‘ALICE! GET YOUR ARSE OUT HERE

NOW!’

My knuckles split as I give her front door

another whack. Wincing at the pain, I

unball my fist and continue to beat the purple wood with a

flat hand. For ten minutes I’ve been

here, attacking her door and getting no

response. I know that she’s in,

because I can hear voices. Two voices. Hers and that of a

guy. Typical Alice to ignore a siege on her

house when she’s busy with a guy.

‘ALICE!’

‘I’m coming!’

‘Finally,’ I mutter, cradling my injured hand to my chest. I

listen to more giggling, then the

thump of someone running down stairs,

and eventually the door is wrenched

open and a breathless and

tousled Alice appears, wearing

nothing but a t-shirt and little knickers. I

raise an eyebrow and smirk. Guiltily

she looks down.

‘Sorry about that,’ she says, smiling, embarrassed. ‘A

friend just arrived.’

‘Friend?’ I ask.

Ushering me into the house, she shrugs.

‘Do you mind if I get dressed quickly?’

‘No,’ I say, shaking my head.

She sits me on a quaint sofa and goes to climb a staircase.

Halfway up she stops. ‘If Erik

appears, ignore him. And ignore the door

too. Anyone I want to see will just let

themselves in.’

I wait, bored, tapping my fingers impatiently on my

thighs, for about two minutes before she

returns, now in jeans, hair pulled

back, and an attractive dark

haired man following, grinning.

‘Now,’ she says as she sits beside me,

‘what can I do for you Carrie?’

‘I want to know what’s going on. The

rest of the Witches and Warlocks have been acting really

weird, and I want to know why. It’s

something to do with me, isn’t it?’

‘She’s not as dumb as I assumed.’

I glare over at the man reclining on the

other sofa. ‘I get it. I’m blonde and

pretty, so that means I’m stupid?’ I snap.

He doesn’t even flinch. Meeting my

gaze levelly, he smiles. ‘I like her

Alice. She has spirit, but you really should teach her not to piss

off a Warlock.’

Alice growls. ‘Erik, shut up. Sorry about

him. Carrie, this is Erik Armstrong, my

co-representative on the Supernatural

Council. We represent Witches

and Warlocks everywhere.’

‘Supernatural Council?’

She shrugs. ‘It’s not really important at

the moment. The short and short is

the we’re a congregation of

Supernaturals who deal with the various

problems that our Races face. Say, if

you had problems to do with your Race, you’d talk to Leah,

your local Elven representative.’

‘Okay,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘This is not

why I’m here.’ I can tell that she’s trying to distract me. She

doesn’t want to tell me what’s wrong.

‘Come on, Alice. What’s happening?

All I get is cryptic clues and nonsense

from everyone! I want to know!’

‘Little girl, this is no time for tantrums,’

Erik says patronisingly. ‘Let us

deal with any problems, and keep

out of it.’

‘That’s it!’ Alice shouts. ‘Get out Erik.

Just go! I swear, the Lycans are more

civilised than you!’

I shrink back in my chair as magic

charges the air around me, sending

my hair on end. It crackles menacingly.

Shooting one last blazing glare at me,

he stalks off. Not far, only to the far side

of the room, where he sits at a small

table. I feel his eyes hot on the back of

my head, but ignore him.

‘Carrie, you have to understand that

there are things that we cannot presume

to question. That many of our choices are made for us, no

matter how wilful and independent we imagine ourselves to

be. Sometimes we just have to accept the crap as it falls,

knowing that there is nothing that we can

do about it.’

I stare, open mouthed. ‘Okay, who

are you and what have you done with

Alice?’

She doesn’t even crack a smile. I feel

my heart rate accelerate painfully.

‘What is that delicious aroma? Could it be Elf?’

Tightly wound as it is, I practically spin

and fall off of my chair as a new voice

enters the conversation.

Breathing in, I gag, the acrid smell

strong in the air.

Vampire.

