Redemption (The Extinct Race Series Book 4) (17 page)

Once the pasta was mixed Aubry scooped it all in a bowl and set the table. Adam moved the highchair with Jada still in it to the table. Willa needed help into her booster seat so Adam picked her up to help. Aubry handed Adam Jada’s bowl and he made sure to cut everything small enough so Aubry didn’t have a panic attack. Soon they were all eating and Baker was itching to finish first so he could go see his Camryn.

On the other side of Aubry and Adam is where Josiah and Brielle lived. They were also all at their table eating. Brielle had made tacos and her children were having a blast as the heaped on the cheese and lettuce and tomatoes to their plates.

“You know you’re going to eat all that you get right kids?” she asked them knowing that they would. Her children had very healthy appetites.

“Yes mama we will.” Malcolm responded for all the kids.

“Good. Now after dinner we are all heading up to the main house to our lessons. Malcolm you have training tonight with Charles and Mateo so your dad will take you to the training room. The rest of us are headed up to art lessons with Halina and Sarah. So I expect you all to be on your best behaviors and use your manners.” Brielle looked to all of her children to make sure that they were listening to her.

Brielle stayed home with the kids and tried to keep them active. Josiah ran a natural foods shop in town and needed to work on his online orders tonight. He had several half-bloods that made the deliveries or ran the shipments to the airport. Josiah had mentioned a few times how busy he was getting so Brielle knew that as soon as Hailey was a year old she was going to be going to work with him. Brielle worked with Josiah a lot in between kids however he always let her stay home until the baby was one.

They had five children now which Brielle loved and couldn’t wait for more. She had hired Hugh’s replacement to extend the house for her after her third child was born. She knew three bedrooms would not be enough and had three more rooms added to the house and her bedroom moved to the first floor. She kept the youngest in the two other bedrooms on the first floor and three of the four bedrooms upstairs were occupied. The fourth room for now was used as the office for the business. The main shop was in town but all the books and orders were done at home. Josiah liked to be home with the kids as much as she did.

Malcolm was their oldest he was six now and her little Fury. Brighton was their five year old son who happened to be an Earth Dragon. Riley their first daughter is now five and she is a Blood Dragon. Keegan is their two year old daughter and she is an Onyx. Their last child for now is another Earth baby, her name is Hailey and she is eight months old.

When everyone seemed full and done eating Josiah and Malcolm helped her clean the table and put away any leftovers. They then headed out to art lessons and Josiah took Malcolm to the training room. Josiah then headed back to the house to do his orders. He knew Brielle would get Malcolm when she was done. He had about an hour of quiet to get as many done as he could.

Paula and Cassie were late getting dinner started this evening. They had been busy playing with their four children. It wasn’t until Robert their five year old Pearl son had stated that he was hungry. Cassie had quickly jumped up and was in the kitchen making spaghetti. So Paulo was keeping the kids out of her hair. Robert was their oldest and then they had Ramiro who is four and an Onyx. Next was Hope their first daughter who was a Fury. Octavia was their youngest little Onyx.

Paulo loved his children but still had hope of a little Earth baby. For now he was enjoying the ones he was blessed with. His first mate had not wanted children and for a while he thought he didn’t either but Cassie had changed his mind when she became pregnant. He had been ecstatic and went right outside and made a tree grow for his son. Since then he has made three more and hopes to surround the house with them.

“Dinner!” Cassie hollered from the kitchen

“Ready kids, Robert can you please get Hope while I gab Octavia?” Paulo asks

“Yes Papa do you think you could take me to say goodnight to Anya when dinner is over? I have not seen her in three days.” Robert asked. He wanted to see his soul mate every night but some nights were just hard to get him there. Ramiro was the lucky one his soul mate lived next door. But then again Oliver had the same problem as Carter wanted to come every night to say goodnight to Hope. Kendall also had to bring his son Ramond to kiss Octavia goodnight each night. Paulo would not change this life for anything. Coming here and having a family was better that anything else in the world to him.

Chapter 32

Water 10 Years Later

Finley and Oliver had taken their time having children. They traveled for a couple years with their parents. After two years both of their parents wanted to go back to the mountain. Finley and Oliver had joined them for a month or so and then went back to Australia. Finley had fallen in love with the island country and ended up buying a home there. It was her winter vacation spot. Now however she and Oliver ran a water park that they had built from the ground up while she was pregnant with her first child. They had come back to the mountain to raise their children.

It seemed once they started having children she couldn’t stop. She had five lovely kids to prove it. Willow is her youngest and just two months old and she is a little Earth girl. Brooke is two and her little fish as she was also Water. Adison is the next Earth baby and she is three. Austin is four and is an Onyx. Her first born is Carter he is five years old he is also a hand full as a Fury. But he is a good boy and does not hit his siblings.

All of her children had different shades to their skin. With Oliver being so dark and Finley being tan but white the kids were a mix. Brooke was the lightest one with blond hair like her mother.

