Lucas scowled, but before he could reply, Marion placed her hand over his and spoke in her liquid French voice, “Mon cher... let Avril go. She has been waiting for this.”
“Come on, you old curmudgeon.” Claudia piled on.
Lucas grumbled incoherently, a scowl still set on his face, before heaving a sigh. He knew he’d lost the argument before it even started—GASP’s ethos was to encourage its young recruits to face danger and develop their skills and bravery—but I couldn’t exactly blame my great-uncle for being overprotective of his children, given the trauma he had gone through during all those years in The Underworld.
“All right, then! We have Scarlett Hendry-Novak and Avril Dupont-Novak, the Bullet and the Hound Dog.” Field smiled. “Do we have anyone else we’d like to put forward now, off the top of our heads?”
Yelena and Benedict exchanged glances, nodding briefly. Benedict raised his hand.
“Yeah… If Scarlett and Avril are going, Fiona will kill me if I don’t drop in her name,” he said with a grin.
“Our girl is strong,” Yelena announced loudly, reminding me so much of Fiona in that moment, with her vivid auburn hair.
“Okay, so we have three vampires put forward,” Field said, then glanced around the table again. “Who else?”
“Aida, you should definitely go.” Serena winked at me. “You’ve wanted to go on a field mission since they erected the base here!”
“Nah… it’s okay.” I feigned a lack of interest. “Let the younglings go. They need the experience more than I do.”
“Younglings? What does that make you, then?” Hansa scoffed. “Or me, for that matter?”
“What’s up, Sis?” Jovi chimed in with a grin. “Thought you’d be the first with your hand up!”
They were cornering me now, making me blush. I glanced at Field, who gave me a reassuring smile and nod. I exhaled slowly.
“I can’t go,” I replied. “I’ll be a bit… busy.”
“Doing what? Calling the rest of us ‘old’?” Hansa smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Nah, I’ll be busy with… this baby that Field and I are going to have,” I shot back, beaming as I placed my hands on my belly.
All of a sudden, silence engulfed the room. Everyone stared, stuck somewhere between shock and exhilaration. Field dropped a short, sweet kiss on my temple, spreading warmth through my body. I wasn’t showing yet, but I’d taken a pregnancy test the night before, and I’d already broken the news to him.
Field was over the moon. Due to his unusual genetic makeup—half Hawk and half… half-blood—we hadn’t even been sure if he was fertile, but it seemed his Hawk genes overpowered his vampire ones. He was terrified of the prospect of being a dad, just like I was of being a mom, but so genuinely happy and excited, it made my heart swell in my chest.
My mom, Grandma Vivienne, and River were the first to squeal with sheer joy and jump out of their seats, followed closely by Serena and Vita. They all came around the table and hugged me, without bothering to wait for me to get up. My dad, Jovi, and Grandpa Xavier also huddled around me and showered me with affection and congratulations. I laughed, feeling tears brimming in my eyes as they covered me with kisses.
“You’re going to make me a grandmother so soon?” Mom croaked, getting emotional even as she laughed. “I can’t wait!”
“Well, our family just keeps growing!” Grandma Vivienne enthused as my grandpa dropped a tender kiss on her temple, then another one on mine.
“Oh, my days, I can’t believe it!” Serena squealed.
“Congratulations, honey!” Vita beamed at me. “Wow, this… this is amazing!”
“And scary.” I chuckled. “But yeah, ‘amazing’ would be a good way to describe it.”
“It’s surreal!” Serena added. “I am so… so happy for you! For the both of you!”
“I’m way too young to be a great-grandfather!” Grandpa Xavier quipped, then gave me a soft look. “But I promise I will be the best out of all the old goats in The Shade!”
“Who are you calling an old goat?” Derek asked, slapping him on the back.
“It’s Mr. Old Goat to you, sonny.” Sofia raised an eyebrow at Xavier, then gave Derek a nudge.
“Well, this will give all you ‘old goats’ more stuff to talk about, won’t it?” I chuckled. Field moved closer and hugged me, glowing with love and pride.
“That’s right, honey,” Grandpa Xavier replied. “It also gives your grandma and me another reason to visit you kids more often.”
