A Secret Baby for the Vampire

by Wylder, Jasmine

  The sound of his name made him stop in his tracks. He looked down, seeing his step-brother looking glum and his heart instantly dropped. “Where is she…? Don’t tell me…” He trailed off, afraid to complete the sentence. His whole body shook with the possibilities before he crouched down, his eyes searching Foster’s. “Say something, dammit!”

  “I don’t know. I have no idea how she’s doing!” Foster admitted, his cheeks burning. “They didn’t want to treat her at first… They said that because she was a human, she wasn’t welcome so I threatened them. They’re treating her now, but they kicked me out.”

  “You’re so useless. Why did you let them kick you out? You have no idea what they could be doing to her. You know how prejudiced our kind can be to humans.” Lloyd snarled before he stepped into the medical ward. “Where is she?” His question posed as a threat. A hush fell over the room as the dragons averted their eyes from royalty. “Someone answer me!”

  The purple-eyed doctor finally emerged from the crowd of dragons surrounding Emily’s bed. “We’re treating her now, but I must kindly ask that you leave.”

  “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.” Lloyd planted his feet into the ground, his stance wide. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared the doctor down, determined to keep his position.

  The doctor sighed, running his fingers through his long beard. “We managed to extract the venom from her system.” Lloyd let out a sigh of relief, his body relaxing a bit, but he could tell the elder dragon still had more to stay. “But she’s still in critical condition. The venom made it through most of her major blood vessels. She was lucky only in the sense that it didn’t reach her heart. I would estimate about a twenty percent chance of survival.”

  “Twenty?” Lloyd repeated, horrified. “You have to do better than that.” Lloyd wrapped his fist around the man’s collar, pulling him off his feet in anger. “I won’t have her die. You got that? You keep her alive if you value your own life.”

  “Your step-brother already threatened me.” The doctor answered calmly. “I’m doing all that I can for her. It’s all up to chance at this point.”

  Lloyd growled, his lip curling upwards, showing off his deadly fangs before he tossed the doctor to the ground in disgust. Unable to control his temperament, he rammed his fist into the wall. Pieces of debris fell from the ceiling before he walked away, flexing his fingers. “This is all a load of crap…” He sighed before he slumped down, joining his brother.

  Foster didn’t say anything. He hung his head in his hands, feeling defeated. “I feel like this is all my fault…”

  Lloyd didn’t even bother to agree. He was too concerned with Emily’s well-being. While the two brothers mourned the possible death of the beautiful bar owner, a series of footsteps bounced off the walls, joining them. They looked up, spotting the Dragon King and Queen walking toward them. Silvia walked behind them, a smirk playing on her lips and her head held high.

  The step-brothers quickly got up, rolling their shoulders and straightening their posture. Lloyd nodded at his father while Foster avoided eye contact, paying respect. “I heard that you two brought a human among our midst. An unmated human.” The dragon King, a well-built and powerful-looking man, said with a heavy voice.

  “It’s true, father, but you must understand –”

  “There’s nothing to understand!” He bellowed, his voice booming in the small space. “You have violated our laws. And to think… my own son.”

  “She was infected –”

  “Silence!” The king slammed his scepter into the ground, his pupils tiny slits. “I will not have my sons talk back to me. I’m disgraced that my own flesh and blood would disobey me in such manner. If the council finds out about this… it’ll bring ridicule to our family name. The Whitefields will go down in history as the first line of dragons with able-bodied princes who forfeited the crown due to their own folly.” He shook his head before reaching back and pulling Silvia forward. “At times, I regret Silvia was born a woman. It appears she’s much more capable of handling the kingdom than either of you are. Now, either you dispose of the human at once or I will disown you both as my sons.”

  Lloyd and Foster looked at each other, feeling the full weight of their father’s words. If they continued their courtship with Emily, it would mean giving up their right to the crown. The dragon community would ostracize them. Was Emily worth all that?

