by Maia Star
“You know, my life flashed before my eyes when Reed and I fought Maxen,” I say after a while. “Then all I could think about was you.”
Erika doesn’t seem to know what to say, so I laugh and roll her over. “How about we go back now? It’s getting close to dawn. We all need some rest.”
Nodding, she stands with me. We pick up her clothes and then walk off hand in hand
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Erika
The days pass while we stay at Sven’s house. While the place is extremely cozy, I wish we’d all come out here under better circumstances.
Since Maxen hasn’t been seen since the day he attacked Street House, the trio have gone back to their usual rhythm and tactics. While I typically stay in the house, reading or watching TV or even playing some video games, two of the guys will be out looking over the surrounding area, making sure Maxen hasn’t figured out where I am. And of course, one of them stays behind to guard me.
Every day we are out here only seems to agitate the shifters. Because we’re surrounded by tall trees, I assumed at first that it bothered the guys inherently. Dragons were the largest of the shifter species, and so they often required a lot of room to maneuver and live. Even if they were used to Street House, that didn’t change the fact that they might struggle in a new environment. Maybe the trees seemed to close in on them.
But I’ve begun to notice that isn’t probably the case, especially since their arguments have been about Maxen and me specifically.
Like now, a full week and a half later, while I’m sitting outside on the porch, reading a book I found in one of the bedrooms. Hayden is sitting on the other side, his gaze swiveling from me to the woods and back to me again. I had gotten used to his intense looks, but he seems to watch me more intently now. In fact, they all do. It’s like they’re all becoming impatient to claim me for their own, which I know was originally part of their motivation to help me out.
As it’s become increasingly more dangerous to hide and guard me, Hayden, Reed, and Sven have been making sacrifices. Like losing Street House for the time being. They’ve switched gears to be all about me, which is flattering, but I hate the pressure that comes along with it.
Hayden jumps to his feet at the sound of a stick cracking nearby. When Sven emerges from behind a tree, Hayden glares at him. “Why are you walking so slow like that? I almost mistook you for Maxen.”
“Don’t you dare compare me to that jackass,” Sven growls, walking up to the porch. “It’s your turn on scouting duty, Hayden. Hurry and get out there.”
“Huh?” Hayden shakes his head. “It hasn’t been four hours yet. You still got—”
“It has been. You’re just too busy creeping Erika out with your stares to notice.”
“Excuse me?” Hayden comes face to face with Sven and the two snarl at each other. “I am not creeping her out. And you are early. You feel threatened that I spend a lot of time with her, right? Of course, you’d come back early.”
These types of arguments have become more frequent, and I’m at a loss for what to do. Every day I stop them, and hours later, they're back at it again.
When I look out to the trees, too exhausted to even try to stop the two, I spy Reed leaning against a tree, his arms crossed, his fatigued expression mimicking mine. He’s tired of the fights too, but that doesn’t stop him from glaring at his friends with the same vigor they all share. I can tell from the way he straightens when he catches my eyes that all that’s on his mind too is, well, me. It’s all enough to make me feel light-headed. I’ve been beginning to feel sick for days now.
“Oh, great, and Reed came back early too,” Hayden complains.
“I’m not early; it’s my time to guard her,” Reed calls.
“Bullshit.”
“What did you say?”
“Guys…” I say, clutching my head. At the mere sound of my voice, the trio latches onto me, their worry for my health stronger than their competitiveness. “As much as I love three guys fighting over me...none of you know a doctor that would come out and check me, right?”
Hayden stalks over and places a palm against my forehead. “You’re burning up. Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
I half-smile. “It’s hard to think with so much yelling all the time.”
I can see the trio all visibly deflate. It hurts me to see them like that, but they need to stop acting like children.
Reed comes forward. “I know a human doctor I’ve been good friends with for a while. I can call him out, though he might not get here until tomorrow.”
“That’s fine,” I say. “Thanks, Reed.”
Straightening, Hayden steps back and exchanges a glance with the other two. “You two can stay and guard her then. I’ll go scout. Be back soon.”
And then Hayden is running off into the forest, leaving Reed to wander inside to find a phone and Sven to sit outside with me.
And I’m left to frown, wondering if my situation will ever get better.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hayden
A couple days later, after Reed’s doctor friend said he needed to clear some appointments to come out this far, he finally arrives.
Reed and I meet him out front and shake his hand. “Name’s Travis. Which one of you needs a checkup?”
“It’s our friend, Erika,” Reed says, motioning towards the cottage. “She’s had a fever for some days now. She says she’s been lightheaded and dizzy, and she’s got a headache. She’s also been very hungry.”
Travis nods, pulling out a medical kit from his trunk and then slamming it shut before marching past us to the cottage. We fall in line behind him. “All right. I’ll go in and introduce myself and then run some tests. I’ll need you two to give us some privacy.” When he nearly walks right into Sven, who came out to see if the doctor was here yet, he steps to the side and shuffles past him. “You too, big guy. Stay outside, please.”
My eyes twitch as he walks inside, and despite his request, I almost storm in after him, but Reed catches my arm. “Don’t. Let the man work.”
