He pulled me close and gave me a lingering kiss before releasing me so I could go back on stage. I launched straight into Christina Perri’s song, A Thousand Years and as I sang, I watched my arrogant vampire pace back and forth one eye on me and one on the crowd. He made me smile and it was sweet that he still found me sexy, but I was huge, there seriously wasn’t anything sexy about me at eight months pregnant.
When I finally sang my last song, it was a relief to get off the stage and prepare to go home. Terry came out from his office and gave us both a big beaming smile.
“Hey Fabian, I need to speak to you for a moment. Would you have time to come to my office?” He asked.
“Is it urgent?” He asked and I nudged him.
“Just go. Terry wants to see you. I’ll go wait in the car.” I whispered, reaching up to kiss his cheek.
He frowned, his mouth opening as if he was about to say something, but Terry called him again and reluctantly he turned away from me, following my boss.
“I wonder what that’s all about.” I turned to Chloe, but she just shrugged and hurried to serve a group of men who had approached the bar. A couple of the men watched me as I stood finishing off my glass of water. Something in the eyes of one of them sent a shiver up my spine, but he turned back to his friends and they started to move off again.
Chloe came back towards me after she’d served the group of men and she looked flushed. “They were creepy.” She said shuddering. “I don’t like the way some of them looked at me.”
“I know, I saw them myself and they gave me the shivers. Look, I’m getting out of here. I told Fabian I’d wait out at the car for him. I don’t know what Terry wants him for but hopefully he won’t be long.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t wait here for that man of yours?” She asked but I shook my head.
“It’s ok. I’ve got keys to the car. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” I waved to her and headed for the main door out of the club that led to the car park.
I walked across the parking lot heading for the large bulk of Fabian’s Rolls Royce and I’d made it about halfway across when I heard footsteps behind me. I started to walk faster but at eight months pregnant, it was hard to move with any speed or grace.
I could still hear the footsteps, that seemed to be getting closer and I turned, not seeing anyone behind me. My heart rate increased as fear began to build inside me and I turned back to continue my ungainly rush for the car, slamming straight into a hard object.
My lips parted as I went to scream but pain exploded in the side of my head as something hit me hard. I blindly turned and realised there was another man at my side and a third one was approaching me. In the dim lighting, I could see it was the creepy looking men from the club.
Spells, think, I tried to clear the haze. “What do you want? Don’t hurt me please. I’m pregnant.” I cried, trying to reason with them but one man simply laughed.
“Grab her bag.” One said to another and I felt it being torn from my shoulder.
“Please, my boyfriend will be here soon, please let me go.” I begged starting to struggle.
“Keep still bitch.” One of them snapped.
I struggled harder and tried to concentrate through the pain in my head for some sort of spell. “BE GONE!” I screamed and felt the man holding me, release me. Well, he didn’t just release me, he disappeared.
“Hey bitch what did you do to him? Fuck, she’s some sort of fucking witch or something. Get her.” Another screamed and before I could react, I was slammed up the other side of my head, pain exploding again.
I could dimly hear the voices of the men sounding more and more worked up. “Fuck, come on man, forget it, it’s not worth hanging around. This fucked up bitch did something to Eddie and I’m not hanging around. We were supposed to take anything she had and maybe fuck her. I’m not waiting for her to do something to me and that big fucker boyfriend of hers is gonna turn up soon, I’m outta here.”
I stumbled, trying to turn towards the voice I could hear, ready to cast another spell, but before I could do anything I felt searing pain. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, exploding in my chest and side. Instantly I began to wheeze, struggling to draw breath but it hurt too much and it was too hard, so hard.
Vaguely I could hear some gurgling, watery sound and it registered it was me. I felt like I was drowning but I wasn’t even in water. Every breath was an effort, every effort to breathe an agony of pain.
