Chapter 290: Ethawa
Midnight rushed toward me and scooped me up before darting out of the rear hatch and heading straight to the castle in front of us.
I could hear the pounding of feet as the others raced behind us.
GA sprinted ahead, pushing hard against the gates with all his might, trying to get us inside.
But the solid marble doors didn’t budge.
"Fuck!" he growled, slamming his hand against the barrier as Midnight caught up to him. "We need to get her inside."
I looked around frantically, my brain foggy with pain and panic. "There," I said, pointing to what looked like one of those scanner pads that would open the door with the correct handprint.
"It won’t work," growled Da’kea as he stalked up to it and studied the contraption. "It’s not programmed to us."
So, what did he want? For me to lay down on the grass and give birth to four babies, not knowing what type of predators would be attracted to the blood flowing from my body.
Blood.
Could it really be that easy?
I felt another contraction, and once again, there was a rush of liquid between my legs. I closed my eyes, trying to work through the pain.
It was my blood that synced my armor to me. It was my blood that identified me as Ethawainian. Could this be what the other AI was talking about? A way for me to prove who I was and that I was where I needed to be?
"Bring me over there," I grunted, tilting my head toward the keypad.
I reached between my legs and felt the wetness of my blood and fluids coating my hand. I was not going to cut myself, not when I was already bleeding so much.
Midnight didn’t ask any questions, just brought me over and let me place my bloody hand on the scanner.
"Welcome home," came the same male’s voice from the speaker just overtop of the keypad. "Your offering has been accepted. Come in and be welcomed."
There was a groan as the massive gates opened up, and as soon as there was enough space, Midnight rushed inside, the rest following right behind.
There was another contraction, this one so much worse than any of the others, causing me to scream.
"You need to put her down," yelled Emily as she came up to Midnight’s side.
My mates frantically looked around as they rushed up the steps to the entrance of the building and stormed inside. Thankfully, there was a white marble table just off to the side, and Midnight gently placed me down on it as yet more blood gushed out of me.
I expected it to flow off the table and onto the floor as Emily ripped off my underwear and ducked under my skirt. But the table seemed to soak up my blood like a sponge, and the lights in the front entrance flickered on.
"What the fuck?" I breathed as I looked around. But my eyes didn’t see anything.
"You are at 10 cm and crowning," shouted Emily, causing my guys to panic as they huddled around her. "I am going to need water, blankets, and someone to hold her hand. I will warn you right now: if you feel like you are going to pass out, do it somewhere else. You are at the low end of my priorities, and I will let you hit the floor without an ounce of guilt."
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I was told that 27 hours had passed before all four children were born, but I don’t remember that. All I can remember was the all-consuming pain as they came and the warmth that I felt when they were first put in my arms. And then there was nothing but darkness.
"You did good, mama," said Emily as she walked into the room. I had no idea how I got here, but the bed was a lot more comfortable than the table.
I grunted and nodded my head. I don’t remember seeing the babies, but GA and Raguk had told me all about them.
The guys had taken turns. Two would stay with me until I felt well enough to move, and the other four would take care of the babies. Thankfully, Emily had reminded me to bring formula and diapers from Earth before we left, so we had enough supplies to feed the babies for a while.
Even just thinking about feeding the babies made my breasts go heavy and start to ache. Emily nodded her head like it was expected and quickly left the room to get two of the babies.
"Any ideas what we are going to name them?" I asked, looking at the two mates in my bed for the first time. "And no, Blood Knife is not an acceptable name."
The two males nodded. "Saalistaja don’t really name their offspring until after their first hunt at the age of 10," said GA. "There is no rush to name them."
"What?" I snapped at him. Oops, apparently, my hormones weren’t quite back to normal. "I am not screaming out ’Hey you!’ to get the boys to come inside for dinner."
"We could give them numbers," shrugged Raguk. "That would make it easier to know which one we want. Emily already made sure we knew which one came first, second, third, and last."
I let out a low growl at that idea. I was not numbering my kids... out loud. Inside my head was a completely different story.
"I’ll come up with something," I said. It wasn’t like I needed to fill out any paperwork right now.
"Hello, my queen. I am Jarvis, the AI connected to this castle. I am here to see to any and all needs that you, your mates, and your offspring might have. Do you have any orders for me?" The voice that came over the speakers was the same one that warned us away from the planet in the first place.
"I can only assume that I passed your test?" I sneered, raising an eyebrow. I was expecting a camera around, like there was on Jun Li, but there was nothing like that in the room.
"Of course. You will have to forgive me. Many different species try to come and claim Ethawa as their own. But you are the only one in thousands of years to succeed. It is my distinct pleasure to serve you," said the AI, and I could only lay in my bed stunned.
"Ethawa?" I asked softly.