‘Carrie, this is Vladimir, I know,

imaginative name for a Vamp and yes he is from Romania. Vlad,

this is Carrie Havar. No eating her.’

The Vamp shrugs. ‘Whatever. There’s

plenty of other Elves in this town.’

‘Leave her family alone too. You know

what Leah’s like.’

Shrugging again, he comes and takes the seat Erik evacuated.

‘With Seth retired, she’s the only thing

stopping me.’

‘Actually we’ve already replaced Seth. Bad luck.’

‘Seth?’ As in my Seth?

‘He used to be the second Elven

representative, but when you proposed,

he retired. It’s a dangerous job, and

he wanted to stay with you.’

‘Great, so even Seth is in on this huge

secret? Surely not knowing is worse

than knowing, because all of these

cryptic clues are giving me a migraine.’

‘Sometimes ignorance is best,’

Alice says, meeting my eyes fiercely. ‘It’s

complicated, you won’t understand

and we are dealing with it. I’ve never let

you down, have I Carrie?’ She sighs

heavily, staring at the ceiling. ‘I’ll tell you

when you graduate. Okay? For now, just

enjoy college. I won’t let anything happen

to you.’

‘I know.’

So I have to wait until graduation, two

years from now, to find out what the

hell is happening? Well, maybe I can

bully the information out of Seth…no,

that’s mean. I trust Alice. If I needed to

know, she’d tell me.

‘Helsing mentioned something about

Amber Rae being on your territory. That’s

connected to this, isn’t it?’

‘Amber Rae is a problem,’ she

agrees, ‘but I can handle her. She’s a

lone Lycan, far from troublesome to a

group of our size.’

‘Lycans are easy. Throw a stick and

they’re gone.’

‘Erik! Do you have to be such a racist? Lycans would no

sooner chase a stick than you would grow a

wart on the end of your nose and start

cackling.’

His lip curls. ‘That was my mother.’

‘Is that everything?’ she asks, turning back

to me. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but we’re

very busy. The aliens are arriving later, and

we have a meeting with the Elven

representative. I have to check in with Luna

and Hale to see if they can make it, and if

they can bring supplies, and then

there’s negotiations with a mind reader over his loyalties. I

have to food shopping, because all these bloody Weres are

eating me out of house and home, and then I

have to see how much the builders have

gotten done on my permanent house…’

I make it to the door before another

question bubbles. ‘Who’s Seth’s replacement?

Someone I know?’

‘Yes, you know him. It’s your brother.’

Growling, I turn back to her. ‘Want to be

more specific? I have a lot of brothers.’

‘Edward.’

‘WHAT!?! He’s a kid!’

‘He’s at college now, and he’s also very

smart, kind and intuitive. Plus, he can

deal with Emmett and he’s a hit with the simselves. The boy almost has as

many fans as Bennie.’

‘But…’

‘Shh.’

‘What does Mum think about this?’

Everyone in the room laughs. ‘Since

when did Regina care about any of

her kids? Bar Felix, of course. It’s Klaus I’d

be worried about, but he has said that it’s okay for Edward

to help us out. He knows I won’t let

anything happen to the little tyke, and it

gives him more screen time, which

pleases his swooning mob of fans.

Everyone’s a winner.’

Great. The fate of my Race lies in the

hands of my kid brother. Sublime. However, I really

have bigger things to worry about, namely

Seth and my impending wedding.

'Hey baby.'

My eyes roll, as they always do when he calls me baby. 'Hey

Seth.'

'You okay?'

I nod sincerely. 'Perfect.'

That makes him smile. 'Good.'

'So, who do you want to invite to the

wedding.'

I groan, turning my face into his

shoulder. 'I still have two more years at

college. Do we really have to do this now?' I whine.

He laughs tiredly. 'Okay, but we'll need

to plan it at some point. I'm not letting

you get away from me, Carrie.'

Grinning I throw myself into his arms, attacking his mouth

with mine.

'I'm not running,' I purr.

And then all marriage

conversation is averted. Again.

