“Basement.” But as the alpha flung open the door leading downstairs, the omega grasped the robe Alexander was wearing. “Don’t leave us.”
The alpha placed both hands on Declan’s shoulders. “No matter what happens, they won’t hurt you or the baby.” Please let that be right.
“They?” The omega’s croaky voice was accompanied by his eyes bulging in fear. “You said three. Three what?”
“Alpha vampires.” It’s truth time. “They want Finn, and they need you to keep him alive. They’ll kill me if they have to. If…” The alpha paused, begging the universe to save Declan and the baby. “…they do, Ambrose and his men will find you. You’re covered in my scent, and I made him promise to go after you.”
“N-N-No… you’re a vampire with superhuman abilities. Make them go away.” The omega’s face crumpled, and he trembled under the alpha’s grip.
Forgive me, Declan. I have no choice. Alexander slapped the omega’s cheek. Declan’s mouth fell open and one hand went to his face while his chest heaved and he hugged Finn. His blank expression had the alpha questioning the decision to hit him. Is he unravelling?
“Do exactly as I say. Close your eyes and count to three.”
The alpha flung himself downstairs and selected two axes and a battery-operated nail gun, hoping the last item was fully charged and the nails were steel.
“…three.” Declan hadn’t moved.
Finn! The omega couldn’t protect himself while holding his son, so Alexander fashioned a throw blanket as a sling and placed the baby on his father’s back. “Declan, I’m giving you Matt’s gun. There are four bullets left.”
“Alexander, take the baby and go.” The omega’s monotone tugged at the alpha’s withered heart. “He’s got his whole life ahead of him.”
“No. They’ll kill you and follow me. And if I die, Finn is alone. We can do this.” His eyes flicked to the bank of windows facing the lake. They’re here.
Needing to keep Declan and Finn close, Alexander pulled the upright piano away from the wall and shoved the omega behind it along with a stack of cushions. Declan’s eyes watered, but the fighting instinct that had served him well the night he confronted Alexander was visible behind the tears.
Fuck this robe! Alexander ripped it off, leaving him naked apart from a pair of gray boxer briefs. With an axe resting on his palms and the other tools at his feet, the alpha placed one foot in front of the other. Tucking his chin down, his eyes flicked between the wall of glass and the front door.
He inhaled the strangers’ excitement and anticipation despite them having sniffed out his presence. Though Ambrose had insisted the renegades were entrepreneurs, wanting to profit from babies’ blood, Alexander could almost taste their cravings. It blinded them to reason, and they wouldn’t stop until they had Finn. The alpha eyed Declan clutching his brother’s gun and silently begged Ambrose to hurry.
A shadow outlined against the moonlight threw itself against the living room windows. Slivers of jagged glass ripped through the air, piercing the walls, sofa and Finn’s toys. Alexander shaded his eyes while Declan whimpered. There was no sound from Finn other than slow, regular breathing as he slept.
A newly-turned vampire dressed in jeans and T-shirt crouched on the carpet. His eyes went immediately to the piano, and he licked his lips in anticipation. The veins in his neck protruded while his sinewy arms strained under the white shirt.
He shifted his gaze to Alexander as he stood and brushed off glass shards.
“Oops.” Glancing around, he added, “Nice place—or it was.”
Alexander weighed the axe in his hands while trying to locate the other vampires.
“You found him. But we can share.” The stranger’s teeth raked over his bottom lip. A gasp from Declan had the vampire’s eyes darting to the omega’s hiding place.
The stench of fear from the omega’s sweat and panic hung over the room as the newcomer’s feet crunched over broken glass.
“Father first or baby?” His tongue poked out between his lips as he panted and his long fingernails raked over his chest.
The scent of bloodlust, the irresistible, metallic flavor of desire, oozed from his pores and sickened Alexander. He hadn’t experienced raw fear as a vampire until the day of Finn’s birth, and now it had him in its sights a second time.
The newborn vampire put a finger to his lips. “I won’t tell, if you don’t.” He took two quick steps toward Alexander, somersaulted and landed on the coffee table, which collapsed under his weight.
