Epilogue
Ste-Anne des Pins Chapel, Briac Falls
Three weeks later.
T illy’s gaze was following the light coming through the stained glass of the Ste-Anne des Pins chapel as it landed on the cheek of her little Toinou, officially christened just a few minutes ago as Antoine Ambrose Davenport St-Amand.
He’d been a real trouper during the whole ceremony. Not a sound as Abbé David had dropped water on his forehead for the baptism. He looked adorable in a white romper and matching cap outfit stitched by Godmother June.
Standing at one edge of the atrium of the church, Tilly stared at the people surrounding her, a little overwhelmed by the large crowd of family and friends who had come to Briac Falls for the event.
All of Cass’s brothers were here with their wives and fiancées as well as many of the wolf-shifters from the town. Her own godmothers had attended along with her cousin Sloane and her gorgeous husband, billionaire warlock Duke Morgan.
Allie, Lilah, and Josh had driven up from Hyannis the previous night. They had fussed over her and the baby all evening—Lilah helping her with the finishing touches of Toinou’s outfit this morning—and were now herded around Sloane and Duke, wanting to know more about life in the Pacific Northwest.
And of course, Cass’s mom, Charlotte, was here. The overbearing, but kindhearted witch, was currently in deep conversation with Tilly’s side of the family and the witches of the attendees. Along with the banshees were Madame Ioshta, Tilly’s new sister-in-law Maisie, and the two local healers, Caroline Mercier and her ancient grandmother. The venerable Mercier lady was stooped over her dark oak walking stick and sporting a flamboyant purple and silver turban.
Tilly’s head was dizzy trying to keep track of them all.
The young woman she had met at the Vlahos gala, Catalina, was conferring with Rosalie’s sister Delphine, both teens looking very stylish in similar dresses and shoes.
Many members of Rosalie’s wolf pack were in attendance—including a squad of sturdy and attractive men whom Rosalie had assured would also be keeping an eye out for Toinou’s safety—and Tilly looked forward to knowing the Briac Falls residents better since they were settling in as soon as the house was done.
She searched the crowd for Cass and found him with Karim and the two priests, Abbé David, the local cleric, who had been lovely with Toinou earlier, and Father Grégoire, head of the Sanctuaire des Truants where Cass’s brother Val had started rehabilitating cursed young vampires in the early eighteenth century.
Father Grégoire, a dignified old man with a full head of white hair and wearing a faded black cassock, was a fierce family friend and had married them just two weeks prior in Montreal in a very private ceremony with only a handful of Cass’s family and her three godmothers who had jumped on a plane as soon as they’d heard of her ordeal.
She had so much to learn about Cass’s people. All had been welcoming, but there were still so many secrets.
“Ready to face them all?” Her brother-in-law Griff had appeared at her side, and she reminded herself that one of those secrets was their hell demon birth father Ambrus. Would Griff ever find him? There were so many questions the St-Amand brothers had for their birth father. And she would love for him to meet the grandson he had helped fight for.
Griff grasped Toinou’s little fist in a gentle but steady grasp before letting him go. “All these fans and paparazzi. They’re a tough group.”
“Yep.” She let out a sigh as she propped her baby against her shoulder. There was no way to escape the fans. She and Cass had decided to make this event known to everyone and the crowd was waiting outside the church. “This will be nothing like our quiet wedding, that’s for sure.”
The simple ceremony had been lovely. Godmother June had held Toinou during the vows and they’d all celebrated in the large refectory of the Sanctuaire with a classy catered luncheon organized by Nyssa before being whisked away back to Chateau Briac in a chauffeured car to settle Toinou for the night.
Her heart filled with gratefulness at her newfound family. She watched as Emme—looking daring in her full-length suede coat trimmed with fur over a rose-gold mini dress—approached on the arm of her husband Justin St-Amand, the handsome professor a little imposing in his somber suit and black horn-rimmed glasses.
“Your wedding was lovely,” Justin said, lowering a hand to his wife’s back under her coat. “Much more peaceful than what’s waiting outside for you.”
“Celebrity.” Emme smiled, flashing the topaz ring which Tilly had learned allowed her to walk into daylight. “I think it’s super exciting.”
“You do like the drama, don’t you, mon amour .” Justin beamed at his wife with unwavering adoration. The love between them was unmistakable.
“Thank you for letting us use Chateau Briac while we wait for the house to be finished.” They had settled nicely into the estate, the nursery finished with her own things shipped from Hyannis and their new purchases. “Your housekeeper has been a godsend.”
“Oh, Mrs. Mercier is the absolute best!” Emme had told Tilly the story of how the three of them had been trapped and tormented by a supernatural hunter at the beginning of the year. And how brave the local lady had been.
