Chapter 32

Ashley

The warmth from the cookfire greeted us as we walked through the tunnels to the main cavern. I had expected to hear a cacophony of voices as we drew closer, but it was quiet, too quiet.

"Axon, what's going on?"

My mate stiffened beside me. He sensed that things weren't right at the same moment I did.

"I hear pacing and whispers and," a loud wail cut off his sentence and we both ran as we rounded the corner to the community space we all shared.

Nearly everyone was either sitting at a table, on a cousin or aimlessly walking around the room. No one looked hurt from what I could tell, but everyone looked incredibly tense.

"Ashley!" Beatrice shouted and ran toward me with open arms.

I happily accepted her hug and squeezed her back.

"What's going on? Who's screaming?"

I scanned the room again, and everyone was here, everyone except Gabby, Tarak, Neelu and Drondia.

"Gabby." Beatrice worried her bottom lip and looked in the direction of our leader's cave. "She's in labor. Has been all day."

Ooohhhhh shit . "Is she doing alright? Have there been any complications?"

"Everything is progressing fine according to Drondia, who is the closest thing we have to a midwife, and Sozu keeps checking on her periodically and says everything is fine, but this is the first hybrid baby so we're all nervous."

Another pained groan echoed throughout the cavern and I winced. We really needed to find a pain killer herb or plant before the next person had their baby.

I looked over at Orsu, who rubbed Julie's rounded belly. His tail thumped the floor with each sound that came from the cave Gabby was in.

"Oh and Sozu confirmed Kayla's pregnancy this morning." Beatrice added.

Drovo held Kayla in his lap as they sat by the fire.

Would Taylor be next, I wondered. They were certainly active enough to have made a baby by now. Brexl had both arms wrapped around Taylor as she sat in front of him on the floor.

Sozu, Talia, Sarah, and Jax all sat together at one of the tables. They were attempting to play a card game, but no one was smiling or laughing.

Hai, Anusha, and Fatima sat together at another table. Hai was carving designs into a clay bowl, Anusha was knitting a sweater, and Fatima was twisting plant fiber into yarn like Drondia had shown us.

Beatrice glanced over at Rhaz who was sitting far away from everyone else before she sat down with the others and started to knit as well. Rhaz caught her gaze and then quickly looked away. I wish I knew what his deal was, why he always held himself apart from everyone else and why was he so damn angry all the time? Even now, months after we'd joined the dekes, he barely spoke to any of us, only making an exception for Beatrice every once in a while.

There was another loud wail that sounded through the cave and then there was silence. No one moved and Axon stiffened as his shifter ears must have heard something that my human ears could not.

Then the most wonderful sound broke the silence, the cry of a newborn baby.

Axon let out a breath and everyone started to cheer.

A few minutes later, Neelu and Drondia made their way into the main cavern. They grinned at each other and in union announced, "It's a girl!"

More cheers rang out as everyone hugged and smiled at this great news.

"Gab-bae is doing well," they added.

That was the news I was waiting to hear. Knowing Gabby was okay helped me breathe easier.

Neelu continued her announcement, "Gab-bae and Tarak now hold a little girl with tiny horn nubs, a small tail, curly black hair, and beautiful brown skin."

There was a third round of hoots and hollers at this welcome news. The two elders grabbed some food and water and took it back to Gabby and Tarak's cave.

"A new sietling," Axon breathed. "The first in our dekes."

He picked me up and spun me around as if the child were our own. His joy was infectious, so much so that when he put me down I reached up and kissed him. The room went quiet around us, and I'd forgotten that no one knew of Axon and I's mating. I'd left this mountain angry and in search of answers, and I'd returned happy with Axon by my side.

I looked out at everyone staring at Axon and me. Then he pulled me in even closer to his chest.

"May I tell them?" he whispered in my ear and my heart melted all over again. He looked down right giddy to share our news.

"Go ahead," I smiled.

He squeezed me one more time and looked out at the crowd before us, our family, our friends, our dekes.

"Ashley and I are mated. We have chosen each other. No matter what happens with luminescence, we will be together."

Karo, Axon's sire, was the first to speak. "Congratulations! This is wonderful news!"

The older sirret male approached Axon and I and squeezed us both in a tight hug.

"I can't wait to tell your mother. She's going to be so happy!"

"Congratulations," the other males of the dekes clapped Axon on the shoulder while the women in the cavern all came up to hug me.

The night had been so full of wonderful surprises that I didn't think anything more could possibly happen. It wasn't until the mated couples started glowing for each other that I remembered tonight was the full moon.

First it was Julie and Orsu, they smiled knowingly at each other, and Orsu helped Julie up and led the way to their cave.

Then there was Kayla and Drovo. Drovo picked up his mate in a bridal carry and beamed down at her as if she was the sun herself.

Brexl didn't waste a moment after he started glowing for Taylor. She giggled when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Then he walked very ungracefully to their cave.

The sound of Axon's gasp drew my attention back to my own mate. My mouth hung open as I watched a distinct glow spread from his heart to every vein in his body. He shifted into his spider form, which made the glow of luminescence glow even brighter.

