Caleb
After a mad dash to the mansion, we found ourselves locked out of the birthing room. We heard voices inside.
“Ugh, we’re late,” I groaned, leaning against the door.
“Hey!” Theo called. He knocked on the door. “Is it over? Can we come in yet?”
I began in a harsh whisper, “Theo, you can’t just - “
I stopped talking as Pierce and Benji’s voices came from the other side of the door. Then it opened, revealing Benji and the rest of the family. There was also a man with glasses that I didn’t recognize, who stood unassumingly in the corner.
I rushed to my brother’s side and the words spilled out of me.
“Sorry we’re late,” I said. “We couldn’t leave because the sun was out and Adriel couldn’t go outside and I didn’t want to leave him alone, and oh mygodis that the baby!?”
As soon as I laid eyes on the baby, my heart melted. A new feeling welled up within me, like a delicate blossom unfolding - a feeling I couldn’t have even imagined before this moment.
“Oh, she’s so small!” I whispered. “Oh my god, I’m an uncle.”
Benji smiled. His eyes shone brightly, despite how exhausted he looked. It was the happiest I’d ever seen him. “That’s right, you are. Lark, meet your uncle Caleb. Caleb, Lark.”
As Benji offered his newborn child to me to hold, I hesitated. A magnetic pull urged me towards her, despite my anxiety, and I took her into my arms. The warm feeling exploded inside of my chest. Love and protection swirled into one overwhelmingly powerful emotion.
Lark peeked at me with her eyes, and I melted.
My niece.
I was in a daze when I returned her to Benji. It felt like I’d been thrown into the deep end of a pool and instantly learned to swim.
Without thinking about it, I searched for Adriel.
In the background, I was aware of Margaret holding her granddaughter for the first time. I was surprisingly okay with being in the same room with her since the first time she attacked me. Now she was too distracted with Lark to pay me any attention.
Adriel gazed lovingly at Lark, then spoke to Benji and Pierce. “She’s just wonderful. Congratulations, both of you.”
“And look!” Theo cried, pointing to Lark’s mouth. “She’s got her daddy’s fangs!”
“I guess sheishalf vampire after all,” I said.
“Of course she is,” Pierce said with amusement. “What else would the other half be?”
The stranger in the room, who I’d barely noticed until now, finally spoke. “I’m super proud of you for that delivery, Benji - Lark is beautiful, by the way - but can anyone else explain to me what the hell is going on?”
Seeing as nobody was actively trying to kill him, I assumed he was here for a reason. I leaned closer to Benji and asked, “Uh, who is this guy?”
“Thedoctorwho delivered my baby,” he explained.
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Okay.”
The doctor blushed. “I’m Dr. Maxwell Green, and I have no idea what’s happening right now.”
Theo gestured as he explained, “We’re vampires, this is our house, no we won’t eat you, blah blah…”
Maxwell looked as flustered as a kid on school picture day. He pointed to where Margaret was standing a moment ago. “Then why didthatwoman abduct me and threaten me? She said if I didn’t help deliver a baby, I’d be sucked dry!”
But Margaret wasn’t there - and neither was Lark.
My heart dropped to my stomach. A horrible dread swallowed me up. My hand instantly reached for Adriel, like he was the only rope out of the pit I’d fallen into.
