An alarmed triage nurse looked as if she was going to try to stop them, but a quick look at the size of Mercury, and an even taller Bennett, had her hesitating. Then her eyes landed on the now bloodstained shirt on Mercury, Dani’s bloodied face, and the blood-soaked blanket around her.
“Follow me,” she said firmly and led them to a single room. When Bennett tried to follow, she hesitantly stopped him. “Are you related to the patient, sir?”
Bennett looked like he was going to push past her, but he glanced at Mercury instead. “I’ll park the car and wait out front.”
The nurse shut the door and began to gather information from Mercury and Dani, who was thankfully in the system due to her prenatal visits. Another young, male nurse entered, donned a pair of gloves, grabbed some supplies and began to unwrap Dani.
It was a sign how scared out of his ever-loving-mind Mercury was that he didn’t growl or lunge for the young man.
Dani tried to keep her breathing steady, concentrating on each inhale and exhale when the spasms hit. With each spasm, she felt a little more blood seep out between her legs and trickle out of her nose.
The visit went by in a blur. Mercury never left her side, holding her hand the entire time. They hooked her up to IVs, drew blood, checked her heart, performed an ultrasound, and pelvic exam while Dani was in bouts of pain. They offered her pain medication, but she declined, unwilling to risk a mental fog during such a critical event.
There was a female doctor, not much older than thirty, who introduced herself as the OB/GYN on-call and had been in asking her questions, but Dani hadn’t seen her since.
Almost as suddenly as the pain came on, it stopped. Just suddenly ceased. Some residual soreness remained, like she had done a killer ab workout, but no more searing, stabbing pain, nor throbbing or gushing blood.
Assuming it was over and their baby was gone, Dani and Mercury began the grim task of cleaning her up. The nurses had wiped quite a bit off her, but there was still dried blood and residue and she wanted it gone, if only to pretend their baby still had a chance.
An aid came in to check on her and brought clean linens. Once Dani was clean, the bedding and her gown changed, her and her beloved sat to await the grim news.
“I still sense him,” Mercury said, finishing bitterly, “but I can’t tell if he’s okay.”
She remembered when Mercury asked her if she sensed their baby’s gender and her delight when he told her they were having a boy. Tears poured down Dani’s face when she thought she couldn’t produce anymore. Mercury hugged her close, saying nothing.
A quick knock and the door opened. The young doctor gave them a small smile, carrying a little device in her hand. “I just want to check the heart rate again and then we’ll go over the results.”
Dani nodded despondently, dreading the anticipation of hearing nothing.
“Now, you’re pretty early in your pregnancy yet so we may need to do another ultrasound, but let’s give this a shot first. Just don’t be alarmed if I’m not successful,” she smiled reassuringly.
Dani squeezed Mercury’s hand and stared at the tiled ceiling. The cold gel was a pleasant sensation after the heat of her painful episodes. As the little wand slid over her belly, she heard staticy sounds that were of no consequence and a beat that matched her own heart so it wasn’t from the baby. The doctor’s brow furrowed, but she pressed on, making sure she thoroughly scanned both sides of Dani’s belly.
The sound of a strong, steady rhythm filled the room with its rapid beat.
Smiling triumphantly, the doctor listened for a few seconds before removing the wand.
Unshed tears shimmered in Dani’s eyes and she looked at Mercury, terrified to be ecstatic. His own brow creased, silver gleaming through his eyes, not clear on what the sound was.
“Is that –?” Dani’s voice caught.
“Your baby.” The doctor was still smiling, relieved not to be delivering devastating news to the terrified parents.
“I don’t understand.”
“To be honest, I don’t either.” The woman pulled up a chair on the other side of the bed so she could talk to them both. “Other than being a little anemic, but nothing critical, you seem to be perfectly healthy. As for the baby, the heart rate was lower than normal when you first came in, but now it’s sitting at a strong hundred and fifty-two beats per minute, which is perfect. All our other tests – perfectly normal.”
She stood up. “My only instructions are to make sure you’re taking prenatal vitamins, so you’re getting enough iron, and to eat a healthy diet. Include a little more red meat and leafy greens until your hemoglobin level returns to normal. You’ll need to have your doctor recheck your levels at your next OB visit. Otherwise, come right back if you start cramping or spotting at all.”
“So, what happened?” Mercury looked as dumbfounded as Dani felt.
She gave a little shrug. “We’re doing some coagulation tests to see if you have a clotting disorder, but I don’t think they’ll be abnormal. Before she left, she turned and joked, “Maybe you didn’t need all that blood.”
Eyes wide, Dani turned to Mercury. Something Agent X said in the bookstore came back to her, Madame G will be pissed she wasted all that blood. The evil monster may have only needed a drop to bind her to a future baby, but months of growth would have increased the amount.
“Do you think our mating overrode Madame G’s claim on me and our baby? Like our blood bond is stronger than hers?” She grabbed Mercury’s hand and placed it over her barely rounded belly. “Do you sense her taint at all?”
Mercury closed his eyes, concentrating. When he opened them, relief and disbelief showed through the glowing, swirling dark silver depths. Slowly, a grin began to spread across his handsome face, showing off sharp white teeth, his fangs retreating.
