Layla gave his forearm a squeeze, and then she went in.
Xcor had halted in the center of the room and was staring across at the bassinets like he was terrified.
"It's okay," she said, urging him over. "They're not going to bite."
She took him to Rhamp first, and as Xcor looked down in awe at the little infant, he got a frown in response.
Xcor laughed in a rush. "Dearest fates, that is a warrior right there."
Qhuinn and Blay came over, arm in arm, and Qhuinn said, "Right? That's exactly what I think. He's a tough number, aren't you, Rhamp? Also poops out toxic waste. You'll learn that later."
Xcor's eyebrows shot up. "Toxic--"
"Figure of speech. But wait'll you smell it. Put hair on your chest, and vampires don't have that."
"And this is Lyric," Layla said.
Xcor had a bemused expression as he went to look at the other bassinet--but then everything about him changed.
His eyes welled up, and this time, tears did fall from his eyes. Glancing over at Layla, he said, "She looks...exactly like you."
As Xcor struggled for composure, Blay and Qhuinn came up behind him.
"Isn't she just beautiful?" Qhuinn said in a hoarse voice. "Just like our Layla."
Layla watched the three huge warriors leaning over the tiny little female...and was overwhelmed by a sense of love and completeness. It had been a hard, long road, with many times that all could have been lost. And yet here they were, together, as a family of both blood...and choice.
At that moment, she realized Lassiter was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.
Putting his forefinger to his lips, he made a show of going shhhhhhhhhh. And then he winked at her and silently disappeared.
She smiled at the sparkles that fell in his wake. "That angel may be better suited for the job than he knows."
"What?" Xcor asked her.
"Nothing," she murmured as she leaned in and kissed him.
Or maybe it was everything. Who was to say.
"Do you want to hold her?" Qhuinn asked.
Xcor recoiled as if someone had inquired whether he'd like a hot poker in his hands. Then he recovered, shaking his head as he made a manly show of scrubbing his tears away like they were permanent marker on his cheeks.
"I don't think I'm quite ready for that. She looks...so delicate."
"She's strong, though. She's got her mahmen's blood in her, too." Qhuinn looked at Blay. "And she's got good parents. They both do. We're in this together, people, three fathers and one mom, two kids. Bam!"
Xcor's voice got low. "A father...?" He laughed softly. "I went from having no family, to having a mate, a brother, and now..."
Qhuinn nodded. "A son and a daughter. As long as you are Layla's hellren, you are their father, too."
Xcor's smile was transformative, so wide that it stretched his face into something she had never seen. "A son and a daughter."
"That's right," Layla whispered with joy.
But then instantly that expression on his face was gone, his lips thinning out and his brows dropping down like he was ready to go on the attack. "She is never dating. I don't care who he is--"
"Right!" Qhuinn put his palm out for a high five. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"Now, hold on," Blay interjected as they clapped hands. "She has every right to live her life as she chooses."
"Yes, come on," Layla added. "This double-standard stuff is ridiculous. She's going to be allowed..."
As the argument started up, she and Blay fell in beside each other, and Qhuinn and Xcor lined up shoulder to shoulder, their massive forearms crossed over their chests.
"I'm good with a gun," Xcor said like that was the end of things.
"And I can handle the shovel," Qhuinn tacked on. "They'll never find the body."
The two of them pounded knuckles and looked so dead serious that Layla had to roll her eyes. But then she was smiling.
"You know something?" she said to the three of them. "I really believe...that it's all going to be okay. We're going to work it out, together, because that's what families do."
As she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed her male, she said, "Love has a way of fixing everything...even your daughter starting to date."
"Which is not going to happen," Xcor countered. "Ever."
"My man," Qhuinn said, backing him up. "I knew I liked you--"
"Oh, for the love," Layla muttered as the debate resumed, and Blay started laughing and Qhuinn and Xcor continued bonding.
But it turned out she was right.
Everything worked out just as it was supposed to, and love triumphed over all kinds of challenges. And years and years and years later...Lyric did actually date someone.
Except that is another story, for another time.
To You:
After all this time,
you have been chosen.
Welcome home.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With immense gratitude to the readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood!
Thank you so very much for all the support and guidance: Steven Axelrod and Kara Welsh. Thank you also to everyone at Ballantine--these books are truly a team effort.
With love to Team Waud--you know who you are. This simply could not happen without you.
None of this would be possible without: my loving husband, who is my adviser and caretaker and visionary; my wonderful mother, who has given me so much love I couldn't possibly ever repay her; my family (both those of blood and those by adoption); and my dearest friends.
Oh, and my WriterAssistant, Naamah.
BY J. R. WARD
THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal Lover Awakened Lover Revealed Lover Unbound Lover Enshrined The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide Lover Avenged Lover Mine Lover Unleashed Lover Reborn Lover at Last The King The Shadows The Beast The Chosen
BLACK DAGGER LEGACY
Blood Kiss
Blood Vow
NOVELS OF THE FALLEN ANGELS
Covet
Crave
Envy
Rapture Possession Immortal
THE BOURBON KINGS
The Bourbon Kings The Angels' Share
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. R. WARD is the author of more than thirty previous novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling series, the Black Dagger Brotherhood. She is also the author of the Black Dagger Legacy and The Bourbon Kings series. There are more than fifteen million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-six different countries around the world. She lives in the South with her family.
JRWard.com
Facebook.com/ JRWardBooks
Twitter: @JRWard1
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J. R. Ward, The Chosen
(Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood # 15)
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