No Escape From Destiny (34 page)

She took the soaking-wet child into her arms and hugged her tight, not caring that she was getting wet herself. “I’m sorry I left you for a little while, baby girl. How are you doing? Are you having fun with Damian?”

Kassie nodded her head. “Yes, he is so much fun, and he even promised to buy me a pony when you were awake if you said it was okay. Is it okay? Can I have a pony? Please, please, please? I really want a pony.”

Anstice looked over at Damian as he bit his lip. “I said she had to ask you, but I have no problem getting her one and helping her take care of it. I promise you won’t have to do anything for it. I’ll take care of everything, even teaching her how to ride.”

Anstice shook her head and grinned. “You are going to spoil her rotten if you get her everything she asks for, but you can get her a pony if that is what you both really want. And thank you for waiting and asking me first. I appreciate it.” She looked back at Kassie. “Now how about you show me how you can swim some more.”

Kassie nodded and went to jump back in the pool, Damian not far behind her. She knew he would never be farther than an arm’s length from the child if he could help it.

Anstice sat on the side of the pool with her feet in the water and watched Kassie and Damian swim and splash each other. She must have lost track of time, because before she knew it,
Nikkos
and Adrian had come to find her. They sat down on each side of her and wrapped their arms around her, gently kissing the side of her neck where their mating marks were. This sent a tingle down her spine and caused her fangs to lengthen again. “Will I ever not want to jump on both of you when you do that to me?”

They spoke in unison, “Hope not,” and then laughed. She reached behind them both like she was going to hug them and pushed them into the water. “You two need to cool off,” she said as she tried to jump up and retreat from the water so they wouldn’t pull her in. She wasn’t quite fast enough, and they each grabbed an ankle and pulled her in with them.

Kassie saw the three of them in the pool and gave them her best shot at a scowl. “You should have swimsuits on in the pool, not your clothes.” They all laughed as they splashed each other.

Kassie showed
Nikkos
and Adrian how well she could swim as she swam into Anstice’s arms. Anstice smiled brightly, and that was when Kassie must noticed her fangs. “Mommy, you have fangs like Daddies and Damian. Can I have fangs, too? They are so pretty, I love them. I want some so I can be pretty, too.”

Anstice kissed the girl on her forehead and said, “Baby girl, you are already beautiful, but someday you will have fangs, too.”

Anstice knew deep down that she was telling the girl the truth. Even if she didn’t turn when she was a teenager, she would want to become like them. She would willingly go through the change. She didn’t want her to go through the pain she had and was told by her mates that if Kassie turned naturally at puberty it wouldn’t be so bad. She hoped and prayed that the exchanges she had already made with Damian would force the change when Kassie was a teenager. Maybe she would talk to Mikhaila and see if she thought it would help for her to make blood exchanges regularly until she was a teen.

She thought Damian would be more than willing to keep exchanging blood with her to make things easier on her, but if he wouldn’t, she would do it herself. She had time to think about that, though, and it would be about seven years before they would know for sure what would happen to her. Pushing all her thoughts to the side, she enjoyed the time she had with her new family.

They all swam for a bit longer before getting out and getting ready for dinner. As they all sat at the kitchen table, Anstice looked around. Everyone had come for their first dinner together as a family. Even the Dr. Bennett that had saved her life in
Las Vegas
. He was sitting next to Shana and couldn’t keep his eyes and hands off her. Every time he complimented her and touched her, she would blush.

Anstice made a mental note to ask
Nikkos
and Adrian what that was all about later when they were alone, but she could guess as to what was going on between the two. They looked at each other the same way she looked at her mates and they looked at her.

After dinner, Damian announced that he had a surprise for Kassie and asked everyone to join them in the backyard. He carried Kassie while covering her eyes and telling her not to peek. He came to a stop and let her see the beautiful, chocolate-colored pony walking around the newly fenced-in yard.

Anstice saw the pony and said, “I thought you were waiting for me to say yes?”

He looked at her in confusion. “You said yes, didn’t you?”

She smiled. “I did, but you must have already had it before or it wouldn’t be here already.”

He blushed. “No, I hadn’t bought it yet. I just had it picked out and called to have it delivered during dinner. I bought a horse, too, so we could ride together, but it won’t be here until tomorrow.”

Anstice laughed and hugged Damian. “Thank you for loving her as much as I do.”

Kassie was pulling on Damian’s pant leg. “Can I go for a ride now? Please, please?”

Damian picked the child up and kissed her on the nose. “Not yet, sweetie, we have to train him first. Tomorrow we’ll work with him, and you’ll be riding in no time.”

Kassie stuck her bottom lip out and started to pout. Damian grabbed her lip between two fingers and pulled on it. “What did I tell you about pouting, little one?”

She tried to nip at his finger as he pulled it away quickly. “That my lip is gonna stick like that if I keep doing it.”

He laughed at her. “That’s right, little one, and we don’t want that, so no pouting. Besides, I think it’s bedtime, but we’ll come out and start training him first thing tomorrow morning. I promise.”

