Eden by Jamie McGuire

fathom what one might
endure to protect it. Our love, in all its imperfection, was
perfect.
    It was then that a moment of clarity
came over me. From the moment I’d learned the truth, I had fought
with the feeling of loss for a normal life, but without Jared, that
life wouldn’t have as much meaning. Sure, I was an individual. I
was a strong person. I didn’t need someone else to complete me, but
I was happier with Jared than without him. More than happy. Why
settle to prove that I was free? I was, with and without him. Being
with him was a choice—a choice to love and be loved and exist in an
affirmative state with someone. Even with the chaos going on around
us, it was more than I could have hoped for. More than most hoped
for. His love was the purest example of anything a human could feel
for another. The more I weighed the options in my head, the less
appealing Normal became. It was downright insulting to compare the
two. Suddenly I couldn’t remember why I had missed it in the first
place, and scolded myself for ever letting Jared feel that I was
anything but grateful for every moment he was in my
life.
    “ How are you feeling,
love?” Jared said from behind, bringing a tall glass of ice
water.
    “ As if you have to ask. I
feel really good. It seems like every day I feel better and better.
Is that normal? Aren’t I supposed to feel sick, or tired, or
both?”
    “ Not necessarily. What is
normal when you’re carrying our child?” Jared said, taking a seat
beside me.
    We watched the surf together. The
storm from the night before had raged until the early hours of the
morning…and there was a good reason that I knew that for a fact.
Jared had kept his promise to take his time. I slept for an hour,
maybe two, after the sun breached the horizon before venturing to
the beach. The ocean was endless, stretching out until it met the
sky. The only way to tell one from the other was the slight
difference in shade. I took in a deep breath and leaned against my
husband.
    “ What is it?” Jared said,
grazing his lips across a small patch of skin on my
forehead.
    “ It doesn’t matter,” I
said closing my eyes. I wanted to focus on the sounds of the waves
rushing the beach, and the way the breeze blew my hair forward. If
it were possible to block the frightening thoughts from my head, I
would have. I wanted to pretend that the truths I had come across
in recent years weren’t real. But they were, and inconceivable,
nightmarish things waited for us at home. Those thoughts made it
difficult to relax and enjoy my honeymoon, even with Jared’s
tireless reassurance. I had finally accepted my life for what it
was, but that didn’t make it less frightening.
    “ Look,” Jared said,
nodding to a spot up the beach.
    Samuel stood at least two hundred
yards away, too far away for my human eyes to tell if he was
watching us or the ocean.
    Jared nuzzled the hair just above my
ear. “He has been granted a temporary new post.”
    “ To babysit us?” I asked.
“He must be thrilled.”
    Jared chuckled. “Something like that.
Hybrids don’t have Archs. Have I ever told you that?”
    “ No, you
didn’t.”
    “ We don’t. Our job to
protect humans, that along with our knowledge and abilities makes
having our own guardian angel redundant. Not to mention the
curse….”
    “ But you still need
protection, don’t you?” I asked.
    Jared thought for a moment. “We are
born to protect. I think He sees it as an infinite waste of
resources.”
    I nodded. “I see.”
    Jared’s brows pulled in and he cocked
his head a bit. “You seem different today.”
    “ I do? What’s wrong with
me?”
    Jared laughed. “Not your general
well-being, I mean you. Your behavior. You seem less on edge. Why
is that?”
    My brows shot up, and I shrugged.
“It’s not because I’m not worried, I can promise you that. I have
one more year of college, I’ll be taking over Titan soon after…and
I’m pregnant. The best part—my personal