Free Forged: The World of Nightwalkers by Jacquelyn Frank Page B

had proven to be the ability to sense the coming future. Which could ultra-suck sometimes. Especially when she needed to sleep to compensate for her child’s demands on her.
    One would think that becoming immortal and all would make it much easier to tend a child, what with their awesome immortal healing and replenishing abilities. But no, just like any other mother she was doomed to perpetual exhaustion. This in spite of the fact that Jacob was the best father in the known universe.
    She sighed again. “Don’t mind me,” she said. “I’m just whiny today.”
    “You did not answer my question,” he pressed.
    “Well, I don’t know which it is! I just keep dreaming of going on
vacation
. Vacation far away from here, like in the States. Somewhere snowy and cold and crisp with lots of hot chocolate and roaring fires.”
    “We have fires and cocoa here,” he said with amusement. “I can always have Elijah whip up a nice snowstorm for you.”
    “I don’t want a wind Demon snowstorm, I want a natural one.”
    Jacob blinked. “But … it is natur—”
    “Don’t ask me to be logical! I’m too tired!” she groused. Again, a contrite sigh. “And did I mention that this might be, you know,
alone time
?”
    Jacob raised one dark brow and amusement was quirking at his lips again. “Alone time? We can be alone whenever you like …”
    “But then I just fall asleep because I’m so wiped out. Never mind!” She tossed back the covers and got to her feet huffily, but one touch of bare feet on cold floor and she was jumping into her slippers.
    “Bella, come back here and talk to me.”
    “Screaming child, remember?” she tossed back at him over her shoulder. She marched herself into Jason’s bedroom, hitting the lights and making her way to the crib. An instant smile streaked over her lips the minute she saw Jason’s face, his eyes lighting up at her approach. His belligerence turned to babbles of delight and, as usual, he melted her cranky little heart.
    “Come here, you,” she said, scooping him up into her arms. He kicked his feet and wriggled with excitement before wrapping around her like a monkey on a flagpole. Then he laughed. He had what he wanted and that was the end of that. “Spoiled little booger,” she said softly, kissing his forehead three or four times.
    “Bella,” Jacob scolded her as he followed in her wake.
    “Let’s just feed him,” she said, not meeting her husband’s questioning eyes as she went to push past him.
    “Not until,” he said, a hand and arm in the doorframe blocking her path, “you tell me what you want. Just tell me and it is done.”
    She looked up into his nearly black eyes and saw the determination in them. Immediately she was reminded of why she would love this man until the day she died … which, being immortal and all that … was a long way off. Hopefully. There were always dark forces out there that could risk their lives the same as anyone else’s. Immortal was not the same thing as invulnerable … or unkillable.
    It was just that being a Nightwalker meant it was just harder to pull it off.
    Thank God.
    Or thank Destiny, as Jacob would say.
    “I love my son,” she blurted out.
    “I—” he frowned. “I know that, little flower. I have never said I doubted that—Bella! Why are you crying?”
    Immediately he was enveloping her face between his elegant hands and tipping her head back so she waslooking up at him through the sudden wash of tears in her eyes. “B-because I’m hormonal!” she said, trying to pull away.
    “I know you are dealing with exhaustion—”
    “No! Not
that
hormonal! I mean … 
h-o-r-n-y
hormonal,” she said bluntly, a little stomp of her slippered foot accompanying it. “And you haven’t touched me in four months! Not once! Well … I mean you touch me all the time and you’re very loving, but you’re just all gentle and sweet and nice. Of course I am very grateful that you are gentle and sweet and