16. Claude

SIXTEEN

CLAUDE

C laude's heart began to gallop just before he ran into Leigh. That wildflower, flirting fragrance tickled his skin, and the sight of her astoundingly radiant hair, maroon lips, and gold-flecked hazel eyes, stopped him until he turned into a statue.

"Oh."

He barely heard the woman standing next to Leigh introduce herself. Leigh was grinning, her eyes sparkling.

"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "I must have been moving too quickly around the corner. My sincerest apologies."

He bowed his head, and the woman, who was humming with an invisible kind of wisdom that only supernaturals could detect, presented her outstretched hand to him. He took it and was surprised by her grip.

"My name is Barbara Wolfe. My husband is Tristan Wolfe of the Wolfe family. I hear that you and Leigh have been working together to open up Embraced?"

Claude felt the kindness in her eyes as he shook her hand, as well as a deep knowing. Knowing of something between him and Leigh.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Claude said. "I've heard nothing but great things about you and your time with Leigh."

Her smile was awe-inspiring and sent a warmth swirl through Claude's chest. It was another sensation that he wasn't used to.

"And I you ," she responded, giving him a sneaky wink.

Leigh was blushing slightly, when Barbara began to wave at someone behind them. She told them that it was her husband, then gave Leigh a light peck on her cheek.

"Tristan is here. We're going to get some lunch in the cafeteria. Meet you once the baby is born?"

Leigh nodded, that sly smile still on her face. It was beautiful.

"Yes, we'll catch up with you," Leigh said.

Barbara walked away, that same knowing smile shining through the sterile hospital space. When they were alone, Leigh scratched the back of her head, trying to conceal her wily twinkle.

Claude was enthralled to see her, though he did his best to keep his cool about it.

"Well, fancy meeting you here," he said, feeling like a little boy with a crush.

"And you," Leigh replied, sliding her hand along her jawline. "Would you happen to be waiting for the birth of a child too?"

He nodded enthusiastically, then sauntered over to the wall. He leaned against it, and she followed suit. Their eyes met, and that soreness in the vampire's chest returned.

He loved it.

"Actually yes," he said. "Aria is in labor, and I expect it to be born any second now. Who are you here to see?"

Leigh's eyes sparkled.

"I'm here to see Emma. They're having their second baby."

The two burst into laughter at the same time, long, pleasant chuckles that echoed down the hallways. Claude didn't realize how much he had missed being in the wolf's presence until she was standing right there in front of him.

She was a remedy to his illness of existence, one that he wanted to get drunk on.

"That's fascinating," Claude said, sipping at his coffee.

Someone familiar then came into his peripheral vision. A woman, ancient and respected, came hobbling toward him, her papery arms clutched onto another, much younger vampire. She was hunched over like a willow tree bending toward the sun.

"Maree," he muttered.

Leigh glanced over her shoulder and looked at what Claude had fixated on. When she saw the old woman coming toward them, she pinned her back against the wall, and let Claude walk by.

Maree was dressed in her traditional vampire attire, draped in black velvet and plum-purple accents. No one really knew how old she was, but her thoughts and opinions on the vampire race were sacred and held in high regard. She was Aria's role model in the realm of both vampires and inspiring female leaders.

"There you are," a craggy but confident voice spoke up to Claude.

Claude went to her and held his arm out, and she curled her delicate fingers around his bicep. She was wearing her usual thick-lined eyeliner and lavender eyeshadow.

"My Claude, my Claude, take me to my granddaughter," she said wistfully.

"I will, Maree," Claude said, then turned to Leigh. "Leigh, this is Maree. My great-great-grandmother. Maree, this is Leigh."

Maree was in great shape for a woman of an ancient age, but she had certainly slowed down. She squinted at Leigh, who stood back respectfully. Maree raised a dainty hand to Leigh, who took it with benevolence.

"You are a good one, I can tell," Maree said in her ragged tone. "It was a very good choice for my great-great-grandson here."

Leigh and Claude exchanged a look, with Leigh's bottom lip sneaking between her teeth. She was in a playful, lighthearted mood. And it lit up Claude's heart like fireworks.

"Come, let's go then. Take me to Aria," Maree ordered.

He mouthed that he would be right back, and Leigh's smile gleamed. He couldn't wait to come back and see her again.

Just as they were walking toward the hospital room, Trevan popped out and announced that their child had been born. Maree tried to move faster, but Claude hung onto her like she was a dog ready to bolt off the leash.

Claude, Maree, and a good handful of other vampire family members went to the recovery room. Aria was holding her new baby, a healthy little girl.

Seeing the look of absolute rapture on Aria's face made Claude's heart glow. As Trevan stood by the bed, Aria announced the name of the child.

"She is going to be Maree Aria Valeri-Stone," Aria said between tears. "Mai for short, I think."

Great-great-great grandmother Maree expressed how honored she was to be the baby's namesake, then held her arms out to hold the newest edition.

Trevan lifted the pink bundle from Aria's arms, and then carefully handed her over to the family matriarch. Claude watched from the corner of the room, feeling a tad bit like he was glancing in on something intimate that he shouldn't be privy to.

Maree held the baby close and began to sway. Everything in the room went quiet as the old vampire whispered an anguishing truth.

"You are so beautiful, sweet one. I promise to give you the life my daughter could never have. You are going to have it all, sweet child."

She gazed at Trevan and Aria, tears rolling down her cheek like jewels. When she spoke, her voice was soft as feathers, all of the raggedness having faded away.

"She is indeed half wolf, half vampire, yes?"

Aria thinned her lips and nodded, beginning to cry. Trevan comforted her, and a silence hung in the room like a phantom.

Claude tried to slip out of the room, feeling as if their grief was something private and personal. But Aria clocked it and called him over-enthusiastically.

"Claude, don't you think you're getting out of this. Get over here. You're next."

"But I.."

"No, here, Claude. Uncle Claude, now. Hold your niece," Maree implored.

Claude walked over to Maree, his heart hammering in his chest. Trevan guided the newborn from the ancient vampire's arms and into his. When the little bundle settled, Claude felt a wave of something remarkable and ethereal. An incandescence that he couldn't quite put his finger on washed through his entire body.

Love . It was love.

"Wow," he muttered, his own eyes beginning to glass over. "Aria, Trevan, she's stunning. What a precious little creature."

Baby Mai was dozing, her skin peachy and thin, as Claude began to rock her back and forth. The way he felt was so overwhelming. He was holding the future in his arms.

The fondness he felt in his body made him think about Leigh. He had thought he'd been selfish, letting himself get to know her and potentially fall for her as a vampire. That he was being a traitor to his people, and that by letting her go, he was doing the right thing.

But the truth was the opposite. Unifying both wolves and vampires would create a harmony as innocent as the child he was holding. He and Leigh getting together meant so much more than just the two of them. It would change the world of the supernaturals forever.

He laid his lips upon the baby's forehead and kissed her. He breathed in her lovely newborn scent, and she began to coo.

"She already loves her uncle," Aria chimed in.

It was all about making the future brighter for children like Mai. Those who were born between two worlds and were going to rely on people like him and Leigh to get through. He handed Mai back to Aria and congratulated the two of them on their firstborn.

"She is going to change everything, I just know it," Claude said.

Aria looked at him, and tears swam in her eyes. He and Aria had always been close. She knew what was going on with him and Leigh better than he realized. She held her baby close, and the two new parents crooned over her with impenetrable love and support.