by Honor James
“Perfect,” Dahlia said with a smile and placed her hands into his, trusting him to pull her up and out of the water. When she was touching the cement around the pool once more, she walked at his side toward the hot tub, speeding up when a gust of wind caught her naked body. “Oh that was chilly.” She grumbled and stepped into the hot tub with a sigh of pure pleasure.
“Not really, unless you’re wet,” he said, slipping in next to her, stretching his legs out, and leaning back. He rolled his head to look at her. “I’ll give Aiden a call and see if we can swing past. I still have the babies’ gifts to take over. We can play with the little ones and see about babysitting them.”
“That sounds like a great beginning.” They could have some time with the babies while the parents were around, and then from there they would perhaps talk them into letting them take one or both of the babies home with them for a bit more time. It was perfect. “You are a very bright man, Davyn,” she said with a wicked grin.
“So I’ve heard tell.” He smiled at her. Taking her hand in his, he laced their fingers together and rubbed his thumb to her knuckles. “Had to have a few smarts for medical school after all.” Though it really had been a breeze for him for the most part, likely his connection to the Wraith helping him to know things better than any other person.
She snorted. “Honey, you have more than ‘a few smarts,’ and we both know it.” She thought he was rather a brilliant man. She loved him for being him no matter what. “I’m glad that you embrace what and who you are, Davyn. I’m very happy that you didn’t turn from medicine when you could have.” Because of his Wraith.
“It’s actually a rather perfect fit, most of the time.” He grimaced and sighed. “On occasions it’s a bit of a pain in the ass, Wraithwise, that is. But it uses him, uses the abilities he has specifically, and ensures that he’s exhausted so there’s no hyper Wraith on the rampage.”
“Which makes sense.” She grinned and shook her head. “Yeah, something tells me that a hyper Wraith on the rampage would be a very, very bad thing.” Kinda like a two-year-old whose pacifier was taken away.
“Oh, much, much worse than a snarling two-year-old,” he told her with a shudder. “The Wraith has no real form, and most people can’t see it except from the corner of their eye, their only warning. But he can literally sweep through an army in seconds and leave nothing behind but the dead, all from natural causes their own bodies provided.”
“Well I’m glad that you have him under control,” she said softly. “But I know that no matter what kind of tantrum he tosses, he would never, ever hurt me.” She had utter and complete confidence in that. “I know he would never hurt me, because he loves me as much as you do, darling.”
“No, he’d never hurt you, and I’d never let him hurt you,” he said softly. “My Wraith definitely loves you and adores you and is quite, I hate to use the word but I don’t have another, giddy about the baby. Almost as much as you are.” He smiled at her.
That had her grinning. “It’s because this little girl is a part of us. She’s her own little being, but she’s part of you, part of me, and even a part of the Wraith that you have inside of you.” It was true. The child that she carried was a blending of her, Davyn, and his Wraith counterpart.
“That is true,” he said softly. “She will have Wraith genetics and may even be fully Wraith,” he said with a shrug. “But we won’t know until she’s in her early twenties,” he told her with a grin. “Though my Wraith might actually learn if she will be or won’t sooner.”
“Well if she is then we will get through it, honey. We will be a family, darling. We will always be a family, my love. No matter what else in this world happens, that’s something that will always be true and pure. Family. Us.” She needed him to know that, realize that.
“Course we will.” He grinned at her. Pulling her toward him, Davyn got her into his lap. “Now, no more talk. Time for sex.”
Chapter Twelve
Digging the gifts out of the backseat, he went around the vehicle to take Dahlia’s hand. “Come on, sweet. Time to see if we’ve got a hope in hell of not screwing up our own kid.” Setting the alarm on the truck, he walked with her up to Aiden’s front door, knocked, and then waited to be let in. “You look nervous. Why?” Davyn asked curiously.
“I’m worried that they won’t let me.” She paused. “I’m worried that they won’t let me hold their babies or the babies won’t like me. What if the babies don’t like me, honey?” she asked him then. “That’s my worry. I’m scared that they won’t like me or they will be screaming when I touch them. What then?”
