“What happened? Is it the cat again?” The pain increased and I screamed as a flush of water flowed down my legs. “Fuck!” Knight cursed, hopping out of the chair. Despite our heated conversation, Arthur was next to me in an instant, holding me steady with his arms. Even after me telling him I might not want him anymore, I clung to him like a lifeline, and the warmth in my chest at being so close to him had me desperate to never let him out of my arms.
“Gather our stuff,” Arthur told him, and Knight left to get our bags as a contraction started in my lower belly. My husband returned with our meager belongings in his hands. “We should try to leave town as fast as we can. If you’re okay with it?” He gave me a meaningful look and Knight raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.
“The fuck happened to you?”
“Great effort, terrible timing,” I admonished, gripping Arthur’s arm during some intense baby kicks. “I’ll tell you if you’re being a butt face, just get us out of here.” Nodding, he took the bags from Knight who picked me up, soggy clothes and all, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep myself upright. Arthur unlocked the apartment door and checked the hallway before signaling we follow him. Knight followed behind him, holding me close, until we reached the stairwell. We went down several flights of stairs and out to the apartment lobby where Arthur checked the street outside from the lobby door window.
“You get the urge to scream, bite down on Knight, but try not to draw any blood,” Arthur said, his eyes trained on any movement outside. “Knight, don’t stop running for anything. There’s a gas station outside town that we passed on our way in that should be far enough away from the drones. If we get separated, take her straight there. I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”
What if he didn’t come back?
The thought hung between us as he met my eyes, and I saw a wave of emotions pass over those two globes of ice.
“I didn’t mean what I said,” I told him feebly, feeling my tears threatening to come back.
“You did.” He blinked a few times and turned back to the front door. “Get ready, Knight. There’s a pack down the street. If we’re quiet enough, we might be able to slip past them. And… go.” He ripped the door open and held it for us to pass through. Knight creeped down the apartment building steps, only pausing for a second once we reached the sidewalk as we saw the horde of drones walking aimlessly around a crosswalk a few blocks over.
Another contraction started and I squeaked slightly, trying to hold it in before planting my mouth on Knight’s shoulder and biting down hard. Even with my fangs retracted, I still made a dent in his shirt, but managed to not break his skin. Arthur led us in a hurried rush down the street, away from the drones. I hoped against hope the baby wouldn’t pop out right there and ruin our escape.
Stay inside, baby. Just a little longer, I sent to the infant inside me. Similar to when I’d been carrying Kitty, she cooed at the sensation of being connected to me. I felt a reaction back from her that assured me she wasn’t coming just yet. There was enough time to get to safety. We stopped at the end of the street and Arthur listened, sniffed, looked around.
“There’s a group of them really close to us. We have to be careful.” He motioned for us to cross the street at a different point so we’d be as far away as possible. All hopes were squashed, because the scent of fresh blood filled the air like a beacon. My blood. Arthur took out his rifle, standing between me and the horde that was quickly waking up from my scent. “Get her out of here.”
Knight took off in the other direction and I rested my chin on his shoulder to keep my eyes on Arthur as long as possible. We rounded the corner of a building just before the mob overtook him. Labor distracted me too much for me to push my senses out, making me feel blind and deaf to the outside world, unable to assure me Arthur would be okay. I clutched Knight’s neck tightly, trying to keep myself together during another contraction.
My mate was silent until we made it to the gas station outside of town. He kicked the boarded up door in, setting me down once we were inside and he righted the boards just in case something followed us. I leaned against the large countertop with the cash registers, wiping at the sweat on my forehead. Knight came up behind me and started rubbing my lower back, right where it was hurting. The touch of his hands was a balm on my pain, both physical and emotional.
“He’ll be okay,” Knight soothed, kissing my exposed neck.
“I’m getting very tired of you two risking your life for me,” I groaned as I lowered my head between my spread hands.
