𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒, Volturi Kings

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ¹²

Heading back home was most likely the calmest part of our trip. No incidents, no finding baby hybrid mates in the middle of a Canadian forest, and certainly no potential battles with former friends and allies alike. All in all, things were quite tranquil as Helios and Anora fell asleep lying right next to each other in their bed.

Although many would assume that allowing two mates to sleep next to each other would mean some sort of contact would be made, Heelie and Anora were as platonic as could be, with Marcus checking their bonds to make sure that nothing weird was going on.

Little Anora had proven herself to be much fussier than Heelie had ever been, often screaming whenever my son left the room or tried to hand her over to Rose, who could barely get her to stop crying when her mate had to do something or bring her food. The mated pair always had to be together, especially at night. Anora wouldn't sleep otherwise and would just scream at everyone and even pull at her bonds to make people do what she wanted, often causing discomfort when she did so. Pulling at someone's very soul didn't sound pleasant at all, the opposite actually.

"Grab her bottle and she should be fine," Rose muttered to herself, grabbing one of the many blood filled baby bottles that she would constantly have to use to feed her child since Anora wasn't taking it straight from the bag. "Honey please don't cry, Mommy has food coming right now."

"Telling her to stop crying isn't going to help, babe," Rose glared at her mate before handing her the blood, which she took happily. Sucking down most of the contents, the little hybrid smiled and giggled, sticking out her tongue. "Why does she do that?"

"Probably just a happy baby," I say, picking her up in my arms, "Aren't you a happy little baby?" Anora cooed in glee and wrapped her warm hand around my finger. "God you are the cutest little thing since Helios came around. Too bad you'll grow up so fast. I want you small forever."

Anora let out a loud coo as Heelie entered the room, carrying some of his school stuff. Rushing over to meet his mate, he kissed her head and took her out of my arms. Placing her down on one of her favorite yellow mats, he started in on his homework, working away as Anora cooed and played with some of her toys. She would stay quiet and happy as long as he was there to help her when she couldn't quite figure out the baby blocks, something that caused her a lot of stress.

"Mamma, what's the cubed root of 729?" My son asks, looking down at his homework.

"9. What level are you at? I was doing that only a few years ago," He shrugs and continues on with his homework. "How is a 6 month old smarter than me? That isn't fair."

"It is what it is, Mamma."

____________________________________________

Six months later

Bringing the last bit of my son's dessert to the table, I relished in what was going to be my last day as a newborn vampire. For the past three months I felt my hunger start to settle, but now I could barely feel it, only a ghost of the past. The sudden shock that I wasn't going to be as powerful as before hit me before anything else. No longer would I have the power to demolish my enemies as I once could, now having to rely on strategy above all else.

These last few days felt like nothing I had ever felt before. My emotions were finally sorting themselves out, if that was even the best way to describe it. The euphoria while feeding was still there, but no longer was I a savage animal while eating my meals. Looking back at what I had been doing to get the most blood in my system, I really was an animal who had been starved. Not that I would have changed what I had done, but the feelings of hunger did overwhelm me.

Watching over Anora and Helios had become my main job when I wasn't at trial, which didn't seem like the worst way to spend my time. My son and his mate, who was the daughter of one of my closest friends, had their own air of light and happiness that surrounded them at all times, bringing those who had the pleasure of being in their midst to feel the same.