No Escape From Destiny (32 page)

As soon as the door was shut and Kassie saw her mom, she slapped Damian on the shoulder and said, “See, I told you she would be fine.”

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes you did, baby girl, and you were right. You’re so smart.”

Kassie’s smile lightened up her face so much Damian thought he was looking into the sun.
Adrian
moved to the same side of the bed as
Nikkos
and gave them room to stand on the other side. Damian looked to
Nikkos
and Adrian for permission before taking her hand in his. “How are you feeling?”

She looked up at him and assured him she was fine and ready to get home, where they would be safe. Kassie spoke up as only a child would. “Mommy, did you know you’re a queen and I’m a princess? I said I like to play princess, and Damian said I really am one now and you are the queen, so now no more playing make-believe, I really, really am a princess. Did you know that? I’m happy, because I like being a princess. Princesses get everything they want and can do anything they want.”

Anstice pretended to glare at Damian. “Did you have to tell her that? Now she thinks she can have anything she wants.”

Damian just shrugged his shoulders. “She is, and I’ll make sure she has everything she wants. This little girl right here is going to be the most spoiled child on the face of the earth.”

Anstice shook her head. “Okay, but when she doesn’t get her way and throws a temper tantrum, Uncle Damian is gonna hear about it and deal with it.”

“I’m okay with that,” replied Damian.

Anstice rolled her eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

She then looked over to
Nikkos
and Adrian. “When can we go home? We need to get out of here and get Kassie home safe.”

Damian said, “I’ll go find out.”

He left Kassie with her parents and went to find the doctor to see if Anstice could leave yet. When he walked into the waiting room, he found the doctor and Shana hadn’t moved from the couch, except they weren’t really talking. They seemed to be just staring at each other in awe. Damian studied them for a minute and cleared his throat to get their attention. When the doctor looked over at him, he asked, “How long before she can be released? We really need to get home soon to get the princesses to safety.”

The doctor rose from the sofa and went to check on Anstice. Shana didn’t move from her spot but watched every move the doctor made until he shut the door. Damian studied her for a while and thought about the doctor’s reaction to her.
Looks like someone has found their mate
.

He wondered how Shana was going to take the news that she was now the mate of a vampire and wondered how the doctor was going to take the news that his new mate was going back home with his family. Guess the good doctor better start looking for a new job on the East Coast.
Hope he likes snow
.

Damian went to Anstice’s room door, opened it a little, and motioned for
Adrian
to join him. When he did, he told
Adrian
about his concern about Shana being the doctor’s mate and that there may be trouble when they tried to leave with her.
Adrian
told him not to worry and the doctor had already mentioned wanting to visit them and doing some research with Mikhaila and Lucian.

Adrian told him, “Guess he’ll be taking his vacation a little sooner, and it will last a lot longer. Shana can’t stay here or return here. Once she leaves, we cannot allow her back where someone will recognize her. I’ll explain this to the good doctor as soon as he releases Anstice.”

Damian nodded his understanding. Just then the door to the recovery room was opened.
Nikkos
was holding Anstice in his arms. “We’re ready, let’s go.”

Adrian said, “Wait just a minute, I need to have a chat with the doctor,” and motioned for the doctor to return to the recovery room with him. Damian followed them to the other room just in case there was trouble. Once inside, Adrian informed the doctor that he was aware that Shana was his mate, but that she was going to be going with them. Before the doctor could argue, he explained all the reasons, including the fact that everyone now thought she was dead, and if any of the
kynigos
found out she was still alive, her life would be in danger. That was all it took to get him to agree for her to leave without him.

“My vacation starts in two days. Can you tell me where you live so I may join her and complete our mating?”

No one knew where exactly the prince lived, so
Adrian
handed him a card with his number on it. “Fly to
Boston
International
Airport
. Call this number when you know when you will be there and someone will come and pick you up.”

The doctor took the card and placed it in his pocket then they joined everyone in the waiting room. The doctor went over and carefully lifted Shana’s hand to his mouth. With a small kiss to the inside of her wrist, he promised to see her in two days. She looked confused but agreed. They all left the hospital and headed straight to the airport where the private jet was waiting.

Chapter Thirty

Anstice, Kassie, and Shana slept the whole flight. When they arrived at
Boston
International
Airport
,
Nikkos
, Adrian, and Damian carried the girls to the waiting car. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the car stopped in front of the mansion without any other problems.

By this time Anstice was awake, and even though she was in pain, she insisted on carrying, with the help of her mates, a still-sleeping Kassie inside and up to the room that the servants had been working hard to prepare for her. As she laid her on the bed, the little girl woke up and glanced around her room. “I really am a princess, ain’t I, Mommy?” she asked sleepily.

Anstice looked around, seeing the pink walls, the canopy bed and pink carpet, the decals of princesses all over the walls, and the dresser, whose whole top was covered in tiaras. “Yes, sweetie, you really are a princess. This is all for you, my beautiful daughter. You are a princess and will be treated as one for the rest of your life by everyone here. I’m so happy to have you home at last.”