Everything began to grow hazy, dimming, but somewhere through the haze I saw the shadows of figures that I think were my attackers fleeing. Tears squeezed their way from my eyes when I saw the haze turning to black. I knew this was bad, I was alone, I was going to die. I wouldn’t see Fabian again and our baby would never be born.
With a resigned gasp and a gurgled attempt to draw air, the darkness rushed up, claiming me and sank to the ground, feeling the sticky wetness flowing from me, pooling around me as I lay in the club’s car park, waiting for the end to come.
Fabian
When Fabian finally got free of Terry, he headed back out to the gaming room to see if Sirene had decided to wait for him there. He couldn’t believe that he’d been dragged into a damn surprise party for his little witch. Well it was more a surprise baby shower that Terry wanted to organise and he needed him to help make sure Sirene had no idea about it and to get her to the club for the party.
“She’s gone out to the car to wait for you.” Chloe called to him and he inclined his head in acknowledgement, not stopping as he headed for the doors that led out to the car park.
He walked with his usual long stride towards his car but about halfway there a strong smell of blood hit his nostrils. It was so strong, it was almost overpowering and he felt the tingle of his fangs wanting to descend in response. As he continued walking, suddenly his stomach tightened, he knew that blood and it was Sirene’s.
“Fuck.” He broke into a run and reached his car, scanning for her, but he couldn’t see her. “Sirene.” He called, standing for a moment, nose to the air as he tried to zero in on where the smell of the blood was coming from.
The wind was blowing just enough to confuse him with the scent and as he ran around in all directions, looking between cars, he pulled his mobile phone out and rang Francesca, demanding that she ring the others. He wanted everyone to come to the club now.
He wasn’t sure what they could do, but more noses would help and if he found her, his gut instinct told him, he was going to need help. He’d just about circled the whole car park when he noticed blood on the ground. It was smeared along the concrete, a clear indication that whoever was bleeding had been dragged.
Fear turning his stomach into a hard knot had him following the blood trail until finally he found her, hidden behind a row of large Charity bins where people dropped off clothing and things to donate.
She was so still, pale, blood soaking her clothing and Fabian felt tears prick his eyes. She looked dead, he was too late. Bending down, he scooped her gently into his arms and carried her carefully out into the open near his car.
Just as he lay her down, he heard the screech of tyres and a car pulled up. It was his children. It was times like this that he was thankful his home wasn’t that far from the club. The necessity for blood had been one of the deciding factors when he’d bought it.
They all piled out of the car hurrying towards him, gasps of shock escaping their lips and horror on their faces. Everyone had come to like Sirene in the time she’d lived at the house with them.
“My god Fabian, what happened?” Francesca asked.
“I don’t know. I got held up inside with her boss and she said she’d wait in the car but…but…I don’t know what happened.” His voice was flat, devoid of emotion as shock started setting in.
“Father, is she still alive?” Dominick asked.
“I…don’t…know.”
Dominick bent to her and placed a hand on her wrist, obviously feeling for a pulse.
“She’s alive, just. We have to act fast if we are to save her. You know what we have to do father but Sirene’s pregnant, the baby….” His voice trailed off.
“We have to get the baby. I won’t let our son die this close to his delivery. He’s old enough to survive outside her womb now. We need someone who can help us but we have to work fast.
“There’s no time Fabian. She won’t last until we can get her help. You don’t want human doctors working on her do you?” Dominick asked. “She’s bleeding and I don’t mean the blood that’s coming from her side. She’s got a punctured lung by the sounds of things. Her breathing is very watery sounding. She must be bleeding internally too. It looks like she’s been stabbed but I’m not sure why she’s so badly bruised on her face.”
Fabian pulled Sirene’s dress up, conscious that she was on display to them all but knowing he had no choice. Something didn’t look right and it wasn’t just the blood soaked panties she wore. There was a bulge between her legs and when he slipped a couple of fingers beyond the leg of them, he gasped with shock when he realised it was the baby’s head crowning, well a bit more than crowning actually. Their son was being delivered while Sirene was unconscious. He’d never have thought it possible, but obviously it was, their son proved that, he was coming.
