Filed to story: Cara Nelson The Guardian: Werewolf Book PDF Free
“Hey, they won’t get me, or my sisters. We are strong. We’ve been training and we’re ready. I say. let them come. We’ll show them that they are no match for us.”
“If they are planning it, then they have a thought of how they will win. Liam said they have been experimenting on wolves, most likely rogues, but they may have found a way to hurt you that we don’t know about.”
She cups my face in her hands. “I’m not going anywhere. No one is taking me and Maia away from vo you and Louis. You’re stuck with us, forever. That’s what you promised me and that’s what I’m getting. Nothing and no one is taking that from us. We’ve worked too hard to finally find the happiness that we both deserve.”
I lean my forehead against hers, my eyes closed, trying to get control of my emotions.
“Eli…” She says gently, feeling my struggle.
“Promise me. Promise me that you will be careful. Promise me that you won’t take any unnecessary risks. Promise me, Grace. Promise me so that I can go about my day and not worry. every second that something has happened to you. Please, just promise me that you will be okay.”
“I promise you, Eli Gunnar, I will be okay.”
I take my mate to bed and make love to her, slowly, taking my time, savoring every taste, every scent, every sound that she makes. I need her to know how much I treasure her, how precious she is to me, how much I need her. When I finally find my release, I hold on to her like I’ll never let her go.
Eli became more insistent that he know where I was at all times after that. When we are together, he is affectionate and loving. We have always been physical in our relationship, but it was different now. It was as if he were desperate to let me know how much he needs me and loves me. He’s terrified that he’s going to lose me.
I understand why he’s feeling that way. I’m the key, the central point in the power source of the Guardians. Cara and Angel can pull from me, but without the strength of my mind link, they can’t go further than that. I can tap into the power of not only my sisters and their mates, but also every member of all three of our packs. I haven’t been vocal about that. I don’t want to scare anyone, but when I connect with them, it’s almost like candles getting lit in my mind. As each person in their pack connects to the link, the candles light and I can see them in my mind. It’s strange and it’s overwhelming. It also means that I can hear them. Between the three packs we have close to 1500 wolves. That’s a lot of voices in your head at one time. It’s why I’m so exhausted after training.
So, without me, they are strong and powerful, but only individually. With me, our strength pools together we become invincible. It’s why I’m not as concerned about the hunters as Eli is. I know that we can defeat them. I know there will be casualties and that makes me angry. These hunters coming to take away our lives, our happiness. And for what? Because we are different than they are? Because we intimidate them with our strength and heightened senses. They fear us, so they must destroy us?
It makes me angrier because we are having a baby boom in our pack right now. With so many recently mated couples, it’s not surprising. Amber and Carlos are expecting their baby boy in the less than a month. I think they probably got pregnant at the tournament just like Angel. She and Liam are expecting their little girl in the next month as well.
Sirona told me a couple weeks ago that she and Noah are expecting. She’s very excited and she and Amber love to talk about their pregnancies and baby planning every time they are together.
I’m happy for them, truly I am. But, it hasn’t happened for me and Eli. It’s not for our lack of trying. Eli has been more than happy to practice baby making any and every time I want. I’ve talked to Sirona about it and she says that between all the stress that we’ve been under, the changes in our pack, getting off my birth control, and Guardian training, that it’s not surprising it hasn’t happened. She’s told me to be patient and let it happen, but it’s hard. It feels like every day someone new is telling me that they are having a baby. And every day, I’m still not pregnant.
Just yesterday, Tula told me she and Thomas are expecting. That is only a week after Lelani and Lolana told me they are both expecting.
#15 BONOS
It’s like everywhere I look, the pack is in baby mode. Cammy and Melinda have the kitchen staff making baby food. Jeremy is busy making bassinets, cradles and toddler beds. Anna and her staff are making baby clothes as fast as they can for not just our pack, but the other two as well.
I know Eli can feel my sadness at our inability to conceive. I know he wants a child as much as I do. But I think it’s different as a woman. It feels like my body isn’t doing what it was made to do. Something that seems so easy for everyone else, is beginning to seem impossible for me. Everyone tells me I’m young, and I have plenty of time. And that’s true. But I’m an Alpha female. What does it say about me that everyone in my pack, including the sprites, are pregnant and having babies, but their Alpha and Luna can’t conceive.