'I just want it to be perfect,' he admits a

lot later. 'I want to stand at the alter and

have you walk towards me in the perfect

dress, with everyone we care about around

us.'

Indulgently I smile. 'You never give up, do

you?'

He shrugs. 'Nope.'

'How about a small wedding. I'm assuming

our new house has a garden.'

He nods, grinning, knowing how much it

annoys me that he won't let me see our

house until I move in.

'Then we can have the wedding there. Just

family and close friends.'

His blue eyes sparkle happily. 'Sounds

wonderful.'

'Duh.'

'Hello?'

Exhausted and wondering what kind

of idiot is calling at this insane hour.

'Carrie?'

Oh. 'Hey, Helsing. What's up?'

She gasps slightly, as though in pain. 'I'm

in labour.'

'CRAP! I'll be right over!'

Rather than waiting for a reply, I slam

down the phone and run towards

Helsing's house. Oh my gosh!

'Are you okay?' I ask when she waddles

out of her house to greet me.

'Sure,' she says, hugging me. 'It'll be

a bit longer.'

I scrutinize her face. 'How can you be so

calm?' I demand. Whenever Mum

gives birth she lets us all into her pain.

'I've had three kids before,' she says,

tugging me into the house. 'And it makes

Jim upset if I admit how much pain I'm

really in.'

'Ahhh!'

We all gather as she gives the final push. The reactions of her

sons are varied. Admes, the toddler,

barely notices. He doesn't even leave his toys. The next oldest,

Armand, watches with a combination of

fascination and horror, while the

eldest, Angel, seems bored. Jim flutters

uselessly about his wife, clearly wanting

to help but not knowing what to do,

while I just stand there, trying to block

out the screams.

I am so not going to be able to do this.

'FINALLY! Helsing calls when it's all

over. 'A girl!'

Everyone laughs. Helsing's desire for a

daughter is well known.

'What will you call her?' Angel asks, smiling slightly.

'Akasha. Little Akasha Pyre.'

'Nice name,' I say.

'Here,' she says, holding the baby

out. 'You take her. Say hello to your

Auntie Carrie, Akasha.'

Awkwardly I take the child, unsure of what

to do.

Then I meet her indigo eyes and my heart melts. I hold

her close to my chest and coo nonsense at

her.

'She is so sweet!' I say, stroking her tiny

back.

Behind me Armand snorts. 'Yeah right.'

'She really is. And I am going to spoil

you so much,' I tell the baby, kissing her

nose. 'More than I spoil my real nieces

and nephews, because I had to

witness you being born, and that was

gross.'

Helsing laughs. Still grinning I hand the

baby back to her mother. 'I have to

go,' I say, wanting to give the family time

to adjust. 'I have a paper due

tomorrow.'

I do have a paper to finish, but rather

than heading to my computer, I grab my

guitar.

I've been around babies all my life. I have more siblings

that I can count, and I have many little

nieces and nephews, with the constant promise of more.

But something about being there for

Akasha's birth made me realize that I

wouldn't mind having one for

myself. To me, kids were something over

people had and I avoided. Sticky and

smelly and noisy and something I never even considered.

Maybe having one wouldn't be too

awful.

Just one though. Babies are stinky and smelly and sticky and

birth is painful and gross.

But one would be okay. And it would

make Seth so happy.

'What was that for?' Seth asks a few

weeks later after a particularly intense greeting. We really

don't get to see each other enough.

'Helsing had her baby. A cute little

girl.'

He blinks at me. 'Did you just call a baby

"cute"?'

I nod. 'She really is.'

'Okay, who are you and what have you

done to my Carrie?'

Laughing, I poke his nose. 'Silly Seth.' I

pause, biting my lip. 'Actually, I was thinking that I

wouldn't mind having one of them

for myself.'

His shock is obvious and unflattering.

'What?'

'I want a baby some day, Seth. When

Helsing let me hold Akasha...something happened. It was so

magical. I really wouldn't mind

having one of them now.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. You and I would make a cute

baby.'

'Are you serious?' he asks.

