Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
But she doesn’t break because my Kylie is so fucking strong.
“Okay,” Dr. Howard announces with a smile. “Next two contractions, we’re going to have our baby.”
Kylie nods, already bracing herself, and when the next wave hits, she bears down with everything she has. A sound breaks from her—raw, unfiltered—and it cuts straight through me.
My grip tightens around her hand. “That’s it,” I murmur, even though I hate every second of this. “You’re doing so fucking good, baby. I’m so proud of you.”
She exhales sharply, her body trembling as the contraction eases.
“Last one, Kylie,” the doctor says. “And your baby will be here.”
I lean closer, my forehead nearly brushing hers. “You’ve got this,” I tell her, my voice rougher now. “I’ve got you.”
The next contraction hits, and Kylie pushes again, pushes with everything inside her, and everything inside me goes still.
And then, a cry fills the room.
It’s sharp and beautiful and alive.
“It’s a girl!”
For a second, the words don’t fully land.
A girl?
A girl?
My chest tightens as something deeper than instinct settles into place.
After everything that was done by the corrupt elites, no one knew if it would ever be possible again. In the name of power and control and greed, they created so much chaos, caused so much damage. They destroyed the equilibrium of our kind and the noble human bloodlines.
Because of them, there hasn’t been a female vampire born in centuries.
And yet, I have a daughter.
Our bond established equilibrium again.
All because Kylie’s and my bond has a foundation of the three most important factors—I’m elite, Kylie’s blood of the three, and we’re fated mates.
I look down to find a beautiful baby girl with big blue eyes and a head full of dark hair.
The doctor places her—our daughter—gently on Kylie’s chest, and the sight of them together hits harder than anything else ever has. The instant mother and daughter are united, our baby girl’s cries stop, but her eyes stay open as she gazes up at her mama.
Kylie looks down at our baby girl, tears in her eyes and her expression soft in a way I’ve never seen before.
Beautiful doesn’t come close.
I press a kiss to Kylie’s forehead, letting it linger for a second before I shift lower and brush my lips gently against our daughter’s head.
She’s tiny. She’s perfect. She’s ours.
And something inside me settles in a way I didn’t know it could.
“I know what we should name her,” Kylie whispers, looking up at me.
“Yeah?”
She glances down at our daughter again, then back up at me. “Naomi.”
My mother’s name.
For a moment, I can’t speak. I just look down at my mate, at our daughter, at the life we created, at everything this means.
Everything it fixes.
Everything it restores.
My throat tightens as I finally find my voice. “Naomi,” I say, softer than I’ve ever said anything in my entire fucking life.
And it fits because that’s her name—Naomi, our beautiful daughter.
Movement at the doorway pulls my attention, and Kane and Calloway step in first, followed by their mates Blair and Romy. Gammy comes in behind them, and I can tell by the tears in her eyes she’s already emotional.
Everyone who matters is here.
I gaze down at Kylie, leaning in to kiss her again. When I pull back, I rest my forehead against hers, letting myself take it in for just a second.
All of it.
We burned the old, corrupt world of elite vampires and built something new in its place.
And clearly, we got it right.
I look at Kylie and Naomi again.
My fated mate. My daughter.
My entire fucking world.
PART THREE
Kane
Five months later
“Are you guys tired or some shit?” I tease as I skate past one of the guys on Blue Steel.
He shoots a glare in my direction, and I just laugh as I reach out and snag the puck away from his stick, flicking past him with ease and sliding a pass across the ice to Rook.
There’s still room for debate on whether my brothers and my building a private hockey rink a few miles away from our compound was a good idea, but I’m in the camp that believes it certainly fucking was.
Every other Thursday, we invite other vampire teams from nearby towns to come play us. And tonight, Blue Steel probably regrets agreeing to this match.
Iron Knights: 6
Blue Steel: 2
The scoreboard flashes above us, and I tap my stick against the ice as I watch the puck slide across it.
“You guys wanna try playing defense, or is this more of a participation situation?” I taunt the biggest dude on Blue Steel’s team.
“Shut the fuck up,” he spits, and I blow him a kiss.
Calloway skates past me and shoves my shoulder. “How about you cool the taunting, yeah? I mean, you’ve only scored one fucking goal, bro.”
“Quality over quantity,” I shoot back easily. “It might only be one goal, but it was the best goal of the night.”