The couple walked back down the hall and up to the third floor. As they reached the landing, they heard cheerful chatter coming out of the open tea room door. Inside, her friends shooting the breeze with each other. When they saw the couple's arrival, they all cheered and rallied. Esper smiled in the company of her friends, cherishing their happi

   Dressed in her clothes from before, Esper stepped out and was surprised to see everyone was gone except Seraph, who was dressed and waiting. A wide smile formed on her mate's lips when he saw Esper. Scooping her up in his arms, Seraph headed out of the spa.      "I can walk, you know," she jested. Seraph nuzzled his face in her silver locks and pulled her closer as he continued forward. "Yes, but I want to hold you. Don't even try to fight it because you won't win."      Admitting defeat, Esper nestled herself into his arms and rested her head on his chest. Seraph carried her all the way back to the house and didn't set her down until they reached the theater.      "If we are having another movie night, we will need to change up the furniture in here. I'm sure everyone would appreciate a little privacy." Esper stated as she quickly got to work, movi

The night of Esper's birthday had been an absolute blast. She had skated the entire time with her loved ones, and the night was finally winding down. Ronnie pulled the silver-haired vampire into a heated cabana with a table full of gifts. "Present time birthday girl," the brunette exclaimed. Esper laughed as she sat in an ornate chair that had been dubbed 'The Birthday Throne.' Ronnie picked up a medium-sized square box wrapped in teal paper and topped with a silver bow. "Open mine first!" She clapped her hands together in excitement as she watched Esper rip into the paper. The silver-haired vampire's face lit up when she saw the contents of the box. Inside was a limited-edition boxed set of Federico Fellini films. "Thank you so much, doll! I don't even want to know how you managed to get this, but I truly appreciate it." Esper hugged the boxed set and placed it carefully on the empty table beside her. It was definitely going straight to her private collection of classic cinemas.

When the couple reached the bedroom, Esper let out a sigh of relief. The sparring match would stave off her father for the rest of the day, which meant more time with Seraph. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending time with Wesley. She knew the news of her accepting Seraph was finally setting in. Wesley was starting to feel his little girl slip away, but in reality, she was just growing up. The sound of gentle music broke Esper out of her deep train of thought. She opened her bathroom door to see candles, rose petals, and a massage table. “Since you’ve been training so hard, I thought I could help you relax,” Seraph offered, holding out a robe. “How thoughtful,” Esper chuckled, accepting the change of clothes. After changing into the robe, Esper lazily laid on the table and let Seraph get to work on massaging her muscles. His fingers were like magic, working out all of her tension and knots. When Seraph’s hands began to wander, Esper couldn’t help but chuckle. “You, sir, are a

   Wesley stood at the top of the tower watching as the group ran the gauntlet. He had kept true to his promise and put the young vampires through grueling training sessions. Each day had been filled with twelve hours of running exercises and sparring.     The original plan was only a week, but since half the group had zero combat education, Wesley had extended it to a week and a half, and it paid off. Ronnie had finally harnessed her water affinity in combat situations, complimenting Remy's ice. Together the duo was nearly unstoppable, each one fueling the other's talent.     Wesley was quite impressed by Senna's improvements as well. Even though she didn't have any particular affinities with her being a common vampire, she excelled at hand-to-hand combat. Her skillset provided excellent support for Asher's preference for close-range and brute strength.      It