"Why would I want that?"
"You said earlier that you weren't ever again going to let me near your bed."
She laughed lightly. "I don't even remember half of what I said."
"That's okay. I think Chris was recording it in the other room for posterity."
She covered her face with her hands. "I hope you're joking."
"No, not really."
Cassandra ran her hand through his silken hair and let the strands of it slide through her fingers. "Well, now that it's over, I'm much more tolerant of you. So, come and snuggle up. I think I could use it."
Wulf quickly obliged her.
Cassandra let out a long, tired breath and drifted off to sleep.
Wulf watched her as he let the warm softness of her body seep into his very heart. He took her hand in his and studied the delicate shape of it.
"Don't leave me, Cassandra," he whispered. "I don't want to raise our son without you."
But wishing for her to stay was as productive as wishing for his soul back.
On Thursday morning, Wulf couldn't sleep. Cassandra and Erik were both blissfully unconscious. But his thoughts wouldn't settle down long enough for him to rest.
Getting up, he donned his clothes and left the apartment. Since few Apollites were up and about, he didn't have to endure many sneers or glares.
He knew he had no business headed where he was, but he couldn't stop himself.
He had to say good-bye to Dr. Lakis. She had strangely become another member of their small troop over the weeks when she had kept vigil over Cassandra's and Erik's health.
Her apartment wasn't far away from Phoebe's.
Unsure of his reception, he knocked on her door.
A boy around the age of twelve answered it.
"Are you Ty?" he asked the boy, remembering Dr. Lakis talking about her oldest son.
"My mama's not going Daimon. You can leave her alone."
Wulf flinched at his angry words. "I know she's not. I just want to see her for a minute."
"Aunt Millicent," he yelled without letting him in. "The Dark-Hunter wants to see Mama."
A beautiful woman around Chris's age came to the door. "What do you want?"
"I want to see Dr. Lakis."
"He's going to kill her!" the boy said from behind her.
She ignored the boy. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped back and let Wulf enter.
Wulf took a deep breath in relief as she led him to a bedroom on his left. The door opened to show him a room with five small children and one more woman around Millicent's age. Dr. Lakis lay on the bed, but he barely recognized her. Instead of the young vibrant woman who had delivered his baby, she already looked as if she were fifty years old.
Millicent shooed the children and the other adult out.
"You only have five minutes, Dark-Hunter. We want to be with her as long as we can."