Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (85 page)

“
All of our children are born girls and they
will
take
approximately
thirt
y years to physically
mature into
an
adult.” Kara’s
jaw dropped even more. “Our daughter will develop slower and will stop aging at about the physical age of seventeen to twenty.
Just like her mother…
”

When his
sister finally noticed her open jaw, she closed it. She spoke softly and asked an innocent question. “Brother, why
can Balancers have
only girls? What if you’ll have a boy?”

He
shook
his
head. “I’ve had a lot of time
,
thinking on that subject.”  Sarah turned to look at
him
with another mouthful
,
along
with
a look of amusement in her twinkling green eyes.
She looked like a chipmunk with its pouches full.
Connor
forced
him
self to not laugh as
he looked back at his
sister. “When Sarah fused ou
r souls together, she altered me
. In
health class
, I learned that the father determines the sex of the child to become either male or female. What I’ve come to understand is that Sarah changed my body in more
than just
than one way. She gave me my Balancer’s speed and strength. I became able to turn food instantly into energy for my abilities. Becoming b
onded with Sarah also made me l
ose all
of my hair from my neck down.” He
took a breath
to clearly say
“The last thing she changed in me was to give her only a daughter. That being said,
male Balancers have been physically altered to give daughters to their mates.”

Kara
became
silent as she processed
his
words. Sarah studied
him
for a brief moment.
His
Greek Goddess finally broke the silence after tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “That is a logical way of looking at it, Connor. I think that is the best conclusion anyone has ever given.” She looked down and whispered to herself. “We make our mates give us daughters.
Hmm…
” She sucked the juice off her bottom lip.

Then Kara spoke to Sarah with her silver eyes burrowing into the side of
his
wife’s head. “Since you and Brother are so different from other Balancers like Jillian and Mr. Branderson, could that change anything?”

Sarah turned her evergreen
ey
es to him
, but she spoke to Kara. “I
seriously
doubt it. The best guess we have is that since Connor was so powerful as a human. He carried over his amazing attributes
into his new life,
becoming an unparallel
ed
Balancer
.” Sarah shifted her focus to his
sister. “I can tell you that there has
never
been a male born Balancer.”

Kara changed the subject instantly and asked “Is it alright if Mark knows this great news?”

He
spoke up. “Sure he can, but you can
’
t say a word to anyone
else
. Not even
to
my in
-
laws.
”
His
sister nodded.

Sarah threw the last apple core into the fire as Kara excused herself. She stood up and walked down the hall and went into the restroom.
Sarah looked back at
him
and wanted to enter
his mind. As he
let her in she asked
“Why can’t we tell Mother and Father?”

He
smiled
evilly
.
“Because in seven day’s it will be your birthday; December twenty first is only around the corner. Didn’t you say that your parents always take you on a camping trip?”

She smiled, but she wasn’t
catching
his
drift.
“They always do, but what does my birthday have to do with anything?”

“I read that in the past that when it was someone
’
s birthday, they would give out gifts
to those who are invited
. Today, you
receive
gifts. I thought ‘What
’s the
greatest gift
could we give? Oh I know! Tell Jillian that her bloodline hasn’t ended
and she’ll be a grandmother
’!”

S
arah
smiled for only a moment.
“Why would you think that?”

“Pearl didn’t have any children. Amber hasn’t either
,
as far as we know. And finally you waited for over three hundred years before you
even
found me.”
He
arched an eyebrow.
“From your mother’s prospective it would feel like she had children who were all born sterile.”
At that, Sara
h
understood why
he
meant for
them
to wait and surprise her mother with the
developing
news.

The toilet flushed and the sink turned off. Kara came in saying “I had better get going. I need to go home and get something to eat.” Sarah started to rise, but Kara held out her hand as a stopping gesture. “The two of you need to be alone now.
Plus if I stay here, I’ll starve.” Kara smiled in a playful manner. “A pregnant Balancer…” Kara shook her head. Then she spoke in a humorous tone. “The grocery store is going to be empty in a matter of days.”