“Can’t stop, won’t stop.” Something banged against the gas station door like a bird flying into a window. Knight approached, sniffing the air. “What’s the password?”
“For fuck’s sake, let me in!” Knight opened the wooden boards and Arthur entered the gas station looking no worse for wear, like we’d left him at a shoe store instead of facing a drone mob. He gave me a significant look before glancing down at my belly. “Let’s find the freezer. It’ll be safest in there.”
They both herded me to a metal freezer near the bathroom. With electricity long gone, it was warm inside, and our enhanced sight allowed us to see even when the door was closed and locked. Knight laid out my sleeping bag and helped me sit on it. I automatically reached for Arthur’s hand when Knight turned to rummage through his duffel.
“Been a while since we were here, right?” I joked to the vampire beside me, trying to smile through the pain. “Good thing you’ve both helped me during labor before. Makes me feel better about not having a doctor around.”
Even as I squeezed his hand during another contraction, Arthur still managed one of his stoic bitch faces. “I feel obligated to point out that I’m an actual doctor, but thanks for the confidence.”
Knight produced a cloth that he soaked with some of our precious water, and he mopped at my sweaty forehead with it. “General Doctor Lancaster,” he snarked under his breath. “If you tell me you’re also a Duke, I’m going to lose my shit.”
That silenced the vampire, lips pressed together, his hand still clutched in mine. “Okay. Then I won’t say that.”
“Oh my god.”
“Can you two stop jerking yourselves off and focus?” My protest ended with another painful contraction that I screamed out, squeezing Arthur’s hand so hard I heard his bones creak. He didn’t cry out, he simply leaned in and kissed my sweaty temple like I would shatter if he pressed too hard. It made my heart squeeze almost as painfully as the contractions that now seemed as if no time was passing from one to the next. Knight kissed my other temple, making me a Lisbeth sandwich. Arthur stood up, and together both men helped me stand. Knight’s arms came up from behind me to hold me upright while Arthur removed my underthings.
Groaning, then laughing, I leaned into Knight’s warm body and smiled down at Arthur’s blonde head. “Not exactly how you pictured getting my pants off, I bet.”
“Teasing Arthur, you must be delirious,” Knight said beside my ear.
“I’m allowed a few quips with the excuse that I was in serious pain.” And I was. I was in so much pain I knew my third baby was about to emerge. Through the haze of pain, I looked at Arthur seated between my knees. “What was her name?”
He glanced up at me and didn’t even have to ask who I meant. The woman he was mated to before I knew him. “Adriann.” I hadn’t even thought up baby names. Vampires tended to choose after the baby was born. “Don’t name it after her. I failed her. I won’t fail this baby.” He took my offered hand just as my pain crested.
Sound disappeared around me. Everything focused on the baby coming, with Knight urging me on and Arthur ready to catch her. My body was only pain, only thirst, only feeling, until my thirst was the only thing I remembered. Both men were ready for it, as it had happened before. The soft mewling cries of an infant were lost to me because I needed blood like I needed air, and I turned lightning fast in Knight’s arms, slamming him against the freezer wall and sinking my fangs into his hot neck, pull
ing enough blood to bring my clarity back.
“Don’t stop until you’re healed,” Arthur barked behind me amidst more of the tiny wails. I took a long drink of Knight’s blood with one hand pressed to his pulse to assure me I wasn’t draining him. The pain in my extremities slowly dissipated like it never happened and I slumped against Knight’s chest after withdrawing my fangs. His arms came around me and we sank to the metal floor, both exhausted and drained in more ways than one.
Arthur approached holding a bundle wrapped in some blankets we’d kept with us for this moment: the moment when I met the third child from my vision. He handed her to me carefully and sat in front of us, watching her like a hawk. She had soft blonde hair like her father, and a pout to match his stoic face. When she opened her eyes, they were two bright, blue circles, like soft, blue pansies.
