Chapter Twelve

There's a knock at the door. I quickly shift my glamor back into place, my brows wrinkled with confusion. I don't think either of us are expecting a visitor right now and if it was Page or Ray, they'd just use their key to crack open the door and yell at us about having clothes in place.

Stepping over to the door, I look through the peephole, still super confused. There's a woman standing on my doorstep, looking impatient. She's short with stark white hair that has a streak of bright green in the front.

Opening the door, I give this woman a polite smile. "Hello? Can I help you?"

"You cannot," she says with a grin. "But I can certainly help you."

"Uhh?"

"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself," she says, holding out her hand for me to shake. "My name is Star. I'm here to help your mate with bringing your child into the world."

Oh, right! Casper told me about how someone named Star would be coming to help when it was time. Apparently she's helped his other cousins with their births along with all of the hunting crew. It's so cool that she can make her way across the country to help birth all these babies. She must have the most amazing rewards card when it comes to flying so much!

"It's really lovely to meet you!" I shake her hand firmly before opening the door further, letting her inside. "Though, you might be a bit early. Nothing's been happening yet."

Star gives me a knowing smile, her eyes shining with something I can't quite name. "You sure about that?"

"Zeke!" Casper calls from the bathroom followed by a pained groan. "Zeke! Get in here! Ouch!"

I look at Star with wide eyes before darting towards the bathroom. I can hear her following behind me, chuckling to herself. How the fuck did she know?

"I'm here, baby. Are you okay?"

"I either pissed myself or my water just broke."

"Handy that you were already in the shower."

I pull the curtain back slightly so I can check on Casper. He's leaning against the side of the shower wall, breathing heavily, his hands clutching his round belly. The hot water is running over him. He's beautiful but I can't fully appreciate it because he's in pain.

Casper's dark eyes snap over to me. "It's time. I can't believe it's happening. Holy shit."

"It's okay," I tell him as gently as I can. "It usually takes awhile for these things to progress. Deep breaths."

"Oh yeah? You think it's gonna take awhile?" Casper asks, his voice taking on a high-pitched whine. "It better not take a while because it already hurts really badly."

Star touches my shoulder, her other hand holding a towel. Gods, she's stealthy. How did she already get all those supplies? "You should probably get in there with him?"

My eyes widen. "What?"

"You wanna catch your baby, don't you?"

"Catch? What? Already?"

She gives me a look. "Deep breath." I suck in a sharp breath, trying to get my heart to stop racing. "We need you to be the calm one here. Can you do that?" I nod my head. "Good boy. Now get in there and help your mate birth your babe."

I strip out of my shirt, pants, and socks, keeping my boxers on before tucking myself into the shower. Casper turns around, leaning his face against me, letting the water fall against his back. I run my hands up and down his spine, digging my fingers into his lower back, doing my best to help the pain.

"You're okay," I breathe out, my voice shaking despite my best efforts, "you're doing so well. You've got this, Casper."

"You're freaking the fuck out right now, aren't you?" Casper pulls away so he can look up at me with amusement. He's amused. That's got to be a good sign, right?

"A little bit. Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. It's kind of adorable. The big bad banshee is freaking out about having a baby."

I roll my eyes at my mate, keeping my fingers busy by massaging Casper's back. "It's not the baby part that freaks me out. It's the seeing-you-in-pain part. You seem okay right now, so I'm okay."

"Oh, I'm absolutely not okay," he says with a laugh. "Contractions keep ripping through me and they hurt so badly, but now that you're in here with me I feel okay. I can tough it out."

"You're so strong. I'm so proud of you."

"Fuck," Casper says in response, his face contorting with pain. He breathes out through his nose. "Okay. Fuck. It's happening. It's happening right now, Zeke."

"Like now now? Right this second?"

"Mhmm," Casper hums, nodding his head. He spreads his legs wider, pushing me until I'm kneeling before him. "Need you to catch them. Don't overthink. Just catch."

