Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Williams Mansion

Upstate New York

“Imissed that smile,” Danni mumbled sleepily as she took in the incredibly handsome man smiling down at her.

“How are you feeling?” Caine asked as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Fat,” Danni said, unable to stop smiling as she placed her hand on the large swell of her belly, only to laugh when she felt their baby boy push against her hand.

It was working, Danni thought, praying that whatever this was that they gave her, that it kept working until the baby was born. She just…she just needed to make sure that their baby was fine and then she’d deal with whatever happened to her later.

Chuckling, Caine covered her hand with his. “He’s been waiting for you to wake up,” he said with a warm smile, keeping his hand on hers as he reached over and-

“Oh, my god…” Danni murmured hollowly as she watched Caine pick up a king-sized package of peanut butter cups only to wince when her stomach growled approvingly, knowing how this was going to end.

She waited for the nausea that would leave her praying for a quick death to hit only…

It never came.

Licking her lips hungrily, Danni watched as Caine ripped open the candy bar wrapper and pulled out a perfect circle of deliciousness, only to chuckle when she snatched the peanut butter cup out of his hand and shoved it in her mouth. As soon as the perfect mixture of chocolate and peanut butter touched her tongue, she had her hand out for another one.

God, it was so good, Danni thought, quickly devouring the peanut butter cup as she struggled to peel the paper backing off the next one with her trembling hands. She was so hungry, Danni realized, barely managing to shove the next peanut butter cup in her mouth before grabbing another one. It had been so long since she’d been able to eat anything, even longer since she’d wanted to.

Before Caine changed her, she hadn’t been able to hold anything down because of the cancer and once he’d changed her, she didn’t need food. She’d barely been able to keep down blood thanks to the cancer that had followed her into her transition, and once she became pregnant, the thought of food only made it worse. But now, she was more than ready to make up for lost time and enjoy this while it lasted.

“Do you remember what happened?” Caine asked as her attention shifted to a Ziploc bag of what appeared to be homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Shoving another peanut butter cup in her mouth, Danni shook her head and held her hand out for a cookie. Chuckling, and god, she’d missed his laugh, she mumbled, “Just something about blood,” as she tried to remember what happened. She remembered waking up on a gurney downstairs and Caine telling her that Noah found something that would make her feel better before falling asleep again and then…

Nothing.

“Was it demon blood?” Danni asked as she took the large cookie from Caine. “This is so good,” she mumbled, unable to help but moan as she devoured the best cookie that she’d ever had in her life and reached for another one.

Chuckling and looking more carefree than she’d seen him in a very long time, Caine pulled another cookie out of the bag and handed it to her. “That good?”

Nodding, Danni nibbled on the cookie, determined to savor it, knowing that this probably wasn’t going to last long and-

“Ashley made them,” Caine said with a fond smile, making her frown as she tried to figure out who Ashley was. “Jacob grabbed them when he went to grab a change of clothes for Ashley at the house. He thought that you might like them.”

When she could only stare at him, he said, “She’s Kale’s mate.”

Blinking slowly, Danni said, “I’m sorry. What’s this now?” because if there was one thing that she knew about Kale, besides the fact that he really hated Pytes, it was that he didn’t want a mate. In fact, she’d be willing to bet that he went out of his way to make sure that he never found his mate, which made her wonder if she’d misheard Caine.

“Seems that he was hiding her at the safehouse down the road. That’s where Marc has been sneaking off to for the past month. She’s been spoiling him,” Caine said, smiling as he grabbed another cookie.

“Why didn’t he just bring her here?” Danni asked, popping the last bite of cookie in her mouth before he handed her another one.

“He was trying to protect her,” Caine explained, placing his hand back on her belly.

“That really doesn’t explain why he didn’t bring her here,” Danni said since she really couldn’t think of a safer place for her to be than in a house full of Pytes, Sentinels, and shifters that could protect her. She would have been-

“She’s a Pyte,” Caine said, taking her by surprise.

“What?” Danni asked, frowning as she digested that information before the realization of what that meant had her opening her mouth and-

“He didn’t steal anyone’s mate,” Caine said with a teasing smile. “She’s Christofer’s sister. She’s also an Impure, which is why he didn’t want the Council to find out about her.”

“She was born a Pyte?” Danni asked, trying to wrap her mind around that, but…that couldn’t be right.

“Mmmhmm,” Caine murmured as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “And she saved your life.”

“What?” Danni mumbled weakly as Caine sat back up.

“The cancer’s gone, Danni. Ashley’s blood destroyed every last cell,” Caine said, taking her trembling hand in his. “It’s finally over.”