Dani bit her lip, afraid to be happy. “Do you think it’s the same for me? I’m not bound to Madame G anymore?”
“I never sensed her taint on you, but you swore a blood oath to her. Do you feel different?”
This time, Dani was the one who closed her eyes for some inner reflection. Imagining that she was searching every corner of her consciousness, she floated through her own mind.
Disbelief touched her voice, “I feel free. I didn’t realize how shackled I felt, feeling that little bit of her inside me.”
Mercury dropped his head onto her chest, expressed a sigh, with his hand still placed on her belly. “You two might be all right, but I don’t think I will be after tonight.”
Dani ran her hand through his short hair, watching the light reflect silver off the dark strands.
Lifting his head, he grabbed her hand, kissing the back. “Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
“You gonna go the planet route and call him Mars? Or wait, Saturn! That’s a kick-ass name.” The excitement in Kaitlyn’s eyes was the only thing keeping her safe from Mercury’s irritation. She was genuinely excited, but spitting out naming themes and ideas for the last few months was getting a bit trying.
“No, Kaitlyn,” Dani gave her a tolerant sigh, taking another bite of breakfast.
“Oh, right! Going the element route like Daddy. Maybe Barium, we could call him Barry.” Seeing the eye roll, she kept trying. “No? Lead’s hardcore. Oooh, Platinum! Yeah, maybe he’ll have that funky color thing going on too. Cool.”
They were the only three eating at the lodge, waiting to start their day. Mercury was meeting up with Bennett after the Guardian got back from an interview. They were going to go check out the clan the female shifter claimed sold her off for amnesty. It had taken them this long to gather the evidence they needed to not only prove her story, but determine if it was a widespread problem. Their findings were disturbing.
“Can we put her out of her misery?” Mercury grumbled around a mouthful of bacon.
“Okay, Kaitlyn. Our official name announcement, just for you.” Dani grinned wickedly, almost feeling bad at Kaitlyn’s giddiness. They told the others we
eks ago, but kept Kaitlyn guessing. The female seemed to enjoy all the names she could come up with.
“What is it? What is it?” she squealed with delight.
Of the entire pack residing at the lodge, Dani should have guessed Kaitlyn would be their biggest cheerleader. The Guardian was full of a zest for life and anyone around her couldn’t help but ride on her coattails. She had even started buying baby gifts. Like, excessively. Dani had to ask her to hold off or they would run out of room.
Rubbing her now rounded belly – also Mercury’s favorite pastime, well second favorite – she gave a dramatic pause.
“We’ve decided to name him after my father for the middle name, and keep an Italian first name.”
Kaitlyn was clapping her hands together, nearly jumping up and down, her long braid swinging behind her.
“Dante Antonio Santini.”
Kaitlyn threw her hands up. “Perfection!”
She leaned down to give Dani a hug, then gave Mercury a noogie while he scowled, hiding a smile.
“Oh, Dani, you’re cooking for me tonight, right?” Kaitlyn asked. “I mean, I don’t want you to go cross-eyed staring at screens all day.”
“You’re so considerate,” Dani said, with teasing sarcasm. “Yep, lasagna. My grandmother’s recipe – extra meat, of course.”
“Hell, yeah. Catch ya’ later, bitches.” Kaitlyn left with a wink.
Dani loved rotating the more domestic duties into her week between learning the security and computer systems. Mason’s death left an opening and now she could be like the rest of the Guardians. Finding a niche she realized she had a passion for, Dani dove into learning everything electronic. It kept her busy when missions took Mercury away from the lodge for days at a time.
Once she had a good handle on that, she planned to work on cool experimental gadgets. She’d be like James Bond’s Q, noting with irony that she just referred to herself as a letter when she never did with Sigma. Q probably didn’t have a playpen or bouncy chair in his lab, though.
“Ready to get your techie on?” Mercury had already stood and was holding out his hand to help her up.
Dani looked at the male that had become not only her mate, but her partner and best friend.
“Let’s do it.”
Bennett narrowed his gaze on the deranged young man before him. Ratty honey-blond hair stood up in tufts as if the man in the metal gray scrubs had been constantly tugging at it. The round, padded room was a drab white, no color to be found. . Only a ratty mattress on the floor and one blanket decorated the entire room. The man’s entire existence - brought down to one room and a blankie.
Bennett agreed to talk with him because of details he revealed during a psychotic breakdown in Cassie’s office before she was ever introduced to their world. Fresh out of school, struggling to build her practice, she had no doubt this patient needed to be committed after hearing his ravings. She felt he was a danger to himself and others.
Fast forward six months to when she learned about and became a part of the world of vampires and werewolves. She remembered young Ronnie Newton and his ravings, and realized the guy may have been serious, and in great danger.
Agreeing that a Guardian needed to talk to the young man, Cassie arranged an appointment to meet with Ronnie, only to find out he was not only in psychiatric isolation, but was restricted from receiving visitors. No problem – Cassie was his therapist prior to commitment.