  Chapter Eleven

  The wait for Emily’s recovery felt like it lasted a lifetime. The princes paced outside the medical ward, waiting for the doctor as their father’s words sat heavy in their hearts. They hadn’t yet made up their mind about what they were going to do.

  “I don’t know if I can live without her…” Lloyd whispered to himself.

  “Neither can I… and only one of us can mate with her.”

  “I’m not letting you take her.”

  “And I’m not letting you take her either.”

  “So, we just have to wait for her to come to and decide on her own. You or me.” Foster rubbed his sweaty palms together. He had no idea who Emily was going to pick, or if she was going to stay with them in the first place. After all she had gone through, it wouldn’t surprise him if she decided to get as far away as possible from them. “What if she picks neither of us?” Foster voiced his concerns aloud.

  Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks. “What?”

  “What if she decides to stay away from us? I mean, we’re the reason she got kidnapped. She could simply push us away.” Foster sighed. “She might never want to see us again.”

  Lloyd stared at his step-brother. He hadn’t thought of that. He had been so concerned with her falling for Foster that he hadn’t even considered her rejecting them both. “Do you really think that’s going to happen?”

  “I think it’s a plausible scenario. Besides, she’s a human. She probably knows nothing about our kind. She might have some twisted idea inspired by storybook characters and grotesque movie depictions.”

  “Do humans really know nothing about dragons?” Lloyd knew it was true, but still, he didn’t want to believe it.

  “Don’t kid yourself. You know the council is unscrupulous. If we abandon Emily back on Earth, they’ll make sure she never remembers us…” Foster whispered the words, dreading the thought.

  “I… No… That can’t happen. I won’t let it happen.” Lloyd ground his teeth, feeling his every muscle tense with anxiety. “I want her to stay. She’ll pick one of us. She has to.”

  “No, she doesn’t. She has the freedom to do whatever she wants. If she wants to forget about us, she has every right to do so… no matter how much it hurts us.”

  Lloyd was about to protest when the doctor emerged, standing there with an emotionless expression. “You can come in to see her now.” He said, his hands clasped behind his back. He turned on his heels and walked back inside. It took the princes a few seconds to follow him. Their hearts were racing as they moved closer to Emily’s bed.

  Foster spotted her blonde curls stuck to her scalp with sweat. She turned her head and looked at him, her eyes widening with fear. “Foster!” She called out before she shifted her gaze. “Lloyd!”

  The two dragons rushed up to her side, each of them taking one of her hands in theirs. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s all over now…” Foster whispered soothingly as his thumb ran across the back of her palm. “You’re going to be okay…”

  Lloyd nodded in agreement. He found himself lost for words as he looked down at her bruised and battered body. He felt guilty for putting her in this situation in the first place. If he and Foster hadn’t made the bet to mate with a human girl, none of this would be happening. He squeezed her hand tight, vowing to do anything to make her happy.

  “Where am I?” She croaked, her throat dry and parched.

  “Shh. Don’t strain yourself.” Foster took the cup of water at her bedside and pressed it to her lips. She drank gratefully, feeling the cool liquid run down her throat. Sh
e gulped it down before letting out a sigh.

  “Thank you.” She whispered, her voice once again holding its usual harmonic rhythm. Foster caressed the side of her face, pinning a strand of her hair behind her ear. Emily found herself nuzzling against it, yearning for his touch. “Where am I?” She asked again. “Why does it look like I’m in a cave?”

  “It doesn’t matter right now… You had a little accident and you’re in the hospital.” Emily frowned. This certainly didn’t look like any hospital she had ever visited. The walls seemed to be made of clay. There were no machines anywhere. Even the beds seemed somehow strange.

  “But…”

  Foster leaned down and kissed her lips. Lloyd growled softly by their side, looking away. On the other side of the room, a few nurses shook their heads in disgust and snickered.

  It makes me sick seeing him kiss a human.

  Does he lack all common decency?