“Hey Oliver can you help me please. The kids all need a bath and the boys are yours tonight. Think you can get them in the shower while I bath the girls?” Finley asked as she chased Adison and Brooke down the hall while holding Willow.

“Sure Babe, you want me to take the baby since the boys pretty much wash themselves. I just have to pull guard duty.” Oliver asks

“Yes thank you.” Finley replies relieved to have one less to wash right now. Willow could take a bath with her later after the girls were down for the night.

Since she had given birth her mom and dad filled in for her at the water park and were going to until she was ready to come back. But at night she and Oliver did the books together. Not having her ability at the park lately was also making the park slow down in business. But every once in a while she needed to get out of the house so she packed up the kids and drove down to the park. She would work her magic for a while and then head back home.

After the girls had their bath she dressed them in their pajamas and they all headed to the living room to watch a movie before bed. However Carter through his fit right after he was clean and demanded to go say good night to his mate Hope, which in turn made Austin follow suit and soon Oliver was headed to the homes of his son’s mates. Austin’s soul mate was Paige who was still so little that Oliver always gave in to him. It was just so sweet seeing their little guy place a kiss on his five month old mate.

Just as the boys headed out the elevator opened with Gosha and Luka along with Zach and Noah. Adison ran over to Noah and he scooped her into a hug kneeling down on her level. Luka was the same age as Brooke so they were the same height as they hugged good night. It was just so cute to see. There was only a few of the boys out of all the kids that demanded this. The other kids got to see their mates at school or more frequently because they lived closer. Noah came over often after school and helped out with Adison but he still required saying good night to her every single night.

When Finley and Oliver made their trips to Australia now it was usually only for a week at a time. Her boys could not stand being gone.

The boys were not gone long and soon they were all sitting down to the movie. Finley nursed Willow while Oliver made popcorn.

Down on the beach all five homes that were built were full. It would be another ten or fifteen years before they would all petition Kaiden to build more houses. Because even though the kids were all younger than ten they all wanted to stay here and raise their families. The houses were all in a U shaped line on the Left side of the beach when facing the water from the cliff above. The Earth Dragons had worked together to build a path that led down to the beach. The beach was also extended to that the houses did not flood during high tide. They now had a good mile stretch of beach even during high tide. The houses used to be on stilts and some in the water. However once the children began to be born the houses were moved back and lowered onto the sand. The actual beach part was extended by ten miles.

In the first house in the row is where Marie and Julio lived with their three children. Carmine who was named after the Fire Dragon is six years old and a Water Dragon. Lilah is four years old and an Earth Dragon. Their last child is Jael and he is two years old he is also a Fire Dragon. Right now Marie is giving a bath to Jael whole Julio reads a book to Carmine and Lilah. When the bath is done she dresses him in pajamas and heads into the living room where Julio and her children were.

“How is the story coming?” Marie asks as she sits in the chair across from her husband.

“There are dragons in it Mommy!” Lilah squeals

“Is there? Just like you sweet girl?”

“Nope these ones are long like snakes. You don’t look like a snake when shift. No one does. These ones aren’t real.” Carmine states

“Ah well do you think it is a good story though?” Marie inquires because it was her story. Her children had no idea what she did now. She had taken to writing children’s stories a couple years ago. This was one of the first ones she had written and wanted to really get a child’s opinion.

“It is mommy I really like it.” Lilah replies

“And you Carmine? What do you think?”

“I like it a lot it’s a good story. Sound kind of like what we are being taught in school right now too. The history of us.” He replies

“That is because it is. You mommy wrote this book and many more.” Julio tells his kids.

“You did Mommy?” Lilah asks

“I did. I like creating stories in a kid friendly way. This book is going to become part of your history lessons at school. Rosa and Michael liked it a lot and think it would be a good book to read for you kids.” Marie admits as this is the first time she is telling Julio too.

“That is wonderful news Marie. I think it is such good news that it deserves some brownies.” The kids all scream at once and then run to the kitchen to get their brownies. Julio gets up and Marie follows. Julio pulls her into his arms and kisses her deeply.

While Marie writes her stories Julio also writes however he likes to write crime novels. They have a turned the sitting area in their bedroom into a home office. Where they have two desks that face one another and they write together.

In the next house over is where Conner and Delany lived with their four children. Ryan was their eldest son. He is a Water Dragon and is eight years old. Right now he is sitting in the desk in his room doing his homework and thinking about Josephine. She was pretty much the princess as her parents were the King and Queen. As his thoughts start to drift from home work to his soul mate his laptop dings letting him know he has a new message. Sure enough it is Josephine telling him goodnight. He messages her back to sleep well and he would see her in the morning.

In the same room his little brother Ferris who is four years old and is an Earth Dragon is changing into his pajamas. Ferris hasn’t started school yet but Ryan teaches him as much as he can. Ferris is also very curious so the little lessons he has with his brother come easily. His little sisters share the room across the hall from the boys. Rose is a Water Dragon like him so he takes her swimming with him a lot. She is five years old and already a faster swimmer than Ryan is. Tavia is the baby of the family and she is eight months old. She will be a Blood Dragon when she is older and Ryan thinks that is the coolest thing.

