Omega’s Vampire Bodyguard: Tenebrae Brothers Book 2

by Oakley, Hawke

  I sighed. “Yes, you figured it out. Congratulations.”

  She squealed and hugged me. “No, congratulations to you! You’re gonna have a baby, Caleb!”

  I couldn’t help but grin at her infectious joy. “Yeah, I am.”

  Jess stood up and looked at Adriel while motioning at me. “He’s pregnant! He’s gonna have a baby!”

  Adriel chuckled. “Yes, he is. We’re all very excited.”

  Jess nearly knocked all the items off the shelf in her enthusiasm. “Do you have names picked out? When are you due? Do you have a little nursery?”

  “What’s going on out here?” Lewis’s sharp voice cut through the store as he stormed out from the back. “Why does it sound like you two are goofing off instead of working?”

  Jess and I straightened up.

  “We are working,” Jess replied. “Caleb just told me some exciting news, is all.”

  “Is that right?” Lewis said sarcastically.

  At the same time, Adriel narrowed his eyes into a ferocious glare that burned into the back of Lewis’s head. He must have noticed because he hesitated and risked a glance over his shoulder.

  “Ah, Mr. Tenebrae,” Lewis said in a meek voice. “It’s good to see you, as always.”

  Adriel nodded.

  Lewis cleared his throat and addressed us again. “In any case, just keep the chatter to a regular volume and don’t forget to interact with any customers.”

  Jess and I were pointedly aware of the store being empty right now, but we didn’t bring that up.

  “We won’t,” Jess said.

  Lewis grunted. “Good.” He looked like he was about to head back and leave us alone when Adriel shot me a knowing glance with a raised brow.

  He wants me to tell Lewis about quitting.

  “Actually, wait a second, Lewis,” I said.

  Lewis stopped. “What is it?”

  The store went silent as we faced off. It took me a moment to find my voice, but it came easily to me when I looked at Adriel and saw the supportive expression on his face.

  “I’m putting in my notice,” I told Lewis. “I want to pursue a different career, so… I’m quitting this job.”

  Lewis gaped at me. “Well…” A thinly-veiled sneer appeared on his face. “After all I’ve done with rearranging your schedule and being sympathetic to your time off from work, I suppose you have to move on eventually.”

  Behind Lewis, Adriel’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “Is there a problem?” he asked loud enough to make Lewis flinch. “If there is, speak now.”

  “N-no,” Lewis mumbled. “Two weeks it is, then.”

  He didn’t look back as he trudged away.

  I let out a sigh I didn’t know I was holding. After all this time working a part-time job with a less-than-stellar boss, it felt so freeing to finally tell him I was quitting. The control was in my own hands now, and it was intoxicating.

  Adriel shot me a reassuring nod and a smile.

  It’s because of him that I can do this, I thought happily. He gave me the strength to learn how to stand up for myself.

  * * *

  It was nearing the end of my shift when it happened again.

  The man that had showed up the night I suddenly became sick appeared once more. Instantly my skin tingled uncomfortably. Memories of the night of the attempted robbery flooded back to me, making me freeze up.

  Trying to put some distance between us, I made my way behind the counter. Adriel noticed my discomfort right away. He pressed closer to me and asked quietly, “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” I murmured.

  He knew I was lying, so he pulled out a small notepad he kept in his blazer pocket, and a pen.

  Without speaking, his eyes clearly said, Write it down.

  I watched nervously as Jess continued sweeping up the store, oblivious to the man except for a quick greeting. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  I scribbled down a message and showed it to Adriel.

  Same guy was here when I got sick. Didn’t do anything but made me nervous. Reminded me of robber guy.

  Adriel gave me a small, silent nod. He wrote down a reply.

  I will watch him. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.

  I smiled despite the anxiety in my gut. Knowing Adriel would protect me no matter what eased my worries and made me feel perfectly safe - at least in my mind, even if my body didn’t agree.

  The man approached the counter. My body stiffened, ready for confrontation. Adriel’s presence was the only thing stopping me from bolting.

  “Can we help you?” Adriel asked.

