by Janelle Peel
His face fell as he whispered, “Blaze.”
I shook my head, “I don’t know any Blaze. Where am I?”
“Home,” his voice cracked.
“This,” I waved an arm dramatically, “is not my home. My home, is with Giselle.” Suspiciously, I asked, “Where is Giselle?”
He took a labored breath, in fact, it was the first breath I’d seen him take.
“Viv?” He asked curiously.
“What about my friend?” I bared my teeth, “You’d better not have hurt her.”
He smiled softly and shook his head, “Outside.”
I looked at the door as hope filtered through my mind, “Viv is outside?”
He nodded before moving his eyes to the side table, “Phone.”
My gaze snagged on the shiny contraption. I’d always wanted one of those, but just couldn’t afford to spend almost $800 on one. I shook my head, “That’s not my phone. Where’s my Nokia?”
Silence met my ears as his lids fluttered closed.
Keeping the strange man in my peripheral vision, I snatched up the Galaxy S8. Checking if his eyes were still closed, I unlocked it and scrolled through the contacts.
Viv came up beside my pink haired friends picture. Holding my breath, I touched the call icon.
Ring.
Ring.
“Hello? How did you get this number? This had better not be a sick joke or I will find you and kick your ass.”
The sound of her sass sent a pang through my chest and I sniffled, “Viv?”
Silence.
“I’m afraid, Viv. I don’t know where I am. Can you come get me?” I begged into the tiny speaker.
A sharp inhale met my ears, “I’m coming right now, Babe. Hold tight.”
“Please don’t hang up,” I whispered.
“Shh,” she soothed. “I won’t. Natalie!” Her voice screamed, hurting my ear. “Get your ass over here, now!”
Movement sounded through the door and I sucked in a sharp breath, “Someone’s at the door.”
A knock echoed in tandem from the door through the phone, “It’s just me. Open up.”
“I-I, I can’t. I. It’s br-roken,” I stuttered.
“Okay, calm down.” Her mouth shifted away from the speaker, “Nat, fix the dammed door.” Someone mumbled a reply. “No, I don’t know what’s wrong with it, fix it now or I’m going to break it down!”
Tears trickled down my cheeks as I grinned at her bossy tone.
“Fuck it,” she said. “I’m breaking in.” Her tone softened, “Stay away from the door, okay Sora?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
A loud thump shook the frame with a muttered curse. Another thump, and the door creaked. On the third thump, the door handle screeched like a dying animal and the heavy mahogany swung open.
My gaze touched on her pink hair and taller frame. I stared in amazement as she approached. Even her eyes were different. Where was my short friend?
“Hey,” she wiggled her fingers.
Squaring my shoulders, I asked, “Where the fuck am I, and how did you grow?”
Her lips tipped into a smirk as she thrusted her hips provocatively, “Like what ya see, Bitch?”
Comprehension slowly dawned, this was indeed my snarky friend. Wrinkling my nose, I barked, “Then who the hell is that?!” I waved a hand frantically at the near corpse occupying my room.
She looked from the unconscious, emaciated man on the bed, then at me and back again. Her brows dipped into a v, “That’s your Mate.”
I’d had about enough of this shit. Grasping the tie of my robe, I pulled it with a jerk and flipped the center open, “Then what the fuck is this?!?”
Her expression softened as she took in my large, rounded belly. “That, my friend, is your baby.” One brow rose, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Where’s Giselle? I was supposed to have dinner with her after my shift at the diner.”
Slowly, she padded to my side and pulled back the blankets on the bed. “I’ll explain, but I need to have Jules come in here and tend to you first. You’d like that catheter out, right?”
Sitting on the bed, I gave her the stank eye and settled back against the pillows. Why was she talking to me like I was crazy? She was right, though. I wanted this tube out, pronto. “Fine,” I conceded, “but the IV comes out, too.”
