Chapter 20
Abel
“Iknow it’s literally just downstairs, but why does it feel like I need to bring an entire diaper bag full of everything for them?”
Marcello took the diaper bag from me and placed it on the floor.
He leaned down and kissed me gently. “Calm down,” Marcello told me.
“It’s just a family meal. Downstairs, as you’ve already stated.
The babies have already been fed and changed, and if we should need anything else for them, the room isn’t far away, and there will be two warlocks at this meal who can just magick anything we might need. ”
I took a deep breath. He wasn’t wrong. Both Mazzi and Rio were going to be at this family dinner.
I’d been to a few before, so why was I so worried about this one all of a sudden?
I knew it was because we were taking Frankie and Luci with us.
They were going to formally be introduced to the coven and family.
Mazzi had met them, obviously, as had Rio.
Master Vincent had been by the room very briefly to congratulate us, but the babies were both sleeping, and I’d been asleep when he’d stopped by.
Although I’d woken up, he’d apologized and said he’d come back another time. He never had.
The twins were two weeks old now, and it was time to start leaving the room.
Marcello had left many times, but I’d become a hermit, and I knew it wasn’t healthy for me to get back into old habits.
I had actually thought about reaching out to Dr. Braun to see if I could talk about things over the phone, but I’d held off.
I knew it would do me well, but I wasn’t part of the council any longer.
“Okay. I’m ready,” I said after taking several deep breaths. I picked up Luci’s baby wrap and started to put it on so I could secure her to my chest, but Marcello stopped me.
“Mio angelo, that won’t be necessary. Our twins can lay in the portable crib with Tulio.”
Oh. Yeah. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Because I was incredibly nervous.
“Okay. Well then, I’ll take Luci, and you take Frankie? Unless you want Luci?”
“It does not matter to me which baby I carry down to meet the others. Everyone is going to coo at both babies, just as they do Tulio.”
I nodded and picked up Luci. She was lighter and less squirmy. I kissed her forehead before I snuggled her close to my chest. Marcello had Frankie, and after he opened the door for us, I took another deep breath before I stepped out into the hallway.
I knew the way. I’d been in the dining room many times. And it had always been a happy occasion when we had family dinners. Everyone here had been nothing but amazing to me. So why was I so nervous about this meal? They knew who I was.
“I can feel your nerves through our bond. Are you not ready to be out and rejoin the family?”
I looked up at Marcello as he helped escort me down the stairs. “I’m okay. I am nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone other than you, the twins, Rio, and Mazzi. I know I haven’t really changed, and neither has anyone else. I just…I don’t know. It just feels different.”
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and Marcello loosely wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“We’re late, aren’t we?” I asked as we approached the dining room. I could hear everyone else in the room, and that meant we were late.
“We are only a few minutes past eight. You know we usually don’t start the meal until half past.”
That was true. I took a deep breath as we went through the doorway, and all talking suddenly stopped. I fell back a step, moving closer to Marcello at the sudden silence.
“Way to make us feel unwelcome,” Marcello said. He pulled me a bit closer to his side—something I was so thankful for.
Master Vincent was the one who stood first. “Nothing is further from the truth. Come in and join us,” he said.
He gestured us over to our seats, which happened to be right next to him.
As the second in the coven, Marcello sat next to Master Vincent on the right.
Everyone had been shifted, and I was now directly to Marcello’s right. “Welcome back to family dinners, Abel.”
“Thank you. Please don’t be offended if I yawn,” I told him but looked out at the others. “It’s honestly nothing personal against anyone. You are not boring. I’m just not getting a lot of sleep yet.”
“Understandable,” several said.
I wanted to apologize early, though, because I was now used to going to sleep in about an hour, and I already knew we were still going to be here at our meal.
“I would ask which is which,” Master Vincent said, “but I think it’s safe to say that Lucianna is the one in the pink sleeper.”
I smiled at our coven master. “Yes. Would you like to hold her?” I asked. “Err…wait. You’re supposed to hold Frankie first. He’s the vampire.”
Master Vincent shook his head. “They are both members of my coven, and I would very much like to hold the only principessa in it.”
My mouth opened for a moment, but I quickly shut it and carefully passed Luci over to Master Vincent. Marcello smiled at me and shook his head.
