Light Beyond the Darkness (16 page)

“Hot damn, it is. You went off to visit a shifter pack and found a lightbearer? I’d be even more impressed, except you were with Finn, and if anybody can find a needle in a haystack, it’s him.”

Except for Miguel. Finn hadn’t found Miguel.

“Well, get in here,” Lisa demanded when the two women simply stood on the porch. “It’s still cold outside. There’s still snow on the ground, for the love of Fate. Dane!” Lisa shifted her focus to the men who stepped up behind them.

“Fuck me, Reid Hennigan. Are you shitting me? Goddamn, Finn, you really
are
impressive.” She shoved Cecilia and Carley out of the way and strode across the porch to throw herself at Reid, who looked mildly shocked by the exuberant greeting.

“Er, hey, Lisa,” Reid said, as he attempted to disengage himself from her embrace.

Dane cleared his throat. Finn chuckled. Carley glanced at Cecilia, who rolled her eyes.

A shriek drew everyone’s attention back to the house.

“Cici! Is that Cici? Where the hell is Cici?” Cecilia and Dane both took off at a run, rushing through the foyer and up the massive staircase to the bedroom level, following the sound of the shouts.

Lisa pulled away from Reid and scowled. “Lightbearers. They act like whelping isn’t a perfectly normal, everyday occurrence.”

“I see you haven’t changed much, Lisa,” Reid commented as he ushered everybody inside and pulled the door closed behind him. “There’s magic here,” he said, looking at Finn. “It feels extra potent around this house.”

Finn nodded, looking pleased by Reid’s assessment. “Wards. While the entire coterie is warded against detection by other beings, this house is warded against other lightbearers, since inside the coterie, they’re the threat. Come on, let’s go find a room where you can drop your stuff. Then, Lisa, can you take Carley to Olivia? Cecilia seems to think her presence will help distract her. Reid and I are going to head to the king’s library to start talking strategy.” He shrugged. “We might as well. My limited experience with whelping is that it isn’t a quick process.”

While she would have liked a hug, or maybe a brain-searing kiss, Reid did nothing more than squeeze her hand for a moment before he and Finn left her and Lisa in the foyer. She supposed it really was for the best, considering everyone in this place knew she had a mate, and that mate wasn’t Reid.

“So you and Reid, huh?” Lisa asked as she nodded at the stairs, indicating Carley should follow her.

“Umm…”

“Guess you’re assuming that asshole you were mated to is dead?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does Reid know?”

She and Lisa had never been what one might call friends. Lisa didn’t spend nearly as much time at the beach house as Tanner and Finn did, and her personality was abrasive when she was there.

Without waiting for an answer, Lisa shrugged and said, “Hey, to each her own. Just keep in mind shifters are a jealous, possessive bunch. If you aren’t being honest, and he thinks there’s something going on between you two, he’s going to be pretty damn pissed when he finds out you’re mated to someone else.”

“He could be dead,” Carley protested.

“Don’t recall seeing that bright flash of light that indicates one of you all just died. But I suppose if he left the coterie like you did…”

“Please let me handle this my own way,” she whispered urgently, when they stood outside the door to Tanner and Olivia’s suite.

Lisa knocked on the door and shrugged again. “I’m not a tattletale. But I will have my boy’s back, if you end up screwing him over. Just know that, lightbearer.” She turned and walked away, without waiting for the door to open.

When it did, Jake Azenor stood in the doorway, a surprised look on his face. Jake was the largest lightbearer Carley had ever seen, one of the very few who was about the same size as the male shifters who had taken up residence in the coterie. His blond hair was always slightly disheveled, his blue-green eyes always watching, calculating, analyzing.

He had healing abilities but had chosen to become a guard instead of training to be a healer. Despite his lack of training, he usually accompanied Alexa Cymbeline whenever she tended to a serious healing, and always managed to help her through the process. If Carley’s pain-clouded memories were correct, he had been there when Alexa found her, a crumpled mess at the bottom of the cliff, the day Miguel had pushed her from the top.

“Carley Santiago?” His voice registered surprise.

She nodded and cast her gaze to the side. “Yes. I’ve come back.”

“Where were you?”

A shriek of pain pulled their attention. Jake turned his head to glance over his shoulder. His features shifted to worry.

