“We need to get you to Avrell,” I choke out. “How are you feeling, Grace?”
She whines, so unlike her normal fierce nature. “It hurts. I’m scared.”
Jareth soothes her with a kiss to the top of her head. “We have you. Don’t worry.”
Everyone watches us with wide eyes, but I don’t have it in me to care about what they think. She’s ours and they can get over it.
“Uvie,” I rumble, finding my voice again. “Have Avrell ready the lab for our mortling’s arrival.”
“Oh shoot,” Molly cries out. “There’s so much to do for the baby’s arrival. Aria, help me gather some stuff.”
I scoop Grace gently into my arms to carry her to Avrell’s. Jareth strides down the hallway and flashes me a wide grin.
“Our mortling is coming,” he says, his eyes lit up with delight.
His happiness and excitement help put a lid on the fear I have. My mind is cluttered by what-ifs. Normally I’m so calm and reserved, but currently, I’m worried something will happen to Grace or the mortling. I’d be unable to cope if either didn’t make it through this. There’s still so much we don’t know about the humans.
I need her to be okay. Jareth and I both do. Where we’d been together all these revolutions, we weren’t fully complete. Reproducing was always something us remaining morts were never allowed the luxury to even think about. But still…I did anyway. Jare and I both did. Then Grace came along, pregnant with my mortling. Rather than tearing Jareth and me apart, it threaded us together even tighter. With Grace and the mortling right in the middle. She was our missing link. Our mortling will only bring more joy to our trio.
As soon as she delivers the mortling and we’re settled, I’ll announce to everyone officially in a meeting that Grace and Jareth are mine. That we’ll need the same ceremony Breccan and Aria had because I want them bound to me in both mort and human ways. I need it decreed and signed into being.
They’re mine and I won’t ever let them go.
We burst into Avrell’s lab and his eyes widen. Grace is hissing and whimpering. Her body goes rigid every so often as though she’s tensed in pain. I lay her down on the table and grip her hand. Jareth takes her other one, kissing the back of it.
Emery and Calix rush in before closing the door behind them. Where Jareth and I are useless in the lab, they know things and often help Avrell with his work. Calix begins grabbing tools while Emery comes over to talk to Grace. It makes me wonder who is caring for their newborn son.
“You can do this,” Emery says in a soothing voice. “Trust me, it’s scary, but the moment you hold your baby in your arms, your heart feels like it’ll burst with happiness. It’ll be worth the pain. We’re all here to help you through it. If the pain becomes too much, let us know.”
“It hurts really fucking bad right now,” Grace growls, squeezing my hand with surprising strength.
Jareth jerks his head toward Avrell. “She’s in pain.”
Avrell purses his lips. “Grace, on a scale of one to—”
“Ten!”
“Remember, the meds for pain are for when we have to cut into the body, so if you can refrain from needing it—” Avrell starts but gets cut off by both my and Jareth’s sub-bones popping.
Calix walks over to Grace and looks down at her. “You could be depriving other mothers of much needed medication should we have to cut into them to take their mortling. Again, on a scale of one to ten, how bad?” His intense stare gives no room for argument.
Grace lets out a huff as tears cascade down her cheeks. “It hurts but…” Her eyes dart to Emery. “Molly might need it more when she goes into labor. I can do this.”
Jareth and I share a look of pride. Our mate is the strongest of all the females. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her and she was going feral in this very lab. Jareth strokes her sweaty hair from her face and kisses above her brow. I kiss her cheek.
As Calix runs the wegloscan over her stomach, Emery gently pulls off Grace’s pants. Rage burns up inside me knowing they will see her cunt, but I’m realistic enough to know they need to in order to safely deliver the mortling. Avrell cleans his hands and then drags a table on wheels filled with tools.
The door opens revealing Molly and Aria wearing serious expressions, but they come bearing blankets and small items for our mortling. I give them a nod of thanks as they pass on the materials to Emery and then they leave.
If Molly, Aria, and Emery are all here, that means there are several ill-equipped morts looking after the little ones. No wonder Molly and Aria seemed in a rush to get back. I would too if those empty-nogged morts were left alone with my mortyoung. Especially Hadrian. He’s practically a mortling himself. Sure as rekk acts like one.