Burning (30 page)

"You better sit," she said quietly. 

I moved us to the sitting area and pulled her down next to me.  "Leah, baby, tell me what's wrong.  What can I do?" 

"Nothing's wrong," she began.  I looked at her pale complexion and obvious discomfort.  She shook her head at my skeptical expression.  "Really, I'm perfectly healthy.  But..." she trailed off, fidgeting.

"But..." I
encouraged her to continue. 

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out.
 

My mouth fell open and I sucked in a breath I didn't need.  How could this be?  "Are you sure?" I asked, daring not to hope. 

She nodded several times.  "Jo, Chloë, and Anita took me to the store today after I threw up in the bushes outside the coffee place Chloë and Anita like.  We bought three pregnancy tests, and they were all positive."

"How do you feel about this?" I asked. 
Please be happy,
I silently begged. 

She cocked her head to the side and thought for an uncomfortably long time. 
Dammit, she was scared.  What kind of baby would a vampire sire?  Of course she wasn't okay with this.

"I can see the wheels turning in there.  Stop.  I'm shocked and a little scared because I'm only nineteen, but I'm mostly happy," she finally said. 

"I didn't think about how young you are.  Of course this must be a shock.  But you, I mean… You want the baby, right?" I asked nervously.

She smiled at me, and I felt young again. 
"I've never wanted anything more than our family.  You and this baby are all I'll ever want or need." 

With those words
, the millennium I'd lived fell away.  For the first time since the end of my human life, I felt like I was living and not just existing. 

Leah
’s coming into my life had been a surprise.  I’d never expected to find the other half of my soul.  Honestly, I hadn't been sure I still had a soul until I’d felt it stir with the news that I was going to be a father. 

She started to
nod off while sitting on the couch.  I lifted her up and tucked her into our bed.  Within moments, she was sleeping, curled up to my body.  I brushed her ink-black hair away from her heart-shaped face and felt hopeful for the first time in ages. 

It wouldn't always be peaceful.  Our coven was bound to be
tested again, but this moment was perfect.  There would be fear and ignorant hatred directed at my family.  My child was something never before seen in our world, and that would spark a reaction.  None of that mattered right now, because right now, I had my woman safe by my side and our future growing inside her.

I was filled with lightness that I
didn’t remember ever feeling and simultaneously with more worry than I'd ever felt.  I wouldn't let the worry win out.  My coven might bring an unusual amount of obligation and violence into my life, but there was also no stronger group of people to surround my child with. 

The Central Coven was no longer just a group thrown together by the
Council's
desire for the ultimate weapon.  The eight of us had become a family, one I would be happy to raise my child with.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on listening harder than I ever had before.  I heard the soft inhale and exhale of Leah sleeping soundly.  I heard the strong
, steady rhythm of her heart, and finally, I heard the fast thrumming of another heartbeat.  Focusing only on that sound, I too drifted off.

Finn

I walked outside and found Chloë leaning against one of the posts on the porch, watching the sun set.  I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her, and watched as the sky seemed to catch fire before the sun finally slipped behind the trees. 

"Is Dean still pissed?" she asked. 

I shook my head and realized that she couldn't see me.  "I think he's confused.  They've never really argued before.  It scares him."

"Are you out here to find out what we didn't tell you earlier?  You only have to wait a little bit longer.  It's almost dark now," she said
, lifting her chin to the sky. 

"No, I came out here for this," I said and squeezed her tighter. 

"Who would have thought we would be the mature ones?" she giggled.

The thundering of feet vibrated through the house followed by a feminine screech and giggling. 

"What was that?" she asked, looking back at the house, confused. 

I chuckled at her innocent question. 
"That was the best part of a fight," I said, smirking.  She scrunched up her face in confusion.  "Make-up sex.  My guess? Dean just chased Anita upstairs," I clarified.

"Maybe I don't want to be the mature ones," she said, her eyes briefly
flashing green. 

I kissed her forehead.  "You can pick a fight with me later.  I see one of Grey's cars coming down the drive."

I watched Grey get out of the car and instantly appear at the passenger’s side.  He opened the door and carefully helped Leah out.  It was like he thought she was made of glass.  I'd seen the girl in battle.  She was fierce.  His treatment of her confused me.

Well, for a second at least, until the scent of her
pheromones reached me.  "Holy shit!" I exclaimed.  I pulled Chloë closer against me.  She could feel the effect it had on me.

"I haven't picked a fight with you yet," she whispered huskily. 

I dragged my nose across her skin, replacing the scent with the smell of Chloë.  "You don't smell that?  It smells like sunshine, flowers, and rain.  It smells like—" 

"Spring," she interrupted
. "Like life." 

"Exactly.  So who goes to get Dean and Anita?" I asked. 

"Ugh.  Let's give them a few more minutes," she suggested.

Cooper and Jo walked down the path from the garage apartment.  Cooper froze halfway to the house, and his eyes changed for a split second.
  "Shit," he muttered before releasing a booming laugh that echoed off the trees.  He picked up Jo and spun her in a circle. "Can it be our turn next?" he whispered loudly. 

"You want a baby?" she asked quietly.  Cooper grinned and nodded enthusiastically.  "Okay," she agreed
, smiling. 

Cooper picked her up and draped her over his shoulder.  "Fill us in later!" he shouted. 

