Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

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*****

ELIA

Aymora's answer startled Elia so much she jerked herself around to see the wise-woman more clearly, but her stomach screamed at her and she had to focus for a minute to breathe. She slumped back down on the cot, holding her stomach over the bandages, and trying to breathe slowly so the pain would ease. Aymora watched her closely, her brow furrowed.

"You did what now?" Elia asked when she could speak.

Aymora, looking relieved, patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. After everything happened and we learned you were having a cub, I spent some time last night checking some things in the history—and again today. Yesterday I was thinking delivery of Anima cubs can be a little difficult for humans. So, I wanted to know how we could ease it. Today, I was looking for different reasons, but the Creator used it. I knew exactly what to look for this afternoon in the histories, and look, it's working." She indicated Elia with a beaming smile. "You have no idea how worried we were, Elia. That was a very, very close call—for you and your cub."

Elia blinked.

Everything came rushing back then—the kidnapping by Jak. The challenge from Lucine. Getting knocked out. Waking in Reth's arms almost certain she was going to die.

But now… now she just felt strange. Slightly surreal. Like everything had come into sharper focus, somehow. "Did you give me drugs, too?"

"Yes. A few herbs, a tincture. Nothing serious. Just enough so you could rest easier while we worked on your blood."

Elia relaxed. "I guess they haven't worn off yet."

"No, not yet. But don't worry, they'll—"

"Wait, what do you mean, worked on my blood?"

Aymora kept that hand to Elia's shoulder, to stop her from moving. "I know it's been a difficult time, Elia. But you need to stay calm and relaxed as much as you can. Your body is healing itself, which requires a lot of energy. The more you rest, the faster it will go."

"I'm not even moving, I just want to know what you meant about working on my blood?" Her heart began to beat rapidly.

Aymora sighed. "I believe you humans call it a blood… transition?"

"Transfusion? Where you give one person's blood to another?"

"Yes, yes, that's it. A transfusion."

Elia blinked. "How?"

Aymora patted a small bag next to her. "It's not actually that uncommon—especially, as I said, for females who've given birth. We also use the process to cleanse the blood of the ill, if they're frail. Rest, Elia, it was only to help you, and especially to help your cub. Her scent has strengthened since we did it. I'm very relieved. I think we almost lost her."

Elia remembered that moment when she'd woken in Reth's arms, but been unable to stay awake. She'd been sinking back into unconsciousness when she was overwhelmed with the sense of something inside her, flickering… losing the battle. She gripped Aymora's hand and the older woman looked at her, alarmed. "Thank you," she said on a breath. "I think we almost lost her, too." She stroked her stomach, swallowing the pinch in her throat.

Aymora smiled. "You're welcome. Now just keep your mate from jumping down my throat for treating you without informing him first. He almost wouldn't leave and he needed to go to the Submission. I was afraid if I told him what we'd planned he would have insisted on being your donor and I knew he needed to keep his strength."

"Giving blood weakens Anima?" A stupid question, she realized. It would weaken anyone, surely?

"We don't give blood, at least, not in the sense that you mean it, I think," Aymora said carefully, pulling back Elia's eyelids as she spoke, checking the insides of her mouth, and the color under her fingernails.

"What do you give, then?" Elia asked once Aymora's hands were out of her mouth.

"We… share it."

"What? How?"

Aymora got up from the chair and walked to the table behind her. As she spoke, she mixed things in a mug that she brought to Elia. "When an Anima needs help in this way, we connect the wise-woman we believe to be the best match, and the person. Connect their bloodstreams. Allow them to share. The strong Anima's body will cleanse the blood of the weaker. Or help replenish it, if more is needed. I'll admit, I do not understand all of the whys that it works, only that it does. But I also know that it is something of a strain on the Anima who is stronger. I didn't wish to do that to Reth. Plus, we've found better results when the donor is the same—male or female."

Elia took the glass and sipped from it, drinking it down when Aymora indicated that she should. Then she shook her head. "You guys are amazing."

"But… humans do this also? A… transfusion?"

"Yes, but not the same. And not… who gave me blood?" She said, pushing up onto her elbows. Her stomach stabbed at her, but it wasn't as bad as it had been even minutes before. "This is incredible," she gasped, putting a hand to her stomach. "How do you heal so quickly?"

"I think, for you, because your body is weak, our blood has worked even faster than usual. You have been… boosted, Elia," Aymora laughed. "I am very, very relieved to see it." And Elia could see the tension around her eyes ease just a hair.

"It's been bad, hasn't it?" she asked quietly.

Aymora nodded, her lips tight. "And there will be more to come."

"I'm jealous," Elia said, laying back down. She still felt strange, and slightly shaky, and she could tell she would need to sleep again soon. But she also felt… vibrant. As if there was more life in her than there had been before. "If this is how Anima feel all the time, I wish I could be one," she sighed.

Already her eyes were drooping. She was suddenly very tired.

"I wish you could, too, Elia. But you are Anima at heart. And that's what truly matters, after all."

"Even more so now," Elia murmured around a yawn. "A big, growly, lion heart."

Then she slept.

**** DON'T STOP READING! ****

NEED MORE? THERE'S A BRAND NEW HEROINE & HERO IN THE BEAST SERIES AVAILABLE NOW: "Taming the Queen of Beasts" (It's set 20 years in the future, so a minimum of spoilers for this book - Enjoy!)