Page 94 of The Rebirth
“You and Sam are instrumental in making sure humanity survives.”
Confusion snaked through me. “You mean it’s up to him and me to stop the genetic engineering?”
She tilted her head slightly, frowning. “Yes.”
I released a sigh as my muscles loosened, the adrenaline draining from me ounce by ounce, tears filling my eyes. “Can you believe we’ve made it to this point?”
“We’ve had a tough road, baby doll. But every hour, minute, and second since we met has been the best ride of my fucking life despite the challenges we’ve faced.” His voice oozed with love and elation. “Eternity with you is the best happily ever after I could’ve asked for.”
“You’ll always be my happy ending, Sam Mason.”
He crashed his mouth to mine in a quick, sloppy, tongue-tangoing kiss, then said, “Ready to burn this place down?”
I answered with a bow of my head, feeling the energy throbbing and vibrating through my limbs. “Fire purifies.” I held out my arms. “Fire cleanses.” A spark ignited on Adam’s head. “It’s by my hand that this warehouse doesn’t stand,” I chanted, envisioning fire everywhere. “This is my will. This is my way.” Smoke billowed up from between a vampire and a monster at the bottom edge of the pile. “When I walk out, wash it away.” As I lowered my arms, flames danced and spread.
Sam and I watched for several seconds, then he clutched my hand. “Let’s go home, baby doll.”
We walked through the lobby, our eyes locked in a fierce gaze brimming with an intense love that radiated between us. We’d overcome the impossible and emerged victorious, our hearts bursting with an uncontainable joy.
Our love for each other had defied all odds, transcended every obstacle, and was born from a fiery passion of human versus vampire, hunter against the hunted. But now, we were so much more. We were two souls, entwined in an unbreakable bond of love, forever bound by our four beautiful children and a future of an eternal life spent basking in pure and unadulterated bliss.
33
SAM
Four months had passed since we’d finally ended Adam Emery’s genetic-engineering reign. The public’s outcry and demand for Adam’s execution had ceased once word spread that Adam had perished in a fire at his new headquarters.
The shock and awe about vampires living among humans had died down, but tension still existed. We couldn’t expect everyone to like us, and there would always be those who wanted to hunt us down. As far as humans turning into wolves, hardly anything had surfaced about a white wolf in Boston. We’d thought some rumor would propagate given that Dane’s wolf had been spotted in Boston, but Cooper Gray and his team had hacked into most media outlets to delete any news or videos of Dane’s wolf. Anything else related to videos of the white wolf were nothing but speculation that the animal had lost its way from the wild.
Regardless, with Layla as my dad’s liaison, she was slowly making an impact on behalf of vampires by announcing key programs that could help those in need. Additionally, we’d also followed through on our promise to help the families impacted by Adam’s program by paying down mortgages and starting college funds, to name a few. Of course, that wouldn’t erase the grief and suffering of losing a mother, father, husband, or child.
I sat at the kitchen island, surfing the net for beachfront properties as snow fluttered to the ground outside the wall of windows in our apartment and behind the seven-foot Christmas tree I’d cut down at a local tree farm.
“Jingle Bell Rock” played in the background as Layla danced with Ellie in her arms. Our little redhead with blue eyes was definitely a mini Layla.
“Papa, come dance with us,” Layla said, in between singing to Ellie.
We were about to celebrate the holidays and every other milestone—our marriage, the birth of our children, rescuing Orion and Luna, and the battles we’d won. Not to mention, toasting to our future.
“I’m not a dancer, baby doll.”
Watching my wife and daughter made my heart swell. I was happier than a pig in shit. I’d fallen into a routine of training new recruits for the Vampire Navy SEAL program, spending time with my family, and searching for property where Layla and I could build a life of our own. We loved Maine and the location where Jo and Webb had their beachfront property, but we wanted a warmer climate where it didn’t snow in the wintertime. We hadn’t found anything yet, but we weren’t in a rush.
“You’re a party pooper,” Layla volleyed back. “Just this once. Come on. You’re going to have to do things with the kids that you’ve never done before. So you might as well start now.”
I rolled my eyes and padded over to where they were, near the Christmas tree. “Okay. I’m not a hip-swaying guy.”
Layla handed me Ellie, then picked up Luna from the playpen. “Your turn.”
That left Rorie in the playpen as she chewed on a squishy teething toy. Our three little girls were outfitted in cute red-and-green dresses with bows in their hair. I melted every time I looked at them. My son was in the nursery with Agnes while she changed his diaper, but he had the same effect on me as his sisters did.
Raising four vampire witches was proving to be a challenge, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of Agnes and Jordyn. My sister-in-law insisted on doing as much to help as she could before she decided what her plans were for her future. Agnes, on the other hand, wasn’t going anywhere. She was content to stay for as long as we would have her. In a way, we needed her. She was proving to be an invaluable asset as she taught Layla the basics of witchcraft. In turn, Layla could teach our children once they were old enough to understand.
Nevertheless, at close to six months old, they were developmentally ahead of human infants at the same age—crawling, making sounds, curious, and teething. We hadn’t spotted any fangs on them yet, but according to Doc, their inhuman incisors might grow in after they lost their baby teeth.
I held Ellie and moved my feet, following Layla’s lead as she danced around us. Ellie smiled, touching my face. I even tried singing the words, but I was horrible. Instead, I peppered kisses over my daughter’s face, basking in the love swirling around us.
The song ended, and Layla pouted. “That was fun.”
