Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Angelo
I smashed the dust with my boot, grinding it into the stone. The threat was gone. My mate and my baby were safe.
My chest heaved as the adrenaline slowly drained away, leaving rage in its wake. How had this happened? In my own fucking home?
Tinker Bell limped alongside me, one hand still pressed to her bleeding side. "She kept me drugged. Something Vex had given her."
I shot her a sharp look, turning to face her. "Were you here the whole time?"
"Yes." She winced, her face pale. "Prudence had the power of glamour. It's how she got past your security. None of your people noticed me being brought in—they saw what she wanted them to see."
My jaw clenched. Glamour. A fucking witch had glamoured her way into my casino, drugged one of my allies, and nearly murdered my daughter on a blood altar.
Someone was going to answer for this security failure.
"Somebody should have caught that." My fangs were still out, my hands clenched into fists. I wanted to hit something, tear something apart. The threat was gone, but the fury wasn't.
Tinker Bell shook her head. "Unless your cameras are magical, they wouldn't have noticed it. Glamour doesn't just fool the eye—it fools technology too."
That didn't make me feel any fucking better.
Serenity came over to us, Noelle cradled against her chest. Our daughter. Safe. The terror clawing at my insides went quiet—but my muscles refused to stand down, still coiled tight, still ready to kill. My fangs still hungered for blood. The blood of anyone who dared threatened my family again.
"Tinker Bell, thank you." Serenity clasped Tinker Bell's arm and a white aura formed around her hand, healing the witch's wounds.
"Understandable. Prudence was a talented witch." Tinker Bell straightened as the healing took hold, color returning to her face. "It's too bad her lust for power clouded her judgment." She sighed. "Thank you for healing me."
I looked at my mate, at my daughter's tiny fist curled against Serenity's collarbone. They were alive. They were safe.
But this never should have happened in the first place. “Can you cast a spell on the cameras to catch any supernatural?”
Tinker Bell nodded. "I can, but I'd have to research this. And not tonight."
Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and she swayed slightly on her feet. Blood still matted her white hair despite Serenity’s healing. She'd been through hell.
"Angelo, not now." Serenity clasped my hand, her touch grounding me. "We need to get our baby home."
She was right. The rest could wait.
Enzo headed over to me. "I've already called Pascal. He's on his way."
"Good." I looked at the shattered door, the scorch marks on the walls, the dark stain where Prudence had died. "We can't let anyone in here until we've secured the scene."
"I'll take care of it," Enzo said. "You need to get your ladies home." He tilted his head toward Joy, who stood near the altar, her shadows still flickering around her like restless smoke. "Would you mind taking mine?"
"Not a problem." I looked at Joy. We'd been at odds more than once, but she'd helped save my baby—something I'd never forget.
I put my arm around Serenity's shoulders and gestured for Joy to come with us. "Let's go, ladies. My men will finish this up."
Pascal waited for us at the curb. He opened the door, and I helped Serenity into the limousine, her hand tight in mine.
I couldn't relax—not until we reached Crimson Manor.
Serenity leaned her head against my shoulder, Noelle nestled in her arms. Joy had her arm looped through Serenity's. Best friends, no matter what.
As Pascal pulled into the garage, some of the tension finally eased from my shoulders. Home.
Gianna and Elena ran out the back door, drawing on vampire speed.
I opened the door for Serenity and Noelle. "Noelle's fine."
Gianna looked down at her, tears tracing lines down her face. "She's really okay?"
I put my hand on Serenity's lower back and escorted her toward the house. "We'll tell you what happened inside."
"Enzo called." Dimitri came up behind them, his expression tight with concern. "Do you want me to help at Crimson Stakes?"
"No, I want you to stay here and keep this place locked down." I met his eyes, steady and unwavering. "Nobody gets in or out without my approval."
Inside, Joy and I told them what happened—Prudence's betrayal, the ritual, Balthazar's intervention, Tinker Bell's rescue. Serenity stayed quiet through it all, unable to stop staring down at our daughter. The way she looked at Noelle—protective, fierce, still shaken—imprinted itself on my heart.
Because I felt it too. Every time I looked at our daughter, something ancient and dangerous stirred in me, ready to burn the city—the world—down to keep her safe.
Elena looked at us, her hands clasped together. "Bien. Now that terrible ordeal is over, would anyone like anything? Coffee? Something stronger?"
Serenity laughed. “No, thank you. The last time I drank your peppermint tea I went into labor.”
Elena frowned. “Tea? When was that, ma chèrie?”
“The night before I went into labor. You brought it to my room.”
Elena shook her head. “I’m sorry, ma chèrie, I didn’t do that.”
Hot red anger gushed through my veins. Prudence. It had been Prudence who’d brought that tea, disguised as Elena. Every piece of her plan had been calculated from the beginning.
Serenity’s face paled. “She was so determined to harm Noelle.”
Joy smiled. “But it’s over, Serenity. You’re safe. All of you.”
I caught Serenity’s eye. I needed them to myself. Needed to close a door between my family and everything that had tried to take them from me tonight. “I think it’s time to get Serenity and our daughter to bed.”
Serenity yawned then smiled. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
I picked her up off the couch and carried her and the baby upstairs to our room.
"Noelle needs a bath." Serenity's voice was soft, almost distant, as if she were still processing everything that had happened.
A bath. Such a normal thing. I latched onto it like a lifeline—something soft and ordinary after hours of violence.
I wanted to be the one to do it, to hold my daughter in warm water and wash away the night.
She filled the baby tub in the bathroom and carefully lowered Noelle into the warm water. I leaned against the doorway, watching her gentle movements—the way her hands cradled our daughter's head, the tender focus in her eyes.
"Could you get her pajamas?"
I went to the nursery and came back with an Alice in Wonderland onesie. Serenity dried Noelle off and dressed her with practiced care, her fingers working the tiny snaps. Noelle whimpered, her little face scrunching up.
"She's hungry," Serenity said as she picked her up and carried her to our bed. She settled against the pillows and guided Noelle to her breast. Our daughter latched on immediately, her tiny hand resting against Serenity's skin.
I stood there, taking it in. These peaceful moments—they burned themselves into my heart. A vampire king watching his angel mate feed their miracle child.
I never thought I'd be part of something like this. Never thought I deserved it.
But here I was.
Once Noelle was done, I looked at Serenity. "Let me burp her."
She passed our daughter to me, and I settled Noelle against my shoulder, her tiny body warm and impossibly light. Something cracked open in my chest—not pain, but awe. This small, perfect creature was mine to protect, to love. I'd waited centuries without knowing I was waiting for this.
"Sure." Serenity handed her over and yawned, exhaustion finally catching up with her. She peeled out of her T-shirt and jeans and pulled on a Christmas nightshirt with Mrs. Claus on it. "I think Noelle should sleep with us tonight."
"I was going to suggest that." I walked back and forth, lightly patting Noelle's back until she let out a tiny burp.
I carefully handed her back to Serenity, who cradled her against her chest. I stripped out of my suit, leaving it in a heap on the floor—something I never did, but tonight nothing else mattered. I climbed into bed beside them.
Serenity shifted closer, Noelle tucked safely between us. I wrapped my arm around them both, feeling the steady rise and fall of their breathing.
As they fell asleep in my arms, I stared up at the ceiling, letting the reality sink in. My family. Safe. Alive.
Tonight was truly a miracle.