It lowered onto all four feet, it's back arching as it readied to begin its bounding pounce toward me. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen, it was almost like a cat in its movements. But like always, I was ready. I stood strong as it pounded its way to me, rearing up as it prepared to jump me. It exposed his torso and without any hesitation I slammed the longer of the two blades into his chest. Adrenaline was pumping through me, hard and fast as a frantic heart pushed it around my body in an attempt to keep me going. As the beast fell to the ground on its back with a bone cracking thud, I slammed the other blade into its throat. A sickening gurgling and spluttering filled the room as he coughed blood, returning to his human-like form. The garage door slid up in a swift movement, frightening me. I turned to see my mother and Lonna, William was behind him and trying to get past him but Lonna wouldn't allow it. They knew, they must have known that William was a target too. He pushed Lonna out of the way and came rushing to me, relief found me and as the adrenaline slipped away, the world blacked out.
Chapter Eighty-four
It was warm, I smiled as I laid with my eyes closed enjoying the bliss that was the heat. My mind snapped into gear, remembering that it shouldn't be warm in the warehouse where I was. It was cold, I was cold. I blinked as I opened my eyes, looking straight ahead. The view was of a red sky, spindly black trees surrounded the vision.
“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” I snapped.
A chuckle echoed around me as I turned my head to the sound, I saw Anton walking to me.
“Now that's more like it.”
“How am I dead?” I asked as I sat up.
“You aren't my dear, it can happen from time to time. I think we shall call this a monumental screw up. When you fell to the ground, you fell on top of the other lycans. My little friends saw three lifeless bodies and collected their souls accordingly.”
My hand instantly snapped to my stomach. Fearing that now I had died or technically not died, something would happen to the baby.
“She's fine.” He grinned.
“It's a girl?”
“Whoops.” Anton grinned as he cheekily rolled his eyes. “Forget I said that.”
I chuckled as the pink tinged his cheeks. Personally I didn't care what gender the child was, so long as they were healthy then I was happy.
“And what about William and my parents?”
“They have been notified, I said that I would send you back completely unharmed.”
“So now what?”
Anton shrugged as he held out his hand, helping me off the leaf littered floor.
“Now? Well first I suppose I should offer my apology for this little mistake. And I guess another one for the business with William and his memory loss.”
He looked at me a little sheepishly.
“Sorry.”
“It's fine, don't worry about it. I used a spell on him and made him get in the memory pool.”
Anton looked at me with a wide grin.
“Alright then. I suppose I could tell you that for this little error you could earn a few credits that you can bank up for the future.”
I frowned at him as he began to walk, I chased after him wondering what he was talking about.
“Credits?”
“Money or goods hold no worth down here, there is nothing that you can offer me if the need were to arise. Say for instance this wasn't an accident and you wanted to return, you could earn that right with credits. Credits are earned by working in the underworld. There are rules of course but that doesn't matter until you actually need to use the credits.”
“You don't want money?”
Anton grinned as he held up his hand, snapping his fingers. All of the leaves turned to money, for as far as I could see, there was nothing but a floor covered with money. Different currencies stacked as high as my ankles. His fingers snapped again and it started to rain diamonds.
“Ow.” I muttered as they hit me on the head.
He snapped his fingers again and it stopped raining, another snap of the fingers and the ground began to shake. In the distance a monstrous house emerged, one that looked like a map and a golf cart would be needed to get around it. His fingers snapped again and the house was gone, I turned back to him and saw two women in skimpy bikinis standing beside him. As they leaned on him they giggled, squealing with delight when it started to rain again, this time it was chocolate bonbons.
“Okay I get it. You don't want for anything because you've already got it.”
“Well done.” He grinned.
With one final snap of the fingers, limbo was returned to the way it should be.
“So you'll take the credits?”
“Yeah sure. Why not?”
Anton chuckled again and as he held up his fingers again, he smiled softly.
“Goodbye Eliria, next time you come for a visit, do use the door. I think you'll find it's a much more pleasant trip.”
I grinned at him, his fingers snapped and a door opened beside me. Darkness was beyond the door but I knew how this worked. I had to go through it and not be scared, think of something that was wonderful and could distract my freaked out mind. I took a deep happy breath, stepping into the darkness and rubbed my stomach, thinking of my happy thoughts. A little girl, how sweet.
Chapter Eighty-five
I woke to the feeling of a soft touch pulling the strand of my hair behind my ear. Fluttering my eyes open, I saw the sweet smile of my mother.
“Welcome back darling. Do not fret, we are home and all is well.”
I looked around the room, Lonna was at the end of the bed with his firm authoritarian stance, William had been pacing the room and instantly settled onto the bed beside me. Marty and Nick were on the lounge looking rather distressed but happy that everything was okay.
“Dane?”
