“Barrett swears I’m the only one.”
Mom shook her head. “Or he has his own reasons for keeping her secret. Do not trust him until you know for sure. He is an unknown player in this game.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Too bad I don’t know the rules in this damned game.”
The door opened, and Moira walked in, stomping her feet on the rugged mat. “I heard we have a new and adorable visitor.”
She gasped when she saw Mom. “Oh my gods,” she moaned. “Look at those adorable little dumpling cheeks!” Moira bent over the baby and grinned. “Hi!”
The baby let out a gurgling laugh, taking us all by surprise.
Moira’s laugh was the happiest I’d ever heard, bright and sunny. There were few things more innocent than a baby. Soon we were all laughing, which made the baby laugh harder.
Moira reached for the baby. “May I?”
Mom nodded and handed her over.
“Oh my goodness,” Moira breathed. “I haven’t seen a baby in so long. And I’ve never seen a Chimera. She seems like just a regular baby.”
“We all look like regular babies when we’re born,” Mom said dryly. “Unless our main form is an animal. While I’ve never seen a Chimera child, I can only assume they’re the same.” Her face took on a contemplative look. “Though it’s wonderful to know for sure that Chimeras can be both made and born.”
My heart leapt into my throat. The baby was perfect. She had all ten fingers, all ten toes, her laughter was pure and innocent, and her smile was adorable and gummy. This child was everything a baby should be. I could have one, a baby just like this.
Mom took my elbow and led me to a chair. “Sit, honey.”
I sank into a seat and stared blankly ahead.
Moira picked up a chair and set it close to me. She sat and scooted my way until our knees touched. “Hey.” Moira’s dark eyes were warm and edged with sadness.
A sob bubbled from my throat. Rowan’s warm hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed gently. He brushed a kiss against my temple and jerked his head. Hope followed as he left the room.
Moira angled the baby so I could see her sweet face. “Caelan is a shit.”
“Don’t cuss in front of the baby,” Mom said.
My lips twitched.
Moira rolled her eyes. “Caelan is a S-H-I-T.” She stuck her tongue out at Mom. “He made you doubt who you were at your core. This would be your baby. But better. Not saying she’s not perfect, because she is. She’s a baby. All babies are perfect. She’s not Evie perfect though. Add fifty percent of Rowan to that and you’ve got a kid competing for the cuteness crown.”
A smile wobbled onto my face. “I’m completely off kilter today. Everything seemed so far away. Children were always one day, or maybe in the future, or I’ll see when I meet someone nice. And then Caelan and I decided not to take any precautions because shifters had such a low birth rate.” I let out a ragged breath. “Looking back, that was the moment everything started falling apart. The possibility became real. A new baby Chimera became something that could happen. Caelan couldn’t deal with having a child who might one day outshine him. He made me think I’d give birth to a—” My voice broke. “A monster. He made me feel like I was nothing, like anything that came from me would be tainted.”
Tears streamed freely from my face. “It broke something inside me, and I thought I was flawed. When Rowan came along, I resisted for so long because I thought I might bring him down,that I couldn’t give him what he deserved. I wondered if I could even have children, and if I did, I wondered if they’d be exactly what Caelan said they’d be—monstrous.”
Moira’s face was stone. Her eyes burned with rage. My lower lip wobbled. I couldn’t stop the hot tears from flowing, all the anger I still felt over everything that happened, spilling over into physical form. I’d gotten my grief out a while ago, but seeing this child brought the fury roaring back.
“This child just showed up a few hours ago, and everything I thought I could never have suddenly became a real possibility.” I wiped my tears away. “I’m not a monster. I’ve never been one. I’ve allowed other people to dictate my thoughts about myself, and I have no idea why.”
I pressed the spot in my chest where the bond between Rowan and I grew every single day. “I almost mated with Rowan today.”
Mom sucked in a shocked gasp. “Evie. That’s—” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “So wonderful. He is a good male. A very good one.”
Moira nodded. “You deserve the best of everything, Evie. Never let someone tell you what you are. You define your fate. Not me, not your mother, not Rowan or Caelan. No one can dictate your life.” She brushed a kiss over the top of the baby’s head. “She was brought into your life for a reason. Her mother or whoever brought her wants her safe, and she trusted you and Rowan to keep her that way. A mother would never trust their baby with a monster.”
Mom smiled. “We can be monsters when it comes to protecting the people we love, but there is a difference between us and those who care for nothing but their own power.”
Something tight loosened in my chest, a knot that had been there for years finally withering away and dissolving intonothingness. “Thank you. Both of you. I promise I’m done spiraling.”
Moira’s smile was sad. “You, of all people, deserve the occasional spiral.” She tapped the baby’s nose gently. “Now, how about you stay with Auntie Moira tonight?”