I frown at his expression. 'What's

wrong? I thought you were all about

kids.'

'I am, but you aren't. Carrie, every time I

would even mention babies you would

run a mile.'

I sigh, taking his face in my hands. 'That's because every time

you said baby, I imagined my mother,

with her countless kids, all bitter and

angry. But we won't have that many. One or two, at the most.'

'So we're really going to get married and

have a baby.'

Smiling at his radiating happiness,

I nod. 'I guess we are.'

'Wow. I cannot believe that I

convinced Carrie Havar to settle down

and have a family.'

'It hasn't happened yet,' I warn.

'You are not getting out of it now!'

We spend the rest of his visit practicing

making babies, which is a lot of fun

and a welcome interlude between

classes and papers.

'So, you made a choice then?'

'Yes,' I tell Francis, loading up my

decrepit computer. 'I chose Seth. No more

cheating. Ever.'

'Good.'

Something hits me. 'Francis, you're a warlock, right?'

'Yes,' he answers hesitantly.

'What do you know about a Supernatural

Council?'

'Nothing.'

I don't believe him, but drop it. He's as

likely to crack to pressure as a

diamond.

My final two years at college pass so fast, and before too long I'm getting ready to

leave.

Tying up loose ends becomes a priority, like getting my old friend Dagmar to

watch over the college house for

me.

My last days are awful. I feel so sick.

Every morning I throw up, and the

smell of food makes me nausious, and yet

I'm always hungry.

It sucks.

But I soon find myself calling Seth to pick me up and take

me to our new home.

Thank the gods, because I need a

nap.

'Come on Seth!' I whine, pulling at his hands over my eyes.

'I feel really crap and just want to sleep!'

Theatrically sighing, he removes my

blindfold and turns me towards a cute

little brick house with a little picket

fence and flowers.

'Welcome home.'

'Ready for the tour?'

I catch a glimpse of a lot of white and

cream though the front windows. 'As long as it's not too

scary.'

'If it is you can hide in my chest,' he

promises.

'It's very...clean,' I comment, walking

into the living room.

'I know, it's awful,' he says, 'but this is

the public bit of the house, so I made it

more user friendly.'

'Oh,' I say. 'That makes sense.'

'Wanna see the bedroom.'

I laugh as his arms wide around my

waist. 'Couldn't even wait five minutes,

could you?'

Growling into my ear, shuffling me

towards the stairs, he says, 'nope.'

'It's perfect!' I squeal, running my

hands over the bright silk bedding.

'Just perfect!'

'I thought you'd like it. That door leads to

the bathroom, and this one...'

'...leads to your Carrie room.'

I stare at the yellow and pink room,

amazed. Applepop, my guitar is there. A

ballet bar and a huge stereo system. A new

computer and Francis. Everything I

could ever want.

'Thank you!' I say, tears welling. 'I so do

not deserve this!'

'I disagree. And there's one more

room, so don't thank me yet.'

I take one step into the last room, then

back out.

The nursery.

'You okay?' Seth asks as I close the door.

'It looks lovely.'

'Too real?'

I nod. 'And there's something else.'

'What?' he asks, concerned. Of

course.

'We'll be filling it sooner than

planned.' The sickness started

making sense yesterday, after a trip

to the doctor. 'I'm pregnant. About two

months along.'

He tries to contain his smile, but fails.

'I'm going to be a dad.'

'Yes.'

I miss out on whatever victory

dance he had planned, as another

round of sickness has me crouched

over the toilet.

This sucks so much!

'Oh, baby,' he says, holding me close

once my stomach is empty and my teeth

brushed for the tenth time. 'This must be so awful for you.'

I laugh at his guilty expression. 'You are

going to do something HUGE to

make up for this.'

His arms go under my legs, lifting me

up. 'I can think of something.'

Much, much later, with me in a better

mood, I lay in bed with Seth curled

against my chest, snoring lightly.

I guess this married lark won't be too

bad. My family and friends will be over

tomorrow to witness the wedding, and

then Seth and I will settle down, raise

this little baby, and be happy forever

after.

