Lucius had crossed a line. He had no right to use the word ‘love’ like that. Least of all, using it when trying to speak for me. I don’t even know how I feel about Delilah. Yes, of course, I care about her. I cared about her even before all this. I’ve cared about her since the war. But that doesn’t mean I love her. And I am not going to let the mate bond dictate my feelings. If I learned anything from my parents, it’s that love should be earned. Love should be cultivated. Love isn’t a light switch that you flick and suddenly feel. Love is a seed in your heart that needs to be nurtured to grow and, if possible, blossom. I don’t want a love that is only there because of a mythical bond. I want a love that I feel on my own. I may have sunk into the darkness of my panic attack to the point that Lucius was able to take control, but I heard him say we love her. And that was enough to get me to fight the rip tide that was trying to pull me under. It took me longer than I wanted to break fr

Call me a coward if you want, but I know myself well enough to know I needed to get out of that room before I said something upsetting her. I needed to go before I had another episode. I left because it was what would be best for my mental health and her general health. You could argue that my departure and distance put a strain on her. Do you know what I have to say to that? No shit Sherlock. It doesn’t take a medical degree to know that. However, I must also consider my health and how having another episode would affect her. So, you can sit there and judge me all you want, but this isn’t your life. It’s mine, and I’ll make the judgment calls on what is best for me, even if that makes me fundamentally selfish. I did what I thought was best. I called Annamaria to attend to Delilah’s medical needs. I’d done my task of repairing the placental abruptions. Her actual attending obstetrician could do everything else. That is not my area of expertise. It is not what I specialized in at un

“Delilah? Hello? Don’t tell me that pregnancy brain hit you again.” Persephone sighed as she shifted Jacira in her arms. “Huh? I’m sorry, Persey.” I apologized with a frown as Jacira started to fuss. “I’m so sorry, Jacira.” I apologized sweetly to my two-week-old niece. “It’s okay, Delilah. I’m just worried about you. You called me and then went silent with a far-off look. I would say I wasn’t used to that, but you’ve met my mate. He can easily get distracted. It’s just that you don’t usually do that.” Persephone sighed. “And don’t worry, Jacira is okay. I just think… yep…” She wrinkled her nose holding Jacira up. “Jonathan. It’s your turn, and your daughter left you a ripe one.” Persephone grinned. “I’m a little busy.” I heard Jonathan in the distance. “And I’m talking to Delilah. So, stop adding nitric acid to that before….” She winced, and I heard a muffled explosion in the background. After living with them while I was abroad, I can attest that it’s not uncommon for there t

I’d just gotten off my Facetime with Persephone when a call from Regina started to come through. Usually, I’d be thrilled to catch up with my best friend. Since we are both pregnant, we often catch up on how the pregnancies are going and share little tips we’ve found work for things like morning sickness and heartburn. Yet I’m unsure if I want to answer. I shook my head because that was unfair of me. I should avoid Regina because her brother is avoiding me. We haven’t talked since Alexander returned, so I haven’t even had a chance to tell her he’s my mate or what happened with the babies. I took a deep breath and slowly released it as I readied myself. I don’t know how Regina will take finding out about me and Alexander. As I hit the accept button, a thought occurred to me. What if Alexander has already told his family? What if he’s been in Incubi this whole time, avoiding me? What if Regina has been keeping his whereabouts from me? Or maybe this is her calling to tell me where he is

I am not generally quick to anger and certainly not first to violence. It’s never been my nature. That has always been Persephone’s wheelhouse. I’m the one that wants to think calmly about things and find a way to move forward without violence. However, since I awakened Helia, there have been moments when I’ve felt the need to act in violence. But even then, I want to resolve things without bloodshed. That is not the case now. Call it the mate bond. Call it pregnancy hormones. I don’t care. All I know is that I’ve been seeing red since Alexander said he’d possibly been kept drugged. And now that he’s told me his housekeeper, her DAUGHTER, and some old woman were behind all this, I could feel my blood pressure spiking, and I’m sure it was through the roof when he said they are related to Lia. Can we not be rid of that woman? First, she sets Ivan up to remain on house arrest and blames Alexander. Then she falsely claims to be pregnant with Alexander’s baby. She threatens to make me sta