Shadow’s Heart (Devil’s Inferno MC #3)

Chapter Forty-Four

Shadow

I ’m far too excited right now. I feel like a kid at Christmas. Wreck keeps looking at me and just smiling and shaking his head at my antics. He’s used to me by now, and if he isn’t well, he really should be. It’s not like I haven’t been like this since the moment we met. I can’t help being overexcited right now. We’re on the way to my brother and Flame’s for family dinner, and not just any family dinner. Nope, it’s the one where they’re going to tell my Dad and Cam about the little bundle Sera is growing. Eck. I can’t wait to see how they react. It’s going to be great.

“Babe. You need to calm down or you’re going to give it away before Wrath and Flame get a chance to say anything.” Wreck says with a laugh as we walk towards my brother’s front door.

“Shit. You’re right. I just can’t help it. I’m dying to see their reactions.”

“I know. Just try and tone it down till they say something.”

“I’ll try.” I say with a pout. A pout that doesn’t stay on my face for long because Wreck leans over and kisses it away.

I don’t bother knocking on the door. Wrath and Flame are expecting us, and they’d probably think I’d lost the plot if I knocked. It wasn’t really that long ago; this was my house too. In some ways it feels like just yesterday I lived here, whereas in others it seems like a lifetime ago. Life is just weird sometimes.

Walking through the house, I can hear voices coming from the kitchen and head in that direction. The smells hitting me the closer I get to the kitchen are causing my mouth to water. It smells absolutely divine in here; clearly Flame is the one cooking tonight. We’re all in for one hell of a treat.

Entering the kitchen, I find Sera and Blade sitting talking to Cam and my Dad. While Wrath and Flame are both standing, loading up food into bowls. It looks like we arrived just in time for food to be served.

“We’re here. The party can start now.” I say cheerfully.

Wrath turns to look at me, rolling his eyes in the process. “It’s dinner, not a party. Stop being an idiot and go sit down.”

Okay, so he sounds stressed as fuck. Glancing towards the table, I see everyone sitting there looking at Wrath with worried eyes. Yeah, we need to get this dinner started so they can tell my Dad and Cam their news and calm the hell down. Without saying another word, we walk over and take our seats at the table with Wrath and Flame only a few steps behind us carrying the bowls filled with food. Placing them down, I finally see what Flame has cooked, and we’re certainly in for a treat. It looks like Flame went all out. We’ve got a full roast with all the trimmings.

“This looks amazing, Flame.” I say as he places the last of the food on the table and heads to his seat next to Wrath, who has already taken his seat.

“Thanks man. Hopefully, it tastes as good as it looks.” Flame says his voice might sound normal, but I can see the stress lines on his face.

“Of course it does. Now enough talk; let’s eat while it’s still hot.” I say, knowing we need to get a move on. I hate seeing the worry and stress both Wrath and Flame are exhibiting right now.

No one argues with me, and they all start piling food onto their plates. I catch Sera’s eye across the table and know without exchanging a word she agrees with me pushing everyone to get a move on. I can’t imagine she likes seeing Wrath and Flame this way right now, especially when she has first-hand experience of how excited they’ve been about the new baby.

Not one word is uttered while we all dig into our food, but that all changes the minute the last person, who happens to be Sera, finishes their last bite of food. I should have really expected him to be the one to notice and say something about the way Wrath and Flame are acting tonight. My Dad isn’t a fool.

“So are you two going to tell us what has you both stressed as fuck?” My Dad asks, not beating around the bush. That’s not his style.

Wrath and Flame turn and exchange glances. Ah, there goes the silent communication they’ve always done. Once they’ve finished having their conversation without words, Wrath glances towards Sera, who I see nod her head in encouragement.

“So, we asked you around tonight because we have some news to share, and we wanted to tell you first before we announce it to the club tomorrow.” Wrath starts, his voice tinged with worry. It’s eerie hearing and seeing my brother this way; normally hes so fucking calm, confident, and collected.

“Son. Take a fucking breath and relax.” My Dad orders, and Wrath knows not to disobey. We all watch as he takes a couple of deep breaths. Which does seem to relax him some, but I know he won’t fully chill out until he’s shared his news and seen everyone’s reaction.

“Thanks Dad. I know I must seem like a total headcase right now, but you’ll understand why in a minute. So, we’ve been keeping a secret these past few months—actually a lot longer than that—but it didn’t matter back then because it wasn’t a reality. It is now thanks to Sera.” Wrath stops speaking, sending a massive smile towards our sister, and I get it she changed the game in such a magnificent way. “Anyway, I’m getting off track. After Cam came to live with us, both myself and Flame realized how amazing being a parent is and how much love we had to give. We both decided we wanted to grow our little family, and we have. Sera is currently carrying our baby.”

My Dad’s smile is so wide that I’m surprised it doesn’t split his face in two. Honestly though, I expected nothing else from him. He was an amazing Dad to us growing up and has been an even more fantastic grandparent to Cam. He’s a big bad biker until family is involved, then he becomes a fucking teddy bear. I can’t wait to watch him with a baby if I’m being truthful; I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be hysterical watching him get wrapped around their little finger.

Cam’s reaction is fucking beautiful, and everything both myself and Wreck expected. His eyes have filled with unshed tears, but he clearly isn’t upset if the grin on his lips is any indication. Quicker than I even knew he could move, he’s across the table, embracing both his parents. He might be small compared to Wrath and Flame, but somehow he’s managed to get one arm around each of them, hugging them tight.

Pulling back from the hug, he looks up at them and says, “This is freaking awesome. I can’t believe I’m going to be a big brother.”

There is no denying Cam’s excitement, but I can still tell Flame is worried. His next words prove just that.

“You know, just because we’re having a baby, we don’t love you any less, right? You may not be my blood, but I love you more than life itself.” Flame replies to him.

“Of course I know that. Never once have you made me feel like I’m not loved, that I’m not yours as much as I am Dad’s.” Cam says, the duh being left unsaid even if it is obvious in his tone that he thinks his Papa is being ridiculous.

While Wrath and Flame have been preoccupied with Cam, my Dad has made his way over to Sera. It’s sweet to watch them together; you wouldn’t think they’d only known each other for less than a year, not with the way their father-daughter relationship has developed. I’d expect nothing else with my Dad though; that man loves his kids something fierce and easily extended his loving ways to the daughter he recently met.

I can hear my Dad and Sera talking and have to stop myself from laughing. From the sounds of the things being said, my Dad had already figured out Sera was pregnant. Apparently her constant puking made that pretty obvious to him. He just had no idea that it wasn’t Sera and Blade’s child she was carrying. Really, they all should have expected my Dad to clock on. Nothing ever escapes that man’s notice.

With the news now shared, Wrath and Flame are finally relaxed, the tension they’d both been carrying draining from their bodies. I knew they had nothing to worry about, but clearly they needed to experience it with their own eyes and ears to know and accept it. I love how accepting and happy everyone is. I love how our family just keeps growing in the best ways possible. I just couldn’t be happier with life if I tried.