by E A Price
“And I’m staying with you tonight.”
“No biting,” she grumbled.
“No biting,” he agreed. For now added his troubled beast.
It couldn’t possibly be true. Vampires couldn’t have children. Everyone knew that to be a firm – even firmer than Juliet’s delicious ass - fact.
A cub rumbled his beast.
No, not possible, and he needed to be there when the fallout from this happened. He saw the longing in her eyes; he knew it would be bad. He needed to comfort her, and plant his fist in her doctor’s face for getting her hopes up in the first place.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“You want a pint of ole Ryder?” he asked with forced cheer.
“Actually I kind of want a burger, and fries and a large chocolate shake, plus an apple pie for dessert.”
His eyes shot up his head. Dang, she really was perfect.
“Sounds good to me.”
*
Juliet viewed herself in the mirror, inhaling, sucking in her stomach and then letting it go again. Her stomach had always been slightly rounded – ab rollers weren’t invented before she turned into a vampire. But was it her imagination, or had she gained a couple of pounds? Her flesh seemed, well, fleshier than usual.
Perhaps sending Ryder out for burgers and fries wasn’t the best move, but he did say that the Galaxy Diner had the best shakes in town. Who knew how fleeting her appetite might be – she needed to enjoy it while she could.
It was a shame they didn’t deliver, but Ryder would be back soon. Hmm, she should have asked for some onion rings too. She better call him.
Juliet faltered on finding Emily walking into her bedroom.
“Emily? What are you… How did you get into my house?”
Emily folded her arms and scrunched up her face. “Juliet, you need to get rid of that damn shifter.”
“Emily, what are you doing in my house?” growled Juliet, her fangs pressing out.
She may be kind of wonky at that moment – she really ought to have scented Emily coming – but she was still a vampire, and still more than capable of tearing Emily to pieces and slurping down her blood. Or she would if her stomach wasn’t in the middle of a hissy fit. But Emily didn’t need to know about that.
“I’ve come to talk some sense into you.” Emily gave her a look of sufferance.
“Okay, let’s forget that you broke into my house and wildly invaded my privacy,” ignoring the fact that she had found it sexy when Ryder did the same thing, “but I’ve had all I can take of this attitude.
“You are a very efficient assistant, but my private life is just that – private and mine. I am not interested in your opinion, and I do not wish to hear it. I suggest you leave right now.”
Emily shook her head piteously. “I really didn’t want to do it this way; things would be a lot less messy if you would just listen to me.”
“Emily, what on earth…”
Her oh-so-about-to-be-fired assistant unclasped one of her hands and blew some purple powder at Juliet. She sneezed, the blueberry scent tickling her nostrils. Juliet was about to ask her if she had gone completely mad when she collapsed.
Darkness invaded her senses. Ryder…
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ryder was standing in line waiting for his order, happily sneering at the other customers when an uneasy feeling stole over him. His tiger snarled, sensing immediately something was wrong. It wasn’t quite the same kind of feeling he got with turtleneck – this was a sense of imminent danger.
Carefully, he glanced around the crowded diner, not failing to miss the two vampires. They were hardly inconspicuous amongst the rowdy families and humans – they were wearing black, had skin pale as the moon and they were freaking vampires!
They were obviously together, yet standing apart. One of them blocking the entrance to the kitchen, the other the entrance to the bathroom, yet both with a good line of sight on the front door.
If it weren’t for his rumbling beast, Ryder would bark with laughter at the fact that no one else in the diner had noticed them. Sure, it was busy but come on!
Happy families with screaming kids milled around completely oblivious to the dark presences in black. They were hardly hiding, but no one seemed to care.
The two vampires were looking at everything in the diner but him. Clearly, they were there for him.
Juliet.
He took out of his phone and called her. No answer. Shit.
Ryder pushed his way through the crowd, hauling people out of his way.
“He stood on my teddy,” screamed one shrill child. While another tried to wipe a booger on his leg and a third started wailing at just the sight of him. Parents were giving him the evil eye which Ryder returned ten-fold, quelling them into looking at their feet.
Really? Juliet wanted one of these things?
He tried calling her again as he elbowed his way out the restaurant. Still nothing.
She could be in the bath his tiger suggested though without enthusiasm. Could be, though he had a bad feeling about what was really going on, especially with two vampire goons following him.
He needed to get rid of them. Wipe the hideously smug look off their pale faces rumbled his beast.
Yeah, Ryder was all for that though it might not be too easy. They looked small and could be generously described as pipsqueaks, but they were packing freakish vampire strength that he really couldn’t ignore.
Ryder strode purposefully to his car. He didn’t hear their footsteps, but the death in their scents was almost overpowering. Not something he ever noticed with Juliet. Strangely her scent was fresh and full of life. Not to mention how warm and pliable her body… Not the time.
A hand clutched his arm, and Ryder snarled, grasping the vampire, tossing him through the air into a mailbox. A roar bubbled out of him straight from his beast. The second vampire’s nostrils flared in surprise. Yeah, he might not have vampire strength, but he was damn strong for a shifter.
Ryder rolled his shoulders, and his considerable fangs started to lengthen. C’mon asshole snarled his beast.
