At that point, Vivian became completely distracted when she saw Zach and Donovan having a conversation. She hadn’t told their third not to mention what was going on with her and the doctor, but she hoped he wasn’t going to be the one to tell daddy the big news. She tried using her mind link trick on him, and she easily managed to get through.
Let me tell him about them, please?
Over course that’s what I’m going to do. Silly girl.
I’m not thirteen anymore, you know.
Oh, believe me, baby, I noticed.
Shut up, you perve!
How can I shut up when I’m not even talking?
Oh, here we go. Now, you’re starting to sound like Charles.
No way! We can’t have that.
“Vivian? Where are you off to?” Irene teased. “Are you telling your lover hello?”
“Not exactly,” she chuckled mirthfully. “I’m telling my other lover not to let my first lover in on the baby news.”
“You know what?” said Irene. “That’s a sentence I never would have heard before I met Will. I wonder how I could work it into one of my novels somewhere.”
The two women were still giggling when their four men joined them at the table.
“This looks to be a merry group,” Zach commented with a smile. “Would that life could be this pleasant every night.”
Vivian chuckled some more, and Irene covered her mouth as she added, “That depends on how well you handle two-year-olds.”
“Twins then?” asked Will. “Is that why you two are so jovial?”
“Uh—something like that,” Irene grinned.
“The actual word is triplets, I believe,” Vivian added, cringing. “And I was worried about mothering just the one. How am I ever going to handle three?”
Zach gave her a hug. “My sweet bride, stop worrying. You will make a wonderful mommy.”
THE FINAL CHAPTER
Six months later, each of the Knight brothers were called forth to visit the Arimathean in Rome, where he hoped to bestow titles and lands upon them. They had insisted that he didn’t need to bother, since they had plenty of properties and wealth in America, but Joseph insisted that he wanted all of his daughters near when they gave birth.
“My king, I still don’t know why you want me near too,” Will complained. “I am not the head of my clan, nor am I married to any of your daughters. And thanks to the fiasco with the Carpathians, some of the buildings I already own are in sad need of repairs. Hell, I don’t even know if some of those Manchenso men aren’t residing in some of them still.”
“Not to worry, Will,” said Joseph “After the ceremonies you can return home. I know how much you dislike the lifestyle of always being part of an army. You can return to your books, and your buildings, and all that nonsense. But I would have thought you’d be excited for the birth of the triplets, and I know that Irene wants to be near Vivian.”
Will rolled his eyes. “You always know just how to lure me in, old man.”
“I’m not so old,” he grumbled. “Some of my wives are about to birth children as well.”
“Some of your great, great grandchildren are about to become grandparents,” Will scoffed.
“Fine, fine, I see there is no talking to you until you have spoken to your contractor,” Joseph grumbled. “Would you just make the call and get it done already? I was hoping to have some fun for once. Man cannot live on pomp and circumstance alone.”
“Yes, sire,” Will agreed. He whipped out his cell phone and stepped out of the room.
“Wow, for a guy so keen on not using modern contrivances, he sure relies on them an awful lot,” Charles smirked.
“He’s calling a human,” Alex pointed out.
“Alex, you’re just the brother I wanted to see,” said Joseph as he stepped over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Uh oh, what’d I do?”
“I just wanted to hear the story, son,” he said, his grin slightly feral.
“What story, sire?” Alex gulped.
“How did you insinuate yourself into the Renegade’s match with three of my lovely daughters?” he wanted to know.
“It certainly wasn’t my idea,” Alex defended himself. “You’ll have to take that up with Amber.”
“And you’re not chomping at the bit to return home to your businesses as well?”
“Do I look like a stupid man?” he scoffed. “Sire, Alonzo, Amber, Jasmine, Kimber and I are having the time of our lives. Fated, just like Alonzo says. Wherever they go, I go. My casinos are in good hands.”
“And you, Alonzo? Are you enjoying being the only Carpathian in that little group?”
Alonzo laughed. “Sire, I’m not a Carpathian; I am a Renegade. That is what we’ve been calling our blended group.”
“You mean what you’ve been calling it,” Zach grumbled. “My people are still my own.”
