Cassandra remembered that night well. Every detail of it was emblazoned on her memory with crystal clarity. She'd stayed at home that night only because she was sick and her mother had refused to let her out of bed.
"You wanted to go to the airport with Nia," Cassandra said, her throat tight. Their older sister had been going to take a charter flight to see their father in Paris. Nia had planned on staying a week there and then she and their father were supposed to fly back together to stay in Switzerland with the rest of them for a little holiday.
Phoebe nodded. "Urian pulled me out of the car and used his own blood to restore me."
Cassandra flinched at her sister's words. "He made you a Daimon against your will?"
"It was my choice. I could have died, but I didn't want to leave him." Wulf cocked his head. "How did he make you a Daimon?"
Both of the women looked at him in disbelief.
"If an Apollite drinks the blood of a Daimon, it automatically converts them. Didn't you know that?" Cassandra asked.
"No, I didn't. I thought the only way to become a Daimon was to take a human soul."
"No," Phoebe said. "I've never killed a human. I doubt that I could."
Cassandra was glad to know that, but it was hard for a Daimon to live that way. Dangerous too. "What do you do if he's gone too long?"
"One of the Apollites gets word to him to come to me. He's so strong that I can go a long time between feedings and the infirmary keeps a pint of his blood in case of emergency. He always makes sure to replenish it with a new supply every time he visits."
"Does that work?" Cassandra asked. Unlike with Apollites, it wasn't blood that sustained Daimons, it was the life force or strength in the blood that kept them living.
"It won't last long, but it will tide me for an hour or two until he can get to me."
"So he kills for both of you?" Wulf asked.
She nodded, and took Cassandra's hands into hers. "Don't feel sorry for me, Cassandra. I have a man who loves me more than anything else on this earth. If he didn't, you would be dead now. I just wish you could know the love I have with him."
Phoebe kissed Cassandra on the cheek. "You need to rest now. It's been a long night. Would you like me to have someone bring you food?"
"No, thanks. I just need to sleep for a bit."
"Good day to you both." Phoebe left their bedroom.
Wulf locked the door behind her, then stripped his clothes off while Cassandra pulled on a dark green silk nightgown that Phoebe had brought to her. To her surprise, it fit perfectly, even over her slightly bulging belly.
Wulf climbed into bed and gathered her into his warm arms. "How are you doing for real, villkat ?"
"I don't know. It's been an exciting, strange night." The events replayed through her mind. She'd learned a lot and had had one too many surprises. Now she was exhausted. "I'm very sorry about your house."
She felt him shrug. "Houses can be rebuilt. I'm just glad no one was hurt."
"Me too."
Wulf felt her relaxing as she closed her eyes and snuggled into him. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled the soft womanly scent of her. His mind whirled with everything that had happened tonight.
Most of all, it whirled with thoughts of the baby he had seen on the monitor. He laid his hand on Cassandra's stomach and imagined the baby thriving in there. His baby. Their son.
A part of both of them. The child of a Dark-Hunter and an Apollite. Two beings who should never have united and yet here they were. No longer enemies, he wasn't sure what to call her. She was his lover. His friend.
He froze as realization dawned on him. She really was his friend. The first one he had made in centuries. He had laughed with her often these last three weeks. Listened to her stories, her fears. Her hopes for the baby's future.
And he was going to lose her. Anger and pain swelled up inside him. Jealousy, too, as he thought of the other three Dark-Hunters who had been given a second chance. He was glad Kyrian and Talon had found their wives. They were good men. How he wished he could be granted such a blessing.
The pain of losing Cassandra would be excruciating, and he had to admit that he was selfish. He wanted Cassandra and his baby both. Alive and healthy.
If only he knew of some way to make her live past her birthday. There had to be something. The gods always made a loophole. This couldn't be the end of their relationship. No matter what it took, he was going to find that loophole.
The alternative was unacceptable to him.
Chapter 12
Cassandra didn't wake up until almost six o'clock in the evening. She was completely alone in the room. Getting up, she dressed in a pair of black wool maternity pants and a large gray sweater Phoebe had given her.
She opened the door and found Chris, Wulf, and Kat eating on the floor in the living room. Her jaw went slack at the feast they were consuming.