Page 72 of Blood Bonds
Caro squeezed his hand. “Talk to her. She likes your voice.”
Also bizarre, but his daughter apparently would possess the power to destroy an entire bloodline. Why should this shock him?
He kissed Caro once more before drawing patterns over her exposed belly and cooing, “Okay, little one. It’s time, but be nice to your mom, okay? She has a death grip on my hand, and I don’t want to lose it.”
Caro responded by tightening her hold on him, something that would have concerned him more if she hadn’t also giggled with the move.
There’s my angel, he thought warmly.
Her pain tolerance had to be high given everything her body had experienced these last two months. The sweat dotting her brow and the stress lines around her mouth were the only indications that whatever was happening hurt.
He continued to lightly trace her stomach and speak to their daughter. “I can’t wait to meet you, sweetheart,” he admitted softly. “I hope you resemble your mom more than me, though. She’s far prettier.”
“Liar,” Caro breathed, her eyes closed as she focused on expelling a living being from her body.
Holy fuck, this is happening.
I’m going to be a dad.
He knew that already. But the reality crashed into him as Leela told Caro to give her first push. Nothing happened, but he sensed their child was on the verge of entering the world.
“She’s stubborn,” Caro grumbled. “That would be from her father’s side.”
Sethios chuckled even as he beamed at the possibility. “Pretty sure that’s a combined effort, darling.”
“Another push now,” Leela urged. “Come on, Caro.”
An ache shot up his arm as his angel grasped his hand in earnest. Not to punish, but for support, and he gave it to her. Fuck, she was bringing a miracle into the world. A few broken bones hardly compared.
“She’s crowning,” Leela announced.
“I know!” Caro growled, her brow dripping sweat. “Fuck!”
Sethios bit his lip to keep from chuckling at what appeared to be her new favorite word. She used it around him fairly often, usually when she wanted something from him.
“Come on, Caro. I know you’ve got more in you than this,” Leela chastised. “Keep going.”
An unfavorable reply fell from Caro’s lips, causing Leela to chuckle. Definitely not a normal Seraphim. Where did Gabriel find her? He glanced at the stoic male still leaning casually against the wall. No way were these two lovers. Friends, maybe. If the guy even had any of those.
Another pang screamed up his forearm as his angel borrowed strength from him.
“You’re doing great, love,” he murmured, having no idea whether or not that was true.
Her expression was that of a warrior goddess, all fire and fight, highlighted by glorious blonde waves of hair and a face blessed by the heavens. Finding her alluring in that moment probably went against the grain, but Sethios doubted he would ever find her unattractive.
“Wow,” Leela said, awed by whatever she saw between Caro’s legs. An inappropriate reply stalled in his mouth when he felt his daughter’s presence. Similar to how he sensed his father’s arrival, but far more powerful.
“Why isn’t she crying?” he asked, awed.
“She’s content.” Caro’s whisper-soft reply drew his attention to her pale cheeks and discolored eyes. Her irises held an eerie white glow that did not appear natural in the slightest.
“Caro,” he slid closer to her on the bed, both of his hands going to her face. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“Is… fine,” she slurred, her eyes rolling back in her head. She began to convulse as magic sifted in the air, and she blinked between her ethereal state and corporeal state, over and over.
“Leela, tell me this is normal,” he demanded.
“It’s normal,” she replied automatically.