Sarah stuck her tongue out at
his
sister playfully and
Kara
fired hers back. Then they started giggling.

S
oon after
, Kara
tightened the laces on her boots and put her
jacket back on. Sarah hugged his
sister and thanked her for all the help she gave today.

Before long
it was just
Connor
and Sarah alone in the co
ttage. For most of the night their
minds were linked together as
they
stared at
their
g
rowing
child.

It was also a little funny because even though
she was far from showing, he
continually caressed her flat abdomen th
r
ough
ou
t the night.

She didn’t mind
one bit
.

Connor
and
Sarah
awoke around nine in the morning because
they
spent most
of the night intently watching
their
unborn
child
with
open
enjoyment
.
Sh
e went to sleep first
after hearing his plan and Sarah
noticed lately that while he slept he didn’t move his body, but it was
also
like his dreams have changed recently.
Before he was restless and made small jerking movements while he slept.

Her
mate
left her
in bed and soon brought in
a tray of
eggs and orange juice for breakfast and about ten apples
specifically for
her new craving. He sat the tray down on her
lap and asked “How are you feeling?”

She
smiled up to him as
she
picked up a juicy red apple. “Starving… I don’t know wh
y I’m craving apples so much…” she
took a
loud, crunching
bite out of the apple. It
really
was juicy. The sweet apple juice started leaving a
sweet and sticky
trail down
her
chin. Suddenly
he
caught the sweet drip with his index finger and li
c
ked the juice off
the tip of
his finger.
She
saw that he had the look like he’s figured out a
nother
puzzle. “What is it?”

His penetr
ating hazel eyes sent
her
heart flutter
ing
yet again. His smile softened the intensity of his glare.
“When I found you in the woods, the first thing you ate with me were wild apples.”

She
ha
s
somehow gotten in the habit of looking up to think. It must be another side effect of being around the
May
siblings. Looking at the still fan she
said “That must be it. Apples were my first comfort food because that was our fi
rst meal.” The
lapful of breakfast
regained her attention
.

Connor leaned over and kissed her
temple before leaving the bed to put on a long sleeved black shirt and black jeans.
She
started
shoveling the food as soon as she
heard him cooking breakfast for himself. He came back in and started eating the same amount of food that he gave
her. Even though she had a head start on eating, they
finished consumption almost at the same time.

Soon after
they
cleaned the dishes
Connor told
her
to get dressed
.
They
had to stop by each of
their
parents homes
and
had
to restock on apples
and other supplies
.

H
e said everything
that morning
with a gleam of happiness in his eyes.

Wearing two layers of
black
pants and three layers of sleeves
they
embarke
d outside in the direction of her
parent’s house.
Sarah
remained
so excited about what was going on, but
she
needed to keep the news a secret for the moment.

T
he snow around
her
parent
’
s log
cabin
i
s just as deep as it was at
their
cottage. The chimney
was pouring out
a steady stream of
smoke from the roof. All of the plants
Jillian
worked
so hard
on were all covered in a thick sheet of fluffy white snow. On the backside of the house
sat
a large collection of stacked firewood that stretched at least fifteen feet wide and
stood
as
nearly six feet
tall.
T
he kitchen and the living room’s lights were on. Instead of going through the back door
, Connor and
Sarah
walked around and went in
through
the garage.
Jillian’s
red car
i
s parked next to
the blue one
; which meant that she
already
finished planning a
n expensive
wedding in the city.

Sarah
knocked on the garage door
while
Connor looked at his snow covered green truck. Connor turned back around moments before
her m
other opened the door
to wink
.
Jillian
was finally dressed in
proper
winter clothing, but she was still a beauty
to behold
. She wore a red long sleeved cotton top along with light brown pants that came down to the back of her heel. She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder
mindlessly
as she said with glee “Sarah! How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a week.”

They
hugged and
she
le
d the young couple
into the warmth of the house before
Sarah
answered her. “I have been fine
,
Mother. I just have been dealing with this
oversized
brute.”
She
playfully elbowed Connor’s hip. His eyes went as wide as
her
mother
grinned
.