Chapter One
“Grim.” Reaching over, Lisa gripped his arm and then whispered more urgently, “Grim.”
Instantly awake, Grim searched the darkness for his Lisa. Reaching behind him, he touched the bowl containing energy crystals, illuminating the room. What it revealed stunned him. His Lisa lay next to him, pale and trembling, covered in sweat. “Lisa, what’s wrong?”
“The…” Groaning, she curled over her protruding stomach, wrapping her arms around it as another contraction hit. “The baby,” she gasped. “Something’s wrong.”
Grim jumped from the bed, the sheet going with him to reveal a dark, red stain spreading from between Lisa’s legs.
“Lisa…”
“Get. Rebecca. Grim,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.
Grim rushed to the doors of their resting chamber. Tearing them open, he roared, “Rebecca!”
He raced back to Lisa’s side, dropped to his knees, and gripped the hand his love held out to him. All before his command could bounce off the walls of their home on Luda. “What can I do?”
“Stay with me,” she begged between pants.
“Where else would I be?” he asked, kissing the knuckles of the small hand crushing his. “You are my love, my life, my heart.”
“As you are mine.”
Rebecca hurried into the chamber carrying a bag. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the bloodied sheets. She immediately went into doctor mode.
“What’s going on here, Lisa?” she asked calmly, but Grim saw her hands tremble as she opened her bag.
“I don’t know,” Lisa gasped.
Keeping his grip on her hand, Grim slipped behind her to support her shaking body. He lovingly cupped his hands over hers on the rock-hard mound of her stomach.
“Did you fall?” Rebecca asked, pulling out the handheld scanner.
“She was fine when we went to bed,” Grim answered. As Lisa doubled over in pain again, he ordered, “Heal her!”
“I have to scan her first.” Rebecca moved to Lisa’s other side and lifted the scanner, but nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?” Grim demanded.
“The scanner isn’t working.” Shaking the device, she tried again, but it wouldn’t turn on. “The crystal must be depleted.”
“Replace it!” Grim growled at her.
Face pale, she stuttered, “I—I don’t have one with me.”
“Then get one!” Grim’s roar sent Rebecca flying from the room.
“Grim…”
His gaze dropped back down to his queen, and his heart broke at the pain he saw in her eyes. “I’m here, my love.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
His pulse leaped. “For what, my love?”
“For breaking my vow to you.”
His heart skipped a beat, then pounded out an urgent note in his chest. “What? What do you mean?”
“This isn’t normal, Grim, and I….” She convulsed in his arms, her words breaking off.
“You what?” Grim demanded, his arms tightening around her, trying to lend her every bit of his strength.
“I’m not going to survive this,” she finally got out.
“No!” he roared in denial. “I won’t allow it.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I love you, Grim. Vow, you’ll take care of our girls. All three of them.”
He reared back in dismay and horror. “No!”
“Yes!” Reaching up, she cupped his jaw. “Vow it to me, Grim. Our girls are going to need you.”
This wasn’t what they’d planned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. “The girls need you. Fight for us, my Lisa.”
“I am, I vow. I am.” She paled even more, and her breathing grew erratic. “Grim…”
“Yes, my Lisa,” he said as her hand clutched his tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
“Tell the girls I love them and that I’ll always be watching over them.”
“They know, but I will.”
“I love you, Grim,” she whispered, her gaze locking with his. “I regret nothing if this is what had to be, to be loved by you.”
“Lisa…” His voice broke. The light in her golden-brown eyes dimmed.
“Vow, my love,” she breathed.
“I vow.”
A blinding flash of light obscured her face from him, followed by a clap of thunder that shook Luanda to its foundation as Lisa sighed her last breath.
“Lisa!” he roared, his heart shattering.
Chapter Two
“Grim!” Lisa waddled as quickly as her enlarged stomach allowed from the cleansing room into their resting chamber. “What’s wrong?”
Grim sprung out of bed, his chest heaving, and charged across the room. His arms wrapped around her, and he buried his face in her neck. He breathed in her unique, living scent until he could find the words. He’d never had such a vivid dream before and never wanted to again.
“What’s wrong, Grim? Why are you shaking?”
His Lisa must have gotten out of bed because their daughter insisted on kicking her bladder if she lay flat for too long. It happened several times a night, and normally he woke as soon as she moved. For some reason, it hadn’t happened this time.
“You’re here. You’re all right,” he murmured against her neck.
“I am.” She sank her fingers into his hair and gently caressed his scalp as another rumble of thunder rattled the windows. The storm that had been brewing all day had finally decided to release its wrath. “I just needed to use the cleansing room.”
Pulling back, he gently framed her face with his hands and gazed deeply into her golden-brown eyes, full of life, love, and concern. For him.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because you were exhausted,” she said as if it should be obvious. “You were gone before the sun rose yesterday and barely made it back in time to have last meal with us. I would have woken you if I needed help.”
“Never do that to me again, my Lisa,” he growled, giving her a hard kiss. “Never. My heart couldn’t take it.”
He knew he wasn’t making sense by how her brows drew together as she searched his gray eyes intently.
“Grim?”
He didn’t try to hide what he was feeling from her, letting Lisa see his genuine fear and grief.
Lisa knew Grim’s concern for her had grown as her size had blossomed. He was constantly checking in on her and ordering her to rest. He was especially vigilant whenever Rebecca was away from Luda, tending to the other females who had conceived. Tonight, his exhaustion had caught up with him, and all his fears and concerns must have manifested into the nightmare. Then the violence of the storm had awakened him, and she’d been gone.
“I’m here, Grim,” she reassured him. “Whole, alive, and safe.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath, straightened, then slowly released it, letting go of as much of the fear and despair as possible. He never wanted to experience something like that again.
“Come. Let’s get you back to bed.” With an arm around her waist, he guided her back to the bed and then carefully lifted her up into it.