Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Enzo
I guided Joy into the dining room, my hand at her back. After everything she'd endured, I wasn't letting her out of my sight.
Angelo, Serenity, Steve, Gianna, and Dimitri were already seated. Dimitri pressed a kiss to Gianna's cheek, and the way he looked at her—like she was his entire world—was something I understood completely.
Elena emerged from the kitchen carrying a Dutch oven of crayfish étouffée. Her white hair was swept into a loose bun, and she wore a long black dress beneath her apron.
She reminded me of my mother—not in looks, but in the warmth she radiated. It had been so long since I'd lost my mother that her face had blurred in my memory. But Elena had filled that void without ever asking to, simply by being herself.
"S'il vous pla?t, sit, sit," she urged warmly, setting the pot on the table.
I pulled out Joy's chair before taking the seat beside her. Whatever Serenity's announcement was, it had better be important.
Angelo's expression turned grave. "Keir called. Nyx's funeral is tomorrow."
Joy's quick intake of breath cut through the room. Her hand found mine, fingers trembling. Nyx had died protecting me—protecting us. His sacrifice still filled me with guilt. I should have saved him.
"I've also contacted Trystan," Angelo continued. "His pack is handling the bodies in the bayou. There'll be no evidence left behind."
Joy turned to me, her face draining of color, eyes wide with dawning horror.
I fought back a smile. "They're burning them, Joy. The wolves aren't eating the bodies."
She laughed nervously and slapped my knee playfully. “I know that.”
I glanced at Angelo. “Where’s Rocco?”
Gianna clicked her tongue. “He refused to stay here once he was healed. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going. Men are so stubborn.”
Serenity shook her head. “That’s too bad. I would have liked him to be here too.” She motioned to Elena. “I want you here as well, Elena.”
Elena headed out of the dining room, her voice trailing behind her. “But I’ve got more food to come out. It will take a minute.”
Serenity sighed. “Very well.”
I looked at Angelo, who shrugged as he took a sip of wine.
Gianna flicked her dark hair behind her shoulder and studied Serenity. "You're acting very mysterious."
Dimitri leaned back, twirling his wine glass. "Oh come on, love. Let her have her moment. We all know angels are nothing if not theatrical." He winked at Serenity. "No offense."
“While we’re waiting for Elena,” Steve said, lifting his wine glass, “I say we toast. To victory. To everyone making it home.”
Not everyone made it home. Nyx was proof of that. I pulled Joy closer, needing the reminder that she, at least had made it back to me.
Everyone raised their wine glasses but Serenity. She raised her water goblet instead.
Elena bustled back in carrying a large bowl of steaming rice, followed by a cast iron skillet of cornbread and a dish of green beans glistening with butter. The spread looked and smelled incredible—the perfect Cajun feast.
She finally took a seat at the table. “I’m finished, Serenity. We can eat.”
Serenity's smile was radiant but shaky. "Not before my announcement.
" She turned to Angelo, her eyes glistening with emotion, and took his hand in both of hers.
"I needed everyone I love here—all of you—because this is.
.." She took a breath, steadying herself.
"Angelo, we're having a baby. You're going to be a father. "
Wine caught in my throat. That couldn't be right. Made vampires were sterile—had been since the day we were turned. Children weren't possible for us.
Joy’s eyes darted to me, catching my shock, before she turned back to Serenity with a smile. “Oh, Serenity. I’m so happy for you.” Her hand found mine under the table, squeezing. “We needed some joy after what we all went through.”
"Serenity, that's impossible." Angelo's words came out raw, disbelieving. "I can't—we can't—"
She pressed her hand over his, guiding it to her still-flat stomach. "My Nephilim blood, my healing power... it healed something in you that being turned broke. You're not sterile anymore, Angelo. We're having a baby."
Angelo's eyes glistened, and for one moment, time seemed to stop.
Then the most feared vampire in New Orleans crumbled.
Something in him broke—sudden and irreversible.
Tears spilled down his cheeks—this man who'd faced death, torture, and war without flinching.
He covered his face with his hands, his whole body shaking with the force of emotion he couldn't contain.
I'd never seen Angelo cry. Not once in all our years together.
Until now.
I pulled my hand from Joy’s and wrapped my arm around her shoulders instead, drawing her close.
Dimitri raised his glass. "Congratulations. Though I have to say, the idea of a tiny Angelo ordering people around in a high chair is both adorable and terrifying."
