'I swear he has done it intentionally.'

'Oh don't be ridiculous Lucian. It has nothing to do with the maker's wicked sense of humour.'

'Mm-hmm.' he shook his head. 'Being punished for my misdeeds against womankind.'

Danika chuckled, thinking he probably deserved it. She watched as the little hand curled around his finger, wrapping tight. Her pretty blue eyes stared up, yawning. Seconds later she crinkled her face, as she tensed her face went red and an almighty cry bellowed out.

'What a set of lungs.' Lucian grinned as he picked her up 'You want mamma I suppose? Dad's not good enough anymore.'

'It didn't last very long.'

Danika sat back against the head board of their bed and took the little bundle from Lucian, settling her in for a feed. The nurse had helped with the delivery, like many vampires they had decided to have the birth at home. She was off somewhere with Elena and Rosa, they had cleaned up the room and departed soon after. The woman was going to give them a few minutes alone and then she would return to ensure all was moving well. Lucian didn't understand what she meant by it but figured it was some sort of medical nonsense that he wouldn't understand any way.

'You know you can feed her if you really want.'

'Mothers milk for the first six months Danika, you know what we were told.'

Lucian ran his fingers over the soft blonde hair of his daughter, only a few minutes old and she had him completely enthralled. He would do anything for her, much like her mother. Lucian watched as she greedily suckled the milk, closing her eyes and slowly slipping into sleep.

It had been a long time before her arrival. Danika wanted to ensure that everything was right in their world. Lucian had been sober for five years now, he didn't even drink. Danika worried that he had gone to the extreme, avoiding alcohol everywhere he could, including human food that contained alcohol. His friends of old were gone by the ways, now all that remained were those who were good for him. Phabel was a constant in his life now, his partying ways were done with as well. Everyone that entered the castle was scrutinised by Danika, she didn't want any unsavoury characters in Lucian's life. Danika had finished her education, only needing to do half of what was necessary because she had already started it prior to joining the band. She had taken on the role of being the kings personal assistant, the very handsome king in her opinion. She liked to be by his side, helping him with his duties. Of course she was a complete distraction for him. Short skirts and tight tops, bending at filing cabinets and sitting on the edge of his desk. It was likely that the babe in her arms was created on one of the many encounters on his desk.

'So my sweet little angel, have you thought of a name for yourself yet?'

The eyes opened and she looked up to the voice, Lucian liked how she looked at him when he spoke to her, though he wondered how much she could see.

'What about Willow?' he whispered 'Mum and I were married under a willow tree.'

She continued to feed as Lucian ran his fingers over her head, through the fine hair that was soft to the touch.

He laid back on the bed with a soft sigh, thinking about that day five years ago. Today was their fifth year of marriage and on this very same day their little babe entered their world. She truly was a gift; Lucian saw her as a reward for his efforts to remain clean. Even though Danika had stated that she wanted him to be completely sober for several years before they considered children, they weren't being overly cautious. At first he was annoyed that their bodies weren't cooperating with his agenda but as the years passed and they settled into their routine, he became more at ease with it. The five years gave them time to get to know each other better, giving Lucian time to learn and understand his duties as king and for Danika to slip into her role as queen. He accepted that their family would come to them when the time was right.

'I like that name.' Danika smiled softly.

Lucian snapped out of his wandering thoughts and looked at his two favourite girls. The child was now feeding from the other side. Lucian helped his lovely wife adjust herself back into her clothes. As much as he loved the sight of her now that her body had altered to be a mother, he had noticed in recent days she had become very self-aware. She used to be at ease with her body, it wouldn't bother her to lay on the bed for hours with him, both completely naked. But now she was always covered, wrapped in layers that hid her beautiful form. Lucian said nothing and kissed her on the cheek, trailing kisses along her jaw to her neck. He sat up from her body, she was smiling but there was a certain stiffness to her body.

'Willow it is then.'

When Willow was done feeding, Danika sat her up gently rubbing her back. She could see Lucian watching with pure fascination and passed her over, settling her at his shoulder.

'Rub her back until she burps, I might have a shower.'

'Sure.'

Lucian watched as the smile slowly dropped from her face. He rubbed Willow's back as Danika wandered into the bathroom.

'What is wrong with your mother young lady?' Lucian whispered.

Willow responded with one very loud eruption followed by the smell of vomit.

'Well that's just great.' he muttered. 'Your mother might not think that I'm being punished but I think you are taking great joy in this.'

Lucian got off the bed and placed Willow into the bassinet. She looked up at him, Lucian was expecting her to smile at him, the unspoken expression of payback for womankind. But Willow didn't smile, Lucian turned her onto her side and pushed the bassinet into the bathroom. He set it to the side and removed his shirt, tossing it into the wash basket. Danika was under the water, hot and steamy as she pressed her forehead to the tiles. It ran long lines down her back, her arms were wrapped around her waist. Lucian frowned at the sight, it looked like she was in pain.

'Danika?'

Her head lifted from the tiles to look at him, puffed and reddened eyes told him everything he needed to know.

'You're in pain.'

'It's fine. It will pass with a few days.'

Lucian sighed as he removed his pants and tossed them into the wash basket. He walked over to her as she pressed her forehead to the tiles again. His hand washed over her lower back, not finding anything wrong with her, he turned her around. Danika pressed her back to the tiles, watching as his hands went over her abdomen moving toward the pelvis. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she could feel the pain intensify. Lucian let out a shocked laugh, his eyes darted up to Danika's.

'What?' she sniffed.

