Pretty Spelled by K.A Knight

Lilith

A month later…

Istare at my house with a wide smile. In my hands, I have the seasonings Attie asked me to get from our greenhouse. It’s all of ours, even though Alejandra mainly spends her time in there.

Our houses have changed slightly, growing and becoming ours. The furniture is all there, and I kept it similar to what Attie built for me before because it was perfect. It’s us and homey, even with six other houses around us.

Our own little slice of paradise.

The waves crash just beyond, and the trees block us from the world. There is plenty of room to grow and explore. Remi and Khalid take odd jobs now with the council, and Ciar and Bella surprisingly help. Alejandra and Slate have bought and are now running a coffee shop in the town where they help employ supernaturals who have nowhere else to go, including a male fae who became the manager so they could spend more time together and not work as much.

Cassandra and Kyro bought the building next to theirs and opened an occult shop for witches, where she teaches others who have been cast aside or forgotten, creating a safe place for all.

Mishal and Dabria…well, let’s just say they have their own plans and have been busy doing them. I almost giggle at that. And, of course, seeing the world.

Calder and Mira spend their days in the ocean, exploring and being together. On the nights when the storms roll in, I’m reminded they are out there.

They aren’t always here, they have their own lives, but when they come home, it’s like they have never been gone.

Like tonight.

“Come on, Lils!” Bella shouts from inside. “We are getting hungry in here!”

I can’t help but smile wider and hurry inside, knowing they are waiting for me, always have been. It’s our first monthly family meal, a tradition we imposed once I found out most of my new sisters never really had one before. Bella may scoff, and Remi may roll her eyes, but I know they secretly love it.

Those who never had a family have one now. One that will never abandon or give up on them, and who will always love them through the good and the bad, the lows and the highs.

“Coming!” I call as I slip off my shoes at the entryway and leave the door open as I rush into the kitchen. I hand Attie the spices where he is cooking at the stove with the apron Remi got him for his birthday which says “Magic Man” on it. He’s busy concentrating, trying to make everyone’s perfect meal, and I never thought I could love this man more, but I was wrong. With each passing day, my love for him only grows. He’s my greatest win, my obsession, and the light in my dark.

He hears my thoughts, and I stand on my tiptoes to kiss his lips softly. Do we tell them? I ask mentally, and he grins and spanks me.

Food first, Wildflower.

I help him serve, and once everyone has eaten, I take his hand, just smiling as Kyro throws mash at someone. “Now can we?” I ask out loud.

“Amore, behave,” Khalid chides from my side. “Stop encouraging him. You remember last time. Atlas kicked all our asses for messing up his kitchen.”

“Tell us what?” Calder asks, ignoring their games.

I share a look with Attie, and his smile only grows, the one he can’t control. I reach over and twine a lock of his growing hair before turning to my family. “I’m pregnant.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then cheers and yells.

I’m pulled into arms and congratulated. Atlas is hugged and slapped on the back. Our family is overjoyed for us. When I am finally passed back to Attie, he hugs me to his side, his smile only growing wider than I ever knew possible. I’m not the only one who is finally finding their happiness.

He looks down at me then, his eyes shimmering in delight. “You are my happiness, Wildflower, you always were.”

“Let’s get drunk to celebrate!” Remi yells and then winces at me. “Well…not you, crazy pants, but the rest of us not sprog infested can!”

I laugh, I can’t help it.

I never knew life could be this perfect.

* * *

The moon is high, the stars are sparkling, and the celebrations of our family are in full swing. I just want a little bit of air, and of course, my Attie came with me. We hold hands, the comfortable silence stretching on as we walk. I press my palm to my still flat stomach. It’s a miracle I never knew I needed or wanted, but knowing our family will grow?

I’m excited. Excited to see Attie as a father, my brothers as uncles, and my sisters as aunties. This child will be spoiled and loved more than any other.

God help whoever their mate is.

I know this child is the hope of the world, the true rebirth of good, of me…of us. They are this world’s future. I stop before the ocean, digging my bare toes into the sand as the waves crash to shore. I close my eyes, the salty smell making me smile. My long summer dress falls slightly off one shoulder, loose and flowing, a habit from my human life before all this.

When I open them, I find Attie watching me with so much love and worship in his eyes. “I never knew there was such a perfect thing in this world before I met you, my love,” he murmurs as he pulls me close and kisses me, his hand going between us to my belly. “I cannot wait to become a father with you at my side.”

“Me either, Attie. My mother was right about you. You are the best man in this world,” I murmur as I kiss him back, desire pulsing between my legs. He notices, of course, so in tune with me that it was him who realised I was pregnant first. We think we conceived that night, the night the darkness took over, and honestly, it makes me feel…warm. During one of my darkest moments, we created something so loving, so perfect and good, that we made a person.

Pulling back, I step away as he watches me with a frown, his hand outstretched towards me, but I just grin and grab the shoulders of the dress and push, letting it fall until it exposes my breasts. His eyes widen and then smoulder, and with those orbs locked on me, I let it drop to my feet. I step free of it, blow him a kiss, and turn, walking into the cool ocean.

Memories of all the times I would swim in the lake resurface, of when I would call to him but he would never come in with me, but not a moment later, I hear the splash behind me, and then arms are there, pulling me into his embrace. His lips find mine, and the memories fade. In another lifetime, he would have turned away, but now he chases me into the water, letting me feel his love as his hands stroke down my back and cup my ass, and there, in the crashing waves under the full moon, we finally get our happy ending.

Our love echoes through the centuries.

Its guiding hope.

Its saviour.

Its damnation.

Its protector.

We are the fallen gods.

We are the Fates.

We are the monsters.

Together, we are whole.

With the future of our people and of this world growing inside my belly, I know that whatever is to come, we can handle it.

Together.