“Good one,” Evander laughs and raises his wine glass before taking a drink.
“It’s true,” Julian says. “Callie is with child.”
Evander chokes on his wine. “That’s not possible. Unless…no, you wouldn’t.”
“I didn’t cheat on Lucas,” I snap. I’m too far away to kick him so I telekinetically flick him on the nose.
“Ow.” Evander narrows his eyes but doesn’t magically pinch me back like we used to do when we were kids.
“Are you sure?” Tabatha asks, brown eyes widening.
“I’ve been really nauseous, tired, and emotional for a good week now,” I start. “I thought it was from stress, but then I remembered Lucas’s heart was beating. He drank water. He was coming alive yet dying at the same time.”
“I’ll say,” Naomi snickers and shakes her head.
“I took a pregnancy test just to convince myself it wasn’t possible,” I continue. “Imagine our surprise.”
No one says anything, and I can hear the grandfather clock ticking behind me.
“Do you know about how far along you are?” Abby finally asks.
“Almost six weeks. I know when I, uh, conceived. I should be due around June thirtieth. Well, if…if…” I trail off and can feel Eliza’s eyes on me. “If everything goes how we think it will.”
“What do you mean?” Abby asks.
“Callie is the first nephilim to ever become pregnant,” Lucas says, giving my hand a squeeze.
Abby sharply inhales. “You’re not human.”
“Right.” I blink rapidly, willing myself not to cry. “I don’t know how things will turn out,” I say slowly.
“The baby isn’t fully human then, either,” Abby says, trying to comfort me. “Right?”
“Right,” Julian and Lucas say at the same time.
“You’re not going to start drinking blood now, are you?” Nicole asks.
“Gross, no.” I shudder. “Sorry,” I tell Eliza and Lucas. “The only nonhuman parts it has are from me.”
Silence falls over the table again, and then Tabatha gets up. “My baby is having a baby.” She blinks back tears and gives me a tight hug. She’s not my biological mother, but Tabatha is my mom. And having her here means more to me right now than I thought it would.
She lets me go and looks at me, smiling, and then turns to Lucas. I know she—as well as my other friends—was hesitant to accept my relationship with a vampire. But they’ve learned to look at Lucas for who he is, not what he is, and I hope they see him the same way I do.
Because there is no one in the world for me but him.
“I’m sure this came as quite a shock,” she says.
“It did,” Lucas agrees and takes my hand. “It is the last thing I thought could happen, but now that it is happening…” He squeezes my hand. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Tears spring to my eyes, and I look up, blinking them away. “I told you, I’ve been sorta emotional,” I say, and my friends laugh.
“I was a sobbing mess most of my pregnancy,” Abby tells me. “I cried at a restaurant once when the waiter took my empty salad plate away because I wanted to eat the leftover dressing with a spoon.” She laughs. “You get a pass for a few months.”
“It’s so weird,” I say, letting out a slow breath. I’m still hungry, but the smell of the gravy is starting to get to me. “Like now, I’m hungry, and this looks so good, but I feel so sick.”
“How else have you been feeling?” Tabatha asks and goes back to her seat.
“Really tired. I lay down and fall asleep, which is weird for me, too. I can usually function on just a couple of hours of sleep,” I tell her.
“It’s been nearly thirty years, but I remember the exhaustion well. I can’t help you with that, my darling, but I can make a potion to rid you of the morning sickness.”
“Seriously? It’s only been a week and I can’t handle this.” I look around the table at my human friends. “I don’t know how you all put up with being sick. It’s awful.”
“You don’t get sick?” Ruby asks.
I shake my head. “No. I never really thought about it until it was pointed out. I’ve been tired and run down before, but I don’t get colds or the flu or even a sore throat.”
“Angels are immortal,” Julian states. “We don’t get sick.”
“Except for now,” I say and take a drink of water and then look at Lucas. “But it’s already worth it.”
Lucas laces our fingers and kisses the back of my hand. “It is. You are going to be an amazing mother.”
“I hope so. I’m scared,” I admit.
“I was, too,” Abby tells me. “Penny was planned, and she took nearly half a year of trying, but even then I was scared when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Most first-time mothers are,” Tabatha says gently. “And I imagine second and third and so on. Being a mother can be a terrifying thing, but it’s also the greatest gift you will ever receive.”