Ryder steeled himself for the attack, but a second before the male could launch himself, a truck plowed into him, sending him sprawling across the street.
He gaped as a door flung open, revealing turtleneck as the driver. “Get in!” he growled.
Ryder looked to his beast, who grunted in as much surprise as Ryder felt.
“For fuck's sake!” howled turtleneck, eyes flashing. “You want to see your mate again, get in.”
The two other vampires were on their feet and advancing. Ryder grunted and got in the truck. Catching a ride with a stranger – despite all the warnings he’d been given in school - was perhaps the better option in this instance.
Turtleneck made a point of hitting both vamps as they hightailed it out of there at a dizzying speed that even Ryder considered a bit much.
“What the hell is going on?” Ryder yowled, pretending he wasn’t hanging onto his seat for dear life.
“They have your female,” replied the vampire grimly.
“They?! Who the fuck are they?”
“The fucking self-appointed vampire queen and princes.”
Ryder paused briefly, letting that sink in. “What?”
*
Juliet awoke feeling queasy. Admittedly, that wasn’t unusual for her these days, but the panic and fear that followed, they hadn’t been present in her life for quite a while.
“Hush, now,” ordered a gentle voice as a hand stroked her hair.
Juliet blinked up at Emily who was smiling benignly and doing the offending stroking.
“What are you doing?” demanded Juliet, rallying her temper.
“Hush, hush, hush,” repeated Emily, maddeningly. “Drink some blood.”
Emily reached out and produced a bottle filled with the scarlet liquid. Juliet’s stomach made a lurch.
“No, thank you,” she said through gritted teeth.
&nb
sp; Emily clucked her tongue as if she was dealing with an errant five-year-old who wouldn’t eat her carrots. “You need your strength.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“There’s no need to be difficult,” Emily said patiently.
“There’s every need, but I’m not hungry. Where am I?”
“On your way home.”
“My way home?”
Belatedly, Juliet realized they were in a vehicle of some kind. The movement was gentle, but she could feel the slight tilt as they went round a corner.
Emily just gave her a serene look. “Just relax, everything will become clear.”
Her attitude and word just served to make Juliet even angrier. She batted away Emily’s hands and forced herself into a sitting position, in spite of the objections coming from all over her body. Dang, she hadn’t felt this bad since she was human.
“Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this?”
“I just want to take care of you, and keep you safe. I’m sorry I had to drug you – that magic dust really is awful stuff – but I was afraid of what you were doing with that damn tiger.”
Juliet rubbed her forehead. “What I was doing?”
“Yes, I had thought it was over between you. I thought you’d seen sense – I thought he was a momentary lapse in judgment. But when he came to your house tonight…”
Juliet looked at her sharply. “How do you know he came to my house?”
“For your own good, I had a couple of security cameras installed in your house – so that I could monitor you and make sure things didn’t get out of hand. I was a little worried that things between you and the tiger became physical, but I figured that you couldn’t be blamed for being lonely – but we won’t mention your relationship to anyone else.” She giggled and held a finger to her lips. “Shhh, our little secret.”
Admittedly Juliet’s head was fuzzy, but nothing Emily was saying seemed to make any sense whatsoever.
“When were you in my house?”
Emily had a naughty indulgent look on her face. “I had to be a little deceptive – I paid someone to make it look like a break-in.”
“Why are you monitoring me?” Was this some kind of single white female deal? She knew Emily was a little intense, but yeesh!
“To keep you safe, of course.”
“But…”
“Hush, hush, hush. Just relax, and everything will be clear soon.” Emily’s eyes sparkled excitedly. “You’ll see, you’re finally going home.”
Good lord, Juliet was trapped with a lunatic and didn’t even have the strength to wring the woman’s neck until she made sense. Bleakly, she thought of Ryder. She hoped he was okay.
Chapter Thirty
“What on earth did you bring him here for?”
The words whipped through the air the moment turtleneck, or Frank as he preferred, led Ryder into the heavily fortified house. They came from the mouth of a very annoyed and very pregnant lion shifter. Her full mouth turned down in disapproval as her eyes blazed gold.
Frank ignored her and shut the door behind them.
“Don’t touch anything,” said Frank softly.
After leaving the other vampires in their dust, Frank had been no more forthcoming about just what the mother-loving hell was happening.
A couple of other vampires appeared out of the gloom of the house, carefully sidestepping the seething lioness.
A tall blonde vampiress nodded at Ryder. “It looks like they’re taking his female to their estate outside the city.”
“Juliet?” roared Ryder, his beast clamoring for the freedom to pound these damn vampires until they ‘fessed up what they knew.
“If they know what she is, why not just kill her?” asked the second vampire, a large dark male. “Why take her?”
“Take Juliet where?” howled Ryder, to absolutely no answer.
“Were they going to take him too?” asked the blonde.
“No,” replied Frank. “They were planning on killing him.”
Ryder virtually exploded, and he could feel the fur pushing out of his skin, readying for the shift. “For fuck’s sake! What the hell is going on?”
“Language!” admonished the lion shifter, stroking her stomach.
