Page 95 of The Dark War

Odessa, who had helped Cyrene with her boost of power of the dragon, was swept away by Creed to the sky. His possessiveness pushed tenfold when they both woke up on the third day of repairing the land, finding that Odessa was pregnant with his fledgling. The roars from his fellow dragons echoed through the once ashen plains and swirled with excitement, but that brought Creed to a new fury when he realized all the attention was on Odessa.

Dragons swarmed the tent. Creed’s feral growl went off in warning and shifted on the spot, covering his mate. The sweetest thing was watching the scary dragon wrap his tail possessively around Odessa. She rubbed her face into his scaled chest as she rubbed her belly.

I didn’t feel jealousy but joy as I watched them. The dragons’ problem of not having enough female dragons seemed to be looking up. Especially how Osirus whispered to us that Hecate said their purpose was to help repopulate with a new dragon hybrid. I giggled, thinking how poor Odessa would be a mother of young children for a long time.

Osirus had Melina carried in the same position as me. She had yet been able to use her legs after three days, and the anxiety on her face had her clutch Osirus’s tunic. He pressed his lips against her forehead, telling her they were going home. All of us were going home after a week of helping the land return anew. If this was Earth, it would have taken decades to accomplish the regrowth that Bergarian had just experienced.

The aftermath of the war was a pile of ashes from rogues that were being picked up by the wind and carried away, the three-meter crack in the soil, and the new monument that was slowly being erected that would still take weeks to create.

The bodies of those we had lost were brought to the start of the divide in the land nearest to the south. Each body was carefully wrapped in silken threads and adorned with the finest jewels from both kingdoms. Mates were bound together, always to have their skin touching, even in the afterlife. Even in death, they would feel the hot fire-like touches as they reached for the stars of the goddess.

The eulogy was short, but the most meaningful. Osirus and I gave our words of thanks and gratefulness for how they risked their lives not just for the kingdoms they hailed, but for the future of the entire land. All of our hearts warmed once our speeches concluded. I had briefly spoken to Jasper beforehand, asking if he wanted to speak on behalf of Vermillion. Still, the elders of the kingdom had already told him he was not worthy to speak.

My fists tightened, and my brow furrowed as Kane held me against his chest. Jasper shook his head, giving his usual play-boy smile. “It doesn’t matter. Taliyah is who is in charge. I do not wish to start a fight.” Jasper was a new wolf since he had mated to Taliyah, finally thinking of others than himself. I was happy that I could be a part of that. I was upset that his past, along with Taliyah’s mixed genes of witch and vampire, may ruin their ability to rule.

Wesley and Charlotte bid farewell as soon as we arrived back at the Warrior pack. Wesley wanted to get back to his pack, which I’m sure was a mess from the hordes of people from our realm that took it over. They had to rent an entire commercial plane to get them all back at the same time.

Charlotte was more than ready to leave too, as much as I wanted her to stay. Getting to know her more, we found we had a lot in common. Being around vampires had taught her that many could be good, but she was ready for normalcy. Well, as much normal as she could for being just four months of being just turned into a wolf.

I petted Evelyn’s hair. Kane was curled up against her, one hand around my waist and another protectively over our daughter. Those two were going to be trouble in the upcoming months. She immediately screamed “Daddy!” when she saw us, and almost didn’t give me a second glance. Of course, Kane pulled us both into a hug when we were only a few feet away from the newly erected portal Cyrene had created.

Mom had my baby brother during their stay at the Black Claws pack. Baby Mikel was the cutest little thing. Bright green eyes, full head of hair, and sweet little pink cheeks. He was growing quite quickly with two strong alpha lines, and his chunky little arms and legs made me want to pinch the round rings around his arms.

“Are you sure you are comfortable?” Mother gave a side eye to Kane, who continued to sleep soundly. He hadn’t stirred in well over an hour, and I wasn’t about to wake him.

I hummed quietly, still running my fingers through his hair. The light scar over his eyebrow reminded me how close I was to losing him.

I was getting restless, laying in bed all day, not allowed to walk or even go to the bathroom by myself, but it gave Kane the dominance of being in control. He wanted it, so I allowed it. Everly enjoyed it too. She got carried around like the little princess she is and was overly spoiled by her daddy.

“Mother, you should go spend time with Mikel. He’s still young. Go enjoy the baby time.” I bit my cheek in response to my words. I felt like I missed so much with Evelyn. I didn’t want my mom to miss her time either. This would be the first child she would raise to adulthood along with Father.

“I have to attend to my firstborn first.” Mother pushed a lock of hair away. “I can’t believe you almost died, Clara. I felt my heart ripping in my chest, the tears so strong I thought you were gone.” She let a stray tear fall. Not something that I could see my mother doing in front of anyone else except her mate and me. “I got you back just to lose you again.”

“Mother, I’m fine now.” I took her hand away and placed it on my lap. “And things between us will be fine too.” Mom’s sheepish look had her covering her mouth.

“I honestly didn’t think I would hand it off to you this fast, Clara. I thought I would at least be around before I left you to this life. We just got you back, but…” She heaved in a staggered breath.

“You got pregnant,” I stated. “It isn’t your fault. Bad timing on your body, but look what you have now.” My father stood in the doorway, holding Mikel’s grabby hand. “And now Evelyn will have a great friend to play with growing up.”

The age gaps between the kids was weird by human standards, but this was normal here. Raine and Kane were well over a hundred years apart.

Ew, still gross.

Mikel reached for mother, she pulled her to his chest, and his hand reached out for me to hold. “Hi, baby brother,” I cooed, rubbing his chubby hand. “Are you going to give Mama trouble?” He blew a raspberry and shook my hand.

“Good luck then.” I smiled at my father, who pulled up a chair beside the bed.

“Taliyah and Jasper have some news,” Dad said solemnly. Mother and Father had taken duties that Kane and I would typically have as the new royals to give us a well-deserved break. Thank the goddess, because I didn’t want to be in charge again for a while.

I leaned forward to listen to my dad’s whispering words, but Kane wrapped his arm around my waist tighter. “That can’t be comfortable,” Mother mumbled, speaking for Father. I giggled, rubbing the thick forearm around my waist.

I liked the possessiveness. I liked how he kept me safe. Unfortunately, Kane was too worried about my health to give me other things I needed. Even taking off my top while Evelyn slept soundly in the nursery didn’t deter him. I felt slightly rejected when he only looked me straight in the eye instead of my breasts. I even tried to use my vision to see if there was an outline of cock in his loose gray sweatpants but to no avail.

“Jasper and Taliyah have decided to resign the throne.” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand.

“They… they can’t do that!” Father shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s actually a smart decision.” He nodded. “They do not trust the elders or Parliament. They may have some control over the people, but if they want money from the leftover nobles to help rebuild, it would be wise for the country as a whole.”

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