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“How long has this been here?” Lily asked as she climbed out of the car.
Gabriel shrugged as he took her hand, and they walked up the gravel driveway.
“Piper and my mother have been friends since I was a kid. She’s resisted giving into any renovations, as you can probably tell.”
The house wasn't completely dilapidated, but it certainly wasn't as structurally sound as the rest of the houses on the block. All of them, including Gabriel’s estate, looked like a modern, shiny mansion. Piper’s homestead looked like it belonged on a ranch.
“She doesn't mind us coming at this hour?”
Gabriel knocked on the door, shaking his head absentmindedly. Lily knew there was a lot on his mind. She thought that learning about the pregnancy would lighten his load and enliven his spirits.
“She rarely sleeps, apparently. Her magic works best at night.”
When Piper opened the door, Lily took Gabriel's words to heart. A short woman, barely half Gabriel’s height, answered, hunched over with the widest smile on her face. The eyes were small and beady, black as raisins, but there was an innocence in them that was instantly soothing.
“Good evening, young lovers,” she said with the spritely intonation of a much younger person. “I hear that we have a bun in the oven.”
Piper led them inside, taking Lily by the hand and guiding her toward a room that looked like the perfect amalgamation of witchy and medical sterility. When Claire had mentioned a healer, she thought that it was just the shifter term for a nurse. But based upon the appearance of the room she was taken into, there was far more magic to even pregnancy than she had surmised.
“If you don't mind, young lady, please, can you lie down on the table? Your mate can sit next to you.”
Lily did as she was asked and laid on a couch that reminded her more of psychoanalysis treatment than a medical examination. When she did, Piper flicked off the overhead light and turned on the lantern in the corner.
The lantern gave off various shades of violet, plum, and lavender. For a moment, Lily was shaken. Gabriel must have noticed because he took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
“You’re okay,” he whispered.
His mesmerizing emerald eyes anchored her in the moment, and she relaxed. Piper pulled up a stool and slapped on some latex gloves, rubbed them together as if to build friction, then took in a deep breath.
She spoke in a casual and friendly cadence like they had known her their entire lives as she hovered both hands over Lily’s belly.
“Now, if you don't mind, please pull your shirt up to your bra line. Then please remain as still as possible. You may breathe, but don't move anymore.”
Lily did as she was asked, lying as placidly as she could. Her arm hung to the side, clinging to Gabriel as Piper worked her charm.
Nothing happened the way it did in books Lily had read as a child. Fireflies did not emerge from the witchy woman's fingers. She did not chant. But Lily did feel something inside her change and move.
Her child was there, she knew it potently. Her eyes glassed over as Piper opened her eyes and beamed down on her with a smile that was as genuine as they came.
“Congratulations, you two," she said, raising her eyes to Gabriel. "You are indeed pregnant. You have a little cub on the way.”
Gabriel smiled, but it was devastatingly strained. Lily wished the moment could have come during a time when they could completely indulge in the pure joy of the moment. But so much hung in the balance, including the future of his unborn child.
They embraced, and a few silent tears fell from Lily’s eyes. She couldn't help it. It had been something she had dreamed of her entire life.
“They are going to be so fortunate to have parents like you,” Piper said.
They left the healer soon after and returned silently to the car, then to Gabriel’s home. It was nearly five a.m. by then, and dawn was just around the corner.
Lily felt like a hole was being carved into her chest with the most ragged of knives. She wanted to go home and drink coffee on the porch, to make love, to talk about their future like nothing was going to stand in their way.
Instead, she was sending him off like a soldier going to war. She felt sick, looking him in the eyes and saying goodbye. It ripped her to shreds to think it could be the last time.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Gabriel said, standing on the porch. “I’m taking nearly all of the enforcers. We have survived humans, and we will survive them again. I promise."
All Lily could think about was Ava, her skill set, and the vengeful look in her eyes. She would have no problem killing all of them. She believed in Gabriel's strength and leadership. She was merely terrified because she was in love.
And that did something to a person.
