by Toby Wise
“Just thinking about how much I love you.”
Yasha’s mouth opens and closes, his pretty aqua eyes huge. And that’s when it hits me. Oh fuck. That’s not at all what I meant to say. Fuck. I can’t believe I just said that for the first time like this, in front of our clan.
“Oh,” Yasha breathes, his face merging into something fond and soft. He tugs on my shirt until I follow his lead and get up on the couch beside him. He touches my cheek gently before leaning in to kiss my lips. It’s achingly soft and I can feel his affection with this one kiss. “I love you, too.”
I smile against his lips, unable to stop it even if I wanted to. Not that I would. Yasha makes me feel things I’ve never even dreamed of feeling. When I was turned, the realization that I now had forever was terrifying and I didn’t wanna think about falling in love, knowing they’d leave me too soon. But now everything is different. Now I have someone who’ll be by my side for as long as we both live. Forever.
My ears pick up my name and I sit back, listening even though I know better. Yasha gives me a look but he doesn’t stop me.
“He’s doing well,” Wyn says to Agnus. “For awhile I was worried. Immortality can be such a burden for some and I’ve seen it drive others mad. But now that he has a family that’ll be with him along the way, I know he’ll be okay.”
“We’ll take care of him,” Agnus says, her voice serious. My stomach clenches and my eyes prickle. I look over and find William watching me and he tips his hat with a nod, silently telling me he knows and understands and agrees with Agnus. My eyes find Dwayne and he smiles. Yasha takes my hand between his own, squeezing it. I’ve not only found my mate, but in the process also found my family.
“I know you will. And I trust you to take care of him. Trust me, that’s no small thing, I prefer to be the one in control, but this time, I’m handing the baton over.”
There’s a pause before Agnus says, “you know he can hear you, right?”
“Oh yes, very aware. Eavesdropping troublemaker is what he is.”
I snort wetly, my cheeks hurting from how wide my smile is. I sink into the couch, finally taking my mug and drinking deeply, barely suppressing a moan as the blood hits my tongue and slides hotly down my throat. Fuck, it’s delicious and it leaves me feeling warm all the way down to my toes.
All of my senses seem to heighten once I’m fed, the smell of Yasha making my mouth water for a completely different reason. He smells delicious and it takes all of my self control not to bury my face against his dark curly locks and get lost in his scent. The little look he gives me tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
Wyn finally steps back into the room, sitting on the floor next to the coffee table. Dwayne sits beside him, opening his trenchcoat a bit, fanning himself. I shake my head at him. I swear that guy would die for his fucking aesthetic. Hopefully when William and Agnus finally turn him that act will drop a bit.
“I realize today’s not technically Thanksgiving,” Wyn starts, sipping his wine and looking around at us all. He’d celebrated Thanksgiving at the Burke house, surrounded by his alpha’s ridiculously large family. Today’s the Saturday after, our group having our own little celebration. “But I was thinking it might be nice to say something we’re thankful for.”
“I think that’s a lovely idea,” William says, lifting his glass. “I shall start. I am thankful first and foremost for this family. What’s a vampire without their clan?”
“Here, here,” Yasha says with a wide smile, lifting his own glass in agreement. I smile as everyone copies the motion, taking a sip of their drink.
“I’ll go next,” Agnus says, leaning forward a bit. “I’m thankful for my new job. The old one was such a drab. Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” she says with an amused smile, always loving to throw in cliche sayings. She says it makes her feel human and who am I to argue with her?
We all lift our glasses again, drinking to Agnus’ job.
“I’m thankful that Tony has you all. I’m glad he’s surrounded by his own kind.”
I lift my glass to Wyn, my chest warmed with how much he cares for me. I love him and I’ll always owe him my life. “I’m thankful for my mates,” Dwayne says, going next. His kohl covered eyes dart between William and Agnus, hearts in his eyes clear for everyone in the room to see. He might be a weird little dude but he loves his mates fiercely and they love him back just the same.
“We love you too,” Agnus says, taking William’s hand in her own and giving her men soft smiles.
