Lib Novel Page 34
It’s pretty well known that as far as the U.S. goes, the shifter population is higher in the West and Midwest, with vampires swarming on the East Coast. It works because nobody questions an ancient old man puttering around Boston or New York City, while he looks out of place among the golden bodies of the West Coast.
Up here in Minnesota, there’s plenty of space for running. Once you cross the Mississippi, things open up a bit, giving shifters more room to breathe. Vampires prefer the close quarters of cities and highly populated areas—gives them more chances to get their fangs in a human.
As though she can sense my thoughts, Veronica shifts and her eyes cut to me. She offers me a smile, and I swallow, offering her one back.
It’s still strange to me that my best friend is married to a vampire. Having a vampire kid. Vampire-shifter kid.
I finish off my cider and stand, hoping everyone assumes I just want to refill my glass, and not that I need a break from the vampire talk.
After the kids are full of food, they calm down a bit, but as soon as each of them has a piece of pie, they’re back to full-force play, and when I come back into the living room, I see that Rosa has finally roped a few people into a game. Across the room, Olivia is holding Bubba on her hip, hoisting him up in the air and making faces with him.
“Do me!” Araya says, and Olivia smiles at her, breathing hard as she sets Bubba on the ground.
“Honey,” she says, breathing hard, “I’m strong, but you’re a big girl now! It’s harder to lift you up.”
“Oh,” Araya says, hanging her head, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m in front of her, crouching so she can leap onto my back. She squeals with delight, and Kaila drags Bigby over, forcing him to hoist her up, too. Soon, we will have a train of kids and adults, who will be traipsing around.
When I pretend I’m going to drop Araya, she screams with laughter, and Aris chuckles from the other side of the room, shaking his head.
“You’re cheating!” Rosa says, pointing her finger at Triste.
“How is it cheating if magic is my natural ability?”
“I told you!”
“You just admitted it? That easy?” Percy laughs.
“That’s—”
Aris is cut off when there’s a knock at the door. He raises an eyebrow at Linnea, sets his drink on the coffee table, and walks over to the foyer, his voice rumbling through the hall. A moment later, he returns with Rafael, who looks rugged and wind-swept.
“Hi, everyone,” he says, standing in the doorway for a moment, holding up a bottle of wine. “Sorry, I’m late.”
The room is quiet, then immediately erupts into chaos, with Rosa telling him about Triste’s cheating, Aris thanking him for the wine, Linnea thanking him for coming, and Bigby and Kaila nearly bowling him over as they come around the corner.
“Wow,” he says, his hand to his head to keep his hat on. “Part is really in full swing, huh?”
I glance at the clock, realizing I’d lost track of the time while playing with the kids. After letting Araya slide to the ground, I glance up, accidentally catching Olivia’s eyes.
Immediately, I knew she saw me with Araya and wanted that. But I can’t give it to her.
“Oh, Gods,” Rafael says, his hand in front of his mouth as he chews a cream puff. “Who brought these?”
“I did,” Ado says from his spot on an armchair, and we all break into laughter.
Chapter 14 – Olivia
Byron is on his back in front of the fireplace, and Bits is curled up on his chest. He’s petting her absently, and clearly doesn’t realize I’m watching him.
Thank the Gods. It was bad enough when he caught me watching him with Araya. I couldn’t help it—watching him play with her, how natural it was for him to interact with the kids, it broke my heart.
He would make an amazing father.
I trace the line of his shoulder under his sweater, the rise and fall of his chest, how his hair flops back onto the rug. It’s fully black, having lost all traces of blue, and I wonder why he chose to get rid of the color.
Reaching up, I take a lock of my hair between my fingers and run it back and forth. Hair stylists have always been shocked at how well my hair holds color. I always thought that was a shifter thing, but maybe it’s just me.
“Hey,” Rosa says, sitting beside me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. Bigby is passed out, and the girls have started stacking hats on his head to see how high they can go. Bubba is curled up in Aris’s lap, sleeping, while Kaila is painting Veronica’s nails for her. Percy and Rafael are chatting in the kitchen, eating Ado’s cream puffs at the speed of light.