“Oh, Charity, you’re such a romantic.”
Eli plopped down in the seat beside me. “What have you done? She’s the only teenage girl in this pack and the vampire gets her? My sister—with a vampire?”
“Oh, come on, Eli. Get with the times. He’s a great guy, and you know it.”
“Yeah, I know.” He huffed. “So, Bell, since you’re playing matchmaker, know anyone for me?”
I laughed. “You ignore every girl I introduce you to.”
“I meant any real girls you could introduce me to.”
“You’re unbelievable, you know that? You and your brother are just alike.”
“Yeah, we both have great taste.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Eli. I love you too.”
He kissed me on the top of my head and disappeared into the crowd.
Chapter Forty-One
With the party winding down, and after several trips to the kitchen for popcorn, I decided it was time to take my leave and get some rest. My feet hurt so bad that, instead of a werewolf bride, I was walking more like the Hunchback, only instead of the back, my bump was in the front. I took off my shoes, slung them over my shoulder, and hobbled my way back to my room. No wonder platform shoes went out of style, they hurt like Hades.
When I finally made it to my bed, stopping first to pat Fang on the head, I plopped down on top of it and laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?”
I gasped and jerked to a sitting position. Levi was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, wet hair in his face and a towel wrapped around his waist. “Gee, blow your nose next time—you scared me.”
“Sorry. What’s so funny?”
“What?” I couldn’t seem to concentrate in view of his bare chest, my eyes trailing a droplet streaming from his neck all the way to his waist.
“You were laughing to yourself.”
“Oh that,” I said, forcing my gaze up to meet his. “No more Go Fish for me. Tonight I got a match. Now it’s your turn to draw a card.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
I rolled my eyes. “Haven’t you ever played Go Fish before? You need to find your brother a mate.”
“What? No way! What do I know about matchmaking? You’re the secret agent man, remember?”
“Oh come on, Levi.” I drew in a sharp breath and grabbed my stomach.
“Charity! What is it?!”
My eyes grew wide. “I just felt my first kick.”
“What? Just now?”
“Yes.” I gasped again.
He rushed to me and put both hands on my stomach. We both gasped in unison as we felt another kick—then another. This went on for several minutes. We shared a smile as we marveled at the movement beneath our eagerly searching fingertips.
Levi shot to his feet and walked across the room toward the door.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’ve got to tell my mother.”
“Well, maybe you should get dressed first.”
He gazed down at his towel and laughed.
“You know, for such a big guy you sure are whipped.”
He smiled. “Only by you.” Suddenly his countenance changed. He became serious and a burning filled his eyes as he slowly scaled the distance between us, keeping my eyes captive. He took my face in his hands and gently pressed his lips to mine. “I love you,” he whispered into my lips. Looking down into my eyes he said, “I’ve never loved you as much as I do in this very moment. If I died right now there has never lived a more blessed and happy man.”
“Oh, puppy, I love it when you talk sweetness to me. Do it some more.”
“I live only to please you,” he said, towering over me.
I smirked. Then the night closed in around us as our passion ignited and Sparky set me ablaze.
When I woke in the morning, Levi was lying on his side staring at me, a huge smile covering his face. “So,” he said, “Raven met Eli’s sister, Rose, did he? And how did that come about, I wonder.”
What I wondered was how long he’d been lying there staring at me. I stretched and yawned. “As if you don’t know, but I’ll humor you—once I realized that she was a descendent of his Rose Monroe, I introduced her to Raven. That was the logical thing to do.”
“No doubt. Well, they’re practically in love already.”
I sat straight up in bed. “Really?”
He laughed. “You should get paid for this. Yes. They spent most of the evening talking, and I think he’s taking her out to dinner tonight.”
“Oh, Levi! I’m so happy! Now, if we could only settle on names for our boys everything will be perfect.”
“Well, let’s make a list of names and get together and compare notes.”
“That sounds good.”
“I’ll get to work on mine right away, but now I have to get some work done. See you at lunch?”
“Of course, but before you go, hand me my lip balm, will ya?”
“I have your coffee here. Don’t you want it first?”
“No, lip balm first—then coffee.”
He laughed as he pressed the white tube into my hand, then kissed me and took his leave, shaking his head as he exited.
Christmas Eve at the Drake House was better than I could’ve expected. The meeting room was transformed yet again, with the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen in person, decorated beautifully. Tables lined the walls with the most remarkable food; one with prime rib, roast beef, and filet mignon. I mean these are werewolves after all. Another with all sorts of salads and side dishes, and another with every kind of dessert ever made, along with tall glasses filled with Champaign. A musical group played all my favorite Christmas songs, including Silent Night, and Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer.
I wore a new, red dress, cut slightly low in the front with beading along the neckline, drawing the eye away from my pregnancy bump, if that were possible.
“You are breathtaking, as usual,” Levi remarked, sweeping me into his arms for a sweet kiss. “Come with me. I have something for you.” He took my hand and led me out of the room and down the hall until we finally entered our room.
“Why are we here? Are you sure this is the proper time?”