She nodded, “Okay, let’s see what he says.” Pulling the sheet up to my chest, she patted my firm tummy. “By the way, the girl lurking in the hallway is Natalie. She’s going to keep an eye on you while I go get the Doc.”
Tipping my head, I peeked into the hall. A gorgeous green-eyed girl smiled back. Her raven hair was tied into a loose knot over one shoulder and she wore a grey spaghetti tank with small bike shorts. She lifted her hand into a wave, “Hi.”
She looked familiar too. Something about the eyes…
I nodded a greeting as Viv calmly walked from the room.
Nat
Guilt pinged through my heart. I should have been here when she awoke. The sad fact was, I just couldn’t.
Seeing her belly grow without her knowledge… not hearing her voice, the soft glow of her gaze. It was too much for me to bear. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. Every waking moment I had spent at her side ate away at my humanity. As it was, I spent the majority of my time in Wolf form.
After the second month of her coma, Jackson forbid my visits.
I was angry at first, but eventually, I figured out that he was right. We’d all lost so much that night, he was afraid my grief would drive me mad. I did come on a weekly basis to ensure that her muscles wouldn’t atrophy, but that was it.
It’d been lonely without another Mage around. Cooper and Daisy had gone back to the Seattle Stronghold to fix the mess made by the Council.
Now Sora was finally awake and she didn’t even remember me.
“Come here,” she said, startling me out of my pity party.
Slowly, I walked into the room and sat on the leather wingback.
“No. Closer,” she patted the empty space beside her.
Tentatively, I crawled onto the bed and stared into her star flecked orbs. The swirling increased as her eyes widened for a brief moment, “I know you…”
My pulse increased in excitement.
A knock sounded on the wall, breaking the moment as her gaze snapped toward the open door.
Julian preceded Viv into the room and bowed slowly with a warm smile. “Sora,” he said, straightening. “I am very happy to see that you are awake. Viv has explained the situation perfectly. Let’s get you squared away, yes?”
Sora examined his shiny shoes, pressed Dockers, and starched polo. Her lips lifted into a smile, “Yes, please. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I desperately need a shower.”
“Quite right. Alright ladies,” he clapped his hands. “I’m going to need you to exit the room for a moment. Once we’re finished, I’ll call you back in.”
Viv jerked her head and waited for me at the door.
With one last look at Sora, I followed her out and muscled the damaged door closed behind us.
“She doesn’t remember,” I said softly, knowing that memories were a tricky business. I still couldn’t remember anything that had happened with my own life before Master Zane had found me wandering the streets of LA.
Turning on her heel, she paced a circuit down the hall and back again. “We knew that could be a possibility, if she woke up. She woke up, Nat. This is huge!”
I shook my head sadly.
She flashed to my side and took shoulders in a firm grip, “Get this shit out of your head right this minute. She’s awake, and she’s alive. So, some time is missing, big deal. She fucking died, Nat. I’d rather have her with a few missing months, than not at all.”
I knew she was right and I was being selfish, but I missed her.
Intuiting my thoughts, she tipped my chin up and tapped my nose, “I’ve missed her, too.”
Pu
lling up my big girl panties, I asked, “Is there any way to reverse it?”
She shrugged. Releasing my shoulders, she began pacing the hall once more. With a snap of her fingers, she said, “She needs to feed.”
I sighed, “I don’t think that’s going to work. Blaze is practically a corpse. There’s no way we can convince her she is a dhampir, nor to bite him. That’s not going to work.”
Her lips lifted deviously, “Leave that, to me.”
Chapter 16
Viv
I found Jackson in the rec room with a rocks glass of whiskey.
“Hey, Lover… have you heard?” I asked smugly, swaying my hips into the room.
His cobalt gaze tracked the motion with a hungry expression as his brows lowered, “Heard what?”
“Sora’s awake.”
“What?!” He stood so abruptly, the amber liquid sloshed onto his black fatigues.
I nodded with a smirk, “Yup.”
“And? Why aren’t you with her?”