A second later, Ryder’s transformation to prehistoric beast stalled as a small blonde girl hurtled into the room, throwing herself at Frank. “Daddy!” she squealed, and momentarily, Frank’s dour countenance broke, and a smile stole over his face.
“Daddy?!” spluttered Ryder. “Have I died? Am I hallucinating?” No his imagination really wasn’t that great.
Frank sighed and handed the child over to the lioness, currently glaring at everyone and everything.
“It’s a long story,” he said.
“Well, make it quick, I got a sabre-tooth tiger in me ready to gnaw on some vamps.”
The little girl let out a small growl and bared two tiny fangs. Not shifter fangs – vampire fangs. She smelled like she was a lion - which was kind of rare for someone so young, the change usually happening in early teens, but then she had freaking fangs!
“I am losing my mind,” Ryder muttered, something his beast didn’t disagree with, though he backed away marginally. “Or maybe I’m dead and in hell.”
Frank squeezed the lioness’ shoulder. “Kate, please put Susie to bed.”
“I’m not tired,” whined Susie, rubbing her eyes, but the lioness grudgingly nodded and carried the squirming child away.
Ryder could scent numerous vampires and shifters. He could hear the sounds of movement, people talking throughout the large house, the pitter patter of children running around. Things were not getting any clearer, and he was starting to regret not taking his chances with the two vampires who wanted to kill him.
“This some kind of crazy cult?”
“No,” replied Frank, a flash of amusement crossing his face.
The blonde vampire folded her arms. “Are you sure you want to tell him? Are you sure he’s one of us?”
To say Ryder was getting cheesed off was an understatement. It was like saying that the Hulk sometimes lost his temper.
Ryder reached for his phone and cursed as he found his pocket empty. He must have dropped it back when he was hauling the vampire into a mailbox. He lost his jacket, too. He was pissed about that – it was real leather and Juliet told him it made him look sexy.
“He is one of us,” insisted Frank.
“If you mean lunatic – I’m not, and I am out of here.”
The large male blocked the doorway and Ryder snarled.
“You think your vampire is your mate, do you not?” asked the large vampire.
“What’s that to do with anything?!” Ryder snarled.
Frank sighed and pulled off his infamous turtleneck, displaying a pretty fearsome bonding mark on his neck.
“Kate – the lioness you just met – is my bonded mate. Susie is our child, and Kate is pregnant with our second. Every vampire and shifter here are mated and bonded, and it is our intention to kill the vampire queen.”
Ryder paused briefly, letting that sink in – something that seemed to be happening a lot in the last few hours. He finally asked, “Is that a definite no on me being dead?”
*
“Good news, we’re here,” Emily told her far too cheerfully.
How had Juliet never noticed that Emily was a demented Mary Poppins? The woman looked positively manic.
“Where exactly are we?” grumbled Juliet. She felt infinitely tired, and her stomach roiled with every move of the vehicle. She was in no mood for secrecy or games. If this were the work of the elders, she would happily rip them a new one for this. Probably not in person, maybe in a strongly worded e-mail.
Where was Ryder? Surely he was missing her, raising hell trying to find her? What if they had gone after him?
“Worrying about Ryder?” guessed Emily correctly.
Juliet pursed her lips, not wanting to give the smug young woman the satisfaction.
&
nbsp; Emily patted her arm. “I’m sorry honey, he’s just not right for you. He’ll be taken care of.”
Juliet could feel her fangs pushing to get out. “If you hurt him…”
“It’s for the best,” Emily interrupted in her snippiest voice. “He’s not good enough for you. Besides you’re already spoken for.”
“Emily, what on earth…”
The door was pulled open, and horribly familiar arms slipped around Juliet.
“Hello, Mary,” purred a bone-chilling voice. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
“Master?”
Juliet did something she wouldn’t have thought possible for a vampire - she fainted.
Chapter Thirty-One
At first, Ryder resisted, but when re-offered a whiskey, he gladly took it. Okay. It wasn’t as complicated as he thought.
Vampires had – for whatever reason – spread it around for centuries that matings between vampires and shifters were deadly. Except, that was a big fat whopper of a lie. The people he had met were a testament to that.
Any vampires and shifters who tried to mate were hunted down and executed by order of the queen – the crazy-ass witch who started it all when she used black magic to turn her sons into vampires. Which is why any shifter/vampire couples who met and bonded went into hiding – or at least they did if they were smart. The house he was in now was full of bonded vampire and shifter mates.
Frank was apparently psychic – he couldn’t read vampires, but he could read shifters - and he sought out other vampire-shifter mates. Plus, he was plotting to kill the vampire queen.
Oh yeah, possibly the most surprising bit of news of the night, shifters and vampires could produce kids. Something to do with their magic mixing.
Which meant Juliet might actually be pregnant. No might about it. She had to be.
As scary as that thought was, he was more incensed by the fact that his mate was out there somewhere, pregnant, abducted by vampires, and at their bloodsucking mercy. If they found out she was pregnant…
Ryder clung to his glass of whiskey like a life preserver as his beast mewled.
The vampires were murmuring amongst themselves. Kate the lioness slipped into the room as stealthily as a huge pregnant shifter could.