Virgil swung his eyes up to mine. “It’s gonna be fine.”
A whooshing sensation came over me, like sliding down a dark tunnel. When I opened my eyes, I was back in my body and staring up at the ceiling.
Tak gripped my arm. “Joy, you need to shift.”
“No!” Milly swung into view. “Don’t shift. You haven’t delivered the placenta, and it might kill your wolf—especially since we don’t know what just happened. Do you consent to Vampire blood? It’s the fastest way to heal whatever’s going on inside you.”
I looked up at Atticus, who had crawled beside me. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself saying yes, but I had too much to live for. “Yes.”
As quickly as the words left my mouth, Atticus bit his wrist and held it to my lips. To my surprise, his blood only vaguely tasted like actual blood. Thousands of years of life awakened every cell in my being, and the pain instantaneously vanished asmy body healed. He drew the gown over my chest and hovered so close that all I could see were his beautiful black eyes.
“Stay with me,” he whispered before pulling his wrist away. He licked the wound to heal it. “How do you feel, my love?”
“Better than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Sighs of relief and chuckles overlapped.
“All right. Show’s over,” Milly announced. “Everyone clear out so we can finish up here.”
Atticus kissed my cheek. “I won’t leave your side again, even at your behest.”
“I want to see my baby. Where’s my baby?” When I struggled to sit up, Atticus scooted behind me and let me lean against him.
Hope knelt with the baby wrapped in a sweet little blanket with ducklings on it.
“What is it?” I asked.
She shook her head, her cheeks tearstained. “I don’t know.”
Milly transferred the crying baby into my arms. “Take a look, mama.”
As soon as the tiny infant entered my arms, my soul felt like a compass pointing north. My vision blurred as hot tears spilled down my cheeks. “You aresobeautiful.” I’d never known until that moment that it was possible to love anyone at first sight. I pulled the blanket open and glanced down. “My baby girl. Oh, Atticus. We have a little girl. Look at her.”
Hope wiped away her tears.
“My sweet baby girl.” Drawing in her scent, I kissed her soft cheeks as her cries died down. “I’m going to make your life so much better than mine. I promise I’ll never leave you again, little angel.”
Hope leaned over me. “She’s so precious.”
The baby wrapped her tiny fingers around my thumb and held on tight. Atticus rested his head on my shoulder andstroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. When I peered up at him, he had tears shining in his eyes.
“This is your father,” I said to her. “And I’m your mommy.”
Thirty minutes later,we finished the delivery process. Milly checked the baby over while Hope gathered the dirty towels off the floor. After cleaning myself with clean towels, I changed into a nightgown. The Vampire blood had given me energy—enough that I could have jumped in the shower. But I was still processing what had happened and didn’t want to leave my baby for one minute.
“Will the Vampire blood affect the baby if I breastfeed?” I asked Milly.
“If anything, it’ll make her feel better for a day or two,” she said truthfully. “I’ll take these bags out and burn them.”
“Why not just throw them away?”
“You’re in wolf territory. The last thing you want is nosy neighbors sniffing blood on your property. The plastic mattress cover was a smart idea. Towels can be replaced, but a good mattress isn’t cheap.”
We had removed the dirty sheets and plastic covering from the mattress and put fresh linens down. Lying against a stack of pillows, I held my baby on my chest, skin to skin. She was so warm and precious, and I couldn’t get enough of touching her silky hair and ruddy cheeks.
“She has your hair color,” Atticus said from the spot to my left. “Maybe even your eyes.”
“It wouldn’t matter if she’d been born with black hair. She’s mine, and she’s beautiful.” I kissed the top of her head. “Can you open the box on the floor? It’s on my side.”