His cocky grin had Alexander’s body grow cold.
“Don’t be greedy.”
“Leave. Now.”
“Three against one. Give up the kid.” His eyes lit up. “Or we’ll take him.”
He wants a fight.
“If you’re caught…”
The interloper shrugged and rubbed a thumb over his index and middle fingers. “The council takes bribes.”
Alexander snuck a glance toward the front door and the newcomer followed his gaze as the axe pitched toward him. It struck a lamp, slicing it in two, and the wiring sizzled, leaving the acrid smell of burnt plastic wafting over the pair.
“That the best you can do?”
Go on thinking that.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.” Picking up a piece of glass, the vampire hurled it toward Declan. It sliced the air before Alexander swatted it away with the second axe, and it rammed into a vase of flowers. Water, petals and porcelain spilled onto the carpet.
“This could have been easy but you blew it.” The intruder leapt toward Alexander and his foot connected with his companion’s chin. The sharp thwacking had Declan cry out. Alexander ignored the ringing in his ears and head butted the new vampire across the room where he crashed into book shelves and landed on the soggy carpet.
The stranger jumped up and snarled, “Now I’m pissed.”
Stay calm. “Ask yourself why they sent you in with no backup.”
“Because I am that good.” The vampire puffed out his chest and grinned.
“You’re expendable.” And stupid.
“That’s where you’re wrong, old man.”
A fist punched a hole in the front door, and it collapsed.
“Alexander! Watch out!”
A second, newly turned vampire with a bald head and black leather jacket treaded lightly around the room toward the piano. He snapped his teeth at Alexander while edging closer to the humans.
Dividing my attention.
“Now it’s play time!” The fair-haired one lunged at Alexander, who grabbed his shirt and lifted him above his head. The newcomer cursed while his finger nails scratched over his opponent’s bare flesh, leaving deep, ugly claw marks before Alexander propelled him into a wall.
From the corner of his eye, Alexander observed the second vampire sidling toward Declan. A pink flush crept over his body as it burned with an insatiable hunger. But as he charged toward the omega and his son, Finn woke and let out a shriek.
Alexander dropped to the floor and launched another axe at the fair-haired vampire. It struck his chest, and he staggered back against the broken windows and grunted as he yanked it out.
The putrid stink of torn vampire flesh seeped over Alexander. He grabbed the nail gun, twisted around and dived toward the piano, tackling the second intruder. The pair crunched onto smashed furniture when a bullet whispered past him and hit the bald vampire in the head, carving a deep gouge in his skull.
Declan!
The vampire grunted and plucked the bullet and brain matter from his mangled flesh. But the bug-eyed expression on his face froze as steel nails from Alexander’s nail gun plunged into what had been his heart, and he crumpled into a rancid heap.
But after the bald one collapsed, with his unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling, Alexander kept shooting. He poured his frustration and dread into the steel that shredded the younger vampire’s body. Shit! Why did I do that?
Alexander pushed Declan back behind the piano with a muttered, �
�Thank you.” He twisted around, ready to clobber the fair-haired one with the nail gun, but the vampire was prodding the deep cut in his chest and staggering backward.
His injury had punctured his longing for blood, and self-preservation took over. With a final glance at his companion’s body, he plunged through the broken windows, and Alexander resisted the urge to follow him.
The omega, with Finn on his back, dropped the gun and flung himself at the alpha. Alexander’s nerves were stretched to breaking point as he enveloped the pair in his arms while twisting his head, searching for the third intruder.
Declan rested his head on the alpha and ran his fingers over the deep gashes in Alexander’s chest. But while the omega’s scent filled the alpha’s nostrils, his remaining senses alerted him to another presence, and he thrust Declan and Finn behind him.
“Alexander Fletcher.”
The deep voice from the kitchen had the omega shriek and press his quivering body against his companion.
“Fergal, we meet again.” A chill rippled through Alexander. Ambrose had banished the older vampire from the county. But now he stood in Declan’s kitchen spraying rubbing alcohol over the room with one hand and grasping a lighter in the other. Alexander gauged the time to get the omega and Finn to the car. I can’t do it.
