“Get the fuck out of here, old woman. My mate is giving birth to my child. I will one day be the Leo, and you and your husband cannot change things. You’re out of your depth here. But if you don’t leave my presence right now, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” His voice had gone low and dangerous.
Eliana let out a breath as another contraction hit so she couldn’t hear what happened next, but she was damned tired of doing this alone already. He’d better get his ass back in the room and that aunt of his had better fall off her high horse.
The door slammed open and Malik stormed in, his hands fisted at his sides. “Sorry I was gone for so long.”
She held out her hand and he quickly took it. “What the hell happened?”
“Malik’s aunt is a bitch,” Faith answered as she came in with the rest of them following her.
Levi let out a breath and kissed his mate on the top of her head. “What my mate means is, it’s taken care of. Now you have more than enough people in this room to make sure you and the baby are fine.”
Dante walked toward her and leaned closer. Malik let out a growl, but she just squeezed his hand. “You’re mated to him now,” the dragon whispered. “The bond between a lion and his mate can only come with true free will so I know you weren’t forced into it. But if you find yourself still unforgiving of what he did to you, let me know and I’ll take care of it.”
“Watch yourself, dragon,” Malik growled.
The blue and black dragon shrugged. “I’m a prince, too and far stronger than you. If you hurt our phoenix here, I’ll end you.”
Eliana held up her hands. “Okay, enough with the posturing. I’m sure you all have mighty penises and everyone is happy with them. But for the love of all that is holy, stop it. I love Malik and he loves me and we’re about to have a baby. We’re not throwing our problems under the rug, but we are moving on from part of it so we don’t flounder.”
Malik glared at her even as Faith cackled and Nadie snickered.
“Dante really does have a nice penis,” Nadie offered, and Eliana threw her head back and laughed.
Jace chuckled even as he put his hand over Nadie’s mouth. “Anyway, we’re all going to go out to the private waiting area so you’re not overwhelmed.”
“We’re here for you,” Tristan said softly. He looked over at Malik. “Both of you.”
With that, each of her friends and their mates kissed her forehead and temples before leaving her alone with Malik. She should have felt a loss at their departure, but she couldn’t, not with Malik at her side.
“They didn’t really comment on the phoenix thing,” she said casually.
“One thing at a time, remember?” Malik said. “I’m sure they’re all talking about it now, and when you’re ready, you can show off your new feathers.”
She smiled as she looked down at her arms. “I guess I need to learn to glamour.”
He nodded. “Thankfully, no one caught us when we were driving in the human realm without your glamour. I wasn’t thinking.”
“We had more important things to worry about.”
He shook his head. “The baby is important, but protecting our worlds is just as important. I know that sounds like I’m putting our baby behind others but…”
She squeezed his hand. “But it protects not only our baby, but everyone we love. I understand. We’ll make it work.”
Another contraction hit and she gritted her teeth. Malik ran his hands down her side and back, soothing her. She was so damned grateful he was there.
“About your aunt?” she asked once she could speak again.
“Later,” he growled. Another contraction hit.
Everything went quickly then. Healers came in and checked to see how far along she was, and apparently, she was farther along than they’d all thought. She gripped Malik’s hand with all her strength and pushed when they told her to. Tears streaked down her face and she felt like she was going to die if this baby didn’t come soon, but after another hour of pain and anticipation, she screamed, pushing harder than she ever had before.
Malik cried next to her, kissing her softly as the healer held the baby out to them. Their daughter let out a cry that ended in a loud roar, and Eliana sobbed even as she smiled.
“We have a daughter,” Malik said softly, his voice full of awe. “A daughter.”
“And she’s loud,” Eliana added with a laugh. “And ours.”
Before she could reach for her daughter, however, the door slammed open and a tall woman with a pointed chin came in.
“Your father is dead,” the woman snapped. “Long live the King. For now.”
Malik fell to his seat, his hand still on hers. Eliana turned her attention from the woman to her newborn daughter.
Holy crap.
Chapter Seven
Two weeks of pure torture surrounded by bliss seemed to pass quickly for Malik. Too quickly. He stood in front of his mirror, trying to figure out if he should wear a tie for his father’s funeral or not. It didn’t seem like an item he should really be caring about in the grand scheme of things, after all.
His father was dead.
Malik was now the Leo of his people.
He was a father.
He had a mate who loved him.
And he was lost.