Chapter 475

Laughing with excitement, I move past Cora into Pippa’s room, heading immediately for the new mom. Cora follows behind me, heading to the corner to pack up her doctor’s bag.

“Pips!” I say, grinning and reaching for her hand, sitting down on the stool next to her and beaming at her. “How are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Pippa says, laughing a little. “Relieved that it’s done, happy she’s here.” Her eyes stray over to where Elias is holding a teeny tiny little bundle in his arms, stepping close so Ben can see. My mom stands close by, standing on her toes, peeking down at the little baby like her eyes can’t get enough.

“You’re magnificent,” I sigh, standing to press a kiss to her cheek and likewise looking eagerly over at the baby. “Did you pick out a name?”

“Bianca,” Elias says, smiling over at me, pleased and proud. “We’ve decided to call her Bianca.”

“Bianca,” I repeat, loving it, grinning down at Pippa. “So…not named after his mother?”

“Well, she may have the lineage of an Atalaxian Princess,” Pippa says with a happy sigh, looking up at me. “But she’s a little Moon Valley girl now, isn’t she? New life, new traditions.”

I squeak with joy, loving that, dipping low to give Pippa a huge hug.

“Oh, go,” she says, laughing and swatting me away. “I know the baby is the main feature.”

I laugh, doing as I’m bid and letting her go, moving quickly over to Elias and Ben and my mom. As I walk I glance to the door, not missing at all that Mark is leaning against the doorjamb, not fully in the room, his worried gaze trained on Pippa.

She glances at him once but then looks away, shifting uncomfortably and returning her eyes to her daughter, all bundled up.

I bite my lip but…I let it stand. After all, they haven’t asked for my help. And despite my tendency to meddle…well. It seems to be what Pippa wants, after all, and she gets to be in charge today.

I move towards Mom, Elias and Benny, my arms out. “Gimme,” I say, grinning with abandon.

Ben laughs, shifting little Bianca out of my reach. “No way,” he says, shaking his head. “I just got her.”

“Oh, you jerk,” I sigh, standing closer, demanding. “As a Princess of this realm, I order you –“

Mom bursts out laughing and gives me a little shove on my shoulder even as Benny laughs, relenting and passing the baby into my arms. My eyes fill with tears the moment my gaze lands on her and I look up at Elias, completely overwhelmed. “She’s beautiful, Elias,” I whisper. I turn towards Pippa, shaking my head. “Absolutely wonderful.”

Pippa nods eagerly, agreeing with my assessment and I laugh as I look down at the perfect little girl. Her coloring – pale-skinned with a dark little patch of hair, her scrunchy little newborn face much more peaceful than I’ve ever seen. She clenches one tiny fist in front of her, apparently already having escaped from her swaddle.

“Oh, she’s going to be a little fighter,” I say, desperately proud already. “And smart and clever and funny –“

“Don’t flatter the child,” Elias says, dry, leaning over me, beaming at his little girl. “She’ll get a big head.”

“Precisely as I intend,” I say with a happy sigh, pressing a kiss to her forehead before handing her back to her dad. “Truly, congratulations,” I say, beaming around the room to all of Bianca’s collected parents. “She’s a wonder.”

I turn last to Mark at the door, including him in the group.

Because even if he hasn’t said anything yet.

And even if Pippa hasn’t acknowledged him…

I see the way his eyes are trained on the bundled little girl.

I sigh, glancing over at Pippa, who still refuses to look at my brother…

…wondering what the hell is happening there.

We spend a few more minutes admiring the new baby and congratulating Elias and Pippa, but my mom and I see Pippa’s energy begin to fade nearly at the same time. Mom catches my eye and I gave a happy nod, slipping my arm around Ben’s elbow. A few words whispered in his ear has him regretfully turning away from his mate’s little girl – the little Bianca who is a daughter to Ben now as well, in his heart if not technically by blood.

With a fond press of Elias’s hand, Ben comes with me the door to gather up Mark as well. We call our goodbyes and our congratulations and good lucks to the new parents as Cora and mom gather the new parents close to give final checks and instructions before they can be left alone to rest.