  I just don’t understand why the princes went after some ugly human when there are plenty of able-bodied dragon females.

  “What are they talking about?” Emily asked. She had the sense they were talking about her, but at the same time, their words were so strange. Why were they talking about dragons? Maybe she was delusional and this was nothing more than a dream.

  “Shut it.” Lloyd spat in their direction. They quickly busied themselves with their tasks, avoiding the piercing gaze of the dragon prince.

  You know, I used to think Lloyd was so attractive a few years back… now I’m not so sure anymore… any dragon who falls for a human can’t be alright in the head.

  Tell me about it. There must be something wrong with them.

  I would expect this from Foster – he’s a bastard after all. But Lloyd is a pureblood, why would he go for some dim-witted human? She’s not even attractive. Too much meat on her bones.

  “I said shut it!” Lloyd stomped over to the gossiping nurses, his feet crashing against the ground.

  “Foster… what are they talking about?” Emily felt her head throb with confusion. Why were the women talking about Lloyd and Foster as if they weren’t human? And what did they mean when they said Lloyd was a pureblood? It didn’t make any sense. Emily pressed her hand to her head, feeling her temples throb.

  “Don’t…” Foster wanted to say something, but he felt the words disappear before they could escape his mouth. Lloyd suddenly returned and pressed the tip of his claw against Emily’s neck, pushing a bit of his own venom into her system. She gasped, her fingers tightening around his wrist before they slowly fell away, one by one, as her eyes closed.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “It had to be done. She’s not supposed to be here. We must bring her back.”

  “After everything we’ve done you just go and wipe her memory like that? I can’t believe you want to give up on her now. We can still make this work…” Foster stammered, looking shocked.

  “If we want to keep her safe, we don’t have much of a choice…besides… by the time she wakes up, she won’t remember us anymore. Whatever chance we had with her is gone now. You know that.” Lloyd gently picked her up, his arms wrapping around her tight. “She’s been hurt enough because of us. She deserves a safe, happy life and that can only happen if she believes dragons don’t exist. As all humans do.”

  “I never thought I’d hear you say something so mature.”

  Lloyd scoffed. “I wouldn’t call it that… I’m simply doing what’s best for her…” He whispered before he leaned down, kissing the top of her head. “I want her. I want her so damn bad, but it just can’t work… Dragons here would never accept her, even if she was my mate. They would constantly berate her and I don’t want her to live with that.” Lloyd marched off, leaving the healing ward.

  Foster followed behind him. “So, what are you going to do? Just leave her in the human world and pretend none of this ever happened?”

  “What other choice do we have?”

  “We could tell her and let her make the decision for herself,” Foster suggested, grasping at straws. He knew Lloyd was right. The best thing to do in this situation was to let her return to her life, but he had grown too attached. He didn’t know if he would be able to let her go so easily. “There has to be something –”

  “No. We bring her back.” Lloyd’s statement was final. Foster glanced at him, but his face was resolute – set in stone.

  “Fine.” Foster relented. “We bring her back and pretend our little wager never existed.”

  “It’s not about that anymore…” Lloyd shook his head. “I don’t know if it was ever about the bet once Emily stepped into the picture.” Foster was surprised by the way Lloyd was conducting himself. Usually, he was so blunt, but now, he sounded wise beyond his years. It was like holding Emily had turned him into the responsible king he was always meant to be.

  ***

  The dragons flew back to the human world in silence. Lloyd held onto Emily the whole time, cradling her gently in his paw, making sure not to hurt her. With the nightclub doors still open, they slipped inside. Foster went ahead, making sure there were no whelps lingering around. Everything seemed normal.

  Upstairs, the door to Emily’s apartment rested against the bent door frame. Inside, everything else was untouched. “Looks like the whelps haven’t come back.”

  “I don’t expect them to,” Foster responded. “After what they did, they’ll be hiding in their burrows for quite some time.”

  Lloyd nodded, satisfied. With Emily still unconscious in his arms, he stepped forward. “Do you mind tidying up her bed? Maybe some new sheets.”