Jovi muscled his way through the fray and took Field’s place in hugging me. I could feel his whole body trembling with emotion. “Leave it to Aida to knock the air out of my lungs and make me a freakin’ uncle!” He sighed, his face buried in my hair.
I squeezed his shoulders, then pulled back so I could look at him, and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of manly tears glazing his eyes. I kissed both his cheeks, and he gave me a sheepish smile.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before,” I said, pressing my lips together to avoid another outburst.
“Well, I don’t want you to see me cry again, so don’t go making too many mini-you’s!”
Field doubled over, and laughter erupted around the room. Then Derek and Sofia took their turns hugging both Field and me.
“Congratulations, kids,” Derek said gently. “This is a challenge to which I’m sure you will both rise with great skill and determination.”
“Wow, Great-Gramps, you make it sound like they’re about to build a rocket ship or something.” Serena chuckled.
“Oh, honey.” Derek shook his head with an amused expression. “I look forward to the day you have your own, then. You’ll find building rocket ships to be much easier.”
He shot glances at Ben and Rose, who smiled guiltily.
“Okay, now you’re scaring me,” I joked, putting on a serious face, while Field put his arm around my shoulders again.
“Don’t be scared,” Hansa interjected from the side with a warm smile. “I’ve had children of my own, and I’ve raised many of my Red Tribe succubi as if I’d brought them into the world myself, and, I must say, there is nothing more rewarding or beautiful than being able to gift amazing new creatures to the world. Nothing more exciting than imparting your knowledge, your wisdom, only to see them grow up and become great people. You’re in for quite a treat, Aida. Sure, there will be sleepless nights, and oh, so much fear about your child’s safety, but, in the end, you will look back and not want to have it any other way.”
Hansa left me speechless. I’d nearly forgotten about her family, the many sisters and daughters she’d lost when the Red Tribe was slaughtered by Sluaghs and Destroyers—mainly because she didn’t like to talk about it. She was fortunate to find Izora, her youngest, alive and well after the war was over. I swallowed back tears as I moved over and hugged her, whispering a “thank you” in her ear. She responded by holding me tight and leaning her head against mine.
I noticed Jax’s jade eyes darken as they settled on Hansa, a mixture of longing and softness in them that I hadn’t seen in him since she’d nearly died on Luceria’s platform, more than three months ago. I wondered if she’d noticed this look on Jax’s face before.
“I know the two of you will be wonderful parents,” Hansa added, taking my face in her hands, her emerald-gold gaze darting between Field and me. “You’ll make a good father, Hawk. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You had enough guts to take on an army of Destroyers, my friend—a baby won’t bring you down, either!”
More laughter erupted from our group. I wiped my wet eyes and smiled at my husband.
“She’s right, Field,” I said. “I know we talked about this last night, too, but I feel like I need to say it again, babe. You’ve been sort of raising all these supernaturals here in GASP, too. You’re patient and strong and have morals that would put anyone to shame, and I couldn’t have picked a better father for my child…”
His gaze s
oftened, and I lost myself in his turquoise eyes for a moment, before Jax cleared his throat, having resumed his cool, unyielding posture. The warmth I’d just seen in the Eritopian vampire was gone, replaced by features seemingly carved out of stone, his eyes opaque and filled with secrets he didn’t wish to share.
“While I’d like nothing more than to further engage in this beautiful celebratory moment,” he said, “I’d like to go back to training our recruits, and make some assessments as to which of them would be fit for a mission on Tenebris. I think it’s the best way to move forward with this, instead of sitting around a table and thinking of people to nominate.”
Hansa gave him a frown. He completely ignored her, but she didn’t pursue it. It made me curious, since I would’ve expected her to be the first to give him a snappy comeback. I’d never seen her so reserved before; it wasn’t like her.
“Jax is right,” Derek said, patting Field’s shoulder. “Let’s adjourn this meeting for now and reconvene later this week to make our picks. We don’t want to rush into this, and we do need a few days to properly screen all the recruits.”