“He’s just sore because we’ve pretty much been ruling them together,” Alonzo chuckled conspiratorially into Alex’s ear.
“I heard that,” Zach grumbled some more.
“Never fear, Lord Knight, now that you’ve come out of the ground and back into the air, you shall have an entire battalion at your disposal who will remain in the new holding we’re having built near here. Mostly underground itself, of course. But with a lovely mansion home on top complete with high and imposing outer walls. Only the best for my Vivian.”
“What, why me?” she asked, surprised.
“It has been recently pointed out to me by one of my mates that I need to pull my head out of my ass and into the twenty-first century,” he admitted. “There was a time when I would have simply drained the woman dry and found another, but I find that for reasons of the heart, it was something I could not do this time. And, as I have such feelings for her, I took a good look at myself and realized that she was right. Females are just as valuable as males. Don’t get me wrong—I don’t intend to recruit them for my armies or anything. But I am at least willing to acknowledge their contributions.”
“Just you wait, Joseph,” Zach chuckled. “Your fair flower will have you trained up yet.”
The other men laughed knowingly, while all the women either glared or smirked.
“You can say that again,” said Alex, who was in a much better position to know than his brother.
“How does that work out, anyway?” Zach asked him. “I thought you only blended yours and Alonzo’s blood with Amber.”
“The others have been given tastes of me as well, each of them in small doses so they might build a tolerance,” he explained. “But you are correct. It is Amber who truly has all of my heart. I believe the trouble was that while I was guarding the girls, she’s already become fixated on me, so when she awakened she fed upon me naturally.”
“I suspected as much,” Donovan chortled, finally contributing to the conversation. “Guarding the virgins is not an easy matter. Some of them can be quite tempting. It helps greatly if you’ve already given one of them your heart.”
Vivian blushed as he gave her hand, which he had been holding the whole time, a little squeeze. She felt Zach squeeze her other hand as well, warm and reassuring. Her two men accepted each other completely, and that knowledge was sweet. But now that they’d been there for a time, she really wanted to get off her feet. At seven months along carrying triplets, she fully intended to break the ‘no sitting in the king’s presence’ rule.
She plopped down into a nearby chair and began to fan herself. “Sorry, everyone, but no more processional for me. I’m supposed to stay off my feet.”
Joseph’s brow went up momentarily, but then he quickly calmed down again, remembering that Queen Muriel had also changed a few of his long-standing rules when he’d begged her not to leave. He couldn’t believe how far he had gone just to keep her by his side. The woman had really swooped right in and changed his life.
“I suppose we could bring in a horse to carry you,” he conceded. “I really do want for you to be at the cere
mony.”
“Are you crazy?” Zach protested. “You don’t put a woman in advanced pregnancy onto a horse! We’ll simply drive her over there in a car. Donovan, will you return to the garage and bring the rental car around?”
“Of course I will,” he agreed.
“The rest of you may as well continue on to the entrance tunnel,” Zach added. “We will meet you there.”
“Zach, don’t be foolish. You can’t bring a car down into the tunnels,” Joseph pointed out.
“Then have a conveyance ready there when we arrive,” he insisted. “Preferable one that is safe for Vivian, or I won’t come to your ceremony at all. I’ll not endanger my children, even for you.”
“Am I not still the king around here?” Joseph complained, but still he turned and herded the others away as Donovan turned back and began to run swiftly along the road. Not long after, he returned with the car.
When they reached their destination, a man with a rickshaw was waiting for Vivian. While he hurried away with her, Zach and Donovan were content to continue the walk on their own.
“I never thought I would ever come to this place,” Donovan admitted, smiling. “It’s fascinating to realize how much of our history happened here.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Zach agreed. “Even I was in awe of it the first time I entered the underground, but it grows old when you spend the greater part of sixty years coming in and out this hole for the purposes of fighting a war.”
“Yeah, I guess it would,” Donovan conceded. “But the war is over now, thanks to the workings of destiny. The proper king is in his seat, and a much needed alliance has stopped the Carpathians from vying to take the throne again. And now, all the other clans have rallied to the Arimathean once again. And it all started right here. Simply fascinating.”
