Snow shook his head and she set the book back down but made no move to leave. "I do not require a babysitter, Lilah."

Her pretty face darkened into a frown, turning her golden eyes the colour of rich amber, and he silently apologised for his harsh words. He normally enjoyed Lilah's company, even when chained to his bed as he was now, a situation that would have embarrassed him once but no longer bothered him.

At least Antoine had pulled the covers up over his chest, giving him some dignity, and had cleaned the blood from his arms and torso. Or perhaps Lilah had.

She had taken to him shortly after her turning and it had been nice to have someone else to talk to and spend time with in his room, but he wasn't in the mood for company tonight.

He was tired, cranky, and hungry.

If he requested blood, Antoine would come running, fretting that he needed more. He would have to admit that he had been thirsting again, drinking more than a normal vampire should, let alone one affected by a vicious affliction like the one that constantly rode him.

Antoine would be disappointed.

Snow didn't want to be something like that to his brother.

Lilah bounced back with a smile and a flick of her long chestnut hair over her shoulder. "I know who does need a babysitter."

Snow raised a single eyebrow, intrigued by her statement. "Who?"

"Callum and Kristina."

Both eyebrows shot up now. "The babies came?"

God damn it. He had wanted to be sane when they had arrived so he could celebrate the births with everyone. Had they celebrated the arrival of the twins without him?

Snow paused and derailed that thought. No good would come of it. He was already too attached to those at the theatre and had come to depend upon them. Part of him actually wanted to recover and defeat his bloodlust, hoping he would then be able to spend more time with them and become a more active member of the theatre staff. He wasn't even sure when he had begun to desire such a thing.

It had come on slowly, sneaking up on him, and then Javier had got himself into trouble with Lord Ashville, a vicious bastard of an aristocrat vampire, over Lilah and Snow had instinctively come to their defence.

He had even tried to take Javier's punishment on his own shoulders, but had come away from the meeting with their elders unscathed.

Snow had often wondered since then whether the elders knew of his affliction and that it would be extremely dangerous for them to attempt to execute him. Getting him chained up for it would likely end in a bloodbath, let alone carrying out the decapitation. Whenever he felt threatened, he had a tendency to lose control and turn on everyone near him.

"We were waiting for you to wake up before we had a big celebration." Those words snapped him back to Lilah and he stared at her, his dark silver eyebrows pinned high up his forehead.

"You were?" He couldn't believe that, but her wide smile and the warm affection in her eyes told him that she wasn't lying, and that Antoine hadn't been the only one spending time with him while he had been in the throes of his bloodlust. "Javier didn't let you come here to see me when I was... tell me that he didn't."

Her expression turned sheepish and her honey-coloured eyes sparkled with something akin to mischief. He had. Her mate and sire had actually allowed her to come and see him while he had been lost to his demon, crazed and dangerous.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Snow barked at her and had half a mind to shout for Javier and ask him too. If he hadn't been cuffed to the bed, he would have been out of the door, down the hall to Javier's room, and shaking the elite vampire male by his throat until Javier cursed him in his native Catalan tongue.

Lilah raised an eyebrow at him this time. "He didn't have a choice, but he didn't let me come here alone. I was perfectly safe. I know you would never hurt me, Snow."

Snow scoffed at that. Hurt was putting it mildly. If he had escaped his restraints, he would have killed her, and Javier would have just been a warm up for the bloody main attraction.

The door opened before he could reprimand her and Javier entered with Antoine, deep in discussion. Next year's shows seemed to be the topic of conversation for the two tall slender males and both were dressed for business in sharp black tailored shirts and crisp pressed trousers. Was it the closed season already?

Antoine smiled at Snow and relief coursed through him when he saw that some of the fatigue had lifted from his face and he looked more refreshed and rested. He must have taken the opportunity to sleep while Snow had.

Javier crossed the room in a handful of long-legged strides and dropped a kiss on Lilah's dark hair. She smiled up at him and took his hand, clutching it tightly. Matching gold bands encircled one finger on their left hands and Snow regretted missing something else too.

