“Well, I figure if he’s gonna be our daughter’s godfather I should make peace.”
“I didn’t have a chance to ask him,” Etti worried.
“Good, then we can ask him and Cali together when they meet our girl.”
Etti grinned. “I love it when you call her your girl.”
Grey’s heart swelled. “You’re both my girls and I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Grey finally pulled into the clinic lot. He dashed to the back seat and pulled Etti gently into his arms so he could carry her inside, but Cali was already rushing toward them with a wheelchair. Grey knelt down cradling Etti, wanting to cherish this last moment when it would be just the two of them. He kissed her softly. “I love you so much, babe.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
“You ready to meet our girl?” he asked.
Etti nodded.
“Me too.” Grey took her hand and squeezed. “I’ve got you. I’m gonna be right here with you the whole time.”
“I know.”
Cali reached them and Grey lowered Etti into the wheelchair.
“How’s everyone doing?” Cali asked.
“Good now that we’re here,” Etti replied trying to smile through the pain.
Cali grinned at them both. “Well let’s get this show on the road. It’s time to meet your daughter.”
Chapter 8
Etti
After three exhausting hours of the most grueling pain Etti ever experienced, she had her perfect baby girl in her arms. As she stared into Izzi’s steel grey eyes, Etti knew she would go through labor every single day if it meant she could finally hold her daughter.
Etti’s wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or happiness, but her whole body shivered while she cradled Izzi to her chest. Grey helped Etti support her, but she knew she didn’t need the help. She’d go to hell and back for this child. It was love at first sight and she knew she’d never let anything bring her daughter harm.
“She’s so beautiful,” Etti mused gazing at Izzi’s warm pink skin.
“She’s perfect, just like her mama,” Grey mused. He looked every bit as smitten as Etti was.
“She has your eyes,” Etti murmured, watching Izzi open and close her sleepy grey eyes.
“And your hair,” Grey added, running a finger over Izzi’s dark, peach fuzz.
Izzi’s hair was as soft as corn silk and Etti couldn’t stop nuzzling it. And she smelled like heaven. Did all babies smell this good? Why had no one bottled this scent? It was pure, sweet, joy. Maybe only Etti could love the scent of her child because she was her own creation—flesh and bone and love, shaped whole. It was like magic.
Grey slid into Etti’s large hospital bed and snuggled both of his girls to his side. Etti sighed blissfully, knowing in that one perfect moment, all was right in her world.
Wes
Cali had ordered Wes to give Etti and Grey a few hours to themselves to enjoy life as a little happy bubble of three. But after an hour he couldn’t contain himself. He didn’t care how many times Cali assured him that Etti was perfectly fine, he needed to see his best friend for himself.
He busted into the room with Cali hot on his heels. “Wes!” she scolded trying to pull him back.
But it was too late, Wes was already in the room. His eyes immediately went to Etti. She was resting soundly in her bed, with Grey standing by her side. Etti smiled at Wes and held up a finger to her lips, nodding to the tiny bundle in her arms.
Wes grinned and moved quietly across the room, eager to hug his best friend and meet her little girl. When he reached Etti’s side he planted a kiss on her forehead. “You okay?” he asked, looking her over like he expected her to be missing a limb or something.
“More than okay,” she murmured gazing at the baby in her arms.
Wes stared at the tiny pink face peeking out from the swaddling and his heart clenched in his chest. He’d never seen something so small or perfect. She looked like a sleeping angel.
“Do you want to hold her?” Etti asked.
Wes blinked up at his best friend in disbelief. “Can I?”
Etti nodded, still smiling proudly. “Just sit down first.”
Wes obliged and Grey came to Etti’s other side, placing his daughter gently in Wes’s arms. Wes nodded at Grey, the lump in his throat growing by the second. It was an extremely kind and trusting gesture for Grey to allow Wes to share in this moment. Their relationship had a rocky start, but when Grey placed his sleeping child into Wes’s arms, a feeling of mutual understanding and peace passed between them.
“Wes, I’d like you to meet Izzi Ellis West,” Etti said proudly.