Fergal made a face at the fetid remains of the second vampire. “Shame about that jacket.”
Declan’s rapid breathing and his nails digging into Alexander’s shoulders had the alpha silently pleading with the omega to hold it together.
Fergal held up the lighter and a yellow flame flickered in the moonlight streaming in through the shattered window. “Hand over the little one, Alexander, and I won’t remove your head.” He dropped the alcohol and brandished a meat cleaver.
“No!”
Alexander slapped the gun from Declan’s hand as the omega aimed it at Fergal. Three bullets were useless against an older alpha, and the nail gun was empty. Shit! He wouldn’t hand Finn over and couldn’t get father and son out.
“Which is it, boy?” Fergal took a step closer, a sadistic grin on his face.
Alexander’s eyes darted to the basement door. Root cellar. He’d noticed it earlier. Dirt walls. Thick steel door. They might have a chance. Opening the door, he shoved Declan and Finn inside and mouthed, “Root cellar.”
As he put himself between the older vampire and the humans, the fuel ignited, and Fergal leapt over the flames toward him.
Six
Declan
Declan scrambled down the old wooden stairs and flicked on the light at the bottom. He’ll find us. He turned it off, his heart racing and sweat pooling on his brow. They can see in the dark. It doesn’t matter. The omega snapped on the light again and blinked as one bulb flickered.
He studied the door that led outside. His terrified eyes darted from it to the steel one going into the root cellar, and from there to the third one at the top of the stairs.
Three vampires.
Three doors.
Three options.
A whiff of smoke slithered under the door leading to the upper floor, sending the omega’s heart hammering. He longed to race outside into the cool night air. A fire would trap Finn and him in the root cellar.
But if he took off, he couldn’t outrun a vampire—especially with a baby. He shivered and put his hands behind him and stroked Finn. His son kicked and drooled over his father’s neck, reassuring the omega.
Something heavy thumped against the basement door, and the omega shoved a fist in his mouth to muffle a scream. Alexander? He hugged the wall and held his breath, expecting the door to open.
An explosion had him duck behind shelves. The gas canister. Finn whimpered, and the omega nuzzled him until he quietened. I’m here, little one. Declan’s heart constricted as he pictured the moment after his son’s birth when Alexander had placed the baby in his arms. Where the hell is Ambrose?
He peered up the stairs, his emotions in turmoil. Alexander said the vampires wanted both of us. But he’s one of them. The omega seesawed between the alpha being in league with the others and him being his and Finn’s savior. Declan’s world had been upended with Ian’s death, and now it was being destroyed. He didn’t know who to trust.
He headed toward the door leading into the garden but skidded over the floor when he realized it was the middle of the night. Vampires can see in the dark. I can’t. The car keys were in the living room and Ian’s boat was in the shed. I’ll risk it.
But the door to the garden was jammed. He pounded it with his fists and rested his head against the wood panels as tears dripped over his chin.
Curses followed by more breaking glass upstairs had Declan holding his hands over his ears. Make it stop. Flames roared overhead, and the omega fought back tears as he mourned the loss of his beloved home. Smoke curled into the basement and stung the omega’s eyes. He ripped a net curtain from the small basement window and dampened it under the faucet in case he had to stick it over the baby’s head. That’s useless.
If Fergal killed Alexander and came for Finn, Declan had no one to help him. For the first time since he and Ian had bought the house, the omega cursed the decision to live out of town.
Footsteps pounded over the living room floor, and a shout followed by more glass shattering had the omega squat with his arms resting on his head. I should have gone with Matt. He was right. It’s not normal for a human to be friends with a vampire.
Frantic thoughts ricocheted around his mind as furniture overturned. Grunts accompanied shouts followed by screams that had him gnawing his nails. He pictured Alexander on the floor, his insides oozing from his lifeless body, and his eyes swam with tears.
