“Well, I can guarantee Hannah is going to name her when she sees her, so congratulations, you have a daughter.”
I chuckle at this, a soft smile on my lips. Fabian is right; once Hannah sees this little half-witch, half-wolf child in my arms, she will immediately adopt her, and we will have another child to raise.
“Are you and Miella going to take any, seeing as she can’t physically have children?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Yes. There is a set of twins that she fell in love with,” Fabian answers, nodding to the right.
Following his gaze, I find the pink-haired vampire cradling two little pups against her, a boy and a girl. They have Fabian’s darkskin, and I can’t help but think that their mother must have been Jamaican like him.
“The girl is named Amilia, and the boy is Anthony. Miella picked the names,” he explains, and I smile.
“Well, we always need strong wolves in the pack,” I state, letting this be my way of approving these pups into the royal pack.
Fabian thanks me before walking away, heading toward his mate, where he carefully takes the little female from her arms, cradling the pup close. As bad as this new discovery is, at least my friend was able to find a way to grow a family.
“Julian.” Looking toward the door to the hidden room, I find Aileen looking at me with a relieved gaze before motioning for me to join her.
Rising from my seat with the pup sleeping soundly in my arms, I make my way toward her and out of the room. Vampires from her coven are hard at work, furiously typing into laptops that their leader acquired somehow, and I look at Aileen skeptically.
“Hannah had Claira email us files for security. Only Claira, Hannah, and I can access the files on these laptops remotely,” Aileen explains, motioning for me to follow her into the halls.
“Are you sure it’s safe to leave the hidden room?” I ask, worried for the little pup in my arms.
“All of the Salted Howl wolves and the Coven Zatia vampires are gone. We have full control of this warehouse now,” Aileen says softly, her reassurance making me sigh in relief.
“Good. We need to get these pups out of here and to somewhere safe,” I say, looking down at the little one in my arms.
“I agree. I gave Hannah a brief description of why we needed the security programs, so she knows about the pups. I just did not mention this little one—I have a feeling you’d want to be the one to tell her.”
“Thanks, Aileen,” I say, happy to have her here.
“Anyway, now that the sun is down, we can move the pups to a mansion I just purchased. Hannah and the others from Haven Trail will be there in about five hours, so we have time to clear all the valuable information in this warehouse and bring it to my mansion, including all these books,” Aileen continues, waving off my apology.
“Sounds like a plan,” I say with a grin, feeling a bit better knowing that no one else knows about what we have discovered here, thanks to Aileen’s meticulous planning. “So, what do you want to do about this pup? She is part of your bloodline, after all,” I add reluctantly, not liking the idea of parting with her.
“I plan to have you and Hannah raise this pup since she has my bloodline flowing through her. I will send one of my nieces to train her in the ways of witches, but it’s clear this little cutie will also be able to shift into a wolf and will need both of you to train her as well,” Aileen says with a chuckle, and I sigh. I know she will ensure this pup grows up where she is safest, and to Aileen, that is by Hannah’s and, by extension, my side.
“Can I ask how you knew that this pup was part witch and part of your bloodline?” I decide to ask after mulling over the question in my mind for over an hour.
“The ring on my hand. It pulses whenever I am near a witch with my blood, thanks to my sister’s magic,” Aileen answers, reaching out to gently hold the pup’s hand. “My sister’s dying wish was for me to find witches of our bloodline and bring them to safety. I have spent countless years doing so and have found many of her descendants, thanks to this ring. This is the first time I have found a half-wolf witch,” she continues.
“So it’s safe to say that we can find more like this pup in the future?” I ask, worried about all those who may have magical powers without knowing.
“It is,” I hum at this answer and look up at Aileen, seeing a smile on her lips.
“If I find any with wolf heritage, will you take them into the royal pack and train them?” Aileen asks, catching me off guard.
“Of course,” I answer without hesitation, earning a sad smile from Aileen.
“Thank you. I don’t trust anyone else to take care of them outside of you and Hannah, and leaving them with vampires may not be a good idea.”
Silence settles between us as I watch the vampire focus solely on the pup sleeping in my arms. I see motherly love in her eyes, something I rarely see from her, and part of me wonders what she has gone through all these years.
“Anyway, we should get started with moving everything out of here. Who knows what Christa Zatia will try to do now that her part of our short alliance is over.”
With that, Aileen asks if she can take charge for a bit, and I allow it on the condition that we move the pups and the records first. She hesitates but ultimately agrees, and we get to work.
72
