EPILOGUE
It had been a busy six months, though Lena flourished in the new environment.
Every morning she woke up excited to see what the new day would bring.
Only on very rare occasions did her nightmares about Ngozi return, and each time, Gauge was there to hold her, whispering words of love until her shivering eased.
This morning, she woke up before him, a rare occurrence.
She took a moment to just watch him, his features completely relaxed, something she didn’t see during his waking hours.
Gauge’s guard was always up when awake, especially after their presence had been made public to the people of Earth.
It didn’t go especially well at first, though the Laizahlian Council had been ready for it.
There were Hunters posted around every known shifter group, including the serpents, while the Umi queen and those closest to her continued negotiations.
Lena brushed her hand gently over her rounded stomach, excited about the infant growing inside her.
They hadn’t been sure they would even be compatible for procreation, but Lena ended up pregnant right away.
It came as a surprise to everyone, considering many mated Laizahlian struggled for hundreds of years to get pregnant.
Serpents, on the other hand, didn’t have breeding problems.
She smiled, thinking about how protective Gauge had been before she got pregnant.
He became a hundred times worse after. He especially worried about his need to feed only from her, afraid he might be taking away from the baby.
Lena knew he worried for no reason. There were plenty of members in Raif’s pack who had volunteered to donate.
Sometimes she still missed being able to eat solid foods, but Lena wouldn’t change anything if it meant losing Gauge.
At one time she had looked to him as her savior, but now he’d become her lover and best friend.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” Gauge asked, lifting her chin.
Ah, he’d woken up without her noticing. Not surprising. “You, of course. How much I love you.” She smiled, crawling up high enough to lay her cheek across his chest. She loved listening to his strong heartbeat. He immediately put his arm around her.
Gauge chuckled, something that happened more often these days, especially when they were alone.
He tended to revert to the cold, emotionless Hunter when they were out in public.
She’d been trying to get him to loosen up, especially when around pack members, but knew it went against his nature.
Most people remained wary around him, but she hoped they would eventually come to realize he would never, ever, hurt them.
Not unless one of them threatened her or the infant she carried. Then all bets were off. A term she had learned from packmates. It had something to do with a card game they liked to play.
Lena raised herself enough to straddle Gauge, reaching for his erection.
He’d been worried about hurting the baby when they first learned she was pregnant, but she’d finally convinced him she needed this.
Lena didn’t know if females in every species became more sexually needy when pregnant, but this was the way it worked with serpents.
Most serpent males didn’t object. They liked their more sexually aggressive mates.
Gauge had finally stopped questioning her, and she suspected he enjoyed her more aggressive nature too.
Gauge closed his eyes, groaning softly as she lowered herself onto him.
She loved how full he made her feel, his cock twitching as she pulsed around him.
This was how most mornings started. She took what she needed from him, and he took what he needed from her.
His feeding from her only made the sex all the better.
“You feel good, my mate,” she hissed, beginning to rock gently against him.
Lena smiled when Gauge reached for her hips.
At night they tended to go slower, taking their time to explore each other’s bodies.
Mornings were more urgent, more explosive, and she enjoyed each for what they were: one an expression of love, the other lust.
“You just had me last night,” he murmured, his grip tightening on her hips.
Lena chuckled. “I would ravish you three times a day if I could only get you alone for long enough.” Gauge’s days were busy.
Almost every day the Laizahlian Council arranged for him to speak with different groups of humans, letting them see for themselves that vampires were not a danger to them.
Teo and Aeson accompanied him on most days to help humans get used to being around different types of shifters.
Sometimes Skylar, Raif’s beta, would accompany them.
Lena had wanted to go with him at first, but Gauge denied her, saying it wouldn’t be safe outside the protection of the pack.
Maybe he’d change his mind after the baby was born. Maybe.
Complicating things, Raiden warriors had also made their presence known.
Kiernan, the once lost Sabula prince, helped open that Pandora’s box, another human saying she’d learned.
