Chapter Ninety-Eight

"Bast, kitten, wake up," Damien said softly, kissing my forehead as he sat down on the bed next to me, peering down at me as he waited for me to wake up.

"Mhm, I'm awake," I said as I sat up and took a drink of the coffee he'd set on the side table for me. *'I couldn't imagine not having Damien by my side every morning, and I don't think I'd know what to do with myself if he wasn't.'* I thought as I took a few sips of the coffee, looking into his blue eyes over the brim, reminding myself once again how amazingly beautiful my husband was. *'Oh, wait, he's not my husband. Fucking Amelia, the bitch. Hmm, I wonder...'* "Damien?"

"Yes, my love?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, waiting.

"Octavia said we could get married in her town, do you think that means there is someone who can marry us?" I asked him as I stood and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth, leaving the door open so I could still hear his response.

"Yes. She didn't elaborate on it, but that was my assumption. May I ask why?" Damien asked me, leaning against the doorframe, watching me as I brushed my teeth, then washed my face. I could tell the wait was killing him, as I was purposely taking longer than normal, just to see if he was curious or not.

"We haven't talked about it since we've been here, and I know that's because we were busy with the babies and whatnot, but babe..." I said, trailing off as I put my arms around his waist, tilting my head back to look into his electric eyes, smiling softly. "I want to go into this fight with my husband, not my boyfriend or fiance."

The moment the words left my lips, Damien's eyes lit up in happiness, his lips pulling back into a bright smile before he put his arms around me and picked me up so our faces were even, before kissing me happily.

"You're sure?" He asked hesitantly after pulling back from our kiss, searching my eyes for any doubt, but I know he didn't find any because I didn't have a single doubt about it. "Do you think your sister would set me on fire if I were to call and ask her?" He asked with a soft laugh as he set me down and watched me walk to the closet.

"Only one way to find out," I said with a soft shrug, then laughed. "She was not happy yesterday that you guys kept talking about Sam and Sammy."

"Understandable, as it was a serious meeting, and it wasn't being taken seriously," Damien said as he kissed me on the top of the head then walked out of the room. *'That reminds me. I need to ask Damien why he seemed so violence-prone yesterday.'* I thought as I put on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, then paired a set of black boots to go with it. Once I was done dressing, I walked out to the kitchen were Damien had his phone set on the counter while he put breakfast on two plates, then thanked Octavia, and ended the call.

"What did she say?" I asked as I peered in the baby's room, making sure they were both still asleep, before walking back to the kitchen to sit down at the table.

"She said Jacob is a licensed officiant and already agreed to marry us, should we decide to. Also, her shifter dropped off the photos just before I called her, so the meeting can take place when we all arrive."

"Damien, I wanted to ask about yesterday. You seemed pretty violence-prone like you were looking for a fight. What was that about?" I asked as I happily began digging into my pancakes, which were always perfectly round, much to my confusion. *'It's not like he uses something to shape the pancakes, how does he do this? Doesn't matter, they are still the best pancakes I've ever had.'*

"It's nothing to concern yourself with, my love. I just didn't appreciate the disrespect Richard was showing. He seems to have thought just because Octavia is young, and a mimic, that she isn't deserving of his respect. Not only is she one of the most powerful beings I've ever met, but she's also smart, and a force to be reckoned with, to say the least. Not to mention, my bride's sister, and therefore, I felt it my brother in law duty to put him in his place." He said with a shrug as he sat down across from me, smiling as he watched me eat. "Sinclair will be coming by soon. I asked him to hunt for me, as I didn't want to leave while you were asleep, and we've too much to do today for me to leave for a few hours."

"Other than the meeting, what do we need to do today?" I asked as I stood and poured myself a cup of orange juice before sitting back down.

"We will be dropping the babies off at the daycare, then the meeting. I do not know how that will go, or how long it will last, but we will have the layout, so it could take quite a few hours."

