Page 46 of The Beta's Heart

“Some fae have more than one power base. Like my father can control fire, but he can also work with plants, which is where I get my plant power from. His mother was a whiz with plants, and his father was a fae of legend because of his control over fire. Although not usual, my father inherited both powers, which put him on the path to leadership in the military.”

“See, I think our young will be fae and shifter. Because his parents are both awesome.”

She smiled up at him. “So sure we’ll have a boy?”

“Either way, our young will be very loved.”

She couldn’t agree more.

A soldier lifted his sword high and slashed downward toward his opponent, who stumbled as he tried to spin out of the way of the wooden implement. The sword hit the top of his wing and the male shouted as he dropped to his knees. There was a visible bruise on the wing, dark red and spreading.

“Damn,” she said, watching as the trainers hurried to the injured male.

“What?” Ren asked.

“Injury to the wings is pretty serious. When a wing is injured, the magic inside of them becomes toxic to the fae. Depending on the severity of the injury, and how quickly it can be tended to, something like a broken wing, where the bones are actually cracked, can lead to paralysis of the fae and even loss of the wing.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It can be.” She peered toward the male who was hustled off the training ground and toward the infirmary. “It doesn’t look like a break, so they’ll put a poultice on it and cast a healing spell and it will be fine in a little while.”

“How can you tell?”

“If it was broken, the wing would look more damaged.”

“Have you ever hurt your wing?”

“I fell out of a tree when I was twelve and part of my wing scraped against the rough bark. It hurt like hell but I was able to get help quickly.”

“Why don’t the soldiers train without their wings if the risk is so great?”

“The power that they wield is stronger when the wings are out. And it’s better if they train with the wings so they can know how to defend themselves in actual battle.”

He kissed her temple and gave her a hug. “Promise to be extra careful whenever you have your wings out.”

“I promise.”

They found her father in his office. She knocked on the open door and he lifted his head and smiled. Standing, he motioned for them to come in, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek and shaking Ren’s hand.

“Welcome,” he said. “Have a seat.”

“How are things?” she asked as she and Ren sat across from his desk in high-backed chairs.

“Very well. We have a new batch of recruits, so it’s busier than usual.”

“Kismet told me about the mandatory military service,” Ren said.

“I take it military service isn’t mandatory in your realm?”

“No, and the pack doesn’t have a military per se. We do have training for the young males, so they learn how to control their shift and fight in either form, but it’s not quite as serious as what you have going on out in the compound.”

“Fae are famous for liking to be prepared for battles, although there hasn’t been an actual war in a decade.”

“We have some news, Dad,” she said.

He leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk. “Do tell.”

She glanced at Ren and smiled. “I’m pregnant.”