His claimed human mate refused to leave Earth to return to Raiden.
Maybe it would turn out to be a good thing, though Gauge believed humans were already struggling enough to accept vampires and shifters.
Now they had Raiden warriors to deal with, warriors who were hoping to find suitable mates among their females. It would all take time to work out.
“Lena, my love,” Gauge said, beginning to guide her hips into a faster rhythm.
She smiled when his skin began to ripple, scales sprouting then receding again.
Sometimes when he started to lose control, he also lost control of his skin.
His pupils would elongate, and flecks of blue would enter the green of his irises.
The first time had shocked them both, but they soon became used to it.
The Umi now sharing his body had warned it would take time to gain full control over the new pathways in his brain.
Gauge grunted, thrusting up hard. Lena met him thrust for thrust, panting and grunting herself. She didn’t care if they sounded like wild animals breeding. She shivered when the first waves of pleasure began to build, squeezing Gauge’s cock in a tight rhythm, knowing it would help him go with her.
His grip on her hips became almost bruising as they both chased their release.
“Gauge!” she snarled, feeling the pressure building inside her.
“Let go,” he growled, thrusting again. “I’m ready. Come for me, Lena.”
Lena threw back her head and released a long, guttural groan as the earlier soft waves of pleasure rushed up and up and up, until she screamed as it took her over that explosive edge.
She could feel the warmth of Gauge’s seed erupt inside her as he also found his release.
Her reserved Hunter mate might not be quite so vocal about his pleasure, but she knew he enjoyed it just as much.
She could feel his intense pleasure through their bond. Feel his satisfaction.
When they’d both calmed somewhat, Gauge drew her down on his chest, his cock still twitching inside her. Lena immediately bared her neck, aware his bite would send her up that steep climb once again, leaving her limp and sated.
Later, after they had both taken a shower and dressed, she asked what Gauge had planned for the day.
He took hold of her hand as they sat at the kitchen table.
They might not eat solid foods or drink anything except blood, but both found it a good spot to sit and talk.
Today his expression looked slightly worried, though she knew he was trying to hide it from her.
“One of the smaller cougar packs in Colorado was attacked late yesterday afternoon. The council is sending me, Teo and Aeson over to see if there is anything we can do to help smooth things over. Amanda and Tallyn plan to meet us there.”
“Oh no,” Lena said. “How many were hurt?”
Gauge sighed, another action she didn’t see often. It must be bad. “The alpha and his mate were killed along with about a quarter of their people, including a few young. Many of those remaining were seriously wounded. We are going to try to convince the survivors to come here.”
“What happened to the Hunter who was supposed to be guarding them?”
“We don’t know. The council lost track of him two days ago. The humans attacked before they could arrange to send in a replacement.”
“Do you think a Djinn is involved?”
“I suspect so, yes. How else did the humans know there wouldn’t be a Hunter there to protect the shifters? They also used silver ammunition, a detail we’ve tried to keep secret from the general population, though superstitions about werewolves haven’t helped.”
“I know you’ll do what you can for them,” Lena said, squeezing his hand. “Who was the Hunter who went missing?”
“His name is Silas. You haven’t met him. He is a younger Hunter, not quite as experienced as an ancient like me. We thought he would be able to handle a small pack, especially since they lived in the mountains away from any large cities or towns.”
“Did he have a tracker assigned to him?”
“Yes, his tracker was killed while trying to protect the alpha and his mate.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I hope you find the Hunter.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As Lena reached for the sunblock Gauge needed to use during the daylight hours, squeezing some into her hands, she asked, “What are they going to do to the humans who attacked them?” She rubbed it into his hands and the top part of his wrists, anywhere the sun might touch him.
He shrugged. “It’ll be up to the council and human authorities. I can help track down the guilty, but I don’t control what happens to them after that.”
When she reached for his face with more sunscreen, he caught her hands. “I am perfectly capable of doing this myself, Lena.”