Kindling Flames: Burning Nights (The Ancient Fire Series Book 6) (4 page)

Joy flashed onto his face and he half crawled, half scurried over to wrap around her. A soft rumbling noise came out of him as he buried his face into her stomach and curled his arms around her.

Unsure what to do, she rested her hands on the transformed hellhound.

Lady Aine watched as Vicky accepted her friend. “He isn’t human.”

Vicky looked up at the fay queen.

“He only looks it for a while.”

Moving her gaze back down, Vicky found that Zak had turned his head and was staring up at her. “So he’ll shift back.”

“At the end of the night.” Lady Aine nodded. “But, since you are his, he wanted to give you away.”

Vicky smiled and petted Zak’s hair away from his face.

The smile he gave her was filled with two rows of amazingly sharp teeth.

Vicky shivered at the unsettling sight. She pulled on him until she had him in a sitting position in front of her. “Thank you, Zak. This means the world to me.”

He grinned and threw himself at her, knocking her to her butt and crushing her in a hug.

Wrapping her arms around him, she patted him on the back, trying to ignore the fact that he was totally naked.

Zak gurgled and sat up away from her. Taking Vicky’s hands in his, he lifted them up and kissed the backs of them lovingly. Awkwardly, he stood up.

Vicky rose with him and made sure he was stable on his feet.

Leaning into her, Zak purred in happiness. Releasing her hands, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against him.

Unsure what to do, she hugged him again.

“Come on, Zak.” The queen called. “If you are going to walk her down the aisle, then we need to find you something to wear.”

Zak let out a bark-like noise and released Vicky. He dashed to the queen’s side, made another noise, and then turned and came back to Vicky. Dropping to his knees, he pressed his face into Vicky’s stomach. Circling his arms around her, he nuzzled her middle, purring.

“Really?” The queen said, amused. She came over to touch Vicky next to where Zak’s face was pressed. “And here I thought your illness was due to nerves.”

Vicky felt a tingle of magic sweep across her.

“Kian has been a busy boy.” Lady Aine grinned widely. “Oh, I hope your vampire is as delighted about this as your hellhound is.” The queen brushed her fingers through Zak’s hair as she stepped back. “Congratulations. If all goes well, it should be twins.”

“
What
?” Vicky said, shocked. She raised her hands to her belly where Zak’s face wasn’t pressed.

Lady Aine smiled at her. “You aren’t very far along, but you are most definitely pregnant.”

Vicky’s knees went weak. Stepping out of Zak’s hold, she staggered backwards the few steps to her chair before she fell down again.

Zak crawled after her, laid his head in her lap, and petted her middle.

She ran her hand through his hair absentmindedly as it curled around her fingers lovingly.

“Zak,” Lady Aine called to the hellhound.

His head popped up and he turned to look at the queen.

“Come now, we must find you suitable garb.”

He pressed a kiss to Vicky’s abdomen and took off after the queen in a dash, leaving Vicky sitting in the chair, stunned.

The curtain whispered shut behind the pair, but Vicky didn’t see it. She slowly wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to process what the queen had said. Of all the changes in her life, this was the most unexpected and shocking.

“Wait, can vampires have children?” Maggie asked, finally finding her voice. She had been standing dumbfounded in the corner from the moment the fay queen had stepped into the room.

“No,” Vicky whispered as she tried to figure out how this was possible. “At least he said he couldn’t.”

“But didn’t Darien lose his powers and turn human for a while?” Vanessa asked as she came over and set the veil on the dressing table.

“But he was still a vampire,” Vicky protested. “He shouldn’t have been able to have children.”

“Well, either he was lying or someone obviously made a mistake.” Vanessa grinned at her excitedly. “Twins!”

“What are you girls doing in here and why didn’t you invite me?” Beth asked as she and Ann came back through the curtain.

Vicky lifted her eyes, and upon seeing her mother, burst into tears.