He laughed. “Actually, we’re not here for that, but maybe later,” he winked and then glanced at the wall and my gaze followed his. That’s when I noticed a sheet covering the wall over the bed. “Levi, what—” He jerked the sheet off to reveal a large framed photo of me, one he took on our honeymoon in Charleston. I was speechless as I studied the image. It was a silhouette of me in the surf at sunrise. Memories of that moment came flooding back to me, the way Levi and I connected on a strange and powerful level unlike anything I had ever experienced before, or since.
“Levi, it’s remarkable. What made you do this?” I asked in awe.
“I remember how free you were that morning, splashing around in the surf like a child. But when you turned to look at me and I snapped this shot, you were so beautiful I could hardly catch my breath. When I look at this photo of you I’m reminded of how blessed I truly am.”
“I don’t know what to say. It’s wonderful. Thank you so much. Um, actually, I have something for you.”
“Wait! I’m not done.” He reached under the bed and pulled out a small present wrapped in sparkling, silver wrapping paper with a red ribbon. He picked up my hand and set the gift in the center of my palm. “Merry Christmas, kitten.”
I giggled with anticipation. Levi knew I loved surprises. I ripped the paper and quickly opened the box. “Oh, Levi! They’re beautiful!” I pulled out a pair of diamond earrings, each one dripping with three diamonds, each diamond bigger than the first. “I’ve never had anything like this in my life. Thank you so much.” I hugged him fiercely, and then anxiously put them on. “Well, how do they look?”
“Hmm, something’s missing.”
“What do you mean, something’s missing?”
He reached under the bed again a
nd pulled out a bigger box wrapped identically to the first. “I think it needs this.”
I squealed as I ripped open the second package. My mouth fell open, and I was silenced as I studied the matching necklace. I couldn’t imagine how much he must’ve spent. “Oh, Levi,” was all I could manage to say.
I lifted my hair as he fastened it to my neck, kissing the back of my neck softly.
“It looks lovely on you, just like I knew it would.”
I turned to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “It’s more than I could’ve ever asked for. I’d say you shouldn’t have, but I’d be lying.”
He laughed. “Well, you’re welcome. I love giving you gifts. You deserve them and more.”
“Well,” I said, trailing kisses down his neck. “I have something for you as well. If you don’t mind though, I’d prefer if you carried me to the parking garage. It’s a long walk.”
“With pleasure.”
He scooped me up into his arms and in only minutes we were entering the garage, where he sat me down on my feet again.
“Okay, close your eyes.”
He laughed as I took his hand and led him a little ways through the garage.
“Okay, you can open them now.”
When he did I jerked the covering off my gift, revealing a brand new four-wheeler.
“Wow, Charity! This is awesome!” he said, jumping in and grabbing the wheel as he pretended to drive it.
“Yeah, well, now you and Josh can go deeper in the mountains and drive them to your hearts content, being the over-grown boys that you are.”
He peered at me curiously. “Josh doesn’t have a four-wheeler.”
I smiled. “He will when Ashley gives him his Christmas gift from her.”
He jumped out of the four-wheeler and pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Charity Drake.” He kissed my lips deeply, passionately, until we were both breathless and our legs wobbly, or maybe it was just mine. “You didn’t have to get me anything. Besides your heart, the best gift you could ever give me is in here.” He let his hand rest lightly on my petruding belly. “And you’re giving me three of those.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t do anything small. And I’m making a statement, you know.”
“Oh yeah, and what statement is that?”
“That Levi Thomas Drake deserves nothing but the best.”
“Well, that I have, Charity—that—I—have.” Then his lips captured mine once again.
“Okay, do you have your list?”
“Of course I have my list,” I snapped. I was already a little tired and agitated. Ever since I felt the first kick, the babies had barely taken a break. It felt like all three were taking karate classes at once. Doc had told me that once I began to feel the kicking it may progress fast since there are three of them, but I wasn’t at all prepared for what came. It felt like they were having a super duper kicking contest, and whoever was under my ribcage was winning.
“Are you all right?” Levi asked.
“Yeah, just tired. So, what’s on your list?”
“You go first.”
“Okay—how ‘bout Sam, Seth, and Shane?”
“No.”
“How ‘bout Abe, Alex, and Ashdon?”
“Why do they all have to start with the same letter?”
“It’ll be easier to remember.”
“Or easier to call all of them the wrong name.”
“Fine, Mr. Blurry and Furry, what do you have?”
He brightened immediately. “What if we name all three boys Levi Thomas Drake? We could call them Jr., J.R., and J.J.” He smiled as if he’d just shared the best idea ever.
I rolled my eyes. “They don’t deserve you.”
“Hey—what’s wrong with that?”
“I’m not even going to honor that with a reply. Oh, I know, why don’t we name them Stake, Shake, and Bake Drake.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to take this more seriously.”
“Seriously? Listen, maybe we should think about this some more and talk later.”
“Of course. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah, it’s just that you need to have a talk with these boys. They aren’t even born yet and they’re already fighting.”
