A Secret Baby for the Vampire

by Wylder, Jasmine

  Foster was momentarily stunned by his step-brother’s sudden solidarity. He grinned and nodded. “Let’s go save our girl.”

  Soon, they were up on the roof. “Just try to keep up.” Foster’s grin deepened before he turned into a full-fledged dragon, rolling his body as his scales settled into place. Behind him, Lloyd transformed as well. The roof creaked with their combined weight before they shot into the air, determined to save Emily by any means necessary. Even if it meant giving up their lives.

  Chapter Nine

  The two dragons soared through the open air, slicing through the clouds. Lloyd struggled to keep up with his step-brother. His wings were starting to ache as he pushed himself to his limit. Never before had he flown so fast. He felt himself becoming a blur that merged with the clouds. Still, he ignored the dull, aching pain. All he could think about was Emily. Was she okay? What were the whelps doing to her? How could he let this happen?

  He growled and urged himself to fly even faster. Up ahead, Foster seemed to be flying at a leisurely pace as his wings flapped effortlessly. His nostrils flared, erupting with vicious red flames as he caught the scent of the Dyno clan up ahead. He dipped down, breaking through the clouds, skydiving toward the ground. Lloyd quickly followed suit.

  As they panned out, Lloyd looked forward, seeing a large mountain range. The peaks were covered with fluffy white snow. The valleys were verdant and blooming with wildlife. Foster slowed down, allowing Lloyd to catch up to him and soon, his step-brother was hovering close by. Their eyes locked and with a nod of his head, Foster rushed forward, heading for a small opening at the top of the largest peak.

  Lloyd could see small, ant-like figures moving across a man-made ledge. They were carrying boxes of valuables that glittered in the mid-morning sunlight. His eyes narrowed and his vision sharpened. He focused on a younger whelp who stopped after fumbling. He had dropped his box and was now picking up watches, bracelets, and other trinkets the humans deemed valuable. So, these whelps were thieves. No wonder they never reported back to the Dragon Kingdom. Lloyd growled, his scales rippling with anger as he shot forward, determined to tear apart every single one of them, limb from limb. Before he could get too far, however, Foster grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back.

  With a single accusatory glance from his step-brother, Lloyd calmed down. He knew that if they made one wrong move – if they revealed themselves too quickly – the whelps would probably kill Emily before they could do anything to stop it. Still, he was getting anxious, seeing all the whelps move into the cave in a single file. He wanted to do something. He couldn’t just wait in the air while they did who knows what to Emily.

  While Lloyd worried, Foster craned his neck and smelled the air. The wind was not in his favor. He repositioned himself and took in another sniff before he let out a low rumble. As fast as lightning, he shot out, spotting a group of whelps that were working together to open a seal they had enchanted with forbidden magic.

  The second they removed the barrier, Foster bolted inside the cave, his large body quickly becoming cramped by the narrow tunnel. Forced to shapeshift back to his human form, the lesser dragons quickly surrounded him. They held barbed wire clubs and vicious grins painted their faces, their jagged, animalistic teeth on full display. “You shouldn’t have come here.” One whelp said, moving forward, his posture rigid and his face full of confidence.

  “And you shouldn’t waste your time talking.” Before the whelp could react, Lloyd had grabbed him by the hair, bashing his face against the cave wall. He groaned in pain before falling unconscious. The rest of the whelps quickly forgot about Foster as they turned on Lloyd, their clubs high in the air, ready to beat the dragon prince senseless.

  “If you think a few pieces of wood are enough to defeat me, you’re all sadly mistaken.” Lloyd ran his tongue over his lips before grabbing the closest whelp’s wrist, nearly burning his flesh down to the bone. The whelp, blinded by pain, lashed out, taking out some of his fellow comrades in his fury. The others, still unharmed, looked terrified, but before they could run, Foster smashed their heads together, smirking. Those who managed to slip past the step-brothers disappeared deep into the cave.

  “We have to find her quick before they manage to get backup,” Foster whispered urgently.

