Gifts of Fate [Kindred of Arkadia 7] (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

He knew this brought up recent memories of being taken and abused. She and Rhys had bonded in that tiny

cell.

“Madison.” She shook her head.

“There was nothing I could do. I tried. But that law is ironclad and for good reason. No vampire has

ever come back, not after thirty days. It’s been nearly forty for Rhys.”

Shaking his head, Connor dialed Gabriel.

“Gabriel speaking.”

“Prince Gabriel, it’s Connor Arkadion.”

“Connor, perfect timing. I wanted to make sure you’re at the diner later. Ashby and I have a surprise for

everyone.” Gabriel sounded jubilant. Connor hated that he had to be the one to tell him that one of his

children was about to die.

“Baron called,” was all he was able to get out.

“Hold,” was the crisp ordered response. In the background Connor heard.

“Angel, I’m heading to my office for this phone call. You should take Arthur upstairs and pick out an

outfit for this afternoon.”

“Okay. I love you,” he heard Ashby say.

“I love you too,
mon ange.
” There was the sound of walking and a door shutting.

“Who is Arthur?” Connor asked. He heard a sigh.

“Arthur is our adopted infant son. He was placed into our care last night. Today is supposed to be a

happy one for my family. What did Baron have to say?”

“Damn it!” Connor yelled in helpless frustration.

“He’s coming isn’t he?” Gabriel asked.

“That conniving boot-licker Salsiby went before the council and insisted that Rhys was a threat and

pushed to have his execution immediately. They’ll be here this evening, Gabriel. You have to bring Rhys to

the town square by six for execution.”

There was silence from the other end of the line, he couldn’t even hear Gabriel breathing.

“Then I better make sure that Ashby enjoys this afternoon,” was the emotionless reply.

“If there is anything I can do,” Connor offered.

“I’m afraid there isn’t anything anyone can do. Thank you for being the one to call me, I know that it

could not have been easy for you. But it made a difference hearing this from a friend.”

“We’ll stand by you tonight,” Connor promised.

“That would be most welcome. Until this afternoon.”

Connor was about to fling his cell phone at the wall when Madison’s gentle hand stopped him.

“All we can do is be there for them. I hope they let me try to say goodbye, and thank you. He suffered

so much denying himself my blood. His willpower saved me.” Madison leaned her head against Connor’s

shoulder.

“It’s not right. This wasn’t his fault.” Connor’s voice broke.

“Maybe this will end his torment.” Madison wiped at her tears and Connor wrapped his arm around her,

pulling her close.

“We need to head to the diner early. Ma planned a huge gift for Kate, Rebecca and Sebastian. But she

didn’t know Ashby would have a baby too. We need to stop at the general store and pray they have another

Pack ’N Play.”

“It doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore.” Madison pulled the afghan over her legs for comfort. Connor

looked down at his depressed mate and decided that maybe she needed her Christmas gift early.

“How about you open a Christmas gift?”

“I’m not in the mood.” She sighed.

“How about that small square one. The one wrapped in green paper.” Connor suggested, smiling at his

mate. She looked up and a grin started to tug at her lips.

“What’s in the box?”

“Open it and find out!” Connor said, nudging her leg with his own. Madison eyed the gift then looked

at him, before her eyes wandered back to the small square box.

“Hmm I wonder what it could be?” Connor asked playfully.

“Argh! You got me!” Madison bounced off the sofa and sat in front of their tree like a kid at Christmas.

Her eyes were still edged by sadness, but there was a sparkle back in her eye. She picked up the square box.

She tore into the wrapping and stared down at the plain white box. Carefully she lifted the top. When she

moved aside the tissue paper he watched as her face was transformed into a look of wonder.

“How?” she asked, her trembling fingers reaching out to touch the textured canvas before she thought

better of it, and continued to stare. She carefully lifted the small painting out of the box and walked back

over to the sofa to sit next to her mate.

Connor looked down and was still impressed by the pure beauty that he saw. Right after mating with

Madison and hearing that her sister was missing, he had gone to Doc to see if he had any pictures of the

three of them together. He had found one, the three of them as babies. Connor had then taken the

photograph to Caleb and commissioned a small painting. Caleb hadn’t simply copied the photo. He had

taken his own personal experiences with Doc and Madison, and stories about the missing Maddie, and he

had brought them to life.

Little Maddie looked to the side of the painting with wide-eyed wonder, staring beyond her brother and

sister at a landscape painting in the distance. Baby Maddox was staring at Madison, his tiny mouth quirked

to one side, frowning slightly. Madison stared right back at her brother, her face full of laughter. In the

background he had painted three white, Bengal tiger cubs. Caleb was truly a genius.

Madison couldn’t stop staring at the painting. She propped it up on the coffee table and sat back on the

sofa, her eyes never leaving the small canvas.

“I hope you like it.”

“I love it. It’s the best Christmas gift I have ever received.” She looked up at him as the tears started to

spill over onto her cheeks.

“Come here, wildcat.” Connor pulled her into his lap and held her close.

She pulled back suddenly and looked him in the eye.

“Do you want a baby?”

He blinked. “Like now?”

“I’m not sure if I would be a good mother, but I know you would be a wonderful father. I look at that

painting and I can’t help but wonder what our baby would look like.”

Connor held her at arm’s length, his heart racing. He desperately wanted a child, but only when his mate

was ready.

“I would love to have a child, but only when you are ready. I think you’d make a wonderful mother. I

mean look how much you look after Giddey,” he said, smiling. Madison grinned back at him.

“Do you really think so?” He nodded.

“You live to protect and help people. I can only imagine what you would do for our child.”

“What time do we need to leave to head to the diner?”

“About eleven.”