Wes’s eyes flashed from the baby in his arms to Etti. “Ellis?” He whispered his own middle name in wonder.
“If it’s okay,” Etti replied. “I’d like Izzi to share her middle name with you?”
Tears pricked the corner of Wes’s dark, almond-shaped eyes. He was pretty sure his heart was about to burst out of his chest with pride. “It’s more than okay,” he managed to choke out.
Cali placed her hand on Wes’s shoulder and bent to look closer at the tiny miracle he held. “She’s so precious.”
“We’re glad you think so,” Grey said. “Because we have something important to ask you both.”
Wes and Cali turned their attention to Etti and Grey. Etti spoke first. “You both know that we have a difficult path ahead of us and there is real danger for us, so we don’t ask this question lightly. But if you’re willing to accept, Grey and I couldn’t ask for two better people to be our daughter’s godparents.”
Wes was stunned. He already felt an overwhelming love for the little angel in his arms and now he was being honored with the role of her godfather? He looked firmly at Grey and then to Etti. “I’d be honored.”
“Me too,” Cali squealed. She leaned over Wes, kissing her index finger, then placing it softly on Izzi’s forehead. “You are so loved, sweetheart. So loved.”
Chapter 9
Greyson
The days following his daughter’s birth were the happiest of Grey’s life. He spent them spoiling both his girls—cuddling and feeding Izzi, and showering Etti with affection and anything her heart desired. They didn’t leave the apartment for days and Grey was happy to stay in their bubble of bliss forever, but he knew everyone was getting anxious to meet Izzi. And he couldn’t blame them. It was selfish to hoard his adorable daughter. But he wanted to spend every second with her, nibbling her toes, singing her lullaby’s, and making a complete fool of himself just to see her smile.
It didn’t hurt that Etti seemed to be just as happy too. She hadn’t stopped smiling since Izzi was born. It was like their perfect little girl had somehow magically healed all the scars Etti bore on her soul. The happiness that radiated from Izzi was infectious. The only thing that made Grey happier than making his daughter smile was watching both his girls giggling at each other. His heart was full and he knew it was time to share it.
Grey’s mother had been begging to visit since they got home, but he held her off, wanting to have some time to adjust to being just the three of them. Of course Wes, Cali and Marc stopped by, but they were practically immediate family. Plus, they always came bearing gifts, like diapers and dinner.
Grey was currently watching Etti change Izzi from the doorway of her nursery. While they were in the hospital, Marc had painted a mural of wolves running through a moonlit forest on the nursery walls and Izzi loved gazing at the artwork.
“You wuv uncle Marc’s wolves, don’t you?” Etti asked in a soft, secret voice she saved only for Izzi. “Yes, you wuv them.” Etti kissed Izzi’s belly to make her giggle and Grey was sure his heart was glowing with joy.
“How are my girls?” he asked walking into the room. “Can I get you anything?”
“Hi, Dada!” Etti said waving Izzi’s tiny hand. “We’re perfect. How ‘bout you?”
“Perfect, too,” he said wrapping his arms around Etti once she scoope
d up Izzi. “But I was thinking, maybe it’s time to share this perfection with the rest of the people we love?”
Etti smiled. “Okay, I guess we can’t keep all this happiness bottled up forever, can we?” she said kissing Izzi’s rosy cheeks. “Even if I want to.”
“We don’t have to rush it,” Grey added, not wanting to push his mate into anything she wasn’t ready for. He knew how protective mothers were of their cubs.
“No, I’m ready,” she said. “I sorta can’t wait to see your family fall in love with Izzi.”
“My cousin Brooke wants to come, too, if that’s okay?”
“And you like this cousin?” Etti asked again. She’d been leery of Brooke ever since Grey mentioned her.
Grey smirked. “Yes, mama bear. She’s my only cousin. She spent every summer with us growing up. She’s a good person. You can trust her around Izzi. Plus, it’s always good to have another shifter on our side.”
“True. I guess it’s okay. It’s just I’ve never heard you talk about Brooke before.”
