Even Z started laughing at that point.
Beth gave Nalla back to her parents. “And Dr. Sam told me she’s delivered over fifteen thousand babies over the course of her career—”
“See!” Wrath yelled. “She knows these things. My son is perfect! Where’s the champagne? Fritz! Get the fucking champagne!”
Shaking her head, Beth took a deep breath and decided to go with the moment. There was still a long haul in front of them, capped off with the delivery—which, Christ, was scaring the shit out of her already. With so many hurdles ahead, and so many unknowns, it was tempting to get lost in a tailspin.
But for the next hour, she just wanted to live with Wrath in all this high-octane joy—be a part of the celebration of this miracle.
So damn funny: All the while they had been fighting about children … they’d already had one cooking.
Life was really ironic sometimes.
Lounging back in her husband’s arms, she just enjoyed watching him as he clapped his Brothers on the back, and even accepted a flute of Cristal from Fritz.
Her hellren was a tall guy. But right now? He put Mount Everest to shame.
“You can put me down,” she said with a smile.
The frown that got shot her way was a brick wall if she’d ever seen one. “Absolutely not! You’re my wife, and you’re carrying my child. You’ll be lucky if I let your feet touch the floor three years from now.”
With that, he bent in and kissed her on the mouth.
Ah, hell, maybe she should have been all, “This baby is a we thing, not a you thing”—but that wasn’t how she felt. She’d been so terrified he wouldn’t accept and love a child, she was relieved and overjoyed that he was getting possessive already.
Falling in love, already.
Which was the best news for their unborn child: When Wrath, son of Wrath, decided someone was his? He would drag the moon down to Earth if they needed it.
The reaction was exactly what she had been too scared to wish for.
Wrath lifted his glass. “To my son,” he shouted over the crowd. “And more importantly … to my wife.”
As he turned his face to her, the love he felt made his eyes glow so fiercely, she could see the pale green light even through the wraparounds.
The household shouted in joy … and everyone drank.
Except her, of course.
Because she was pregnant, she thought with a bright smile to rival Wrath’s.
Wrath rode the wave for as long as it took him. With his brothers surrounding him, and a new purpose jacking his shit up, he knew that this was one of the best nights of his life. Or … shit, it was still day, wasn’t it.
Who the fuck cared, really.
It was difficult to explain, even to himself, what exactly had changed. But suddenly everything felt different, from the way he shook his brothers’ hands to how he smiled at their mates to the hold he kept on Beth.
And she was the best part of everything.
With champagne flowing, and the laughter echoing around the foyer, he couldn’t believe he had reached this moment in his life. Just a night before he had been throne-less and potentially mate-less. And here he was with the crown still on his head and his wife pregnant with his young.
Four months along.
He thought back, sifting through the weeks and then the months. There had been a night, about four months ago, when Beth had come to find him in the study during the day. They hadn’t been together for a while at that point, what with everything going on—and he’d been shocked, in a good way, by how aggressively she’d gotten on him. Afterward … come to think of it, her scent had changed—deepening, although not in the way a vampire female’s would with pregnancy.
All along, she had been with young.
Destiny had served them both up what she had wanted but feared would never have, and what he didn’t know he’d needed.
As he heard his mate yawn, he went on instant alert. “Okay, time to go up.”
The crowd calmed down immediately, and he could sense the focus on his Beth. She was going to get a lot of that from now on, not just from him but from his brothers. They were protective of her already. Pregnant? She was going to get that shit twenty-fold now.
“And I think I need to feed again,” his Beth said as he started up the stairs, George leading him by subtle pressure on his leg.
“I gotchu.” He frowned. “What did the doc say about the nausea?”
“She really does think I have the flu. But then, she doesn’t know about the whole needing thing and maybe that’s why?”
“I’ll talk to Havers—you don’t have to go see him.”
“That would be great, actually. I’m really nervous.”
“Don’t you worry. I got this.”
And he absolutely, positively did. He felt in control of the universe, an old, familiar part of him waking up once again.
George guided him to the door that opened up to the stairs to the third floor, and when they got to the top, Wrath went to the left.
As the vault was unlocked, he walked inside, taking her immediately to the bed. “You want me to run a bath? A shower? The sink?”
She laughed. “I just want to lie here. I feel like I’ve been on a roller-coaster ride that’s been going too fast.”
Sitting down beside her, he found her lower belly with his hand. “I love this.”
“Love what?”
“This bump thing you got going on.” He smiled. “That’s our young.”
“It sure is.”
“I wish I could see it. That picture.”
“Me, too.”
“But this is good.” He rubbed in circles, trying to imagine what his son would look like. “And he’s strong.”
“Yes. Just like his father.”
“Here, take my vein.” He extended his wrist to her mouth. “Please.”
“Oh, thank you.”
As her fangs sank into his skin, he wanted her at his throat but didn’t trust himself. He was juiced up, and that kind of shit tended to like a particular outlet—and that was not happening while she was pregnant. Nope. Not with his son in there—
His wife’s hand landed on his hard cock—and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Fuck!”
She broke the seal on his vein. “We can have sex, you know.”
“Ah, no. Nope.”
“Wrath, I’m not sick—and it’s not like we have to worry about whether or not I’m going to get pregnant.” The smile on her face was all over her tone. “You got that job done just fine.”
“I did, didn’t I.”
“I am so happy about this,” she said, as he felt her touch his face. “About your response most of all.”
Guess he’d surprised them both with his reaction.
Stroking her belly, he thought about what was growing inside of her. “You want to know what the best part of this is?”
“Tell me,” she whispered.
“You have given me something … I didn’t even know I needed. It’s the greatest gift I will ever receive—it’s, like, completing me already in places I wasn’t aware were empty. And yet … in spite of all that? I don’t love you one bit more. You are as important to me as you’ve always been.” He curled down and pressed a kiss to the loose shirt she was wearing—it was one of his, actually, and wasn’t that great. “I was wholly bonded to you before this, and will be after this—and forevermore.”
“You’re going to make me cry again.”
“So cry. And let me take care of you. I got this.”
“I love you so much.”
He moved up to her mouth and kissed her once, twice, three times. “Right. Back. Atchu. Now finish feeding and rest—and I’ll have food brought up.”
“No food, please. Not right now. Your strength is all I need.”
Amen to that, he thought.
Wrath stayed on the edge of that bed forever as she nursed against his wrist. Then he helped her to the shower, got her dried off, and put her between the sheets.
“I’m just going to rest a little,” she said, already drifting off as the shutters started to rise for the night.