Reign of Night (Thorne Hill 7)

Abby is a doctor, and I know my lack of typical prenatal care makes her worry. I’ve had the coven’s midwife look at me twice now, and I’ve been taking prenatal vitamins, drinking extra water, and doing everything else I can to have a healthy baby.

But since I’m not human, I can’t exactly go into an OB’s office and have them take blood samples. The last time my blood was analyzed in a lab, it was obvious there was something wrong, and we can’t risk that. Angels and demons finding out about me is bad enough. I don’t need to throw more fucked-up humans like Dr. Howard into the mix.

“Not an ultrasound, but the midwife does check the heartbeat with a doppler. I got to hear it for the first time last week. Lucas has been able to hear it for weeks now.”

“That’s…fascinating.” We sit on the couch, and I give Abby a blanket. Eliza keeps the house warmer than Lucas does, which is nice. It’s the one thing Lucas is cheap about, and since he doesn’t feel cold, he’s fine keeping the house at sixty in the winter, which is way too cold for me, and too cold for Eliza’s guinea pigs, which she said are the most comfortable at a nice seventy degrees. “What else does the midwife do for you?” She’s trying hard not to be judgmental, and I love her even more for it.

“Doppler for the baby, checks my blood pressure, heart, and lungs, and some other readings.”

“Other readings?”

“You’d call them old wives' tales, but they’re legit for us.”

“Oh, wow, that’s…that’s really cool.”

“I think so, and she said everything looks good so far.”

Abby drapes the blanket over her lap. “Good. That makes me happy to hear. I can probably get you in for an ultrasound on Monday if you want to come in. I can’t promise you won’t end up waiting a while, but I looked at who else is on the schedule that day, and if things work out, which they always seem to for you, I should be able to have an ultrasound ordered. I work seven to seven, so come in right at sunset and text me when you’re on your way and I’ll get a room ready.”

“You are becoming such a rebel, sis.”

Abby laughs, shaking her head as she dismisses me. “Hardly, and I’m telling myself that my half-angel sister requires the rules to be stretched every now and then.”

“Right! I can put in a good word for you with the man upstairs. Okay, not really, but I can tell Julian to tell my dad to and maybe the message will be relayed?”

“I’m just glad I can help you.”

“Me too." I get another blanket from the settee on the other side of the room and wrap it around my shoulders.

“So, Eliza seems pretty excited to plan the shower,” Abby starts. “I wasn’t really expecting that. Then again, she did plan your wedding, didn’t she?”

“She did, and it’s almost sad I can’t tell more people about this historic moment. A vampire progeny is planning a baby shower for her kind-of stepmother slash sister who got knocked up by her vampire sire because he was cursed with humanity.”

Abby laughs. “Yes, that is definitely a first. She insisted on a day in March because it was significant?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s the anniversary of the first time I met Lucas.”

“Really? How did you meet?” She pulls her phone from her purse and checks to see if she has any missed calls or texts.

“I went into his bar and saw another vampire drinking from a human and—actually, the only reason I was in Chicago that night was because I wanted to drive by your house and see if I could handle going to Penny’s party. So, if it wasn’t for my lingering mental issues and you coming to Thorne Hill to invite me to the party, I wouldn’t have ended up at the Taproom on that particular night. It’s crazy how things work out.”

“Yeah, that is. So then what happened?”

“I got a little drunk, followed a vampire who was feeding off a spellbound human, and stopped him. Then Lucas made up some story about wanting to settle our debt and drove me home since I was, uh, too drunk to drive. He became obsessed with me after that. Right, babe?” I lean forward, looking into the kitchen at Lucas.

“I wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you,” he calls.

“Aww, how sweet,” Abby says. “It was love at first sight.”

“Eh, more like lust, very strong dislike, and probably even stronger interest,” I admit with a laugh.

“That is true,” Lucas says, coming out of the kitchen and pausing behind the couch. “I wanted to taste you as soon as I saw you.”

“And I kind of wanted to kill you as soon as I saw you.”