“Is the birth not going well?” she asked. The queen had had a difficult birth with Olivia, and had been unable to conceive any more children afterward. She had suffered bouts of depression ever since.

Jake’s grimace said it all, but he answered anyway. “Alexa is pushing herself too hard. And she won’t let me help.”

“Why?” Alexa and Jake, although not mated, had been a couple for at least half a decade, maybe longer. Carley never understood why they hadn’t officially mated, when they seemed so perfect for one another.

He shook his head. “Long story. Stupid mistakes. And Alexa’s one of the hardest-headed females I know. Which is good for her patients, but it’s a pain in the ass for her…”

“Boyfriend? That’s what the humans say, when they are dating someone, but unsure if they plan to mate with that person.”

He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Yeah, well, I’m not even that status anymore. Sorry, did you want to come in? I’m sure the princess will be thrilled to see you. The king and queen as well.” He opened the door wider, an invitation.

Carley hesitated. Not because she did not want to see Olivia and her parents, and not because she was afraid of their reaction when they saw her. No, she hesitated because of her own issues, because of the babe she had lost four short months ago.

She had never dealt with the pain, the emotional upheaval caused by such a significant life event. Initially, she’d simply been afraid for her life, and her fear pushed her to focus entirely on staying alive, on escaping the coterie and carving a new way, far away from Miguel and his evil intentions. After she’d settled in Chicago, found her routine, her job, her roommates, and friends, she’d then refused to deal with it. She had a new life; there was no time to dwell on the past. It was just that, past, over, gone.

It had been easy to do, really. Most of her coworkers were young, single, working too many hours, and when they weren’t at work, they played just as hard. None were at that point in their lives where children were a consideration. Roman was the only one who was older than she, who actually did have a family, but his ex-wife, after the divorce, had moved them to Texas to be closer to her family, and Roman rarely saw them anymore.

Now, though, with the lightbearer princess about to birth a half-shifter, half-lightbearer babe, when at one point, they had been pregnant at the same time, all of Carley’s demons were coming back to haunt her. Miguel, the babe she’d lost, the Chosen One, her parents, all the reasons she’d fled in the first place. She had a very real urge to turn around, rush down the stairs, seek out Reid, and demand he take her back to Chicago. As selfish as the thought was, she knew he would do as she asked.

“Carley. Olivia, sweetie, look, it’s Carley. She’s come back to the coterie. Isn’t that exciting?” Cecilia was there, pulling her into the suite, dragging her through the sitting room and into the bedchamber.

Her gaze quickly swept over the inhabitants of the room. The king and queen were huddled in a corner. The king had his arm around his mate, who was crying gently into a linen handkerchief. Tanner’s mother, Arianna, was standing near them, trying to offer her support.

Tanner sat on the bed next to his mate, brushing the sweat-soaked hair out of her face and murmuring something so low that only she could hear. His face was carved with worry lines.

Alexa sat on the bed near Olivia’s feet, looking utterly exhausted, but determined to help Olivia through the next contraction. Dane stood near the head of the bed, on the opposite side as Tanner, looking anxious and annoyed at the same time.

“Let me help,” he pleaded with Tanner.

“If you touch my mate, I’ll rip your arm off,” Tanner said with a snarl.

“Alexa cannot do it alone,” Dane complained as he waved at the exhausted healer. “If this experience doesn’t kill your mate, it could kill
her
.”

“No one is going to die,” Tanner growled.

“Not if you let me help, they won’t,” Dane shot back.

“Olivia, look,” Cecilia said when she came to a halt next to the bed. Olivia turned her head and opened her eyes. They were as exhausted as the rest of her body appeared to be. Given the amount of time it took them to drive to the coterie from Tennessee, she had been laboring for at least twelve hours, likely longer.

“Carley?” Olivia’s voice sounded like a croak. Without needing to be asked, Tanner grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and offered it to his mate. She sipped and then pushed it away. “You’re back.”

Olivia’s hair was drenched, dark blonde strands plastered to her head. Her face was pinched, pale, the veins standing out in stark relief against her skin. There were deep circles under her eyes, eyes that were clouded with pain and exhaustion.

She wore a simple dressing gown, and it too was soaked through with sweat. The mound that was her belly quivered with her rapid breathing.