  Foster nodded, yanking off the scorched linens. He held them tight in his hand, burning them to ash in his palm. Opening the window, he threw them away. Slowly, he turned before searching the room for replacement bedding. He found some in the bottom drawer of her dresser. Awkwardly, he made her bed.

  “Can’t you hurry it up?” Lloyd asked, sounding annoyed, his foot tapping against the ground.

  “Hey. This isn’t as easy as the maids make it look.”

  “How hard can it really be?” Lloyd watched as Foster pushed one corner of the fitted sheet onto the mattress, only to have another corner pop back out.

  “Ugh. I have no idea how people do this on their own. It’s impossible.” Foster grumbled.

  “You’re useless.” Lloyd shook his head and stepped forward, holding down a corner so it wouldn’t pop off while Foster struggled to fit the rest over the mattress.

  When he was finally done, Foster stood up, wiping the sweat from his brow. “I have to give the humans credit for doing this every day.”

  Lloyd just rolled his eyes before he gently placed Emily down on the bed, throwing the blankets over her. He tucked her in and stepped back, staring at her face for what felt like the last time.

  “I don’t want to say goodbye…” Foster whispered, standing near his step-brother. “Are you sure we can’t just bring her back. People would learn to accept her with time.”

  “No.” Lloyd’s voice was firm. “We have to do this. It’s for the best.”

  “What if she misses us?” Foster suggested, trying to persuade his step-brother to change his mind.

  “You know the venom will erase her memory. It’s the only way for her to live her life.” Lloyd straightened his posture. “We should go. She’ll be waking up soon.”

  Hesitantly, Foster nodded. He stepped forward, gently kissing her temple. Lloyd approached second, kissing her lips ever so gently before he squeezed her hand. “I won’t forget you, Emily.” His words lingered in the air, even as the two dragons left the apartment.

  Before stepping out, Lloyd stopped and fixed the doorframe, gently setting it back in place before he closed the door with a resounding thud.

  “Well… that’s it, isn’t it? We won’t ever see her again?” Foster asked. They were outside now, putting the nightclub door back into place. With their hot breaths, they softened the metal and successfully fixed the broken hinges.
<
br />   “Yes. She’s free to live her life now...”

  “…without us.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Emily woke up, feeling like something was missing. She sat up and rubbed her head. She had a splitting headache. Her eyes watered and her cheeks were wet as if she had spent the whole night crying. “What happened…?” She whispered to herself.

  She blinked in the darkness of her room. Under her fingers, the sheets felt silky and smooth. She couldn’t remember changing her bedding. Hadn’t she changed them to cotton just a few days ago?

  Feeling drowsy, she got up, wobbling on her feet. She looked around, expecting a mess, but everything in her room was in pristine condition. There didn’t even seem to be a speck of dust in the air like someone had just cleaned the room. Emily stared at the lamp on her nightstand, feeling like she had knocked it over during the night. She half-expected to step on shards of glass, but all she felt was the softness of her carpet.

  Still disoriented, Emily shuffled into her bathroom. She gasped when she saw her own reflection. Her hair was a total mess. Strands stuck up here and there. Certain curls were flat and limp as if she had been sleeping for days. Part of her bangs stuck to her forehead like glue. “What the fuck happened to me last night…?” Emily wondered if she had drunk herself to a blackout or something, but she couldn’t remember even picking up a glass.

  Frowning, she turned on the tap and splashed her face with water. She shivered as the cold water ran down her neck and over her chest. Standing up, she tried to straighten her hair, but it was impossible without taking a shower. So, she ignored it for the time being and grabbed a towel, patting her face dry.

  With her body feeling heavy and sluggish, she contemplated going back to bed, but she convinced herself out of it. She had to figure out what was going on. Looking down, she realized she had fallen asleep in her dress. She tried to press out some of the wrinkles, but just like her hair, it was an exercise in futility.