Chapter 42

After Mikhail and Gregori bid them farewell, Carissa turned back to her lifemates. She was absolutely aching to be with them. All she could think about was how they were at last alone. And she wanted both of them.

A growl broke from Samuel and as usual, he didn't hesitate. He roughly pulled her to him and took possession of her mouth. The sweetness of her sent waves of pleasure through him. The urge to invade her in other ways was so strong, Samuel simply picked her up and carried her to the cottage. As she kissed him again, he began to wonder if he'd even make it to the bed or drop her on the ground right here and take her.

You cannot do such a thing, scolded Pierce.

Why the hell not? Samuel struggled with himself but managed to make it to the steps. The porch was just as good as taking her on the ground…

Don't you dare.

Pierce, you need to live a little.

Taking our lifemate on the porch is living a little?

Samuel let out a groan as Carissa broke the kiss and nipped at his neck. He managed to make it up the steps and he hissed in his twin's mind. Taking our lifemate out in the open is as natural as anything. But I'm trying to get you to come with us, so I'll compromise and us take her on the floor inside.

Why not the bed?

Pierce, shut it and get over here.

Samuel opened the front door with his mind and barely made it into the living room with the fireplace when she bit into his neck. He gave a hoarse cry, and dropped to the floor, willing their clothes to be off in less than a second. Samuel immediately claimed her, his hardness joining them together and giving her the release she needed. As he felt her shudder, Samuel had no control and couldn't hold back. He groaned wildly as he let himself go, spilling his seed deep inside of her.

Carissa trembled underneath him. But as soon as she felt relief, the ache returned with such fierceness, she began to beg Pierce. Please. I need both of you so badly it hurts.

Even Pierce could not deny the extreme hunger he felt. They had been separated for too long. Reaching the room, he frowned as he looked at his twin and her on the floor. He waved a hand and made the fireplace come to life with flames. Then candles appeared all around the room, cascading a warm flickering glow on Carissa and Samuel's skin.

Samuel moved off of her, but dipped his head to taste her breasts. Are you finished decorating the room, brother? Perhaps I should wait until you've wallpapered as well?

Pierce growled. Excuse me for making things a little more romantic. Throbbing, he slowly kneeled and captured Carissa's mouth. She moaned, and her fingers reached for his hardness. That was all it took to wave off his clothes and invade her mouth even further. She arched up, gasping in between his kisses at the feel of Samuel's mouth on her breast. Even Pierce couldn't hold back, but he grit his teeth, ever so slowly moving inside her. Carissa gasped and he immediately felt the tremors deep inside her womb. He quickly picked up the pace, going over the edge with her.

Breathing heavily, Pierce was surprised when Carissa suddenly sat up, forcing both of them to move off her. She turned and practically attacked Samuel, pushing him down on his back. When she straddled him, Samuel hissed and then threw his head back as she rode him. Then she looked at Pierce.

And when Pierce saw what she had in mind, he wasn't sure if he could survive it. Getting to his feet, he walked over to her until she got what she wanted. He groaned as her mouth engulfed his hardness and then the three of them went over the edge together. Pierce and Carissa collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. Samuel himself was trying to catch his breath, but he reached for Carissa, pulling her so the back of her head lay on his chest. She in turn, tugged at Pierce who rested his head on her stomach.

"Are you cold?" asked Pierce softly. He wasn't sure if she knew exactly yet how to regulate her temperature.

She laughed happily. "Not at all."

"Good," murmured Samuel as he stroked her hair. "And I am very pleased to see you have a wild side to you."

"I do not. I just…took some control."

The twins chuckled. They were more than pleased. In their own homeland, they finally proved they had skill beyond the financial market. And while they would return to the United States, both felt satisfied with how things turned out. It no longer mattered to them if other males looked at them strangely because of their bond with Carissa.

They now fully accepted who they were.

xxxxx

Later that evening, Samuel and Pierce escorted Carissa to Mikhail's home. Landing on the balcony as owls, they could hear music playing. Once they became human, Pierce glared at his twin. "I told you we were going to be late."

"Oh, like I saw you stopping when our lifemate wanted us again?" He grinned at Carissa. "It is our duty to please our lifemate."