“She’s exactly like my vision,” I said in a hushed whisper, and leaned in to kiss her warm forehead. Arthur met my gaze when I looked up at him, an almost smile on his icy face. I leaned in, kissed his scarred cheek, and hugged him with my free arm. “Thank you for giving her to me.” The warmth for him was still there, deep inside my breast, but I wasn’t ready to confront what he’d said to me. I had more important things to deal with, like naming my new baby girl. Back against Knight’s warm embrace, I stared down at our daughter’s chubby, pink face. “Alexander gave his life to protect us. If it wasn’t for his generosity all those years ago, neither of you would be here right now.”
Knight gently pressed his lips to my temple again and drew my face to his with a finger on my chin, kissing me with more passion than he usually showed me in front of Arthur. He pressed our noses together and stroked at my cheek with his hand, sending tingles all over my tired body. “Regardless of that stupid bracelet, I wouldn’t have hurt you. I have no doubt you would’ve won me over eventually.”
“I would’ve brought you in either way, so there’s that,” Arthur cheeked, making Knight toe him with his shoe as punishment.
Smiling at their antics, I looked back down at the baby in my arms, watching her yawn widely. “I’d like to name her Alexandria. Dreya for short.” I glanced up for confirmation and both men nodded in approval. “It’s settled then. And soon, her brother and sister will be back with us. We’ll be together again.” My heart painfully twisted again from being separated from my other children, not to mention the rest of our family. I had to believe that one day we’d find them and they would never leave us again.
“Rest,” Arthur ordered softly. “We’ll leave the family hunt to another day.” He stood and busied himself with gathering our things. If we stayed too long after spilling this much blood, the drones would swarm like a hive of bees. There was enough time to rest and feed Dreya before we had to go.
I’d allow myself enough time for Dreya to grow old enough not to cry out and alert the drones, but then we had to continue searching for Kitty and Jason, or I was going to lose my mind with worry.
Soon. I’d be with all my babies soon.
1. In a kindly mood
Year: 2073 - Kitty
A dust storm greeted me on the edge of the bleeder city. I’d just rolled into town after weeks of searching for the damn place. With dust swirling in the air like someone had turned on a dry ice machine, my bandana and goggles protected my face from the worst of it, but it made visibility of the town so low I could barely see two steps in front of me. A quick sweep with my enhanced senses showed me the path, and I stepped into the clouds with confidence. Pieces of glass chinked against my boots from various broken windows along the street. The old road pavement was cracked, and weeds were pushing through the asphalt. Twenty years of neglect will do that to concrete. The further I walked through the town, the more damage I could see, even through the puffs of dirt.
A ghost town. That’s what they would’ve called it in the past. Except this town was merely almost abandoned. Not quite there yet. There were still a few bleeders to go around, and sharks a plenty up in the hills.
Eventually, the broken road led to my destination: the only building that smelled like warm bodies. The double door entrance was locked, with good reason considering I was one of the monsters the bleeders were trying to keep out. I lifted my slightly dirty hand and rapped on the wood a few times, hearing the sound echo. Movement inside suggested the bleeders were awake, and they knew sharks didn’t waste time knocking. One stepped up to the door. I smelled steel and gunpowder, and the sweet stink of fear.
“State your fuckin’ business!” a man shouted. “Drinker, mutt, or human?”
My mouth curled at his slurs, but I was in a kindly mood today. “Drinker.” I risked being turned away revealing my true nature like that, even at a backwater place like this.
The sound of wooden slats being moved grated my ears, and the door creaked open before the bleeder stuck out the barrel of his rifle. “No guns.”
I scoffed. “You take Artemis from me and we’ll have a problem, son.” Behind him, someone ordered to let me in, and the door opened enough for me to do so before the bleeder closed it and replaced the wooden barricades.
The building had once been a saloon, apparently, and a man stood behind the mahogany bar wiping a glass with a towel like this was a normal day. I dusted my vest and pants, emitting puffs of dirt, and slipped my bandana off my chin and my goggles onto the crown of my head. My face had to be a frightful state with all the dust in the air. I’d worry about it later.