The bed coverings had been removed and replaced with stark white sheets. A stack of towels and several basins of water sat nearby. A tray of discarded plates, piles of picked over food on top, sat near the door. Carley and Jake were the only ones who noticed when a servant stepped into the room and removed the tray.

“Hello, Olivia.” Carley resisted the urge to courtesy, even though it still felt natural to do so. But Olivia had never been pretentious, had always insisted those who worked in the beach house call her by her given name, and treat her as an equal, not a princess.

She stared at the princess’ belly. For a moment, her vision blurred, and she saw herself lying in that bed, laboring to deliver her babe. She sucked in a breath and swayed on her feet. Cecilia squeezed her arm, and the vision was gone.

“Congratulations,” she managed, waving her hand at the bed.

Before she could respond, Olivia’s face screwed up in pain, and Alexa took a deep breath and placed both hands on the woman’s belly. As Carley watched, they both breathed through the contraction together, although it looked as if Alexa was taking on the brunt of the pain. When it was over, Olivia dropped back against the headboard and closed her eyes, and Alexa swayed and looked as if she might pass out. Cecilia rushed to the healer’s side and held her steady.

“Dane’s right, Tanner,” Cecilia said. “Alexa needs help. This pup doesn’t seem to want to come out. We need to pull all the pain, so that Olivia can focus on pushing.” She glanced at the window. “And we need to do it before the sun goes down.”

The look in Tanner’s eyes was haunted. He was clearly frightened for his mate, yet the last thing he wanted was for her former betrothed to be the one to deliver
his
pup. Everyone knew that Olivia and Dane had briefly been betrothed, since the king announced it last summer, in an effort to keep Olivia and Tanner apart. Obviously, his attempt to manipulate his daughter’s life hadn’t worked.

“Right here,” Cecilia said, pointing at the bed next to Olivia’s belly. “He’ll sit right here. He’ll siphon the pain, while Alexa focuses on getting this pup out. Okay? Tanner, answer me!”

Olivia made the decision for him. She had another contraction, and screamed that she needed to push. Dane reacted and dove onto the bed, grabbing her belly and sucking in a breath as he began to pull the pain away, absorbing it into his own body. Alexa knelt between Olivia’s feet and put her hands on Olivia’s thighs.

“Push,” she commanded, finding renewed strength, now that she did not have to absorb Olivia’s pain.

Olivia bore down, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth. Her face turned red, she squeezed Tanner’s hand so tightly he yelped—and still the babe did not crown. When the contraction passed, she fell back against the headboard, exhausted.

“I can’t do it anymore,” she mumbled weakly.

“Yes, you can, baby,” Tanner cooed as he cupped her face and smoothed away the dark blonde strands sticking to her cheek. “You need to bring our pup into the world.”

Olivia shook her head. “I can’t.”

Carley stepped away from the bed, moved to the corner where the king and queen stood, anxiously watching their daughter’s progress. Or lack thereof. “Hello, your majesties.”

“Carley?” The queen looked startled to see her there.

“Yes,” she said with a small, reassuring smile. “I was just wondering, did you have this same problem, birthing Olivia?”

Genevieve glanced at her mate. “It was difficult, yes.”

“What did you do?”

Genevieve’s gaze was on the king. His lips were white around the edges, he was compressing them so tightly.

“We, er, the healer, uh, cut the babe out.”

“Excuse me?”

The king looked faint, and Genevieve nodded. “I’m afraid that might have caused my inability to have any more babes,” she admitted. “But the healer said it was the only way to get her out.”

Carley cut her gaze to the laboring woman lying on the bed, her mate murmuring in her ear, the two healers conversing in quiet tones nearby. For the moment, Olivia was resting, but another contraction would hit soon.

“I hope Olivia is not having the same struggle.” But it was obvious she was, at least, having some sort of struggle. The babe should have been delivered by now. Most lightbearers, in Carley’s experience, would have birthed the babe before they’d even arrived from Tennessee. They should have walked into a serene scene, with mother propped against the headboard, the babe nestled against her breast, eagerly suckling. That was what should have happened.

The queen burst into tears. The king awkwardly patted her back while his gaze darted from his mate to his daughter and back again. Alexa skirted the bed and hurried to the queen’s side.