A Gift of Three (A Shade of Vampire #42)(4)

I slipped away from Bastien and made my way to the door, greeting Micah, Kira, Saira and five other werewolves we’d invited for dinner, before they all went out for a run around the island together (an exercise routine some of the wolves had adopted recently). They piled into the kitchen, their eyes bulging in appreciation as they smelled the food.

“Leave some for my wife!” Bastien warned playfully as the pack descended on the food we’d laid out on the table.

I called for Jovi and he came toddling in from where he’d been playing in the living room, saying ‘hullo’ to the bump, as he did about three times a day. We all sat and ate around the table, our guests thoroughly enjoying themselves until their transformation time approached.

Then they piled out of the door, leaving just Bastien, our son and me.

“Don’t you dare clean up,” Bastien said. “I’ll do it when I get back.”

“I clean!” Jovi volunteered.

Bastien stooped to kiss our son’s rosy cheeks. “Thank you for offering, Jovi—that’s kind of you. But you know it’s your bath time now.”

Jovi was still far too young to actually help, though that didn’t stop him from trying…he would just sweetly make more mess until he felt he’d ‘finished’ the task.

“I’ll see you later,” I said, kissing my husband goodbye.

As our lips parted, instead of drawing away to leave, Bastien clutched my arms and held me closer. “Victoria,” he whispered in my ear, “I hope you’re prepared to make an entire pack with me.”

I burst out laughing before pushing him toward the door, half horrified and half delighted at the thought of more pregnancies.

“Go on!” I exclaimed. “Just run it out!”

He winked at me. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

I shut the door, still smiling to myself.

“Your father’s insane,” I told Jovi, before realizing the boy had slid out of his chair, leaving a trail of food smudges across the kitchen floor that led into the living room… where he would be hiding under the sofa to escape bath time.





River





I sat next to my daughter Grace, both of us looking out across The Shade, enjoying the still silence of the day coming to an end. Lawrence and Field would be arriving soon, back from training, and I wanted to be here when she told her husband the news of their baby girl. I still couldn’t believe that my daughter was starting her own family, but I supposed that was the way I’d felt at her wedding too. I was always stunned at how fast she had grown up—I wanted to hold on to every precious moment so that it lasted an eternity. I’d missed so much with Field as he’d grown up in the harpy orphanage, and I wanted to make sure that with Grace I paid particular attention to every passing moment, and no doubt I’d want to do the same when it came to her baby girl.

“I can hear them,” Grace murmured. I nodded. So could I. They were obviously still practicing their moves. I heard a thump and a grunt as Lawrence was thrown down by Field, and both Grace and I laughed. According to Tejus and Ben, Field was showing his true colors—a born warrior who would do the whole island proud. He already made me as proud as he possibly could, warrior or not.

“Hey, Mom,” Field announced in greeting as he arrived on the terrace. “What’s going on?”

I grinned. “Grace has some good news.”

Field’s face lit up, and Lawrence appeared behind him, his eyes fixed on his wife.

“Did you find out?” he asked, a broad smile breaking across his handsome features.

Grace nodded, jumping up into his arms. “We’re having a girl!”

Lawrence swung her around, and as he did so, I caught a glimpse of his expression. He looked so elated, a fierce pride in his brown eyes as he clasped my daughter to him, looking like he never wanted to let her go. He had been so looking forward to the birth—building a wooden crib and preparing the baby room.

“Congratulations, Grace.” Field grinned. “Both of you. I’m looking forward to being an uncle. Does Dad know yet?” he asked, turning to me.

I shook my head; we’d be telling Ben tonight. My heart was already swelling at the thought of my husband’s reaction.

I glanced back at the couple, nudging Field in the direction of home. It looked like we should give my daughter and her husband some alone time. Field smirked, and flew down from the treehouse.

Grace extracted herself from Lawrence and flung her arms around me. “I want to be the one to tell Dad. Can you all come round a bit later?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She let go of me and I waved goodbye to Lawrence, then joined Field on the ground below.

“Have you got anything going on tonight?” I asked, not knowing if he would be joining me and Ben this evening. Field spent most of his time with his brothers or Maura, his girlfriend, and it was a rare occasion when we got him for the entire evening.

“Nope,” he replied, flinging an arm around my shoulder. “No plans tonight. Thought I’d hang around with you and Dad, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” I scolded, leaning up to peck him on the cheek. “I always want you with us, Field. Our home is your home—a fact you seem to forget a lot of the time.”

“I don’t forget,” he replied. “It’s just still a bit weird having an actual home. No matter how many years it’s been, I still can’t quite get used to the idea.” He shrugged. “And you know I prefer sleeping outdoors anyway.”