  The man’s face was covered by a hood, which he kept lowered, but at the sound of Adriel’s voice he perked up. The face that greeted us surprised me. He was younger than I thought, roughly my age, and even more noticeable was how his eyes were wide with fear.

  Who is this guy?

  “Um,” the young man said in a muffled voice. “I’m... looking for someone.”

  Adriel seemed to notice the guy wasn’t a threat and leaned in closer to reply. “Could you speak up just a bit?

  “Sorry.” The guy bit his lip and avoided eye contact. He trembled as if this was the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life. “My friend went missing. He… he stopped coming to - he hasn’t, um, showed up, and I’m worried…”

  Adriel and I exchanged a glance. My mind immediately went to Maxwell, who had essentially been banned from leaving the Tenebrae estates until the vampires could figure out what to do with him.

  “Is your friend named Maxwell?” I asked.

  The young man’s eyes widened. His hood flew off as he nodded vigorously.

  “What is your name?” Adriel asked.

  “Jordan.” He fidgeted with his sleeve. “Um, is Maxwell okay?”

  “Yes,” Adriel replied. “He’s well. His presence was needed for some delicate medical issues.”

  “He said something like that,” Jordan mumbled.

  I suddenly felt guilty by association that Maxwell had been ripped from his life so he could care for Benji during his labor. With all the excitement and novelties happening in our lives, we had all apparently forgotten that Maxwell had a life of his own.

  “Where do you know him from?” I asked gently.

  Jordan stared at the countertop. “Um… We have a meetup. Every week. For anxiety.”

  Beside me, Adriel nodded. “I see. And Maxwell stopped showing up.”

  “Yeah. He usually never misses,” Jordan added.

  Now that he mentioned it, I remembered that Maxwell had some of the same nervous habits that Jordan exhibited. I always thought he was a bit shy, but who wouldn’t be, given Maxwell’s strange circumstance?

  “How did you know to speak with us?” Adriel asked. There was a hint of an edge to his voice from paranoia, but I didn’t think anyone who didn’t know him well would pick up on it. Jordan definitely didn’t need any more reasons to be nervous.

  “He texted me from a number I didn’t recognize,” Jordan mumbled.

  A number he didn’t recognize? I’m guessing Margaret broke his phone a while back so he couldn’t call for help, but maybe now Theo is letting him use his cell.

  “He said… Tenebrae. I remembered that name. And your name.”

  “Mine?” I asked.

  Jordan nodded, still not able to face us. “Caleb, he said. “And… you must be Adriel. Theo’s brother. He talks about Theo a lot.”

  I had a nametag on, so that wasn’t surprising, but Adriel seemed a bit startled.

  “Well, I hope he didn’t have anything negative to say about me,” Adriel mumbled.

  “No,” Jordan said quickly, his eyes flashing. “Just that you’re tall and handsome.” His dark skin flushed deep with embarrassment. “Uh, those are his words, not mine.”

  Adriel smiled. “It’s all right. We’ll tell Maxwell we met you here.”

  Jordan’s eyes flickered back and forth between us and the floor. “Can I see him?”


  “I’ll see what I can do,” Adriel said. “But rest assured that he’s well, and taken care of.”

  The barest hint of a smile crossed Jordan’s face. “Okay. Thanks.” He took a step back, then quickly put a chocolate bar on the counter, paid for it, and left.

  “Anxiety meetups, huh?” I said. “I guess that explains why Maxwell seems so shy sometimes.”

  “Yes,” Adriel mused. “Let’s tell him about this later.”

  “Yeah. The guy deserves that much at least for dealing with two hormonal half-vampire-baby-carrying omegas.”

  18

  Adriel

  “You know, you didn’t have to quit your entire job if you just wanted to babysit,” Benji teased.

  He and his brother sat in a circle on the nursery floor, with each of them holding up one of baby Lark’s arms. She was attempting to stand much earlier than a purely human infant would have ever been able to. Other than the sharp canine teeth and increased growth speed, she looked like a normal human baby.

