Apparition (16 page)

She was nine months along in her pregnancy and
couldn’t wait to see her daughter. It had been a wonderful pregnancy, no
sickness or discomfort or stretch marks. Cobra had told her the baby’s shield
cured her of any ailment or malady while inside. Once outside of her, the baby
shield would be that much stronger when Zoe produced her milk shield; it would
need to be, to protect both mother and child when not together. But by that
time the hormone the mother would produce would have every
Castian
male feeling protective of both her and the child. It readied the males for
when the baby shield dropped, and if any danger became apparent, any male could
protect the female child by enclosing her in his armor.

Zoe moved farther along. Her face tilted to the
sunlight. Her fingers settled into Caveat’s fur for a moment. Caveat seemed
content to follow her; his herd was safe and shading themselves under a massive
tree by a river not far from where they strolled.

Zoe loved to caress the swell of her baby’s rump.
“When will you make your appearance?” she said aloud. She spoke often to her
daughter. She felt a tiny movement and knew she had her child’s attention. Doss
said the baby knew Zoe, her voice, her love. “I love you.” Zoe wondered if the
babe was smiling in the womb.

They wandered closer to the river; Zoe was getting
anxious and hoped the exercise would induce labor. The stallion made no offer
to drop to a knee and allow her onto his back. Zoe had stopped riding him when
it became too uncomfortable. Oddly enough, the stallion seemed to sense her
condition and loved gently pressing his lips to her belly and would
nicker
ever so softly.
These last months
the baby had kicked in recognition.
Each time, Caveat tossed his head
looking delighted. Zoe remembered the stallion had two of his own foals; he had
to know something was up.

Zoe thought her life was perfect. Both she and Doss
had been accepted into the
Castian
stronghold. The
war between
Tonan
and
Castian
raged, but it was apparent the
Tonans
were fighting a
losing battle. Human females were like an infection to
Tonan
warriors.
An emotional virus that attacked their blood,
bombing it with empathy.
Some of the
Tonan
race who had allowed the human females close didn’t realize the leap they would
take. The
Tonans
had wanted to empower their race
with numbers by mating the human females—instead, they had subjected themselves
to a new combat. One they lost quickly. Their foe was relentless and they were
blindsided. The vicious
Tonan
breed duped themselves.
As they had once attacked females, the females now attacked them—with emotion.
Karma was a bitch. There was no pretending with human females once mated; they
were nothing like the
Tonan
females. For these few
Tonan
males who mated for the greater good, they became the
greater good.

Doss had explained he understood. A human female was
capable of great love. When there was absolutely no malice involved in a
mating, no fear or regret, the
Tonan
had no choice
but to feel what his mate felt. They hadn’t counted on that. The
Tonans
had thought their female mate would accept the
despicable
Tonan
way of life the way
Tonan
females had. None had predicted the weak laughable
human females would be the ones to change the
Tonan
males.

Zoe wasn’t surprised. A human craved love, acceptance,
a
Tonan
didn’t care. He did soon after the mating
took place. To many
Tonan
males it was disconcerting.
To most, having a woman openly express love after spending hundreds of years
with only feeling deception was overwhelming. A human female’s tears, once
mated, could drop a
Tonan
warrior to his knees,
bending over backward for his mate when he too was feeling their sorrow. Their
mate’s pain was a huge eye opener to many. It was no longer funny to witness
grief when it was felt. Doss wasn’t the only one who had trouble keeping up
with female emotion. The more volatile
Tonans
hadn’t
mated and some were prone to suicide missions as they watched their lifestyle
fall apart and many comrades leave the fold.

Cobra had been beyond amused when
Tonan
after
Tonan
had expressed a desire to return to the
Castian
way of life. All were mated and wanting a warrior
mate to keep their female safe. It compounded when the
Tonans
’
memories of secretions flowed. As well, they absorbed. Water had poisoned all
females and it would seem water would restore all life. Zoe had known there was
power in tears; it would seem they could bring a warrior to love. It had taken
a race of human females to fell the foe. Any
Tonan
accepted
into the fold pledged allegiance to Cobra and snapped off their tails.

The
Tonans
were watched
closely, but their emotions were so high and uncontrollable it was laughable to
the
Castian
warriors who were used to sensing and
feeling emotion. In the beginning after meeting Zoe it had been hard on Doss,
but to see a
Tonan
warrior cupping his mate’s face
and promising her anything if she would just stick with one emotion at a time
was priceless. One
Tonan
warrior raced around for
hours looking for a puppy—his mate, pregnant and hormonal,
had
to have a puppy.

“
Damn it, what
the hell is a puppy?”
He finally bellowed at the top of his lungs. Cobra
took pity on him and had one made from a hologram.

After chuckling with the thought, Zoe stumbled when
Caveat screamed in rage and a dark shadow appeared. A brilliant light flashed
and Zoe was surrounded by six
Tonan
warriors.
Renegades on a suicide mission.
All six cracked their long
tails like weapons surrounding her. The baby shield was already in place.
Caveat charged the closest enemy.

“No, Caveat, run!” Zoe screamed.

The horse wouldn’t leave her if he thought she was in
danger; he had no way of knowing her baby carried a protective shield. The
shield wouldn’t protect any other than the mother. Both Zoe and the baby were
indestructible; Caveat was not. Caveat slammed his back hooves into an
attacking
Tonan
, sending the warrior flying. His
teeth gripped another by the shoulders and shook him; all the while the
Tonans
attacked him, ripping at his flesh. It didn’t stop
the stallion; he was ready to battle until death.