Wait, if he was glowing, then so was his mate. I held my breath and looked around the room for the lucky woman who might be glowing for him now. No way could I be that lucky to find someone so amazing and understanding and have them be my luminescence mate too. No way.

"Ashley," Axon's voice reached my ears, but I didn't want to face him. Not yet, not until I saw who he was glowing for.

He took my hand in his and spun me around, forcing me to face him whether I wanted to or not.

"Look." He held up my hand and it was glowing too. My hand was glowing!

"It's me!" I squeaked.

"It's you," he smiled. "It's always been you."

Axon gathered me into his arms and another round of cheers echoed through our home. I was his and he was mine. Always and forever.

"Shit." Someone to my right cursed. They did not sound happy.

I turned to see Beatrice wide-eyed and glowing. My eyes tracked where she was looking and there standing before her was Rhaz looking pissed as he glowed too.

"Uh oh," I whispered to my mate. Neither of them looked very pleased about luminescencing to each other.

Rhaz, now fully shifted in his honey badger form, shook his head and left the cave. From the direction he was heading, it looked like he was going to leave the mountain all together.

Beatrice frowned, and stomped into the shared cavern.

"Fill us in on the gossip tomorrow?" Axon quietly asked his father.

"Of course," Karo gave his son a conspiratorial smile.

"We've got better things to do," I didn't know what Axon meant at first, but then a wave of arousal quickly spread through my body, making feel warm and needy.

"Yes, I agree." I squirmed against him as he carried me to his cave.

His private cave was the very last one in a long hallway of caves, which I appreciated. The further we were from everyone else, the less likely anyone would be to hear us. Not that we could ever be louder than Brexl and Taylor, but that was beside the point.

Axon carried me into a moss-covered space with no light other than cute fuzzy glow worms inching across the ceiling.

He laid me down on his extra soft bed of furs and gazed into my eyes with a look of hunger.

"Should I start a fire?"

"I don't think we'll need it," I shook my head.

"Do you want to join together? May I lick you until you cry out my name, and perhaps we can try mating again?"

I swallowed hard at his bold words. I did want that. I wanted it very much.

"Yes," I breathed .

Axon grinned down at me and slowly started to remove my clothes. First my shirt, then my boots, and finally my pants.

His eyes roved over me, taking me in as if I were the most beautiful woman in the world.

"You too," I pointed to his still fully clothed body. My mouth went dry as he pulled his shirt up over his head. His toned chest was on full display. His pants had fallen off him when he shifted, which was normal. What I hadn't seen before was a wide slit on his abdomen open up, allowing his thick proud cock to unfurl before me.

Axon met my gaze and I swallowed hard. He was a sight to behold. His toned body was complimented by his sturdy spider form. I licked my lips as his hard cock dripped with precum.

I greedily took in the sight of him like this, wanting to remember this moment forever, our first luminescence. I wanted him now more than ever. I needed him. I needed him so badly.

Axon lowered himself before me and ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"You look so beautiful. I'm so lucky. So unbelievably lucky."

I couldn't speak, I could hardly breathe when he looked at me like that.

He inched closer until his face was a hair's breadth from my sex. I was trembling with anticipation. I needed him, needed him to touch me, hold me, fill me .

Axon took a deep breath in through his nose and moaned as if I smelled better than his favorite meal. He opened his eyes and licked his lips and that was the last I saw of his face, because shortly after, it was buried in my pussy where I could feel rather than see what he was doing.

His tongue licked up and down my sex. Cleaning me of all my essence, and yet I could feel new moisture filling my channel. I'd been wet from the moment I glowed.

I whined as he left my sex and made his way up my body one kiss at a time until he reached my breasts. Then he devoured those too. Delicately taking each nipple into his mouth and worshiping them with his tongue.

I was squirming beneath him. Moving my hips against his hard member, desperate for any friction I could find.

Axon groaned above me and held my hips down with his hands.

"Soon, we'll try again soon," he breathed.

He made his way back down my body to my sex where he focused on my clit. I let out a whimper the moment his tongue made contact with my sensitive flesh. The more he licked and sucked, the more desperate I became. I grabbed onto his horns to hold him there and I could feel him smile against my skin.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise, you'll find satisfaction many times tonight."

His words alone had me squirming all over again.

He continued his ministrations by sucking me in the best ways possible. Then his hands crept up my body until they reached my breasts where he rolled and pinched my taut flesh until I was mewing beneath him.

I could feel my orgasm building within me. Like a fountain filling up with water, just waiting for the perfect moment to spill over into a beautiful cascade.

Axon removed one hand from my breast and inserted it inside me where he pumped his finger, helping me climb higher into bliss.

All together, with his mouth on my clit, his finger inside me, and his other hand on my breast, it was too much and perfect at the same time. It was everything I needed and all at once the tightness in my body broke.

My mouth opened on a silent cry as pleasure washed over me in waves, baptizing me into this new life, this new luminescence with my mate.

Axon pulled back, breathing heavily and gazed upon me again. "I love watching you come apart," he wore a smug grin on his face that he had one hundred percent earned.

"I like watching you come apart too," I admitted.

"Should we try mating again?" I longed to feel him inside me. I felt so empty, so needy. I could hardly stand it.

Axon nodded his head. "I think I'm ready. I think it'll work this time."