroughly mind-blowing.
Somehow, the Gods must have heard our pleas and granted us a gift we will never be able to repay them for.
Regardless, curling into Orobas’s arms, snuggling against his warm body as we stare into a beautiful night sky–with a meteor shower happening somewhere out of our range of sight–is truly my new favorite place to be. A small snort escapes me and he shifts his gaze to mine.
“And here I thought we would be watching some amazing astrological event tonight.”
With his free hand, Orobas smacks his chest in mock horror.
“I take high offense! Surely I made you see stars at one point.” He does an exaggerated eyebrow waggle and I lose control. Erupting into a fit of laughter that sounds far less sexy than I would prefer. But I don’t have time to worry about it at all when the sounds are drowned out by Orobas and his bellows.
After a few moments, our laughter returns to a calm quiet. We settle against each other again and resume our small caresses. Both of us seek the comfort that touching seems to provide. We stay like this for a while before Orobas clears his throat and breaks the silence with a quiet and–dare I say timid–question.
“Did I not give you the stars, my beloved mate?”
And like that. There was the first verbal confirmation of what I felt to be true. Yet, my mind has trouble accepting it as simply true.
“But, can it really be? Can we truly be mates? We are from different sects entirely. And you are a faction leader. Your people will–”
“My people will trust that I have chosen wisely. And once they witness our elder confirm our mate bond, they would not dare defy a union clearly blessed by the Gods.”
I bite my lip in worry and he rubs his thumb across the sensitive skin.
“ We have been given a gift. Call me selfish, but I don’t care what others think or feel. I begged the Gods for this.”
He’d begged the Gods? But that would mean...
Had he truly been feeling these things all day? Just as I had?
Had we truly spent the day hoping and wishing against all odds that we would be so lucky as to have something this precious bestowed on us?
I smile and settle my body against his. When his hand brushes down my side and across my stomach, I squash that nasty flutter that rises. The one dream I have had since I was old enough to understand what the title meant.
My womb, if it had not already been destined to remain barren due to my damned genetics, would now remain barren due to my incompatibility with my own mate.
My body is exhausted and my eyes drift closed.
Sleep pulls me under, carrying me along dreams of sorrow for the child I wish to carry inside me.
Things are much different when you are a faction leader.
Instead of waltzing into Orobas’s village, hand-in-hand, and demanding time with their faction reader to confirm our matebond, and then live happily ever after... I have to go back to the house I share with Aunt Olive.
Alone.
Since I hold no political position in my village, my bond does not require confirmation from my people. In fact, any witch with a strong enough trisensing ability should be able to see the tiny threads of my new bond. However, Orobas has to jump through a few official hoops so that his people will not fight against our bond. Hopefully.
To be honest most of all this is just us stepping as gently as we can in the direction that we believe will have the best possible outcome.
So, that means Orobas is off to snag the faction reader from another demon village. She is an elder and is highly respected. Since there is no current reader in residence in his village, Orobas felt she would be the smartest choice.
But, it’s a two-day trip. One way. So that meant I had to sneak back into Aunt Olive’s home just before the sun began to creep over the trees, in nothing but a ripped-up blanket.
It puts the ‘walk of shame’ to new levels.
We couldn’t even find most of the bits that were once our clothes. I’m convinced that they went flying off the edge of the escarpment either during the... uhm... removal process or when the wind picked up from my magicks and Orobas’s glorious wings. Either way, they were nowhere to be found. And in the end, we agreed that sneaking in before there was too much sunlight was our best option.
Yet somehow, my ten-minute walk home was a little over twenty. Part of that was jumping at every noise to hide my attire, and the other part was the struggles I seemed to have with every step further away from Orobas.
We were only going to be apart for a few nights, and yet…
Why did it feel like so much more than that? Why was my heart screaming and panicking and telling me to run back to him and never leave him? To hell with what others thought.
I suppose that is the line of thinking though that proves my youth and nonpolitical status. He was a faction leader. He didn’t get to be selfish. He had to think of his people.
What if they didn’t accept me in the end? What if the reader he brought hated the idea of a non-demon pairing for a faction leader, and refused to confirm our bond? What if… What if we were wrong, and it was merely an amazing night filled with lust and not a matebond?
Even as the thought sinks in, I easily cast it away. Gripping tightly to the thread of my bond that I feel thrumming in the center of my chest. Taking comfort in the new feeling like a warm blanket.
Blanket. That word alone causes my thoughts to slip and a snort leaves me. Of course, I would think about a blanket when that is truly the only thing standing between me and the cool morning air.
At least I’m somewhat covered.
Did that stop Aunt Olive from casting a judgmental eye quirk in my direction?
No.
Did I care at all once I noticed that not only was she wandering around the house completely naked, but so was Neven who was grabbing them glasses of juice from the kitchen?
Fuck no.
In fact, I secretly hoped that Neven wanted to actually mate Aunt Olive. Then she and I could stand together as we shook the core of the magickal communities by bonding with mates from other sects. And yes, I am aware that sounds a little cowardly as I should be far more grateful and excited about my Gods’ blessed bond, but I am beginning to feel much more uneasy by the minute.
Being away from my mate so soon after confirming our bond is not an advisable position.
In fact, most of the time when magickals form a new bond, they are expected to kind of ignore their people for several days as they hole up together. Bonding. Lots and lots of bonding.
Ok, I might still have sex on the brain. Blame my nature. Blame my appetite. Blame my mate for having the most delicious cock a girl could ask for.
I wish I had my tongue wrapped–oh no...
The room spins heavily and I am hit with wafts of heat before a mind-numbing chill. The sensation lasts mere seconds before I fall to my knees and begin to vomit.
My mind continues to whirl and ache. I barely register being lifted by a strong set of arms, no doubt belonging to Neven, as my Aunt tucks me into my bed. She spends the rest of the day using a cold compress and forcing me to take sips of tea.
Our village healer comes to see me. She and my Aunt spend a lot of time in hushed conversation, just outside of my hearing. That is until their conversation grows loud enough for me to decipher a single word.
Pregnant.