Beloved

27

After waking to the alarm, Gaia and Dante chose to spend a bit more time together alone in their room before joining his parents downstairs. He called the doctor to set up an appointment, getting one for the following day. Then they took a shower.

Michelle and Dante's parents were chatting amicably in the den when Dante and Gaia descended the stairs. The three elders stood and turned to the young couple entering the den.

"Finally, they grace us with their presence," Florian said dryly.

Dante nodded, "Mom, dad, welcome back. Hi Michelle."

Gaia glanced at Dante, then held up the stick, blurting, "I'm pregnant."

A moment of stunned silence met her announcement, followed closely by a high-pitched squeal as Michelle rushed to hug her daughter.

Florian and Arianna both released their breaths and embraced their son, expressing their pride in him and joy for the young couple.

"Have you made an appointment yet," Arianna asked.

"We're scheduled for tomorrow," Dante said. "We just found out this morning."

"So you don't know how far along you are," Michelle stated, giving her daughter a pointed look.

"No more than a day or two," Gaia said. "This should have been the fifth day of heat, but, well...", she shrugged and bit her lip.

Dante smirked, his gaze affectionate on his mate, "My first clue was her sleeping in." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

"Well, congratulations," Florian said, smiling.

"We're going to be grandparents! This calls for a celebration," Arianna said, squeezing her mate's arm, "Florian, reserve a table for us at Vistas."

Dante rolled his eyes. Gaia frowned and blinked. She'd heard of Vistas, of course, but had never thought she'd have an occasion that merited such a place.

"Oh," Michelle's eyes widened, "I should change!" She was wearing one of her nicer dresses, but Vistas was a Michelin rated restaurant, and it had a dress code.

"Not at all," Arianna patted Michelle's arm, "you look lovely." She turned to her son and his mate, "You two, however, need to clean up a bit. Jeans and tee shirts won't do."

"Our table is for half past seven," Florian announced, "That gives us an hour."

Dante sighed and rested his hand on Gaia's back as they turned to head back up to their room.

"How dressy do I need to get," Gaia whispered.

"You could wear that sweater dress you wore when we saw Macbeth."

"This is the third time you've suggested that dress. You must really like it."

"I really like it on you. It enhances your eyes." He opened the door for her.

"My dull gray eyes don't need enhancement."

"Your eyes not dull." He grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him, then lifted her chin with his finger to peer straight into her eyes. "Your eyes have an outer ring of deep violet and the main irises are slate gray with flecks of silver and sea foam green. It's like looking into mini galaxies. Your eyes are magical and I love them. You've just never seen them in proper lighting."

Gaia gaped at him. She'd never thought any part of her could ever be described as 'magical'. "Really?"

Dante took his phone from his pocket and quickly snapped a photo of one of her eyes up close, then showed her. "Really. Don't ever call your eyes dull again, because they're not."

Gaia bit her lip and nodded.

"Let's get dressed. It's a twenty minute drive to the restaurant, so we really don't have much time."

Gaia ducked into the bathroom to clip her hair into a simple twist updo and apply a touch of mascara and tinted lip balm to her face. Then she went into the closet to slip into a gray cashmere high neck dress over a silk slip and tights that she paired with black low-heeled knee high boots.

"You look lovely, but your look is missing something," Dante said, giving her a critical once over before turning around to open a drawer of his dresser.

Gaia blinked and checked through a mental tally. She had her hair up, a touch of makeup, and the same outfit she'd worn on two previous dates. What could she possibly be missing?

Dante turned back around with a slender velvet box in his hands. He opened it, watching her expectantly.

Gaia gasped when her eyes lit on the contents of the box in her mate's hand. Inside was a white gold matching jewelry set of trilliant diamonds and marquise emeralds flower ear studs and necklace.

"Dante, this is beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you." He waited for her to change out the plain gold studs she normally wore, then clasped the delicate chain around her neck.

"There," He stepped back to admire her. "You look like an angel."

Gaia scoffed, "You're just saying that."

He clasped her hand in his, "I say it because it's true," and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her close and waltzing her out of the closet. "You're my angel." He leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Kids! Come on, we're going to be late!"

Dante smirked and Gaia giggled. He let her go so she could grab her phone and lip balm to stuff in her clutch. Then they ascended the stairs together, her small hand engulfed in his.

"Gaia, you and Arianna ride with Michelle. I'd like a word with my son," Florian said.

Gaia gave Dante a look of concern and he gave her a reassuring smile as they grabbed their coats. He gave her a final kiss before their mothers swooped her away.

"Don't worry, dear, this will give us a chance to talk about the ceremony," Arianna smiled at Gaia and linked arms with Michelle. She called over her shoulder, "We'll see you boys there."

In the car Arianna and Michelle reminisced over Arianna's luna ceremony during the first ten minutes of the drive into the human city. The rest of the ride Arianna shared her vision for Gaia's ceremony.

**

"What did you want to talk about, dad?"

"Your mate's appearance at that meeting has sent a shockwave through the supernatural communities."

"I imagine so." Dante kept his eyes on the car they were following. His mate and unborn pup were in the passenger seat of that car, and he didn't like to be separated from her.

"We all learned of Angelica's Ember over the summer, so the council has been bombarded by calls from alphas all over the world to keep an eye on the other species and prepare for war since her first shifting. Especially with so many blessed wolves appearing around the world. Most are concerned another uprising of hunters or vampires, and some are worried witches or fey might attack. Gaia's Gray-star has completely changed the nature of concern."

Dante remained quiet, hoping his father would get to the point soon.

"Do you love Gaia."

"With all that I am. She's my everything, she's my soul."