Greyson

The days following his daughter’s birth were the happiest of Grey’s life. He spent them spoiling both his girls—cuddling and feeding Izzi, and showering Etti with affection and anything her heart desired. They didn’t leave the apartment for days and Grey was happy to stay in their bubble of bliss forever, but he knew everyone was getting anxious to meet Izzi. And he couldn’t blame them. It was selfish to hoard his adorable daughter. But he wanted to spend every second with her, nibbling her toes, singing her lullaby’s, and making a complete fool of himself just to see her smile.

It didn’t hurt that Etti seemed to be just as happy too. She hadn’t stopped smiling since Izzi was born. It was like their perfect little girl had somehow magically healed all the scars Etti bore on her soul. The happiness that radiated from Izzi was infectious. The only thing that made Grey happier than making his daughter smile was watching both his girls giggling at each other. His heart was full and he knew it was time to share it.

Grey’s mother had been begging to visit since they got home, but he held her off, wanting to have some time to adjust to being just the three of them. Of course Wes, Cali and Marc stopped by, but they were practically immediate family. Plus, they always came bearing gifts, like diapers and dinner.

Grey was currently watching Etti change Izzi from the doorway of her nursery. While they were in the hospital, Marc had painted a mural of wolves running through a moonlit forest on the nursery walls and Izzi loved gazing at the artwork.

“You wuv uncle Marc’s wolves, don’t you?” Etti asked in a soft, secret voice she saved only for Izzi. “Yes, you wuv them.” Etti kissed Izzi’s belly to make her giggle and Grey was sure his heart was glowing with joy.

“How are my girls?” he asked walking into the room. “Can I get you anything?”

“Hi, Dada!” Etti said waving Izzi’s tiny hand. “We’re perfect. How ‘bout you?”

“Perfect, too,” he said wrapping his arms around Etti once she scooped up Izzi. “But I was thinking, maybe it’s time to share this perfection with the rest of the people we love?”

Etti smiled. “Okay, I guess we can’t keep all this happiness bottled up forever, can we?” she said kissing Izzi’s rosy cheeks. “Even if I want to.”

“We don’t have to rush it,” Grey added, not wanting to push his mate into anything she wasn’t ready for. He knew how protective mothers were of their cubs.

“No, I’m ready,” she said. “I sorta can’t wait to see your family fall in love with Izzi.”

“My cousin Brooke wants to come, too, if that’s okay?”

“And you like this cousin?” Etti asked again. She’d been leery of Brooke ever since Grey mentioned her.

Grey smirked. “Yes, mama bear. She’s my only cousin. She spent every summer with us growing up. She’s a good person. You can trust her around Izzi. Plus, it’s always good to have another shifter on our side.”

“True. I guess it’s okay. It’s just I’ve never heard you talk about Brooke before.”

“She moved away for college and after that she’s been traveling the world studying art. We don’t get to see each other as much as we used to.”

“Fine,” Etti agreed. “But I want to meet her first.”

“Deal! Thanks, babe.” Grey gave Etti a quick kiss. “I’ll give everyone a call and work out the arrangements.” Grey paused before he left the room. He knew he should probably leave well enough alone, but they couldn’t avoid the issue forever. “And what do you want me to tell your father?” he asked.

Anger flashed in Etti’s eyes. It was quick, and Etti tamped it down for Izzi’s sake, but Grey had seen it.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” she said quietly.

Grey nodded and left the room knowing he couldn’t push Etti about this.

Etti

Etti had enough to worry about without concerning herself with her parents. They had treated her like crap for twenty-six years. So it was hard for her to feel bad for them. Her father asked to meet Izzi two days ago. Etti wasn’t sure how he’d found out she’d given birth, but she knew she couldn’t keep Izzi a secret forever.

Etti was open to letting her father meet Izzi, but not her mother. Grey kept trying to convince her otherwise, especially since they still needed her mother’s help to figure out how to contact Esme. But Etti wasn’t budging. They planned to go back to New Orleans as soon as Izzi was old enough to travel. Etti had been figuring things out on her own her whole life. She didn’t need her parents then, so she wasn’t going to start needing them now.

Plus, she had Grey. And he convinced her they could do anything together. Etti just needed to get through a few more days of showing off Izzi to Grey’s family and then they’d be on their way to New Orleans to figure out how to protect Izzi from the hunt once and for all.

The hunt had been surprisingly quiet lately. Etti had assumed they would try something after her daughter’s arrival. But Cali and Wes had been working with the Wolfes, the shifter clan in charge of the area, and there were no sightings or rumors about them since Derik’s attack at Etti’s baby shower.

The silence was unnerving, but Etti was doing her best to worry less and just enjoy every moment. She knew Izzi could sense her moods, and worry wouldn’t do either of them any good.

She decided to focus on the upcoming visit with Grey’s family. She needed to clean the apartment a bit. It had turned into a wasteland of baby things and takeout containers in the past week.

Etti slipped Izzi into her baby sling so she could keep her near her while she worked. She knew she was going down a dangerous road of helicopter parenting, but if anyone gave her any grief she’d ask them when the last time their children were being hunted by shifters and witches.

“That outta keep ‘em quiet, right baby girl?” Etti asked smiling down at Izzi, who only cooed in response. “That’s right. We don’t care what anyone else says. It’s you, me and Dada against the world.”