Twice Taken

From Chapter 58:

Kara hungrily fed from each, pulling away at Sebastian’s command then sliced her wrist open to fill ever-hungry chalices with her blood. Four times they came back for more, and four times volunteers came forward to donate to the cause. When it was over, Kara’s blood had saved nearly two hundred that would have not survived otherwise. The rest were healed with potions, spells and the touch of a healing Mage, and the island was soon buzzing with happy life again.

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Chapter 59

Time moved quickly after the battle. Vincent spent the early morning hours of each day rubbing healing oils onto Kara’s ever-growing abdomen, helping to reduce the stretch marks that could get so tight that they would bleed. He also spent time helping her study so that she would be able to finish her online classes and obtain her degree from college after the babies were born.

Nikolai was there to check on her throughout each day, and he made sure that she was eating and drinking properly. Bouts of morning sickness would crop up from time to time, and he was there to help her through it. When she had a hard time breathing because the boys were too high up, he and the others would ask them to move lower, and it usually helped, but sometimes she still needed to draw from him to make it through her day.

Sebastian helped Kara with her mood swings, sometimes asking Vincent for backup when she became terribly upset or depressed. They worked together to remind her that she was still beautiful in their eyes, and that she was loved, wanted, needed, and cherished by them all. He spent most of the time that she needed him just listening to her and dampening their sons’ emotions, which were the main cause of her breakdowns.

Christmas came and went; her first with paranormals, but it was good. Kara couldn’t travel, but she did receive videos from those who had returned back to their home packs after the battle. Gifts poured in from around the world, and Kara soon found that she had enough clothes to change her sons clothing ten times a day for four years and not get through each outfit, so she came up with a plan: She would have the boys’ clothes changed at every diaper change, and then she would give the clothes away.

The clothes would be gathered at the end of each day, washed, and then sent to anyone in the Pack or Coven who needed them or to an orphanage if they weren’t needed.

Eventually, Kara had Sophia notify everyone that they, meaning Kara and her husbands, would appreciate building materials more than anything, because the homes that they had built were beginning to overflow from all of the newborns. Evidently, Kara’s second round of heat had produced a storm of new little ones at both the Twin Pack Islands and with the Yankee Pack, and they were once more running out of space.

Jokes were made around the paranormal community about that, but most complied. The Mages being the only stubborn ones, but that was okay, because they actually knew exactly what the foursome needed.

For Valentine’s Day, Kara received a new wardrobe from Nikolai, and a selection of soothing massage oils. He also bought a new massage table, which he promised would be put to use every day. Sebastian got her relaxing music, hundreds of flowers, candles, and new jewelry. Vincent got her audio books and hand-crafted cradles to put in their room until the boys were too big for them.

She ordered their gifts online and laughed when she saw their surprised faces. She got Nikolai a new leather motorcycle jacket, black leather gloves and boots to match, a helmet with a black background and awesome blue tribal artwork over the surface, and a new Harley Davidson Iron 883 motorcycle with a paint job that matched his helmet.

For Sebastian, Kara purchased a new, top of the line computer that was fully customized with as many upgrades as the techies could put into it. She had them install all of the software that he was accustomed to before the blast, and then she had a great new sound system installed in their suite, his office, the man cave, and the games room.

Vincent’s gifts took the longest to decide on, but in the end, she had an art studio constructed quite near the house and filled its shelves to the brim with every form of painting, sculpting, drawing, and coloring tool and supply imaginable. The lower level was set aside for sculpting and things that took up a lot of space, and the upper level was subdivided to give him a place to put his creations without worrying that they would be touched or seen before he was ready.