I clear my throat. “I’m thankful for our baby,” I say gently, looking over at my mate. Instead of finding a smile or joy, I find his face scrunched up in pain. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Mhmm,” Yasha murmurs, his eyes widening. “I’m glad you’re thankful for them,” he tells me. “Because they’re officially on their way.”
When I look down, I find his pants slowly growing wet. Oh fuck. Oh shit. Yasha’s water just broke!
~~~
Yasha ties his hair into a bun on the top of his head. He’s panting in pain and I’m more helpless than I’ve ever been. I run my hand over the back of his neck, trying to soothe some of the ache he’s feeling.
Our bed is covered with cheap sheets, a mattress cover under that to protect the mattress. Yasha lays back down, putting the pillow under his neck and laying on his side, his back facing me. I rub his lower back and he lets out a sad little moan that makes my chest clench.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re doing so good,” I tell him in a soothing voice. “You’re being so strong and so great. Our baby is gonna be here so soon.”
“Fuck,” Yasha grits out. When the contraction has passed he looks over his shoulder at me, a glare in his eyes. “Have you always been this fucking annoying or am I just noticing it right now?”
My mouth drops open in shock. “Don’t take it personally,” Star says as she walks into the room. “Everyone handles delivery differently. You should have seen Dakota. The man shifted into his wolf form. Scared the hell out of his mate,” she tells us, shaking her head with a fond, wistful smile on her face.
Star is our midwife. She’s helped deliver every baby in the Burke pack and I trust her with our baby and with Yasha. I know she’ll do everything in her power to keep them both safe.
Star steps to the otherside of the bed, crouching by Yasha’s head and running her fingers over his forehead. Yasha whimpers as another contraction wracks through his body and I can see the way his muscles are tensing in pain. “Don’t fight it so much,” she whispers, her eyes kind as she looks at my mate. “Lean into the pain and let it wash over you. This is natural and your body knows what to do. Trust that it knows.”
“Easy for the woman not in pain to say,” Yasha grits through clenched teeth.
Star rolls her eyes as she stands up. She tucks her hair behind her ear, the white locks having one streak of bright red in it. Star’s eyes meet mine and she pauses. “He’s fine,” she whispers before walking back out.
“You’re okay,” I say again, leaning down to kiss the back of Yasha’s head. He reaches back, tugging me down with all his vampire strength until I’m spooned up behind him, holding him as his body begins to tense again. “Breathe through it, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
Instead of tensing up, this time Yasha breathes through the pain, doing just as Star told him. “There you go. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” he whispers brokenly once the contraction has passed.
“Don’t thank me. I’m the one who did this to you.”
Yasha snorts. “If you recall, I’m pretty sure I begged for it, Tony.”
I shake my head, smiling against his shoulder. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously in love. And ridiculously in pain. It’s making me loopy. You can’t hold anything I say right now against me.”
“Okay. Free pass to say anything you want,” I tell him, kissing hi
s shoulder.
Yasha grabs my hand, squeezing it as another contraction hits. “They’re coming faster together. I think it’s almost time to start pushing,” he says between labored breath. Yasha lets out a pained grown, his face growing paler than usual and tacky with sweat.
“Here,” Star says, coming back with a small bowl. “This will help.”
I take the bowl, finding small, frozen cubes of blood. I take one between my fingers, feeding it to my mate. Yasha sighs as he sucks on the frozen blood before crunching it between his teeth. I give him another as soon as he opens his mouth for more.
“It’s about time. Are you ready?” Yasha whimpers before steeling himself and nodding his head. “Do you wanna try moving or are you comfortable?”
“I don’t think I could move even if I wanted,” he confesses.
“That’s alright. We can work with this,” Star tells him kindly, taking a wet cloth and swiping it over his forehead. She carefully pulls his boxers off. “I want you to help him keep his leg up, Tony.”
I do as I’m told, holding Yasha’s thigh up so Star has a clear view. I hold my mate like that as he begins pushing. It’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced. Yasha cries out with each push and the scent of blood invades my nose. I wanna be able to help more, to take his pain away. Instead I gently whisper against his sweaty skin, praising him for everything he’s doing, waiting with held breath for our baby to be born.