“And besides, we’ve got a wedding in, what, three days?” I smiled, glancing at Jovi and Anjani. “I mean, we could hold another meeting afterwards and get the wheels in motion, right?”
I was given nods and hums in response, which pretty much settled it.
“Okay then,” Field said. “We might as well start checking our recruits today. Meeting adjourned, and thank you all for coming!”
The council began to scatter, with Vita and Serena moving to talk to Anjani and Jovi, while Draven, Field, and Bijarki followed Derek outside. Jax stayed behind with Lucas, catching up, occasionally glancing around the room. The rest of our family was slowly trickling out of the room, but Mom, Grandma Vivienne, and River were still hovering around me, with eyes wide and full of joy.
I hugged and kissed them all again, then politely excused myself for a moment.
I swiftly took Hansa aside for a quick chat.
“Are you okay, Aida?” she asked, seeming alarmed by my suddenly serious expression.
“What? No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, just queasy every five minutes or so.” I shrugged, hoping I wouldn’t get all lightheaded again like earlier this morning. “You—it’s you I’m worried about. What’s up?”
She blinked several times, apparently confused by my question.
“What do you mean?”
“You and Jax. What’s going on there?”
She immediately blushed in her succubus way, her face lighting up like a star. She shook her head and regained her composure, gaping at me with wide eyes.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, prompting me to roll my eyes at her endearing attempt to deny that there was anything going on between her and the Lord of Maras.
“Come on, Hansa.” I scoffed. “There’s been tension between the two of you since our battle with Azazel, and it’s weird because, despite your thorny little back-and-forth’s, you and Jax had an interesting chemistry going on. What happened?”
It took her half a minute to concede and let a long, heavy sigh roll out of her chest. She briefly glanced at Jax across the room. Their eyes met, but he immediately switched his gaze to Lucas.
“I don’t know, Aida,” she said slowly. “It’s all changed since the war ended... He’s been keeping his distance, and certainly doesn’t want to talk about it. I’ve asked him what’s wrong, but he just changes the subject and walks away, like he’s avoiding me. I’m pretty sure he’s even mind-bent me a couple of times just to get me to stop asking, but I can’t exactly prove it since he’s so good at it…”
“And how do you feel about it?” I asked.
“Not that great, I’ll be honest. I mean, he’s all cold and stoic and irritatingly dismissive, while I’m struggling with feelings I haven’t experienced in a long time… and certainly not with this much intensity. I never thought I’d feel this way, and yet, here I am. The more he pushes me away, the more I need to see him. It doesn’t go well with my nature. It frustrates the hell out of me to be so attracted to someone, so vulnerable, but I can’t do anything about it, either.”
I was determined to think this over and try to come up with a viable solution for her. I really wanted to help. I didn’t like seeing her like this, and I knew, for a fact, that she didn’t deserve to be given the cold shoulder—especially not after I’d seen Jax unravel the way he had when Hansa was dying in his arms.
“There’s nothing you can do, little pup.” Hansa gave me a warm half-smile, resting a hand on my shoulder. It was as if she’d read my mind. Or my face—I was recklessly transparent by nature. “You’ve got a bun in the oven to worry about now. Besides, I’m a former tribe chief. I crush my enemies with my bare hands—or thighs, on occasion. Getting myself hung up on a Mara won’t last forever. I will get over it.”
Her bluntness made me laugh, and her strength and ferocity left me speechless. I gawked at her for a second, wishing to memorize every single thing about Hansa that made me want to worship her, in hopes that, should my baby turn out to be a girl, I’d be able to instill the same values into her.
I would certainly love raising a half-Hawk, half-wolf girl with Hansa’s attitude. She’d be breaking oh so many barriers…
Jovi
After the eventful GASP council meeting at our Mount Zur base, I called out some of our recruits for a training session on the Plateau—a name we’d given to one of our biggest practice spaces, as it occupied the entire northwestern platform and somehow broke from the cluster of limestone boxes that formed our base.