Lucian took her hand and pressed it to the side of her stomach, waiting for the moment when she would understand. It wasn't a surprise that neither of them knew, Lucian refused to search her womb so that they would get a surprise of what gender the child would be. As he pressed Danika's hand firmly against the skin, something kicked inside of her. Danika let out a cry of happiness as she hugged Lucian, now she could understand the pain. She was still in labour.

'I think you should get back on the bed my lovely and I need to dress before the nurse returns and gets the shock of her life.'

Slowly Danika took her soggy and sore body out of the shower and wrapped herself in a dressing gown. Lucian smiled as he dried off, not wanting to tell her that he had inadvertently seen the gender of the second child. He quickly dressed, hearing the nurse returning to the room. Her words about returning to ensure everything was going well now made sense, she had obviously known there was more than one in there. He wandered out of the bathroom, hearing Willow kicking up a fuss, the nurse was trying to reason with Danika that the child would be fine for a few moments. Lucian picked her up and tried to settle her, frowning at Danika until she got back on the bed. He nestled the child against him, there was something about a newborn that was amazing. She smelled like nothing he had ever smelled before, she was so tiny and perfect. That was until she clamped her fangs into the vein on his neck.

'Ow...ow... they're like little razors, ow.'

The nurse stood upright and scowled at Lucian.

'Mothers milk.'

'She did this all on her own.'

The nurse huffed and returned to Danika who was cringing with the pain. Willow slowly suckled at his neck until she had enough. Lucian had rubbed her back for the entire time, waiting patiently for her to be done. When she retracted her fangs and settled against him, he kissed her chubby cheek and set her back into the bassinet. There was no throwing up this time, she fell asleep even though the room was filled with the sounds of her mother who was in the midst of a painful labour. Lucian rounded the bed, climbing over the sheets that the nurse had brought with her. It wasn't something that either of them had thought about, all they could think about was the thoughts of bringing their child into this world in their home. The sheet made all sorts of funny sounds as he crawled over it, the underside was lined with plastic ensuring there was no transference. He could see her colour had faded from her face and raided the basket at the end of the bed. Danika tried to refuse the bag of blood but received scowls from both Lucian and the nurse. With one big huff she took the bag and replenished her blood stock. Twenty minutes had passed before the next child had arrived. The nurse settled the child onto Danika's chest as she cleaned up and then quickly scurried out of the room. Lucian ran his fingers over the soft delicate skin and fair blonde hair.

'I told you I was being punished, two girls.' Lucian scoffed. 'And what about you my little princess, what would you like your name to be?'

Danika shook her head as she placed the child to the bed, wrapping her into a nappy.

'You expect a child that is a few minutes old to answer you?'

'I do.' he grinned.

'You're crazy. What about Eden for a name?'

'Oh that's a good one. Eden and Willow, both names that represent our perfect place. The place where I knew I loved their mother. What do you think Eden, do you like your name?'

The child cried rather loudly.

'Well then.' he scoffed 'Don't like it then, see if I care.'

Danika shook her head with a grin.

'You are crazy, have I ever told you that?'

'I think you might have mentioned it once or twice.'

Lucian looked over the body that sat on the bed beside him. She was in a pair of skimpy underpants that sat below her stomach, everything else had been cast aside for the second birth. He couldn't detract his eyes from her glorious form. She was stunning before she became pregnant but Lucian thought that she was intoxicating now. He could look at her naked body all day and never tire of it. His mind was cast back to the women who had been his past, how he had adored their bodies but it was never like this. They were a fleeting moment for pleasure, this was forever. He could run his fingers over her body with his eyes shut and he would know where every tattoo was, every mark, every dimple. With the previous there was no care for their mood or their cycle, how their day had been or how it was going to be. But with Danika he knew it all, he knew her body better than she did and was always her pain relief. Previously he had thought of it as a pain, detracting from his sex life but now he saw it as a way to bring their love closer and showing how much he truly cared for her. When she was suffering he would always be there for her, with his hands and his mind, he would give her everything she needed.

'This is perfect.' his hand rubbed her stomach again, trailing his fingers just below the elastic of her underpants. 'So amazing, it can create and hold life, sustain it for months while the child grows and then prepares you to give birth, gives you the ability to feed the child from your own body. Truly amazing.'

Danika closed her eyes, feeling his warmth radiate through her body. His hand had the touch that a sore body craved, his mind relieved the pain that was hammering her body. She could feel the sensations sparking through her, repairing the damaged skin, strengthening the muscles. Danika opened her eyes to see Lucian looking at her from under the strands of hair that had fallen into his eyes. She knew that look, it was the look of pure lust. There was no disbelief in his statement of what he thought of her, the look in his eyes told her that he wanted her. His hand pushed hard on the skin of her lower abdomen, pushing the pain from her body for a few moments.

As Eden continued to cry, Danika wondered if she would have enough milk for the child. She had let Willow take what she wanted, not realising that there was another child to feed. Lucian settled in against Danika watching Eden feed, her little hand waived in the air and settled against her mother's skin. He could still see the doubt on Danika's face, he knew she disliked the shape of her body since becoming pregnant. Already her body was starting to heal, slowly it would return to its former shape but he worried that she would find it unappealing and delay having another child.

'Like a bloody cow.' she muttered.

'You are perfect.' his voice was hot and husky as his hand moved up her stomach 'You might think that you aren't but I think that there is nothing sexier than a woman giving sustenance to her child. You have a beautiful body and this...' he ran his hand over the swell of her stomach again 'Is gorgeous and I for one cannot wait until this happens again. I understand why my parents have so many now, this is beautiful. This is life and I am glad that I can experience this with one very stunning woman. Nothing would ever make me want for anything more than a life with you and our children. One perfect life together.'