“Did you know that Yeshua the Mage once used his own powers to open this entire gateway?” Zach asked. “Or so the legend goes. Try wrapping that scholarly head of yours around that piece of news.”
“The Christ opened up this place?” he gasped, looking around with renewed eyes. “Why did he do such a thing?”
“It was through the Lamb’s Curse that vampires were born,” Zach said with a shrug. “He felt that the least he could do was make sure that Joseph and his children had a home.”
“I never studied much about the Bible or any of its lore, but don’t you think that’s a comforting thought?” Donovan pointed out.
“Hmm? What’s that?
“A man who cared enough about his people to ensure he took care of them all,” said Donovan with a smile. “I mean, didn’t he die for the humans as well?”
“So the story goes, if you ask some,” said Zach. “There are others who say he lived on and had children with Mary Magdalene as well. But the truth is, unless you can get Joseph to open up and tell us what happened, the world may never truly know.”
“It’s better off not to, in a way,” said Donovan. “But I sure wouldn’t mind finding out for myself.”
Zach chuckled. “Donovan, you’re becoming more and more like me every day.”
EPILOGUE
It had been a year since Vivian had birthed her three boys, and the moments she had been dreading—diapering, cleaning up barf, and chasing after their crawling forms-had, by now, become cherished moments that she and her children had shared. Well, now, the real challenge was upon her today.
Michael was the one who first worked out how to pull himself to his feet and take a few tentative steps. His brother, James, caught sight of what he was doing and tried it himself, and now he was prancing imperiously around the courtyard. Hugo, on the other hand, paid neither of his brothers any mind and continued to sit there and play with his blocks.
How was Vivian supposed to chase after the other two children and still keep an eye on Hugo? Thankfully, Nanny Lacey, her ghoul in charge of helping with the boys, returned from a bathroom break just in time. She easily rounded up the two fleeing babies and brought them back over to their worried mother.
“Looks like it’s about time for a second ghoul,” she commented dryly. “It’ll be murder trying to keep a handle on those two if we don’t solve the problem somehow.”
“Yes, I suppose that is true,” Vivian sighed. “Not to mention, I suspect I might be going to add another child to the brood.”
“Well, let’s hope, if you are pregnant, that this batch doesn’t exceed one or two,” she said, winking at her.
“Oh no, Lacey, are you trying to jinx me too?”
“Don’t worry, my lady, by the time you know it these kids will all be off to school, and you’ll be at a loss for what to do.”
“Mmm, catch up on a book or two?” she commented, closing her eyes at the visual. “Maybe even get a new copy of that damned romance book I never managed to finish reading, and find out which of the heroes finally got the girl.”
Lacey chuckled. “But wouldn’t it be more fun if she didn’t have to choose?”
“Yeah, I believe so,” said Vivian with a chuckle. “At least, in my own experience, it seems better to have two.”
“You vampires get to have all the fun,” she sighed. “Maybe someday I’d like to join you too.”
“But Lacey, you’re such a great babysitter,” Vivian complained. “If you went off and found a mate or two, what would I do without you?”
“Not to worry, my lady, you know I would never abandon you,” she reassured her. “You do know that most brides and their mates aren’t as wealthy as you. I’m certain I would still need to work, too.”
“Lacey, you sure don’t know how to fantasize,” Vivian chuckled. “Don’t you know that, in a fantasy, only the hottest, wealthiest men will do?”
“That depends on what a girl wants most,” she shrugged. “Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too?”
Zach and Donovan showed up just as she was saying those words. They cast each other curious glances, and then Zach delightedly lifted James up into his arms.
“Walking around like a soldier already, aren’t you, son?” he asked proudly.
“Dada!” the boy replied, grinning broadly. Michael happily attached himself to his father’s leg and wouldn’t let go, while Hugo continued to build a castle out of the blocks.
“See that? Michael’s practicing strong-arm tactics, and Hugo is engineering a stronghold! Wow, these boys really know how to play.”
“A whole houseful of soldiers, all right,” Vivian placidly agreed.
Donovan asked, “What’s this about cake? Are you making us one for dinner tonight? That sounds pretty good.”
“Well, there you have it,” Vivian chuckled. “I suppose men can have fantasies too!”
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