Secret Baby for the Dragon

by Alexis Davie

  Dax walked towards the front desk and waited. There was no one at the reception. The receptionist must not be here today, Dax thought. What was her name again?

  He waited for a few minutes, watching more people spill out of the offices down the hall, all with something important to do. Eventually, Lucinda came down the hallway. Dax’s shoulders tensed immediately when he saw her, but he took a deep breath.

  Lucinda turned to him. “Hello, Dax.”

  “What is going on today? I’ve never seen this many people in here before.”

  “Oh, we’re just getting everything ready for the planning and approval of the mountain retreat. Even though your father’s charity ball is a month away, we just want to be prepared with the plans and blueprints, as well as the scheduled building and approval and all that. Everyone is really excited about it. They loved the invitations, by the way. They looked incredible. Did you design them yourself?”

  “Um, yeah,” Dax said with a frown. “Thank you.”

  “The entire office is abuzz with talk of the ball. We’ve never been invited to such an exclusive and grand affair,” she said with a smile, gathering up her files. For the meeting, Dax guessed.

  “I’m glad that I could generate a bit of excitement in the offices.”

  “Oh, they’re much more than excited, I can assure you,” Lucinda said. “Come on. The meeting room is open.”

  Dax simply smiled as they entered the meeting room, but there was no one else there. To his surprise, Lucinda closed the door and placed the folders on the table.

  Dax frowned at her. “Where’s Becca?”

  “She’s not here today. She wasn’t feeling up to it.”

  “Is she still upset with me? Because I tried calling her for the past few days, and her phone is turned off.

  “I can assure you she’s not upset with you,” Lucinda insisted.

  “How do you know? Did she tell you that? When did you last speak to her?”

  “A few days ago. She…”

  “She what? Is she okay?”

  Lucinda sighed and answered, “She read her file.”

  Dax’s shoulders slumped, and he sighed as well. “It was bad, wasn’t it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You honestly don’t know what’s in that file? Weren’t you the one who found it? You have to know what it says,” Dax felt himself stutter.

  “I did find it, but I don’t know what’s inside. It arrived in the post, sealed, and that was the way I gave it to Becca. I’m her friend, Dax, and I respect her privacy,” she defended.

  Dax exhaled in annoyance and tapped his fingers on the wooden table. “Which archives did it come from?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Becca told me that it came from another country’s archives, but you wouldn’t tell her,” he replied and glared at her for a moment.

  “From England. Their records are the oldest and the most accurate. Whatever’s in that file is absolutely the truth. And it spooked Becca enough to want to deal with it alone for a bit,” the witch explained.

  “So you have no idea what’s inside?” he asked one final time.

  “Not a clue.”

  “Okay.” Dax nodded curtly. “I guess we should start our meeting.”

  “Sure, I’m just waiting for one of our volunteers to get here. She’ll be sitting in on our meeting and will be helping me with everything” Lucinda said.

  Dax sat down. There were a few moments of silence until the door opened, but he didn’t even bother to look up. He was too worried about Becca to really focus much on anything else.

  “I am so sorry that I am late, Lucinda,” a familiar voice filled the room with its naturally high pitch, and it finally made Dax glance up.

  His eyes widened as he stared blankly at her.

  “That’s okay. We haven’t started yet,” Lucinda said.

  “Mira?” Dax asked, standing from his seat.

  Mira turned and glanced at Dax in utter surprise. “Dax? What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you that same question,” he muttered.

  “Wait,” Lucinda interrupted, “you two know each other?”

  “You could say that,” Mira said with a smile. Dax couldn’t figure out whether it was sincere or not.

  “From where?” Lucinda wanted to know.

  “Dax and I go way back,” Mira answered. “Don’t we, Dax?”

  Dax’s jaw clenched, and he sat down. “Can we get this meeting going, please?”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Lucinda agreed suspiciously.

  Dax handed over the list of people who had already RSVP’d, and Lucinda handed him the list of volunteers who would also be attending. He briefly scanned through the list and noticed that Becca’s name was still there, which gave him a little more hope that he would see her again.

  Maybe he should go to her apartment. She loved her own space, so it would be only natural for her to hide out there. Maybe he could have her phone tracked, or even her car, but he didn’t want to seem psychotic and stalkerish. Maybe she just needed some time to wrap her head around the information she had read about her family. Maybe it was as bad as she had believed, and she simply needed time to herself to work through it.

  Dax didn’t quite understand why she was freaking out over it. It didn’t define who she was in any way. She didn’t know her parents, or even remember them, so the chances of her turning out like them was very unlikely. Becca was kindhearted, loving, and she cared so much about other people. She was selfless and wanted to make the lives of Gifted orphans better. Her idea to start a safe haven for them in the mountains was incredible, and it would be a shame if it wasn’t realized.

  For a moment, Dax considered donating a considerable amount of money to New Horizons to ensure that Becca’s dream of that mountain retreat came true. The children deserved it. Becca deserved it. But donating that much money to her organization wouldn’t be enough to convince her that he wanted to be with her forever, that he would keep her safe and happy.