“They are going to adore you,” he told her, shaking his head. “Most children are very hypersensitive to everything in their surroundings and know instantly who is good people, who to trust, and who will adore them. They tend to get a little nervous around me though. The Wraith is just outside the normal spectrum for most of our kind to pick up, and by that I mean not human. Though it usually doesn’t upset them. Confuses them absolutely, upsets rarely.”
“All right. I believe you,” she said with a grin. “I trust you, Davyn. If you say that they will like me, then I’m going to believe you and believe in you,” she assured him. “I guess I’m just more than a lot nervous is all. I haven’t spent much time around babies in my life.”
“Well then you are in for a ride,” Aiden said as he opened the door with a grin. “Figured you two needed a second to clear things up before I popped this puppy, but I didn’t want you degrading down into making out on my porch. Get your asses in here and give some love to the little Dragon babies,” he told them, waving them in.
Dahlia grinned up at Aiden and shook her head. “Goodness gracious, I’m sure that Lina is appreciative of your sense of humor,” she teased. “But it’s okay. I wanna see me some Dragon babies please,” she assured him. “Please?”
“Talina loves me and my sense of humor. My sister-in-law, less so,” Aiden said honestly. “But that’s okay. Jackie isn’t here right now. Babies are to your left in the family room there, snacks and drinks are on the counter in the kitchen. Go on in. My mate has the little rascals corralled and is making a gorgeous fool of herself.”
Following his mate in at a slower pace, Davyn held up the bags. “More things for the wee ones,” he said. “Hopefully you don’t have four thousand of them already, but if you do, receipts are in the bags.”
“Thanks,” Aiden said, already peering into the bags as he shut the door. “Come on.” He led the way to the living room and grinned at Dahlia already down on the floor with the babies.
Dahlia didn’t have to be told twice. Moving into the room, she grinned when she watched Lina playing with the babies. “Need some help keeping them on the blanket and out of the fire?” she teased with a grin. “’Cause I would totally love to help you out.”
“Absolutely. Pop your rump down here and help me keep these little ones safely out of the fireplace. Little sillies want to play in the fire because someone”—she shot her husband a look—“and his twin thought it would be all kinds of fun to show the babies their fire.”
“What?” Aiden said, moving to her and passing her the bags from Davyn. “More goodies for our children, my love. I’ll let you open them while I remind you that both our children are Dragons, and more than likely our son will actually manifest as a full-blood. Besides, they will both have the same resistance as we do even if they don’t have the full bloodline of the Dragon, same as you, darling.”
Lina snorted. “Yeah, still wasn’t amusing at all when I came out and saw you boys blowing flames around my babies.”
Dahlia shuddered. “Well, I have to admit, that would seriously freak me out as well. No offense or anything, but yeah, that would seriously freak me out.”
Davyn and Aiden shared a look that clearly said “women!” Shaking his head, Aiden went to the kitchen and brought back bottles of water. Handing them out, he sat down on the floor near Talina. “What did they get our kids, babe?” he
asked his mate.
Pulling the goodies out of the bag, she gasped and said, “This is too much, Davyn.” She whispered and showed it to Aiden. “This is incredible.” The Fabergé egg was stunning. The stones on the outside of the egg were very, very clearly not costume or glass. They were very real. “Davyn, it’s beautiful, but really this is too much. You can’t give the babies something so incredible,” she whispered while watching the egg, turning it in her hands and trying to find the latch to release it to see what was inside.
“Sure I can,” he said with a shrug. “There’s a second one in there, too,” he told her and grinned. “They are nearly identical pieces, so they’ll have to choose which they prefer when they are older.” Reaching out, he showed her the release built into two jewels. Slowly, the egg opened to reveal a small dragon curled up sleeping. “The other one has the same dragon, but he, or she, is crouching and looks ready to pounce. Figured they were fitting.” He shrugged again. “I’ve had them for years but never bothered putting them out. Never even knew what made me have Fabergé create them really,” Davyn told Talina honestly. He had eight others, and he had a feeling it would be for his children and for another couple babies still to be born, likely the Wraith and his weird bits of knowledge.
