There was no wedding afterglow for me. Sure, the week we spent alone after the wedding was heavenly, but once it was over, we were all right back to work.
And since I couldn't demon hunt in my child-carrying state, that meant I got turned over to Saul for training while Julian worked on getting his pack transferred over and tracked down any new demonic leads.
It only took me two days to wish I had stuck with Faye as my witch trainer.
The man was…a lot. And he pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed.
After a particularly brutal afternoon training session, I flopped down into a chair at the dining room table and put my head in my hands.
Saul was a great teacher, but he was so damned intense.
The witch stood in the kitchen, making us both cups of tea while I tried not to pass out from exhaustion. We never did physical work, it was all mental, but even that was draining me at this point. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
"I'm just tired," I sighed.
It wasn't a lie, I really was exhausted. I was six months pregnant now, and the baby was big. I'd had an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, and they'd estimated the baby would be about nine pounds at birth.
It hadn't been easy carrying, either. I was having a hard time getting comfortable and sleeping, and when I wasn't tired, I was hungry. All the time. The doctor said that everything was normal, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with.
Saul dropped the cup of tea next to me and took his seat. "I think we're done until after you've had the brat, Whitney. It's too much."
Oh no. I knew what would happen when training was over. "But—"
"No buts. I'm on Danny's payroll, not yours. It's time for you to start your reading."
I groaned, looking over at the enormous bag of books waiting in the corner for me. Hector had dropped them off last week from Faye, and I hadn't even bothered to unpack them from the bag. Saul had told me to read a few, and then we'd talk. I had no idea how many were in the bag, but if I had to guess, it was at least thirty.
From what Faye had told me, it was a mix of basic teaching books and some old dusty tomes that she had found in her family's personal library and hadn’t had a chance to go through yet.
There was no way I would get through all of that before my due date.
"I'll help you," he said, sipping his tea.
"You will?" I looked up at him, surprised. This man had been working me to the bone since he got here, and now he wanted to help me? What was the catch?
"Sure. Why not? I don't have anything better to do."
I eyed him warily. "That's very…nice of you. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Okay. So…now what?"
"Well, let's see what we have." Saul got up and grabbed the bag of books, sitting back down at the table. He dumped the contents out onto the wood surface, and we both stared at the mess.
There were at least twenty books scattered across the table. Some were thin, but most were quite thick. A few were old and worn, the spines cracked and pages yellowed with age.
"Oh. Great," I sighed, staring at the pile. "So, what's first?"
Saul pushed a couple of books aside and pulled two from the center of the pile. "These two. The rest…I'll look through to see if they're helpful." He handed me one of the books. "You should start with this one."
I took the book from him, looking at the worn cover. It looked ancient but was clearly taken care of. The pages were clean and crisp, and the spine was free from damage. The title was printed in faded gold, but I could still read it.
The Art of Spells: An Introduction to Witchcraft.
"Really?" I asked, flipping the book open. "You know I've been using small spells forever."
"Tough shit. Get to reading, preggo."
I sighed heavily, but knowing that there wasn't really any way out of it, flipped to the first page.
***
We found the portal spell a week later in an unmarked, faded, leather-bound book.
It was late afternoon on a Sunday, and I had been taking a break from studying to read a novel in the living room. My eyes were burning from staring at the small, weird print all day, so I'd thought a few chapters of a murder mystery would do me good without being too distracting.
Saul had been at it since dawn, sitting at the table with a pile of books next to him. He was the type of guy who just plowed through whatever task was put in front of him, never stopping or complaining.
In a way, I envied him. If I tried to keep up with him, I would've burnt out long ago.
The sun was beginning to set when I joined him once more and picked the tome at random. I'd quickly discovered that Saul had offered to read through everything because Faye's collection was much more eclectic and rare than his own. He was taking advantage of the opportunity, but I didn't mind.
It was on page 85 that I found the portal spell, and simply seeing the title made my blood run cold. "Oh my God. Saul. I think this is the spell I heard the demons talking about."
