Jillie
I led Aaden into the living room and sat on the couch. He sat at the other end and stared at the blank TV screen. I bit my lip, not sure exactly where to start. There was so much we needed to talk about. There was so much that we needed to discuss, but at this moment, I didn’t know how to go about doing that. My mind was on the fact that Jarren would most likely kill me for inviting Aaden over.
We sat in complete silence for a moment. He was staring off into space, and I was trying to come up with something to say to start the conversation. This was proving to be more complicated than I initially thought. I sighed and began to fumble with my fingers.
A few months ago, I would have been
JIllieI blinked a few times, and my vision cleared. I stared at the TV blankly, trying to control the anger, hurt, and betrayal that had suddenly burst in me. I took a few deep breaths before heading out into the backyard. I smiled for everyone, but I was now thoroughly upset. I could understand him not wanting Aaden at the wedding, but he could have talked to me about it instead of saying nothing and pretending he’d sent all the invitations. Jarren was in the corner talking to Garret, and I wanted to go over there and demand to know why he hadn’t sent Aaden his invitation, but I wasn’t about to cause a scene in front of everyone. Instead, I walked over to him and waited for Garret to finish his sentence.“Where are your keys?” I inquired. Jarren mere
Jillie It’s been a week, and Jarren’s still mad at me. This was a first. I wasn’t particularly mad at him anymore, but I wasn’t about to let him know. If he was mad, then I would still at least act mad. As childish as that may be, it was no more childish than him giving me the silent treatment. If lucky, he’d say ten words to me in a day. At this point, I was starting not to care. My hormones were going into overdrive, and I was more focused on not murdering anyone who made me mad than worrying about his ridiculousness. I had just finished getting dressed and slipped on my shoes when he entered the room. Just as I knew he would, he ignored me and went straight to the closet. I rolled my eyes before heading out of the bedroom and down the stairs. I went into the kitchen and fixed myself a bagel with cream chee
JillieMy mom stared at me for a long time, and I began to fidget with my fingers. A nervous tick that I didn’t seem to be able to grow out of. I bit my bottom lip as she sighed and sat back in her seat.“I know.” She finally spoke.I was speechless for a moment. What was I supposed to say to that? “You knew?” I finally managed to get out.“Well, I suspected. My father was part vampire. I would like to think I know them when I see them.”“Wait. You knew Granddad was a Dhampir?”“Where do you think my love of fantasy comes from?” I pinched my arm as hard as I dared, and it hurt, which confirmed that this was not a dream. I blinked a few times, wondering if I had simply thought about telling my mother Jarren was a vampire and this was the vision of what would happen, but when nothing changed,
JarrenEven though I was still a bit upset with Jillie, it wasn’t worth her being in pain. Yes, admittedly, I had been acting a bit childish the past few days, but as I’d stated, my ego was hurt. No man wanted their wife to invite another man who loved them to their house. Especially not in the way that Aaden loved Jillie. I glanced at her sleeping form and sighed. I still didn’t know what to do about her delivery. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Xander, as my Grandfather had suggested, but I planned to do it later tonight. I didn’t want to leave Jillie while she was asleep, even if we were back home and it was daylight. The incident at the cottage was not about to be repeated. Another thing bugged me. I still didn’t know what all of that was about, and I didn’t have tim
JarrenI made it to my former house and opened the door after unlocking it. Xander was lying across the couch watching TV while Kaileeh and Garret were seated on the loveseat. I pushed Xander’s feet off the sofa before sitting down.“Kaileeh, where does your mom think you are right now?” I questioned, turning my attention to the TV.“At my Dad’s.”“And where does your dad think you are right now?”“With Carla.”“And where does Carla think you are?”“She knows I’m with Garrett. My Dad’s away, so I get to spend the next few days h
Jillie“Princess Jilliannah.”“Yes, Erica?” I questioned as I looked through pictures of different venues.“Prince Jarren has been questioning me about what we are doing here daily.”“What did you tell him?” I inquired, looking up from the pictures.“I told him exactly what you told me to. You are starting your lessons.”“Good.”“My cousin’s too nosy for his own good,” Xander stated, holding up a picture of a gothic-style building. I shook my head.“Is there a point trying t
Jillie We’d just finished watching a second episode when Jarren texted me, saying he would be with his dad and grandfather for a bit longer. I turned my attention back to the TV for a few minutes before glancing at Xander. Every time I was around him, I tried not to think about what he’d said as we danced at the wedding, but it was difficult. He looked so sad, so broken. I wanted to ask him what it was about, ask him who the girl was that broke his heart.“Xander,” I said, drawing his attention. What happened?” I questioned. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’d like to know. What you said at the wedding made me wonder. You were just so…sad,” I finished in a voice barely above a whisper.He sighed. “No offense, Jillie, but why do you care?”“Because I care about you, stupid. You&r
Jarren When I entered the living room, Jillie was sleeping with her head on Xander’s chest and his arm around her waist. I raised an eyebrow at him in a playful fashion.“Is there something I need to know about?”“Yes, Jillie and I are in love, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he countered with a smirk.I rolled my eyes. “Sure you are. How long has she been sleeping?”“About an hour or so.”I nodded. “What have you two been doing all day?”“Nothing, really. She had her royal lessons. I fixed her something to eat and told her about Maya.”“Wait. Stop. You told her about Maya?” He nodded. “Why?”He shrugged. “She asked what girl broke my heart, and I just told her.” If it had been possible, I wou
