CHAPTER 14

For someone who was physically incapable of sweating, labor was absolute torture. Like cats, vampires usually regulated their body temperature by adapting to the environment, but now, the only thing that could keep me cool as my muscles worked overtime to push a child out was to douse me in ice water.

Edward naturally ran a cooler body temperature than me—not by much, but enough for my overheated skin to feel a difference—and he kept a hand secured on my forehead while also giving me encouraging words.

"You're doing so well, my love. Take your time. He's patient. He won't rush you."

Giving birth wasn't too painful. Not like it was for humans. It was more tedious than anything because it took so many hours, and every time I checked how much of our son I had pushed out, it felt as if he'd only come out a couple millimeters.

I was well into my second day when Mother came in with a tall glass of fresh blood.

It wasn't from Jessica.

In the last few months, I'd gotten so used to her scent I could easily distinguish it from the rest, and this large volume of blood could only mean the person was now dead.

Edward knew it too, but he ignored it since he understood I needed my strength to finish the birth of our son.

"Drink up," Mother instructed and handed me the glass, and I started to gulp it down. "We need to prepare his first meal," she then said and gestured for Edward to give her his arm. With a quick flick, she slit his wrist and instructed him to hold it over a second glass. Once she was satisfied with the amount, she did the same to me, mixing our bloods together.

Edward gave her a quizzical look, and she explained.

"A mix of the parents' blood holds all the nutrients he will need once his connection with Marya is broken. Just like animals need the first milk produced by the mother, he will need your blood to grow strong."

I gritted my teeth together and pushed again. "Mama, how much longer?"

Mother checked, and then stroke my hair gently. "Only a few more pushes." She looked up and locked eyes with Edward. "You should catch him when he comes. The two of you need to bond."

Edward had quickly learned that when it came to vampire pregnancies and births, there was no use in going against my mother, so he did as she told him after giving me one last encouraging kiss. He placed himself at the foot of the bed and gently massaged my thighs and calves as he waited for his son to come out fully.

"He's coming now," he said, and I could feel it. With one last push, our son left my body, and I felt so relieved. It was over, and I wanted to take a swan dive into an icy lake to get cool.

"Unbelievable," Edward breathed out, and I raised my head lethargically to see what he was reacting at. The child in his arms was looking up at him with clear eyes, and when Edward slowly tipped the glass of our blood to help him drink it, he eagerly grabbed it with both hands.

"What?" I asked, unable to understand why Edward had said what he'd said.

He looked at me while still feeding our son. "He's got my eyes. I thought for sure he'd get your brown ones, but they're the same as mine were as a human."

I looked at the child again, and sure enough, the eyes taking in his father were a brilliant, sparkly shade of green. I hadn't considered what Edward's eye color was before his transformation, but seeing it now on our son made me infinitely happy.

"You really don't want to name him Theron, do you?" I asked teasingly, and Edward looked back at him.

"He doesn't look like a Theron to me, but as a middle name perhaps?" he said, meeting me in the middle. "I'd like to name him after myself."

"You want to name him Edward?"

He shook his head. "No, after my own middle name. Anthony." His smile was brilliant as he tore his eyes away from his son and back at me. "In Latin it means—"

"Highly praiseworthy," I finished for him and nodded in approval. "I like it. Anthony Theron Cullen."

"Not Cullen," Edward disagreed. "That's not even my own name. It's Carlisle's." He gently took hold of one of Anthony's small hands. "He is a Dragulia through and through."

Anthony stopped drinking for a second to give his father a toothy smile. "Daddy," he said clearly, and then stretched out his free hand for me. "Momma."

Already feeling more like myself again, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and got up to stand with my small family. Mother looked at us with pride but didn't intrude on our little moment. Instead, she silently left the room.

Edward and I kissed deeply, and Anthony giggled, pleased at seeing the absolute love that was between his parents. I could remember feeling the same after my own birth.

I traced his little cheek with the tip of my finger. "Our own little darling," I murmured. "So handsome."

As I took in every feature of my son, a huge part of me hated that I would have to leave him so soon. We had collectively decided we needed to move fast after the birth because we had already pushed the inevitable war in front of us for too long.

Luckily, we had already explained this to Anthony just before his birth, and now he looked at us as if to say it was okay, even though he didn't speak out loud.

"He understands," Edward translated his thoughts for me. "He'll miss us, but he promises to be good to Grandma."

I leaned over and placed a kiss on top of his head. "I'm going to make sure this world becomes one in which you can live in freedom as yourself," I vowed.

For too long, I had been hiding, living under a false name to keep the Volturi off my radar. That was not going to be my son's life. Not if I had a say in the matter.

Therefore, even though it was with great reluctance, we passed Anthony to Mother so she could take care of him while we were gone. There were already several bags of my blood prepared for him to eat, but he needed some of Edward's as well, so while I washed up and got changed into more appropriate clothing, Mother inserted a sharp, hollow needle into his arm to take what she could without weakening him too much.

When I came back feeling clean and refreshed—I had never been more grateful for vampires' ability to heal and rebound as remarkably fast as we did—Father was talking to Anthony in Edward's arms, acting every bit the proud Grandpa he was.

"Are we ready then?" I asked and happily took my son from his father so I at least got to hold him and hug him once before we left.

"Yes. As good as."

My arms didn't want to give Anthony to Mother, but I forced myself to do it, and as we backed out of the house to keep our eyes on him for as long as possible, he raised his small hand and waved at us.

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Be safe!"