“She moved away for college and after that she’s been traveling the world studying art. We don’t get to see each other as much as we used to.”
“Fine,” Etti agreed. “But I want to meet her first.”
“Deal! Thanks, babe.” Grey gave Etti a quick kiss. “I’ll give everyone a call and work out the arrangements.” Grey paused before he left the room. He knew he should probably leave well enough alone, but they couldn’t avoid the issue forever. “And what do you want me to tell your father?” he asked.
Anger flashed in Etti’s eyes. It was quick, and Etti tamped it down for Izzi’s sake, but Grey had seen it.
“I haven’t changed my mind,” she said quietly.
Grey nodded and left the room knowing he couldn’t push Etti about this.
Etti
Etti had enough to worry about without concerning herself with her parents. They had treated her like crap for twenty-six years. So it was hard for her to feel bad for them. Her father asked to meet Izzi two days ago. Etti wasn’t sure how he’d found out she’d given birth, but she knew she couldn’t keep Izzi a secret forever.
Etti was open to letting her father meet Izzi, but not her mother. Grey kept trying to convince her otherwise, especially since they still needed her mother’s help to figure out how to contact Esme. But Etti wasn’t budging. They planned to go back to New Orleans as soon as Izzi was old enough to travel. Etti had been figuring things out on her own her whole life. She didn’t need her parents then, so she wasn’t going to start needing them now.
Plus, she had Grey. And he convinced her they could do anything together. Etti just needed to get through a few more days of showing off Izzi to Grey’s family and then they’d be on their way to New Orleans to figure out how to protect Izzi from the hunt once and for all.
The hunt had been surprisingly quiet lately. Etti had assumed they would try something after her daughter’s arrival. But Cali and Wes had been working with the Wolfes, the shifter clan in charge of the area, and there were no sightings or rumors about them since Derik’s attack at Etti’s baby shower.
The silence was unnerving, but Etti was doing her best to worry less and just enjoy every moment. She knew Izzi could sense her moods, and worry wouldn’t do either of them any good.
She decided to focus on the upcoming visit with Grey’s family. She needed to clean the apartment a bit. It had turned into a wasteland of baby things and takeout containers in the past week.
Etti slipped Izzi into her baby sling so she could keep her near her while she worked. She knew she was going down a dangerous road of helicopter parenting, but if anyone gave her any grief she’d ask them when the last time their children were being hunted by shifters and witches.
“That outta keep ‘em quiet, right baby girl?” Etti asked smiling down at Izzi, who only cooed in response. “That’s right. We don’t care what anyone else says. It’s you, me and Dada against the world.”
Chapter 10
Greyson
Grey was pretty sure he’d died and gone to heaven. His family had arrived three days ago and immediately fallen in love with Izzi, just as he knew they would. But better yet, Etti was still in a fantastic mood and getting along with his family. She and his mother, Sarah, had seemingly buried their differences from their first meeting. Etti even asked Sarah for parenting advice.
And Etti warmed up to Brooke right away. Grey’s shy cousin had a way of putting people at ease and Etti seemed to enjoy her company. The two of them bonded over coffee while admiring each other’s tattoos and talking art. Etti even let Brooke hold Izzi on the first day they met.
Another perk of having Brooke and his mother around was that they were neat-freaks. The two of them kept the apartment spotless and the fridge stocked.
Wes and Cali had made themselves scarce, letting Grey’s family get their time with Izzi, but Marc had suddenly become a fixture in their apartment. Ever since Etti gave Brooke a tour of the Painted Wolf, Marc had been following Brooke around like a lost puppy. It was quite funny actually, because Brooke was completely out of his league.
She grew up in Manhattan and attended Harvard before traveling the world to study art history. Grey could tell right away that Marc was into her. She looked exactly like the curvy pinup girls he’d painted in the lobby of the Painted Wolf. She always wore heels, trendy glasses and sophisticated dresses. Besides their shared affinity for pinup fashion, the only thing Brooke and the pale tattoo artist had in common was their love of ink.