  “Lead the way.” Lloyd pushed him forward. Foster stopped, sniffed the air for a moment, trying to figure out its direction. Lloyd was about to tell him to hurry up when he rushed forward, as fast as he could, right toward the wall. Lloyd winced, bracing himself for Foster’s impact, but it never came. The younger dragon simply disappeared. Lloyd blinked, thinking it was some sort of a trick, but still, Foster simply wasn’t there.

  Seeing no other option, he took a few steps back before he rammed the wall, running through it as if it was never there to begin with. On the other side, however, water surrounded him. He nearly gulped down a mouthful before he could get his bearings, propelling himself toward the surface. His eyes burned as he kept them open underwater.

  Finally, he made it to the top, gasping for air. He treaded water and looked around. “C’mon,” Foster called out. He was already shaking out the wetness from his long, messy hair. With powerful strokes, Lloyd swam to the shore.

  “How do they have a body of water inside a mountain?”

  “The Dynos have obviously delved into the dark arts. This whole place is enchanted. Just wait until the council hears about this.”

  “But the council will never find out about us. That is if you care about your mate.” A sharply-dressed whelp with burning red eyes stepped forward. He wore a baggy black sweater and dark skinny jeans. He had a pair of snakebite piercings on his bottom lip.

  “What have you done to Emily?” Lloyd bellowed as he dashed out of the water, already rampaging toward the individual. Before he could even reach the whelp, however, he slammed into an invisible wall.

  “Ah. You must be Lloyd. The dragon prince. I’ve heard that you’re impulsive, I just never thought you’d risk your mate’s life. Then again, you never were very bright, were you? Mating with a human and then leaving her unguarded during the day while you went back to your kingdom.” He shook his head, his hands clasped behind his body as he walked back and forth behind the protection of his imperceptible barrier.

  “I swear, if you do anything to hurt her, I’ll kill you!” Lloyd pounded against the seemingly empty space, but to no avail. All he managed to do is hurt his hands.

  The man scoffed, amused by the prince’s actions. “Will you now? And what if I kill her first? Sure, you can kill me afterward, but will you be able to live with yourself, knowing you were the one responsible for her death? That you had the chance to save her and failed miserably.” He stepped forward, nothing but a few inches separating him from the two dragons.

  “I’m. Going. To. Kill. You.” Lloyd’s long, razor-sharp nails ground against the wall as his fury overwhelmed him. He felt like he would explode at any moment.

  Foster stepped forward with his hands behind his back, his face calm and composed. “Why have you brought her here?”

  The sharply-dressed whelp turned his attention to the younger dragon and grinned. “Ah, you must be Foster. The bastard child.” He grinned. “I thought you’d be smart enough to find out.”

  “I suspect you used Lloyd’s attack on one of your members as the catalyst you needed to blackmail him. You found out that Emily is under his protection and used her as a tool…”

  “Precisely.” He snapped his fingers and two whelps stepped out from a jagged formation of rocks. They dragged Emily’s unconscious body by the arms, her feet grazing against the ground. Her head slumped forward, her dress ripped in multiple places. For the most part, however, her outfit was still intact.

  “Emily!” Lloyd cried out and slammed his fist into the invisible wall once again, but all he accomplished was getting his arm to bleed. “You son of a bitch, what have you done to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything.” He chuckled. “I let
my men handle her. But I can assure you, she’s okay. Maybe a few bruises… but nothing life-threatening… yet.” One of the whelps held out a small vial with a bubbling green liquid. “I’m going to assume you both know what that is.”

  “Dragon venom…” Foster whispered, horrified. “You wouldn’t –”

  “I will if you don’t get us protection from the council. You keep them out of our hair and we’ll return the girl.” He said before he turned around and approached Emily. He lifted her chin with a long, thin finger. Emily’s head lolled on her neck as if she was already dead. Foster shuddered before he quickly looked around. He knew that every spell, no matter how dark, had a loophole.

  His keen eyesight scanned the area before he spotted a strange black stone. Subtly, he tiptoed toward it, picking it up as the man slapped Emily’s cheek lightly, trying to wake her. “Come now. There are some people here who would like to see you.”