She reddened. "So I guess it's my fault we're late."

Samuel bent down and kissed. "Nothing is ever your fault." He winked. "It's Pierce's fault for not being his usual disciplined self."

Pierce shook his head. "Maybe it's time you just stepped up, brother. Why should I always be the responsible one?"

Carissa let out a hard sigh. "The longer we stand here, the later we are going to be." Still in between them, she reached out and took hold of each of their arms. "Ready?"

"As always, you are the one in control," replied Samuel with a smile.

The three of them walked in together, prepared for a mixed greeting. They knew some would be appreciative of what they did to protect Mikhail. And if some of the ancients still shunned them, the twins and Carissa no longer cared. The SongMaker had been right when he gave the advice to the twins about themselves simply accepting their own union. Focusing on the positive, including those who did accept them was all that mattered. And the Prince was on their side.

What they did not expect was for the entire room to go silent.

The music stopped and every head turned to look at them. Mikhail emerged from behind some of the hunters. He walked toward them with a serious look on his face.

Pierce cleared his throat. "We apologize for being late…"

The Prince stopped short. "I have a new assignment for you."

The twins grew tense. Just when they thought they'd found their way, now Mikhail was giving them a new assignment?

"When you return to the United States, you will begin to use more of your abilities to hunt. The vampires in your current location are scarce. I want you to move further south, toward Atlanta where they have been more reports of the undead."

The twins were stunned. "Us?"

The Prince raised an eyebrow. "Are you not meant to be hunters?"

Pride swelled within them, but Pierce hesitated. "We own a number of businesses which provide wealth to our people."

"As do others," acknowledged Mikhail.

"It's true a number of Carpathians withdrew their assets from us when they discovered…our union with Carissa. But we are still responsible for the few we have left." Pierced braced himself, ready for Samuel to protest with what he was saying. But his twin surprised him.

"Our businesses alone will provide more than enough wealth for all Carpathians, including their future generations. We have the ability to grow our wealth three times faster than anyone else," said Samuel in a firm voice. He lowered his eyes, after realizing what he'd said. "Forgive me, I do not intend to come across as…arrogant. But my brother and I, we are just very certain of that ability."

"Indeed," murmured Mikhail. He raised his voice. "I have always recognized your talent in the business world. But I would be wrong if I did not acknowledge your new gift with Carissa. With her, both of you can combine your strength and your healing abilities. I witnessed something I had never seen before. You were born hunters for a reason. And we now know your unique union is the key to your new abilities."

Pierce swallowed hard, overwhelmed by Mikhail's offer. For so long, they had felt as if their business talent held them back from gaining experience as hunters. But the twins privately communicated with each other, and they knew what they had to do.

"We are truly honored, Mikhail," began Samuel, "but the best protection we can provide to our people is through our skill in business."

Pierce agreed. "The virus that targeted our businesses…if we had not handled it in time, all of wealth would have disappeared. And we also should protect the humans if possible. They assist us in running the companies we own. We should protect the innocent. It in a way, this is the modern day war that we are now fighting." When he realized they had protested Mikhail's decision, Pierce and Samuel bowed their heads. "We respectfully request to continue in protecting and growing our wealth to provide to our people."

The Prince was silent for a moment and then he stepped forward. Those behind him followed until they were right behind Mikhail, looking at the twins and Carissa.

Pierce and Samuel shifted uneasily. Perhaps they had completely offended the Prince in refusing his assignment…

Mikhail slowly smiled. "Pierce and Samuel Falkland, I hereby grant your request to continue utilizing your skills in the business world. I only ask that should we have a need for your superior talent as hunters, you assist us as needed."

Their chests felt tight as they were filled with gratitude and pride. Pierce spoke first. "We will always serve you."

"And we will always protect you in every way," added Samuel.

As the twins straightened, they were surprised when Julian came forward. His face with golden eyes studied them. "My brother and I…we find that managing our own accounts is very…"

"Complex?" offered Samuel.

Carissa gave him a small jab with her elbow as she bit her lip. You know this is hard for him, so stop it.

Serves him right for doubting our abilities, grumbled Samuel.