“I know you know him, Reed, but are we really about to just let a relative stranger be alone with Erika? Right now?” I say, flailing and ripping my arm out of his grasp. “What if Maxen hired him to nab her while we stand out here like idiots?”
“Now you’re acting as paranoid as Erika used to be,” Sven says, crossing his arms.
“Oh, stop it,” I say, ignoring the two and leaning against the wall. “She’s been getting a fever because of you two.”
“You mean because of all of us,” Sven growls. “We can’t stop bickering like children, and now that she knows we’re all aiming to claim her, that’s only putting more undue stress on her.”
“If you two had never agreed to become her bodyguards alongside me in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this position,” I say, my frown deepening.
“Right, because we can see into the future, can’t we, Hayden?” Reed says, speaking up. He steps to the edge of the porch and swings out his arms. “We all knew that Maxen would be hard to pin down. And we all knew we’d burn down Street House and come live in the Redwoods. Of course, we all knew that would happen when we accepted!”
“We don’t need the sarcasm, Reed,” Sven says.
“Hayden needs it, especially since he’s become so full of himself.” Reed glares at me. “What? Do you think you’re above us because we’re the ones that couldn’t catch him the second time around? Are you angry at us because we made a split-second decision to scorch our home and maybe try to catch Maxen in the crossfire?”
“You are the ones that burned down our home, so yes, that is your fault.”
“Oh, then why weren’t you around to help us? Oh, that’s right, you were off with Erika, screwing her while your clan was fighting for our lives. How does it feel to be so arrogant and such an asshole at the same time?”
My fist connects with Reed’s cheek next, and he’s spiraling backward, bouncing on the ground
until he rolls up to his feet. As I climb down the steps, I expect him to charge me, but maybe he’s afraid of the wrath flowing through me right now. I can’t stand the smug look on his face or the fact that he keeps pushing me.
Sven steps in between us both. “You two. Stop it. Now.”
“Or what? You’ll punch me too?” Reed says. “Come on, Sven. Sometimes we just got to let our fists fly to work off some stress.”
Sven spins on him. “We’re all acting like idiots because of Erika.”
I growl. “Don’t blame her, Sven.”
“I’m not blaming her. I’m saying most of this is coming from the fact that we all want to claim her. Am I wrong?”
He looks between us, and neither Reed nor I are willing to disagree. I mean, he is right. I can’t stop watching her nowadays, and every thought I have is of her.
“And of course it doesn’t help that she hasn’t chosen one of us yet. We can’t force her to pick yet, and it’s screwing with all of us.”
Reed licks his lips. “Well, maybe if you two would just back off and leave her to me, we wouldn’t have this problem to begin with.”
“She’s not yours, Reed,” I say. “I’m the one that was originally picked out to be her bodyguard, meaning she was supposed to be my mate from the very start. It wasn’t until her paranoia took over that she demanded you two as well.”
“But that just isn’t the case anymore, Hayden,” Sven argues. “Each one of our inner dragons is clamoring for her, but she seemingly likes all of us.” He pauses. “Besides, two of us are going to have to back down once she does choose, or else we’ll destroy our clan and be forced to go our separate ways. We’ve pushed her to the brink of sickness because of how strong our desires are, and now she’s suffering for it. Is that what you two want?”
Sven’s got us there. I shake my head. “No, it isn’t.”
Reed just spits on the ground.
Sighing heavily, Sven motions for us both to come closer to him. He claps us both on the backs and looks between us. “Look, if we let this continue, then we’ll probably kill each other. We’ve got to hold off of vying for her love for a while, at least until we deal with Maxen, okay? Once that’s out of the way, all four of us will have clear heads, and we’ll have her choose one of us. There won’t be any hard feelings now, or later. Agreed?”
I laugh. “You know, I thought I was the one who was supposed to give these kinds of speeches.”
“You can’t do nearly as well as Sven here,” Reed says, smiling himself.
Before we can go any further, the front door opens and Travis steps outside. He motions at us to come inside. “I have a diagnosis, and I want all three of you inside to hear it.”
With that, we all exchange glances and trudge in, hoping Erika’s sickness isn’t too bad.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Erika
When Doctor Travis originally came in, I had thought he seemed nice. He smiled at me, shook my hand, and gave me simple instructions for a few tests. He asked me about the symptoms of my sickness; I explained it all to him quickly. Taking notes, he just nodded and eventually took some of my blood, and finally, he gave me a box of pregnancy tests.
And then he walked out of my bedroom.
Now, Doctor Travis walks back in the door, flanked by Hayden, Reed, and Sven.
“I’ll make this as brief as I can since I have a clinic to run back in the city.” Doctor Travis glances at me, and then to the three guys. “Erika is pregnant.”
It’s so quiet, I can hear Sven’s intake of breath from across the room. I can barely speak because my eyes are so wide and my jaw doesn’t want to close to help me form any words. Hayden stumbles to the side and then catches himself. “Say again?”
“Erika is pregnant.” Doctor Travis says again. “Though that’s my conclusion after only a few tests and a little while with her. I took her blood, so I’ll go back to my clinic and run a blood test to see.” He quickly packs all of his doctorly tools and equipment. “Erika, I want to keep getting updates from you over the next month. After I confirm for sure that you are pregnant, you can come in and we’ll discuss next steps.”
