Shackled to the Night, page 20
Beautiful, she thought, a wonderful creation.
“You are with child,” Mother Nature said. “A female vampire.” She paused while she looked at Emily and Thaddeus, who frankly, in human terms, both looked struck stupid.
“Excuse me?” Emily whispered.
“You heard me correctly, dear,” Mother Nature said.
Thaddeus felt as if he may tip over in his boots and looked around to gauge how close the nearest chair was. He felt Emily sway, obviously floored by the news as he was. It wasn’t every day that a male has his life saved by Mother Nature and finds out that the one he loves is pregnant. With his kid. A girl. A vampire girl.
Yeah, he really needed a chair.
But pregnant? In three days?
“Forgive my questioning, Mother Nature,” he said, “but are you certain? I’ve only known Emily a few days.”
Mother Nature looked at Thaddeus, briefly bringing her hand to his cheek.
“Of course I am sure, beautiful child,” she said with a smile. “vampire DNA develops rapidly, allowing me to sense the being growing within her at a very early stage.”
Thaddeus thought back to when he first met Emily, only a few short days ago, and realized he never smelled her ovulating. Then he realized he had been so taken with Emily that getting her pregnant had never crossed his mind.
In a louder voice she proclaimed, “This is a fine union,” as if she were making sure someone else beside those in the room heard her.
Thaddeus looked to her, and then at Emily. “Emily,” he whispered.
He wanted to tell her that he was sorry he had put her in this position, that he was sorry they weren’t careful. The full blame fell on his shoulders, and he felt like someone had just dumped a cement truck across his back.
Before he could get the words out, Emily put a finger to his lips and gave him a shush. She beamed up at him, joy radiating out of her. “I’m happy about this, Thaddeus. Surprised, but very happy. My concern is you. Do you want this child? Do you want me?”
Thaddeus looked into those piercing green eyes, and knew he could never be more certain of anything. He felt his tear ducts begin to sting and a hitch caught in his throat, so he did what any male would do: He brought Emily close in a bear hug and buried his face in her hair so she couldn’t see his weakness.
“Solider,” Mother Nature chimed, “if you proclaim this human as your own, and if she’ll have you, you must do so now. You cannot wait until further days. It must be now.”
Make Emily his mate? Now?
Thaddeus didn’t hesitate. He dropped to his knees and put his forehead on Emily’s feet, as was the custom he had read about in vampire matings. Human males only got down on one knee, but vampire males went all the way to the floor. vampires rocked the whole proposal thing. He even snuck in a kiss to her beautiful pink toenails.
“My Emily,” he breathed. In a louder voice he made his intentions known. “You came into my empty existence, and you have brought into it life. A life I thought I never would have known if it weren’t for you.”
He tried hard to find the words that he felt, but he was sure that they weren’t enough. And he was certain that he could never find the words to convey the feelings he had for Emily, but he would try. He gently placed his hand on her lower belly. “And now through the blessings of The Creator, and Mother Nature, you carry my babe in your womb, a gift that I’m not worthy of, but will accept with pride, joy and reverence.”
He paused as a tear made its way down her cheek and leapt off her chin.
Thaddeus smiled and then caught it in the palm of his hand.
“Emily, will you be my Eternal Mate?”
“Does that mean wife, or something similar?” Emily asked, smiling.
“Yeah, it does.”
“Then yes, Thaddeus. I will.”
Thaddeus stood up, bringing her into his arms. He had an Eternal Mate. He had a babe of his own coming to life inside of her, and he had a boy whom he loved as his own. Gone were his days of loneliness, of bedding women just so he could feel some sort of connection to another person. He had a family, and for the first time in his life, he felt complete, and sheer happiness washed over him.
As his thoughts were racing, a voice chimed in his head, demanding his full attention. It is time for you to become what The Creator intended for you, she said. It lies upon your own shoulder to save your race. You must rise from the station of soldier you were born unto to that of leader, which you are destined. You own the heart, the will, and the determination to take the lead.