Delany walks into the boy’s room and sees that Ryan is doing his homework while Ferris sits on his bed waiting for his story. “Hello my boys, Ryan its shower time for you if you are done.”

“I am. Josephine says hi and goodnight.” Ryan informs her.

“Well, tell her I said hello tomorrow. Alright little man are you ready for that story?” Delany asks Ferris

“Yes Mommy.” He replies as Delany sits next to him on the bed. Ferris likes for the story to be read and then tucked into bed.

Across the hall Conner is feeding Tavia her nightly bottle and rocking her to sleep while telling a story to Rose. Rose does not like to be read a story instead she likes her daddy to make them up for her.

For work and to keep themselves busy Conner and Delany have opened a water bottling facility. No one at the company knows that the owners clean the pollutants out of the water with their own hands. Conner usually heads to the plant after the kids are asleep and cleans the water in the tanks. During the day when the kids are in school Delany takes Ferris and Tavia to the office with her. Conner also comes and together they work the tanks during the day and run the office. The business has been very busy and doing well. Many investors have tried to get them to expand but they are happy with the small facility they have. They weren’t in the business for money although they bring in more now in one year than they had in the bank to begin with.

The next house over and the one in the middle is where Jaco and Shiloh live with their four children. Once their kids were all asleep for the night is when Jaco checked on Aldrich’s half-bloods. Jaco had opened a group chat room for the ones that wanted to keep in contact with one another and that is where he got most of his information. The group that was deemed “Iffy” had had twelve half-bloods in it and ten of them had made a profile on the web page Jaco had created.

Five of them had families of their own now and were very thankful they were given a second chance at making it on their own. The two that had run back to Alaska actually had a family already that they had hidden from their father. The other five were still single men but they were successful now. They had put themselves through college and now had all sorts of careers. One had even opened up a private investigation firm and he contacted Jaco a lot for help. He specialized in reuniting families.

The good group had all been teenagers. They were all on the site as well and loved reconnecting with each other. Colleen was also in the group and she kept in contact with them this way. None of the half-bloods lived near one another and they honestly wanted to keep it that way. They were happy to talk when they wanted however they wanted their own lives.

This was always Jaco’s routine once the kids were asleep. He spent an hour reading the newest posts and then he and Shiloh went to sleep. In the morning Jaco always woke earlier than everyone else and went for a swim. When he was finished and walked back into the house his youngest Isabelle who is four months old lays awake in her bassinet not making a sound. She is calm for a Fury which surprises Jaco but he wouldn’t change it. She always waits patiently for him after his swims. He goes straight to her after and is the one to feed her letting Shiloh get her sleep.

This was his routine with all his kids. Forrest was the first born. He is seven years old now and an Earth Dragon. Forrest was impatient as a baby though and when Jaco came back from his swim Shiloh was usually half awake sitting up in bed feeding him. When Brody was born that all changed however. Brody is five now and their only Water child. Once Brody hit six months he wanted to go on the swims too and would wake at the same time as Jaco. They would swim with Jaco always keeping him very close. This year however the swims had to stop since the boy started school and needed the extra hours of sleep.

Isabelle always fell back asleep after her bottle which gave Jaco time for a shower. When he was done he would walk out and find his little Blood girl Caroline waiting at the counter for him. She was also an early riser and would patiently wait for her daddy to make her breakfast.

“Hello my lovely girl. What would you like today?” Jaco loved his moments alone with each child.

“pinch oast.” Caroline chirped

“French toast it is then. Would you go wake your brothers while I cook? I promise you will get yours first.” Jaco asked as he got out everything he needed.

“mmhmms.” Caroling hopped off the stool and went down the hall to the boys room. “Up Up. Brudders UP!” Caroline yelled out.

Both boys listened to their baby sister and got out of bed. The boy’s room was a special one. Forrest’s side was wood walls and plants on wood shelves with a vine hammock bed. Brody’s side was blue walls and a fish tank floor that went up one wall. Brody’s bed was built into the floor and was a water bed. The girl’s room was all pinks and girly stuff with normal beds still.

When they boys were dressed for the day they headed to the table where Jaco had made a mound of French toast and bacon. Caroline was already sitting in her chair munching away. As the boys were finishing their meal Shiloh woke up and so did Isabelle and they headed into the kitchen. Shiloh nursed Isabelle again while she ate breakfast. Isabelle loved her morning bottle that Shiloh made every night however she wanted mom as soon as she was awake.

Jaco got ready for his day and then saw the boys out the door. Shiloh stayed home for now although she worked from home too. Jaco headed to the office at the security firm that Monica and Brad had opened.

In the fourth home is where Emery and Kendal made their home. They had both always wanted more children. Seeing Finley when they wanted but knowing they couldn’t raise her was especially hard on Emery. So while they were on their travels with Finley and Oliver and Emery realized she was pregnant they came home. She hadn’t told Finley why she wanted to come back however. She had waited to make sure before she said a word to anyone.