She hugged her daughter tight and fought back the tears threatening to spill over and run down her cheeks. Kassie hugged her back and told her not to cry, and that everything was going to be okay. Then she asked, “Did we bring my other mommy home with us, too? I don’t want them bad men to hurt her. Is she here? Does she get to stay with us?”

Anstice nodded her head. “Yes, sweetie, she is here and will be staying with us. Don’t worry, we’ll keep her safe. Are you still tired, sweetie. Do you want to sleep some more?”

Kassie shook her head and pointed to the dollhouse that was taller than her set up in the corner. “No, I’m not tired. Is that mine? Can I play with it? Are there dolls, too? Can I, please, please, please, can I?”

Nikkos
laughed at the child bouncing off the bed and went over to open the chest next to the dollhouse that was just about overflowing with dolls and the one next to it with doll clothes. “This is all yours, baby doll, and you can play with them any time you want. If you want more dolls or any other toys, just tell me, and I will make sure you get what you want.”

Anstice gave him a look that said he was going to spoil the child if he kept it up.

He added, “Well, anything your mommy says you can have, and you can play with them anytime unless your mommy says you have to do something else, like go to bed or do your homework or something like that. You can have anything you want, but you still have to be a good girl and listen to your mommy.”

She nodded to him and said, “I will be a good girl, I promise, and I’ll make sure I listen to her and you and my other daddy, too.”

With that, she flew off the bed and launched herself at his leg, hugging it tight. He lifted her up and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead before putting her back down to play with her new dolls.

Nikkos
joined his mates and wrapped them both in his arms. They watched Kassie play with her dolls for a while before
Nikkos
kissed his mates gently on their necks. “I need you both alone right now.” He growled. “Unless you want to stay with Kassie a little longer,” he added.

Anstice shook her head as she turned and snuggled into his granite chest. “No, I need to feel my mates, too. Just let me tell her we’re going and we can leave.”

She walked over to the little girl, who had all the dolls lined up and at this moment was in the process of naming each and every one of them. “Sweetie, are you okay here by yourself for a little while? We won’t be far away and can come back if you need us.”

Kassie nodded her head without looking up from the dolls. “Yup, I be fine. Gonna play.”

Anstice was a little worried about leaving Kassie alone in the big house all by herself. Damian must have felt her apprehension, because he chose that moment to enter the room, followed by
Ajax
and Shana. Apparently
Ajax
remembered her, because the second he saw Kassie he ran as fast as he could toward her. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief when he stopped just short of plowing into the little girl. She turned around and squealed with delight before wrapping her arms around his neck while he licked her face, and she giggled.

Damian laughed at the antics of the two. “I found a room for Shana just down the hall and told her where she could and could not go in the mansion.” He looked at his brother. “I hope that’s all right?”

Nikkos
nodded. “That’s fine, brother. This is your home, too, now, remember.”

Damian looked like he had to take a minute to collect his thoughts. Anstice knew how he felt. She still wasn’t used to having family, either. “I also showed her how to use the phone to find me and to call the servants if she needs anything. Now, if you three don’t mind, I would like some time to play with Kassie.”

With that, he ushered the three of them out of the room with a wink and a laugh. Anstice stopped him from shutting the door with a hand on his arm. She leaned in and hugged him before anyone could stop her. Damian froze at first, but a look at
Nikkos
and Adrian said it was fine to hug her back. He hugged her tight as she thanked him for helping her find her daughter and protecting her when they were being attacked. When she released him and stood on her tippy-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, he leaned down and accepted it.

Straightening, with his hand over his heart, he said, “I will always love and protect you both. Don’t worry about her. I’ll stay here with her until you come back. She won’t be left alone for a minute.”

Anstice nodded and thanked him again then lead her men to their room.

When they got to their room, she paused slightly to lock the door before leading them both to the bed. She pushed them both down on the bed, where they lay side by side as she slowly undressed. The heat in their eyes as they watched her was enough to start a forest fire.

When she was completely naked, she crawled onto the bed on top of
Nikkos
and kissed him. He brought his arms up around her and held her tight as he took her mouth deeply. She left him, breathless, and crawled over on top of
Adrian
. She didn’t kiss him right away. First she said, “I want to finish the bonding with you, if you still want me.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently. “Of course, I will always want you, but we don’t have to do this now. You have had a long day and are still healing. You just found your daughter and don’t know if she will turn vampire when she hits puberty or not. If you would rather wait until she is older, I’m okay with that. I know where I belong and that you are my mate. I’m not going anywhere. We don’t have to rush into this.”

She kissed him back before replying, “I love you, and nothing that happens will make me change my mind. If she turns when she’s older, that will be great. If she doesn’t, she will always have that option to choose for herself later in life if she meets a vampire that is her mate. Or I’m sure Damian will help to turn her if she chooses to before she finds a mate. Either way, I know what I want, and that is you and
Nikkos
.”