I gave him a hug. “I’m happy to hear that. I’ve been waiting for you to get back to town. Tell me, what happened with your brother?”
Louis had left to deal with the mystics’ fallout a few days after the fight. Some of them had been a little unhappy about their forced exclusion, and we’d been worried for Quale.
“I got there in time for the war of the mystics, but in the end they found peace with their situation and all decided to stay in the sanctuary. Turns out they quite like running a safe place for supernaturals. It’s going to be open to all now, all that need to escape. They can change the protections to let in supes who are seeking safety.”
I smiled. That was kind of perfect.
Louis lowered his head so we were eye to eye. “Besides that, I need to tell you two things. Firstly, your trial had been pardoned as a thanks from the supernatural councils across the world. They acknowledge that the incarceration of dragon marked was not sanctioned, and that you were simply doing your duties to free them.”
Frig, I had sort of forgotten that I had a trial pending, the one from when I attempted to sneak into Vanguard to free the marked. Nice to have one less thing to worry about. I wasn’t sure those prison grays would look stylish with my soon to be massive-ass baby bump.
“That’s great,” I said. “So what’s the second thing?”
“I know you’re satisfied with the word of the golden dragon, but I was wondering if you’d still like to do the pregnancy ritual now? You’ll be far enough along to know the sex of the babies.”
A surged of excited adrenalin hit me and I nodded enthusiastically. I turned around to find my mate. He was still at the front of the room speaking with the elders. Everyone wanted a piece of the dragon who had killed Larky. He was a hero. I guess we all were – right up until we did the next stupid thing and found ourselves neck deep in trouble. For now we’d take the accolades and gifts, especially since a lot of said gifts were food.
Braxton noticed my gaze, and the moment I held out a hand to him he gave a brief goodbye to the elders and crossed to me. He was dressed more formally than usual, all black, button-up shirt – open collar exposing tawny skin – and dress pants. He looked tall, dark, and dangerous, my three favorite things.
The moment we were close enough, he pulled me in for a kiss; touching like this now was second nature. His hands dropped down to rest against my stomach, which he did at least eight times a day. Louis cleared his throat a few times and eventually Braxton and I parted long enough to follow him from the town hall.
It was nice to look around and see all our friends, pack, and family celebrating. Soon all of Stratford’s inhabitants would be on their way to the elegant dinner tonight in celebration of the new leaders. It would be party central here for the next few days. More than one supe would end up naked in the town center. For once, that was not going to be me.
My heart was both light and heavy as we pushed through the crowds, making our way out into the quiet of the forest. “So how does it feel to be the leader of the shifters?” I asked the darkly handsome councilor.
I was legitimately curious to know what changes were going on inside of my Compasses. I always knew they were going to experience this without me, and I was cool with that. I’d never wanted to be a leader. I was content in my power.
Funnily enough, since Braxton turned out to be my true mate, I could actually experience this with them – tap into my mate bond and access his mind. But since we preferred our privacy most of the time, only sending thoughts when words were not readily accessible, I let him tell me instead.
Braxton rubbed his hand down my spine, sending lovely chills across my body. “It’s strange, the power has always been intense with my dragon, but now I feel like it’s actually calmed down. The fact that so many souls are tied to my own, in a very small way, allows my energy to be doing something, almost as if I am constantly sending out reassurances to our people.”
“So you can actually feel thousands of shifters’ energy?” It was mind boggling.
Louis chuckled. He was a step in front of us, but clearly still killing it at eavesdropping. “You’ll learn to separate the mass from your own energy. Don’t give too much back to them, no matter how powerful you’re feeling. You’ll learn how to use it to enforce our laws, and to bring order to the chaos. Until then, enjoy the boost of power. It only lasts for a blink.”
Yep, twenty-five years was a blink.
Once we were safely ensconced in the tranquility of my forest, we began the ceremony. Louis removed a small pouch from his pocket, and I knew we would find the richest soil from Faerie, along with a few other herbs and stones inside. These were the five points of the fertility pentagram, and from each we would learn something of the babies I carried.
Braxton stepped back, allowing Louis to paint the symbols around me with magic chalk. Then the five elements were scattered in even coatings on all sides and the sorcerer started to chant. The pull of energy was immediate, and I knew the results would be faster and much more accurate with a magic user of Louis’ power at the wheel.
Braxton’s eyes were soft, a light sky blue, as they stared into mine, both possessiveness and tenderness in that gaze. I loved the way shifters adored their pregnant mates, loving the changes in our bodies, worshiping the fertility of females.
Braxton was happier than I’d ever known him to be. He’d been completed in that moment when our bond was made whole, when he knew the sacrifice I had to make was about tearing my dragon away from my soul, and not about choosing another mate.