JillieI reached over beside me, but Jarren wasn’t there. Opening my eyes, I found his side of the bed empty. Figuring that he must already be with one of the kids, I swing my legs out of the bed and make my way to Avarie’s room. She’s sleeping peacefully, so it must have been Alec crying. I make my way into his room and he’s sleeping as well. Puzzled, I drift back out into the hallway. I could have sworn crying woke me up. I noticed that there was a light on downstairs. Making my way down, I follow the soft light into the living room. Figuring out what Jarren is doing up at this time is a little beyond my tired brain’s capability. Vampire or not, he was about to get in the bed with me so I could go back to sleep. Stepping into the living room, however, I didn’t see Jarren. Instead, Kaileeh was curled up in the corner of the sofa. She was rocking back and forth slightly as she gazed at her hands, frightened. I took a cautious step towards her. I’d never seen he
JillieThe words that came out of Hollie’s mouth felt foreign to me, even though I’d heard them less than about forty-five minutes ago. I couldn’t be crowning again. That would insinuate that I was having twins, which I was not. Hollie had shown me the sonograms, and there was only one baby in them. Yet here I was, pushing as if my life depended on it. I looked at Jarren again, who looked a little paler than usual.“Hollie,” I started through breaths. “Can vampires faint?”“Not that I know of, but you never know. Why?” She questioned, glancing up.“Because I think my husband is about to pass out.” She didn’t respond and instead told me to push. Just like the first time, we worked as a team, and this birth was much quicker, with only the use of one syringe. That was a small victory that was quickly forgotten when I
JarrenPacing. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last thirty minutes. I was pacing and trying to soothe Jillie. I was worried, and the more I worried, the faster I paced. I’d freaked poor Ean out. He was the kind that liked to live in denial and pretend that certain things didn’t exist. I wondered how much of this he would actually be able to ignore. I glanced over at the bed to find Hollie staring intently at the monitors and Teya dabbing Jillie’s forehead with a cool cloth. I felt so helpless because I couldn’t do anything other than be here for her. I couldn’t take her pain away, and I desperately wanted to. I sighed and resumed my pacing. I knew I should have gone with them. The suspense of not knowing what was going on or where they were was killing me, but I realized this is how Jillie would have f
JillieMy baby girl was kicking my butt like she was mad at the world. It had almost been nonstop for the past few hours. To top that off, those stupid cramps just wouldn’t let up. As luck would have it, Jarren was out doing who knows what at the moment. So I was on my own, dealing with my high-maintenance daughter, who was a complete daddy’s girl. I’d tried everything. I’d placed headphones on my stomach and played calm, soothing music. I’d rub my stomach until both of my hands and arms felt like they were limp noodles and about to fall off at any minute. I’d tried talking to her, then begging. I’d even resorted to bribery. None of that worked. &n
JarrenWhen Jillie got up, I waited a few minutes before following her. I stopped just on the other side of the patio door and listened to the silence. I knew she’d gone out there. I could hear her heart beating, but she wasn’t saying anything. When she finally spoke, I realized that she’d noticed that something was wrong with Nunny as well. As I sat and listened to them talk, my heart broke. Nunny was right; I wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened to Jillie and our child. My world would literally come crashing down, and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. They were my life, and just thinking about this scared me, and I was never scared. Life was cruel sometimes. It seemed like we couldn’t win for losing. When we caught a break, something else came along and ruined it. Not this time. I was dete
Jillie When I opened the gifts, I was overwhelmed by the amount of clothes, shoes, toys, diapers, and wipes. It looked like we’d have enough to last for the next few years, though I knew that was unlikely. I knew that babies went through a ton of diapers in a year. I had four gifts left to open. Three were wrapped in pink paper with little baby rattles on them, and the other was in a gift bag with clouds and the words “It’s a girl” written on it. My Dad brought the rather large boxes over to me one by one, and I ripped the paper from them. There was a highchair, a walker, and a baby swing. Upon seeing what they were, I turned to my mother, w
Jillie New Year was full of friends, family, and food. We’d rung in the year at my parent’s house and spent the day at the boys and girls center with most of the kids from town. I couldn’t play with them like I once had, but the Fang gang, Wolf Pack, and Kaileeh were making up for that. While they ran around playing dodgeball, I had to remind Xander not to throw too hard; I got to watch Sara and Kinley draw. They were both very talented little girls. We’d had lunch with all of them, and Xander got hit on quite a bit, along with Carson and Garret, by the teenage girls. Kaileeh hadn’t been too happy about the last one, but she was trying not to show it. Overall, it was a good day. I was currently sitting in the living room watching TV. I hadn&rs
JillieI didn’t know what to say. It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t have imagined anything more perfect than what I was looking at as a room for our little girl. It was done in sky blue and pale yellow. He’d painted the ceiling, and there were clouds all over it. The floor had been done in the same blue, but it was more textured. The crib was sand brown with a blue and yellow color scheme for bedding. There was an armchair and ottoman of the same color as well. The room had so much beauty that I couldn’t describe it all. It looked like a small castle for a princess. He’d even taken all of her clothes and put them away in the closet and the bureau he’d gotten to match the rest of the room. There were toys on a shelf, a changing table, and plush animals hang
Jarren Rian had lost his damn mind talking to the women in the house that way, and if he thought that I wasn’t going to say something about it, then he had thought wrong. When Mason shut the door behind him, I pushed Rian into the side of the house. My anger was at an all-time high.“Have you lost your mind?” I questioned, fuming. Mason stepped between us.“Look, I know what you’re going to ask me, and it’s none of your business. What happens between Sage and I is just that, between Sage and I.”“Wrong!”I snapped. “When it’s affecting the two of yo