PHOENIX WOKE TO the feeling of being truly loved. The emotion flowed around her, in her, through her. She rolled onto her back to see her mate watching her. And the love she felt wasn’t just any love; it was coming from Dante himself.
Now that they were together, he’d opened the blood link he shared with her at times when he wanted her to know exactly how he was feeling. She’d been both awed and miffed when she found out about the link. No one had told her about it, so all these months, Dante had been able to feel what she felt. Although with her natural habit of hiding her emotions from even herself, Dante had told her she did a pretty good job of naturally blocking her feelings.
But, now, he was helping her do it on a conscious level, and she was working on letting him in more. It was hard sometimes. She was still afraid of being hurt, but she was trying more and more every day.
“Good evening,” she said.
Dante leaned over and kissed her. “Do you have any plans tonight?”
Phoenix did some mental calculating on what day it was. She had mostly adjusted her schedule to sleeping during the day and being awake at night like Dante, but sometimes, Vance would still ask her to do things during light hours. And, now that the threat that had hung over the shifter and vampire communities was eliminated, things had gone back to being less hectic and on a more even level.
“I have to check my messages, but I don’t think Vance has anything important for me.”
“Well, we kind of have something for you to do today.”
“We? As in, you and my alpha?”
“Yep.” Dante glanced behind him at his alarm clock. “You have an hour.”
Phoenix sat up in bed, letting the covers fall to her lap. Now that she had told Dante everything about her past, she found it easier to be naked around him. Every night, he would help her become more comfortable with her body. Her incredible vampire was even teaching her to enjoy her breasts.
“Where are we going?” she asked, getting excited. She couldn’t imagine what Dante and Vance would plan together.
Dante threw back the bedding and stood. He stretched as his morning, or night, erection stood out from his body. She was still amazed that he could fit that thing inside her, but she was definitely no longer afraid of it and loved when he made love to her. She thought back to the first time she’d seen it covered by his boxers months ago and how she’d almost been afraid of it even though Dante was sleeping. Things had certainly changed.
“We are going to the shifter infirmary. Vance made an appointment for you,” her mate said.
And all her excitement turned to annoyance.
“I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then, I will hog-tie you and throw you in the back of my SUV.”
She scowled. “But I don’t wanna,” she whined. Actually whined.
Dante, with the help of Kenzie and her pedicures and clothes shopping, was turning her into a girlie girl.
Dante sat on the bed and took her hand. “Phoenix, don’t you think you’ve avoided the heat thing long enough? It’s time you go see your doctor and find out if something’s wrong.”
But she didn’t want to find out if anything was wrong. She might have made progress in opening up her heart and mind to being with Dante, but she was still herself. If she didn’t know anything was wrong, then nothing was wrong.
“Plus, Red, in light of your other symptoms, you know it’s a good idea.”
She hung her head in defeat. “I know.”
“Speaking of that, do you need to feed?”
She eyed her mate’s neck where she’d marked him the night of her heat. Although she could already practically taste his blood in her mouth, she was good for now. “No.”
“I’m going to go shower then.” Dante got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom.
Phoenix lay back on the bed. She knew her mate was right. In the month and a half since her failed heat, she had been having unusual cravings. Like for Dante’s blood. So much so that he hadn’t fed from her for the last two months because he was worried something was wrong with her. He had gone to a feeding facility, and Phoenix had stayed with him the whole time. She had tried to get Dante to feed from her, but he was too worried.
She had also begun to smell like Dante so much that vampires and shifters would think it was him until they saw her. She didn’t know if it was because she had been consuming so much of his blood or because they had mated or what. But, if she didn’t know it was impossible, she would think that she was turning into a vampire.
Thankfully, she could still go out in the sunlight without any problems, and she could still shift although her body seemed slower to respond, which was also worrisome.
Dante came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Red? You okay?”
She met his beautiful brown eyes. “Did you know Leonidas means lion?”
He smiled. “I did. Coincidence? I think not.”
She smiled back. “What do you think of Phoenix Leonidas?”
His smile turned into a grin. “Are you saying, you want to change your last name? I’m shocked. I’ve always seen you as a feminist.”
“Oh, I am. But the point of being a feminist is that you have choices. And I choose to take your last name. As long as it’s okay with you?”
Dante jumped onto the bed, landing on his stomach beside her. “Of course.” He leaned over and kissed her. “I would love for you to take my last name.”
“That means, we’ll have to get married the human way.”
He shrugged. “I know.”
“Good. Let’s go to the courthouse today.”
Dante dropped his head down and laughed. When he looked up at her, he said, “Nice try. You’re still going to the doctor.”
She glowered at him.
“But maybe, tomorrow, we can go to the courthouse.”
“Fine,” she said, throwing back the covers. She marched to the bathroom, making sure Dante was aware of her aggravation.
About two hours later, Phoenix sat in the exam room at the shifter infirmary, kicking her legs against the exam table out of boredom. She’d already seen the doctor and the nurse, had her blood drawn, and been poked and prodded, and she was ready to go home.
There was a knock at the door, and a third vampire, different from the last nurse and doctor, stepped in. She handed Phoenix a piece of paper. “Here is your list of appointment times. We find it easier to just make them for our patients. We made them all in the evening. But you are more than welcome to change them at any time.”