The witch looked up, peering at me over the rim of his glasses. "You sure?"
"I don't know, but it sounds familiar."
He got up, leaving the book open on the table as he walked around to stand next to me. His gaze moved across the page, lips moving silently as he read along.
I leaned back in my chair, watching him. Saul finally finished reading the page. "Okay, this is definitely what the demons want."
"How can you tell?"
"Because it's one of the only spells that open a portal between worlds. All the others just go between dimensions within the same world. It's rare and complicated to do, which makes me think this isn't their first rodeo."
"What does it do?"
He looked over at me, his dark eyes serious. "It creates a portal to the underworld."
A chill went through me, and I swallowed hard. The underworld. Demons weren't just hellspawn. They came from another plane of existence, and all the evidence pointed toward it being a literal hell. If they opened a portal to that place…
"I'll call Faye and Hector to see if they can come take a look at this."
"Good plan. I'm going to go home and contemplate the end of the world."
I watched the witch leave, trying to subdue the sense of dread coming over me. There was no point in dwelling. With my chest tight, I picked up the phone and called Faye.
***
Three days later, Julian and I were leaving Danny's house, where Faye, Sienna, and Hector were staying for the night. We'd been going over the spell tome for hours and decided to pick it back up again in the morning.
It was nice having the family around, especially Sienna. She was such a bright and beautiful little girl that it made me all the more excited to have my baby with me in just a few short months. We still didn't know the gender—stubborn thing wouldn't ever turn the right way for the ultrasound—but I couldn't care less.
Julian was quiet as we drove home, but that wasn't unusual. He wasn't much of a talker, which I appreciated. The pregnancy had made me more tired than normal, and while I loved talking to him, I just didn't have the energy most nights.
I'd been doing some thinking lately, and tonight seemed like a good time to bring it up. "Jules? Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course." He looked over at me briefly before turning his attention back on the road.
"So…I've been thinking about what I want to do when the baby is born."
"You're going to go back to hunting, aren't you?" he asked. His tone was casual, but I could sense a hint of disapproval underneath the words.
I shifted in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. This conversation could go one of two ways. Either Julian would be happy to have me back out there with him, or he would try and make me stay home like every other mate of a wolf. "I think so."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
I sighed heavily, trying not to get annoyed with him already. "Why? Because I'm a woman?"
He chuckled. "No, Whit. I just think you should take an extended break from hunting to be with the baby. Six months, eight months, maybe even a year. Give yourself time to rest and recover and bond."
It…wasn’t the worst idea. It would give me time to get a handle on my magic before going back out, and I needed some time to form a new team now that my old one was back with the Silverfangs.
"I'll think about it," I conceded, turning to look out the window. We were getting closer to town, and I could see the tops of houses coming into view. "Do you want more after this? Kids, I mean."
"Yeah. I want at least three or four."
That was a lot. Four children seemed like a lot. But maybe…maybe it wouldn't be so bad. With the right person. I'd been an only child growing up, so it might be fun to have a big family.
"What about you?" he asked. "What do you want?"
"I want kids. Definitely." I paused, trying to find the right words. "But I also want a safe world to raise them in, you know?"
"I get that." He nodded, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought. "I could…wait a couple of years to have more. Until this mess with the demons is sorted out."
"Okay. Yeah. I agree." Julian pulled into the driveway, and I made the effort to haul my pregnant self over the seat to get into his space, taking his face in my hands and kissing him thoroughly. "Thank you."
"For what?" he asked, grinning at me, still a little dazed from the kiss.
"For being understanding about this."
"I do have one condition, though," Julian said in mock seriousness.
"Oh?"
"We keep practicing the whole…mating thing. A lot. So we still know what to do when we're ready to have more."
I laughed, kissing him again until we were both breathless. "I think that can be arranged. You want to start now?"
Julian chuckled, nipping at my bottom lip. "Fuck yes. Let's go inside."
So we did.
*****
THE END