  “I know that, dumbass,” Caleb replied. “Wait, am I allowed to say that in front of the baby? I know she grows fast but she doesn’t understand swearing yet, does she?”

  “No,” Benji replied, raising a brow, “luckily for you.”

  Pierce and I watched our mates with a sense of ease and contentment. Since Caleb quit his job, he had a lot more time to spend with his family. Taking care of Lark was new and fun for him - and would give him the experience he needed when it came time to for his own child to be born.

  “Hey, Benj,” Caleb began. “There’s, uh, actually something I wanted to tell you.”

  “What’s up?” A hint of worry crossed his face. “Is everything okay?”

  “No, no, everything’s fine,” Caleb said quickly. “Actually, more than fine. Things are really good.”

  Benji smiled in relief. “Well, then?”

  Caleb chewed his lip. “I’m… I’m actually dating Adriel.”

  Benji looked more surprised than Pierce did. My brother merely cast me a sideways grin. I resisted the urge to groan and push him away.

  “What?” Benji cried. “You’re f - you’re screwing with me.” Benji looked at me. “Is that true?”

  “Is what true?”

  We turned to see Theo saunter into the room with his hands in his pockets and a familiar curious grin on his face.

  “Showed up just in time for the drama,” Pierce commented, still smirking.

  “There’s no drama,” I growled in embarrassment. “You’re all just a bunch of children.”

  “Caleb and Adriel are dating!” Benji cried to Theo, who pretended to be shocked.

  “Wow!” Theo said. He slapped his hands on his face. “An alpha and omega, forced together through circumstance… Who would have thought this would happen?” I did actually elbow Theo, and he grunted. “Ow!”

  “Seriously,” Pierce added. “We’re very happy for both of you.”

  “There’s something else, too,” Caleb murmured. His cheeks were flushed from all the sudden attention.

  Benji’s eyes widened like he knew what his brother was going to say before he said it. “Oh my god.”

  Caleb glanced at me for validation, and I nodded for him to continue. He took a deep breath.

  “I’m pregnant,” Caleb said. “With Adriel’s baby.”

  “Caleb!” Benji cried before throwing his arms around him and hugging him. “Oh my god… I can’t believe this.” He glared at his brother in the eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me the moment you knew? Asshole!”

  Caleb, Pierce and Theo laughed. Lark laughed as well, but I assumed she was only joining in with everyone else.

  “I didn’t want to upstage you!” Caleb told Benji. “You’d barely given birth, so I didn’t want to show up like, hey guys, guess what!”

  Benji scowled, but his face retained a mischievous quality. “Jerk. I told you not to hide stuff from me anymore. But I get your point.”

  “Sorry. That’s the last secret, I promise,” Caleb said with a grin.

  “You’re gonna have a little cousin,” Benji told Lark, who was busy crawling on the rug now.

  When she reached her father, Pierce scooped her up. “Two dhampirs in one house… Are we going to be able to handle that?” he teased. He wiggled a finger in front of Lark’s face and she tried to bite it. Pierce chuckled.

  “Two! That’s so many babies!” Theo cried.

  “Are you upset that you’re not the baby of the family anymore?” Pierce asked him.

  Theo pouted. “No. Well, maybe a little.”

  “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “You still act like one.”

  “Ha ha.” Theo rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t worry about adding a third baby, because unlike my big brothers, I know how to keep it in my pants around an omega.”

  I playfully swatted him, but Theo ducked underneath it and laughed at me.

  Ignoring us, Benji turned to Caleb and asked with sparkling eyes, “Have you two thought of names yet?”

  “Yup,” Caleb said proudly. “But they’re gonna be a surprise to everyone except us.”

  “You are such a - “ Benji cut himself off from swearing in front of Lark and settled on, “Butthead.”

  “They’re cute, I promise,” Caleb said.

  As the human brothers laughed, another voice said from the door, “Um… Sorry to interrupt.”

  Everyone turned to see Maxwell, who immediately began sweating under the stress of being stared at by every person in the room.

  “Um, maybe I should come back later,” Maxwell squeaked.