There have been worse ways to end

up.

Seth has one last surprise for me,

which arrives just before the wedding. I run downstairs and outside, ignoring the

fact that I'm in my undies, and tackle

the huge dog. Seth watches, amused,

from the front door.

'Her name is Ladybug,' he

supplies. 'I saw her and knew that she

was for you.'

'Thank you!' I scream, rubbing my

mutt's belly.

Life really can not get better.

'Your family are so crazy.'

I smile over at Seth as we wait for my family to organize

slightly. 'You're telling me? I've had

to put up with them since birth!'

He laughs. 'Makes me wish I had some kind of family left.'

I bite my lip. Seth never talks about his

parents, but I guess something bad must

have happened.

As we exchange rings, I have to fight to stop from hitting my brothers. Their

catcalls are so annoying. After one

particularly loud one from Brian, Seth has to physically restrain me to stop me from

pouncing.

'Leave it,' he whispers into my

hair. 'You can punch him when you're

done here.'

Everyone applauds at the end, but none as loud as Mum and

Dad. I guess they assumed this day

would never come.

'Carrie's all grown up,' Dad says sadly.

'My special little girl.'

Mum snorts. 'She'll never grow up. It's

Carrie.'

Hmph.

The "kiss the bride" bit was

awesometastic. Our first kiss as Mr and

Mrs Havar (he agreed to take my

name as there was no way I was

becoming Carrie Sims. Eww). As it

grows in intensity, the shouts begin,

and reluctantly we pull away so I can

glare at my family.

'Carrie!'

I run into my dad's arms. 'I'm married,

Daddy!'

'I know! I'm shocked.'

'Me too,' I admit. It feels weird. When I

was little, I swore that I'd always live with my daddy. He

was the centre of my universe. It's weird

to think we'll hardly see each other

anymore. He'll be busy with his kids,

and me with mine.

Scary.

'May I have this dance, Mrs Havar?'

I turn to Seth and frown. 'There's no

music.'

'So?' He takes me hands and starts

twirling. 'We're married and I want a

first dance.'

'FINE!'

'So, how does it feel to be married?'

I shrug. 'Okay, I guess. I don't feel

that different really. I knew I had you

forever anyway.'

'I guess so.'

'GET A ROOM!'

I growl at Brian, who grins. 'I would, but

it's the middle of my wedding party and

that would be rude.'

That makes everyone laugh. I don't get to enjoy it, as another

wave of morning sickness hits.

'I like your dress.'

I blink down at Ruby, my niece and

Bellatrix's daughter. 'Did your mum tell you to say that?' I tease, pulling her

pigtails.

'No!' she says earnestly. 'I really like it. When I get married I want a dress like that!'

Seth laughs. 'You sure you want one of

these?'

I poke out my tongue at him.

'My mummy says that you're having a baby.'

'I am,' I say, wondering how Trixie found out. I

only told Donna and...BRIAN! I will kill

him.

'You don't look big enough to have a baby

inside you.'

I grin at that. 'I'm only a little bit pregnant.

Soon I'll be huge.'

'Will it hurt? When the baby comes out.'

'Yes.' I don't believe in lying to kids. It's

wrong.

'Hmm.' She looks all thoughtful for a

moment. 'That must be why Mummy only has me. And because

I'm so perfect.'

With that she turns on her heel and flounces

off.

I like her.

The party begins to simmer down, but

there's no rest of the wicked. The phone

rings, and Seth is busy chatting to Admes and Alex

about their travels.

'Hello. Carrie Havar speaking.'

'Carrie?'

I freeze. Crap. 'Geoff?'

'You don't seem pleased to hear from

me.'

'I am,' I lie. 'It's just a bad time.'

'Having a party without me?' he

jokes.

'Well...yeah. I just got married like

three hours ago.'

That gets him. 'What?'

'Married, Geoff. Look, sure, we dated

a few times, years ago, but that's it. I'm happy with Seth and we're having a baby.'