“Oh wow,” Lina murmured quietly. “This is just.” She shook her head and then in a stunned voice asked, “You knew the man who created the Fabergé eggs? That’s like whoa crazy.” She looked down at her babies and grinned. “I can’t even begin to imagine how it was to know someone like that.”
As Amy began to teeter toward the flames, Dahlia caught her and pulled her into her lap. “Little darling, that is so not the place to be,” she told the little girl and tapped her nose with her fingertip. “While your daddy and your uncle and even your grandpa are really good at tossing flames, you really shouldn’t be around them, sweetheart.” She got a pout and laughed. “Oh I’m sure that you have your daddy and uncle wrapped around your finger with that look, but not me, sweetheart.”
Davyn just shrugged at Lina’s words. He’d been around awhile, but then so, too, had her mate and her father. They were long-lived folks. It was just part and parcel with who they were.
“Give it time,” Aiden said with a grin. “She gets everyone with that look eventually, even her hard-nosed mother on occasion. Besides, we had Quincy put a barrier around the fireplaces so that no one under the age of twenty can get at it,” he told Talina. “While my mate throws a fit every time they head for the fire, they actually can’t get hurt in it anyway. Annoyed, frustrated, and likely scream the place down, but they can’t get hurt.”
“And that is the part that kills me. I hate to hear my babies crying,” Lina said as she shot him a look. “Just like you hate hearing our babies crying. We both know that our babies crying is enough to tear our hearts out.”
“Oh I can only imagine. It would drive me nuts to hear my baby crying as well,” Dahlia told the three standing there and reached out again for a baby. “They are so perfect. I love these little ones.” She wanted one of her own. Only one though.
Grinning at his mate, Davyn looked down when he felt a hand on his knee. “Hello, Amelia,” he said, bending to pick her up. Settling her on his hip, he watched her watching him and felt the Wraith shift for a peek before settling back down.
Dahlia looked at Davyn holding Amy and couldn’t help but smile. “You look so good holding her,” she praised, “I’m so glad that we will be having a little girl, too,” she said with a smile. “Because you look so good holding her.” He was a natural. He was going to be an amazing father as well.
“You’re expecting?” Aiden asked in surprise and looked at her, his eyes shifting to those of the Dragon, and he frowned. “I’m obviously missing something here.”
“The pregnancy is in the first stages before stasis,” Davyn said quietly. “Wraith pregnancies are convoluted and bizarre, nothing like regular human pregnancies or changer ones.” Smiling at Amy, he chuckled when the little hand reached out to grab his nose. She was adorable. He couldn’t argue with that at all.
“Yeah, I’m the lucky one who will be pregnant for nearly a year and a half.” She teased with a smile. “So it will give us plenty of time to get used to having a baby.” Reaching out, she tickled the baby girl’s chin and reached for the little boy. “And gives us lots of time to spoil all of our little nieces and nephews.”
“And get a little advice and practice in,” Davyn said, moving to sit on an ottoman. Settling Amy on his knee, he had to grin at her confused look. “I’m not a changer, little darling,” he explained to her. “I’m something entirely different.”
Dahlia grinned at the look on the child’s face and then looked at Anthony. “He would never hurt your sister, my little man.” The look on the boy’s face was priceless. She could almost swear that if he could breathe fire, her bond-mate would have a burn right now. “He’s a very good man. Touch him, Tony, you will see,” she whispered to the little boy she held.
Moving closer to his mate, Davyn crouched down and grinned at the assessing look on Anthony’s face. “You have a thinker here, Lina,” he said. Reaching out, he ran a light finger down Tony’s face and let the Wraith stroke the baby, too, and watched his expression change to one of confusion.
Lina grinned. “He is at that. He’s constantly assessing everyone around him to determine if they are friend or foe. I swear at times I can hear his little mind working.” Reaching down, she stroked her fingers to her son’s head and then moved back and into Aiden’s arms. “He likes you though. Trust me, if he didn’t he would be screaming the house down.”
