“Oh, you have to meet Delilah and the baby,” Yvette chirped next to her and pulled her along. “Where did she go?”
Baby? Rose wondered. Had she heard right? Before she could ask another question, a beautiful dark haired human entered the room from another door, a baby in her arms.
“Oh there you are,” Yvette said and walked over to her.
Rose followed and stared at the woman with her baby. She’d never seen a baby in any vampire coven. How could this woman assume that her child would be safe here?
“I put the diaper in the trashcan in the guest bath,” she said to Yvette. “Hope that’s okay.”
“No problem.” Then Yvette turned to Rose. “Rose, may I introduce Delilah. She’s Samson’s mate. Delilah, this is Rose, Quinn’s . . . uh . . .”
“Acquaintance,” Rose said quickly and shook Delilah’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, Rose.”
So the owner of Scanguards was mated to a human woman? She’d never seen those things last. In fact, she’d rarely ever met a mated vampire. In most of the clans she knew, few vampires were mated, most lived footloose and fancy-free, without any ties whatsoever. Yet, since arriving at this party, she’d already been introduced to three mated couples. What were the odds of that?
Rose drew in a breath, suddenly picking up a scent she was unfamiliar with. It was both human and vampire, yet different. Stepping closer to Delilah, it intensified.
Instinctively she stretched her hand toward the baby, but before her fingers connected, a strong hand gripped her wrist. Her head whipped around, and she stared at a vampire with short dark hair, whom she hadn’t been introduced to yet.
His intense gaze pinned her, the underlying warning evident.
“Samson, my love,” Delilah’s soothing voice cooed as if to calm him.
He slowly turned his head toward her.
“I think Rose just wanted to say hello to Isabelle,” Delilah added.
Hesitantly, Samson released her hand. Rose refrained from rubbing it to ease the discomfort his violent grip had caused.
“I’m sorry,” Rose said quickly. “I’m not accustomed to seeing babies at a party.”
Samson nodded quickly, the tension in his posture easing. He had clearly perceived her as a threat. “We rarely leave our daughter with others.”
Rose couldn’t suppress her surprise. No wonder the smell had been so different. This was Samson’s and Delilah’s daughter?
“She’s a hybrid?” She’d heard of them, but hadn’t believed they actually existed.
Delilah and Samson exchanged proud smiles.
“She’s our little angel,” Delilah said.
“She is beautiful,” Rose responded, remembering what Charlotte had looked like at that age. She felt the familiar tug at her heart she always felt when thinking of her daughter.
The baby suddenly looked at her, then back at its mother.
“She says you’re beautiful too,” Delilah continued.
Rose shot her a confused look. Parents could act a little strange when it came to their kids. “Uh . . . thanks.”
Next to her, Yvette chuckled. “Takes a little getting used to at first.”
Rose looked at her. “Getting used to what?”
“Our little Isabelle is telepathic. She can communicate with her parents.”
Her mouth dropped open at the revelation. “Oh.” A telepathic baby. What else was she in for? Not only was the baby a hybrid, it also had a special gift. From what she knew, gifted vampires were extremely rare.
“And I think she wants Zane now,” Delilah added.
Before Rose could even blink, a bald vampire appeared next to them, and the baby reached its tiny arms toward him. He took her, then looked at Rose.
“We haven’t met. I’m Zane. And this . . .” He turned and waved at the young woman who approached behind him. “This is Portia, my mate.”
The moment Rose took Portia’s hand and inhaled, the same mix of human and vampire scent rose into her nostrils. Another hybrid? How many of them were there?
“I’m Rose,” she said automatically.
As she greeted Portia, she noticed how Samson whispered something in Delilah’s ear, making her blush in response. Then he took her hand, leading her away.
Hadn’t Samson just moments earlier said they rarely left their daughter with anybody else? Odd.
She looked back at the baby and noticed how she grinned up at Zane.
“Hey, my pretty Rachel, how about a dance?”
“Rachel? I thought her name was Isabelle?” Rose blurted without thinking.