While they had married at Vampirerotique so Javier's younger brother, Andreu, could attend the ceremony, they had celebrated the wedding at the family estate in northern Spain. Andreu had remained at the theatre to stay with Chica, his mate, who had been trapped within its boundaries at the time, and Antoine had decided to stay in London too. Callum hadn't been able to travel because of Kristina's pregnancy.

It had meant that none of Javier's friends here at the theatre had attended the endless parties they must have held in Spain. Snow would have liked to have been there.

He had a feeling that Lilah and Javier would have liked it too.

Lilah had asked him to give her away after all.

Antoine had baulked at the request. Javier had been more than a little wary too.

Snow had been proud. He had walked her down the middle aisle of the theatre towards the stage with her arm draped over his and all eyes on them, and he hadn't made one mistake or suffered even a momentary flicker of bloodlust.

Of course, Antoine hadn't shut up then. He had spent the night saying how Snow was recovering and would be free of his bloodlust before long. The bloodlust already drove him mad. He didn't need his brother's repetitive nonsense relentlessly shoving him towards insanity too.

Lilah rose, led Javier across the room and whispered something to Antoine as though a two thousand year old vampire such as himself wouldn't be able to hear it. She wanted Callum to come with the babies.

Snow wasn't sure how he felt about meeting squalling babes while chained to a bed, but he had helped raise Antoine around a thousand years ago. He wasn't averse to small people. They were often amusing. Antoine had always been doing something ridiculously stupid.

Snow smiled at that.

Everyone looked at him as though he had gone insane again and he noted with a frown that they were all holding their breath. He scowled at them.

"I was recalling the time Antoine wet-" Snow flinched when Antoine's hand slammed over his mouth and his fangs cut into his lower lip.

"Play nice." Antoine glared at him, looking for all the world as though he wished Snow was mad with bloodlust again and unable to resume his normal duty of driving him crazy or embarrassing him.

Antoine slowly removed his hand, giving him a pointed look that warned he would have him gagged again in a millisecond if he attempted to mention all the times he had wet the bed as a child.

Snow grinned, flashing fangs. Antoine's face fell.

"I did not mean to hurt you," Antoine said.

Snow shrugged it off and licked his fangs clean. It wasn't the first time his fangs had ended up a little bloodied because of Antoine, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Javier led Lilah from the room and Snow tracked them with his senses. They were heading towards the end of the black and gold corridor at his back. A knock sounded. A door opened. A baby wailed.

"You used to sound like that." Snow smiled at Antoine when he looked displeased. "You would cry like a wild thing all day long. I used to have to bring you to my room and into my bed if I wanted to get any sleep."

"You are certainly talkative tonight." Antoine smiled at last and Snow nodded. He was feeling brighter. The sleep and blood had done him good, but the darkness was still pushing inside him, trying to break free and consume him again.

And the scent of lily of the valley and snow still haunted him.

"You are certain no one else visited me?" Snow couldn't shake the feeling that a stranger had been with him, singing to him in his native language, soothing him out of his bloodlust and into sleep.

Antoine nodded and a flicker of concern lit his blue eyes. He opened his mouth and an almighty wail cut him off. It seemed the twins had voices and wanted to make themselves known.

Callum appeared in the doorway, wearing a rumpled black t-shirt, creased black trousers and no shoes.

Fatigue dulled Callum's green eyes, the dark crescents beneath them making Antoine look as though he had been catching twelve hours sleep a day, and his short black hair was wild on top, as though he had shoved his fingers through it every second of the night. His lips compressed into a thin line and he struggled with the writhing babies. Both of them sported a head of dark hair and matching deep crimson romper suits that covered them from toe to wrist.

Snow flinched when one of them hit a high note, screaming it at the top of their little lungs, driving the noise like a spear through his ears and into his brain.