And while I know that Eli is nothing like my father, and he has assured me that he will love me no matter what, somewhere deep in my mind, I fear that he will reject me if I can’t have a child. That fear is what keeps me awake at night. The fear that it doesn’t matter how strong I am, doesn’t matter than I’m an Alpha female and a Guardian, if I can’t have a child, would that be enough for him to leave me?
So, while I lay awake at night, and try my best to cover my growing fear and sadness from my mate, I smile every day, making appropriate sounds of excitement to mother’s announcing their pregnancy. I make cooing sounds when I hold new babies, secretly sniffing their baby scent and feeling my heart ache to hold my own child.
As the days progress, the hunters begin to make their move. Eli has told me that Liam is terrified that they will come while Angel is pregnant. She was pregnant during the vampire war and he had to go days not knowing if she’d survive. Now that she’s nearly ready to give birth, he’s worried for both her and his little girl.
Thankfully, her delivery day arrives, and I get a mind link from Liam that momma and baby Leana Estella are happy and healthy. I announce the birth of their baby girl to the pack and later that night, our own Amber goes into labor and the next day, I’m announcing the birth of our Beta couple’s baby boy, Dillon Ricardo. They decided on Dillon because it also means hope.
Interestingly, the sprites don’t seem to have a problem carrying wolf babies. Although, they will be sprite/wolf hybrids, none of them seem to struggle with the shorter gestation period of the wolves, like humans do. I guess Ailduin was right, sprites and wolves make good mates.
Later that week, I’m heading back to my room after learning that now Fanella and Christopher are expecting a child, when a sudden wave of nausea hits me and I race to the bathroom. I barely make it before everything I ate for lunch comes up. I sit back after I’m done, breathing heavily.
Where did that come from?
“Baby, are you okay?” Eli mind links me.
I
I
“Yeah, I think I ate something bad. Are you feeling okay after lunch?”
“Yes, do you need me? I can stop work and come take care of you.”
“No, I feel better.” Sort of.
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day and rest, love. You’ve been driving yourself so hard lately and I know all the baby stuff has been affecting you.”
“Did you hear about Fanella and Christopher?”
“Geez, those two as well?”
“We have baby fever here in Safe Haven.” I try to hide my sorrow, but he feels it.
“Baby. It will happen.” He says gently. “We can try every day, as many times a day as you want.” He says, making me smile, which I know was his plan.
“I love you, Eli.”
“I love you more than anything in the world, Grace. Never doubt that.”
The next couple of days, I continue to feel ill. I cover it as best I can as we’ve heard the hunters are on the move. We’re reinforcing the pack bunkers and safe rooms, doing drills to make sure everyone knows where to go and that all of our pregnant mothers, young mothers, elderly and pups know where to go and we can make sure that as new pups are born, the safe rooms have the supplies needed if they have to stay in lock down for several days.
Since Amber and Sirona will be in the safe rooms, they are leads of their rooms, checking to make sure everyone arrives and letting me know if there are any additional supplies needed. We’re putting all the pregnant moms that are close to delivery in the room with Sirona, in case they go into labor while we are fighting. Lelani, Lolana and Tula also agreed to be leads in their rooms and in true sprite fashion, their rooms miraculously have beautiful flowers growing in them.
It’s after one of these drills that I have to run to the community bathroom on the first floor of the packhouse to vomit. I’m just finishing up when Sirona walks in.
“We’re going to the hospital and I’m checking you out, Luna.”
“It’s nothing Sirona, just stress.”
“Don’t lie to your doctor, Grace. I’ve been watching you for the last couple of days. You’ve been vomiting at all hours of the day. Either come willingly with me now, or I’m going to Eli.”
I glare at her. “He has enough on his plate.”
“Exactly. So, let’s do this my way.”
I reluctantly follow her to the pack hospital. She sets me up in a room and takes blood, has me pee in a cup and hooks me up to some devices that monitor my heart rate and blood pressure.