Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

shy smile. “I’ve never spent much time
     in a city and sometimes it feels as if I can’t breathe here.”
    Juliette had informed them that Jasmine had spent her life in the rain forest.
    Jubal pulled up a chair beside hers and sank into it, leaning a little toward her,
     looking almost protective. “That’s understandable.”
    Dax threaded his fingers through Riley’s hand and held it tight against his chest.
     “You’re going to have that baby very soon.”
    Jasmine nodded. “I certainly hope so. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever.” She
     gave a little laugh, and for the first time, she sounded young instead of tense. “She
     kicks all the time.”
    Juliette, Jasmine’s sister, came out onto the terrace carrying two glasses. She handed
     one to Jubal and one to her sister. “You need to stay hydrated, Jasmine.”
    Jasmine made a face at her when she continued to stand over her, frowning. “I’m all
     right, Juliette. At this point, if I go into labor, it’s all good, right? I couldn’t
     stand staying indoors another minute. Jubal came with me and Dax is out here so I
     am perfectly safe.”
    Something in Juliette’s manner alerted Dax that Juliette didn’t think Jasmine was
     safe in the least, but she merely shrugged, pulled out another chair and sat down.
     The terrace was filling up fast. Something was going on here, and that added to his
     uneasiness. Riordan had greeted them and left in haste. He obviously knew Gary and
     Jubal, but what Carpathian male would leave his lifemate and sister-in-law unprotected
     with an unknown hunter so close to his family? Times had certainly changed. And what
     emergency had drawn him from the residence?
    Juliette smiled at Dax and Riley, but her smile didn’t light her eyes. “Riordan will
     be home any minute. I’m so sorry he had to leave abruptly.”
    “Jubal, how long have you known Jasmine and Juliette?” Riley asked. He seemed so comfortable
     with the family, and they’d greeted both Gary and Jubal as old friends.
    “We’ve made a few trips here,” Jubal said, “and they’ve always put us up in one of
     their homes.”
    “We enjoy their company,” Jasmine said. “Speaking of, where is Gary?”
    “On the phone,” Jubal answered with a little grin. “He and my sister Gabrielle talk
     endlessly and they’re very excited about a flower Dax found for us up on the mountain.”
    “A flower?” Juliette leaned forward. “Gary and Gabrielle have been working hard to
     discover why we can’t carry our children. I thought it was the microbes . . .”
    “In part,” Jubal agreed, “but Gary says that doesn’t explain everything. Both he and
     Gabby think there’s a combination of things that have led up to the reason infants
     can’t go to ground, mothers can’t carry or breast-feed and only male children were
     being born.”
    Riley’s heart jumped. She had known the Carpathian species was on the verge of extinction,
     Gary had given her a brief overview, but she hadn’t considered what that would mean
     to her and Dax when they chose to have a baby. She wanted children. Lots of them.
     She had been an only child, just as her mother had been. She’d been lonely at times
     and envied her friends who had siblings.
    We will have many children if that is your desire , Dax assured. He brought her hand to his mouth and nibbled on her fingers, sending
     little darts of fire racing through her bloodstream. You are very fertile. I am capable of having children. If there is a problem, as I
     understand, with the soil, I’ve been in a volcano, and the earth would let you know
     not to rest where there is anything that would harm you.
    He had a way of speaking so matter-of-fact, with absolute calm, that she couldn’t
     help but believe him, the tension instantly fading away.
    “The worst is carrying to term and having the child for a few months only to lose
     it,” Juliette said. “So many of our women had to suffer miscarriages, stillborns or
     losing their children in that first year.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I
     could bear that.”
    Jasmine placed her hands protectively over her baby. “That would be so awful.”
    “It isn’t going to happen to you,” Jubal assured, putting his hand on her arm, a gentle,
     reassuring gesture.
    Jasmine remained relaxed, even with Jubal’s touch.
    I saw her in his memories, Dax told Riley. She didn’t even like to be around men after what happened to her, but both he