Delightful.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling at the twin bundles of fury though, and the fact that Callum had to battle to keep them both in his arms. Little demons. They needed a pointed tail on those red suits and a pair of horns each.

Callum made a beeline for the chair near Snow and sat on it swiftly, a degree of his tension leaving him the moment his backside hit the wood. Snow agreed with his move. The way the babes were wriggling, there was a likelihood that Callum would drop one at some point. A fall from chair height was better than a fall from over five foot. At their tender age, they were vulnerable and weak, and could break bones as easily as a mortal babe could.

"They seem... rambunctious." Snow grinned at Callum, feeling genuinely amused by the tiny terrors and their father's dire efforts to contain and calm them, until Callum moved them so Snow could see them fully.

His smile lost all feeling then. He couldn't feel anything positive about what he was seeing before him.

Life. Very small and vulnerable. New to this world. Untainted and pure.

It made him feel the full weight of his sins, and for a glimmer of a moment, he felt his death would be acceptable now because there was new life in this world to replace him.

Antoine's gaze bore into him. "They will be trouble. Always getting into scrapes. I think they will need all of us here to keep an eye on them and keep them safe."

Snow smiled sadly at his brother's coded words. Antoine wanted him to know that he was still needed in this world and not to think about leaving it. It was all Antoine had wanted and strived to make him see for centuries now, and Snow wished with every part of his blackened soul that he could grant Antoine's request and find a reason to live amongst the many reasons to die.

Lilah and Javier reappeared, the Spaniard leaning with his back against the doorframe and his mate wrapped in his arms with her back pressed against his front, both of them watching Callum as he struggled with the babies.

Callum tried to pass one of the babies to Antoine, who grumbled about it and eventually reluctantly took the squalling bundle. Snow found a real smile again at the sight of his brother holding the baby away from him with both hands as though it was a bomb that would go off if he moved a single muscle.

It triggered a strange warmth in the centre of Snow's chest.

Antoine had spent months complaining about the impending babies but Snow knew that his brother was softening towards them and the unlikely couple. He hadn't cursed about Kristina being a werewolf for many weeks now.

Snow thought it was Sera's influence. She had changed Antoine for the better and it pleased him that his brother was no longer alone in the world, afraid to trust another with his heart and move forwards in life.

"This one is Abby." Callum held the little girl so Snow could see her face, clutching her under her arms. She stopped wailing, blinked big blue eyes at him, and then broke out into giggles and reached for him, her tiny fingers clutching the air in his direction. Callum and Antoine exchanged a surprised glance before Callum looked back at Snow.

"What?" Snow had the feeling he had done something either very wrong or very right, and he hadn't done anything at all. He had only looked at the baby.

Abby continued to reach for him, shoving forwards in Callum's arms, almost breaking free. Her delicate features crumpled in frustration when she failed. Snow knew that feeling well. It was a bitch when you found yourself unable to break free of something, whether physically or emotionally.

Callum shook himself. "Nothing... she's just never laughed before."

Snow wasn't sure why the sight of him was a reason to laugh, but he wouldn't hold it against the kid. If she wanted to laugh around him, he was game for that.

"Kristina!" Callum shouted in the way only a hysterically pleased parent could and the brunette werewolf came rushing into the room with a wild look on her face, her clothes dishevelled as if she had thrown them on in a hurry, and her claws and fangs bared, ready to attack. Her hazel eyes darted from Snow to the babies, and then Callum, a calculating look in them. When it appeared no one was harmed or in danger, she relaxed and then slapped Callum hard on the shoulder.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack. Dumb male." She scowled at him for good measure and hastily buttoned her loose black jeans and tugged the hem of her dark grey t-shirt down over the waist. "What the hell are you screaming my name for?"

"It's wonderful. Look." Callum grinned, ignoring her tirade and glares that spoke of staking the moment they were alone, and held a now-crying Abby out in Snow's direction.

"Are you sure that's wise..." Kristina trailed off, her fear forgotten as Abby burst into giggles again and reached for Snow, hands pumping the air in a desperate attempt to reach him.