I don't have time to marvel at the fact that Casper is so composed while literally pushing a baby out of his body. Everything happens so quickly and all I can do is brace myself for impact. One moment I'm thinking about what to make for breakfast and the next I'm in the shower catching my baby!

Thankfully, some buried instinct takes over. I hold out my hands and catch the baby that's sliding free from Casper's body. He groans, I squawk, and from outside the shower, Star chuckles.

"Well done, boys!"

I slip onto my ass, completely uncaring. All I can do is stare down at the baby in my hands, wonder overwhelming me. The physical manifestation of my love for Casper. Our little baby. I look them over, making sure they have ten fingers and ten toes, unable to stop smiling.

"We have a little boy," I breathe out, looking up at Casper who's leaning against the shower wall, looking down at me with such soft eyes. He looks incredible for someone who's literally just given birth. "Gods, baby, you did so amazing. I'm in awe of you."

"As you should be," he says with a nod, making me chuckle.

"Hand the babe over and you can help your mate out of the shower," Star says, pulling the shower curtain back enough for me to hand our baby over. She swaddles him in a towel, getting him dry for me.

I stand up, wrapping Casper up in my arms. I hug him tight, wanting him to feel how much I love him, how proud of him I am. What an amazing man my mate is and somehow, he's my mate.

I turn the shower off before pulling the shower curtain to the side. Grabbing a towel, I carefully dry my mate off. Once he's dry, I help him step out of the tub and get him into a comfy pair of clothes.

"Dry yourself," he says with a chuckle. "I don't want you dripping all over the house."

I shuck my wet boxers off and away, drying myself much more hasty than I did for Casper. Once I'm dry enough, I throw my clothes back on.

"Oh! No boxers! How scandalous, Zeke."

"Jesus," I breathe out, shaking my head. "You've just given birth, cool off, Casper."

Casper sticks out his bottom lip at me. "Spoilsport."

I put my arm around his shoulders, letting him lean on me as we shuffle our way to our bedroom. Star is already there. Our son has been put into a diaper and Star has a bottle in her hands, waiting for us.

"Thank you," I say, unable to convey the level of thankfulness I'm feeling. She somehow knew exactly when we'd need her and knew exactly what each of us needed. It's almost magical with how perfect her arrival was.

Star gives me a soft smile. "You're very welcome, dearie . Now why don't you help your mate into bed so he can hold his son for the first time."

"Mm, yes. Do as she's told you, Zeke. Chop chop."

I snort, but do as I'm asked, helping Casper into bed. Once he's comfortable, I pull the comforter over him. "You're bossy. It's like you just had a baby or something."

"Something like that. I expect to be treated like a prince for a while. That was hard work, babe."

"How about forever?"

"I suppose I could get used to that," he says with a soft smile, taking my hand in his own. He tugs me forward, kissing the back of my hand before shoving me away. "Okay, gimme gimme!"

"I've been replaced," I say, pretending to be wounded but there's clearly a smile on my face. Star steps over, handing our baby over to Casper along with the bottle.

Casper takes in our baby's face, his eyes growing moist with unshed tears. I can understand because I'm feeling like I've got something in my eye as well. Our baby is beautiful. Pink and perfect with dark hair atop his head.

"Is he a banshee?" Casper asks, looking up at me.

I nod my head, already able to feel the connection I have with him. When a banshee is born, they're connected with their banshee parent. Until he hits puberty, his glamor is fixed with mine to keep him safe from discovery. Once he's older, he'll learn to get into his phantom form and he'll need to start hunting for himself, but for now, I can keep him safe.

I let my glamor fall away so that Casper can look at our son's true face. I always thought the red veins looked haunting, the white and black eyes something from nightmares. But now that I see those reflected on my son's face, I can see just how wrong I was. The things that make him a banshee don't make him any less perfect, any less beautiful.

Words cannot describe how much I love this little man already. I promise myself to work on accepting myself so that when he's older, he'll have an example of self-acceptance. I'll show him that we're not monsters, just people gifted a little bit differently than others.

"He's beautiful," Casper whispers, his voice breaking. "Just like his daddy."