My mother's body tightened as she looked at me, her eyes darted to William. “Tim has taken him into custody and will take into consideration that he was locked in the van but keep in mind that he is still a lycan.”
“A lycan that doesn't want for their world. He tried to free me, does that not count?”
My mother patted my knee with her motherly loving smile. “It does darling. Tim said he will fit him with a tracking device and put him on probation. If Dane behaves himself he will live his life without issue.”
“He was the one that activated my beacon, I couldn't reach the stupid thing.”
“It isn't always necessary.” She grinned broadly.
I frowned at her wondering what bit of fae trickery she had hidden up her sleeve.
“How?” I asked my mother.
“Because I am not so foolish my darling, I know you are much like me even though you haven't been raised under my roof. You had become erratic since discovering that you are pregnant and I figured you would go and see William and make sure he remembered you, for the sake of the child. I also knew that if you couldn't take Lonna, you would ensure your own safety even though you didn't think there was a threat any longer. After all, it's not just you any more, is it?”
I shook my head with a smile.
“Your blades have homing beacons in them, they do not need to be activated for them to work. I tracked you from the moment you left the apartment. It wasn't until you activated your own beacon that I knew you were in danger though. Yet again I am grateful that I gave this to you.”
She smiled as her fingers danced over the marks she had given me in the keep, it came alive with a rainbow colour.
“There, now we can track junior too.”
“The child won't know to rub an arm.” I scoffed.
My mother nodded with a wry smile as Willa entered the room with a tray of something steaming hot. “That is true but this is an enchantment designed for a child, it does not need to be activated.”
“That would have been handy for me you know, they had me in these cuffs with a big bar in between.”
Lonna raised his eyebrows with a stifled grin.
“Wha
t?” I frowned at him.
“It's called a spreader bar and its purpose is far too seedy for a mind so innocent.”
“Uh-huh.”
I rolled my eyes at him and started to eat my soup, my father had entered the room and settled onto the lounge beside Marty and Nick. He looked like the concerned father that I knew he was, annoyed that he would not have been allowed to help.
Willa and Lonna disappeared shortly after that, deciding on an early night. My three favourite vampires had to feed so knowing that I was safe again they departed for their meals. Time was limited, I knew that William wanted to discuss his plans and was only leaving because they had to feed. I figured they would be gone for a really short time. Now all that was left was my parents.
“We have been discussing a few things and we thought that now would be a good time to discuss it with you.”
My father had started the conversation but the second he paused, my mother came in swinging with her straight to the point, no nonsense talk.
“How did things go with William?”
“You know he's a descendant of the original fae right?”
My mother nodded softly, her lips tightened but smiled nonetheless.
“And that he is cursed, or rather he was cursed.” I grinned smugly.
“And what of the child, what did he say?”
“Deliriously happy. He wants to talk about the future tonight.”
“Alright well I suppose that the next part may not be so easy. I guess we can discuss it in further tonight.”
Her face was odd, it was happy yet there was fear. “We have been talking about going home. You will always be able to return whenever you like but these constant attacks are getting too much for us. In our world you will be safe from the lycans. Things have improved since the unification between the fae and elves and we think that when they see you, they will understand how great things can be for our future. What do you think? Do you want to go home?”
“Well it's funny that you mentioned that, that's one of the things that William was going to discuss with everyone tonight. I think it's going to be a surprise for Marty and Nick but he's passing the dynasty to them so that he can come to our world.”
“Okay good.” My mother smiled rather surprised. “There was another thing that we wanted to discuss with you.”
My mother blushed, I swear that I don't think I have ever seen her blush that much. Her eyes darted to my father and it was like I was stuck in some weird romance novel.
“Eliria, I have asked your mother to marry me.” My father spoke proudly. “And she has agreed, we shall wed soon. In our home world of course.”
I was a little stunned, wondering why all of a sudden they decided that this was what they wanted to do.
“Are you pregnant?”
It was out before I had even thought about it, now all I could think was why did that matter to them? They didn't marry when they found out I was on my way.
My mother laughed and then patted my knee. “No dear, it is all about timing. We could never entertain thoughts of our union until there was peace in our land. Our people would not have accepted it but now we know they will.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“We are.” My father smiled brightly at me. “Before I left I made an announcement to the people of the two races, declaring that I had loved a fae woman for many years and together we had a child. That when we returned, we would marry and all would be good again.”
Except that the princess was knocked up to a vampire. “And the child?”
“Our people do not have issues with vampires Eliria, there is no cause for concern. Our concern is your safety and now your child's safety. We know that you have stated that you want to stay here but we hold serious concern that you will always be a target. To be honest, it is quite a relief that William is so agreeable to moving to our world. Life always holds danger but in our world we can protect you with our own guards in their vast numbers. Many of our people are returning to our world because of what has happened to you. They can see the danger that is lurking around every corner. There may be a time in the future when the lycans are no longer roaming this land but it is not a time in the near future. They are determined to return to what they see as their home land and will stop at nothing to get what they want. We will openly discuss the options with you and William tonight but understand that we will be insisting on your safety as the primary concern. If he cannot provide that for you then we will insist upon our own demands.”