He knelt at my feet, pulled up my shirt, pressed his lips against my skin and said, “Hey boys, cut it out!” At once my stomach stilled. Levi’s face mimicked mine as I peered down at him in amazement. Then his face turned smug. “Well, we know who is boss now, don’t we?”
He got up and strutted across the room and out the door with mock cockiness, my eyes trailing longingly over every inch of him.
“Hey! Where are you gonna be in case I need you again?!”
He laughed as his head appeared around the door. “Oh, kitten, don’t you know by now? All you have to do is whistle.”
Epilogue
All was quiet and the room was still as I peered over at the three beautiful babies sleeping soundly in their bassinets, all lined up on the other side of my hospital bed. Levi stood over me with arms crossed and eyes moist. I was well aware it was a proud moment for him.
The Drake Medical Clinic was a convenient place, and having my babies at home was wonderful, and on top of that my mom was with me every step of the way. She had embraced the wolf pack with remarkable grace and excitement. I never knew she’d always longed for a big family, and now her life was complete—as was mine. She and Doc were planning a summer wedding.
“Charity,” Levi said, “now that the babies are asleep and everyone has finally cleared out, we need to talk about the boys.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking about that very thing. And I’ve come to the conclusion that our boys need to be here with us. Always. I mean, why should we have to separate them when they’re not in line to become the next alpha—their children are? So there’s no reason for them to try to hurt each other. It would be silly to split them up because we’re scared of the ‘what if’s’. I didn’t give you up because of the ‘what if’s’, and I’m not going to do it with my babies.” I sighed. “And the truth is—I couldn’t part with any of them now if you threatened to kill me.”
His face was unreadable. “So, that’s your final decision then?”
I swallowed hard, and prayed to God he’d not counter my decision. “Yes, that’s my final decision.”
Slowly a smile stretched across his sleepy but beautiful face. “I knew you’d come to that conclusion. It’s settled then. Our babies—all three of them—will remain here with us.”
“You knew?”
“Knew what?”
“You knew all along the babies needed to be with us?”
“Yes, but you needed to come to that conclusion on your own.”
“But what if I chose differently? What would you have done?”
“I knew you’d make the right decision. It was really the only choice.”
“Oh puppy, I love you.”
He grinned. “I love you too—so much. But, now that the babies are here, don’t you think we should finally settle on those names?”
“No. I think you should settle on the names I’ve picked.”
“Oh come on, Tom, Tim, and Ty—no thanks. Once again with the same letter. You know, Josh and Ashley already have a name for their baby and they’ve got months yet before she’s even born. At the rate we’re going we’ll be lucky if our boys have names by their first birthday. Hey, we could always call them 1, 2, and 3.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why again was I surprised when I sent you to the store for diapers and you returned with Depends?”
We both recalled the memory, glancing at each other for a moment before busting into laughter. “Well, Grandmammy seemed to appreciate them.”
We laughed harder and then shushed each other in unison.
I sighed as the contentment seeped into every ounce of my weary body. I’d been on bed rest for months, but that was all finally behind me. I laid back on the bed, got comfortable, and pee
ped over at our three babies sleeping soundly, not a care in the world, and had a silly thought. “You know we have a problem, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“I need another boob.”
He glanced at the babies and then back to me. “Well, don’t look at me!”
“Oh shut up and come here.”
He laughed and climbed into my hospital bed, snuggling up against me. Soon we were both fast asleep, the twenty-four hour sleep deprivation finally catching up to us. That is until babies cries woke us with a start—all three in unison. Oh well, so much for being newlyweds, or even alpha male and female for that matter. Now we’re just plain and simply Mommy and Daddy—and that’s the way we liked it.
I turned to gaze at Levi and when our eyes met I knew there would never be a more precious moment in our entire lives. Suddenly his eyes shifted, a slight glow of yellow and white, and I was seeing images swirling through his eyes that stilled my heart. It was as if I was walking in his shoes, seeing images as he remembered them. He was walking to his seat on his first transfer day to our school. Our eyes met, and I felt his overpowering emotion and the stinging of his connection symbol forming in that exact moment. It was odd seeing me through his eyes. He did truly fall in love with me the moment our eyes met. Then he was in the cafeteria, looking up at me as I leaned down and kissed him boldly and defiantly. It was as electrifying, and confusing, as I remembered. The images suddenly sped up. He was seeing our first argument, our first makeup kiss, him rescuing me from Frank’s advances, watching me from the woods behind my house as I journaled on my roof, our wedding night and the agony he felt holding my lifeless body in his arms, but then the miracle of my restoration, and then our first night together. It was all so overwhelming that I blinked rapidly, thus breaking the connection. His eyes returned to their brilliant purple and I was left with an overflowing love that was almost too much to bare. It was powerful, just like the morning in the surf at sunrise. Did he understand the importance of what just happened? Did he even know? I couldn’t imagine loving him anymore than I did before, but I was wrong. I loved him more now than ever. I didn’t know how to respond, so I remained silent.
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