'BABY?'

I hold the phone away from my ear,

wincing. 'Yes. I'm two months

pregnant.'

The phone goes dead and I sigh.

Great.

'Speaking to other boyfriends while I'm

occupied?'

I blush as Seth sidles up to me. 'Kinda. Ex-

boyfriend of sorts. He wasn't pleased about the news.'

'About how you're a married mother-to-

be?'

I nod. 'Yeah, that.'

'Well, who would be. I have taken the

most beautiful woman in Mayville off of the market. I

expect there are many men fuming at

the loss.'

My eyes roll. 'How did you get me to agree to this with

lines like that.'

'If I remember, you proposed.'

'Oh yeah. That explains it then.'

'You are happy?'

I grin over at him. A month has passed

since the wedding, and everything's

been so...great. Easy. I had worried at living with Seth

would be hard, but it isn't. It's the easiest

thing in the world. He makes it so easy.

The baby, on the other hand, isn't so

easy to live with.

The sickness refuses to ease. If anything, it gets worse every

day. I talked to Mum and my sisters about it, but none of them

had any helpful advice. I guess this is

just something I need to ride out.

Of course Seth makes things as easy

as possible, taking care of all the chores so that I can relax. It would work better if

he remembered to scrape the plates

before putting them in the dishwasher,

but he does try.

'AHHHH!'

'What is it?'

I hear Seth slide to a halt behind me. 'I

just popped.'

He laughs, relieved. 'Thank the gods. You

had me worried then.'

I smile and run into the house. 'I wanna

see this thing!'

Alone in our room, I run a hand over the

bump.

'I'm a hippo!' I wail to myself. 'An actual

manatee.'

But part of me thrills. I can see the

baby, the little person inside me. He

or she is there, a part of me, and in a

few months it'll be a person.

I need to sit down.

‘This is a bad idea.’

The Lycan pauses only long enough to

snap her teeth at her companion. ‘Shut

your face or I’ll make it a permanent addition to the

pavement.’

‘But, Amber-’ he starts, before he’s cut off by a flying

chair. ‘Fine!’ he concedes, throwing

up his hands and sitting on the sofa.

‘Whatever.’

She doesn’t reply. Brushing her long blonde hair away

from her face, she continues pacing the

room.

‘You know Carrie Havar,’ she asks,

turning abruptly on her heel and stalking

towards the man.

‘Y…yes,’ he stutters, distressed by her

closeness. ‘Intimately.’

Her eyebrow rises. ‘Ah, yes. Before we

met you were rather close.’ Lips pursed

thoughtfully she continues to pace. ‘Hmm…this could work out well for

me.’

Too scared to ask what she means, he just watches as she continues to pace,

back and forth, and back again. Eyes

flickering with her movement, he

begins to feel sick.

‘I’m guessing that you are still friends with

Miss Havar?’

He shrugs. ‘It’s Mrs now, and yes.’

‘Mrs?’

‘She got married a month or so ago.’ He

winces, afraid that his news will fall on angry

ears. When she doesn’t hit him, he

cracks open an eye.

Amber’s lips curve with a predatory

gleam of fangs. ‘Good. That will make the

game even more fun. Her husband?’

‘Seth Sims. He used to be on the Supernatural

Council, but retired when he and Carrie

got engaged.’

A happy laugh breaks free, a total

contradiction to her usual self. ‘This keeps

getting better and better. Anything else?’

‘She pregnant. About three months gone.’

Amber’s breath halts completely. Her

honey eyes widen, mouth agape. ‘Oh

my! A baby? This is great!’

‘It is?’ the man asks, frowning. ‘I thought you wanted to stop

her from having a family.’

She turns on him and smiles. ‘I do, and

this will seal the deal. First, we’ll wait

for the baby to be born. And then I

have a job for you, my friend.’

Still grinning like a kid at Christmas she

spins out of the house and into the forest beyond. The

moon will be full tonight, and she has to prepare. It’s time

to Hunt.