  “You keep your dirty hands off her!” Lloyd bellowed, feeling his blood boil. His heart was hammering harder than ever as his rage grew stronger and stronger. He wanted to break this man’s neck. To hear him scream in agony. To punish him for everything he had done.

  “I’d like to see you try and stop me.” The man challenged as he uncapped the vial. “Of course, all of this can be avoided if you just guarantee our safety and protection from the council.”

  “Fuck off.” Lloyd spat. He took a few steps back, getting ready to charge. Off to the side, Foster picked up the rock and the moment he did, it fizzled. A red emblem flashed angrily before fading away. The barrier flickered, like an old TV being turned off.

  Suddenly, Lloyd shot forward, expecting to ram into the wall, but instead, he tackled the three whelps to the ground. Emily was brought down in the commotion, her body crushed by all the others. The vial of poison tumbled down, landing dangerously close to her face.

  Lloyd didn’t even notice. He was too focused on making her abductors pay. He grabbed the leader by the neck and lifted him up, his feet dangling off the ground. “Any last words?” He asked, his fingers threatening to crush the whelp’s windpipe. Before he could, however, the other whelps rushed forward, helping their leader. Lloyd was pushed to the ground, forced to fight off all three of them while Foster rushed to Emily’s side.

  When he got there, the venom had already brushed against her lips. They were pale as if all her blood had retreated from her face. Quickly, he brushed it off, feeling the stinging pain as the poison touched his skin. Underfoot, it corroded the soil, burning a hole in the ground.

  “Emily… Emily… please wake up…” He pleaded with her. Her chest was barely moving and Foster feared that it was too late. If the venom had gotten into her blood stream, her chances of survival were slim to none. Not losing hope, he picked her up. He couldn’t just give up. After coming all this way, after falling for her so hard, he wasn’t going to lose her now.

  As he cradled her in his arms, he heard a loud crack. Nearby, Lloyd had made short work of the whelps and was now panting. There were a few cuts and bruises on his face, but in his hands was the leader of the whelps, his neck snapped.

  Lloyd huffed before he looked down at Emily’s limp body. “Is she…” He felt his throat tighten with fear.

  “Not yet… but she came in contact with the venom… we have to get her back to the kingdom. Now.”

  “Go. Don’t wait for me. Just go!” Foster nodded and ran out of the cave, holding Emily close to his chest.

  “Please, stay with me, Emily.” His lips brushed against her forehead as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. “I love you…”

  Chapter Ten

  Foster emerged from the cave, blinking against the bright sunlight. Almost instantly, his body began to transform. Before he could hurt Emily with his burning skin, he placed her body on the ground. His shoulders expanded with the emergence of his wings as his limbs grew larger and stronger. Finally, his wings spread to their full length as his transformation was complete.

  Quickly, he scooped up Emily’s body as gently as he could in his paws, cradling her against his chest before he rocketed into the sky. His wings propelled him forward as fast as they could. He became a blur in the sky, darting through the clouds. His mind was swarming with possibilities. He didn’t want to be pessimistic, but he couldn’t help but fear that he was making the trek back home for no reason. If the venom touched her lips, if she had so much as breathed it in, her fate was sealed. It didn’t matter whether he managed to bring her back to the kingdom or not. She was gone.

  But Foster quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head as he forced himself to fly faster than ever. No. Emily couldn’t die. She just couldn’t. His eyes burned as tears welled up in the corners. She had to survive. She simply had to. He held her a little tighter, making sure his claws didn’t dig into her delicate body.

  He whispered a small prayer under his breath as he continued his flight, his wings beating unceasingly. He was determined to make it back home in record time – to save Emily’s life. But the journey seemed to be taking forever. Minutes turned into hours and it felt like no matter how fast or hard Foster beat his wings, it simply wasn’t good enough. He cursed under his breath, wishing he could just snap his fingers and appear in the dragon domain.

  Eventually, however, he arrived. He landed effortlessly in front of the dragon’s den before shapeshifting back into human form. He held Emily tightly in his arms, holding her against his body as he ran inside. His footsteps echoed off the walls, bouncing back and forth, making it sound like there were dozens of people rushing through the narrow tunnel.

