One Hundred and Thirty-three

Tom talked about love, and working through the hard times, and enjoying the blessings when they come. Alex and Mable offered the wedding bands when the time came. Bram’s chest felt like it was going to explode as he slid Izabella’s onto her finger. She was his. They were cementing their relationship, and promising to give their all to one another. He never could have imagined doing this before. Yet, right now, he knew she would always be there. They would always love each other, and they could handle anything together.

“You may kiss the bride.” Tom announced. As Izabella and Bram stepped into each other, his lips worked over hers in the sweetest way. His wife. His lover. The mother of his *children*. Even now, Rosie was safe and warm, growing in her womb. She turned his life upside down, and made the impossible, possible.

Cupping her face in his hands, he pulled away. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asked, tears still shining in her eyes as she looked up at him full of love and joy.

“For being.” Her lips met the end of his nose, and those around them clapped.

The harp started to play again, and the children mingled together, laughing and playing. Bram and Iz hugged their friends, thanking them. And Scarlet smiled, announcing that they had a feast awaiting them. Eudom didn’t go far, staying as close to Gavin as he could when Izabella was otherwise occupied. Jen stayed with Vlad, both of whom avoided Iz and the kids. As they sat and enjoyed their meal, Bram could barely keep his hands to himself. He and Iz were in a world all their own, and she seemed much more comfortable with it, especially with everyone here. Bram was happy that she was so comfortable with Gavin and Tyler, and put so much faith in them. If anything did happen to him, he was glad there were others she could lean on.

He had a moment of jealousy when Iz went to talk with Gavin and Eudom alone. Yet, he was happy she had friends they could trust. Tyler was at the bar, so Bram decided to join him. “You’re good, right?”

“I’m good. I’m happy you’re happy.” Tyler said, smiling over before downing the rest of his drink.

Bram nodded, ordering a whiskey. “We won’t stop being us. It’ll just be different.” Turning in his chair, he looked directly at Tyler. “Gavin is good for you.”

“Is he?” Tyler smiled, but it was hard. “Or are you just happy with the results?”

“Why are you fighting so hard?” Bram asked. It was time to get serious. This couldn’t continue. Tyler was likely to burn his relationship to the ground. “I’m happy, Tyler. I want you to be too.”

“I am.” With a waive of his hand, another drink appeared in front of him. “Bram, I’m happy. Izabella’s good for you. Gavin’s good for me. I just need time. This has all happened really fast.” Tyler’s shoulders slumped, and he looked defeated. “At least for me. I’m having a hard time with a lot of it. But, Gavin makes me smile and makes me feel really good. I’m happy. But I’m not over the loss. I will be. One day.”

“I love you, Tyler.” Bram placed his hand over Tyler’s.

“I love you too.” He smiled, but didn’t look at Bram. Tightening his hand around Bram’s as they sat there, sipping their drinks. “I think this is good though. It’ll be helpful. You and Izzy and Gavin and me. He’s getting more comfortable with me talking to you. But we need to be careful. He’s not as content with it as Izzy.”

Bram pulled away. He understood that. “Okay.” He took a sip. “How’s everything going with Gabe?”

“Not well.” Tyler’s shoulders slumped some more. “He knew we were following him. Bram, I think he’s a lot more like you than we want to admit.”

“That’s not good news.” He drank deeply. “And how is Jen doing with everything? I haven’t actually gotten to talk with her much.”

“Not well. Gabe is awful to her when he does finally allow her to get close. We’re lucky she hasn’t decided to run away with him. But I think that’s because she knows he’s not safe to around for long. There’s little we could do if she decided to leave with him. We could follow, but it’s clear we wouldn’t be able to fight. A whole new breed of vampire may come about because of this. We’ve watched, and know he hasn’t changed anyone else yet, but if he decided to…” The idea of it hung in the air and both the men sitting at the bar shivered with the thought of the unsaid words. Tyler had half an idea of what it was like when he was young. But only Scarlet and Vlad really knew. Mihaela may have been able to add insight, but she took whatever secrets she had about being a scorned mate with her to the grave.

“She’ll follow him around like a little puppy while he starts waging some of the bloodiest wars you’ll ever see.” A deep voice resonated behind them. Both Tyler and Bram turned to see Vlad standing there, arms crossed over his chest. “I know you remember your mother and I trying to kill you, but I doubt you ever recognized the reason we would do such a thing. Especially after everything we went through in order to be able to have you in the first place.”

