Gavin’s mouth fell open. He groaned, hitting his hand to his forehead. “We completely forgot about these guys.”
Lucas frowned. “Who are these guys?”
All eyes came to me and I laughed, nervously. “Uh . . . so, it’s a long story, you see . . .”
And, as we continued home, I held his hand and told him everything that happened, and it was a long story indeed, but it was a good story. In fact, it was a great story and while Spencer and Cal were finally sent home, I knew this was a story that I would tell our child. The one thing I never told anyone since the beginning was that I was pregnant, and even though I was a vampire now, with Mori magic in me, I was able to give birth to a healthy little girl.
We named her Saren.
Lucas said the wedding could be in his restaurant or the new hotel he bought, but the idea of being indoors hadn’t sat right with me. It hadn’t sat right with me ever since we returned to Benshire. Being captured by Lucan and then again by The Immortal, I’d been yearning more and more to remain outside. It was wintertime, but I still did. The winter didn’t touch me, which was one of the nicer qualities about being a vampire. Still. I was transitioning to my new state in life. I was free. I was a vampire. I was going to be a wife, and feeling my hair getting tugged, I looked down at the best transition in my life. I was a mother.
Saren waved her plump hands in the air and started to tip back, laughing. She didn’t go far. I had her tucked in my arm so her head hit my arm lightly, but she loved it. Peals of more laughter filled the air.
“Is she hungry?”
Pippa asked the question, eager, but Brown was right next to her. Since we got back, Brown had been wonderful. She’d been by my side the entire time, making sure I was okay. Pippa came for Saren’s birth, and she stuck around. She was going to try college again. So was Brown. Both had dropped out because of my captivity. I knew that was the elephant in the room. They wanted me to go with them, but neither asked yet. Vampires could go. It’s where I met Lucas. We could walk in the light. We could do almost everything a human did, but it was different.
I had to mourn not being a human. Going to college—it would be in my face every day. I would never grow old, weak, diseased . . . and I was an idiot. I was grieving not being fat? I was a vampire. They were always gorgeous and since my transformation, I’d gotten the gloss over too. It wasn’t that my looks were totally changed, but my skin was clearer. My eyes darker. My hair was shinier. I was already slender, but I became more toned.
Saren started kicking her legs and gurgling.
This one, my hold on her tightened, she was worth it. Everything. If I hadn’t spent so much time with the Mori, Lucas’s sperm in me wouldn’t have taken root. I was human, but he wasn’t. It was their magic, just being in their lands, that helped make Saren possible.
“You should get your dress on.” Pippa came forward. Her hands were already up and she was smiling at Saren. “I’ll take the little one.”
Brown jumped beside her. “I can’t wait. A bridesmaid. I’m a bridesmaid. I’ve never been a bridesmaid.”
Pippa slid her hands under Saren and stepped back with her. She grinned at Brown. “You’re a Bright bridesmaid.”
“And you.” Brown clapped her on the shoulder. “You’re a werewolf bridesmaid. I can’t wait till I get drunk. You’re nursing, Davy—in a . . .” She trailed off, glancing away.
That was another transition.
I told her, “It’s fine, Brown. You’re not the only one. Trust me.”
Pippa groaned, rocking Saren back and forth. “Oh yeah. I’ve been calling her Davy since I arrived.”
Both sobered and gazed at me. Brown sighed. “It’s not that we don’t want to call you Davina. It’s just . . .”
They were torn. They loved Davy. I was alive. I reached for both of their hands and squeezed them. “I’m different. I know, but I’ll get back to my old self.”
The Immortal.
Lucan.
Losing my humanity—the last year before Lucas broke me free had been hard, but I felt the old me coming back. The old me would come back. I squeezed once more. “I love you guys, and you are helping the old Davy spark to life again. Thank you. And thank you f
or being a part of my wedding.”
“Well, hell yeah. Of course.” Brown gestured outside my bedroom window. We were back at Lucas’s house, the one by the cliff where Lucan captured us in the first place. There weren’t great memories, but each night Lucas helped push those bad ones away as he made new ones with me. And there was land. There was lots and lots of land. I didn’t feel so ‘constricted’ here. The cliff was where the wedding would take place. Emily was the wedding planner and she was utilizing everyone to help. The entire backyard was transformed so it looked like a magical forest. Trees had been relocated and spelled to grow tall. Flowers hung everywhere. Logs made up the seats. It didn’t look like it was next to a cliff at all. And within a few hours, it would be filled with vampires, werewolves, witches, and a few humans (those who were either clueless or brave.) There would be a few slayers as well. A group of them were waiting for us when we returned. They took Kates with them. I knew they were going to help her heal. Her time in captivity had been the worst of all of us. There’d been a few correspondents between the two of us. We were both getting better, and I was excited to see her again. She’d been my childhood nolstage. I wanted to get to know my best friend once again, well not my real best friend. That was Lucas now, but Kates held a special place in my heart. She always would.
Brown said, “This wedding is a dream wedding and hello, Roane in tuxedo.” She fanned herself. “Swoon right there.”
Pippa frowned. “He’s going to be her husband.”
“But he’s gorgeous. I can see. I can appreciate.” Brown nudged Pippa with her shoulder. “Just like I can appreciate the hotness of your brother. Hubba hubba. Come to me Christian Christane.” She leaned over and grabbed Saren’s thumb, but paused and asked, “Does he have to be betrothed to another werewolf? Is that a thing? What about a witch? You think I got a shot? He can be my Alpha any night of the week.”
Pippa’s frown deepened and she turned, giving Brown a curt response. Brown retaliated, another laughing joke. It had been like this over the last few months and I sighed, listening, but I loved it. The teases were flying. The jokes were sent back and forth. Pippa would huff about something, and Brown would follow with one more outrageous suggestion, all the while trying to hide her grin.