Chapter 409
“Mama’s sorry,” I soothed, bouncing her gently. “But we need to figure this out before you touch any more plants, okay?”
“Can I see?” Lily asked, pushing past the adults to get closer to
the plant. “Wow, it’s so pretty! And it smells good too.”
E
She was right. The plant was giving off a faint sweet scent, like
honey and vanilla mixed together. Definitely not something a regular
fern would do.
“Don’t touch it,” Orion warned his daughter.
“I won’t,” Lily promised. “But it’s really pretty. Did baby Ari really
make it like this?”
yet.”
“We think so,” Sarah said carefully. “But we’re not completely sure
“That’s so cool,” Lily breathed. “She’s like a princess from a fairy
tale. The ones who can talk to animals and make flowers grow.”
Out of the mouths of babes. That was exactly what this felt like-
something from a story, not real life.
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Liam toddled over, interested in whatever had captured his
sister’s attention. “Flower,” he announced, pointing.
“Yes, flowers,” Sarah confirmed, scooping him up before he could
get too close. “Pretty flowers that we’re just going to look at, not
touch.”
“I need to sit down,” I said suddenly, the full weight of everything
hitting me. My legs felt shaky.
.
Tristan immediately guided me to the couch, taking Arianna from
my arms so I could collapse into the cushions. “Breathe,” he
instructed. “Just breathe.”
I tried, but my mind was spinning. “What if this is bad?” I asked.
“What if having this gift makes her different? Makes people treat her
differently? What if…”
“Athena.” Orion sat down beside me, his hand on my shoulder.
“You have a gift. Has it made you different? Has it made people treat
you badly?”
“No, but mine is subtle. Normal. This is…” I gestured helplessly at
the plant. “This is not normal.”
“None of us are normal,” Derek pointed out. “We’re werewolves.
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We shift into giant wolves and run around on full moons. Normal left
the building a long time ago.”
Despite everything, I laughed. He had a point.
“We’ll figure this out,” Tristan said firmly. He’d settled into the
armchair across from me, both babies now somehow in his lap-
Arianna on one thigh, Adrian on the other, his strong hands keeping
them steady.
“Together. As a family. We’ll learn about Ari’s gift, help her
control it, make sure she’s safe and happy and knows that she’s loved
no matter what abilities she has.”
“And Adrian too,” Orion added. “Whatever he can or can’t do, he’s
perfect just as he is.”
“They’re both perfect,” Sarah agreed. “Gifts or no gifts.”
I looked at my babies–Adrian with his serious dark eyes, already
studying the world around him with an intensity that reminded me of
his father. Arianna with her ready smile and social nature, always
wanting to be the center of attention.
They were six months old. Still so tiny. Still needed us for
everything.
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And one of them–maybe both of them–had abilities that we
didn’t understand and couldn’t predict.
It was terrifying.
But looking at them now, safe in their father’s arms, surrounded
by family who loved them unconditionally, I felt the fear start to ease
just slightly.
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. We watch them
carefully. We document anything unusual. We keep this quiet for now.
And we just… we parent them. Like we’ve been doing. Because they’re
still our babies, whether or not they can make plants come back to
life.”
“Exactly,” Tristan said, and the pride in his eyes when he looked
at me made my heart squeeze. “They’re ours. We’ll protect them. We’ll
guide them. Whatever comes, we’ll handle it.”
“As a family,” Orion added. “You’re not in this alone.”
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it with everything in me. “Both of
you. All of you.”
Derek cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I think having a
baby who can heal plants is pretty remarkable. Scary, sure. But also
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kind of amazing.”
“It is amazing,” I admitted. “I just wish it came with an
instruction manual.”
“Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual even
without magical plant powers,” Sarah pointed out. “We’re all just
making it up as we go.”
“That’s not as comforting as you think it is,” I said, but I was
smiling.
Arianna made a sound–something between a coo and a laugh—
and reached for Adrian. He reached back, and their little hands
clasped together.
And where their skin touched, I could swear I saw a faint glow.
Just for a second. So brief I might have imagined it.
But from the way Tristan’s eyes widened, I knew he’d seen it too.
“Did that just…” I started.
“I don’t know,” Tristan said quickly. “Maybe. Maybe not. The light
from the window might have…”
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Chapter 409
“There is no window behind you,” Derek interrupted. “That was
definitely something.”
We all stared at the babies. They stared back, completely
innocent, their hands still clasped together.
“So,” Orion said after a long moment. “Twin connection? Shared
abilities? Or just a coincidence?”
“At this point,” I said, laughing slightly hysterically, “I don’t think
I’d be surprised by anything.”
Adrian yawned, a huge jaw–cracking yawn that showed his gums -still no teeth yet–and both babies suddenly looked exhausted.
“Nap time,” Tristan announced. “I think we’ve had enough
excitement for one afternoon.”
“I’ll help,” Sarah offered. “You two look like you could use a
break.”
She and Tristan took the babies upstairs to the nursery while the
rest of us stayed in the living room, all of us still stealing glances at
the impossible plant on the bookshelf.
“This is going to complicate things,” Derek said eventually.
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“You think?” Orion asked dryly.
“But we’ll manage,” Derek continued. “We always do.”
“We do,” I agreed, though I wasn’t sure I believed it yet.
Lily climbed onto the couch beside me, snuggling into my side.
“Aunt Athena? Are you scared?”
I looked down at her serious little face. “A little bit,” I admitted.
“But mostly I’m just confused. And worried about making sure Ari and
Adrian are okay.”
“They will be,” Lily said with the absolute confidence of a six-
year–old. “Because they have you and Uncle Tristan. And all of us.
We’ll take care of them.”
“You’re right,” I said, pulling her closer. “We will.”
Upstairs, I could hear Tristan’s voice, soft and low, singing the
lullaby he always sang to the babies at nap time. Sarah’s footsteps
moving around the nursery. The normal sounds of our home, our life.
One of our children could apparently bring dead plants back to
life and make flowers bloom where they shouldn’t exist.
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Chapter 409
The other might have abilities we hadn’t even discovered yet.
And we had no idea what any of it meant for their futures.
But right now, in this moment, they were safe and loved and
sleeping peacefully in their cribs.
And maybe, for today, that was enough.
Tomorrow we’d start trying to figure out the rest.
For now, we’d just be grateful they were here. Healthy. Ours.
Gifts and all.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