Julian frowned. "I was going to say 'tedious.' Aiden and I have little time to manage so many accounts."

A female's laughter came out of nowhere and Deserai shimmered into human form. "Don't let him fool you. Ever since you transferred the accounts back to him, my lifemate has yet to figure out how you managed all of those investments. We're lucky he managed not to lose more in the markets."

"Deserai," muttered Julian.

"What? It's true."

As Julian took on a sheepish expression, Mikhail smiled and clapped him on his back. "I think you were going to ask the twins a question?"

Samuel couldn't help himself and let go of Carissa's arm so he could cross his arms over his chest. He looked with satisfaction at Julian's tightened expression.

"Fine," the golden hunter muttered, "Aiden and I would like you to take back our accounts."

"Why?" asked Samuel.

Pierce let out a heavy sigh. Let's not push it, brother.

But this is so much fun…

Samuel, stop.

But surprisingly, Julian suddenly laughed. "Fine, I deserve it. I was wrong about you. You are both not only the best investors, you also proven hunters." He made a playful gesture of bowing elegantly to Carissa. "Your lifemates have me at their mercy."

She laughed. "I'm learning it takes a lot for any Carpathian male to admit he is wrong, including my own lifemates." She looked at the twins expectantly.

Samuel shook his head and stepped forward to offer Julian a warriors greeting which was accepted. "We will always guard your back, Julian."

"And you and Pierce will always be welcome," he replied, "especially when it comes to your lifemate." Julian winked at her. "I have a feeling you'll be the one I need to rely on when keeping their egos under control."

Then other hunters came forward, each asking the twins to watch over their own investments. Before it was over, Pierce and Samuel actually lost track of how many had greeted them with respect. They were simply taken aback as every hunter made a point to personally thank them for their protection of the Prince and their people.

The music returned, as did a number of conversations and the twins were pleased to be included like anyone else. Many were discussing their ongoing search for Nikolai, hoping he would not have the same fate as his father, Draven. Others were talking about Tyrell, unbelieving that he would keep his vow to not harm the innocent while seeking revenge on Morrison.

The twins also saw Anya playing with the children. She was doing her best to fill the void left behind by Nikolai. Viktor was not far away, the ancient obviously keeping a close eye on her. They had a feeling should anyone other than the children try to approach her, Viktor would be standing over her in an instant, ready to throttle any male who even looked at her in the wrong way.

There was a sudden shift of feeling within the room, and the twins were puzzled when everyone changed direction and crowded toward the middle of the room. Curios, the twins approached, but couldn't see what was catching everyone's attention, until the Prince spoke on the common Carpathian link.

Everyone will get their chance for a view. Back up and give them room.

The crowd of Carpathians obeyed without hesitation and the twins led Carissa to a spot so they could see better. To their surprise, Armando and Janelle were left standing in the middle of the room. The SongMaker was wearing a heavy cloak, his arms underneath it, as if holding something…

Carissa covered her mouth in astonishment when Armando carefully parted his cloak and revealed a very small infant, causing a cheerful reaction from the crowd. There were nods and smiles from everyone in the room. And when the SongMaker carefully held up the babe who was swaddled in a pink blanket, everyone applauded.

Still smiling, Mikhail came to stand next to the twins. "The naming ceremony is in a few days. As you still need some time to heal, I hope you will consider staying a little longer so you can attend."

"Of course," replied Pierce, still staring at Armando and the child.

The Prince laughed. "You look as if you've never seen an infant before."

"Well, I…we didn't realize…you said something tragic happened to Armando."

"I said Armando suffered through a recent traumatic event. I did not say the outcome was necessarily a bad one."

"What happened?" asked Carissa.

"Janelle went into labor several weeks early, or actually, what we thought was early."

Samuel tilted his head. "I find it hard to believe he would actually have calculated wrong when it came to the timing."

"Why not? It's not always certain the moment a woman conceives," pointed out Carissa.

Pierce cleared his throat. "Well, actually, at least for Carpathians…"

"We can know from the moment of conception," finished Samuel.

She gave him a look of shock. "Are you serious?"