“I’m deeply sorry for the torment you went through with these horrific Moloch followers.” Justin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Our place is completely secured. We made sure, after LeGall managed to break the old wards.”
A dark undercurrent tainted his reassuring tone, betraying the fact that he too was a vampire under the scholarly veneer.
“Black Oak members in London have caught sight of some of these vile Chasseurs, ” Justin added . “The LeGalls are not finished with us.”
“No one will touch our little Antoine,” Emme interjected, gently patting Toinou’s back. “This little lovey is safe here, don’t you worry, Tilly.”
“Absolutely,” Justin said. “But with the LeGalls reappearing in London, we’re flying back in a couple of days. We’ll be back by Christmas but our place on the plateau in Montreal is perfect for us. So, the chateau is yours as long as you need it.”
“It’s much appreciated.” Tilly was genuinely grateful. “We’ll have our house built by the spring.”
“Can we hold Toinou for a bit,” a female teenage voice sounded beside her. Catalina stood there along with Delphine, both their carefully made-up eyes pleading with Tilly.
“Sweetie, be careful.” Nyssa had just followed right behind the teens. “He’s only three weeks old.”
Supporting her baby’s head, Tilly gently transferred him over into Catalina’s arms. She held her breath, as always when someone else aside from Cass held Toinou, and made sure the teenager knew what she was doing.
“Let’s go sit over there,” Catalina suggested to Delphine who was cooing over the infant.
“Good idea,” Nyssa told her little sister before turning to Tilly with a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over them.”
As she studied the two teens and the elegant blonde walk away with her precious cargo, Tilly couldn’t help but think that a part of her would always worry whenever her child was not nearby. This was what motherhood was all about.
She caught Griff’s brooding expression upon her and turned a bright face toward him.
“Thanks for staying for the baptism,” she told him. “It meant a lot to Cass.”
They both looked at her brand-new husband who was doing the rounds, charming everyone, with an easy-going smile on his face, hugging one person, patting another on the back, shaking hands, and occasionally kissing a woman on both cheeks.
He would always want to please everyone, but as he looked at her, casting a heated gaze that warmed her to her very core, she knew she and Toinou would always come first.
“I’ll have an eternity to chase Ambrus,” Griff grumbled beside her, his own birth father still on his mind.
“So, you will chase him?” She raised her brow at him, curious to know if the demon who had saved her life would ever be found.
Griff nodded toward his brother Valerian who, in a long black leather coat trimmed with fox fur, was speaking with Father Grégoire. “Val said that someone from Maisie’s coven has seen him in New England. I plan to drive down tomorrow morning first thing.”
“If you need anything,” she told her brother-in-law, feeling his angst, “you just have to ask. You know Cass will do anything to help you.”
As somebody opened the heavy doors to the brisk outside air, they caught a glimpse of the throngs of Cass’s followers waiting in front of the church behind a row of bodyguards.
“He’ll be busy courting his fans right now,” Griff chuckled.
“Right.” She took a breath, bracing herself for the public appearance.
“You’ll have to get used to it,” Emme chimed on. “It’s part of who he is.”
“I think he likes it,” Justin added.
“I know.” While she loved the music industry, she’d always preferred to be in the shadows. But she had married someone who thrived in the limelight, and she loved all of him, even that side where he shined.
“He would give it all up in a minute for you, you know,” Griff said.
She stared once more at the man she loved. He was in deep conversation with his manager and disciple Karim. The Rituel du Sang would soon be upon them, December twelfth, she recalled. As a Nostredame disciple, Karim had been offering Cass his blood on that date to sustain the immortal for another year, but no more. She’d have that role now.
“I’d never ask him to give it all up,” she told her brother-in-law, still watching Cass. Music was his life, and she never wanted him to dim his light for her.
He raised his gaze toward her again and this time, after a pat on Karim’s shoulder, he strode straight toward her, sending waves of heat and desire through her entire body all the way down to her toes.
He wrapped his arm around her with easiness, dropping a kiss upon her temple at her hair line causing her skin to awaken with need.
“Ready to do your thing, man?” Griff asked.
“I can’t believe you’re bringing all this drama to Briac Falls, Cass.” A rugged middle-aged man sporting gray temples and a matching full beard—and whom Tilly remembered as Alcide Gauthier, Rosalie’s father and former alpha of the Domaine-Lasalle pack—addressed Cass.
“I’m sorry to bring this on you, old man,” Cass said. “It will all die down once they get clips of us with the baby. With the tour canceled for at least a year, they’ll eventually go worship someone else and you’ll have your peace back.”
