Page 24 of Christmas Embrace

“Sorry. I, uh, I don’t know where that came from…Um,” Dominique averted her gaze, wearing a confused expression. “I…I’d better go. I’ll see you tomorrow, k?”

“Sure thing, Dom. No worries.” Sydney turned to Kade as Dominique scurried away into the kitchen.

“What was that?” Sydney whispered.

“I do believe she’s coming out of whatever fog the trauma from the demon caused. Let’s hope there aren’t any bumps along the way. You know how she is. When she comes to, I can tell you she’s going to be one pissed off vampire.”

“All hell is going to break loose. Maybe I should mention it to Wynter.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” Kade began.

A loud commotion erupted, screaming and quacking snapping his attention to the living room. “Say, how about you go up and put Zach down for a nap? I’ll be up in a minute. I don’t know what in the hell’s happening, but I need to make sure they get these ducks out to the courtyard before they crap all over the carpet and become very unlucky birds. Now that I think about it, I always did enjoy Duck à l'Orange.”

Sydney laughed, her attention still on Zachery. “Daddy doesn’t like the duckies, but they are very important to Auntie Sam.”

Kade brushed his lips to her cheek, sending a wave of gooseflesh over her skin. His vampire energy sizzled through her like electricity, reminding her of his power.

“Hmm,” Sydney flashed Kade a flirty smile, batting her eyelashes. “Daddy is being a very bad boy. He might need a spanking.”

“Is that an invitation, Mrs. Claus?” Kade winked at her as he turned to the flock of waddling ducks and shooed them out of the foyer.

As Kade walked away, Sydney took a deep breath and refocused on Zachery, who giggled as he played with her hair. Truth be told, she could have cared less if there was a herd of buffalo roaming through her house. The only thing that mattered was that her son was home.

Sydney swore as she read Dr. Guillot’s text. “Shit.”

Heads up. Found human DNA in the brain cavity. Going to see if we have a match with anyone in the database.

Thx. She shot back a text.

Sydney’s stomach tightened as her mind churned with the myriad of scenarios where a human would step into the world of killing wolves. Demonic possession? Drug trafficking? Was Trinity involved in human trafficking? Had she planned to sell Zachery?

Sydney glanced to the baby who lay sleeping in his crib, attempting to shove her worry to the back of her mind. She prayed he’d never remember the first months of his life, vowing to surround him with enough love to make up for this harsh world.

A soft knock on the door drew her out of her contemplation. She smiled, her heart full as Kade walked into the nursery.

“It’s getting late.”

“I didn’t want to leave him,” Sydney responded.

“We should go to bed.”

“Just one more minute.” The euphoria of having him home again made her feel as if she’d gone to heaven.

“He’s amazing,” Kade whispered.

“He fell asleep in my arms. I missed him so much.” She smiled, her face beaming. “He’s just…he’s just so…”

“Perfect.” Kade wrapped his arm around her.

“I know, right?” For several minutes, they both stood in awe, watching him sleep.

“Listen, Syd.” Sydney hesitated to respond, sensing his change in tone of voice. “I’ve got to talk to you about something. It’s about Logan.”

“And…” Her body stiffened.

“Trinity had an aunt.”

“No. It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head and took a deep breath as anxiety threaded through her from head to toe.