She looked over at the clock and turned back to him, licking her lips.

“Let’s try. If it happens it happens. But I want you to know, I’m not against it.” Madison ran her hands

down his chest.

“Wildcat, you have me so hard thinking about getting you pregnant.” Connor groaned when she reached

between them to cup his hardening dick.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not wearing any panties under my nightgown and my pussy is dripping

wet,” she said, leaning forward to bite his earlobe. That was all it took. Growling, he yanked the garment up

over her head and attacked her hardening nipples like a starving man. She arched her back, thrusting her

breast further into his mouth.

He stood, wrapping her legs around his waist, and then ran for the stairs. Through his T-shirt he could

feel her damp, scorching hot pussy grind against his abdomen. He felt his eyes shift as he growled low and

long. Tossing his mate on the bed he ripped his clothes from his body and descended on her.

She took one look at his advancing form and her eyes shifted to a light blue. She got on her hands and

knees and looked at him from over one shoulder. Catlike, she arched her back before lowering her upper

body to the bed, offering up her ass to him. He could see the moist, pink folds of her pussy beckoning to

him. He had to grab the base of his cock to prevent himself from coming.

“I’m sorry, wildcat, I don’t think I can go slow,” he rumbled, climbing on the bed and taking up a

position behind her. He slowly stroked his cock, looking down at her body.

“I don’t need slow right now, just you.” She wiggled her ass. Connor ran both hands over her perfect

ass cheeks and pulled them apart. He could see her dark hole teasing him as her pussy dripped liquid down

her thighs. He ran his thumb up her slit, sliding her juices to her sweet hole. He didn’t know what he

wanted more, her dew-soaked pussy or her tight ass. Grinning, he decided to have both.

With his other hand he grabbed his shaft and began to push himself inside her slick folds. He waited

until he was about halfway in and then slammed inside his mate to the hilt. She went wild beneath him the

way he knew she would. She loved to have her cervix bumped. He hammered into her over and over again.

He loved the way her body stretched to take his cock.

He knew he wouldn’t have long, his body was already primed. He reached forward and wrapped his

fingers in her hair. He pulled backward until her back was bowed. She was keening her pleasure. Snapping

his hips again and again he pushed his thumb into her dark star. She screamed and her pussy clamped

down on his cock.

He saw stars explode behind his eyelids. He roared and pulled her hair until she was up and kneeling on

her knees in front of him. He was still coming when he leaned forward and buried his canines deep into her

shoulder. Her arms came up to hold his head. He impaled her with his thick cock one last time and was

spent.

Breathing heavily, he retracted his canines and pulled out of her body. She simply fell forward onto the

bed. On extremely shaky legs he got off the bed and went to the bathroom. He cleaned up and brought out a

washcloth for her. She only moaned softly when he gently wiped her clean.

He went back to the bathroom and threw the washcloth in the hamper. He made his way back to bed

and curled up around his mate.

“What time is it?” she asked. He looked over at their alarm clock and sighed.

“It’s ten.”

“Wake me up in half an hour.”

Yeah, fuck that.

Connor set the alarm and went to sleep himself.

* * * *

Connor barely had enough time to set up the fourth Pack ’N Play out on the diner floor when the new

parents and babies started showing up at the diner. Rebecca had been eyeing the new doorway that Duncan

had cut last week. He knew she was dying to see what was behind the new mysterious door. He could

hardly wait to show them what they had done.

The entire idea started off with a sarcastic comment from him saying that if the group of new parents

spent as much time at the diner after the babies as before, then there should be baby stations at the diner.

He remembered how his Ma’s eyes had widened and she got a decidedly wolfish grin on her face,

despite being a bear. At that point it became “The Project.” Ma had told them what to build and what to buy

and the Arkadion boys made sure it happened. Everyone except Aleks had lent a hand.

They had converted Ma’s extra office into Baby Central. On one wall was a long counter that had two

microwaves and two sinks with bottle-drying racks. Under the long counter were three mini-fridges that he

knew were stocked with bottled water and formula. The other three walls were lined with dressers

interspaced with six cribs, two on each wall. On top of each dresser were multiple changing pads in

multiple colors and warming baby wipe dispensers. There were five Diaper Genies and what seemed to

Connor to be an endless supply of clothes, diapers, toys, pacifiers, bottles and blankets.

They had closed off the back doorway, making it one solid wall, and Duncan had cut a doorway which

opened up right into the diner. He had David and Daniel order a security system for the door where you had

to have a fob to get into Baby Central. That way the new parents could monitor the only entrance and exit,

and the number of people able to get in would be limited. Today the new parents would get their fobs.

“Can I see
now
??” Rebecca demanded. Ma laughed and waved Connor over. Madison grinned and

pushed him forward.

“We’re waiting on one more person,” Connor said, eyeing the doorway. He knew the surprise that

Ashby had and he didn’t want to exclude him in this present. As if on cue, the bells to the door chimed and

the vampires arrived.

Gabriel, David, Daniel and Ashby walked into the diner. He heard Rebecca’s gasp and knew that she

had figured out what the tiny bundle in Ashby’s arms was.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Rebecca for once was speechless.

“Ashby, is that a baby?” Kate asked, eyes bright. She had already pulled one of the Pack ’N Plays over

and set Landon and Lucas in it to play. She held Merrick and Bran held Matthew.

Ashby nodded and beamed at his friends. Everyone gathered around to inspect the newest member of

their family. Connor and Madison made their way over. Connor met Gabriel’s eye and the prince nodded.

Connor nodded in return.

“Congratulations to you both,” he said.

“Ashby, how could you keep this from me?” Rebecca demanded, her hands on her hips.

“That would be my fault. I wasn’t able to tell Ashby himself until right before this little one was on our