He was just saying that to delay the inevitable. Since the Blood Demons and the Darkborns came to live here, he and my guys had been coming up with excuses so I wouldn’t meet our new neighbors. It was about time I saw them again. “No.”
“Isabella, are you sure you can handle this meeting? Reuniting with the Darkborns does…thingsto you.”
“Well, that’s why you’re all here with me. You guys keep me in check.”
“What about Nate and Raphael?”
“What about them? They’re bound to meet. They need to get used to being around each other.”
“Aren’t you a little bit worried? They are natural enemies.”
“So are you and the wolves. Look at you now.”
“That’s different.”
“Joshua, please. Vixen Legend’s guys and kids hate Damien and don’t want him to win as much as you do, and they need the shelter we’re providing. Nobody is gonna hurt anybody here unless they’re idiots who want to get kicked out of here and shoved back to war.”
That seemed to have finally convinced him, and he took my hand, leading me to the breakfast table he and the guys had set outside by the river bank.
The Blood Demons were already there in their leather cuts, even though they had to abandon their bikes on Earth. Slasher, Terror, Mad Dog, Inferno, their sons and Vixen’s brother. But neither the twin girls nor Divina’s friends were here.
“Good morning,” I said.
Cold, tight greetings filled the air until Inferno rose from his seat and went to give me a hug.
That I didn’t expect.
“What happened to theI hate my wicked stepmotheract?” I taunted.
“You’re not my stepmom anymore.” He winked. “And…I’m sorry. We all are. We shouldn’t have been dicks to you.”
Slasher, their president, rose too and walked toward me. “I was wrong about you, Ferro, and I hope you accept our apology.” He nodded, sticking out a hand. “Peace?”
That, too, took me by surprise. A lovely one. I shook his hand gladly. “Peace.”
Kayden and Alec came out to the table, bringing out our kids, too. Joshua went in to get the rest. In no time, the two families were at the table, exchanging careful pleasantries, except for the Lightborns and their dad, and the Darkborns and their friends.
“Where are Zava and the boys?” I whispered to Joshua.
“Waiting for the others to show up first,” he said.
“Same here,” Inferno said.
I rolled my eyes. “Mad Dog, Terror, go get your girls, will ya? I’m not gonna eat them.”
Mad Dog laughed. “We know you wouldn’t, but…it’s still a little weird. Maybe we should give them some time.”
“For fuck’s sake…” I left to the house, yelling so that everybody could hear me. “Nate! Raphael! Zava! Get your asses down here!”
My eyes rolled toward the assholes in cuts as I lifted a brow at them. Terror and Mad Dog got of their asses and headed off.
When they returned, they weren’t alone, and the rest of my family was following me to the table.
I swallowed when I saw the girls. Divina and Rina. Their power reaching me from here. They looked so different yet so alike. Divina looked like her father with her ice blue eyes and pouty lips. Rina…blonde with big amber eyes, her face a perfect mix of Vixen and Mad Dog’s. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I smiled at her. “I held you in my arms when you were a baby.”
“And almost took me from my mom. Yeah, we’ve caught up on the history,” she said.
“Right. But I didn’t.” I glanced over at Zava and our Lightborns. “Thankfully, I came up here and had my own children.”