Big problem. For some reason, it was extremely difficult to get to Ronnie Newton.
Bennett looked into the kid’s background and found nothing exceptional, except the fact the kid didn’t exist. Made sense – who the fuck went by “Ronnie” nowadays? Bennett always made sure his name stayed current and trendy. He predicted “Bennett” would carry a few decades. Benjamin Young didn’t need to exist anymore. Bennett Young could leave that shit in the past.
So, here they were. A drugged-up kid, all of twenty-two, with no past, eyeballing them through his drug-induced haze. Cassie was talking in low motherly tones to keep him calm and determine how much mental status he could reach in this conversation. Jace was outside the door using his magic eyeballs to keep staff from getting too concerned about their presence.
“Do you remember what you said that day in my office, Ronnie?” Cassie ventured.
“You didn’t believe me. You gave me to them.”
Bennett’s eyebrows rose. Well, well, well. Tightened security for safety reasons, or Sigma trying to prevent the Guardians from finding out what this kid knew?
“I’m sorry, Ronnie. I really am. I believe you now.”
Ronnie gave an indignant snort, “Do you? Or are you just trying to find out what they want to know?”
“We want to help,” Cassie countered.
“I knew you were with them. You finally brought them here.”
Well, I’ll be damned. Bennett finally caught on. The kid was good.
“Why fool them into thinking the drugs work on you, but not pretend with us?” Bennett asked.
Cassie looked questionably between Bennett and Ronnie, the irritation at being interrupted fading away as comprehension of Bennett’s claim dawned on her. “You’re one of us?”
Ronnie leaned forward so quickly Bennett was ready to take him down if he lunged at the woman. Jace would be a pain in the ass if Bennett let the man get to one fiber on her.
“You’re fucking crazy!” But his eyes told Bennett a different story. His eyes were calm, lucid. “Do you think I’d be here if I had any skills that could get me out? Sorry, just a puny human here.”
Cassie’s eyes flickered to Bennett, making sure he was on the same wavelength. “So then why do they want you?”
“They think I know where she’s at. Or that she’ll come to me once she finds out I’m in this place.”
“She?” Bennett asked.
“My sister. They think she’s the alpha hybrid. The one that will give rise to a new species. One that can’t be conquered by vampires or shifters. One that can finally live on Earth without hiding.”
Bennett and Cassie sat in stunned silence.
“But they’re wrong,” Ronnie shrugged. “It’s not her. Whoever Madame G is selling her soul to for world domination fucked up.”
“Why do you think that?” Bennett couldn’t help but be caught up in the kid’s story, suddenly wanting every detail on the mysterious sister. Finally, they were getting some answers on Madame G’s goals. Were they both hers and Sigma’s? If Ronnie was telling the truth, was Madame G led astray, and about what and why?
Ronnie’s face immediately froze. “I just know. Besides, why would my sister be key, but not me? If she’s a hybrid, then I would be too. And if we were hybrids, would we really have all the strengths of both species and no weaknesses? Doubt it, there is no such thing as an alpha hybrid. Perhaps we could blend better, but most likely, we’d take on the traits of one species or another, like how offspring of human mates are shifters. So why do they want her?”
Ronnie rocked back on his mattress hugging his knees, as Cassie and Bennett absorbed his ponderings. Bennett tried to read into what the kid was trying to tell them. Ronnie’s sister wasn’t the alpha hybrid and if she was the first ever offspring of a vampire/shifter mating, what would the big deal be? Maybe a territory conflict over who would rule the poor soul?
“Seriously. At least you saved me Doc. If I wasn’t locked up here, I’d be at Sigma’s compound getting milked dry while they tested my sperm for shits and giggles.”
“Then I don’t understand why you are here and not there?” Cassie mused.
Ronnie shrugged. “Dunno. What do flies and minnows have in common?”
Bait.
“So why are you talking to us?” Cassie was perplexed.
“It’s nothing they don’t know already and you’re the good guys. It’s about time you’re getting up to speed. Besides,” Ronnie pinned Bennett with bright hazel eyes, absolutely not clouded by anti-psychotics. “You need to find her.”
Watch for Bennett’s story in
TRUE CLAIM
Coming Summer 2015
Over a century ago, Bennett Young found his mate, a human woman he trusted and was brutally betrayed by. With his one chance at happiness gone, Bennett’s throws himself into his work. He dreads the inevitable day he turns feral and his partners will be forced to put him down, when a routine mission brings him face-to-face with his worst nightmare. A human mate. Discovering the lovely, but evasive, woman is being hunted, Bennett can’t bring himself to abandon her, at least not until she’s safe.
Spencer King has a boy’s name and lives in the boondocks for a reason. The tall, sexy shifter that showed up on her doorstep was unwelcome…and pushy. The mating instinct she feels for him threatens everyone she’s worked to keep safe. Realizing the frustrating, brooding Guardian doesn’t intend to leave her alone, Spencer has to figure out if she can trust him and to decide – stay and fight, or run for her life?
About the Author
Marie Johnston lives in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, and an old cat. Deciding to occasionally trade in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the tales she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told, between the demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Primal Claim Page 17