“He can’t figure me out any more than your daughter can.” Davyn chuckled softly. “That’s okay. You’ll love having me around come Halloween, little ones. I’m a rocking Halloween addition,” he said quietly.
Dahlia snickered. “Oh I can only imagine.” Sobering, she let him see her love for him and added, “But I rather love having you around no matter what time of year it is. I’m rather addicted to you, my Wraith mate.”
“That’s because you are biased, my love.” Davyn grinned at her and shifted Amy to her feet when she wiggled insistently. Watching her as she turned to look at him, he shook his head when she just pointed. “All right, I’m obviously missing something here. Why’s she pointing at me like that?” He looked to Lina and Aiden for an explanation.
Dahlia was the one who explained. “Honey, I think she wants to see you as Wraith. If I’m not mistaken, she’s likely seen her daddy as his Dragon and all the others in their shifter forms, and now she wants to see yours. She’s definitely a curious one.”
“Uh.” He shot a look to Amy’s parents. Aiden seemed curious, too, but Lina looked a little worried. “Okay,” he muttered with a frown at his mate. He wasn’t so sure this would go over well. “All right, little one, but you stay right there with Aunty Dahlia,” he said and stood to move a little ways away from the babies. Taking a breath, he let the Wraith up fully, and in one second to the next he went from solid man to the things of mythical nightmares. Shadows were pulled to him and darkened the room slowly. A faint wind kicked up out of nowhere to ruffle hair as he literally floated in the air in his Wraith form for a moment before he pushed it back down and was Davyn fully again.
Amy was laughing and clapping her hands, the sound of pure enjoyment and happiness making Dahlia smile as well. Winking at her bond-mate, she said, “I think that you have another fan, darling.” Dahlia was certainly a fan. They both knew that.
“Yeah, I think she liked the special effects,” Aiden said with a grin and grunted when his mate poked him. “Well I think she did, babe. I know I did. That was freakin’ awesome, dude. You are so going to be who we hang with at Halloween.”
Rolling his eyes, Davyn moved toward his mate and sat down on the ottoman again. “It takes a toll though,” he said with a grin at Amy, who held out her arms to him. Picking her up again, he settled her on his knee and took a drink of his water.
&nbs
p; Leaning against his knee, Dahlia looked up at him and smiled. “That just means that we will have to leave earlier than we normally would have, honey. We will just simply adjust our times is all.” Bouncing Tony on her lap, she smiled down at the little boy who was eyeing up Davyn with new interest and grinned. “Think you have another fan as well, sweet.”
“He’s probably trying to figure out how Dav did it,” Aiden said and tugged his mate with him to an armchair. Sitting, he pulled Talina into his lap and hugged her to him as they watched their babies interacting with “new” people.
“He is interested in knowing how everything works,” Lina confessed. “You should see him when daddy shifts in front of him. Or even more, Cinnamon. Oh heavens, when she changes, I swear that our little man here gets so giddy and practically floats himself.”
Frowning at her words for a moment as he tried piecing together what she meant, Davyn shook his head. “Obviously I’m not in the know on that one,” he said. “I’ve only ever seen her once and didn’t even meet her then. It was when she spoke of what Chaos was doing with the Vampires and the mates.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lina and Aiden shared a look and then Lina spoke. “Then that’s something for you to ask of them. Her secret is hers,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, just forget that I said anything about her, please?” Her father was uberprotective of Cinnamon, and it was as it should be. The woman was an angel, and pregnant with a baby that no one could get a true read on. Yeah, she should have kept her trap shut. “Now, how about dinner?”
Staring into her eyes for a time, Davyn nodded slowly and stood with a small grin. He could find out very easily if he wanted to, but he’d never break that trust with these people. Besides, he had an easier way to figure it out. Standing up, he lifted Amy in his arms. “Food sounds good.” Reaching down, he held out his hand to his mate.
Dahlia placed her hand in Davyn’s and let him pull her up. Grinning, she wrapped her arm around his middle and lay her head on his shoulder. I love you very much, Davyn. You are my everything, and one day when our daughter finally comes into being, you are going to be the best father that there ever was.
