AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His nose would barely brush her skin here and there, tickling her skin. Lily started to giggle. “What are you doing? Sniffing me?”
Gabriel didn’t smile but kept inhaling her scent. He rested over her stomach and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Lily turned serious again when she saw how bright Gabriel’s eyes suddenly had gotten when he snapped them back open. “What, Gabriel? Tell me.” She pushed herself up and sat with her back against the headboard. She felt vulnerable, not knowing what he was thinking.
His hand went protectively to her stomach. “You're pregnant.”
“What? No, I’m not. How would you know if I don’t even know?” Lily jerked a pillow over her to cover her defenselessness.
“After the bond.” He ran his hand over her hip, where she saw a scratch. She hadn’t even felt it.
“Did you just do that to me?”
He nodded slowly. “It’s a mating bond. I marked you as mine when I climaxed. It’s a claim and warning to all others while connecting us on an almost telepathic level. I should have asked you, but it just kind of happened after our … sharing of feelings.” He rubbed her hip apologetically. “Does it hurt?”
She stared at the mark, surprised there was no sting. “Actually, no, but wait. One thing at a time. So, we’re connected on a higher level now? And shifters can sense I’m with you?”
He nodded again. “It’s like our own little way of announcing our commitment to each other, for ourselves and others.”
“And based on this newfound deeper connection, you can now sense that I’m pregnant?” She was in shock. Wouldn’t she have been able to tell?
“My inner tiger already can sense more hormones and fluctuations than a human, but now that we are connected through the mating bond mark, I’m tuned into you 110 percent.” He sniffed again. Gabriel’s teeth shone brightly as realization seemed to hit him, and a large smile spread.
“Yes. You’re pregnant. I can tell. I wasn’t sure at first, but …” he took a deep inhale up and down her body. “Yep. There’s a dim scent change on you and possibly the faint beating of a third heart in this room. It’s still early, though, from what I can tell.”
Lily’s heart almost exploded with the possibility that he was right. The thought that she could finally be pregnant was enough to put her on Cloud Nine for the rest of her life. She was finally getting her dream. Being able to share all of this with Gabriel created a blissful surrealness as well. “You mean, I’m actually pregnant? We’re going to have a baby?”
Gabriel put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her close, kissing her happy tears away. He rested his forehead against hers, his own happiness falling from his face. “Yes, yes, we are.”
FOURTEEN
GABRIEL
The day after Gabriel made his mark on his mate, they had to travel a fair distance out of state to locate the next piece of the relic. They left the hotel at dawn, sunrise spilling over the parking lot.
He wished that the timing of the bond would’ve been different, giving them plentiful space to indulge in each other. He wanted to celebrate his matehood, as well as the formation of the legacy blooming inside Lily’s belly.
But time was a privilege they did not have. They had located the first piece of the Lantern’s Eye … the bulb … it was settled in a silk casing with an iron lock. That didn't mean they could breathe easily. The humans were still on the hunt for the rest of the pieces and were rather vicious and merciless in their pursuit.
And that left Lily and the child growing in her womb rather vulnerable. He hadn’t been lying to her when he told her that she wasn't a distraction, but in the tiniest, most serene, unconscious way, she was.
Though he enjoyed her company wherever he went and felt vastly more in control when she was within arm’s reach, a part of him longed for her to have stayed home in the community where his men and his mother could have kept her safe.
They were fused after his marking, even more than they were before. He physically and spiritually could no longer live without her. He wondered if their cosmic bond was making him more anxious than he had ever felt in his lifetime.
Nevertheless, they drove to the next site that the blueprint had articulated. It was in another state, at the center of a conservation area that had been maintained to keep the native species of plants and trees alive and flourishing. Gabriel and Lily traveled in one car while Frederic and Levi were in another. Gabriel hadn’t seen the other car in at least an hour, but he figured they weren’t far behind.
They planned to sneak in over the fence of the conservation to avoid any questions. There were cameras along the entryway, as well as people from various parks. There wasn't any time to explain to other humans what their goal was. They were going to get in and get out as fast as they could while disrupting as little as they could.
The sun was up now, filtering through graying, purplish clouds. Gabriel hoped for some rainfall for two reasons. One, to wash away their scent and keep Ava away, and two, to deter any more human disruption.
With ease, Lily climbed the fence they had parked by while Gabriel made a running jump, landing softly on his feet. Lily beamed at him, her hands on her hips, wearing taupe riding pants and a perfectly tight white T-shirt. She had her hair tied back as she had the day before, along with a machete sheathed and attached at her thigh.
She looked like a fucking warrior. And their connection was even more solid after the previous night.
“God, you really do land like a cat,” she said, teasing him.
Gabriel stood tall, smirking back at his mate.