I blink, staring up at him. My mind is blank.
Doctor Travis then pushes past Reed and Sven, who are glancing between him and me with wide eyes. “I’ll be on my way then. If there’s any changes, let me know immediately. Oh, and—” Doctor Travis pokes his head back around, “—whichever one of you is the father, take good care of her.”
And then he’s gone.
Nobody says a word while the doctor walks out the front door, climbs into his car, and drives off. We listen to his engine grow faint.
Tears sting my eyes as I lean forward and down, bringing my hands up to cover my face. I’m not sure what kind of tears these are.
Suddenly, Hayden throws his arms out, palms up. “All right, before anyone speaks, all I want to say is...well, I’m the father.”
His words don’t register with me first, but I watch him silently now. His eyes meet mine, and he smiles. He’s happy.
Reed shakes his head vigorously as he steps forward. “Woah, woah! Hell no! You are not the father, Hayden. Don’t be so cocky, because I’m that kid’s father.”
But then Sven steps up too, puffing out his chest. “You’re both wrong. Erika’s kid is mine.”
Glancing at me, Hayden sighs. “You’ve had sex with all of us, haven’t you?”
Shaking, I nod. “I didn’t think about...getting pregnant. There’s so much that’s happened recently.”
Hayden comes and kneels next to me while I sit in my bed. He grabs my hand, holding it, and smiles up at me. His smile is still as bright as always, and a wave of calm overwhelms me. “Look, I don’t blame you. But now you’re going to have a kid.” Hayden blinks at me. “You are going to keep the kid, right?”
I nod instinctively. Even if I’ve had barely any time to process what just happened, I know I want this kid. I’ve dreamed of having one for years. It’s just...the timing. “I am going to keep him, or her.”
“Yeah, but you don’t know who the father is now,” Reed says. Looking at his clanmates, he glares icy daggers. “That chat we had before, fellas? That goes out the window. This is my child, and I won’t take no for an answer.”
I try to speak up, but Hayden suddenly jerks to his feet, marching up to Reed. “Like hell it is, Reed. I’m the father, as I’ve already said.”
Sven pries them apart. This scene has unfolded before my eyes many times before now, so I try to raise my voice, but Sven cuts me off. “I didn’t want to do this, but I’m pulling seniority here. Even if there’s a chance her kid isn’t biologically mine, I would be the best father here. End of story.”
“Hell no!”
“All of you shut up and listen to me!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
All three men finally notice I’m trying to speak and all turn to me, eyes wide. I’m breathing hard now, clutching my chest. All I want to do is rest.
Clearing my throat, I look up, frowning, glancing at each one of them to tell them that I’m dead serious. “There’s only one possible solution to this, unless you all want to kill each other. All three of you will be the father and help raise my child. And all three of you will be my mate. You’ll all share me, or none of you will have the baby or me.”
All three stiffen and crease their brows. Reed runs both hands through his hair while Sven crosses his arms and leans against the wall. Hayden is twitching. “Erika,” Hayden says, “that’s not a light request to make.”
My heart is on fire right now. “I’m not requesting anything, Hayden. I’m telling all three of you. You don’t all have to decide right now, but what I do know is that I want all of you. If you can work together in this...I know we’ll all be so, so happy.”
The trio glance between each other, and after a minute of staring, they all nod. Hayden looks back at me. “Let’s get this whole Maxen business out of the way first, and then we can talk about this more
, okay? In the meantime, just let us know if you need anything.”
I nod, smiling sheepishly up at them. “Then give me some time to rest again. I need to think about this.”
So the trio shuffles out, leaving me to lean back in bed and stare up at the ceiling.
Chapter Thirty
Reed
Four days pass as we continue to settle into our life at Sven’s home in the Redwoods. I want to say it’s been going more smoothly ever since we found out Erika was pregnant, but that just isn’t the case.
Ever since that day, Hayden, Sven, and I have been avoiding each other. We said we’d wait until after Maxen is dealt with to figure out how we were going to solve this whole mess, but with Maxen still a no show, and us stuck at this small cottage indefinitely, it’s hard to keep ourselves cool, calm, and collected.
We’ve all recognized that none of us can really keep ourselves composed around Erika for this long, so we’ve begun to simply stay away from each other. Going out on our regular patrols through the woods helps, but it still can’t prevent us from bumping into each other every now and then.
Like now. I’m coming back from one such patrol, trudging up the front steps silently, and pushing open the front door. The cottage is so quiet now. I can practically hear Hayden speaking to Erika in her room. Grumbling to myself, I stuff my hands in my pockets and walk to her bedroom. I knock once and then open the door.
I find Hayden seated on a chair on the other side of the bed. He’s watching Erika, his mouth open. Erika isn’t looking at him though; she’s gripping a book, flipping the page as I walk inside. Hayden and I spare a single glance. I don’t even need to speak for him to understand that it’s his turn. I can see by the way he glares at me that he’s not happy to be leaving Erika alone with me.
When he walks out, he brushes my shoulder and then slams the door shut.