Epilogue #2
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.”
Cal rolls his eyes, and Rook doesn’t bother with commentary. He just takes the puck clean from one of their guys and sends it my way without looking like he’s trying.
I catch it automatically, cutting across the ice, letting them think they’ve got a shot before I shift my weight and take it.
The puck snaps into the net.
Iron Knights: 7
Blue Steel: 2
“Go, Kane, go!” Blair cheers from the stands. I glance over my shoulder to find her—fully pregnant and ready to deliver any day now—standing on her feet and clapping her hands. “That’s my man!”
“Blair, honey!” I call over toward her. “Could you cheer from a sitting-down position?”
She sticks out her tongue at me, but thankfully, she plants her cute, very pregnant butt on the bleachers. It’s safe to say, with Blair being pregnant, every protective instinct inside my body is on full alert.
I glide back into position as Blue Steel tries to take another go at us, but just as the puck is pitched across the ice, something hits me full force.
It’s not physical, but everything inside me locks up and consumes my focus to the point that I can’t register anything else but her.
Blair.
I turn to find her still in the stands, but she’s back on her feet and one hand is gripping the railing near the plexi, while the other is pressed low on her stomach. Her face is pale, her breathing uneven—but when her eyes find mine, it’s not fear I feel from her.
It’s urgency.
And pain.
Blair’s in labor.
I’m moving before the thought finishes forming. I skate hard for the edge, not bothering to slow properly before I step off the ice, yanking my helmet free and tossing it behind me. My skates are next after that.
By the time I reach her, I’m in only my socks and she’s bracing through another contraction, her body tightening and her breath catching.
“Hey,” I say, already reaching for her, my hands gripping her arms gently. “Talk to me.”
She huffs out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. “I think…” She pauses. “I think…” She winces and pants. “My water broke.”
And I don’t hesitate. I scoop her up in one smooth motion, cradling her as I move toward the arena’s exit.
“Kane!” she exclaims. “Put me down!”
“Uh-uh, baby. You’re in labor.”
“I’m aware.” She sighs. “But I don’t need you to freaking carry me!”
“Fastest option, baby,” I shoot back without regret. “Also, I look good doing it.”
She huffs a weak laugh, and I take that as confirmation I made the right call.
The doors slam open when I push through them, the cold air hitting us as I head straight for the Suburban, everything else fading out.
Nothing matters except getting her home.
Nothing matters except making sure Blair and our baby are okay.
“One more push, Blair.”
Dr. Howard’s voice is steady, but it barely registers over the sound of Blair’s breathing and the way her hand tightens around mine. I lean closer, brushing my thumb over her knuckles, grounding her the only way I can.
“You’re strong, Blair. So fucking strong. I’m so proud of you.”
“I know,” she says, and I want to laugh at how my woman can still be so sassy while she’s trying to push a baby out of her body.
“Do you also know that I love you?”
She flashes a little smile at me. “Yep. I know that too.”
“Good.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “Because I do love you. So fucking much.”
“That’s really great, Kane, but can we focus on me right now? I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”
“Right, right.” I grin at her and press one final kiss to her forehead.
Another contraction hits, stronger than the last, and she bears down with everything she has. I feel it in the way her body tenses, in the way her grip tightens, in the way the entire room seems to hold its breath with her.
She pushes and pushes and pushes.
And then, the sounds of our baby’s first cries fill my ears.
“It’s a girl!” Dr. Howard exclaims.
A girl. Another Slater girl.
Our girl.
They place her on Blair’s chest, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as stunning as the look on Blair’s face when she sees our daughter.
“Oh my goodness, you’re so beautiful,” Blair whispers to our baby. “The most beautiful girl in the whole wide world.”
I lean in slowly, pressing a kiss to Blair’s temple. “I love you. I’m so proud of you.”
She looks up at me. “I love you too. So, so, so much.”
Silence settles between us as we both just gaze down at our daughter. She’s tiny and perfect and has eyes like her mama and light hair like mine.
“She’s…” I start, then stop, because there isn’t a word that fits how I’m feeling. I let my forehead rest briefly against Blair’s. “She’s everything.”
Blair smiles, her eyes still locked on the baby. “She is.”
The room fills after that, not all at once, but slowly, like everyone understands this moment belongs to us first.
Eventually, her parents arrive. They’re hesitant at the threshold of our bedroom door before moving closer, their expressions softening the second they see their daughter and their new granddaughter.
The Windsors are no longer in the dark about the old elites. They know about the lies and the deception and the truth behind what they thought they were choosing for Blair.
They know all there is to know, and now, because there is nothing to hide anymore, Blair is able to have a relationship with her family.
Both her mom and dad look overwhelmed with joy and love and all the things grandparents should feel when they meet their grandchild.
Behind them, Blair’s sister walks in. But Bonnie doesn’t wait to be invited to Blair’s bedside like her parents; she just goes.
“Finally!” she exclaims as she carefully wraps her arms around Blair and then presses a soft kiss to our daughter’s forehead. “Did it hurt like a motherfucker?”
“Bonnie!” Devney Windsor chastises.
“What?” Bonnie shrugs. “It’s a valid question.”
“Definitely hurt,” Blair answers on a laugh, but then she looks down at our daughter. “But more than worth the pain.”