“Fuck, she’s having the baby. Quickly, we need to get my son out of her now so we can start changing her before it’s too late.”
“How can the baby come while she’s unconscious?” Lucian asked.
“I don’t know and I don’t give a fuck, ok? The baby is coming. My guess is the powerful contractions push the baby down so even though Sirene’s not awake, her muscles will push our baby out. I just wish I knew if he was alive.”
Francesca bent down, placing her ear against Sirene. “Your son is alive Father. I can hear his heart beating. We must hurry though as Sirene’s is slowing. She’s bleeding to death.”
“Get her in the car; I’m not doing this out in the open where someone may see us.” He lifted his little witch, not bothering to conceal the tears that rolled down his cheeks in a never ending flow like a waterfall. He couldn’t lose her, he just couldn’t.
It was times like this that he was thankful he insisted on driving the big roomy Rolls Royce. If he’d been driving it the night he’d crashed and died in hospital before being restored as vampire, he’d no longer have the Rolls. It was like a limo, longer than the average car with an extra row of seats that faced towards the rear of the car. With all the leg room, there was plenty of floor space for him to lay down Sirene and once he did, reluctantly he ripped her panties off and lifted her dress. As he stared down at her, parting her legs, he saw a ripple pass over her stomach and their son shifted slightly lower. He was coming and her contractions were pushing him out slowly. He needed to speed things up though since her breathing was not good and she sounded watery in her lungs. Fabian knew it wasn’t water though, it was blood. She was drowning in her own blood. He was terrified that the strain of delivering in her weakened state might kill her too. They had to get his son out of her as quickly as possible.
“Don’t you think we should get her to hospital?” Damien asked but Dominick immediately told him no.
“She won’t make it Damien. The doctors will probably not be able to save her and if she dies, it’s too late for us to change her. We have to try and do this here.” Dominick turned his attention to Fabian. “You need to make a decision. If we can see we are going to lose her before you child is born, who do we save? You must be aware that a difficult choice may have to be made?”
Fabian felt fresh tears well and roll down his face. Any other time pride would not allow him to show his emotions in front of anyone else, but he was losing the only woman he’d ever loved, and he could be about to lose their son too.
“Try to save them both, but I can’t lose her Dominick.” He raised his eyes to his son’s. “I can’t lose her, no matter what. I can’t lose her, I can’t lose her.” He whispered, his eyes dropping back down to his little witch who was bleeding all over the floor of his car and he knew by the growing pool of blood that they were rapidly running out of time.
“Fabian let me help.” Allegra pushed her way in. “Start the change. She’s not going to need much blood taken from her; she won’t have much left to give. Listen to her heart, it’s slowing. Quickly start the change; I’ll get your son delivered. She won’t live long enough to get this baby out of her first. We have to start the change; there’s no other choice.” She turned to Francesca. “I’ll need your help Fran. When she has the next contraction, I want you to bear down on her stomach, push as if you’re trying to squeeze toothpaste from the tube. I know, sorry, weird comparison, but since Sirene can’t push herself, we need to speed this delivery up. As you push, I’ll pull.” She shifted until she was kneeling between Sirene’s legs.
“Come on, we need to start the change. Don’t watch them.” Dominick grabbed at his arm to draw his attention away from what the two ladies were doing. “Quickly, start feeding her your blood; I’ll take more from her.” When Fabian glared at him Dominick snapped. “This is not the time for your macho bullshit. We need to save her and do it fast. We don’t have much time.”
His fangs descended and Fabian watched him bite into Sirene’s arm and start drinking, one hand holding her wrist so he could feel for her pulse. With the sound of Allegra ordering Fran to push, he dragged his dazed mind back to what was necessary and lowered his fangs, biting into himself, tearing a chunk of flesh away so he began to bleed freely.
Again he heard Sirene order Fran to push and as she did, suddenly his little witch gave a faint groan which made them all freeze.
