Selina coughed. “It’s my understanding the familiar picks the person, not the other way around.”
“That’s how it happened for me.” A wicked grin on her face, Chloe held up her hands, refusing to accept the cat. “Ophelia came to me and that was that. End of story.”
Peyton stared at the kitten that fit in the palm of his hand. She mewed at him, turned her head, and licked his thumb. He sighed, the sound long-suffering. But he stroked one fingertip down her tiny skull and she purred, her eyes closing in ecstasy.
“Aww, Peyton. That’s so cute,” Delta crooned from her seat, laughter shaking her shoulders. “What are you going to name her?”
He grunted and said nothing, but he perched the kitten gently on his shoulder.
The big marmalade kitten wandered over and plopped himself on Luca’s expensive Italian loafer. The vampire picked him up by the scruff of his neck and said, “No. I’m not what one would call a cat person. You don’t want me.”
The kitten paddled the air, batting at Luca’s jacket sleeve until he sighed.
“This is inconvenient.”
“Suck it up, Cavalli. Apparently, we’re handing out familiars tonight.” Chloe made a wry face. “There’s one more. Anybody else want a kitten?”
“Me!” Delta jumped out of her seat, reaching for the little Siamese. “Come to Mama, baby. Oh, I’m going to spoil you so rotten.”
The gathered crowd laughed, and Jack’s cousins brought out trays of pastries for everyone. The mood was festive. Everyone had made it through alive and in one piece. Jack could definitely live with that kind of outcome.
Millie leveled a beady stare on Selina, her crisp voice ringing over the babble of chatting voices. “You do realize you’re pregnant, don’t you?”
Jack and Selina both froze, and shock punched through him. He felt a little light-headed, and Delta laughed, shoving him into a chair. “Sit down before you fall down, Laramie.”
He groped for Selina’s hand, which had gone ice-cold. She stared at Millie. “You’re shitting me.”
“No, I can sense it,” Tess interjected quietly. “I thought you knew.”
“Wow, I didn’t see that coming.” A broad grin creased Merek’s face. “Congrats, Grayson.”
Jack was going to be a father. Soon. Jesus Christ. He’d been thinking maybe someday he’d ease Selina into it, but this was a lot sooner than he’d anticipated. A child. A child that was half him and half Selina.
“I’m going to be a grandmother,” Angela sang, all but dancing in her seat. “It’s about damn time. I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“Girl,” Selina and Merek said at the same time.
Merek nodded. “Yeah, this one’s a girl. The next one, too. Both elves. Hellions, too. Have fun.”
She flicked her fingers at him. “May you have four boys before you manage a hellion daughter of your own. You deserve to have her wrap you around her little finger. Kind of like Chloe has.”
Chloe laughed up at her husband, while Alex shook his head at them. “I’m going to have brothers and sisters someday? Why didn’t I even consider that option?”
Ignoring all of them, Selina turned to Jack. Her dark eyes were wide, and she looked as dazed as he felt. “What do you think?”
“Three things.” A wild mixture of disbelief and wonder burst inside him, and a wide smile broke across his face. “First, we’re getting married tonight. These are all the people we’d want there, right? Between Millie and Luca, they should be able to pull enough strings to make it happen for us.”
“My uncle is a judge. It shouldn’t be an issue.” Luca had his kitten cuddled to his chest. For a non-cat-person, he seemed to be doing just fine.
Jack ignored everyone else and continued. “Second, we’re moving your stuff in this weekend. None of this dual residence shit. Third, I think ... Elizabeth Angela. Or maybe Angela Elizabeth. What do you think?”
“Elizabeth Angela. I like it.” After her cousin and his mother. Two women who had helped shape the people they’d become. It seemed fitting.
“And the rest?” He arched his eyebrows at her.
She nodded and rolled her eyes, which had brightened with tears. “I’m in if you are.”
“I’m all in, honey.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. A singular moment of peace stretched between them, and he sighed. After Heather had died, he’d never thought he’d find anything like this. Someone he was willing to take a risk on again.
By some twist of fate, by some miracle, he had a chance at a life far fuller than he’d ever imagined. Gratefulness flooded him. He’d fight to his last breath to keep this, to keep Selina happy and safe, to protect this child and any other they were blessed with. He’d never wanted anything so much in his entire life. Thanks to her, he’d gotten everything he’d never known he wanted. It had been a bumpy ride and they’d been through hell, but damn if he hadn’t landed somewhere that felt pretty perfect.
Tragedy could still strike. He had a dangerous job and so did she. But she’d never willingly leave him, and he was with her until the wheels fell off.
It was a start.
She was married. And pregnant.
Selina felt dazed when she walked into Jack’s house later that night. Their house. She lived here now. With her husband.
That nagging feeling that everything was going to change had eased in the past couple of weeks. Life as she knew it had come to an end. She just hadn’t had to die to make that happen.
Jack ruffled Grim’s fur as the familiar came inside. The dog grunted and went to sprawl in front of the couch. Erin had loaded him down with homemade dog treats, and he’d been groaning in the backseat on the way home. Jack closed the door behind them, locking it and engaging the security system. Selina automatically threw up shielding spells around the place. An extra layer of protection.
He leaned back against the door and folded his arms. “This place is going to get crowded if Merek’s prediction for two kids comes true.”
“It will. Magickals are allowed to have two children per century.” She shrugged. “Prevents overpopulation. Though since I’ve never had any before, we can probably get a dispensation for more, if you want.”
“Two is good with me, unless you want more.” He rolled his shoulders, his gaze locking on her face. “Your place is bigger. Are you sure you don’t want to live there?”
An involuntary shudder went through her. She’d been back a couple of times to pick up clothes, but it still had that taint to it. She couldn’t stay there. She’d never feel safe, even though Isaak was dead. “No, I can’t. He was there, in my space. We can move my stuff out this weekend, like you said. If you want to shop around for something bigger, we can. I like your neighborhood, with your cousins’ café down the street, and Grim likes the park nearby. We can see what’s in the area.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he sighed. “Millie pulled me aside after the ceremony and told me to let you know that the Elven Assembly got an anonymous delivery yesterday. A cursed talisman. She served as a witness for the All-Magickal Council while the Assembly leaders destroyed it.”
A breath eased out of her lungs. The evil object had been destroyed. Thank gods. No one else would feel that touch of darkness. The black mark of it still marred her forearm. The doctors told her that Darren’s wolf healing might whittle away at his mark, but as an elf, hers would never fade. A constant reminder of what she’d been through. But she’d survived, and the rest she could live with. She was learning, slowly, to forgive herself for Bess’s death. Instead of just suppressing the guilt, she had to accept that the past couldn’t have turned out any differently. She sighed. “Did they ever find out where Isaak got it?”