  He needed to do more, except he didn’t know what.

  “Dax?”

  His thoughts were interrupted by Lucinda saying his name, and as he looked at her, he could tell that it wasn’t the first time she had tried to get his attention.

  “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something. Carry on,” he apologized and cleared his throat.

  The meeting lasted another thirty minutes, and Dax was relieved when it was all over. He stood from the chair and thanked Lucinda for her time. He left the meeting room, followed by Mira, who called him back.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he hissed.

  “What do you mean?” she asked innocently.

  “Are you following me?”

  Mira chuckled and shook her head, her dark, glossy hair falling into her face. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve always wanted to volunteer for a non-profit organization. I didn’t know you had any involvement in this place.”

  “Don’t talk shit to me, Mira.”

  “I’m not. I swear,” she whispered and crossed her arms. “Why is it so hard to believe that I want to do some good for a change?”

  “Because I know you better than that.”

  “No, you think you know me. You never took the time to ask me about what I wanted to do, or whether I wanted to change the world or anything like that. You preferred to just take me home and fuck me until you were satisfied,” Mira snapped.

  “Keep your voice down,” Dax muttered.

  “You only cared about yourself, so how the hell would you know me as well as you think you do?” Mira said, patting him on the shoulder. “It was nice seeing you, Daxard.” Then she walked away.

  Dax shivered at the way she had said his name, and he felt the uneasiness spread through his shoulders. He despised it when people called him his full name.

  Trying to ignore Mira’s presence, he walked towards a young guy standing in the hallway. “Excuse me. Do you have a restroom I coul
d use?”

  “Sure, Mr. Veskovic. It’s right down the hall, last door on the right.”

  “Thank you,” he answered and made his way back down the hallway. There was an electricity in the air that could only be from the excitement in the building, but Dax didn’t care for it at that moment.

  He retreated into the restroom and splashed cold water on his face. He stared into the mirror. It was strange seeing Mira here, and he was torn by the fact that she was there out of sheer coincidence. Dax knew what kind of person she was, even if they hadn’t shared much about one another. Mira was selfish and vengeful, and Dax was convinced that she somehow knew about Becca. She hadn’t just woken up one day and strolled into New Horizons because she felt like making a difference. She had ulterior motives, but he couldn’t prove that.

  He quietly left the restroom, and heading down the hallway, he heard two women talking. At the mention of Becca’s name, he stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Is Becca okay, though? It’s not like her not to show up. She’s been deathly ill before, and she still came to work.”

  “You know what I heard?”

  “What?”

  “She’s pregnant.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I heard Lucinda tell Charles this morning.”

  “Who’s the father? I bet it’s that hot guy with the black Lamborghini.”

  “Veskovic’s son? No way!”

  Dax’s eyes widened, and he stormed off. He had to find Lucinda right now. His eyes flashed angrily as he spotted her in one of the rooms, talking to the young man who had directed him to the restroom earlier. He barged into the room and glared at the young man.

  Lucinda cringed slightly. “Tommy, can you excuse us for a moment, please?”

  “Yes, of course.” Tommy left as quickly as he could, giving Dax and Lucinda the needed privacy.

  “What’s going on, Dax?”

  “You’re such a liar.”

  Lucinda’s eyebrows shot up in shock, and she crossed her arms. “Excuse me?”

  “You lied to me, and I want to know why.”

  “Lied to you about what?”

  “About Becca. She’s not upset about what was in her file, is she?”

  “Dax, you don’t understand—”

  “How could you not tell me that she’s pregnant?” he asked with a loud, booming voice.

  Lucinda’s eyes widened, and her arms dropped to her sides. “Where did you hear that?”

  “A bunch of office gossipers were talking about it.”

  “Dax—”

  “Tell me the truth, right now! Is she?”

  Lucinda sighed. “Yes,” she said, “it’s true.”

  “Why did you not tell me?”

  “Because she asked me not to!” Lucinda cried. Dax felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, and he simply stood there, wordlessly. “I’m sorry, Dax. She made me promise not to tell you. She didn’t want to hurt you,” Lucinda said in a quieter voice, her eyes filling up with tears.

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. She left to start over somewhere else. She didn’t tell me where she was going, I swear.”

  Dax pursed his lips and ran his fingers through his hair. “This is unbelievable.”

  “I was just as shocked as you were.”

  “When did you talk to her?” Dax asked hoarsely.

  “A few days ago. She called me and asked me to come over. She seemed really upset and confused. She told me that she was pregnant, and that you’re the father. Then she made me promise not to tell you about it. She was busy packing her stuff to leave.”

  “And you just let her go? Just like that?”

  Lucinda took a step towards him.

  “Dax,” she began, “you can’t keep someone here if they don’t want to stay. Becca was scared, and she didn’t know how you were going to react if you found out. She was just protecting herself, and her baby.”

  “That is my baby, too, Lucinda,” Dax pointed out.

  “I know that. But you kind of have a reputation for not being dependable, and with the curse—”

  Dax blinked. “You know about the curse?” he demanded.

