Night Unbound(39)

“No.”
Sarah shook her head and lowered her voice. “He and Seth are consulting a doctor in France. Melanie is with them.”
Tracy looked at Sarah. “You know the immortals can all hear you, right?”
“Yes, but Ami can’t.”
Ami had just begun her eighth month. Since pregnancies on her planet lasted seven months and pregnancies here lasted nine, they had no way of knowing when the baby would or should come. Or what the state of its health would be. With extraterrestrial and gifted one DNA combined and the virus thrown in, no one knew what to expect.
And, like the other women on her planet, Ami was having an extremely difficult time carrying the baby to term. She would have lost it months ago without either Seth or David—both powerful healers—always on hand.
“Where is Ami?” Lisette asked. She couldn’t see the petite Second for all of the tall males.
“Resting with Marcus in their room,” Sarah supplied. “So far she’s had a good day. No early labor pains or other complications.”
“Good.”
Roland wandered over, rarely far from his wife.
Richart and Jenna followed, holding hands like high school sweethearts.
“Hi,” Jenna greeted Lisette with a smile.
“Hi. How’s the training going?” Lisette asked.
“Great. I’m ready to start hunting.”
“No, she isn’t,” Richart corrected with a scowl.
Jenna swung their hands between them. “Yes, I am. You’re just being a worrywart.”
“Seth put me in charge of your training,” Richart insisted, “so I will decide when you’re ready.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Seth is the one who told me I’m ready.”
Richart shot her a look. “He did?”
“Yes.”
“Merde.”
Everyone laughed.
Étienne and Krysta joined them. As usual, the pair stood close together with Étienne’s hand resting on his wife’s lower back. “You made it,” he said with a quirk of his brow.
“Of course I did. Was there any doubt?”
He shrugged. “You haven’t exactly been a frequent visitor of late.”
Cameron, his Second, meandered over. “Yeah, what’s up with that?”
Nearly everyone in the room followed.
Yuri and Stanislav. Their Seconds, Dmitry and Alexei. Krysta’s brother, Sean, and his Second, Nichole. Edward and his Second, Desmond. Ethan, who gave her a quick once-over as if to assure himself that she was still in one piece, and his Second, Ed. Darnell, David’s Second.#p#分页标题#e#
The only ones who didn’t were Bastien and his Second, Tanner, who was Lisette’s sports-viewing buddy.
Several voiced comments, wondering why she hadn’t been around nearly as much and what—if anything—was wrong.
Lisette actually began to feel a bit panicky inside.
Especially when Seth and David appeared behind the group.
Together the two made an arresting sight and tended to draw stares wherever they went. Seth stood about six feet eight inches tall with broad shoulders, a leanly muscled form, beautiful patrician features, and long, wavy black hair (drawn back with a leather tie) that reached his waist. David stood about six feet seven inches with equally broad shoulders, a bit more muscle, the face of a pharaoh, flawless skin as dark as midnight, and pencil-thin dreadlocks that fell to his hips.
Both were totally drool-worthy. And both exuded power.
Melanie accompanied them, her five-foot form nearly eclipsed by theirs.
As Lisette tried to force down the fear that erupted within her, the two elders waited, expressions curious, for her to answer.
“What are you, her great-aunt Prudence?” Bastien drawled, quieting the throng as Melanie crossed to his side. “Don’t you have anything better to do than bitch and moan because she doesn’t visit as often as you’d like?”
In that moment, Lisette honestly loved that man.
Loud complaints erupted, accompanied by the usual slurs slung at the immortal black sheep.
Bastien shrugged them off as his gaze met hers.
Thank you, she told him telepathically.
His lips tilted up the tiniest bit.
Unfortunately, Seth and David both picked up on the thought and turned back to her with matching frowns, gazes sharpening.
Merde.
“Why haven’t you been around lately?” Seth queried.
An expectant hush fell.
Really? Her absence had been that obvious? It had raised that many eyebrows?
She supposed she would feel flattered if she weren’t so alarmed. “I’ve been around,” she prevaricated.
“We haven’t seen you in weeks,” David said.
“And your Second has been spending more and more days here of late,” Seth added.
Damn it. They would notice that. They noticed everything.