Finn wriggled and gurgled on his back, and without thinking, the omega got to his feet and rocked his hips. He hummed while raking fingers through his hair. He’d never held a gun before tonight, and now he’d shot his brother and one of the undead. He no longer recognized himself.
What have I become? He shuddered at the memory of the dead vampire and the stink of rotting tissue swarming through the house.
A shriek from upstairs followed by something heavy being tipped over had the omega shrink backwards and wipe damp palms on his pajamas. Finn’s sling was sagging and Declan heaved him up. We have to get outside. With a final glance up the stairs, he headed for the outer door.
But Ian’s chainsaw hanging on the wall caught his eye. Perhaps he could cut his way through the door and escape the inferno raging on the upper floors. He’d used it a few weeks ago to cut off a branch damaged by high winds. The damned alpha didn’t witness that or he would have interfered and done it himself.
He got on tiptoes and removed the chainsaw. It was heavier than he remembered, and he almost toppled over. But as he regained his balance, a creaking, followed by a sliver of moonlight had him freeze. Fergal. The saw almost slipped from his fingers and the covered tip smacked onto the floor as he struggled to hold it.
“I do love a good saw, omega.” Fergal’s eyes darted upward as flames raged and consumed the fabric of the old house.
Declan tried to remember how to kill a vampire. Fire, steel through the heart as Alexander had done, or decapitation. While he wasn’t fast enough to cut off a vampire’s head, slicing off an ear or fingers might slow one down.
“Take me.”
“I intend to. But that little boy of yours is succulent.” He jerked his head toward the crumbling ceiling. “Your friend didn’t make it.”
He’s lying! “I don’t believe you!” It can’t be true. But as he refused to accept Alexander was dead, the alpha’s voice in his head told him to think of himself and Finn and not give up.
The omega edged along the wall, the muscles in his arms screaming under the weight of the saw, but he swallowed the pain. When he reached the solid, steel door, he shuffled backward, trying not to squash Finn.
Despite the fire consuming the upper floors and smoke filling the basement, the temperature dropped as he retreated over the hard di
rt floor. The thick walls made of earth packed into logs were lined with shelves of Ian’s preserves. Barrels of fruit and vegetables sat in one corner.
Burning cinders floated through the air as the omega yanked a cord and turned on the light. Terror squeezed the oxygen from his chest, and his shallow breathing punctuated the smoky air, while flames licked and devouring everything outside the root cellar.
His trembling fingers ripped off the saw’s cover, exposing its sharp teeth.
“Nice!”
Ignoring Fergal and concentrating on the tool in his hands, the omega pressed the primer and trigger as Fergal approached him. Declan resisted the urge to throw bottles of pickles and jams at the vampire. He couldn’t hold the saw with one hand, and it was pointless. I can’t do this.
But as he grasped the starter rope, a blackened shape slid down what was left of the stairs and toppled over the railing.
“Still here?” Fergal flounced round and kicked Alexander in the ribs. The younger alpha grunted as he smashed into the circular water heater, and his head cracked against the metal. Declan winced as he examined Alexander’s body covered in raw, angry wounds. One arm was hanging at an awkward angle and he was missing chunks of hair. He’s still fighting for us.
Adrenaline surged through the omega, and dropping the saw, he lay Finn on a bench. His mind went back and forth as he stroked his son’s cheek. He wanted the tiny warm body against him but he couldn’t defend them with the baby tied to his back.
You are my life! His bottom lip trembled as he blew Finn a kiss. Grabbing the saw, he gritted his teeth and yanked the starter rope. The chainsaw roared and died, and he repeated the action as Fergal stood over Alexander, gripping the razor-sharp blade from Ian’s circular saw.
Alexander lifted his head, and his penetrating gaze had the omega pause before the younger vampire yelled, “Trust your instincts, Declan.”
What? The omega squinted into the shadows, thick with smoke. For Finn to survive he had to hand him over, but then he’d lose everything. Give him want he wants—or make him think you are. Just as Alexander did with the fair-haired one.
The Alpha Vampire's Proposal: An Mpreg Paranormal Romance (Flickering Shadows Book 1) Page 7