  Foster’s heart was pounding hard. He could no longer tell if Emily was drawing breath. He tried to listen for her heartbeat, but all he could hear was his own. He held her tight and yet, she felt so cold. It seemed impossible that she could still survive, but he couldn’t give up hope now. He had to get help. He had to get the venom out of her system. He had to save her.

  He pushed past an elderly couple who gave him strange looks. “What is he doing with a human?” The elder dragon tried to whisper to his mate, but his loss of hearing caused him to yell out the words.

  Despite their diminishing eyesight and hearing, they followed Foster down the tunnel even as he tried to run away from them. Suddenly, it felt like there were a million eyes watching his every move. Various whispers plagued his mind, making him self-conscious.

  Is that a human?

  What is the half-prince doing with a human female?

  Has Foster mated before Lloyd? Will he be the new king?

  I don’t understand what he sees in that female. Blonde hair?

  Where is he taking her in such a rush? Surely, he hasn’t killed her already… some dragons just don’t know their own strength.

  Foster tried to block out these rumors as he navigated through the halls of the den. Finally, he arrived at the medical ward, where women dressed in nurse uniforms tended to injured dragons. Their eyes smoldered with peculiar colors, all their pupils nothing more than thin slits. When Foster entered the area, they all stopped in place. Silence settled around them as all eyes fell on the girl.

  The head doctor stepped forward. He was a well-known dragon with purple eyes and a long, graying beard. “How dare you bring a human into the ward?”

  “She was infected. Dragon venom.” Foster answered, breathless.

  “Have you mated with her?”

  Foster hesitated, biting his bottom lip. He contemplated lying to his brethren, but he knew how easy it would be to expose the lie. “No.”

  “Then get her out of my sight. You know it’s forbidden to bring humans to the den. When the council –”

  “You treat her. Now.” Foster’s eyes darkened to coals. He growled, stepping forward, staring down at the doctor. “If you refuse. I’ll be a nightmare much worse than the council. You mark my words.”

  “Get out of my way.” The doctor pushed past him, but in an instant, Foster had him pinned against the wall, his hand on his c
hest.

  “Listen to me. You say another word without treating her and I’ll rip your heart out right here and now.” Foster’s threat hung in the air, making the atmosphere tense with his energy. His claws dug into the man’s shirt, ripping the fabric. “Now!” He hissed.

  The doctor’s eyes wavered before he nodded. Small beads of sweat ran down the side of his neck. He looked at the girl, his lips tightening into a thin line as if someone had cut a slit in his face. “Put her on the bed. I’ll treat her.” There was obvious fear in the man’s voice.

  Foster quickly complied, laying Emily down on a nearby bed. The doctor then pushed him away, barking orders at the fellow nurses who stepped into position, ready to do whatever he commanded. Foster tried to move closer and watch what was going on, but he was shooed away. He paced around until he was kicked out of the ward altogether. “If she dies… you’ll be sorry! You hear me!” He shouted in the doctor’s direction before he leaned against the wall, his breathing ragged. He was scared. He ran his fingers through his hair before he started to pace again. He could only imagine what Emily was going through. Surely, it was painful to get Dragon’s venom out of someone’s system. There had to be a reason why it was so lethal, even after treatment. But Foster wasn’t going to think about that. He pushed the thought of Emily’s mortality out of his mind and sat down, staring at the opposite wall, trying to think of something else.

  Still, all he could think about was her. That beautiful smile. The perfect nose. The bouncy curls that settled right above her shoulders. Foster couldn’t even imagine what his life would be like without her. He imagined her blue eyes and found himself falling deep into their depths. He pressed his nails into his palms in frustration, drawing thin lines of blood. He couldn’t believe this was happening. It all seemed like a horrible dream.

  Suddenly, the booming sound of footsteps echoed down the passage. Foster lifted his head and saw Lloyd coming his way. He looked like he was about to barge into the medical ward. “Lloyd.”