“None of that now,” Ann said as she handed her flowers to Beth and came over to her daughter. Pulling Vicky against her side, she held her daughter as she cried. “I see you found a veil.” She pushed the delicate material back from Vicky’s face, so she wouldn’t get it dirty. “And wings?” she said, confused by the change to her daughter. Ann pushed the new additions from her mind as Vicky sobbed harder. There would be time enough for an explanation once she was calm again.

“We had a visit from the fairy queen,” Vanessa explained as she took the flowers from Beth to set them on the table next to the unused veil.

“Fairy queen?” Beth asked, looking back at the part in the curtain and remembering the beautiful woman that they had passed on the way in. “The fairies have a queen?” she marveled.

Vanessa nodded, at a loss for words to describe the woman who had just left.

“Who was the naked beefcake with her?”

“Zak,” Maggie answered.

Beth whipped back around to stare at Maggie in shock. “Zak?”

Maggie nodded.

“As in the-little-ball-of-tentacles-that-eats-things Zak?” Beth asked trying to comprehend how the well-built man could have been the little hellhound.

Maggie giggled. “That would be him.”

“Damn.” Beth looked back at the curtain, envisioning the smooth planes of his well-toned body. “If I knew he could do that, I’d let him in my bed, too.”

“He can’t.” Vicky wiped her eyes as she got herself back under control. “It’s something Lady Aine did so he could walk me down the aisle.”

“That was sweet of her.” Ann smiled at her daughter, trying to be the rock that Vicky needed. Later, there would be plenty of time to freak out over the change in her reality. Right now, there were more important things to worry about, like getting Vicky ready for her wedding.

“Now let’s get you fixed back up,” Ann said as she took a tissue from the table and rolled it up. “It’s a good thing you don’t need much makeup; this shouldn’t take any time at all.” She carefully ran the soft paper under Vicky’s eyes, removing the smeared mascara.

“That’s not the only thing Lady Aine did.” Vanessa grinned as she turned around to get into Vicky’s makeup bag. “Our girl here is preggers.”

Ann’s hand stilled on Vicky’s face as she considered her daughter. “Pregnant?” she asked.

Vicky hung her head and nodded.

Ann gave her a measured look. “Is it Darien’s?”

“Of course it’s Darien’s!” Vicky snapped as she turned away from her mother and looked in the mirror on her dressing table. “Who else’s would it be?” she said angrily. Grabbing up another tissue, she scrubbed at her ruined makeup.

Ann sat down next to her daughter and took the tissue from her hand before she could hurt herself with it. “Sweetheart,” she said in a soothing voice, “you have to admit, it is kind of surprising, with him being a…” Ann’s words stalled.

“A
vampire
.” Vicky gave her mother a pointed look, filling in the lacking words. “You can say it.”

“I know, dear,” Ann said in that tone all mothers get when their children have done something exasperating. “It’s just taking me a minute to get used to the idea that my soon-to-be son-in-law is undead.”

“Why?” Vicky asked as she took the tissue back from her mother and rubbed away the mascara more gently. “You were planning on marrying a vampire,” she snapped angrily.

Ann sighed. “I know, and let’s not get into that argument again, okay?”

“Okay.” Vicky leaned over, accepting her mother’s hug and letting her anger go. Straightening up, she looked at herself in the mirror. “I really am a mess.” She said in a regretful tone. Her bout of crying had smeared most of her eye makeup away.

“It’s not so bad.” Ann turned her daughter in her chair so she could fully see her face. “Just a little touch here.” She took the eyeliner from Vanessa and filled in what was missing on Vicky’s face. “And a little bit there.” With a flourish, she had the eye shadow fixed. “Good as new.” She pulled the mascara wand over Vicky’s eyelashes, removing all traces of the tears Vicky had been in. “You look lovely,” she said as Vicky turned to admire her mother’s handiwork.

“Thanks, Mom.” Vicky gave her mother another hug. She didn’t know if she could have made it through the day without her mother’s loving support.

“So,” Ann said as she tucked the pieces back in Vicky’s makeup bag. “Pregnant?” This time her voice sounded more enthusiastic.