Zoe screamed and screamed for Doss, she felt their
child send a wave message to her father. Zoe knew the babe loved Caveat, just
as she knew their child loved her and Doss, Loy and Brandy and her uncle
Raiden
as well as his warrior mate,
Cace
.
Her child was powerful enough to transmit messages to her father and Loy. As
with Zoe, no matter where the babe was, her father would find her, like a
homing device that linked them emotionally. Caveat screamed in agony and Zoe
felt his pain rip through every fiber of her being. Caveat had been her baby
too at one time.

“
Doss!”
she
screamed and suddenly he was there, flying from the sky, dropping from a high
branch in the trees. He ripped into a
Tonan
and
killed him in his uncontrollable rage. Doss was bellowing his fury as he ripped
at each
Tonan
warrior like a man gone wild. Loy was
there and then Cobra and
Raiden
and
Cace
. Many more were behind them. The
Tonans
were soon lying in a puddle of their own blood while their armor rusted and
shimmied over the terrain in the slight wind. Doss and the others had killed
them all.

“Caveat.”
Zoe whimpered.

The stallion was on his side trying valiantly to rise,
but failed time and again until he lay still. Zoe was beside herself in terror.
Caveat was more than a friend, more than family. Once the last
Tonan
had been killed, the baby shield dropped and Zoe fell
to her knees and pulled the stallion’s head into her lap. She
struggled
her bulk forward to kiss his face, her tears dropping
at a steady rate to dampen his fur. It was too much. She couldn’t lose him.
They had been through too much together. Zoe clutched at her belly when an odd
sensation rippled through her. There was no pain but she knew immediately the
baby was coming.

“Doss, she’s coming,” Zoe whispered.

“We have to get you back home,” Doss said urgently. He
looked to the sky but there was no warrior ship.

“Doss, I can’t leave Caveat!” Zoe cried.

“You won’t have to,” Cobra declared. He gathered his
men. Between four of them they lifted Caveat into a standing position and they
were on the move. A trail of blood followed the majestic beast, but he was far
from done. Doss lifted Zoe into his arms. She clung to him gasping for air
through her mountain of tears. She called and encouraged Caveat to keep going.

The healing waters were surrounded in a mass of soft
foliage. It had three couples frolicking who vacated immediately when seeing
the state the horse was in. They had never used the water on animals,
especially anything so large. With more help, the horse was lowered into the
pool and to Zoe’s relief the water swirled around him. Loy kept the stallion’s
nose above the water. Caveat whinnied at the strange sensation but Zoe called
to comfort him.

Doss was receiving instructions from Cobra as Zoe gave
birth. All he had to do was catch the baby, everything else was naturally done.
The umbilical cord would clamp itself; the baby wouldn’t cry but would coo.
Once the babe was in her mother’s arms, everything else would begin to heal
until it would appear the woman had never given birth.

The healing waters splashed and rolled and with
surprise Zoe saw Caveat leap from them, he had yet to be healed completely and
Zoe felt her panic build. Nothing would keep him away from her, not even his
pain. The horse shook himself off and immediately went to Zoe. Cobra tried to
keep him back, tried to direct him back to the healing waters, but it was no
use. The stallion made it apparent nothing would stand in his way to get to the
woman who had been the best friend he had since birth.

“Zoe, the babe won’t let anyone near you. Even Doss
will be repelled for a while after he sets the child in your arms, until you
and the babe bond,” Cobra said in obvious distress.

“We—all—ready—bonded,” Zoe said through gritted teeth
as she bore down.

Even though there was no pain, the stress of pushing a
life from her body was hard. Caveat settled himself behind Zoe, dropping down
to let her lean against him. It was easier using him as leverage and he
whinnied softly as though to encourage her. Within moments, the babe came forth
and Zoe was holding her in her arms. Zoe gazed into her infant daughter’s
beautiful smoky gray eyes. Tufts of white blonde hair curled at her ears. Zoe
felt her, her emotions. It was remarkable. She had been feeling more of her
lately. She had envied Doss his ability to converse with her, but now Zoe
could.

The baby enveloped them all in a shield. Her distress
at Caveat’s pain had been so great she had wanted to help. Doss couldn’t heal
Caveat, but it became immediately apparent the babe could. She couldn’t shield
the stallion when she was sequestered within the womb, but her ability to heal
was strong now. Zoe was sobbing.

“This is your family,
Zaina
.”
It was Doss’ mother’s name. Doss kissed the top of the baby’s head. She was perfect.

“I promise to take good care of you. I love you both
so much,” Doss said. Caveat snorted and Doss chuckled. “Yes I love you too, you
old ass biter.”

Caveat whinnied softly in welcome to
Zaina
. Zoe was exhausted. She closed her eyes and let
Caveat comfort her as she had comforted him as a baby. Doss curled around his
mate and child. They would remain that way for the next twenty-four hours,
getting to know one another. Only food and drink would be allowed past the
shield and only by a blood relative.

“Remarkable.” Zoe heard Cobra mutter.

It wasn’t so remarkable. They were a family. Families
stayed together through unquestionable odds. They didn’t always follow a
pattern; sometimes they made their own paths. Sometimes they were an
apparition, only seen when you needed just a glimpse and nothing more. But
nevertheless, they were there.

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