Five months later
“Are you sure we have to do this?” Jade whined, feeling, at present, more like a whale than a woman. Clecanian births were only six months long, which meant, at this stage of pregnancy, she felt very, very uncomfortable.
Theo tilted her chin up to his face for a soft, lingering kiss. “Yes, little wife. It’s tradition.”
“But I look like a house,” she said petulantly, looking into their bedroom mirror.
Jade turned narrowing her eyes at Theo suspiciously. “Is this a real tradition or a ‘couples bath time’ tradition?”
Theo threw his head back and laughed. “A very real and very ancient tradition, my love.” He stood behind her as she studied her reflection. “You are as beautiful as ever.” He placed his hands over her large belly. “Don’t you want to know the sex of our child?”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously I do, but I don’t understand why it has to be revealed in front of your whole family.”
She gazed at Theo in the mirror and covered his hands with her own. Jade’s moods had been swinging out of control for the last few months, and yet he always looked overjoyed to be in her bitchy presence.
Jade leaned her head against his arm and sighed. “Okay. Remind me who I’m meeting again.”
“Rhaego, Zikas, and Asivva, you already know.” He gave her neck a quick kiss before continuing. “There will be a few government officials and distant relatives that Asivva trusts as well. The only other important people you need to know are my brothers. From youngest to oldest, their names are Izor, Maxu, Luka, and Auzed.”
Jade twisted in Theo’s arms and gave him a sarcastic shake of her head. “That’s way too many alien names with odd consonants for me to remember.”
Theo chuckled lightly. “Izor the youngest is training under my other brother Auzed to be a guard in the Pearl Temple. Auzed has been the head guard of the Pearl Temple for some time now.”
“So, he’s in charge of protecting all the ladies?” she asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Theo gave a smirk and admitted, “I believe the easy access to single females is one of the reasons my two brothers joined the temple guard.”
“Typical,” she teased. “What do your other brothers do?”
“Maxu was a mercenary like me but retired long ago. Luka is more secretive about the specifics of his job. I believe he works in the medical research field under Helas.”
“Did he know about the Purists?” she asked tensely, not wanting to offend Theo. Over the last few months, Theo, the Queen, and a trusted group of Theo’s mercenary friends had been investigating the underground group Xoris had told Jade about. Theo had dubbed the group Purists due to their stance on interspecies breeding.
“I can’t imagine he does. He’s a good man.”
Jade nodded, mollified. “Okay then, let’s go. Can’t keep all our party guests waiting.”
Theo took her hand and walked with her down the hallway to the open living area, where a group of people mingled. They all glanced up at Jade and Theo’s approach and grew silent.
Three large, handsome men scattered throughout the room caught her eye. They must be Theo’s brothers. The similarities were too numerous to be coincidental.
The largest of the three looked like a fair-haired twin of Theo. He was tall and very well built but instead of Theo’s dark hair and skin, he had light blond hair and pale skin.
Another one of Theo’s brothers waved at them excitedly from across the room. From his lighthearted boyish manner, she could only guess the man must be Theo’s youngest brother, Izor.
Theo leaned down and pointed at the excited young man. “Izor.” He then pointed at the fair-haired brother near the kitchen. “Auzed.” Finally, he pointed at the last dark-haired well-built man. “Maxu.”
Jade had thought Theo seemed difficult to read when she’d first met him, but he had nothing on his brother Maxu. The tall, well-built man wore a mask of indifference. He looked neither happy nor unhappy to be where he was. His unreadable expression and perfect stillness gave him an air of danger and mystery that would’ve garnered the attention of many Earth women.
Theo led Jade forward until they were in full view of the crowd.
Jade noticed a few individuals begin to move toward them. Zikas politely meandered through the group of people, trying to get to Jade and Theo.
Izor, however, pushed clumsily through the group to the front. He looked embarrassed and apologized profusely to an older man he’d knocked over.
Theo leaned down with a wide grin to whisper, “We thought he was the runt of the group because he was so small for so long, then last year he sprouted up and started packing on tons of muscle. He isn’t quite sure how to navigate his new body yet.”
Jade giggled as she watched the large man stalk over to them, his cheeks bright red.
When he reached them, he gave an awkward bow to Jade and said in a rumbling voice that didn’t quite match his personality, “Hello, sister. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Jade smiled, already liking the Great Dane puppy-like man. “It’s nice to meet you too, Izor.”
He shot her a handsome, infectious smile and leaned toward her. “You can call me Izzo if you want.”
She nodded at him, unable to keep herself from smiling, He’s going to be a heartbreaker if he ever learns how to control his body.
Theo leaned toward Izzo and whispered, “Do you know where Luka is?”
Izzo’s wide grin faltered at that. “We need to discuss that later. No one was able to contact him. He wasn’t at his home, and his communicator isn’t working.” He shrugged at Jade and donned a reassuring smile. “He likes to go off by himself a lot. He probably just wanted some alone time and didn’t realize you two had been mated.” Jade nodded but noticed the worry clear in his pale blue eyes.
Zikas approached at last and beamed at them with tears in his eyes. He turned and in a loud, clear voice, said, “We’re here to celebrate this mated pair and to reveal the sex of their first child.”
All of the party attendees cheered politely with the exception of Izzo, who hooted and clapped.
Zikas shot him an annoyed glare and then handed him a small folded piece of paper.
Gesturing to Izzo, he continued, “The youngest member of the family will now reveal the child’s sex.”
Izzo’s large fingers fumbled with the paper for a moment before finally unfolding it. He beamed and with his fist raised in the air, he roared, “It’s a girl!”
Jade looked up at Theo and found him smiling down at her belly, a dreamy expression on his face. “Are you happy?” she whispered to him.
A loud purr erupted from his chest. He planted a soft kiss on her lips then stared deeply into her eyes. The rest of the party faded around them as she saw the emotion shining on his face. “You’ve given me so much. A mate, companionship, love, and now even a baby girl. I’m whole again because of you, Jade.”
Sincerity shone in his eyes, causing emotion to well in her throat. They’d both lost so much in their lives, but they’d found each other. Theo was right. Jade felt whole again.
“I’m the happiest male on the planet. I love you now more deeply than I thought possible, and yet I can still feel my love for you and our child grow with each passing day.”
Jade threw her arms around Theo and kissed him. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. All the pain and loneliness she’d experienced in her life seemed to fade to a distant memory. She now had a true family and a gorgeous alien husband who doted on her endlessly. All she’d had to do to earn her new life was get kidnapped, be forced into marriage, be repeatedly manhandled, get kidnapped again, and finally be beaten.
Was it worth it?
Jade studied Theo’s handsome grinning face and felt her little girl kick in her womb.
Absolutely.
Their surroundings came back into focus when Izzo leaned over, curiosity and humor showing on his face. “What are you guys doing with your mouths?”
Looking around at the spectators she’d forgotten about, Jade now realized that most of them were gawking at their affectionate display.
Theo shot him a lopsided grin. “A human custom called kissing. I can only hope that one day you’re lucky enough to experience it.”
Izzo crossed his arms over his chest. “I sincerely doubt I’d enjoy it. It looks like you guys are trying to eat each other.”
Theo leaned down and whispered in Jade’s ear. “Eat? Mmm, maybe later.”
Jade slapped Theo playfully on the shoulder and leaned up to kiss her big, scarred alien once more.