I lifted my glass, watching Joy's excitement, and my heart twisted. I'd move heaven and earth for this woman. Give her anything she wanted. But a baby? That was the one gift I could never give her.
Gianna tilted her head back and laughed. “I’m going to be an auntie. The little girl will want from nothing.”
Dimitri cocked his eyebrow. “Girl? Are you so sure?”
She kissed his smirking mouth. “Yes, I am. And she’ll be just like me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Now I know we’re in trouble.”
Angelo was relentless in protecting Serenity, but a daughter? Anyone foolish enough to even look at her wrong would beg for death long before Angelo granted it.
Tears ran down Elena’s cheek. “A baby! That’s what this house needs. I’ll get started on helping with the nursery.”
Steve leaned back in his chair. "I can hardly wait to see Angelo changing a diaper."
The thought brought a smile to my lips. One thing was certain—nothing was ever going to be the same.
Elena returned with warm bread pudding, her eyes misty. "A grandbaby," she whispered, kissing Angelo's cheek. "I never thought I'd see the day."
The celebration continued around the table—toasts, laughter, plans for nurseries and baby names. Serenity glowed beside Angelo, who still looked stunned, like he couldn't quite believe it was real.
"I'm calling godfather rights," Dimitri announced, raising his glass. "Someone needs to teach the kid how to have fun, and we all know Angelo's idea of fun is reorganizing his torture chamber."
That was an understatement of the century. Angelo was an expert of pain—I'd seen him work, watched him peel information from enemies with surgical precision. A daughter would only sharpen that particular skill set.
Gianna rolled her eyes. "You're not teaching this baby anything until they're at least eighteen."
"Twenty-five," Angelo corrected, his arm protectively around Serenity.
Steve leaned forward, grinning. "So when do we start baby-proofing the manor? Because I'm pretty sure the sword collection and the torture room aren't exactly nursery-friendly."
"The entire dungeon level will be off-limits," Serenity said firmly, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. "And we'll need to move some of the... sharper décor."
"There goes half the house," Dimitri muttered.
As the conversation swirled around baby preparations and Angelo's future as a father, I watched Joy.
Her smile never wavered, her enthusiasm genuine as she asked Serenity questions about due dates and how she was feeling.
But I knew her well enough now to see the shadow behind her eyes—the longing she was trying to hide.
My chest tightened.
After dessert, as the conversation began to wind down, I squeezed Joy's hand under the table. She glanced at me, and I tilted my head toward the door. She nodded slightly.
We slipped away while Angelo and Serenity were still surrounded by well-wishers, making our way back upstairs.
She twirled, her joy infectious. "A baby! I'm so happy for them." Then her expression softened, became wistful. "I've always wanted to be a mom. Serenity and I used to dream about it when we were kids—having babies at the same time, watching them grow up together."
The confession shattered something inside me.
I caught her face in my hands and kissed her desperately, then pulled back to look at her.
"I would give you everything, Joy. Anything you want."
She smiled, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "You already have."
I rested my forehead against hers, my voice rough. "Except a baby. That's the one thing I can never give you." Would she resent me for it someday? Watch Serenity's growing belly and mourn what we could never have?
She cupped my face, her thumbs stroking my cheeks.
"Enzo, I love you more than anything in this world or any other.
You have to have faith. Serenity healed Angelo—maybe there's hope for us too.
And if not..." Her smile turned seductive.
"We'll just have to keep trying in the most delicious ways imaginable. "
My throat tightened. This woman. After everything, she still had hope. Still believed in miracles. "Joy—"
"No more sad face," she whispered, kissing me softly. "Just love me. That's all I need."
I grinned as I unzipped her dress, the metal teeth parting with a satisfying hiss.
"Now that I can do." I tugged the silky fabric off her creamy shoulders, watching goosebumps rise in the wake of my fingertips before the garment cascaded down to pool around her stilettos.
She wasn't wearing a bra, and her breasts were already budded, nipples tightening in the cool air of the bedroom.
She stepped delicately out of her shoes, one foot and then the other, before hooking her thumbs into the lace band of her panties and sliding them down her thighs.
I was already hard as granite beneath my boxers and fumbled with my belt buckle before pushing everything down at once.
She edged over to the bed, the mattress dipping slightly beneath her weight.
"Turn around and get on all fours.” I grinned. Soon she’d be screaming my name again. Something I would never tire of.
"Seriously?" Her eyebrow arched, a half-smile playing on her lips.
"Yes. I promise it will bring you pleasure." I ran my palm down the curve of her spine.