If you choose to ignore your destiny, know in your soul that your race shall fall into extinction. Your current enemy is a forceful one, one that must be stopped. This is your destiny. Accept your station as leader now, soldier.
Leader? Leader of the vampire race? Was she kidding? He wasn’t any type of leader. He was a born and bred killer, not someone who sat around giving orders to others. That was The Council’s job. He would give his life trying to keep the race alive against this enemy of which she spoke, but leading? As in being in charge of shit?
But if what she said was true, he wasn’t going to be the one responsible for the extinction of his race. If stepping up and giving the whole leadership thing a shot was what needed to be done, then he would. He held Emily and kissed the top of her head. He had a pretty good idea that she would help him, advise him, and be there with him through every step of the way. She had a lot invested in the vampire race as well now with her son—their son—now a vampire, and the female vampire growing in her womb.
She would never let the extinction of the race happen without a fight simply to save their children. He nodded once at Mother Nature, accepting her words as truth. She smiled in return.
“We do have one last issue we must address,” Mother Nature said, stepping toward Emily. “And that is the issue of your mortality, my fair beauty.”
As she continued, Thaddeus couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Mother Nature was offering Emily immortality. He hadn’t given much thought to Emily being human as he thought their time together was ending.
“Do you accept, child?”
Emily nodded, and Mother Nature touched her cheek and closed her eyes for a moment.
She then proclaimed Emily immortal as long as her Eternal Mate lived, opened her eyes and smiled at Emily.
“Thank you,” Emily said, bowing her head. “You’ve given me a wonderful gift.”
Mother Nature then turned to Rusalka. “You shall leave us now, Rusalka. Go forth to your sequester knowing thy race will flourish and grow. Know that your blooded son will bring honor to his role as the one who saves the vampire race. Your work and those of The Council is now through. It is time for the new generation to lead.”
She waved a dismissive hand toward Thaddeus’s mother, and the female vampire, glowered, her eyes becoming blood red as her anger rose to epic levels. Then it was like someone popped a needle in her balloon, and Thaddeus watched her deflate. Her eyes went back to the black pits they had been.
“Serve your race well, son,” she hissed at him, an evil smile snaking its way across her face, and then she disappeared. He couldn’t help feeling that she really didn’t mean what she said, and that kind of made his gut go tight. Thaddeus hoped it would be a very, very long while before he laid eyes on her again.
“It will be,” Mother Nature said, answering his thoughts. She laid her glowing hand on Thaddeus. “I will now take my leave as well. Be well, Thaddeus. Slay your enemy with dignity and power. Take the reins of your destiny.”
“Uh, before you leave, ma’am, can you tell me who this enemy is?” Thaddeus asked. If he was going to have a battle on his hands, he would like to know who he would be delivering the beat down to.
Her orange eyes stared at him. “There is only so much interference I am allowed, Thaddeus. You have your enemy in your sights already, but beware: Things are often not as they appear.”
She then put her other hand on Emily and smiled. “Such loveliness,” she murmured. “Be there for your Eternal Mate,” she said. “Be the steel in his spine if he is feeling weak. The laughter when he broods. The nourishment when he hungers. A true partnership is needed now more than ever.” Then, just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.
Thaddeus grabbed her again and pulled her into his chest. He was content. Happy. In love. So deeply in love. In four hundred years he finally felt like he was complete, like his life had true purpose and meaning.
“You heard what she said, right?” he growled.
“Of course I did,” she said into his chest. “You have a destiny to be a leader in the vampire race. Big job.”
“I wasn’t referring to that part,” he said seriously, “but yes, it is a big job and I’m hoping you’ll help me.” His thoughts traveled for a moment, thinking of all that he wanted to do. The first thing he wanted to do was build the trust between the vampire race and the Dark Forces.
His brothers and he would have to refrain from the brutal killings, and perhaps set up some sort of court system to help determine punishment for those who did threaten the vampire race. He thought the Behavioral Doctrine was a good thing, but as he had proved to himself, a human female could make an excellent partner for one of his kind.