“You’ll be safe here, fille .” Alcide gave Tilly a fond gaze before looking on to his daughter Delphine who was now bringing her Toinou. “You and the child.”
Tilly carefully picked up her little boy, relieved to have him in her arms again while Cass smiled down upon his tiny son.
“Ready?” He traced Toinou’s chubby cheek as the baby stared at him with wide dark-blue eyes just like her own.
Karim came up beside them, followed by Marcel, who she had called on to help with her styling for this public appearance.
While she held the baby in her arms, he arranged the deep rose-colored folds of her day dress under a thick, floor-length matching coat of soft mulberry cashmere, making her feel like a lush, serene mama.
“This is so perfect,” Marcel gushed, arranging her dark curls down her shoulders before stepping back to admire her and Cass. “The bad boy, his fairy queen, and their blessed infant.
“You are absolutely gorgeous,” Nyssa agreed.
“Please allow me, before you both step outside.” Marcel swiped his phone out of his skinny pants pocket to take a series of pictures. “I got to post this right now. Oh god, Zara will be so pissed she wasn’t invited.”
Mag reached for his wife, both forming a striking, happy couple, in contrast with the more somber Griff in his dark utility coat and biker boots. She knew he was happy for Cass and her, but she couldn’t miss the longing in his expression, a loneliness he didn’t seem able to entirely hide.
He gave her a slow smile as if to tell her not to concern herself with him and to just fully enjoy the day.
As two members of the pack opened the church’s heavy wooden doors, Tilly took a deep breath, and with her infant firmly in her arms, Cass’s arm supporting her waist, she walked out into the brisk air. The bright daytime sun reflecting on freshly fallen snow struck her first, but it was the multiple camera flashes that made her tense for a moment.
“Cass!!!! Tillyyyyyy!” Both their names were loud and clear, shouted from the crowd below. “Here!!! Look here!”
Cass tightened his hold of her as she stared down for a second, caught off-guard at seeing phone screens everywhere, recording her every move.
She could do this, she told herself, nestling closer to Cass and holding Toinou just a little tighter. She kept her gaze just above the fans and stared at the beautiful mountain in the background with its snowy peak, crisp before the vivid blue sky.
This, here, was her new home. Magnificent and tranquil.
Smiling brightly, she followed Cass’s lead, and posed for pictures and recordings, settling into the task while her infant remained blissfully asleep. She would learn to get used to some of the limelight. She would not cut Cass off from his fans. The world needed his art, and his presence.
His arm tight around her told her everything she ever wanted to know. Despite the adoration of hundreds of people, he was with her all the way.
As they took the church’s steps, the questions started flying.
“How long is the tour postponed? Are you going back to LA? Where is your family, Tilly?”
Here , she wanted to say. My family is right here . But she kept quiet and let Karim and Cass answer as they slowly descended the steps.
“Tilly, are you opening your own studio?”
Karim, who was a step ahead, turned back toward her. “Tilly? You want to take that one?”
“What?”
“They have questions for you.”
“You’re leaving Hyannis Sound, right?” a young man in an oversized gray hoody and jeans was asking her. “You’re building your own here?”
She looked at him shocked. They were curious about her career?
“Will you be taking on Jay Carpenter?” Someone else was questioning, mentioning her client from Nashville.
Feeling at a loss for words, she turned to Cass who was grinning at her. He had insisted that the studio be built so she could continue her own career and on her own terms.
She nodded. “Yes, Jay is coming in a couple of months and Davenport Studio will welcome him.” She’d had the confirmation just yesterday afternoon. In fact, many on her roster would be following her, or at least splitting their sessions between her and Ryan. Her old boss had been nothing but supportive of her new venture.
More questions and shouts erupted but she ignored them to watch Cass again. His brother was right. He had eyes only for her and the baby.
And she, who had been abandoned at birth and had made her way in life all by herself, was now surrounded by more family than she could ever imagine.
You will be loved, Toinou. Never alone, she promised her son.
Here, in front of Cass’s admirers and with people who cared about them, she’d never felt more complete.
“There will be no posing for selfies with you today, folks.” Karim’s shouts brought her back from her thoughts. “Surely you understand. Cass and Tilly are young parents, they need to be brief.”
She no longer noticed the fans. Only the presence of her husband and child.
They started toward the chauffeured car waiting to take them back up the mountain to Chateau Briac for their retreat into much needed family time.
The fans screamed as the driver opened the back door of the black Range Rover for her and Toinou, but she heard one thing and one thing only. The man she loved more than anything, the father of her beloved child was whispering to her.
“I’ve got you, mon amour ,” he was saying close to her ear. Just as he’d told her the night he’d whisked her away from that horrible sacrifice altar. “I’ve got you all the way.”