I nodded and returned my attention to my breakfast, knowing that Sinclair would be coming soon, and I hated eating in front of Sinclair. I don't know why, but something about it always made me feel bad.

Just as I was finishing my breakfast, Sinclair knocked on the door before walking in, peering into the baby's room before walking to Damien to hand him a bottle.

"You know, Sinclair, most people wait until someone answers the door before walking in," I said as I washed my dishes and set them in the dish drainer, before turning around to look at the two of them.

"You knew I was coming, did you not?" Sinclair challenged, raising an eyebrow in amusement, then laughing when I didn't respond because I didn't know what to say. "Precisely."

"Come on," I said as I took his hand and led him into the baby's room, where both of the babies were crying and fussing. I picked up Ciaran and began rocking softly as I carried him into the kitchen, and put a bottle in the microwave, one for him and one for Azeneth as Sinclair followed me into the kitchen with her. "Can you do the same thing as your big sister, Ciar?" I asked him softly as I checked the temperature of the milk before giving it to him. I did the same for Azeneth's bottle before handing it to Sinclair.

After making sure Sinclair was fine with Azzie, I looked down into Ciaran's eyes and smiled as I watched him drink, finding myself still surprised by his amazingly blue eyes. I thought they were like Damien's, but they were more like Sam's, in the way they were a soft blue and not an electric blue like Damien's. "You and your sister are going to be powerful things, aren't you?" I asked him softly with a smile, feeling myself getting lost in his eyes, unable to look away. *'This is what your sister did yesterday, are you trying to do the same thing?'* I thought, and sure enough, I could feel the urging in the back of my head, like he was knocking. I tried to open the nonexistent door but found it hard to do so, as I didn't know exactly what to do, or how to do it. After a few moments, I felt like the "door" was opened, and I felt a flood of new emotions, that I knew weren't mine. "Babe!" I gasped out happily, looking up at Damien and Sinclair, to find that they were both staring intently at me. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because we knew you were doing something with Ciaran, and we wanted to know what you achieved," Damien said as he continued to search my eyes in anticipation, waiting.

"Well, I know you're annoying him right now. Does that help?" I said with a chuckle as I felt a flood of annoyance from Ciaran as Damien was speaking.

"I'm annoying him?" Damien asked incredulously, then looked down at Ciaran with a smile, "I'm pulling your mother's attention from you, is that it, then?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," I said with a nod as I looked back down at him, and felt a rush of happiness as I looked back into his blue eyes, then giggled softly. "Since I know you can understand me, you aren't allowed to cause any trouble at daycare today, okay?" I said to him as he finished his bottle and pouted at me. "Don't argue with me, little boy. I'm your mommy and I said no trouble making. Okay?"

"If I were you, I'd do what she says. Your mommy is scary when she wants to be. The same goes for you too, young lady." Sinclair said to Azzie, chuckling as she cried out. "So you're able to feel Ciaran's feelings? What about Azeneth?"

I put Ciaran in Damien's hands and immediately felt Ciaran getting upset, but only for a few moments until Damien bent down and kissed his forehead softly. "I don't know how to explain it, but I had to, like, open a door to let Ciar in. I didn't do that yesterday with Azeneth, because I didn't know how to. Maybe I could do it today." I said as she finished her bottle, then took her from Sinclair. "Do you want to do it with mommy too, Azzie?" I asked her softly as I looked down into her eyes. I immediately felt the same urging, and this time I knew how to open that "door" so I did, and was suddenly able to feel both of the baby's feelings. "Jesus, Sinclair. I've got the thoughts of two babies in my head. I can't imagine how you feel having dozens at once."

"Let's hope you never have to find out," He said as he sat back down at the table and watched Damien and me with the babies, his golden eyes filled with sadness and longing.

