Page 100 of Act of Brotherhood
Nicolette stared up at Auberi. “Is my uncle really like you? Is he a vampire too?”
Auberi inclined his head. “He is even older than I am.”
“How old are you?”
“Old,” he returned.
She looked to Garth for guidance. “Why would Landros lie about my father being dead? Set aside the vampire part. That’s something my brain is having a hard time with. Why lie about my father? Did Auberi hurt my mom? Ohmygod, did he drain her of all her blood?”
Garth took hold of her chin lightly. “Beauty, he’s no saint but he never harmed your mother. In fact, my guess is, Auberi never even knew your mother. From our best guess, the woman who gave birth to you was a distant relative of Landros’s sister—also named Nicolette. But she and Auberi didn’t know one another.”
That didn’t make any sense. Had the guy bedded so many women he couldn’t remember them?
Striker leaned forward. “The bad guys took his sperm and used it to make you. He was nae there for the fun part of baby making.”
Garth gave him a stern look.
The Scot shrugged. “I’m nae wrong.”
Clara’s words about being cooked up in a lab came back to Nicolette. She’d been made by evil men. Why? Was she evil too? She looked at Auberi and teared up. “I’m sorry. I’m guessing you weren’t expecting me.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, turning in the seat more. He reached out and took her hand in his. “Yes. I only just learned of my ties to you. I won’t lie, Iwasn’texpecting it. I’m struggling with the knowledge, as is the demon I carry in me. And before you ask, you do not have a demon of your own. My guess is you have some traits I passed on to you that are vampire related. For instance, I believe we linked mentally when I first saw you and you saw me.”
She thought about the rush of emotions that hadn’t been her own upon first looking at him. “You were confused, nervous, excited, and lost.”
He nodded. “As were you. And what happened when you knew I was in danger?”
“I reacted,” she confessed. “Can you do what I did? Whatever that was? Can you make dumpsters and cars fly?”
He winked. “No. That comes from the Fae in you.”
“Fae?” she asked.
Garth replied, “Fairy. Magikal creatures.”
“Oh. Wait, those are real too?”
Striker laughed. “Aye. I love pixies. They’re crazy guid in bed.”
“Is he always like this?” she questioned.
Auberi, Boomer, and Garth all answered at the same time. “Yes.”
“How have you guys kept from killing him?”
Striker grunted. “Hey. I’m nae that bad.”
Boomer smiled back at her. “It’s really a daily exercise in restraint. Wait until you meet your husband’s best friend, Gram. He’s as bad as Striker.”
Husband.
She took a deep breath and clutched Auberi’s hand tightly as she made eye contact with Garth. “We’re considered husband and wife now?”
“Yes.”
She licked her lower lip and looked down at her stomach. “And we’re having a baby?”
He nodded.
