14. Put Down Roots
Seri
My husbands filed into the living room like they were marching to a mission briefing, only instead of weapons, Koa carried his laptop.
My stomach knotted, an old habit from when serious conversations usually ended with me learning another piece of my life was about to be stripped away. When Koa settled beside me on the couch, his eyes held only gentle warmth, and the knot loosened just enough for me to breathe again. These weren’t the same kind of serious talks. They never would be with my boys.
“Scoot over, tiny witch.” Zane nudged my shoulder and claimed the space on my other side, his lanky frame sprawling across more couch than should be physically possible for one person.
Casimir stood at the edge of the coffee table, arms crossed, looking like he was trying to decide whether to perch on the armchair or remain standing. Brumous made the decision for him, trotting over to the armchair and hopping up, turning three circles before settling with a contented sigh.
“Really?” Casimir lifted his eyebrows at the wolf pup.
Brumous just yawned, showing his teeth.
With a sigh of defeat that sounded suspiciously like fondness, Casimir dropped into the small remaining portion of the couch near Koa’s end.
“Get on with it, Ko,” he muttered.
Koa balanced the laptop on his thighs and clicked through a series of folders.
“I’ve been meaning to show you these for a while,” he said, his voice a low, quiet rumble that always made my heart flutter. “Just never seemed like the right time.”
The screen flickered, and an image appeared, a beautiful young woman with warm brown skin and deep brown eyes. She also had Koa’s smile lines, the ones that appeared like half-moons beneath his eyes when he fought a laugh. The baby in her arms had the same golden skin, a tuft of black hair, and enormous dark eyes.
“Is that…” The question caught in my throat.
“My mom.” Koa’s finger hovered over the screen like he wanted to touch her face. “Her name was Mahina Akana.”
“She raised all of us.” Casimir leaned forward to see the screen better. “From when we were infants.”
“So she was your mom, too?”
“In all the ways that count, yeah.” Zane stretched an arm across the back of the couch behind me. “Vampire Dad might’ve provided the genetic material, but Mahina was the one who actuallyparentedus.”
Koa clicked to the next photo, Mahina sitting cross-legged on a plush carpet with three babies laid out in front of her.
“This was taken about a month after I was born. Cas was almost three months old, and Zane was about seven weeks.”
“She looks so young.”
“Twenty-one. She met Lucian while he was in Hawaii on business for the previous king.”
“Vampire business,” Zane added helpfully.
“Something with volcano spirits.” Koa shrugged. “Anyway, Lucian and Mom had a fling. She knew he wouldn’t stay, but she fell for him, anyway.”
“She had terrible taste in men,” Casimir sighed.
“She found out she was pregnant with me after he left,” Koa went on. “She didn’t tell him. She was going to raise me on her own, but during her pregnancy, she was diagnosed with leukemia.”
“Oh, Koko.” My hand flew to my mouth.
“She refused treatment until after I was born.” His voice stayed steady, but held an undercurrent of pride and sorrow. “When she started treatments, she realized she needed help. Her family, they weren’t supportive of her.”
“They disowned her,” Casimir stated bluntly.
“So she used the last of her money to fly to New York and find Lucian,” Koa said. “She only asked for shelter for us. She didn’t expect anything else.”