"Would you mind holding Ciaran while I pack up their things? We need to be getting to Octavia's soon." Damien asked him, then put Ciaran in his arms and walked into the baby's room to pack their bags. I know Damien did that because he saw the look in Sinclair's eyes as well, so I tried to hide my smile as I watched him walk away. After a few moments, I went into the living room to put Azzie in her carrier, followed by Sinclair who put Ciaran in his, taking such care to do so, it made my heartache to watch.

"Sinclair, I'm sorry if things bring up bad memories, but what happened to your wife and kids?" I asked hesitantly as I sat down on the couch, smiling down at Azzie from her carrier.

"My wife and my son died during birth, my two daughters died of a sickness that we now have the ability to cure." He responded dryly, sighing softly.

"I'm sorry, Sinclair," I said softly, then pulled him into a hug.

"No need, little Bastet. But thank you."

"Have you ever found anyone else since then?"

"Once, yes. When she died, is when I went recreant." He responded, his gold eyes clouding over in sadness as he recalled her, but before I could say anything, he stood and walked out of the door, closing it softly behind him.

"Oh, shit," I mumbled, shaking my head with a sigh, then looking up towards the baby's room where Damien was watching me from the doorway.

"He's fine, he just needs a minute," Damien said as he crossed the room to set down the baby's bag, kissing me on the top of my head. "He likely hasn't thought about that in hundreds of years, just brought up some bad memories. He said he'll meet us at Octavia's."

"Okay, yeah," I said as I stood and picked up Azeneth's carrier and walked out to the car, clipping her into the backseat before sitting in the passenger seat. *'You dummy, you shouldn't have brought that stuff up!'* I scolded myself as we drove towards the daycare.

"Bast, stop beating yourself up. Sinclair is fine." Damien said as he took my hand, watching me.

"How do you know? He could be really upset and it's because I couldn't stop asking questions!"

"I know because he told me from outside, Bast. He's fine. He just wanted to get some fresh air. Yes, it brought up memories, but they are centuries old, and he just hadn't thought about them in a while. So, please, calm down." Damien said as we pulled into the parking lot of the daycare. We got the babies and their things and walked into the building. This time we walked straight past the backroom where Anissa, Laura, and a couple of other women were waiting for us.

"Oh my, they have gotten so big! Funny, I imagine I'll be saying that every time I see them, won't I?" Anissa said as she took the carrier from Damien and picked Azeneth up, her entire face lighting up in a smile when she held her on her hip, smoothing her black hair back. "You are going to be a heartbreaker, aren't you? You and your brother." She said to her, then took a few steps back to sit her in a jumper, turning on the toys that started playing music and lighting up in front of her.

"My thoughts exactly," Damien laughed softly as he smiled to Azzie, then took Ciaran out of his carrier and set him on the mat on the ground, kneeling to turn on the toy in front of him.

I was overwhelmed with a sense of anger and sadness from both of the babies as Damien and I started to leave, making it hard for me to take another step away. "Mommy and Daddy have to go to your Aunt Octavia's house, okay? I promise we will be back as soon as we can." I said as I kneeled on the ground between Azzie and Ciaran, trying to hold back my tears as they both looked up at me, their eyes wide with tears, their lips quivering in sadness. "Please be good, okay? We love you so, so much and we would rather take you with us, but we can't." I said as I kissed them both on the forehead. I could feel their agreement, but their hesitance in doing so. They didn't want to be left with women they didn't know, and they didn't want to be away from Damien and me for so long, despite not knowing how long we would be gone.

"Ciaran, young man, do not guilt trip your mother. It's breaking her poor heart to do this, and you crying is not helping. Be a good boy and show your mother that you are an Edge man, alright?" Damien said as he sat down on the ground and picked up Ciaran. Although his words and the tone of his voice made it seem like he was upset, his eyes were overflowing with sadness as he spoke, telling me he didn't want to leave the babies any more than I did. He kissed Ciaran on the forehead once more before setting him in a jumper next to Azeneth, then leaned down to kiss her, helping me to my feet. "We love you more than anything, and we will be back as soon as possible, and nothing bad will happen. Okay?"

