I felt my stomach constrict, and I shouted, pushing with all I had, not even realizing until I was done that Antonio had come back into the room to hold my back in support. And at this moment, I didn’t care he was touching me, only that he was helping.
“Ahh,” I shouted, grinding my teeth, shaking with the effort of the next push, watching Bindi keep one hand between my legs while she threw open a drawer on the side of the bed, pulling something blue out before that hand went back between my legs.
My head fell back as the contraction stopped, and I panted in great gulps. Antonio softly brushed my sweat-drenched hair off my face, gently kissing my forehead and murmuring soothingly, while I took a mini-nap. Until Bindi shook my leg, and I bared down, pushing again, screaming at the pain.
Bindi nodded quickly. “One more. One more good push.”
“I am pushing good,” I growled, but took a deep breath and heaved, squeezing my stomach muscles, shoving down with everything I had. And suddenly I could breathe, the agony not as horrendous, not at all. My head flopped against Antonio’s shoulder as I breathed heavily, about ready to faint but unable to take my eyes off what I saw in front of me.
My baby.
In Bindi’s arms, who was cleaning out its nose and mouth and cutting the umbilical cord in record time as the shaking squall of a baby filled the air around us, sounding loud and pissed off.
Antonio’s grip on me was just as shaky as I was. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
Bindi grinned, covering the baby in a blanket. “It’s a girl.” My heart stuttered, and I started crying softly. They were warm tears, not cold ones like usual, as Bindi laid her on my chest. I instantly gripped the fretful bundle, keeping her safe.
Antonio shook his head, chuckling softly before bending and placing his face next to mine to get a look at her, but the blanket was covering a portion of her face.
Carefully, holding her with one arm, I lifted the blanket away to show her face.
“Wow, Lil,” Antonio said in wonder. “She’s beautiful.” I felt his cheek crease against mine as he grinned and stated with pride, “My granddaughter is absolutely beautiful.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Good job, kiddo.”
“I’m not sure how much I had to do with this face,” I murmured, staring in wonder.
He grunted. “Are you joking? She looks just like you!”
She was a beauty, even if flushed from screaming her head off. Her eyes were slightly tilted, almond-shaped, but so were mine, having inherited that from my biological dad, King Venclaire. Her cheeks were rosy and full, healthy. I ran the tip of my finger over her straight, tiny nose, which I guess did resemble mine, infuriating her further. Her chin trembled, and my heart melted with the action. Her face was heart-shaped, and precious like a china doll’s.
She was perfect.
“If she looks just like me, I’m damn gorgeous,” I mumbled, my eyes scanning her features again as I ran my finger over her red eyebrows, which had a delicate arched shape.
Antonio glanced at me, his eyebrows furrowed. “Of course you are.”
I huffed, but he had stated the truth. I ignored the compliment and tugged the blanket back further, revealing her hair. My breath caught. “That’s a lot of hair already.” Antonio grunted in agreement, both of us lifting a hand and fingering the inch-long hair. “And it’s not just red; she’s got black streaks.” Not many, but there were a few. I blinked, glancing at Antonio. “I’ll have to say I adopted her.” She had more visible Vampire traits than Shifter ones. “Wait…can you tell me if she should claim being a Shifter or a Vampire?” Just because her hair was this color, it didn’t mean her power would not be stronger as a Shifter.
Antonio’s head tilted as he stared at her, lightly running his thumb over the side of her precious cheek. His eyes glowed softly, and he lifted his other hand, murmuring silently, and touched her chest, right over her Core, his finger glowing.
She stilled, her lips thinning and her eyebrows puckered.
Instantly my wolf growled — savagely. “You’re not hurting her, are you?”
“No,” he whispered with a slight shake of his head. “It only feels warm to her.” He blinked, and his eyes and finger stopped glowing. He smiled softly, leaning to kiss her forehead. “A little Vampire you will be.”
I nodded once then jiggled her a little, worried that she wasn’t screaming at me…then her lips trembled and she went back to squalling. There. A good pair of lungs.
Antonio explained, “You won’t be able to just say you adopted her. You’ll have to legally do it, so no one ever scents the lie.”
I cooed to her, rocking her softly. “Let’s get that done as soon as possible.”
He nodded, smiling at me.