Luca's Magic Embrace (32 page)

Luca took a hot leisurely shower, hoping Samantha would take it easy. He knew she was looking forward to celebrating their engagement, as was he. But he was worried she’d been overdoing it with all her training at the coven and then insisting that she had to cook at least one dish for the party. He would have been happy with just champagne, but had given in to her desire to create a more human-like affair that would allow her to meet his friends. It was also an opportunity to do something wonderfully normal, given all the nasty supernatural events that had preceded tonight’s festivities.

But Luca worried that Samantha’s usually fair skin looked a lighter shade of pale. Despite her best attempts to hide it from him, he could sense she was suffering from malaise. It didn’t make sense. He was very careful with their blood exchanges, ensuring that he never drank too much from her and that she’d always drank his in return. Energizing and virile, his blood should have had her blushing pink with vitality.

Deciding to surprise her he lit the candles in their room, turned on soft music and lay naked on the bed, awaiting her presence. Fifteen minutes went by before he lost all patience. Annoyed, his worry rose yet again.
Stubborn woman, must still be cooking when she doesn’t need to do that. What she needs to do is rest.

Sliding on a robe, he exited the bedroom and spotted Samantha lying still on the floor. He felt a surge of an emotion he’d long forgotten, terror. Had she fallen down the stairs? Was she alive? He breathed a sigh of relief after hearing her normal heartbeat. Rushing to her side, he scooped her up into his arms. “Samantha, darlin’. Come on baby. Please wake up,” he begged.

Slowly Samantha’s eyes fluttered open. “Ummm….what happened? How’d I get here?”

“Dear Goddess, I’m so glad you’re awake. What happened? Are you in pain? I’m calling a doctor.” He knew doctors existed who served supernaturals. Kade had called for one who’d checked him out after he’d been kidnapped. He reached for his phone and frantically flipped through his contacts list looking for the number.

“No, Luca. I don’t need a doctor. Please just call Ilsbeth; she can look at my aura. I think it must be the magic. Something’s wrong. I’ve been using a lot of energy when I’ve been training. I told you it was exhausting. I just need to close my eyes and rest,” she insisted.

There was no way in hell he was letting a witch diagnose his wife-to-be. Sure, he’d call her, but he was also calling the doctor. “Okay, stay here. I’m going to go get your robe, a glass of water and make the call. Don’t move,” he ordered.

After calling both the doctor and Ilsbeth, he phoned Sydney and Kade to ask them to come over. They waited outside his front door for the doctor to arrive. Within thirty minutes, Kade escorted the doctor downstairs. Luca was surprised to see how young the woman doctor was, given that he had no recollection of her from when he’d been ill.

She extended her hand. “Good day, I’m Dr. Sweeney. Do you think we could move the patient into the bedroom so I could take a closer look at her?”

“Certainly.” Luca gently cradled a sleeping Samantha in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and pulled a sheet up over her.

Ilsbeth poked her head into the bedroom, having come in late. “May I stay, Luca?” she asked quietly.

Luca shot her a look of irritation, blaming her ‘training’ for Samantha’s health issues. “Come in, but let the doctor work,” he growled.

Luca and Ilsbeth watched patiently as the doctor took blood and pulled out her small lab kit. “Exactly how long has she been dizzy?” the doctor asked.

“This is the first time she’s passed out. She never even told me she felt sick. I noticed she was pale upstairs, and I insisted she rest. Right before you got here, she said she’d been exhausted from her training with Ilsbeth,” he sneered. “Did you have to work her so hard?”

“Magic would never do this, Luca. If anything, she should be getting stronger, healthier. She’s been taking your blood. I can see it in the brightness of her aura. In fact, her aura is the healthiest I’ve ever seen it. Quite extraordinary, really. It’s almost iridescent. It’s almost as if she’s…” Ilsbeth shook her head, not wanting to speak without the doctor’s consent. It was not her place to tell Luca what she suspected. Deciding to leave the room, she left him and the doctor to work alone.

Samantha slowly woke up, hearing voices in the room, and was surprised to find herself a specimen under several pairs of peering eyes. “What’s going on?” she said with a hint of annoyance. “Oh my God. Did you call a doctor? I told you that I’m fine. I just need rest. You took blood?” She looked down at the band aid on her arm. Irritated with the unnecessary attention, she pushed with her hands and sat straight up in bed, much to Luca’s dismay.