  “No, please continue,” I said. Learning from Jordan that Maxwell had issues with anxiety, I wanted to encourage him as much as possible. “We’re all listening.”

  Nobody spoke on top of him. Maxwell bit his lip, then built up the nerve to speak again.

  “So…” He looked to Caleb. “I need to speak with you. It’s about the baby.”

  Caleb looked like he’d been gutted. “What? Is something wrong?”

  “No, no,” Maxwell said quickly. “Well, it could be an issue, but we won’t know for sure until I examine you.”

  Theo cringed. “Max, your bedside manner…”

  “What?” Maxwell said, apparently not realizing how badly he’d frightened Caleb. “Oh, I’m sorry. Just… come with me, please.”

  Everyone was silent as Caleb and I hurried out of the room. Stress radiated off my mate in waves. I took his hand in mine, but it didn’t seem to help. The doctor’s words had truly scared him.

  Caleb was a bundle of nerves by the time we arrived in Maxwell’s examination room. “What’s happening?”

  A pile of papers and an overstuffed clipboard were strewn across the counter. Maxwell seemed distracted as he gestured to the bed. “If you could lay down, please.”

  “Doctor,” I said firmly. “Could you please explain what the issue is?”

  “Oh!” Maxwell said, like he had finally heard me. “Sorry. There’s no need to worry. Probably.”

  “Maxwell!” Caleb snapped. Frightened tears rimmed his eyes. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “Yes.” Maxwell cleared his throat and took a seat next to Caleb on the bed. He held the overflowing clipboard in his hands. “I would like to take some ultrasounds.”

  “That’s it?” Caleb almost yelled. “That’s… normal.”

  “Well, I was concerned because of your previous condition,” Maxwell went on, a slightly grim look on his face. “The rubra putrida.”

  Caleb cringed, as if hearing the name sent him back to relive those horrible months in the hospital.

  “Scarlet Rot,” I said, translating the latin. “It’s a rare condition, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. There’s not much information about it in the first place, other than being a disorder related to the blood and a few vital organs. Surgeons know how to fix the symptoms associated with it, at least,” Maxwell continued. “I was concerned what effect it would have o
n the baby, especially a half-vampire.” He hesitated. “In blunt terms, a normal human baby is parasitic - but a half-vampire one… even more so.”

  “Are you calling my baby a parasite?” Caleb snapped. He looked ready to throttle Maxwell.

  Maxwell reconsidered his words. “Er, all I meant is, it’s a strain on your body.” He rolled his chair closer to the bed and began setting up a machine with a screen attached. “The surgery should have fixed your body, but just in case, I want to monitor the baby’s growth so both of you are healthy by the end of it.”

  Caleb let out an exasperated sigh. “So there’s nothing wrong with me? Or the baby?”

  “Probably not,” Maxwell said.

  Groaning, Caleb leaned back against the bed, crinkling the hygienic paper. “You could have just said that in the first place.”

  “Didn’t I?” Maxwell asked absentmindedly. “Sorry. I know Theo mentioned my bedside manner…”

  “You could stand to work on it,” Caleb mumbled.

  I watched Caleb lift his shirt so Maxwell could apply the gel for the ultrasound.

  “I’d like you to come in every two weeks,” the doctor told him. “That’s more often than a normal pregnancy, but I want to err on the side of caution.”

  “That’s fine,” Caleb said with a sigh.

  “And if my hunch is correct, you’re going to need to drink blood earlier than your third trimester,” Maxwell continued.

  “Huh?” Caleb asked. “Why?”

  Moving the instrument along Caleb’s belly, Maxwell said, “To put it in simple terms, your own blood is barely enough to sustain you. With a pregnancy and a fetus that specifically requires blood for nutrition, you need more of it. In fact, I’d like you to start right away.”

  Caleb paled. “I have to drink blood already?”

  “Yes.” Maxwell smiled and pointed at the screen. “For this little one.”

  We followed Maxwell’s gesture and gasped. There, on the black and white monitor, was the vague shape of our baby.

  “Oh my god,” Caleb cried. “Is that it?”