Vicky sighed and nodded her head.

“Twins,” Vanessa added from where she stood, watching the pair.

“Twins!” Ann’s face lit up with joy. “Twins?” she asked, looking over at Vicky, hoping it would be true.

Vicky nodded her head again. “That’s what Lady Aine said.”

“This is fantastic!”‘ Ann gushed happily. Pausing, she thought it over for a moment. She took ahold of Vicky’s forearm, drawing her daughter’s attention to her. “Oh, but you can’t tell Darien!”

“What?” Vicky turned and stared at her mother in disbelief. “I
have
to tell him.”

Ann shook her head, seeing her daughter misunderstood. “That’s not what I meant. Of course you have to tell him, but don’t tell him until after the wedding.”

Confused, Vicky considered her mother’s words.

“Could you imagine what he would do if you walked up and told him you were pregnant in front of everyone?” Ann asked, imagining Darien’s reaction to such news.

Grinning, Vicky thought about it. “He might just pass out.” She could see the prospect of children being too much for him. He had already spent the last few days wired about the upcoming nuptials, this might be just enough to shut his brain down for a while.

Beth giggled, imagining Darien crumpled in front of the altar. “Girl, you might just knock him out by walking in the room.”

Vicky turned to look up at her friend.

“You should have seen the way he was pacing when we went to get the flowers.”

Ann nodded. “It’s true. He did look a little high-strung.”

Vicky gave her a worried look and went to stand up.

Maggie placed her hand on Vicky’s shoulder, holding the bride down. “Relax,” she said. “He’ll be fine.”

Looking up at her friend, Vicky nodded and stayed in her seat. There was really nothing she could do for him anyway. She reached out to check on him, but came up short. She could still feel him there, but it was as if someone had placed a thin film between them, blocking their connection.

“It’s almost time anyway,” Vanessa added, pulling Vicky from her thoughts.

As if her words had summoned him, Josh pushed into the room and cleared his throat, drawing the girls’ attention. “Mrs. Westernly.” His eyes brushed over the ladies, finding the one he wanted. “It’s time to take your seat so we can get started.”

Ann smiled at him. “Thank you.” She turned to look at her daughter. “I love you, darling. You look beautiful.” She hugged Vicky one last time. “Remember, don’t tell him until afterwards.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Vicky smiled and let her hands slip down over her stomach. “I won’t.” She let the issue with their link go for now. She would see him in a few minutes, and if the problem persisted, he would know what to do.

Ann nodded and went to Josh. She looked over his jeans and T-shirt confused. “Where’s your tux?”

Josh just shrugged and grinned. “When the queen of the fay tells you to strip, you strip.” He escorted her to the part in the curtain where his brother was waiting, still dressed in his tuxedo. “Jakob will take you to your seat.”

“Thank you.” Ann smiled and took Jakob’s arm. She shot a smile back to Vicky. “Twins! I’m so excited!”

Vicky laughed at the confused look that crossed the vampires’ faces.

Letting the comment go, Jakob led Ann away.

“What was that about?” Josh asked as he came back over to help Vicky finish getting ready.

Smiling, Vicky shook her head, not wanting to share the information yet.

“You’ll find out in seven or eight months,” Vanessa teased, drawing a giggle out of Maggie and Beth.

Glancing between the women, Josh gave up trying to understand their inside joke. “Then, if you’re ready?” He lifted up the box that held the ladies’ bouquets.

“Yes,” Vicky agreed and stood up. The girls buzzed around her, fixing her dress and veil so they hung correctly.

“Oh!” Josh dropped the box to the table. “Lady Aine gave me this to give to you.” He gingerly worked a wad of blue cloth out of his pocket and held it out to her as lightly as he could without dropping it. “Sorry, but I can’t…” His smile turned a little pained.

“What is it?” Vicky took the cloth and opened it. Inside, wrought in silver, was a perfect rendition of the cross on Darien’s wall. Only this one had two tiny diamonds set in the center.