“I’m sorry,” Phoenix said, her boredom turning to anxiety. “What is this about?”
The female pulled her clipboard away from her chest and frowned. “Are you not Phoenix Kaplan?”
“I am.”
The female looked relieved. “Oh, good.” She went back to the door and opened it.
“Wait,” Phoenix said. “I don’t know what these are for.”
The female shrugged. “I’m sorry, miss. I just do what I’m told.” She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Phoenix looked down at the sheet of paper and saw what had to be at least thirty appointments listed. She looked up at Dante, who was sitting across from her, waving the paper around. “See? This is why I didn’t want to come.”
“Let’s not panic until we have to,” he said calmly.
It irked her that he wasn’t freaking out like she was.
She looked at the list again. “There are several appointments for when I should be in heat again.” She looked up at her mate with what had to be a horrified expression on her face. “You don’t think they’ll want to monitor us during that time, do you? I am not having sex in front of others. I don’t care if they are medical professionals.”
“Damn, there goes my porn career.”
“Ha-ha. You’re not funny.”
Dante chuckled. “Phoenix, can we just wait for the doctor before we assume the worst?”
There was another knock at the door, and the nurse from earlier walked in. She handed Phoenix another piece of paper. “Here is your prescription. Did you already get your packet?”
Phoenix gritted her teeth. “No, I have no idea what the hell is going on.” She held up one hand. “I have appointments for who knows what.” Then, she held up her other hand. “And, now, I have a prescription that I don’t know anything about.”
The nurse looked confused. That made two of them. “Dr. Houseman hasn’t come back and talked to you?”
“No.”
“Oh, dear,” the nurse said. She spun around on her heel and headed for the door.
“Oh, dear what?” Phoenix called out.
But the female was already gone.
Phoenix turned her eyes to Dante to show him how frustrated she was, but now, there was worry in his eyes, and she was suddenly scared.
If Dante, her rock, was worried, then that meant she should be worried.
A third knock sounded at the door, and the doctor walked in like her feet were on fire. “I am so sorry, Phoenix. There was a slight emergency with another patient out front. My nurse and medical assistant didn’t realize that I was with that patient and that I hadn’t talked to you yet.”
Phoenix swallowed and stiffened her spine. “Am I sick?”
Dr. Houseman looked alarmed. “Heavens no.” She handed Phoenix a thick folder. “This should explain everything.”
Dante stood up and came to her side. They both looked down at the words on the outside. Her eyes locked on to one word.
“Pregnant?” she whispered. She lifted her head and looked at the doctor, who was now blurry. Phoenix wiped the tears from her eyes. “How? I don’t understand. I was barely in heat.”
Dante put his arm around her as the doctor said, “My best guess is, you got pregnant that first night. And, since that’s the goal of mating heat, it was over after that.”
“But I bled.”
“Yes, but you said only lightly, correct?”
“Yes.” Phoenix had assumed that, since her heat had been short, her bleeding had been light, too.
“And you haven’t had any other bleeding since then?”
Phoenix shook her head.
“There you go then. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I still don’t understand,” Phoenix said, still in shock.
“Well, we still don’t know a whole lot about shifter-vampire conception, but as you know, there has been another couple who conceived rather easily. We might be seeing a trend. We won’t know until more mating and pregnancies, or lack of pregnancies, happen. It’s obviously not something we can make a case study out of, so we just have to go with the info we have right now.”
“Is this why she’s been craving my blood?” Dante asked.
“Again, we—the vampire doctors and those of us here at the infirmary—are going by assumptions. But it would seem that the vampire half of the baby needs your blood. So, my suggestion is to just give in to the cravings. Your body will tell you what it needs. Just don’t ignore it,” she said to Phoenix. Then, she turned to Dante. “But I would hold off on feeding from her until she gives birth, for safety’s sake.”
“Done,” Dante said.
Phoenix wasn’t happy about watching Dante feed from someone else for several months, but if it meant they got to be parents, it would be worth it.
“Any other questions?”
Phoenix shook her head.
“All right. Feel free to call anytime. Otherwise, we’ll see you back here in a few weeks.”
Dante led Phoenix out to the SUV while she felt like she was still in a daze. She looked over at her mate, who was practically strutting to the car.
“You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
Dante grinned. “Fuck yeah.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Red. It’s a guy thing. I can’t help feeling like a stud. I wish I could explain it to you.” He put his arm around her and kissed her head. “Do you still love me despite my caveman mentality?”
“I suppose.”
He stopped halfway to the vehicle, lifted her chin, and kissed her long and hard. “You’d better because I love you.” He started walking again, taking Phoenix with him. “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”
“Me either.” Except…
This time, Phoenix paused.
“What’s wrong?” Dante asked, concerned.
“How am I going to tell Kenzie and Sawyer?”
Despite Kenzie’s strong attitude at the hospital, she definitely had good days and bad days. She was trying to continue with life, but she would never forget about the baby she’d lost. Phoenix didn’t want to add to her friend’s pain.
“That’s a tough one. But I’m sure Kenzie will be happy for you, no matter what.”
“I know, but I still feel bad.”
Dante kissed her again. “You’re a good person, you know that?”
“What? Like you ever had any doubts.”
“You’re right. No doubts,” he said with a glint in his eye.
“Come on, stud. Let’s go home.”