Jacob’s a good father to me, but it’s not the same. Seth is his son, and what they share is something I’m never going to reach.
Mara’s hand finds mine and she lifts it. She presses my palm flat against her belly and holds it there.
She caught the longing in my scent.
“Soon, Aaron,” she says.
I lean down and kiss her, soft and slow, my hand still against her belly and her fingers through mine.
When I pull back, Tiana is already firing questions at Damon across the room with Kiara and Samara closing in behind her.
I can’t do this alone, and I’m not pulling my sisters or Mara any closer to my father than they already are. I need someone crazy enough to go where this is headed and not flinch, and there’s only one person—well, vampire—who can help me.
Crazy Jo.
25
Aaron
Ipull Mara through the portal and her feet hit the ground in a crouch, her tail already whipping behind her. The trees surrounding the Medina Shadow Coven are thick and dark, full of things that move, and Mara hates every single one of them.
She told me about the spiders once. How they crawled through the vents in the cabins when Carla and her children first arrived on Wintermoon, how they’d skitter across the walls in the middle of the night while Mara’s pride huddled together and hissed at the dark. It stopped once Carla got her own space, and more so when Amari moved his coven in, but Mara hasn’t forgotten. The forest around Medina Shadow is alive at night and her ears are already turning in every direction, tracking sounds I can’t hear.
Something cracks in the trees and she hisses, sharp and loud. I pull her against my chest and press my mouth to her ear. “Baby, calm down. Please calm down.”
“We shouldn’t be here.” Her tail is swinging in wide, agitated arcs and her ears shift with every sound—the crack of branches, the rustle of something pushing through the brush, the owlscalling through the canopy above us. Her claws are out and her fingers dig into my arms. The night air is warm but she’s trembling against me.
I grab her wrist and pull her closer. “Baby. Please.”
She hisses at me and I grin. She’s so damn beautiful when she does that. Her whole face goes sharp and feral. The sound that comes out of her is pure lioness. I could stand here and watch her do that all night, but we don’t have time for it, so I try a different approach.
“I can take you back to the cabin,” I tell her. “Make sure you’re secure.”
She hisses again, low in her chest. She knows exactly what I’m getting at and her tail whips behind her so hard I can hear it cutting the air.
“I am not your little prisoner to be locked away,” she snaps.
I smirk at her. Can’t help it. I love it when she gets feisty with me. Her chin lifts. She holds her ground. I press my hand against her belly and hold it there.
“Let me correct you, baby. You have our cub growing in you.”
She puts her hand over mine, pressing it flat against her belly. “You are my top priority,” I tell her.
“Wanna go home after this?” I lean in and drop my voice. “Make sure my seed takes hold in you.”
Her purring starts immediately, deep and steady, and the vibration moves through my hand where it’s pressed against her. My mouth curves. I lean closer, my lips brushing her ear. “You can even bang me to unconsciousness again if you need to.”
She slaps my chest and her tail comes around to brush over the front of my pants. I grin harder and she catches it.
“Stop it,” she murmurs, but her purring hasn’t stopped and her tail is still on me. I’m going to need to think about something else real quick before this gets out of hand.
I shrug. “Just saying, baby.”
She looks around at the trees. “Can we get this over with? I don’t like the idea of bringing vampires into our problems.” She turns back to me and her face is serious. “Do you really think they can help?”
I pull her into my arms and press my lips against hers. The kiss is short and warm and I hold it before I pull back. “I know I’ve done a terrible job in the communication department when it comes to our mate bond, but I have to ask you to trust me on this.”
She narrows her eyes at me. I kiss her again—I’m not above using my mouth to win an argument. She leans into it, her tail curling around my hip. I hold her face in my hands. When I pull back her eyes are softer but still suspicious.
