Page 55 of Princess

“One casualty,” Beck said.“It was one of Rodrigo’s men.A hellhound bit him, and he died shortly after.”

I was furious that the hellhounds evaded our search.

“We know what Knet’s assignment was,” Beck continued.“There was a hidden tunnel a mile from the shipyard.Who knows how long he’s been collecting hellhounds.Some of the debris was cleared and the men could see holding cells.Small detonations were used to free them.They tend to head towards water and we think that’s what drew them to the shipyard.”

It didn’t make sense.

Beck stared at me and gave his next news.“A human detonated the charges.”

My eyes burned.“Is he alive?”I asked.

“Alive and terrified.”

“Do not kill him.Place a guard outside the room.I’m not leaving Marinah tonight.Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

“Do you want guards on your room?”Beck asked.

I smiled, showing my very human teeth.“If someone tries to hurt Marinah or our child, they will die violently, so no, we will be safe.”

“We are still on high alert.No one will get to this room,” Beck promised.

I nodded and went back to sit and watch my mate and child.

A little girl.Her eyes were blue like mine, but her face was all Marinah.She weighed sixteen pounds and still looked entirely too small.I was a father.This was something I thought would never happen.Too much fighting and killing for so long.

I passed out in the early morning hours.When the baby stirred, light was just coming through the window.Marinah woke instantly.

“She’s wet,” Marinah said at the exact moment the baby let out a loud cry that built even though Marinah picked her up.

“And hungry,” I said.“I’ll grab a diaper.”

The women on the island had brought baskets of cloth diapers with lanolized wool wraps to go over them to keep the cloth from leaking.They explained the diapering process to Marinah, so I simply handed her the diaper.She looked at it for a second before taking the old one off.The baby screamed throughout the process.Her tiny legs stiffened while the old diaper was removed.Marinah seemed to have a difficult time, and I had no idea how to help.

The baby’s cries grew louder and her lower lip trembled.She had a good, strong set of lungs.As soon as she was dry, Marinah brought her to her breast.The screaming stopped, though soft, heartfelt whimpers continued.I lay down beside them.

“We need a name,” I said.

“I truly thought she would be a he,” Marinah said with a sigh.“I had a dozen male names chosen.Did you think of girl names?”

“Not a one,” I admitted.“I didn’t want to test fate.”

“We can wait.The perfect name will come to us when we know more about her personality.”

“That works for me.”I touched my daughter’s cheek with the back of my finger.“She’s so soft.It’s hard to believe she wasn’t here yesterday.”I rubbed her cheek again.“How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but not too sore.I really want a shower.”

“After feeding, I’ll hold her, and you can take your time.Food should arrive soon.”

Marinah laughed.“I don’t think I’ve gone this long without thinking about food since I became pregnant.”

“You can eat before the shower.”

“No, shower first.A mountain of food afterward.The hellhounds attacked us from behind, and they shouldn’t have been on the island.Have you discovered anything?”

I told her about the Federation soldier on lockdown and how the hellhounds escaped detection.

“When are you going to question the soldier?”she asked.

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