AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It took some time for me to forgive my sister, but Laura and I have been spending more and more time together once I did. Mated to a Prince, she met the other two demon-human couples before I did, but she did introduce me to them.
Natalie and I met just before she gave birth, and that was the first half-human, half-demon child I met. It did give me a bit of baby fever afterward, but Giroth and I just aren’t ready for that.
So I jumped at the chance to come celebrate Anastasia’s pregnancy, eager to welcome another baby into the world. Besides, Giroth has been extra tense lately. The ur’gins are on edge from all the tremors, and I can’t imagine there’s anything that a new baby won’t fix!
“Remind me again why I have to go.” He huffs under his breath, and I roll my eyes.
Reaching up, I grab his hand and unwrap it from my shoulders. Stepping away from him, I say, “You’re free to go then. Be with your pups.”
His eyes narrow as he jerks me back against him. “Being with my pups is my job, Cora. I am the hound master. But this–” He motions in the air with a frustrated hand. “Frivolous event is just that. We could be putting our time to better use than…”
“Being around other people?” I finish for him, not at all blind to the way that mate loathes socializing. He’d be such a happy demon if this entire island was populated by ur’gins instead of humans or demons.
He sighs deeply. “Precisely.”
“It’s a celebration!” I elbow him in the side and he feigns like I’ve injured him. I ignore his theatrics. “You could at least fake excitement.”
“I’m not entirely convinced that you and Laura didn’t make it up.” A smirk does pull at his lips, though.
I nudge him again. “It’s a tradition.”
“A human one.”
“For a human,” I remind him. He scoffs, but I cut in before he can protest. “And all the other demons are going to be there.”
“Since when do I want to be like other demons? Before you, I was quite content alone and away from them.”
I tip my head back to look up at him. “So, you aren’t now.”
He glares at me. “You know that is not what I meant. Don’t start with your trickery, little soz’garoth.”
Chuckling, we turn down the street. He’s taken to calling me that, saying I’m able to achieve things only the sorcerer should.
I knock on the door, and it swings open easily beneath my touch. “Cora!” Anastasia squeals excitedly.
“Hope you don’t mind.” I can’t help how wide my smile is as I hug her around the basket and her round belly. “And if you do, it was Laura’s idea.”
“Ha-ha,” Laura teases as she squeezes me tight. “I’m glad you’re here.” Her eyes sweep to the basket pressed against me. “What’s this?”
“Oh!” I present to Anastasia. “I brought you a little something! Well, you and the baby.”
“Oh my goodness! Thank you!” She eagerly takes it, stepping back into the house to make room for Giroth and I to enter. “Oh, wow!” She pulls out the small blankets and handmade toys that I crafted – and cried over. I did the same for Matt and Beth, and more than once Giroth begged me to stop. “These are beautiful.”
When Anastasia looks up at me with tears in her eyes, my heart swells. But then Giroth leans down to whisper in my ear. “If you start crying, I’m going to take you home. It should not be humanly possible to shed this many tears.”
I elbow him, rolling my eyes. “I’m glad you like it!”
Being with the girls makes me feel lighter than I have lately. There has been a lot weighing on Giroth, and me in turn. Especially with the way the pups have been reacting to all the tremors.
But right now, we’re just having fun.
Anastasia smiles, her eyes tracking between the two of us. “We were about to go grab the other two males. Maybe you would like to join, Giroth.”
He opens his mouth, and I can already see, based on his expression, that he is about to tell her exactly how he feels about that suggestion, so I cut in. “That would be great! Thank you!”
As Anastasia turns, though, I see the look on Laura’s face. Her expression is all scrunched up, confused and hesitant, and I shoot her a questioning response. She shakes her head, clearly not wanting to get into it right now.
“What do you know?” It’s a shout, so loud that we can all hear it inside the house clearly. Anastasia instantly goes stiff, and I realize exactly who it was – Volikan.
