Page 22 of Blade's Angel

Wrath

It's finally here. Cam's birthday. I may be just as excited as my son, but who can blame me? This is the first birthday I'm ever going to get to spend with him. It means the world to me. I've missed so much of his life, and I hate it, but I'm determined to make up for everything I've missed. That means making a massive deal out of the first birthday he’s spending here with us. It’s time he gets to see just how much he means to everyone around here. Everybody has fallen in love with him, and I don’t blame them. He is certainly something else. Something special.

Looking over at Flame, who is sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee, I can’t help but smile. I love that I get to experience all of this with him. I never realized I wanted a family of my own until Cam and Flame. Now we’re looking at expanding our family even more. Well, we would be if we could ever find a suitable egg donor and surrogate. Don’t get me started on how hard that is.

Flame's already cooked breakfast, and it's keeping warm in the kitchen, so Cam will certainly be happy; he loves his Papa's cooking, that's for sure. I can't wait to see his face later at his party; he has no idea what he's in for, and I have no doubt everyone will have spoiled him. We all feel bad that he grew up without us. Everyone wants to show him he's got a massive family now.

All of a sudden, we hear stomping feet coming down the stairs, which alerts us that Cam is now awake. I see Flame smile into his coffee cup and can't help but think about how lucky I am that he loves Cam just as much as I do and has since the moment he found him at the gate all those months ago. God, how much our lives have changed since that day is crazy.

“IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!” Cam yells as he comes sprinting into the living room.

Both me and Flame can't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. He's back to his normal self after the shit Jasmine tried to pull the other day. Once we got home and Cam had calmed down, I called Jasmine and gave her an earful. Warning her again that she best not try anything at his party; she is on her last chance, as far as Cam is concerned. I will not have her cause him issues; he's been through enough in his life. I will do anything to protect him from further harm, even kicking her out of his life.

“That it is. What do you want to do first, presents or breakfast?” I ask him while smiling.

He taps his finger on his lip while he thinks. “Hmmm… breakfast, then presents. I'm hungry, and I'm hoping Papa will cook me something delicious.”

“When don't I cook something delicious, huh?” Flame asks with a smirk.

"Okay, yeah, it's always great. I do love your cooking,” Cam laughs out.

“I already cooked while we were waiting for you to wake up. It's all in the oven, staying warm. You've got bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes to go at. Did I miss anything?”

Cam shakes his head as he says, "Nope, that sounds great.”

He rushes into the kitchen to grab his food, and we can't stop laughing. I love his enthusiasm for his life now; it's so different from the way he was when he first got here, beaten and bruised at the hands of his fucking mother. No, I'm not thinking about that today. Cam's life is different now; he's here and safe. That's all that matters.

After we've all finished eating, Cam is practically jumping up and down in his seat with excitement.

"Right, shall we do presents then?” I ask just to prolong Cam's obvious torture while waiting.

“Pleeeeease.” He replies.

“Come on, then.”

I stand and walk into the living room with Cam right behind me, and I know Flame has gone to grab the box with Cam's first present.

"Right, sit down.”

He plops down and looks up at me. Flame enters the room with a rather large, wrapped box, which he places next to Cam.

“Have at it.” Flame tells him as he steps back.

Cam doesn't wait a second longer and starts ripping off the paper, which reveals a cardboard box he needs to open to see his present. As he lifts the flaps and looks inside, his eyes go wide, and I get it—what's inside looks amazing. I'm a little jealous, if I'm being honest. He pulls out his previously plain black helmet, which no longer looks plain and boring. It now has the club logo painted on one side with flames surrounding it, while the other has Mini Wrath written on it with more flames surrounding it and some seriously funky-looking skulls taking up the rest of the space. Wreck did an amazing job. Cam looks up at us with tears in his eyes.

“This is amazing. I love it. Thank you so much. Who did the work?”

“Wreck.” Flame tells him with a small smile.

“Remind me to thank him too. This looks so incredible; I can't believe all the little details all over it.”

“Do you want your other present?” I ask.

“Other present? There's more?” He asks with wonder.

"Yep, but we gotta go outside; come on.”

I start walking to the front door, and I can hear them following behind me. When I look over my shoulder, I see Cam's hands are empty, but Flames aren't. He's picked up Cam's helmet, knowing he's going to need it.

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