Dean and Anita came down the stairs.  I watched as the pheromones hit Dean.  A low rumble started in his chest, and he buried his face in Anita's neck.

"They can smell it
, can't they?" Anita asked. 

Chloë simply nodded.  No one made a move to go inside.  If Leah's pregnancy
affected this strongly outside, confined space was probably a bad idea.

Grey looked happy.  He watched Leah with reverence.  I looked at Chloë and realized
that she was studying me.

"They look happy," she said
, smiling. 

I couldn't help myself.  I placed my hands on either side of her face and kissed her long and deep.  I knew she was mine
—mostly.  I had a lingering fear that a small part of her heart would always belong to Grey.  Her pure joy for them showed me that she was mine completely.

"You aren't going to tell me you want a baby now
, are you?  Because I am so not ready for that," she said against my lips. 

I laughed.  "You won't even marry me yet.  No, let's graduate and get married before we have any kids."

Anita elbowed Dean in the gut.  "Don't you get any ideas either." 

"How about after we graduate?" he suggested. 

"If we survive college, then we'll talk," she answered.

"I haven't given up on at least one normal year of college yet," Chloë said, looking at the stars. 

"Chlo?" Anita asked.  We could all tell that she knew something was coming.

I
’d assumed when I’d come out and seen her looking at the sky that she was thinking about Leah and Grey.  But she was still tense.

Grey kissed the side of Leah's head.  "Why don't you go get something to eat and relax?  Until we find a doctor
, I don't want you to expose yourself to stress."

Leah looked at the five of us and headed into the house.  She probably thought Grey was being overprotective, and he was, but I
would be the same with Chloë.  When the door closed, we all turned to look at Chloë.

She opened her hand and a mist of green, blue, and purple swirled until the end of a peacock feather rested in her hand.

Chloë

I watched as they stared at the object I couldn't stop obsessing over.
  Images of a mountain palace and temples flashed over and over in my mind every time I looked at it. 

"This is an invitation and a warning," I said, still entranced by the feather.

"Chloë," Finn said, breaking the thrall I was under. 

I flicked my hand and sent it away in a swirling cloud of colorful mist.  "There is a group of witches and wizards that have become dissatisfied with the council.  Hell, they're probably unhappy with everything," I began, relaying the vision I
’d seen in the eye of the feather.

I continued
. "This afternoon, their psychic saw Grey's child in a vision.  I received the feather from my great-grandmother. You may know her as Hera."  There were so many thoughts in my head that I wasn't surprised to see confusion on their faces.  I wasn't explaining it well enough.  I wasn't even sure I completely understood everything I’d seen.

"The queen of the gods?" Anita guessed. 

I nodded.  One glance at Grey confirmed that he was figuring out what I was trying, badly, to explain. 

His jaw clenched, and the deadly aura he usually kept hidden emerged full force.  "They think this coven, and specifically my child
, go against the natural order, don't they?  Are you suggesting that they are coming after my family?"

I shook my head.  "Fortunately
, they are very curious about your child.  They, however, don't like the idea of us creating more powerful races, especially if they don't have the control.  They aren't coming for you. They want me."

Lightning flashed out of the clear night sky.  Finn's eyes glowed brighter than I'd ever seen them.
 

"Let's not worry about it.  After all
, I come with my own Zeus," I said, trying to lighten the mood.  It didn't work. 

"What are we going to do?" Anita asked.

"We are going to train.  We will infiltrate them and destroy them from the inside," I vowed. 

"It's never going to end, is it?" Anita asked.

I shrugged.  I honestly didn't know.  I hoped for peace, to be left alone.  I just didn't really believe it would happen.

"What if they set themselves up as gods before we're ready?" Dean asked. 

"The gods overthrew the Titans and they were cursed and turned into stone," Grey commented. 

"This is going to lead to war," Dean commented.   

Again, I nodded.  "I believe you are right." 

"We need to get in front of it this time.  We end the threat decisively and show the rest that challenging us is futile.  And if we have to
, we rule them all," Finn seethed. 

I kissed his cheek.  "Spoken like a king."

"This might be our lives now.  And if it is, so be it.  As long as we have each other, it will still be a good life."

I looked at all of them and felt Finn's warmth behind me.  This was my family.  "I'm not taking orders from the council anymore.  My
mother wants to be with my father.  Trust me. She won't mind.  Tomorrow, Grey, you are going to take over the
Watchers
."

I took a deep breath and exhaled out the tension.  "That's tomorrow.  If this is our lives
, we have to remember to live.  Not wait for tomorrow. Not hold out for the calm in the storm.  If we learn nothing else from Bridgett's death, we should learn that even our lives could be short.  We have to live now." I looked Finn up and down.  "If you'll excuse us, Finn left his dirty laundry on the floor again."

  Dean, Anita, and Grey
looked at us with matching puzzled expressions. 

Finn smirked at me and cocked his eyebrow.  "Are you picking a fight with me?"

I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing.  I nodded and slid my hand up his chest.  His eyes were all blue flame, showing me that there was more than one way to burn.

I didn't know what the future held for us.  There would probably be more fighting, more treachery, and more obligations to the supernatural world.  That was my life. 
I'd finally accepted it, and now I was going to live it.  I couldn't think of a better place to start than in the arms of the man I loved.

The End