The door swings shut and I sigh with happiness, my arms looped around Ben and Mark’s elbows as we three start down the hall. I grin as I glance up at Ben’s face and see his proud smile, only slightly tinged with melancholy and jealousy – because I know that were it up to him, he’d have stayed in that room much longer.

But my grin falls when I turn my head to look up at Mark, because that devastation…it persists.

“Mark,” I say quietly, leaning towards him, wanting very much to play the big sister right now.

“Still not yet, Ari,” Mark says on a sigh, glancing down at me. He gives his best attempt at a smile, but it fails.

“Okay, then let me get you a drink, little boy,” I say, resting my cheek against his arm.

Ben laughs a little. “He’s not a little boy at all, Ari,” he says, shaking his head. “He’s gigantic – nearly as tall as Rafe and Jacks –“

“Incorrect, Benny,” I say, spinning my head to grin at him. “He’s just teeny tiny, like me. Come on, both of you – drinks all round.”

Ben, Mark, and I head into the family apartments, which are empty, suggesting that the meeting about the Community is still going on. I do as I promised, fetching us a couple of drinks and handing them round, but we’re a quiet little group tonight. None of us feels particularly chatty, each of us instead lost in our thoughts about burgeoning parenthood, and the loves of our life, and what on earth the future looks like.

I smirk at Mark and Ben sitting on either sides of the same couch, considering that…if what I suspect about Markie is true, then he and Ben have a great deal more in common than I ever thought they would. Privately I wish that they would just talk to one another, thinking that they could really be a help to each other. But, not wanting to push it, I just sigh and leave them to their easy silence as both sip calmly at their drinks, lost in thought.

I move to the window, sipping at my own glass of wine, looking out at the beautiful city as dusk falls. I sigh, happy, struck by the beauty of our capital city even as my thoughts turn to the surprising new developments of my life. To Jacks, and sweet little Marigold, and how she fits into our world. Because while it’s clear that she slips into the family quiet easily and that everyone has fully embraced her, what does my life look like going forward?

Do we go back to Alpha Academy for our second and final year? How do we manage to balance Marigold’s needs with our own responsibilities and ambitions? What am I supposed to do, like, carry her up into the sniper’s blind in a sling on my back or something?

I smirk a little at the thought, thinking that Jackson would completely flip about it, when my eye suddenly catches on movement in our courtyard below. My attention immediately shifts, something in my wolf instinct allowing me to focus immediately on the figure that stands in shadow, leaning against a tree. Looking up at this very window.

At me.

And my lips curl quietly into a smile, because even if the figure is indistinct…

I know, instantly, precisely who it is.

“I’m going downstairs for a minute,” I murmur, swallowing the rest of my glass of wine down in a single gulp and leaving the glass on the windowsill.

Ben and Mark mumble something back but I’m already moving, heading for the door, my wolf prowling restlessly in my soul. As I hurry down the steps to the first floor, heading for the door that leads directly to that courtyard, I send a pulse down my bond to Jackson, careful to keep it cheerful and easy.

You good? Jackson asks, interested but not worried.

Yup, I say, reaching for the doorknob. Just going outside for a bit of fresh air – the east courtyard. In case you’re looking for me.

Cool, Jacks says, calm and a bit distracted. We’re almost done here.

I send a happy little pulse of love back to him in confirmation, even as I push the door open to the courtyard and rush through it. Then I close the bond off – not completely, but numbing it a great deal.

Because this? This is…just for me.

I slow my steps, slipping my hands behind my back as I walk forward towards the figure who still leans far too casually against the tree. My wolf gives me an anxious nip of warning as I step close, but I smooth a hand over her fur.

Because this one? He can’t hurt me. Not anymore.

“Hey, Luca,” I say, smiling slowly up into his gorgeous face.

“Princess,” Luca says, one corner of his mouth turning up into a dimpled smirk. “How’ve you been?”