I have no way of knowing how much time passes, an hour or a minute, but eventually, we get to the final push. I know the instant our baby is through. Yasha’s body goes slack against the bed, his body losing all of its tension all at once. I look down at Star, smiling as I see her cradling a bundle in her arms, carefully washing them clean.
I push the pillows up into a pile before helping Yasha sit back against them. Star hands over our baby and my breath is stolen. For once, Yasha has no comments, no snarky comebacks. I look at him, finding his eyes glassy with unshed tears as he looks at our young.
“It’s a girl,” Star lets us know. She’s careful as she cleans Yasha and makes sure he’s all fixed up. But I barely even notice and I have a feeling Yasha is the same, both of us suddenly only having eyes for one.
“She’s beautiful,” Yasha murmurs, his lips pulled up into a wide smile. “She’s got my hair.”
“Thank gods,” I say, running my finger over her soft little head. “You’ve definitely got the superior locks between the two of us.”
“It’s true,” he says seriously. “But she’s got your cute button nose.” Yasha sniffles. “I can’t believe I love her so much already.”
“I know the feeling. I didn’t even let myself imagine getting something like this.” I shake my head, leaning over to kiss the side of Yasha’s head. “When I died I figured it was the end of the road for a lot of the things I dreamed about having. But somehow it was only the beginning.”
“Fuck, that’s deep.”
I groan, flicking Yasha’s ear. “You’re a dick. I was having a moment.”
“I know,” he whispers, smiling up at me. He carefully hands me our daughter and I cradle her in my hands for the first time. My belly fills with emotion as I gaze down at her. She’s pale like the both of us. A born vampire. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone quite as beautiful as our little girl, except maybe her carrier daddy, of course.
“Rebecca,” Yasha says. “She looks like a Rebecca to me.”
I nod my head. “She’s perfect. Just like you,” I add, looking at my mate.
“Enough sweet talking,” he says, rolling his eyes at me, though those same eyes are filled with excitement. “You already got me into bed, you don’t have to try so hard anymore.”
“I plan on trying every single day of our lives,” I tell him seriously.
Yasha leans his forehead against my shoulder. “Yeah, okay. I’ll allow it. You can woo me everyday and I promise to love every second of it.”
Today we celebrated Thanksgiving. And as I look down at my darling, Rebecca, I have yet another thing to tack onto my list. I have my clan, I have my mate, I have my daughter. I’m blessed beyond what I thought to even allow myself to imagine.
In that moment, I say a little prayer to Lady Fate, thanking her for all the things she’s graced me with. I thank her for giving me forever with them. I ask her to help me be the best mate and best father I can be.
Star smiles at me, a knowing look in her eyes like she can read my thoughts. I smile back, unable to keep the smile away. “Shall I tell your clan everything is okay? They’re all crowded in the hallway waiting.”
Yasha snorts, nodding his head. “Bring em on. After what I just went through, I can handle anything.”
Star smirks, opening the door and letting everyone inside. They pile into the room with balloons and a giant stuffed bear the size of Yasha’s whole body. “Okay, maybe I over estimated,” Yasha murmurs, making us all laugh.
Yasha leans against me as we let the clan meet their newest clan member. Just like the feeling I get from having a mug of blood, my entire body warms once more. But this? This is even better than blood.
Epilogue
Yasha
I lean against the wall of the club, just enjoying the atmosphere. The music is booming and the bodies are writhing. A year ago, this would be just another night looking for a nice and handsome man to warm my bed for the night. But that was then. My life now is so much different than that.
My phone buzzes and I take it out, smiling at my screen. Dwayne’s sent me a picture of Rebecca, her little smiling face taking up my entire screen. For some reason completely beyond my understanding, Rebecca and Dwayne had bonded straight away. He’s the only one who can get her to sleep some nights and she’s forced him to wear softer clothes. For as long as I’ve known Dwayne, he’s wanted to be edgy, but now that Rebecca has him wrapped around her little finger, he’s dressed less for the fashion and more for the comfort of Rebecca’s face against his chest. He’s softened now that she’s around.