Bram had never cared to listen to their excuses before. It had never meant anything to him before. Now things were different. Maybe he could learn more about how to deal with Gabe. “You clearly have some insight from having delt with me as a young blood.” Bram drank deeply of his cup. “Take a seat. We’ll listen.”

Vlad swept onto one of the stools. Despite the injury on his leg, he was as poised and elegant as ever. There was a large, dark hole in the side of his face still. It was enough to make your stomach turn looking at Vlad’s teeth through the burnt skin. “You destroyed our entire country. Riddled it with decades of war and violence. All because your hunger couldn’t be satiated, and you couldn’t keep your prick in your pants.” The bar tender came over to offer Vlad a drink, but shied away as the vampire glared at him with those dark, hooded eyes. “Gabe, likewise, will be just like that. Once, when you were really young, you tried to turn someone. It was a mess. You weren’t in your right mind at the time, and it was one of the times I went after you myself. I couldn’t let another monster like you run amuck in our world. It was already my fault that you were here.” He narrowed his dark eyes at Bram. “I’m glad you finally calmed. I’m not upset that you’ve found your way back here, with a with a wife and child no less. One who is brave and strong, smart too. You should be proud of what you’ve built.”

Tyler looked from Bram to Vlad. “How long did it last?” He leaned forward, looking concerned. “The fighting?”

“Too long.” He shrugged, giving little weight to the actual time frame.

“You say that like I just ran amuck all that time.” Bram growled.

Rolling his hand in the air, Vlad chuckled. “You had more bad moments than you did good. There was a reason your mother and tried like hell to get you to take over the vampire underworld. We were hoping that if we could give you something to focus on fighting, you would drop your desire for war. Eventually you found something you preferred more than painting the ground red, but you took your time finding it. Or you just eventually stopped enjoying it. When you were wild, Mihaela was the one who suffered the most. You were her mate, Bram.” He finally looked over, meeting Bram’s steady gaze. “You did some pretty horrible things to that poor girl. We took her side for a reason.”

Bram frowned, looking away. He didn’t remember it like that at all. But when he tried to reach back in time through his memories, it was hazy. He could remember fighting with his parents and Mihaela, but he could never remember why they fought in the first place. This gave him plenty to think about. He sighed, tipping the rest of his drink down. Gavin and Jen were heading their way now.

“Hey, Bram, Izabella’s ‘turning into a pumpkin’, in her own words. I think she’s ready to enjoy the wedding night.” Gavin winked, leaning back against Tyler as he swiveled in the stool.

Bram didn’t need to be told that twice. With a nod, he stood. “That’s my que to bring my wife to bed.” Despite the heavy conversation, Bram smiled. Each of them shook hands, and he placed a hand on Jen’s shoulder as he passed her. “You’ll stay a few days. Scarlet and Vlad’s apartments are safe. You’ll be well fed. We’ll figure out how to help him.” To his surprise, Jen threw her arms over his shoulders and hugged him close.

“Congratulations, Bram. Give this to Izzy for me. I miss her so much. I can’t wait until she and I can be close again. The kids too. Dealing with Gabe wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t miss everyone so much. Thank you for having Gavin and Tyler come for me. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. As long as we all work together, we’ll get through this. I know we will.”

Bram kissed her forehead, “You’re right, we’ve got this.” He smiled, holding her close. “Izzy misses you too. Want to know a secret?” She nodded, “You can’t tell anyone yet. Iz wants to be there.” She promised, bouncing on her toes. “Izzy’s pregnant with Rosie. She’s going to carry her as long as she can.”

Jen pulled him closer, half squealing in excitement. “That’s so amazing! Contrats. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. We’ll keep an eye on the kiddos.”

“Good night, dear. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Bram let her go, waving as he turned on his heals. Passing the kids, who were acting like crazy people on the dance floor, he called out good nights. They ran circles around him for a moment, before running off with a giggle.

Izabella was sitting in a corner with Eudom, her head resting on their shoulder. She waved at his approach. Smiling. “I hope I didn’t peel you away from anything too exciting.”

“Oh, darling. Believe me, I don’t mind being called by you.” He knelt in front of her for lack of room on the chair. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself.”

Izabella sat forward, running her hand through his hair. “I have. But I’m looking forward to heading upstairs.” Eudom sat forward, placing a hand on each of their shoulders as they passed through the shadows.