Page 79 of Angelina

Chapter Twenty-Four

Zander

Iwasn’t the only one that had been scared to death by the quick birth of Kristin’s daughter.The child was beautiful, and you would have to be numb not to feel the power that brewed in her veins.

If Kristin and I had a child, would it be as powerful?The thought of having a child with her—again—was on my mind for days after Briella’s birth.

Now that the baby had been born, would Kristin and I be able to mate?Would she still want to?I knew that Kristin was focused on completely healing from the pregnancy, but it would only be a matter of days until she was back to herself.

Each night she went upstairs and waited for any word from Hugh.There had not been any since the night Briella was born.All Kristin knew was that Hugh was alive but being kept on the edge of life and death.Who had him, and why were they torturing him?That was the biggest question, and I knew it was foremost in Kristin’s mind.

She blamed herself for so much, and now I knew that she was beside herself with guilt for having let Hugh leave on his own.

During the nights, she would study information gathered, and we would sit around and discuss ways to take back what was ours.While she remained focused on that, I knew she had part of her mind constantly thinking about Hugh and how to rescue him.

Kristin and I had just come back to her suite, and she was rocking Briella as she fed her.Isaac had been sent off to feed and rest, forcefully, I might add.Kristin had to compel him to eat and sleep at least ten hours before he was allowed to return.He had tried to fight it, but he was weak, and even he knew he needed his strength and finally gave in.

Hence the reason I was here.He had made me promise I would remain at their side until he was back.It looked like I was sleeping on the couch today.

“Who do you think has him?”I asked as I watched her.Her face was calm now, although her mind was still spinning.

“I’m not sure, but it could be humans.The fact that he used to work for that task force would be a huge prize for them.They knew we were together.I do not doubt that they are torturing him with everything that they can think of to learn more about where we are and what we are planning.”

“Do you think he will tell them?”

She shook her head and smiled down at Briella, speaking in a soft singsong voice.“No, he can’t.Mommy compelled him not to be able to talk about anything here.He won’t even be able to tell them the color of the carpet in this room.”

“What if they have someone who can break compulsion?”

“That is a possibility, but let’s hope not.”She sighed and cooed at her daughter for a moment, who broke out in a belly-filled yawn and wiggled closer to her mother.

We were quiet for a moment, and I sat there enjoying the view.My heart swelled with love for the woman in front of me.How much I wished that both the woman and child were mine.

She lifted her face.“Do you really wish that?”

I blinked and gave her a guilty smile.“Yeah, I do.”

She kissed her daughter’s brow and stood, taking her and laying her down in the bassinet on the side of the room.She stood staring down for a long moment before she turned to me and held her hand out to me.

“Come here,” she said softly, and my heart skipped a beat at the look in her eye.Was I dreaming?

I approached her slowly, taking her hand and coming to stand in front of her.

“Do you honestly wish to be mated to me?For more than power or position?”

I let go of her hand and took her face in my palms.“I don’t care about power or position, Kristin.I want to be your mate for love.I have loved you since the day I saw you so many years ago, and I died as Julian, still loving you.I love you now more than I could have ever thought possible.If you were not the mistress, if you were only a commoner of our breed, I would still want nothing more than to be with you in all ways, forever.”

She leaned forward and brought our lips together in a delicate kiss.“Then come with me, Zander.Become one with me—forever.”

She started to step away, but I stopped her.I would mate with her no matter her reply, but I needed to know.“Answer me this, Kristin.Why do you want to mate with me?Is it just for power or to secure your position as the mistress?”

She shook her head.“I, too, have loved you since we first met.I fought it for so many years, but I don’t want to fight it anymore.For the first time since we met, we have nothing standing between us—nothing to hold us back.We can finally be together.You were right.It is our time.”

Her words made my heart want to explode from my chest, and I shuffled forward and kissed her more passionately.“Let us join now, Kristin.Let us finally have what everyone knows we already share.Let us be one for eternity.”

I scooped her into my arms and carried her into her bedroom.At the edge of the bed, I set her feet down and stared into her gorgeous face.“I will give you everything that I am and everything that I have.I will protect you and cherish you with every ounce of my soul.”

“As I shall do for you, Zander.”

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