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KATHERINE
It's been six months, and I knew this day would come. Gabriel and I are sitting in Autumn’s office and I have Elijah in my lap. He’s cooing and making cute as fuck baby noises; this shouldn’t be a problem at all since it signifies a happy, healthy baby.
But for Pureblood vampires it is because the infancy stage usually lasts for five years whereas Elijah is growing like an average human baby.
“Okay, there’s no bad news,” Autumn says as she opens the folder in front of her. “But there is something.”
I can tell Gabriel’s getting antsy, and so am I but there’s no point in getting impatient with the messenger who’s trying to help us. “We’re listening,” I say, taking Gabriel’s hand in mine under the table and giving it a squeeze.
Autumn sighs. “Elijah is growing like a human baby because of what happened to him in utero; the stakes, the baobab mixed with blood that you ingested. This seems to have interfered with the slow growth spurt of an average Pureblood baby,” she says, looking at both Gabriel and me.
I was scared of this; I knew the baobab would have adverse effects on him. I had a feeling something was coming, but I didn’t want to openly admit it to myself.
“Is it only his growth, or is there more we should know?” Gabriel asks the question I am too terrified to ask.
Autumn shakes her head. “For now, it is only his growth that’s affected by this. He still has his healing and cannot walk in the sun, but I would like it if we could do a checkup every six months so we can monitor it.” She says while trying to offer us comforting smiles.
“Other than the aging and growth, is everything else okay? No deformities? No health risks?” Gabriel asks and leans forward.
“He’s as healthy as any baby I’ve seen to, if not more,” she chuckles, then gets out of her chair and holds out her arms to take him. “He’s precious, so precious it makes me wish for my own, but that can’t happen.” She says with a faraway look in her eyes.
Gabriel and I share a look when she says this, and I know we’re both thinking the exact same thing right now.
Last night Valentine and Autumn came to us with some news; Autumn has a rare irreversible blood condition, one she can die from. She’s asked that Gabriel turn her so she can continue to help others; she’ll be part of the family by the end of the week.
Valentine is happy, though, but not happy that Autumn might die if she stayed human. I'm sure they'll be even happier once she's immortal and this way, Autumn can help so many more people and supernatural beings.
We bid her farewell and walked out of the clinic in silence, neither of us knowing what to say. Elijah will age like a human, but still be a vampire; will his growth stop? Will the aging process stop when he reaches a certain age? Why didn’t I think to ask this question?!
Powerful hands on my shoulder stop my minor panic attack, and I look up into Gabriel’s clear blue eyes. I breathe out a pent-up sigh and my fog lifts a little. “That’s it, little lamb; just calm down before those wheels start smoking from the way they’re spinning right now.” He says.
I hold Elijah closer to me and feel my eyes welling up with tears. “I can’t help it! This is not how it’s supposed to be!” I cry out, shaking my head. “What if he doesn’t stop getting old? What if this aging process doesn’t slow down? He’ll never meet his Fated. He won’t get to experience what we have with each other, Gabe!”
Gabriel wraps his powerful arms around both Elijah and me and plants kisses on our foreheads. “We can’t work on what could happen, little lamb, we have to go on what’s happening right now,” he says. “Elijah is healthy, he’s strong, and he’s growing. We’ll face whatever is coming together, but we cannot only focus on the what ifs, or we’ll miss out on the blessing we have.”
He lets go of us and tilts my chin to look me in the eye. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss out on anything.”
How does this man have the power to set my mind at ease with a few simple words? Granted, I am terrified of what’s to come, but he’s right; I can’t focus on what’s coming or I’ll miss out on what is.
I stand on my tiptoes and place a kiss on his bearded cheek. “Thank you for always knowing what to say, King. I love you,” I say with a smile.
“It’s my job to know, and I love you too, little lamb,” he says, returning my smile.
Yes, Elijah will be different, but we’ll deal with everything when it comes. I can’t keep on focusing on the negatives when the positives outweigh them.
We walk over to the waiting SUV and I strap Elijah in the car seat before joining Gabriel up front. The last few months after he was born, Gabriel has solidified his role as Vampire King, with no objections from anyone except the old council’s family members.
Eirisse’s daughter disappeared after killing her brother and Kazimir’s Fated bears no ill will toward the changes or the death of Kazimir. She’s vowed to leave with her children and not interfere with what we have planned.
The fact that Eirisse’s daughter killed her brother and took off, bothers all of us since her daughter was so similar to her. She inherited the bloodlust and cruelty, so she’ll no doubt try to overthrow us while working from the shadows.
But I’m sure Gabriel and the rest have a plan for if and when that has to happen. 80% of the vampire community stands with Gabriel as King, and even though we have the rest who want us eliminated, there’s nothing we can do for now.
We arrive at the estate and see Xenia and Church waiting for us at the entryway. They have their bags packed and waiting for us to bid us farewell. As much as we love them and want them to stay, they’ve decided to travel the world for a bit and see what’s out there.
“Hey,” Xenia waves when she sees us, her face lighting up with excitement. I remember her briefly mentioning her dream of traveling when we were younger. I guess her dream was actually bigger than she let on.
I take Elijah from the backseat and walk over to them, wrapping them both in a one-armed embrace. “I can’t believe you guys are leaving,” I say in a choked voice.