“Of course,” she said. “I’ll be more than happy to do whatever I need to do.”
Thaddeus ground his hips into her. “The part I was referring to was when she said that you need to be my nourishment when I hunger.”
“And?” she said, a sly grin playing on her lips.
“And I’m so very, very hungry for you, my Emily, my Eternal Mate,” he said as he dropped his mouth to hers. “Absolutely starving.”
She kissed him back, and then pushed him away. “Hold up there, vampire. We have some things to do first.”
Of course, she was right. They needed to tell Brandon and Robert. Thaddeus hoped Brandon was going to be quite pleased that they were staying. And they had to drop the baby bomb on him as well. Thaddeus wondered if he would warm to the idea of being a big brother.
Emily took Thaddeus’s hand and made her way to the bedrooms.
Chapter 33
Rusalka’s spirit swept through the sky, following the moon on its way back to her body buried deep in a cave on the other side of the Earth. Unless something changed, and she didn’t know what that was, she knew that this would be her last outing. She was very weak and close to death. She reviewed her brief visit with her son.
She held disgust in her heart for Thaddeus. How dare he break the very rules that were meant to keep the vampire race alive. He should be dead, and she wouldn’t have had any problems delivering the sentence to him. Mother Nature had interfered, and that made her furious. How dare she dismiss one of the oldest vampires on this Earth? If Mother Nature didn’t report to The Creator himself, Rusalka would have destroyed her as well.
Rusalka thought of the news she didn’t deliver to Thaddeus. She had gone to him, intending to give him the information and the orders to interfere, but when it was time to take her leave, her anger had prevented her from telling him. She smiled to herself now. Her son had defied her, and he would have to pay the price for that. It was time for her to leave this Earth, and just like any vampire worth her fangs, she was leaving behind death, destruction, and she was certain chaos would reign down on the vampire race. It served them right, especially that traitorous son of hers.
Chapter 34
Emily and Thaddeus spoke with the boys about the change in plans. Both were very happy that Emily and Brandon would be staying. They had jumped up and down on the bed, doing flips and yelling. Emily had calmed them down and explained that she would be putting together a schedule because their nights would not be filled with games of Wii and running through the forest like little banshees. She would construct a syllabus of schoolwork, and they would have lessons and do homework Monday through Friday. She also noted that they were going to start doing chores around the house. They groaned and complained, but in her sweet way, Emily laid down the law.
Then they told the boys about the babe that would be coming. Both were stunned, especially when they found out there would be a little girl running around. Robert was especially surprised because he knew that a female vampire hadn’t been born in many, many years. The boys decided that they would both play the roll of big brother and take the little girl under their wings, especially to teach her the ins and outs of Wii when she was old enough.
As soon as they were out of the boys’ room, Thaddeus had Emily pinned up against the wall in the hall, kissing her hungrily, thinking he would finally get some alone time with his Eternal Mate, when the alarm went off signaling that someone was downstairs ready to board the elevator. Thaddeus cursed viciously, and went into their bedroom to look at the monitor. Cy had arrived a day early, and was standing at the door to the elevator looking up at the camera. As if he knew Thaddeus was looking at him, Cy gave him the finger.
Thaddeus had to smile, even though frustration was his forefront emotion. He needed Emily with every cell in his body. He had to get her naked sooner rather than later or he would be liable to want to hurt someone.
Cy had chartered a private jet to bring him and his six computers from the east coast to Reno, and had then rented a large van to bring them to Thaddeus’s house. He and Thaddeus brought them up the elevator, and Cy decided to put three in his bedroom, and three in the dining room, which had been renamed Central Control.
Emily immediately warmed to Cy, and the two talked like they were old friends. Cy had a slighter physique than Thaddeus, but was still built with hard layers of muscle. His black hair hung in a shaggy mop almost to his shoulders, and his topaz eyes held a glow of mischief. His sense of humor had her laughing so hard she had tears rolling down her face.