“I am quite awesome,” Evander says. “Should you be thanking me, Mother?”
“Oh, hush,” Tabatha tells him.
“Have you thought about names or anything yet?” Nicole asks.
“No, not yet,” I reply. “We just found out I’m pregnant. Fuck, that’s weird to say.” I close my eyes in a long blink and shake my head.
“It’s kind of fun to think about,” Kristy says. “And Kristy is a great name for a girl.”
“And Evander if you have a boy,” Evander quips with a smile.
“Eliza already put in a request for us to use her name.”
“I’m the closest this kid will have to a sibling,” she says, batting her big, blue eyes at me. “Unless you plan on cursing my maker again so he can knock you up a second time.”
“That’s not a terrible idea,” Lucas says, keeping a straight face.
“Oh yeah.” I roll my eyes. “You almost died and I had to murder a poor innocent deer in order to transfer the curse. One kid is more than we thought we’d have. I’m good with that.”
Lucas grins, making me excited for bedtime to roll around and have everyone leave so Lucas and I can be alone.
“I didn’t get to throw the killer bachelorette party I had planned,” Kristy starts. “So you better believe your baby shower is going to be insane.”
“Baby shower?” Julian questions. “You’re going to wash her baby?”
“It’s a party,” I explain. “You buy stuff for the baby. You play lame games and have food and cake, usually.” I look at Abby in question. “I think you have them more towards the end of the pregnancy, right?”
“Right. I had mine at seven and a half months,” Abby says. “Do you want to find out what you’re having?”
“Yes,” Lucas and I say together. “Though I don’t know how I will,” I go on. “I can’t really go to a doctor and get blood work or an ultrasound.”
“Oh, right.” Abby bites her lip. “I might be able to help with that. We do the occasional ultrasound in the ER. When you’re around fifteen weeks, I can get you in during my shift and have one ordered for you. And if things aren’t, uh, quite normal…” She flicks her eyes to Lucas. “You can handle it, right?”
“I can,” he assures her, and I smile, so thankful for my sister right now.
“You’ll be in your new house by the summer?” Nicole asks.
“Yeah, we will,” I answer. “We technically could move in now. It’s done enough to live there, but there’s still a lot of construction going on.”
“It’s best to wait until the dust settles,” Lucas say. “Literally. You don’t need to be breathing that in.”
“I’ll be fine,” I press. “I’m not fragile, guys.” I look around the table. “Please don’t treat me any different than before. Remember, I’m not human, so I can handle like a lot more than you all.”
“Humble as always,” Eliza huffs as she looks at her nails, appearing totally bored with this whole dinner.
“It is annoying being treated like you’re weak just because you’re pregnant,” Abby agrees. “Though I’ll fully admit I liked the special attention.”
“Oh, I like attention. Give me all the attention you want, and in fact, if someone wants to bring me some cake, I would not object.”
“If you want cake, I will get you some.” Lucas kisses the top of my head and gets up, going into the kitchen. Binx jumps up in my lap, purring, and I feed him a piece of chicken from my fork. Before he takes it, he jerks his head up and growls.
“I feel it, too,” Julian says, getting to his feet. His eye glow blue as he looks around the room.
“What is—” Evander starts but is interrupted by Sister Selena’s astral projection appearing in the hallway next to the dining room.
“High Priestess,” she pants. Her projection shimmers, and she looks up, relief washing over her face. “It worked.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Tabatha rises from her chair.
“The coven is under attack,” Selena rushes out. “I had to find you. To warn you. We need help. She’s…she’s trying to break through.” Selena turns around, able to sense something back wherever her body is.
“Who?” Tabatha asks, brown eyes wide with fear. “Who is attacking the coven?”
Selena opens her mouth to tell us, but no sound comes out. Her projection jerks, and suddenly a dagger is plunged through her from the back, with the blade piercing out through her skin. Kristy screams, and I watch in horror as Selena’s light gray robe becomes soaked in blood.
Lucas speeds back into the room just in time to see Selena’s image fade from view. She never told us who was attacking the coven, but it doesn’t matter. I already know.
Ruth.