I slide my phone back into my pocket, running my fingers through the bottom of my hair, letting it fall around my face. The curls are wavy and soft and I’m hoping by the end of the night it’ll be messy as fuck from being tugged on and held. My body is thrumming with anticipation and my hands are only just barely not shaking with how excited I am. I was nervous for tonight, our very first night away from Rebecca, but now that I’m here, in the same bar where Tony and I met, all I feel is excitement.
My eyes dart through the crowd, my belly flipping when I finally find Tony. He’s in the middle of the crowd dancing his cute ass off. I take a moment just to watch as Tony loses himself to the music. His hips sway back and forth, his hands sliding over his sides before raising up into the air over his head.
Lust pools in the pit of my stomach as I watch him. He’s incredibly sexy and the realization hits me all over again; he’s mine.
My fangs tingle as they threaten to drop down, wanting to sink into Tony’s flesh and officially claim him as my own. I lick my gums, closing my eyes a moment to get myself under control. When I look again, Tony is watching me, a grin on his lips. That pull in my belly intensifies, forcing my feet to move, ducking and dodging the crowd in order to get my hands on my mate.
“Hey,” he says, my eyes glued to his lips, watching as they move.
“Hi,” I say back before leaning up on my toes and kissing him. Our hips continue to move to the music. I open my lips, allowing his tongue into my mouth and I moan, completely uncaring, knowing no one can hear over the loud music. Tony’s hands find my hips, digging in so hard I whimper. Just the way I like it.
Tony pulls his mouth away and I suck in a sharp breath I don’t need, just so I can smell him. He’s so turned on, just as on edge as I am. My mouth waters and my eyes droop as I look at my mate, watching the way he licks his lips, showing me the tiniest flash of fang. Fuck.
I toss my head back and Tony latches on to m
y throat, kissing the tender skin gently before sucking hard. Pleasure lights me up from the inside and I close my eyes, reveling in it, letting myself get washed away in it. I slide my pelvis forward, groaning when I feel Tony’s erection. My ass clenches around the plug currently stuffing me full, just another call back to our first meeting. Gods, I need him so badly it threatens to overwhelm me.
I put my lips against Tony’s ear, running my fingers through his blond hair. “There’s an employee bathroom in the back.”
Tony lets out a sound that rumbles against my chest and I smile, knowing he’s thinking the same thing I am.
We quickly make our way through the crowd, giddy with excitement. My stomach flutters pleasantly, my cheeks hurting from how wide I’m smiling. I laugh as I tug Tony around the corner, pinning him to the wall and kissing his lips. We stumble from there until we find the door labeled employee bathroom.
“Fuck,” Tony murmurs as he shuts the door behind us, making sure it’s locked. I don’t even wait, already tugging my jeans and my boxers down, needing my mate inside me now. “Oh my gods. You’re perfect,” Tony says when he turns around, finding my bottom half bare.
“I know,” I say with a wide grin. “Now hurry up and fuck me.”
Tony smiles and it’s all pointy teeth and cheek dimples. His fangs are down in all their glory, his eyes bleeding red around the whites, letting himself fully vamp out. My cock drools precum as it throbs at the display and my own fangs fall. I squeal in delight as he picks me up after pulling his jeans down only enough to get his cock free. My back hits the wall and I hiss which Tony catches with his mouth, plunging his tongue against my own.
“Need you, baby,” he says, pulling the plug free from my hole and tossing it into the sink beside us. His cock pushes into me, filling me back up.
“Yes, Tony. Fuck. Just like that.”
I pull my hair out of the way, giving him access to my throat so he can kiss and lick all he wants. We’d both drank our fill before coming to the bar, but now I’m hungry for Tony in a way I’ve never felt before. I wanna bite him and pull every fucking drop from him. Instead, Tony bites down on my throat. I scream as I come, his hips pistoning in and out of my ass. My cock jerks and spurts cum between us. Tony’s teeth in my skin burns in the most delicious way.