Mikhail chuckled. "Armando was certainly not wrong on the timing. But you have to understand, it had been at least over a thousand years since he actually witnessed the birth of a child. Although he is the protector of children, back then, child bearing wasn't exactly something men would typically handle. When Armando thought his own child was in danger, the death of Anna re-surfaced, making him irrationally think he was paying for his past. He was so overcome with emotion, he simply forgot that in his time, female Carpathians gave birth within varying times."

"You mean Carpathian women don't have to carry a child for nine months?" asked Carissa with her eyes brightening.

"Actually, each pregnancy is unique as the child. From what Armando now remembers, women in his time would carry an infant from as early as six months to as late as eighteen months."

"Eighteen months? I don't know if I like the sound of that!" exclaimed Carissa.

"This was the first pregnancy that truly resembled Armando's time. His pure blood gave their child a good start."

Meaning there must not have been any parasites, said Pierce privately to his twin. They could only hope the SongMaker's blood still held the key to the success of future births. The thought of Carissa losing a child was simply too much for either of them to even think about.

"Well, I can't imagine how awful that must have been for him," Carissa said in a sympathetic tone.

"Well," laughed Samuel, "he is the oldest Carpathian. I suppose we can't fault him for not remembering everything."

"To make it worse, the infant wasn't communicating," said Mikhail. When Carissa gave him a blank look, the Prince grew patient. "Parents can communicate with their young even before birth. Armando said during labor this could actually be normal, but because he thought she was early, he panicked." Mikhail cleared his throat. "She was also strong enough to push Gregori away when he tried to stop her."

Pierce raised an eyebrow. "That tiny infant?"

He nodded. "Apparently she knew it was time and no one was gong to try and stop her from arriving."

"Amazing," murmured Pierce.

Raven appeared and gave Carissa a hug. "Come on, I think given that I'm the lifemate of the Prince, I can sneak you in for a closer look." The twins smiled as Carissa followed Raven through the crowd toward Armando.

Mikhail's eyes followed his lifemate. "Armando now recognizes his mind can never fully be healed. While he hoped returning Anna to her rightful homeland for burial would help, the SongMaker has learned he cannot ignore his past. Over the last few days, he and Razavan have spent much time together. I believe they are discovering it is important to take time and talk about their past, as it can help them maintain control."

"Kind of similar to human therapy," suggested Samuel.

"Indeed. Because it is too difficult to reconcile their honor with even unintentional crimes, it is good for them to focus on acknowledging their past, rather than attempting to hide it."

Pierce shook his head in amazement. "I have never seen an infant so small, yet so alive."

"True," chuckled Samuel, "she's almost as pink as the blanket she's wrapped in."

"Most of our children need help in the first few minutes after birth to breathe or circulate blood," said the Prince. "Once she was born, Armando realized she was absolutely perfect and immediately placed her in the ground for the soil to make her even stronger."

"So then it's true," said Samuel, "our infants should have the ability to sleep in the ground and be fed by their mothers."

"Yes. Although it may take some time, hopefully we are a step closer to finding a solution for our future children to be born in a similar state."

They were interrupted by the beautiful sound of Armando's voice. The SongMaker was singing an ancient lullaby to his new daughter. The children couldn't help themselves and ran up to their teacher. Armando smiled at them and nodded. Then the children began to sing, followed by everyone in the room.

The twins made their way over to Carissa who was simply beaming. I know the words to this song. I don't even know what language they are singing, but I know the words! How can that be?

It is the SongMaker's gift. He is using his power to bring us all together, making sure we can all sing as one, said Pierce.

Carissa realized she was in between her lifemates. She reached out and held each of their hands within her own. Then she lifted her chin and began to sing.

The twins looked down at her for a moment, each feeling her hand entwined with their own. Slowly they looked at each other, their eyes meeting while a feeling of complete peace descended on them. They'd found their lifemate, their true home here in the Carpathian Mountains, and finally, themselves. In this moment of time, they knew exactly who they were, and how their union with Carissa was meant to be.

Each of them bent down and gently kissed her, taking pleasure in her beautiful smile. Then they raised their heads, and began to sing.

-End-

Author's note: What happened to Nikolai or Tyrell? Time will only tell in future stories...

-Anne