“Mio angelo, you just realized that you have given us our only little girl in the coven, haven’t you?”
“Yes. How had I not realized that? Tulio is a vampire, but he’s also a boy. Frankie is also a vampire. But again, a boy. Oh no. Luci is the only girl.” I looked out at the others and tried to smile.
“Don’t worry,” Naldo said. “She’s going to have a house full of overly protective uncles.” There were chuckles from several others.
“That’s not…” I looked up at Marcello, who shook his head again and escorted me over to my chair, pulling it out for me. I carefully pulled it under me as I sat.
“I believe you hadn’t thought about that before now, have you?” Nicolo said as he leaned close.
“Uh, no. I don’t want her spoiled. Or sheltered too much.”
Nicolo nudged his head, and I looked back at Master Vincent, who seemed completely enamored with Luci. “I don’t think we’re going to have much of a choice when it comes to being overly protective.”
I chuckled. “You might be right. Is he always like that around babies?”
Nicolo shrugged. “I cannot say. I have never seen him around them.”
I glanced back to Master Vincent, who was now looking at Frankie while Marcello held him. I turned away, searching for Mazzi across the table from me but found Rio staring at me. I smiled at the doctor.
“How are you feeling since the checkup yesterday?” he asked.
I smiled because we’d just seen each other yesterday when he’d come by the room to check up on the twins and make sure they were growing as they should.
“Not bad. Tired still. Frankie decided he didn’t want to sleep longer than forty minutes this afternoon.
” I sighed. “It is what it is. I’m just hoping that he eventually gets on some schedule, and we can get longer stretches of sleep.
Although three-hour naps are amazing anymore. ”
Rio offered a smile. “I wish I had more suggestions for help.”
I shrugged. “It’s all right. It’s part of being parents to newborn twins. It could be worse,” I said. “Luci could not sleep as well.”
“You know,” Mazzi said from a few seats down. “Maybe try one of those heartbeat toys. They’re usually bears or something else cute.”
I knew my confusion showed on my face. Nicolo looked even more confused than I did. Then again, he didn’t have a beloved or children.
“Umm…what is this heartbeat bear you speak of. Does it have my heartbeat or something? Because it never fails that he’s out within a minute of me picking him up. But it’s not comfortable to sleep with him on my chest.”
“There are some that have generic heartbeat sounds in them. Like noise machines.” Mazzi shook his head. “I’ll come by with one after the meal. We’ll use your heartbeat and see if that keeps him sleeping longer.”
I was willing to try anything. And if anyone could make it work, it was Mazzi and his magical abilities. Or Rio.
Marcello sat down beside me, who was now without our son. Master Vincent had placed Luci with her brother and Tulio in the crib that was against the wall. I could see all three through the slats and smiled.
“They’re fine, but if you need to go look…” Marcello said.
“No. I’m okay. I know they’re safe and not far. I was just peeking.”
I didn’t have a chance to say much else because Master Vincent cleared his throat as he stood. “I know we aren’t normally overly formal here in the family, but I want to make a toast to the new parents, Marcello and Abel, and congratulate them on the arrival of their twins.”
“Yes,” someone called out down the table.
“Abel,” Master Vincent said, grabbing my attention. “I know I am not your favorite, and I understand why.”
My eyes widened, and I felt my entire face turn red. I glanced at Marcello covertly, and I was definitely going to say something to him later on once we were back in our rooms.
“It’s not every day that I have to resort to sending one of my men and his pregnant beloved halfway across the world to kidnap the beloved of my closest friend,” Master Vincent said.
I glared at Marcello, who only wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I wanted the chair to swallow me, and I was certain I was going to die from embarrassment.
“I don’t regret my choice for even a moment, and I would do it again tomorrow if it meant that we had the same outcome we do now.
You might not know it, but you bring smiles to our coven, and we are all looking forward to getting to know you better.
” Master Vincent raised his glass. “So, for brightening up our family, I say thank you, Abel, for taking a chance on us.”
That was it. I was never going to be able to show my face around again. There were welcomes and congratulations all around, and I could only bury my face in Marcello’s side.
“I’m sorry, mio angelo. I did not know he was going to do this.”
“I’m ready to go back to the room and never leave it again,” I replied through our bond.