“Quickly sire, get your blood in her now while she can drink it for herself, NOW SIRE, HURRY!”
“Hang on my beauty.” He whispered as he lowered his wrist to her mouth, using his other hand to part her lips so he could press his arm firmly against them. “Open your eyes for me, just once please. Let me see you.”
She moaned against his wrist, the vibration going through him and her eyelids flickered briefly before she suddenly opened her eyes, wide, just once and then they closed again, shutting her beautiful jade green gaze off to him.
He heard her start to choke and her breathing sounded more gurgled as she struggled with the blood he was feeding her but still he wouldn’t back off, determined to get as much into her as he could. She was losing a lot, or she had been. It appeared to be slowing now so he didn’t know if that was because she was literally running out of blood from her injuries and what Dominick had taken from her or his blood was starting to initiate the change.
Still he kept feeding Sirene his blood even as he felt himself starting to weaken but he was determined to get enough into her to save her. “Sire, stop now, you’re going to deplete yourself too much. She’s had enough, she’s had enough, stop, come father stop.” Lucian grabbed his arm to pull him away from her mouth.
Suddenly a wail pierced the air and everyone froze, well, all of the men froze and all eyes turned to Allegra who held a bloodied but very much alive baby in her arms. Unable to control their initial response, fangs began descending at the smell of the blood and the foetal blood. The baby’s blood was going to be more temptation than most of them had ever had to endure.
Fabian’s eyes turned at the sound of his son’s cry and a tortured sob was torn from his throat. His son was alive. His focus shifted back to Sirene and he saw her eyelids flicker. He knew she could hear her child’s cry but she was too weak to respond now. Everyone could hear that her heart rate was slowing.
He noticed all eyes on his child, fangs down and he roared. “NO!” Staggering to his feet, he reached out to the infant in Allegra’s arms. Her fangs were not down which was a relief but he still pulled his son from her and cradled his wet, bloodied body in his arms.
“A blanket, we need something to cover him. In the boot, there’s a blanket and towels, someone get me some. I need to wrap him up.”
“Fabian, we should try and get him to drink from his mother before she turns. Babies need the first milk from their mothers.” Allegra said quietly. “Let me try and get him to feed from her ok?” She reached out for his child again and with a nod, he reluctantly handed his son back to her.
In a daze, feeling quite weak now from blood loss, he watched her tear the dress Sirene had performed in, back from her engorged breasts. Gently she laid his son on Sirene’s chest, tilting him until a nipple was by his mouth and squeezed some deep yellowish milk out which sprayed over his son’s mouth. The tiny lips of his son parted and he pulled her taut nipple in, mouthing around with it until finally he attached to her and they all heard the sucking noises.
“He’s feeding? He’s really feeding? Is he getting milk?” He asked his voice weak.
“Sire, what is wrong? You don’t look so good.” Lucian’s face was suddenly up close to his, concern in his expression.
“He’s given too much of his blood to Sirene. We need to get him blood quickly.” Dominick said. “Damned fool he is. Save his woman and lose his own life if he’s not careful.” He turned to Francesca. “Go and find him a human to feed from, now.”
Fabian turned slowly, feeling like everything was in slow motion and stared down at Sirene laying so still, her body covered in blood and the sight of their baby suckling from her. He must have been close to having his fill as his eyes were closing. Allegra lifted him and wrapped him in the towels.
“Hurry we must get out of here. The disco will be closing in about twenty minutes so the first wave of people leaving will be coming soon. We can’t be here when they do. Sirene’s heart is close to stopping now, can you hear it? This baby has had his first feed from his mother so now we need to buy formula. Fortunately Sirene has already bought supplies for your child so we just need bottles and food for him as she will be unable to breast feed him any more once she’s vampire. Are you listening to me Fabian?” She snapped and he struggled to focus on her; he was feeling so weak now.
Passion By Control (Passion Series Book 2) Page 32