Damian carried her back into the house and up to her room. He gave her a hug and kisses and told her he loved her before leaving. Anstice tucked the child in and gave her a kiss. “I love you, baby, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I love you, too, Mommy,” her baby girl whispered, already falling asleep.
Nikkos
and Adrian both kissed the child good night before returning to their room.

Epilogue

It had been a month since Anstice had her daughter back in her life and had become a vampire. Everything was going great. She had a family she had never dreamed to have again. Everyone now lived in the mansion, including Shana and Dr. Elijah Bennett. They were bonded but hadn’t turned Shana into a vampire yet. Elijah didn’t want to make Shana suffer the pain that Anstice went through, so he was taking his time turning her. He was working closely with Lucian, studying the differences in vampires and humans and also the vampire history.

Anstice had spoken to Mikhaila about exchanging blood with Kassie on a regular basis to hopefully make sure the child turned when she was a teenager. Mikhaila had thought it was a good idea and would also make Kassie stronger, just in case anything ever happened to her. Damian obviously offered to be the one to exchange blood with her, so they decided once a month was good for now and maybe would increase it when she got older.

Kassie was as happy as any spoiled princess could be. She and Damian trained the pony and horse, and they went riding every day for hours. Mikhaila had given birth to a beautiful baby boy one week ago and had named him Kayson
Aleksandr
.

Anstice’s life was perfect for the first time in her life, and she knew it would stay that way.

With that thought in her mind, she went in search of her mates, because she had a surprise for them. She could tell they were in the study but had seemed to be keeping their distance from her today for some reason. When she found them, they were deep in conversation and didn’t notice her enter the room. When she cleared her throat they both looked up, and
Nikkos
swiftly closed a folder and shoved it in a drawer. She got the feeling that they were trying to hide something from her and placed her hands on her hips. “What is wrong? What are you hiding from me?” she asked.

At least they both had the decency to look guilty before
Adrian
looked at
Nikkos
and nodded.
Nikkos
withdrew the papers and handed them to Anstice. “We were going to surprise you later, but you caught us.”

Anstice took the folder and opened it. Inside were plane tickets for the entire family to
Greece
. Tears filled her vision as she looked back at both of them. They were immediately out of the chairs and around the desk, surrounding her in their embrace.

Adrian said, “Little one, don’t cry. If you don’t want to go we don’t have to. We just thought you would like to see where our race is from.”

She shook her head as she looked into his dark eyes and leaned up to kiss him. “No, I want to go. I just can’t believe that you would surprise me with something so amazing.”

Nikkos
turned her to look at him. “Baby, we will always do anything that will make you happy.”

Anstice started to fidget as she pulled away from them. They looked at her, puzzled. She knew they could feel her emotions and could tell she had something to tell them, too. They had stayed away from her most of the day, and she was happy for that because she wanted to keep her news a surprise. They each took one of her hands in theirs.
Time to tell them and hope they don’t freak out.

She took a deep breath and was about to speak when Marcus came into the room with a crying Kayson in his arms. Marcus looked frantic and rushed to Anstice. “He won’t stop crying. What do I do? Mikhaila is working in the lab, and I’m just not good with babies.”

Anstice covered her laugh by clearing her throat and carefully lifting the child from Marcus’s hands. She cradled him while talking softly and swaying back and forth. In a matter of a few seconds, the child stopped crying and calmed down. He
snuggled
into her arms and looked around at everyone with his bright blue eyes. Marcus stared at her in awe. “How did you do that? He’s been crying since his mother left.”

She giggled and said, “It’s not that hard. Come here and I’ll show you how to hold him.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, he doesn’t like me, and he always cries when I hold him.”

Anstice said, “He’s your son, and he loves you. You just need more practice.” She looked to Adrian and
Nikkos
. Neither of them had held the child since he was born, so she walked over and offered him to
Adrian
.

At first she thought he would back away, but he gently took the little boy, who immediately latched onto his pinky finger and held tight.
Nikkos
wrapped his arms around
Adrian
and the little bundle and whispered, “You look good with a baby, my mate. Maybe we should think about having one someday.”

Anstice cleared her throat, looked at the males from under her lashes, and whispered, “Maybe we could have one sooner than someday?”

It took both males just a split second to realize what she was telling them. When they did,
Nikkos
wrapped her in his arms while
Adrian
gave Kayson back to his father, and then he joined the embrace. They made her look them in the eyes and both asked, “Are you serious? You’re pregnant? We’re going to have a baby?”

She grinned and held up two fingers, and she watched as
Nikkos’s
eyes rolled back in his head and closed.
Adrian
caught his mate before he hit the floor and carried him to the sofa. Within minutes he was coming to, with Anstice and Adrian looking down at him. Anstice bent down and kissed his forehead. “
Nikkos
, are you all right?”

He frowned up at her. “I don’t know. I never thought about having children until I met you. I’m happy we are having a baby, but…” He trailed off, looking up at
Adrian
that back to Anstice. “But whose are they? Mine or Adrian’s?”

Anstice saw this coming as soon as she had realized she was pregnant and worried that one of the males would feel left out if the baby belonged to the other. That was why she was glad that Mikhaila suggested an ultrasound already, even though she wasn’t that far along.