Yes, having a baby scared me. But now the prospect of not ever being able to have one scared me more. As with most things in life, you only realized what you wanted when it was taken away from you.

I realized how much I wanted to have a child with Xavier.

“But are you sure, Viv? I’m afraid you’re just doing this for me.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m not.”

“But now of all times? When the safety of the island is still in the balance? Is now the best time for us to turn back into humans and for you to bear a child?”

I’d considered this already. How could I not have?

Holding my husband’s head in my hands, I kissed his cheek. “There never will be a perfect time. I’ve come to realize that. It could be that in the future it will seem even more impossible. We’re safe for now with Mona. I… I don’t want to delay any longer. Who knows what could happen in even ten years?”

“But—”

“Something tells me we’re as safe now as we’ll ever be. There will always be some danger lurking round the corner. We just have to do the best we can to protect our child, like Derek and Sofia.”

His thumbs brushed the sides of my face, his eyes still drilling into mine. “But darling, this is a time when we need to be strong. Stronger than ever. There was a seventeen-year gap when nothing happened… when we could have…”

“I know,” I said, swallowing back the lump in my throat. “I know. It was a mistake not having one before. But I don’t want to look back at this period and realize we made the same mistake again.”

“Neither do I,” he said. “But I also don’t want us to regret having one now. I think we should wait—a few weeks—to see how things play out with Annora. For all we know, we could be driven out of this island by then.”

I sighed. “All right. A few weeks. But after that, no more waiting.”

Chapter 24: Rose

The weekend passed slowly. Griffin came to visit me on Saturday, for which I was grateful. He seemed to have cheered up a bit from the last time I saw him. I guessed that it was the absence of Micah. For whatever reason, Griff seemed to be tense around him, so I was careful not to bring him up. However, when Griffin asked if I wanted to go for a swim after lunch, I had no choice but to mention the werewolf.

“I’m grounded,” I said, scowling.

“What did you do?”

“I got home too late.”

“How come?”

I looked down at my empty plate and fiddled with my fork. “I wanted to watch Micah turn. And then, well, things just got a bit out of hand. He gave me a ride on his back and… Anyway, my dad grounded me this weekend.”

“That’s a shame,” Griff said. “It’s a beautiful day on Sun Beach.”

I groaned. “Yeah, I bet. Well, don’t let me stop you. I’ve got homework to catch up on anyway.”

I stood up and began washing the dishes. Griff took the hint and got up too.

“Okay,” he said, patting me on the shoulder, “I’ll see you around then.”

“See you, Griff.”

As soon as he’d left the apartment, I sought out Ben in his room. He was lying on his stomach in bed, listening to music and doing algebra, still in his pajamas.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled away one of his earbuds.

“I need you to do me a favor,” I said, bending down to his level.

“Hm?”

“Micah. I just need you to tell him that I’ve been grounded for the weekend, or he’ll think I’m rude for not showing up today. We’d agreed to meet on the beach this evening.”

“All right,” Ben grunted, replacing the earbud in his ear. “I’m going out later. I’ll let him know then.”

“Thanks,” I said, ruffling his hair and leaving the room.

I finished tidying up the kitchen, then headed to my own bedroom where I proceeded to finish the homework that was due in on Monday. It was late afternoon by the time I’d finished a particularly grueling set of calculus exercises.

I flopped back on my bed, only to sit up a moment later on hearing a knock at my door.

“Come in,” I said.

My mother appeared in the doorway.

“Hi, Rose,” she said, sitting on the bed next to me and brushing a hand over my arm. “Dad told me you’ve made friends with Micah.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, wanting nothing more than to just take a nap.

“He seems a friendly, talkative type.”

“It’s not like I’ve known him for more than an afternoon,” I said, frowning at her.

I found it odd that she’d come to talk to me about Micah when he was barely more than an acquaintance. I sensed that my mom had detected I had felt something for Caleb, though I was thankful she’d never expressed her thoughts to me, saving me from embarrassment. Perhaps now she was happy I’d made friends with another guy.

I was relieved when she changed the subject.

“We’re going out. Your father and I have a meeting with the Novalics. We’ll probably be back late. I just wanted to warn you not to try to go out while we’re away. Grandpa’s agreed to stay here on Dad’s request—so don’t bother.”

Although it hurt that my father didn’t trust me, I could hardly blame him. I’d given him little reason to trust me of late.

“I don’t plan to,” I said curtly. “I still have more homework to finish anyway.”