But Brooke’s tattoos were all subtle and hidden, where as Marc’s practically screamed at you to look at them. His colorful tattoos covered every inch of visible skin except for his face. But his face, while handsome, was full of piercings. Grey didn’t know what kind of men his cousin usually dated, but he had a hunch it wasn’t Marc.
He almost felt bad for the guy, but stranger things had happened. When Grey first saw Etti, he’d thought she was incredible sexy and way out of his league too. Grey left Marc drooling over Brooke and walked to the kitchen to find a drink. He grabbed a six-pack of beer from the fridge and handed one to Ethan, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“I won’t tell mom if you don’t,” Grey teased.
“Deal,” Ethan said, following Grey onto the tiny balcony off the back of the kitchen.
They both sat outside savoring their drinks in the cool night air. Grey was really enjoying having his brother around. He loved his girls more than life itself, but he was craving some extra testosterone these days. And though Ethan was only seventeen, he’d always been an old soul, and one of Grey’s favorite people to talk to.
“So,” Ethan started. “You’re a dad now.”
Grey chuckled. “Yeah.”
“What’s that like?” The question was light enough, but Grey knew it was loaded. Ethan had been a baby when their own father died.
“It’s great, E. Honestly, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’re good at it.”
“How do you know?”
“I know I don’t have a point of reference,” Ethan said softly. “But I can tell. You seem . . . happy.”
Grey grinned. “Thanks. I am happy. And I hope you get to experience love and fatherhood someday.”
Ethan smiled. “Me too, but let’s not rush.” He held up his beer. “I’m not even old enough to have one of these yet.”
“True,” Grey said, clinking his bottle against Ethan’s. “To the way, way future, then.”
Grey and Ethan sat side-by-side in silence after they drained their beers. “What about the immediate future?” Ethan asked. “What are you and Etti gonna do about the hunt?”
Grey scratched the stubble on his chin. “I don’t know, E.”
After Derik’s attack at the baby shower, Grey had come clean about his Alpha gene to Etti and the rest of his family. His mother hadn’t been surprised, admitting Grey’s father was an Alpha too. The Alpha gene added even more of a
target to Grey’s infant daughter. Izzi had not only inherited Grey’s genes, but also his curse. Izzi was heir to the hunt’s throne and once she was of age, she would be able to contest Derik for control. Of course Grey planned to end Derik long before it ever came to that. But the pressure weighed heavily on him.
“Mom says you’re going back to New Orleans,” Ethan pressed. “Why?”
“We have a lead in New Orleans, but it’s not very solid. And even if we find the person who might be willing to help us, I’m not sure if we can trust her.”
Ethan was silent, pondering Grey’s words. “What would Dad have done if he were in this situation?”
Grey’s heart squeezed, thinking about his father. “He would have gone to the end of the earth to protect us. Tracked down every living soul with the power to help and forced them to, no matter what the cost to himself.”
Ethan nodded. “Then it looks like you have your answer.”
Grey patted his brother on the back, smiling. “Are you sure you’re not older than me?”
“Yep. But that doesn’t mean I’m not wiser,” Ethan said reaching for another beer.
Grey knocked his hand away. “I can still teach you a thing or two. Like go easy on the beer, junior. And don’t let Mom catch you or she’ll lay into both of us.”
Etti
Etti was sitting on the couch with Izzi on her lap while Sarah and Brooke babbled baby-talk. At first, Etti didn’t think she’d like having all of Grey’s family around, or having to share Izzi with so many people. But she found the opposite to be true.
Perhaps it was because Etti had never had a real family before. It had always been her and Wes against the world. But Grey’s family was kind and helpful and full of love. They didn’t judge or pressure Etti. They simply loved her and Izzi like they’d always been a part of their family.
And the way they loved Izzi took Etti’s breath away. Etti couldn’t believe she’d wanted to hoard her daughter’s love all for herself. Now that she was sharing Izzi with others that loved her, it only made the love Etti felt for her daughter grow.
Sassy Ever After: Sassy Ink 3: The Hunter's Curse (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