Dr. Sweeney sat on the edge of the bed and held Samantha’s hand. “How are you feeling? Can you please follow my finger with your eyes?” she requested, shining a light into her pupils. Flipping off the light, the doctor glanced down at the blood results. While most doctors sent out for results, Dr. Sweeney carried a basic lab kit with her, since most of her clients were supernatural in nature. She ran a full lab out of her office.

“I’m fine. I can’t believe Luca called you. I’m afraid my fiancé overreacted. Really, I’m just a little lightheaded. This is so embarrassing,” Samantha said, trying to convince everyone she was fine.

“Well, it’s good to know you plan on getting married,” Dr. Sweeney commented nonchalantly and began to efficiently pack away her supplies.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Luca was pissed. The doctor was supposed to be diagnosing Samantha and she was talking about marriage? He had a mind to call Ilsbeth back into the room.

“What I should say is congratulations, you’re pregnant.” She smiled ruefully and walked over to the door. “Now of course, this is quite a special event. It is rare that a vampire can breed, but I’m certain that as a witch, you knew it was a possibility.”

Samantha couldn’t have been more shocked if the doctor had told her she was going to the moon. It couldn’t be. No, Sydney had said vampires don’t have babies; they’d discussed it at length during one of their lunch dates. She wanted children but that didn’t mean it could actually happen. And while Luca said that he also wanted children, she’d assumed he meant they’d adopt, not literally create one of their own.

Luca was sure his heart had stopped beating. A baby. He couldn’t believe it. He’d queried Ilsbeth weeks ago, but hadn’t given a thought to birth control, considering how seldom it happened. He couldn’t help the broad, proud smile that broke across his face. He jumped into bed with Samantha, needing to be closer to the mother of his child.

As the shock wore off, Samantha held a protective hand to her belly. “A baby?” she whispered, and beamed at Luca.

“A baby,” he repeated. “My precious Samantha, we’re going to have a child. I love you so much.” Luca embraced her on the bed, not caring that Kade, Sydney and Ilsbeth had come into the room. Despite having spectators, Samantha and Luca kissed each other gently.

“A girl to be exact,” Ilsbeth noted. “Babies who are born of vampires and witches are girls. And your little girl will bring her own special magic into this world. She will be quite exceptional, of that I am certain.”

“Well, of course she will be. Just like her mother. Beautiful and magical!” Luca could not stop smiling.
A baby. A family. A home.

Sydney and Kade wrapped their arms around each other, happy for Luca and Samantha. It was unbelievable how this little witch had transformed Luca. Once cold and serious, he now was truly enjoying life, exuberant about the future.

“Okay, everyone, as much as I enjoy sharing this phenomenal news, I really need a bit of privacy. It’s time to get ready for the party,” Samantha stated as if she hadn’t just fainted.

“No, no, no,” Luca asserted.

“Doctor?” Samantha looked up at her with puppy eyes hoping she’d get the correct response.

“You’re okay for the party, but you are to remain seated for the rest of this evening. Also, you should expect to be taking daily naps from now on. Don’t wait until you feel dizzy to lie down. As soon as you are tired, rest. While the fatigue and nausea are perfectly normal, you need to go easy. Usually women don’t faint but it can happen, as you just found out. As far as your training, no more than one hour per day. In another month, you’ll be feeling much better. Luckily for you, your pregnancy will be only six months. One of the benefits of being supernatural,” she quipped. “Okay now, I expect to see you in my office next week, Samantha. Luca’s got my number.”

After thanking everyone for their assistance, Luca and Samantha lay quietly in bed. She cuddled into him, resting her cheek on his broad chest. They were both thrilled to be having a baby together; neither thought it could really be happening. Unassumingly, Luca took her hands in his.

“Samantha.”

“Yes, daddy-to-be?”

“I was going to wait for tonight, to surprise you. But now, this news. I’m so happy. I never thought. Damn, I sound incoherent. Okay, just close your eyes.”

She closed her eyes and added, “I’m not sure if I can take any more surprises today.”

“I think you’ll like this one.” Slipping an engagement ring on her finger, he smiled down at her. “Since I’m not so good with words right now, I’ll simply say, ‘I love you.’”.

Samantha opened her eyes and glanced at the stunning ring he’d given her. “I love it! Thank you, it’s beautiful.”

His head dipped down as he captured her lips. Deliberately seeking her sweetness, he swept his tongue over hers. They kissed lightly, unable to stop smiling; altogether exhilarated from learning they were expecting.