Emily told Cy about the visit from Rusalka while he wired his computers. Thaddeus watched Emily with pride as she filled Cy in on all the drama of the night. She was at ease around Cy, and he admired the way she adapted to the situation of being surrounded by vampires. It was easy to like Cy, and probably even easier after her encounter with Aiden. On that note, Thaddeus was beginning to worry about Aiden although Mark kept saying that Aiden was right where he needed to be, whatever that meant.
Aiden should have come home, or at least checked in by now. Thaddeus was certain in his soul that Aiden hadn’t done anything stupid, like deliberately getting himself killed, but Thaddeus couldn’t help but wonder if Aiden had gotten himself in some trouble somehow. The guy was a ruthless, mean motherfucker, but the right people and circumstances could take him down. Thaddeus had called numerous times, and it went straight to voice mail.
Thaddeus decided that if Aiden hadn’t returned by the next evening, he and Cy would go take a look around and see what they could come up with, regardless of what Mark said. If something had happened to incapacitate Aiden, there would be records somewhere. Thaddeus made a mental list of the hospitals in town, as well as the pawnshops. He knew Aiden had been packing heat, and if someone had gotten his hands on the weapons, they would most likely end up in the pawnshop. He also thought it would be a good idea for Cy to hack into the police records and see if anyone fitting Aiden’s description had turned up. That should probably be done sooner rather than later.
Thaddeus brought his attention back to the conversation in the room, and felt irritation swirl in his gut. He tried to stay in the room and participate, but his skin was hot and his body jacked up. He paced the Great Room thinking of how to get Emily out of the room without seeming rude. He heard them talking and laughing, and he felt a bolt of jealousy slam into him, elongating his fangs. His vampire side was coming out to play, and it felt the need to mark what was his.
He heard Emily laugh again, and decided that all pretenses of pretending to be a civilized being were off. He wanted Emily, and he wanted her now. He didn’t give a fuck about Cy at that very moment. His mind and body were laser-focused on Emily.
He marched into the room ready to grab her, throw her over his shoulder if necessary, and take her down the hall to their bedroom, but he stopped at the door. Emily was giving Cy a hug and saying goodnight. About time, Thaddeus thought. A small growl erupted from his throat as he realized that he didn’t want Emily that close to another male. Ever. Both turned to look at him, and Cy laughed.
“It seems we have made your Eternal Mate jealous with our good night embrace,” Cy said as he stepped away from Emily.
Emily went over to Thaddeus and took his hand. “My Eternal Mate better mellow out a little bit, don’t you think Cy?” she said teasingly.
The energy between their locked hands traveled up Thaddeus’s hand, actually making his spine shiver. Oddly, it calmed him, and he was able to hold on another minute as he said goodnight to Cy and promised that they would catch up the next evening. He asked Cy to check out the police records, and maybe do a scan on the admitted patients in the hospitals to see if anyone matched Aiden’s description. They discussed going out the next night, not only to find Aiden if he didn’t show up, but to also pick up where Aiden had left off at the strip club downtown.
Thaddeus shut the door quietly to his bedroom, now their bedroom. He pressed Emily to him and kissed her gently.
“I’ve been waiting all night long to be with you,” Thaddeus growled, grinding his erection into her stomach.
Emily laughed lightly and gently pushed him away. “You are going to have to wait a little while longer. I desperately need a shower after that pleasant visit from your mama.”
He watched as she went to the bathroom, her jeans hugging her beautiful ass, her hair swaying at her waist. She closed the bathroom door, and Thaddeus heard the shower turn on, and then Emily began to hum lightly.
He leaned back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest, his head hanging off his spine as though it weighed five hundred pounds. He was pissed he hadn’t received an invitation to join her. He imagined the water running down her breasts, jumping off the peak of her nipples. He could see her hands slowly running up and down her body, soaping herself up, her head tilted back slightly to let the water run over her hair, a soft smile on her lips.