“What can I do you for, drinker?” the bartender inquired, watching me out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t see many of your kind around these parts. Not decent ones, anyhow.” He set his cup down and started wiping another. Was he busying himself out of fear, or did he really need to be cleaning all that glass just now? “What’s your name?”
I stepped up to him, my boots clunking on the floor with every move, and I sat at one of the green bar stools. “Don’t see how that’s your damn business, bleeder.”
“Now, now,” he cautioned, and I heard the man behind me gripping his rifle again. “No need for name calling here.”
Grabbing one of the newly cleaned glasses, I poured myself a shot of whatever he had on the counter. “You started it, friend. Drinker. Mutt. How am I supposed to take that kind of shit talk?” I raised an eyebrow at him and downed the shot like it was water. For me it practically was.
“Fair enough.” He nodded and his friend put the rifle down. “My apologies. Place like ours, we like to keep a list of names in case anyone comes looking. Nice way to make money.”
Inhaling deeply, I smelled what I’d come for, and damn if my body wasn’t coming alive at the idea of more. Night Shadow. “Not the only way, I heard.” He leveled me with a stare but said nothing. “I can smell your stash. I’m willing to do business.”
He gave me a once over. “You don’t seem like the type. Most of them aren’t so… put together.”
“Judge someone else, you’re wasting your time. I’ll trade you a pint of blood for ten ounces, and some information.”
Laughing, he poured himself a shot and downed it. “Your blood would have to be worth gold to fetch a price like that, darlin’.”
“I can assure you, it is. In fact, my blood is worth every bit of product you have.”
He laughed more and poured us both shots before he leaned in to me, so close I could smell he’d eaten honeyed carrots for lunch. Business must be booming if he could afford honey. Or carrots. “Let me see your eyes.” Unflinching under my blue and purple stare, what he found there brought a smile to his face. “They told me about you. I didn’t believe it. The golden goose of vampires. Your blood makes the best damn product we’ve ever seen.” He leaned back and tapped his finger against his glass. “Five ounces for a pint.”
“Eight. And the information.” He raised his glass, and we toasted in agreement. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of disgust in the act, doing business with a shit man like him. I could smell what kind of man he was, like he was wearing it as a sign around his
neck. Desperate times and all.
“What information would that be?” he inquired.
“My name is Kitty Bathory, and I’m looking for my mother.”
Twenty years. Twenty fucking years since I’d seen my mother’s face, since she bid me farewell at the airport and I’d given her husband our first fist bump. Sweet, loving Knight. He’d raised me and all I ever showed him was contempt. I’d been such a god damn child. If I never saw either of them again, I’d have to live with the knowledge that I’d never told Knight I loved him.
Then there was my real father, the Incubus Balthazar. I also hadn’t seen him in twenty years, no fucking surprise there. He had always been flighty, even if his love for me kept him coming back. He hated being tied to one spot, to see the same walls for any amount of days in a row. I’d asked him many times why that was, but he never gave me a straight answer. Mother said that he loved her grandmother, the Countess of Bathory. With that, I’d concluded that something about her death had altered him. So, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t resent him for leaving me. Well, I could, but it made me feel like a shitty daughter.
As if I didn’t have enough people to miss, the last person in my family had also been gone for twenty years: Jason, my half-brother. He’d been just a kid when I left, with his long, poufy hair that threatened daily on turning into an afro, and not the fashionable kind. Before communication was cut off, I’d been told he was going off with Balthazar to be safe, and honestly the thought of my dad raising anyone on his own had my stomach in knots. If Balthazar flaked, had anyone been there to care for Jason? Had he grown up alone? Out of all four of the people that consumed my thoughts, I felt the most guilt over Jason. Having him grow up in this new piss pot of a world, potentially alone, I could barely stomach the thought without doubling over in agony.
The Born Vampire series: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Complete Series, NSFW Edition) Page 67