I lean onto the bed so I can kiss the side of Casper's head. "I love you so much," I tell him.

"I love you too."

"Did you two come up with a name for this little one?"

I nod my head, giving Star a grin. "His name is Ash."

"That's lovely. Very fitting," she tells me. "There are a few people outside. Would you like some alone time, or would you like them here to meet Ash as well?"

I look over at my mate, raising my brow. "If it's okay with you," he says slowly, "I'd like Ray here."

"Of course," I tell him, cupping his cheek. "She's your spark. You deserve her support here just as much as mine."

"Thank you," he breathes out. Casper brings the bottle to Ash's mouth, grinning as our baby takes to it immediately, suckling at his bottle.

I turn towards Star and give her a nod. "Let the troublemakers in."

Star steps outside of our room and before I even have a moment to share with my mate alone, Ray is running into the room, her eyes wide and frantic. I'm not sure I've ever seen her this worried before.

"Casper! You can't just have a baby without warning me! What the hell, man?"

Casper giggles. "You knew this was happening. Besides, how'd you get here so fast?"

Ray makes her way over to the other side of the bed, getting into bed beside my mate without asking. She knows that place was meant for her. Seeing how much she's grown in the past few months fills me with pride and emotion. This is the relationship my mate was longing for when they first met, and now they finally have it.

"I had a feeling," she says, crawling under the blankets and resting her head against Casper's shoulder. "Knew something was going down so I made Page drive me over here."

"I'm glad you're here. It would feel wrong not to have you here for Ash's first day."

"Ash? Your son's name is Ash," Ray whispers, staring down at the baby in Casper's arms.

I've known Ray for a long time and I've never seen her show this level of emotions. She stares and stares until silent tears are falling down her cheeks.

"Hey," Casper whispers, sensing something's wrong. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Ray quickly wipes the tears away. "I'm okay. Just emotional. Hormones will do that."

"Are you on your period?"

"No," she says right away, "if you didn't just have a baby I would be punching you right now." Ray looks up at Page, the two of them sharing a look. When Page nods, Ray says, "I'm pregnant."

"No fucking way," Casper gets out. He hands Ash over to me before he's practically tackling Ray. The two of them lay together on the bed, just holding each other. "I'm so fucking happy for you, Ray. Oh my gods. Our kids are gonna grow up together. They're basically honorary siblings. Or cousins. Or something, I don't know."

I turn towards Page. "Congrats, Page. I'm so excited for you guys."

"Me too," she says, pulling me into a side hug, getting a good look at Ash as she does. "I didn't even know this was possible. I thought the whole being a vampire thing would make it impossible."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Star is there, answering, "true mate vampires are able to have babies with their mates. Lady Fate saw a great injustice happen when the first vampire was created. She did Her best to offset that injustice by making vampires have true mates and make families of their own. It wasn't right for them to be destined to be alone, so She made sure that wouldn't happen."

"That's a lovely story," Page says with a soft smile. "And I'm eternally grateful for that. I didn't know life could be this wonderful. I thought this part of myself was gone when I was turned, but somehow it was only the beginning."

"Hey, Zeke?"

I turn towards Ray. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I like your face."

I touch my cheek, my stomach sinking as I realize I never put my glamor back up in place. Casper is grinning, giving me a look of encouragement. Turning towards Page, she just shrugs. "I didn't wanna say something and spook you," she says.

"Umm, thank you? I guess?"

"No more hiding," Ray says with her usual stern look. "No more hiding for all four of us. We're in this together."

"If you insist," I say, playfully rolling my eyes. With my baby in my arms, surrounded by my favorite people in the world, and my mate safely tucked in bed, I'm completely and utterly at peace.

When I imagined my future, I never thought I would have this. I have a loving mate who adores me and calls me out when I need it. I have two best friends who are by my side, supporting me and loving me. I have a really exciting job that allows me to help people pass onto the afterlife and help people find peace. And my mate has his spark.

I don't think it gets any better than this.