Samantha laughed. “You know, this is crazy, don’t you? A month ago, I was down here for a conference, and now I’m a witch who’s getting married to a vampire. And we’re having a baby who’s going to be a witch.”

Luca laughed. “How are we gonna explain this one to your parents?”

“Guess we’d better get married soon, huh?”

“The sooner the better. I can’t wait to hear her little feet running around this house,” he said excitedly.

“Hey, speaking of running, is Kat going to make it tonight? I invited her you know, but she hasn’t called me back. I left a message on her cell phone. I sure hope everything’s okay. And Tristan, it’s a shame he couldn’t be here tonight either. Told me had some sort of pack thing going on.”

“I’m sure Kat is fine and we’ll celebrate with Tristan when he comes down here again next month. No worries, my little witch. Tonight is for celebration, and I want to spend every minute showing off my new fiancée and sharing our good news.”

Luca held Samantha as she drifted off to sleep. He did wonder why Kat hadn’t replied to their invitation, but he didn’t want Samantha to have concerns tonight over the wolves. In the morning, he’d phone Tristan to tell him about the baby and make sure he and Kat were all right. Regardless of wolf problems, he now had a family to care for; it was not his responsibility to monitor pack concerns. As requested, they had flown Kat down to New Orleans. He knew both Tristan and Marcel would have her back. As far as Luca knew, their pack was still actively patrolling the area in search of the two escaped wolves. He guessed they would have made their way back to New York by now anyway.

Kissing Samantha’s soft hair, he gingerly touched her belly, knowing his daughter was growing inside. Peace. In all his life, he’d never felt it. Today, lying here with his mate, Luca had finally found it within her magic embrace.

Tristan burned down the open highway on his Harley. Aside from going wolf, there was nothing like the freedom of tearing it up on his steel horse. Returning from a week of running his wolves had brought a much needed peaceful vibe to both him and his pack. After helping out with the mess down in New Orleans with Kade and Sydney and trying to keep Kat out of trouble, his own wolves needed his attention.

He smiled, considering the she-wolves who had vied for his attention over the holiday. Preferring to keep jealousy and discourse to a minimum during their run in the wild, he’d rebuffed their advances. Sure, he’d danced with a few and flirted shamelessly, in his usual style, but he’d decidedly stayed celibate. Tristan wanted to keep his head clear and focused, and women certainly had a way of blurring the lines. At the very least, they took up a lot of his time, and time was a commodity when it came to pack activities. Instead of self-indulging, he’d given of himself, concentrating on the needs of all the wolves.

It was no secret that the pack elders yearned for him to mate, but Tristan knew it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Leading the pack was an earned honor that he enjoyed doing alone. After all, he was by no means lonely; the ladies were drawn to him like bees to honey. Everyone knew that the Alpha happily played the field as long as no commitment was required.

Tristan had made up his mind a long time ago, that he wasn’t willing to settle for any woman just for the sake of mating. Yes, there’d been women he liked a lot over the years, but no one female was a true mate to his wolf. The only serious relationship Tristan had had in recent years was his friendship with Sydney. While she was well and truly an Alpha female, she was human, not wolf. So while they’d made love on occasion, and he’d even asked her to move in with him, he knew she wasn’t his mate.

He admitted to himself that watching his good friends find love struck a chord in his heart. Kade and Luca were at peace and truly seemed happy. At times, it made him wonder if perhaps he was missing out on something in life. Regardless, it wasn’t as if he had even a hope of finding his true mate within his own pack. While many of the she-wolves appeared quite lovely on the outside, he knew that most only wanted him for his Alpha status. And the human women he’d met were mostly interested in his bank account.

Despite the pressures to create a breeding pair for the pack, which would greatly increase the number of cubs born to all wolves in the pack, Tristan had no intention of giving into an arranged mating. No, he’d grown up seeing many an Alpha pair irrevocably tied through a forced mating, hating each other, yet shackled together for eternity for the sake of their wolves. Even though the archaic custom was still practiced in a few regions, Tristan and his brothers had long ago begun the tide of change from old world to modern pack laws. As a result, all of the Livingston brothers lived unmated, but were contentedly and successfully leading their packs. Adhering to the law of the natural selection of mates, they frowned upon imposing an artificial Alpha mating. The new tradition bred strength and happiness into his pack members. Tristan felt strongly about the law; he would not be forced into a pairing nor would he force others in his pack to submit to it either.