Damien was talking to them like they could respond with words, but I could tell they both agreed, though they were still both very upset by the notion. But they stopped crying and watched us as I hugged Anissa, then left the building. I waited until we were back outside and standing by the car before I started crying, as it was the only thing I felt like I could do.

"It's okay, kitten. The babies are in good hands, and it will do them good to be around others." Damien said as he pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back softly before kissing my forehead. "I know, I don't want to leave them either." He mumbled into my hair as he turned around to look at the building.

I could feel the baby's sadness welling back up, but with regret as well, making me feel like they knew I was crying. I looked up towards where Damien was looking, to find that the Anissa was holding Ciaran, while Laura was holding Azeneth, waving their little hands to us. I know this was supposed to make me feel a little better, but it resulted in my crying harder, seeing their adorable little faces watching me, and waving goodbye. Damien took my hand and led me to the passenger side, waiting for me to sit down before closing the door, and walking around to the driver's side. He drove to Octavia's house, holding my hand the entire time, not saying anything more about my tears, as he understood fully why I was crying.

"Bast! Oh my god, why are you crying? Are you okay?" Octavia gasped the moment she saw me, pulling me into a tight hug, her aquamarine eyes widened in shock and worry as she looked from me to Damien, waiting for the explanation.

"Little Bastet, are you okay?" Sinclair asked as he walked up behind Octavia, coming upstairs from the basement.

"We dropped the babies off at daycare," Damien said with a soft sigh, smiling as he squeezed my hand softly. "Bast was able to connect with the babies, and she knows what they are feeling, so while we left them for the first time, she had to experience their sadness, on top of watching them cry."

"Oh, shit that could not have been easy," Kerr said as he smiled softly at me, then have Damien a half hug, nodding softly. *'At least he's trying, so that's something.'* I thought as I wiped my tears away, trying to stop myself from crying anymore.

"The worst part is I still know what they're feeling," I said once I was sure I wasn't going to cry again, following Sinclair back to the basement.

"You still have access to their feelings? Even this far away? Sinclair, how far does yours reach?" Damien asked as he held my hand a little tighter as we entered Octavia's basement, making me blink a few times from the brightness of the "sun."

"Not usually further than a few dozen feet. But your children can put their feelings in another's head, no to mention how powerful they are. It's no actual surprise that their abilities don't have a distance limit, or that we know of, thus far." Sinclair responded as we sat down at the table, where everyone was already waiting.

"Are you alright?" Samantha asked me softly, leaning over Sam to take my hand and squeeze it softly.

"I'm okay, thanks," I said as I smiled, then looked at Sam who was waiting for us to move, an eyebrow raised as he watched us. "Morning, Sam."

"Good morning, Bast." He responded as he sat up in his chair after Samantha and I released the hands of each other, but right after she did so, I noticed something in her eye. I put my hand on Sam's chest and shoved him back so I could see Samantha again, furrowing my brows in confusion as I looked into her big brown eyes. I could see a glimmer of something, but I couldn't quite place what it was. Is it anticipation? What is she anticipating that has her so excited?

"Damn, Bast, you had to push me like that?" Sam growled softly as everyone at the table began laughing, seeing what I'd just done.

"What are the two of you planning?" I asked him, tapping into my abilities, knowing my eyes were red as I glared at him.

"How did you know?" Samantha gasped, shaking her head softly. "We weren't going to bring it up until after the meeting, cause we didn't want Octavia to boil us alive in the river."

"First Damien said I would set him on fire, and now you and Sam are afraid that I'm going to boil you alive? I guess I'm doing my job better than I thought I was." Octavia said with a laugh as she watched what was happening between Sam, Samantha, and I.

"What is it?" I demanded, narrowing my reddened eyes at her.

"We decided to ask Lucifer to turn her after the meeting," Sam said, smiling softly at Samantha, taking her hand. *'Samantha's going to be a vampire? Oh my god!'*