“Jules is taking her cath and IV out. She should be in the shower now.” With a shrug, I flopped onto the couch, “I need a favor.”
Suspicious, he asked, “For?”
“She doesn’t remember ever coming here, so I thought-”
“What?! How can she not remember?”
Lifting a brow, I gave him the stank eye. Wisely, he closed his mouth with a click. Clearing my throat, I continued, “As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,” his cheeks pinked in embarrassment, “is that I need a favor. I think if we can get her to feed from Blaze, that it might help.” His mouth opened and I lifted a finger, “Now, as you know, Blaze looks like the walking dead. He hasn’t taken a vein in forever and any blood he did have, has been slowly feeding Sora. So,” I nodded at him, “I need you to force-feed Blaze.”
His eyes widened, “Are you fucking kidding me? One word from his mouth and I won’t be able to move, let alone make him feed. I might hold the Master mantle, but we both know every member of this Clutch,” his hand flapped back and forth, “including us, has sworn fealty to him. Just how am I supposed to do this?”
I smiled wickedly, “I’m going to stuff Sora full of iron and have her donate some blood. As long as we’re careful, she should be fine. It’s that, or wait until after she has the baby. Personally, I don’t want to do that, though. Blaze shouldn’t miss the birth of his only offspring.”
Jackson rubbed his face aggressively, “Okay, just tell me what to do.”
Sora
Grumbling, I pulled myself from the mermaid tiled shower. Who knew washing all of your bits while pregnant was such a chore?
Waddling to the vanity, I peered at my reflection. I still needed answers. For starters, why didn’t I look like my normal self? My platinum hair was now a weird silver, the freckles littering my nose were gone, and my eyes were… pretty… but strange. How could they be lit with little stars, I wondered?
Shrugging, I pulled on a thick fluffy robe and padded back into the room.
Viv sat on the wingback with a tray of food laid out at the foot of the bed.
Suddenly starving, I made a beeline for the platter and immediately began stuffing my face.
She chuckled, “Careful now. I’ve heard your eyes can literally be bigger than your stomach, what with the baby taking up so much real estate and all.”
I grunted and sat down. Whatever. All Mother, this steak was amazing! I wasn’t normally a red meat person, but damn!
“So,” she drew out. “I was thinking. Obviously, you’ve lost your memories for the past 9 months or so…” her hand waved at my midsection. “The guy that was in here before, Blaze, is the only reason you’re still alive. His blood saved you.”
Looking to the vacant twin bed, I only now realized he was gone. I rolled a shoulder.
“Well,” she continued, “now that you’re on the mend, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind donating some of your blood, for him.”
Tonguing a bite of heaven aside, I asked, “Why me? Can’t someone else, do it?”
She shook her head. “I’m going to tell you a story. It will detail everything that has happened, to a point. There’s one little bit that only Blaze knows, so you’ll have to get that from him. Try to keep an open mind, okay?”
I nodded, that sounded reasonable.
“And Sora? Please remember that I have never lied to you.”
Three hours later, my bladder screamed for relief as I cut off her tale with a wave of my hand. I sighed, “I have to pee.”
“Again? Jesus Sora, that’s like the third time!” She shook her head in confusion.
I snarked, “Well you try having a person sit on your bladder. It isn’t fun.”
Her expression softened, “Okay, hurry up. We’re just about finished here.”
Throwing her a glare, I waddled to the bathroom and took care of business.
Washing my hands, my thoughts skimmed over her words. Had all that really happened? I knew at least part of it was true, I mean, the silver flames definitely corroborated her story. But, I’d killed someone? Add in being some weird hybrid with a Vampire Mate and it sounded like a Paranormal Romance or something.
Wiping my wet hands on my robe, I padded back out and settled on the bed.
“Ready?” Her eyes lit with curiosity.
I nodded, “Yup.”
“So that brings us to the final battle, before you, uh… died.”
“What?!” I screeched in disbelief. “I fucking died?”
