Dr. Vieira pinched the bridge of his nose as he regarded Sam.
A heart-punching-against-a-rib silence filled the room.
My guess was that they were speaking telepathically. Sam and I had done that a couple of times.
The longer Sam and Dr. Vieira exchanged pensive looks, the more Sam lost the color in his face.
“Well, someone tell me.” My voice hitched.
Dr. Vieira slipped his hands into his lab coat pockets. “The woman gave birth to twins—one witch, one vampire. She craved blood and developed magical abilities, which aligns with what we’re seeing with you.”
I wondered if she had the same abilities I had—like mind control, which I found freakier than my banshee scream. Nevertheless, it was nice to know someone else had gone through what I was experiencing.
“I hear abutcoming,” I said. Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“You will deliver early, Layla,” Dr. Vieira said in an even tone. “Not only because you are carrying multiples, but Carly guessed right. The woman, Emily Crawford, delivered at about five and half months. Because the babies are inhuman, they will grow faster. I want to emphasize—if the medical case file we found is correct.”
“What you’re saying is I will be big as house overnight?” I injected sarcasm, not at them but toward myself, mainly to unpack how the fuck my body would handle that. I mean, nine months to allow the little ones to grow at a gradual rate was one thing, but five and half months… fuck! Then another question hit me. “If the babies grow faster in the womb, does that mean they’ll also sprout up quicker after they’re born?”
“Logically, it would make sense that they would,” Dr. Vieira said. “But I don’t have an answer on that. There was nothing in the medical files that explained life after birth for those twins.”
My head spun as I tried to process all of this, but it was clear he was leaving something out. “Both of you are still pale. What else are you not telling me?”
Dr. Vieira rubbed a spot above his nose. Since I’d met him, I had yet to see him panic.
The only thing I could think of that would freak anyone out was death. “Emily Crawford died at childbirth, right? That’s why both of you are white as a ghost. Unless I’m having demon spawns instead of vampires or witches.”
“She did die at childbirth, but we don’t know why. There are pages missing from the file,” Dr. Vieira confirmed. “That doesn’t mean you will die too. Now that we know what to expect, we can manage your pregnancy better. In addition, this case happened over eighty years ago. Technology has come a long way. With multiples, you’ll have a C-section. It’s too risky for you and the babies to deliver naturally. Regardless, absolutely no stress, drink Sam’s blood, eat, sex is fine, and relax. Jo tells me you want to go to Maine. Best place to relieve stress, and I would do that soon. We need to assume you will deliver after five months, so that means three months from now. Dr. Martin is onboard. The new medical equipment will be delivered within the next couple of weeks. We’re adding on two rooms to the infirmary. Construction begins this week. Everything will be in place for the births.”
I quivered with emotion, both from the fact I could die giving birth and what my extended family was doing for Sam and me. Of course, Sam was the main reason for their help. But they could’ve kicked me to the curb. After all, Harriet, Rianne, and Noah Aberdeen were out to kill Sam or build him into a super soldier. I’d been included in that scheme. Still, Steven and the others could’ve tried to convince Sam to let me go when we’d first met. They didn’t. They’d welcomed me with open arms.
Once again, I couldn’t help but remember something else Steven said the night I’d woken up from a nightmare.
“I adore you, Layla. I also trust you. You’re a strong woman. You’ll survive what we’re about to face.”
Could I survive childbirth? Was I strong enough, as Steven had said? I had to believe I was. But fate had a funny way of fucking with me.
23
LAYLA
Two hours later, my mind was a jumbled mess as I stood in the walk-in shower, feeling numb from head to toe. I stared at my belly, still stuck on how the fuck my body would handle the accelerated growth. One baby, I could wrap my mind around. Four… not a chance. I knew I had the best doctors as well as Sam, Jo, Steven, and everyone on the SEAL team to take care of me and support me. But for fuck’s sake, I really wanted my mom. I needed Jordyn too. Sure, my sister would be here later tonight, and I couldn’t wait to see her, but I also craved someone who had experienced childbirth. Except for Alia Costner, no one else in my new extended family had been pregnant, since female vampires couldn’t have children.
I would love to have Aunt Tab with me. She’d given birth to six children, and one of her pregnancies was twins. I groaned as the hot water beat down on my back and neck. Aunt Tab would be devastated when she learned her oldest son was dead. Even more so when she found out her second-oldest son was now a beast like no other.
My heart broke for Junior. The man had loved his wife, Carly. As much as she’d helped Sam and me escape, I blamed her. She’d been the one to light the match that started the inferno of hell. She’d sent Intech’s men out to Montana to talk to Jack when she’d learned the Aberdeens knew Sam. Then she’d discarded Junior like he was a bag of trash.
I spun around, tipping my face up, feeling the pulse of the water droplets against my skin. I had to find a way to focus on something good in my life and send the bullshit packing.
I had a home—a penthouse-size apartment on the naval base that Sam and I could raise our children in—for now anyway. I wasn’t the white-picket-fence, minivan-driving type of mom. I just wanted a small house with a decent-sized yard in a good neighborhood and school system. Then maybe one day we would have a house or summer home on the beach.
I also had Jordyn, who I believed with surety would never break our sister bond. Above that, I had a man who loved and adored me. A strong, arrogant, protective yet compassionate vampire who would die for me. All the qualities of a man who would be a great husband and father, and we had children on the way.
Steam swirled in the luxurious bathroom as my mind rewound to the idea of childbirth. I couldn’t die. I couldn’t leave Sam a single father. I had to toe the line and do as Dr. Vieira ordered—drink Sam’s blood, eat, sex was fine, and relax. No stress whatsoever.
On that note, I wondered what was taking Sam so long. He’d wanted to join me. I left him in the family room while I started the shower. Since my skin wasn’t shriveled, I was guessing I’d only been lost in thought for five or ten minutes at most.
“Baby doll,” Sam called, his voice growing louder as he approached. “Are you ready?”