  “Please, don’t hate me. I am not the one who should be on trial here. You and I both know that the clause of the curse is even worse than the curse itself. You shouldn’t blame her for wanting to keep herself safe.”

  “I never wanted this, you know. I never wanted her to be afraid to be with me. I wanted her to feel safe, because I would go to the ends of the Earth to prove to her that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I love her with everything I have, and everything inside me burns for her,” he proclaimed.

  “You shouldn’t be telling me this.”

  “I know, but she didn’t believe me when I said the same to her. She wanted proof, and I didn’t give it to her.” There was defeat in his voice, and he lowered his gaze.

  “I’m so sorry, Dax.”

  An idea suddenly sprang into his mind, and he turned to Lucinda. “Wait. I have an idea. I know what to do to convince her.”

  “What?”

  “I need to talk to my mother.”

  “Your mother?”

  “Yeah, she’s the expert when it comes to grand gestures of love.”

  “Oh, right.” Lucinda nodded. “She killed that witch using her own thread of life all those years ago to save you and your brothers.”

  “How do you know that?” Dax questioned. “I know you’re a witch, and every witch knows the story about us and our curse, but not a lot of them know about what my mother did that day. No one knows about her thread, either.”

  Lucinda shrugged and continued, “She was called Rhaena the Wicked for a reason. She was the evilest witch on the planet, and what your Father did to her coven made it even worse. As a kid, I was taught the history of Rhaena’s coven and your family. My great aunt Dolores knew your mother. She helped raise you and your brothers. She knew your mother was willing to sacrifice her own life for you and your brothers, no questions asked.”

  In a strange twist, Dax felt tears well up in his eyes, and as much as he wanted to will them away, he couldn’t. Hearing about his mother’s love for him and his brothers gave him so much more insight into what he was feeling. The moment he heard that Becca was pregnant with his child, something inside him stirred, awoken, and he knew that he would never be the same again. He had to find her, and he had to prove to her that there was nothing more important to him than her and their unborn child.

  “I know that kind of love is inside you, Dax. I can feel it, and I can see it in your eyes right this moment.”

  Dax lowered his gaze. “I was wrong about you.”

  “What?”

  “I was wrong about you. I was under the impression that all witches were evil, from personal experience.”

  “I can understand that. Your family’s track record isn’t very good when it comes to relationships with witches,” she said with a slight smile.

  “Or relationships in general, it seems,” he muttered.

  “You’re a good man, Dax. You just need to realize it and give yourself a little more credit.”

  Dax smiled. “Thanks, Lucinda.”

  “I’ll try calling Becca again. Maybe she’ll answer when she sees it’s me.”

  “Let me know when you talk to her,” Dax said and turned around. He marched out of the room, passing a suspicious looking Mira, but he paid her very little notice. He had to get to his car, quickly. There was much to do.

  As he stepped outside, he spotted a black Lamborghini, just like his own, parked a few yards down the street from his. He frowned and stood on the sidewalk for a few moments.

  “What are the chances?” he mumbled to himself.

  His eyes widened when he suddenly remembered how Becca had lashed out at him for driving like a maniac and almost getting her killed. He didn’t remember driving in this part of town on the night in question. In fact, he was pretty sure that he was
n’t even in the area that night. It could also just be a coincidence, but how many people had a car like his?

  He brushed off the uneasy feeling inside him and walked to his car. He opened the door, climbed in, and shut the door again. He dialed his mother’s number and placed his phone in the dock on his dashboard.

  “Liris Veskovic.”

  “Hey, Mom,” he greeted her with a smile. It was nice to hear her voice, even though asking his mother for help was an all-time low. But she was the best woman for the job, so he had no choice.

  “My baby! How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I actually need your expert opinion on something,” Dax said as the engine of his car roared to life.

  “Dax, I’ve waited a long time to hear those words coming from you. What do you need to know?”

  8

  A pulsating headache ripped through Becca’s skull as she regained consciousness. It was dark around her, and she could hear the faint sound of dripping water. There was no light coming in from anywhere around her, and it was too painful for her to move her body. The darkness scared her, and her heart started to race.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” she called out, but there was no one.

  Becca pushed herself up on her arms, trying to see something, anything around her, with no luck. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she felt something around her ankle. She blindly reached for her it and felt the cold metal around it. There was a chain hanging from it, and when she slowly followed it, it led her to a nearby wall. Becca yanked on the chair desperately.

  “Is anyone here?” she cried. “Can anyone hear me? I need help!”

  She wasn’t sure how long she had been chained up inside this dark place which reeked of dampness and stone, but it had to have been for a couple of days. Or weeks?

  No, it couldn’t have been weeks. She wouldn’t still be alive if it had been weeks.

  The last thing Becca remembered was the black Lamborghini that had tried to run her off the road, then stopped dead in front of her. She could still hear the screeching of her tires as she slammed on the brakes to avoid a head-on collision. She remembered the anger she had felt when she’d thought it was Dax.

  Fear suddenly filled her to the core when she recalled the woman who had climbed out of the car, her dark eyes and the deep throaty voice she spoke in. Becca had accused her of being sent by Dax to find her, but she hadn’t been.