Snow wriggled his fingers in a wave and the little girl kicked her legs, bouncing in her father's hands.

Kristina gave him that same awed look that Callum had. Snow shrugged, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

"Try the other one." Kristina grabbed the other baby from Antoine and held it out to Snow. It continued crying. Kristina turned it towards her and gave it a look that spoke of confusion and disappointment, and a vague sense that either the baby or Snow was broken. "How does he work on the werewolf and not the vampire?"

Antoine had told Snow months ago that one of Kristina's babies would be born fully vampire and the other fully werewolf. Snow had figured that the female, Abby, would be the vampire since she seemed to like him. The little tyke was a werewolf though, and still laughing as she stared at him with huge blue eyes.

They grew fast at her age. A few weeks was more like a couple of months to a human child. Her aging would slow when she neared three months old, looking around one year old to human eyes. After that, she would age like all werewolves and vampires, taking years to physically age a single one.

"It's because he's a boy," Sera said from the doorway and Antoine moved out of Snow's line of sight. She smiled at him, as bright as Lilah had been, her dark green eyes warm with tenderness. "Who here doesn't know that women have a way with Snow when he's suffering with his bloodlust? I think it works both ways. Snow's a charmer."

Snow wouldn't go that far. Lilah, Sera and Chica teased him mercilessly about his tendency to calm in the presence of a female whenever he was in the midst of his bloodlust. He would never live this down if they were right and Abby was the only one affected by him.

"Try again with the boy." Snow jerked his chin, hoping to convince Kristina to bring him closer and do as he asked. "I charmed the hell out of Antoine when he was a baby. I was the only one who could get him to sleep. Maybe I just charm babies?"

Antoine didn't look pleased that Snow had put that titbit about him out into the world but he didn't care. He wanted to prove that it was babies in general he could soothe and not just the females. He couldn't remember the last time he had charmed a female in any way. He didn't want to remember because he would realise how long he had gone without what so many of his friends here at Vampirerotique had found.

Love.

Had he ever truly felt it for anyone?

He didn't think he had. He had experienced lust and infatuation, and thought there was a slim chance he might have loved one of the females he had romanced.

Very slim.

Maybe not a chance at all.

He had never allowed anyone to get that close to him, not before he had realised he had a terrible affliction and certainly not afterwards. Once he had experienced his first uncontrollable rage and the dark hungers that hounded him whenever he lost all sense because of his bloodlust, he had cut all ties with females and kept his distance.

It was safer that way.

Kristina looked wary about placing her baby nearer to him and he couldn't blame her. If he were in her place, he wouldn't want to place his child close to a savage beast either.

"What is his name?" Snow said, aiming to deflect the conversation away from his apparent charm if he couldn't erase it by proving himself able to cause the boy to laugh as easily as the girl.

"Alistair." Callum handed Abby over to Sera, and Abby immediately began pulling at the shoulder ties of her short blue dress, causing Sera to smile. Callum took the boy from his mother and approached Snow with him. It seemed Callum was willing to tread where angels daren't.

Angel. Prince. Snow. Winter skies. Frozen waterfall. Mountains. More of it came to him each time.

A song of impossible love.

Callum turned Alistair in his hands, causing the boy to squirm and kick, stretching the material of his dark red romper suit. Red was a good colour for baby vampires. Black was better. Practical.

Snow noticed the fresh scars on Callum's wrist as he held the boy out to him. Callum was probably feeding him from the vein several times a day. Abby was lucky. Werewolves didn't have to feed on blood when young. They could ingest milk and soft foods.

Snow's father had fed Antoine for the first few months of his life, before he'd had to return to his business and running the family, and he hadn't been around as much. Snow had taken over feeding him then whenever he had been at the chateau. If he had realised back then how tainted his blood was, he never would have agreed to it.

Bloodlust was genetic, and Antoine had it regardless, but the thought of his blood flowing into his innocent young brother turned his stomach and ruined what was once a happy memory for him.