Knight in Bloody Armor (Ghost Series Part 5)

Epilogue

─ Six years later ─

Kaden

Someone shoot me, please. I'm too tired to get up again...

"Kaden, the baby's crying," Faye mumbles, snuggling into her pillow. She's been up since dawn, so it's understandable she's tired, but so am I. However, I won't say anything about it. I was just as involved in making our baby as Faye was, even though it was pure accident that she got pregnant.

"I'm up, I'm up," I yawn sleepily and get off the bed to go to our daughter's nursery. Our unexpected bundle of joy.

After Faye and I have been turned into Undeads by Thea a bit over a year ago, we've tested our newfound strength and stamina by spending days in bed and making love over and over again. We might've been a bit overzealous, though, and exactly nine months later our daughter was born.

"Camilla, why are you awake again, hmm?" I coo at my sweet daughter who stops crying the moment she sees me lean over her crib. It's shocking how quickly she calms down around me and Faye, but despite how adorable she may be when she grins toothlessly at us, we still don't let her sleep in the same room as us. Her nursery is adjoined to our bedroom, so it's not like we're leaving her stay too far away from us, but we appreciate our privacy, especially after sharing the house with a quite big group of people for years. Now that we're finally alone - excluding Camilla - we intend to enjoy it to the fullest.

My sweet baby doesn't respond to my question, obviously, but she babbles cutely and giggles at me, seemingly amused by my disheveled state. "Yeah, yeah, daddy's funny when he's like this, isn't he?" I croon, picking her up from the crib. "Oh dear, did we have an oopsie? It's alright, daddy will fix it." I should've known she needs a diaper change.

I quickly and methodically change Camilla's diaper, not wanting her to be uncomfortable for much longer, especially since it's really late and she should be asleep, and while I take care of her, I mentally thank my parents for making me look after my sister when she was a baby. The experience of caring for a little baby is really helpful now that I have my own child.

"There you go, all nice and clean now," I smile at Camilla, getting a gummy grin in response, almost as if she can understand every word I say. I think she does, actually, because she reacts differently to what's being said, depending on the topic. Just the other day, she literally cried when she heard my mom and dad say the word 'leave' when they visited. As we bid our goodbyes, Camilla was absolutely inconsolable and I was genuinely worried she'd get sick from all the crying. It took a lot to calm her down, and funnily enough, the best way to do that ended up being a video call with her grandma. Once Camilla knew her grandparents didn't leave for good and are still well, she calmed down straight away and hasn't cried after them since. That was a week ago.

With Camilla cradled in my arms, I take a seat in the comfy armchair we put in the nursery and try to lull her back to sleep. Unlike 'normal' children, Camilla was born an Undead, probably because she was conceived after Faye and I were turned already, so instead of milk, she drinks blood. Of course, Faye still breastfeeds her on daily basis like she'd do with a human baby, but in order for our daughter to develop properly, we need to feed her our blood as well, just like Thea had to do with her firstborn son many years ago.

While I'm trying to put my daughter back to sleep, I think about the last couple of years. It's been quite a journey to get to where we are now, to be honest, but I don't regret any decision I've made during that time.

After my parents left to Atlanta right after my graduation, I took over the Knight Organization and had to quickly get used to managing it, but thanks to my dad preparing me for the role for years, it didn't take much to gain trust and respect from the men working for us. They knew I was going to be their boss in the near future, so they were prepared for it.