Tears glimmered at the corner of her green flecked eyes, “Yes. Somehow, and this is the part I don’t know, your heart started beating again. Blaze brought you back here, muddied and torn up pretty bad. Nat,” she jerked her head toward the hall, “healed the physical wounds. You had this black substance that kept oozing out of your body for days.” Her nose wrinkled, “It was really disgusting. She couldn’t do anything about that, and since no one knew what had happened, we just prayed for the best. But you never awoke; until now.”
Stunned, I just stared at her. After a moment, I asked, “What happened to Blaze?”
She shook her head somberly, “He wasn’t the same. After he’d gotten you settled and ordered all of the machines to keep you alive, he just wasted away, waiting for you to wake up.”
“Why, though? Why wouldn’t he just move on?”
“That’s not how it works with Mates. Usually, they go mad with the loss. You still breathed, though. That alone kept him from losing it completely. Well, not completely,” she tipped her head toward my waist, “your pregnancy was a big part of it, too.”
I sighed and rubbed my face aggressively, “This is a lot to take in, Viv.”
“I know, Babe. But the sooner we get Blaze up and around, the sooner everything will hopefully make sense.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” I shook my head sharply. “Why can’t he have someone else’s blood?”
Her eyes flashed, “Don’t you think we’ve tried? Don’t be so selfish, Sora. He saved your life.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, “Sorry. It’s a little crazy. I don’t really think you’re being selfish.”
She was right, I was being an ass. If I could save a life, the Mate thing didn’t matter one bit, not really. I couldn’t walk away from someone that needed my help. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Her expression lit, “Really?”
“Yeah, really. How do we do it?”
Her brows lowered in contemplation, “Well, the fastest way is to offer him your vein, but I don’t think that’s a good idea with his current state. Who knows what would happen. We could do an IV and bag your blood, though.”
“Okay, get everything together and let’s do it.”
Sora
So, every couple of days for the next two weeks, that’s what we did.
My schedule consisted of eat, pee, shower, sleep, and waddle uncomfortably around the mansion. It wasn’t all bad, though. People I didn’t know would stop and speak to me. I felt a connec
tion to them, but still had no memory. It was weird, but also comforting to know that so many people cared. Now, having multiple strange people try to touch my belly? That was super awkward.
Giselle even came to visit. She was insanely happy that I was pregnant and her words supported Viv’s story. For the first time since I’d awoken, it felt like I was moving toward something; that I wasn’t quite so lost after all.
Then I saw Blaze for the first time. His cheeks had filled out and he’d just shaved. When his cobalt eyes met mine, something just clicked inside my heart. I didn’t remember him, but I knew that he was mine.
The revelation was so shocking at first, that I’d run right back to my room like a scared little girl. I had poked and prodded the emotion until I was sick of my own company and ventured out into the courtyard.
Shortly thereafter, he strolled out and sat on a stone bench. The moonlight kissed his chiseled face and I was filled with such longing that my knees gave out.
Faster than I could track, his strong arms caught me before I could meet the ground. He smelled so good.
Worry marked his face, “Are you alright, Love?”
I could only stare, dumbfounded, as he tenderly touched my cheek with his fingertips. Slowly, they trailed a path of fire down my arm, hesitating just above my belly.
“May I?” He asked softly, tickling my face with his whispered breath.
Unable to speak, I nodded.
Tentatively, his palm met my stomach. The baby kicked out; buzzing an electric hum at his touch. His face shone with wonder and amazement while my belly rippled as she danced beneath his large hand.
“So strong,” he murmured. “Just like her mother.”
Tipping his face toward mine, his lips came within inches of my own.
I gasped in pain; shattering the moment as a massive cramp wrapped around my midsection.
Immediately, he scooped me into his arms and zipped us into the house with dizzying speed.
“Julian!” He roared, vibrating my aching body. “She’s coming!”
Blaze
Her pained whimpers broke his heart as another contraction wracked her small frame.
