“The roast should be done in about five minutes,” Annalise said as she returned to the table. She sat down and let out a long sigh, rubbing her slightly protruding belly. Her long, copper hair hung loose and glimmered in the glow from the lamp behind her.
“Greaaaat,” Cain commented with as much enthusiasm as he could muster for his sister-in-law’s cooking.
“Anna, why don’t you find your bonnet. We have company.”
She scrunched her nose. “Cain’s not company. He’s family.”
Cain had no doubt that his brother’s empathic gifts were perceptive enough to sense him admiring his wife’s beauty.
“Annalise.”
She pouted. “My feet hurt—”
“Fine.” Adam stood. “I’ll get it.”
As soon as Adam left the kitchen, Cain snickered, “You’ve got him wrapped around your pretty little finger.”
“Hardly. Let him try wearing that stupid bonnet all day.”
“Well, it’s good that you’ve taught him to fetch so early. Some mates are hard to train.”
She flicked a blackened chip of bread at him. “You’re going to get me in trouble. Tell me more about the meeting.”
“There isn’t much more to tell. The Council didn’t seem too concerned.”
Cain struggled to understand how the situation in the woods wasn’t a top priority. The Order protected privacy above all else. A rogue, feeish vampire on the loose was not just a danger to mortals. It threatened the very essence of their immortal existence.
“That’s so weird. If there’s a wild vampire on the loose—”
“Or several.”
“—Right. If there’s an army of crazed immortals out there, running around, murdering innocent civilians, it’s our responsibility to do something.”
“You would think. Seriously, how are you eating that? It can’t be good for the baby.”
She looked at that charred biscuit and shrugged, taking another bite and mumbling, “I’m hungry.”
Adam returned with the cap and frowned the moment he sensed a shift in the energy in the room. “Ainsicht, you shouldn’t be discussing Order business. You’ll get yourself worked up. It could upset the baby.”
Cain rolled his eyes. “You know she’s going to have to go through labor to pop that kid out, right? You can’t protect her from everything, Adam.”
Anna waved away her husband’s concerns. “I guess it could just be a bear or something.”
“It wasn’t a bear.”
“What makes you so sure?”
Cain recalled the markings in the woods. Beyond the strands of human-like hair snagged in the branches and the footprints pressed into the mud, there was something else. “I could smell whatever it was. It was not the scent an animal leaves behind.”
The front door opened and a petite figure, cloaked in black, stepped inside. A chilled gust of November wind following. Small hands reached out from below the heavy fabric and pulled back the hood, revealing their sister Gracie’s smiling face. “Can you believe how chilly it’s for November?” Her ivory cheeks wore a rosy flush. “I dread to see what sort of weather this winter will bring.”
Anna used her napkin to fan the cool air onto her shiny face. “I haven’t stopped sweating.”
Gracie hung her cloak on a hook by the door and laughed. “That’s because you’re baking a baby in your oven.”
Briskly rubbing her hands together, she approached the table and pressed her palms on top of Anna’s apron, cupping her protruding belly. Gracie’s gift to overhear thoughts helped Adam and Anna check the baby’s condition regularly.
After witnessing their parents suffer so many miscarriages, every positive update was a welcomed one. Anna and Adam’s baby was a blessing for their whole family, a long, overdue symbol of hope and healing.
Until these last few months, no one in the Hartzler line had been called for several decades. Uncle Isaiah had been the last, and his notorious behavior left a mark on the family that The Order would never forget. It was time to turn the page, and a new marriage and a new baby could possibly get things moving.
“He’s active tonight.”
“He?” Cain asked with a look of pure skepticism.
Gracie faced him with her usual smile. “Yes, the baby’s a boy. Did they not tell you?” She clucked her tongue. “Well, that’s what you get for never being around.”
“You act as though I was off doing nothing of importance. I’ll have you know, if not for me, The Council would be clueless about the recent events that could greatly affect The Order.”
Gracie pulled out a chair and sat. “And exactly how does you fornicating with mortals affect The Order, brother?”
“Well, the fornication was for my own personal research. I’m speaking of the latest news of Uncle Isaiah.”
“Bite your tongue,” she gasped, suddenly serious.
“You haven’t heard?” Before he finished his question, Grace was rummaging around in his thoughts. “Out!”
“Tell me,” his sister demanded, instantly withdrawing from his mind.
Telepathy among immortals was a skill that took centuries to hone. Grace had been born with the gift. While most immortals could pluck a thought from an unguarded mortal’s mind or plant one for survival purposes, immortal brains were much more complex and challenging to penetrate.