It was a semi-open space facility, with thick, square pillars that supported the stone roof. There were no windows or walls, but Aida had set up a swamp witches’ spell around the training area to prevent recruits from falling over and breaking their necks—an invisible barrier of sorts that acted like an elastic membrane and pushed the fighters back inside, since there weren’t any walls other than the one linked to the rest of the base. The ground was solid dirt, covered in short red grass that cushioned the harder landings. There were obstacle courses set in the middle, designed for army-like training, complete with ropes, wooden pillars and barriers, hay bales, and metal structures for climbing and fighting above the ground.
I moved to the middle of the Plateau, surrounded by Avril, Scarlett, and Fiona. Harper Hellswan and Caia Conway were also present, standing next to Serena and Vita, along with Hansa and Anjani. I was still getting used to looking at Harper and Caia, as they both resembled their sisters a little too much for my comfort.
Harper had taken a little more from Tejus’s facial features, but she was tall and athletic, just like Serena, with long black hair, blue-green eyes, and broad hips and shoulders. She was in her second year as a vampire sentry and had demonstrated incredible self-control, given her young age. I usually referred to her as the Cucumber, mainly because she was as cool as one, almost never showing emotions or signs of panic—in that aspect, she and Serena were very different. Nevertheless, her devotion to GASP, her friends, and her family was impressive. I almost felt sorry for anyone who might try to hurt her or her loved ones.
Caia was petite and spunky, just like Vita, with medium-length pale blonde hair and bright green eyes with a hint of teal. Grace and Lawrence had some fertility problems, and had enlisted Corrine’s magic to help them conceive—back when they couldn’t remember Vita. Whatever spell Corrine had performed, not only had it helped bring Caia into the world, but it had also gifted her with strong fire fae abilities. It had taken Vita many years to summon her first flames, whereas to Caia they had come as naturally as breathing. All in all, Caia was not one of the best fighters in GASP where physical combat was concerned, but the things that girl could do with fire had already left me speechless.
Field and Draven were on the far end, giving instructions to some of our male recruits, including Blaze, Heath’s son and an eminent fire dragon. Heath had married Athena after his peri
od of celibacy had come to an end—she was a full female fire dragon he came upon in the supernatural dimension—and they’d introduced their son Blaze to GASP at the green age of six. From what my dad had told me, Blaze was a terrific fighter and, most importantly, could transform into a full dragon thanks to his mother’s genes. He was also highly skilled in his use of fire, which was one of the reasons he’d recently been reassigned to the Eritopian base. Most of the female recruits in our base seemed to have a soft spot for the guy—taking a lot after his father, Blaze stood tall, with navy-blue eyes, short dark hair, and rugged good looks mounted on a broad frame with solid muscle mass. Of course, said female recruits were also disappointed to find out that, like Heath in his early days, Blaze had taken a celibacy vow until the age of twenty-three. I could practically hear their brains counting the years, months, and days until it was over.
It hadn’t taken the young fire dragon long to make new friends; he and Heron, Jax’s brother, soon became inseparable. Heron Dorchadas, also present and currently grimacing at his brother’s instructions, was an impressive specimen, as far as Eritopian vampires were concerned. The Mara was tall, dark, and handsome as hell—even I had to give nature credit for the gifts it had bestowed upon him. He shared many of his brother’s facial features, with black hair in a permanent bedhead tousle, jade eyes, and a nose worthy of Roman emperor busts, but he was slightly more slender than Jax, with toned muscles, broad shoulders, and long legs. The ladies, both Shadian and Eritopian, loved and hated him at the same time—sure, he whipped up a charming smile with ease, but his penchant for crude jokes nearly got him slapped a couple of times, and, in at least one instance, nearly set on fire (Caia did not mess around).
I turned my attention back to the Shadian females surrounding me, carefully analyzing each one as I noticed how comfortable they’d all gotten with their new lives in Eritopia. Hansa had taken a particular liking to Fiona, mostly because of her strength—she was another “warrior with deadly thighs”, so it didn’t come as a surprise that they’d gotten close. Fiona had inherited Yelena’s auburn hair, keeping it cut below the ears. Her eyes were the color of molten amber, and her physique didn’t exactly match her titanic strength. Sure, the athletic frame was visible, but she was almost two heads shorter than me, petite, with an overall sweetness that made each of her punches a devastating surprise.
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