18. Leonardo #2
“What are the chances that the only two shifters here in the coven are both snowy type?” I asked.
Abel bounced over to me, and without a thought, I reached out and ran my fingers through his fur.
“You know, as shifters, unless we mate with other shifters, we don’t actually experience touching other shifters’ fur usually.
” I gave Abel another pat, and he circled around before he took off.
For such a little thing, he was incredibly fast. I sighed.
Only a couple more months and I’d be able to shift and run here in the gardens too.
“Missing your feline side?” Mazzi asked.
“Yeah, a little. I didn’t get to shift all that much living in Rome, and the thought of being able to do it here at the villa is very hopeful, honestly.
Sadly, I’ll have to wait a couple more months though.
” I rolled to my knees and crawled over to be closer to Frankie, who was completely passed out and napping like an amazing little baby. If only I ended up being so lucky.
“Why? Your gestation is how long?”
“Three months. Give or take a week or two, I’m told.”
Mazzi nodded. “So you’re what? Halfway through your pregnancy?”
“Probably.” I had zero doubts that I would end up carrying the baby longer than three months. That was just my luck.
“Have you been to Rio since he gave you the tea? He can do an ultrasound, and you should really have one. I’m surprised that Sandro hasn’t suggested it yet, with him being a doctor too.”
I smiled. “Rio has offered to do one already,” I told him.
“He’s going to once he gets back from wherever it is that he went.
I know he was meeting with another doctor, one to help Sandro with the continuing nightmares that he’s having.
” Mazzi’s smile fell a little. I reached out and grabbed his hand again.
“You and Abel, the two of you saved him. You shouldn’t feel bad about it.
He wouldn’t be here without either of you. ”
“I know. I can’t help but feel bad though. If we’d found him sooner, he might not be nearly as hurt as he was.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. He’s here, and that’s all that matters.
He is getting better every day, but there are times that those nightmares seem to sneak up on him.
I’m not sure what causes them, other than the fact that he went through so much.
” I was so grateful, more for him than me, honestly, that he’d been too weak and out of it to remember everything.
It made sense though. With him having lost so much blood, being starved, and in immense pain for so many days, his body just said nope and shut down.
“I understand,” Mazzi said. “I do. But seeing him when we first found him…” Mazzi shook his head.
Yeah, I got it. I honestly think that maybe everyone could use some extra help.
Poor Abel. He was absolutely the sweetest, and I’d heard little bits about how what he did got him in so much trouble with Marcello.
I liked the coven’s second okay, and it was obvious that he was completely obsessed with his beloved, but I wasn’t going to say he was my favorite person in the coven.
Far from it. He was polite to me, but it was obvious that he held some sort of resentment or something toward me, and I had to wonder if it was because of my grandfather.
We didn’t exactly get to pick our family.
Speaking of family, I couldn’t stop the smile when I saw Sandro walking toward me. He’d known where I was all along, but he’d been in a meeting with Master Vincent and Marcello. Naldo was out somewhere in Naples with Nicolo and Carmelo.
“Good afternoon, mio amato.” Sandro glanced around. “Where’s Abel?”
I pointed behind me. “He took off that way,” I said.
“Ah.” Sandro knelt down. “How would you like to go for a walk?”
“I told Abel I’d watch Frankie,” I said.
“I’ll take him.”
I flinched. I’d been so wrapped up in Sandro arriving that I’d not noticed Marcello. How could I miss the coven’s second coming out behind Sandro?
I immediately got up from my spot and moved over to the other side of Sandro. I pulled my shirt down and caught Marcello staring at my stomach. That only made me more self-conscious about the fact that my shirt was tight now. I’d not really had the chance to do much shopping.
When I looked up at Marcello again, he was holding Frankie, and I was surprised that he smiled at me. I didn’t think he had ever smiled at me. I usually caught him staring or glaring, it seemed.
“A walk would be nice,” I said quietly. The urge to suddenly be back in Rome and walking through the streets of the city with Sandro was almost overwhelming.
“Here’s Abel’s clothing,” Mazzi said, handing it over to Marcello.
“Thank you. He’s on his way back. He can shift and get dressed in my office.” Marcello took the clothing and then turned and walked off.
Mazzi stared after him before looking over at us. “Enjoy your walk. About the time I get Tulio inside, he’s going to want to be fed and then play for a bit. Hopefully, Naldo will be home soon.”
I couldn’t imagine the worry that Mazzi must have every time Naldo left the villa. Mazzi disappeared, and you would think that after spending quite a few days around the warlock, I would be used to that, but it was still a bit of a shock to me for him to just disappear.
That left me alone in the garden with Sandro. I wasn’t upset about that at all. There was a blur of white that went by, and I laughed as Abel caught up with Marcello and jumped up and bit his mate on the backside.
“I don’t quite understand their dynamic yet, but I don’t need to,” I said absently. “Marcello is obviously very much into his beloved, and he adores their children. That’s all that matters for any paranormal, I think.”
Sandro smiled before he leaned down and kissed me. “Very true. I seem to recall mentioning to you that a vampire’s beloved is the most important person to them, and they often become possessive of them.”
I nodded. “You can’t drink from another once you claim your beloved. It will make you ill.”
“It’s more than that, Leo. And if that’s what you think is the reason, then I’ve done poorly in showing you how important you are to me.”
“I wouldn’t say that, Sandro. I know how important I am to you. And not because you can only drink from me. I only meant that as part of the reason, and if you deny that, you’d be lying. You love me, and I know that. You genuinely care about my well-being.”
“All you mentioned was true, but you are so much more than that to me. You are my everything. You give me a reason to wake up in the mornings, to smile again, to feel happiness. You are silly at times, and it’s adorable when you scrunch your nose when you’re concentrating too hard on something.
You think I don’t realize how worried you are about your grandfather, but I do.
I promise, he’s going to have to go through an entire vampire coven to get to you and our baby. ”
“What will happen to that family if he doesn’t have someone to take over? Shouldn’t he already have a second or whatever?”
“He does. He would rather it stay in the family though, so he’s hoping to get to you. It’s never going to happen though, so don’t worry about it.” Sandro cupped the side of my face, and I leaned into the touch. “Are you ready to go for that walk now?”
Was I? I thought about it for all of a second before I shook my head.
“Actually, can we go inside? I think I’d rather get something to drink and then maybe see if I could convince you to cuddle with me on the sofa.
” Of course, the real reason for that was to convince him to fuck me.
I would never outright say that out loud where someone else could hear, but the sudden need to be with my mate was hitting me hard.
I knew that once we were in our suite, he’d not deny me, but it was just convincing him to go there instead of walking around the gardens that could be a challenge.
“Are you feeling well?” Sandro asked, suddenly concerned and in full doctor mode. I loved it, I truly did, but I hated that he automatically went there instead of thinking that maybe I just didn’t want to walk around the gardens.
“I’m good,” I told him. I looked around and saw one of the men over by the hedge that was along the perimeter, and although he was probably too far away to hear, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’m pregnant, Sandro. I’m about halfway through my pregnancy. I’ve been away from you for a couple of hours now. I want to get naked. You know…those whole pregnancy hormones?”
Sandro’s expression changed in an instant as realization hit.
Just as expected, he wasn’t going to deny me.
I found myself swept up into his arms, and I laughed as he took off toward the house.
I would never be able to keep up with a vampire when they used their vampiric speed, and I didn’t know how any of them could do it while carrying another, but he could and did.
We were in the house and at the door to our suite in seconds, and I absolutely wasn’t going to complain about that. Why would I?