“Oh I can assure you that he agrees with you on that one.” I said dryly.
When I was done with the soup and my parents had decided that the discussions were going to continue when William had returned, I decided that a rest was needed. I must have been incredibly tired because I didn't hear William return. When I heard a page turn, I knew he was back. He always had his nose stuck in a book, it didn't matter what it was, he was always reading something. His eyes met mine as I slowly sat up against the head board, still feeling rather groggy.
“What time is it?”
“Just after nine.”
The book was gently placed onto the table and William wandered over, sitting on the edge of the bed beside me.
“I knew as soon as you shut the car door.”
His fingers laced with mine, looking down at them. I could hear the sad strain in his voice, it was tearing him apart.
“I tried.” He whispered. “Nick stopped me and said to think about it before I just ran off into the sun again. But there wasn't anything I could do... I can't go out in it.”
“Hey.” I cooed. “It's okay I understand. You called my mother, right?”
He nodded.
“It's not good enough though. I can't protect you, I can't protect our child.”
“Don't stress, I was good for it.”
“Eliria.” He chided. “You are too relaxed with your safety.”
“And you are too harsh on yourself. I never expected you to chase after me.”
I took his hand and put it on my stomach, the happiness in his face was starting to rise.
“A certain somebody blabbed his big demon mouth and told me the gender. Do you want to know?”
William grinned with a little chuckle. “Sure.”
“A girl.”
He nodded with a soft smile as his hand pressed hard against the skin.
“The first female vampire ever born, she will be the first of many now. I am looking forward to our future, my love. A new world, a child, the weight of a terrible burden lifted from my shoulders. What more could a man want?”
“The love of a good woman?” I offered cheekily.
“Hmm, I suppose that might be okay.”
I poked him in the ribs, he feigned the hurt and pouted his lips. It was terrible, I was a mess after one little pout. How he could have me so compliant with just an expression was crazy. With the carnal need for him rising within me I fluttered my eyelashes with a sultry smirk.
“Behave, your parents are in the next room and they said they would be back to continue the discussions. I can't imagine they would be impressed if they walked in on us.”
“Lock the door.”
Just as I said it the door swung open and I wondered if my mother knew the concept of privacy.
“Oh good, you're awake.”
My mother entered first, her graceful walk was incredible. I could be envious of that alone. Wearily my father followed after, it had been a long day and I guess the thought that his only child had been abducted and gone up against two fully grown male lycans was rather stressful. I could understand why they wanted to leave this world.
“I have made contact with your grandfather Eliria, he will be expecting us tomorrow evening. That will give you all of tomorrow to ensure that everything is ready and for any dealings that you may need to finish William.”
“Of course.”
“Nicolas and Martine have returned, we will leave you to discuss your matters in private.�
��
“There is no need Hemoi, there is nothing that can't be discussed in front of family.”
My father smiled wryly at him and stood to call for Marty and Nick. They were both rather reserved and cautious as they entered, Nick settled onto the lounge and Marty sat at the end of the bed. William was still on the bed beside me, it was likely that he wouldn't let me out of his sight for a real long time.
“Nicolas, Martine I know that the past has been difficult for the three of us with many things that have tried to bring us down but we prevailed against all odds. You have my eternal gratitude for your unwavering loyalty and I offer you this one gift with the blessings of the other elders. Prior to my father's death we had discussed the future and who we both thought it would be ideal to keep within the folds of our family. My father held great affection for you both, to him you were another son and the daughter he always wanted.”
Marty crinkled her face with a smile trying to discreetly wipe the tear.
“We both agreed that there was no family to be had if you two weren't in it and I appreciate that you have stood by me in my darkest hour. Through the good and the bad, there was always two that I knew had my back. So I guess it would come as no surprise that when I thought of departing this world to join Eliria in her own world, I thought of you two to carry on my family legacy.”
Nick frowned and Marty gaped, neither of them could really understand what was being offered. Sure, it was obvious that he was handing it over to them but it seemed too outrageous.
“I know that the two of you will do my family justice, that you will remain true to the ideals that the elders hold and that you will do me proud.”
“Are you crazy?” Martine scoffed, wide eyed.
“Crazy in love, yes. I want to be with Eliria and our child and they need to be with their people. This is the best solution and I have no issue with this. I believe in you, why do you doubt yourself?”
She frowned and turned to Nick who had gone rather pale.
“I don't.” She said quietly. “We aren't family though. How can you pass it over to us?”
“You are family, I made you and my father made Nick. The blood of my family flows through your veins Martine and it is acceptable in regards to the succession of an elder.”
Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1) Page 53