Omega’s Vampire Bodyguard: Tenebrae Brothers Book 2

by Oakley, Hawke

  I shook my pen and tested it out on the page to make sure the ink ran smoothly. “Yes.”

  “Can I… read it?”

  I shot him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, but no. It’s still barely a story. I wouldn’t even want to read this myself, let alone show it to anyone else.”

  I thought Caleb might take it personally, now that we were dating, but instead he shrugged and said with a smile, “That’s okay. I understand.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  He returned to his game, poking his tongue out in concentration. I turned my focus to my notes. I didn’t want to admit it to Caleb, but I was battling a fierce writer’s block. The threads of my story refused to weave together no matter what angle I attacked them from.

  “Hey, Adriel,” Caleb said, not taking his eyes off the screen. “Can I ask you one little thing about the book?”

  “Sure.”

  He risked a glance to me, then snapped back to the screen. “Well, I know things ended on a cliffhanger between Mew and Hayden in the third book, but… they are gonna get together in the end, right?”

  I smirked. “Would you be upset if they didn’t?”

  “Um, yes?” Caleb laughed. “You totally built up the romantic tension for three books, of course I’d be upset if they didn’t get together! And probably all your other legion of fans, too.” He paused his game and grinned at me. “But I’m the only one who lives with you, so I can punish you if the book doesn’t end properly.”

  I laughed. “Are you threatening me, Caleb?”

  “Threatening you with no sex, maybe.”

  Playing along, I crossed my arms. “So you won’t have sex with me if the main characters don’t end up as a happy couple.”

  “Well, there can be drama, obviously,” he said. He pointed a finger at me. “But yeah. Make them date, or else.”

  “Threatened by my own biggest fan,” I replied with a smug smile. “You’re amusing, Caleb.”

  He chuckled and returned to his game. As I flipped the pen in my hand, his words resonated with me. In fact, he wasn’t too far off from the truth. I did intend for the main characters to end up as a couple but Caleb highlighted the problem. Drama. That was what my outline was missing. Conflict.

  The gears in my mind churned and I zoned in on my notes, writing as quickly as possible. The words poured out of my pen.

  “Whoa,” Caleb commented. “Did I inspire you after all?”

  “Yes,” I mumbled under my breath, too busy to make eye contact.

  Caleb looked pleased with himself as he continued gaming. After a few minutes he said, “I was just joking, you know. I’ll still have sex with you if the book doesn’t turn out like I expected.”

  “I figured as much,” I said. “You’re a healthy young omega, after all.”

  “Hey, what’s that mean? You saying I’m horny all the time?”

  “That is what I was insinuating, yes.”

  Caleb pouted. “Hey, you’re pretty horny yourself, mister I-haven’t-gotten-laid-in-decades.”

  I lifted my head from the paper and raised a brow at him. “We can tease each other later. You gave me some good ideas for this book and I want to write them all down.”

  “Oh!” Caleb blushed. “Sorry! Go back to writing, I’ll shut up now.”

  I smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  Outside, I heard the patter of rain against the windows. Caleb kept the blinds shut for my sake most of the time, even though the windows were deeply tinted for my safety, but through a slit I saw the sunny sky had turned overcast. That was fine by me; it added atmosphere as I settled deeper into my zone of focus.

  But it was quickly shattered by rapid steps coming up to the front porch, and a pounding of fists on the door.

  “Ah!” Caleb yelled. His character fell off the screen and died. “Aw, man! Who is that?”

  “I’ll get it,” I said with a scowl.

  Whoever interrupted me better have a good reason…

  I braced myself against the harmless but still irritating pale grey light and opened the door.

  “Theo?”

  My youngest brother stood before me, eyes wide as he gripped the doorframe in what I could only assume was excitement.

  “Where’s Caleb?” Theo demanded.

  “In here!” Caleb replied from the couch.

  “Get over here, dude!” Theo cried. “Benji’s having his baby!”

  Caleb’s voice came out in a broken yelp. “What?”

  He tossed the controller down and bolted to the front door. Theo glanced uncomfortably upwards to the sky. “Hurry, it’s overcast now but it won’t stay that way for - “

  Theo suddenly let out a hiss. I leapt back and pulled him inside with a hard yank, then slammed the door.

  “Shit,” Theo muttered.

  “C’mon, we have to go!” Caleb said. “What happened, Theo?”

  I scowled. “It’s the sun.”

  “But - it’s grey outside.” Caleb pressed his face anxiously against the window. “Oh. Crap, I see it. That one little piece of sunlight coming through the clouds.”

  Theo groaned. “I hoped I could get here and back fast enough to avoid it…”

  “It’s all right,” I assured him, then turned to Caleb.

  Caleb sighed and paced around the front hall. “I can’t believe Benji’s having his baby! And I’m not there.”

  I put my hands on Caleb’s shoulders. “Caleb, don’t wait for us. You go. We can catch up with you later on when it's safe.”

  Caleb’s expression wavered in consideration, then he shook his head. “No, I don’t want to go by myself.”

  “Afraid of Margaret?” Theo asked.

  “Well… Not just that, but,” Caleb murmured, leaning closer to me, “I don’t want to go without you, Adriel.”

  I smiled and nodded. “Labor can take quite some time. I know you’re eager but I doubt you’ll miss much. We’ll be there soon enough.”

  Theo’s gaze darted frantically between the two of us. “Wait a second. Are my eyes deceiving me or is there something going on here?”

  Caleb blushed. “Uh. Maybe?”

  “Oh, you didn’t know?” I said, raising a brow teasingly. “Caleb and I are a couple. Keep up, Theo.”

  Both of their jaws dropped. Caleb started laughing. Theo just gaped like a fish.

  “You - “ He pointed at us. “You? Holy shit! How long has this been going on?”

  “It’s a recent development,” I admitted. “Though with all the excitement of Benji’s pregnancy, I understand we’ve slipped under the radar a bit.”

  Theo tried to wrap his brain around everything. “Wait, then, Caleb, you’re not pregnant too, are you?”

  “Oh, uh, no,” Caleb said, with a bit more hesitation than I expected. “I mean, we’re dating, but we haven’t done anything like… that.”

  My heart lurched with mild panic. There was no way Caleb could be pregnant. We already logically knew that.

  “You haven’t had sex?” Theo asked.

  Caleb blushed harder. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Not good at minding your own business, are you, Theo?” I said.

  “Hey, can’t blame a guy for being curious,” he replied with a shrug. “Especially since you’re my brother, and you’re dating my other brother’s date, who is your date’s brother - “

  “We get it,” Caleb interrupted, pressing a finger to his temple. He groaned and glanced up at the sky again. “Oh! The sun’s gone again! Come on!”

  Theo and I risked a peek through the tinted window. The sun had retreated behind the dark clouds for now, and it might be the only opportunity to reach the mansion until sundown.

  “Let’s go,” I ordered.

  14

  Caleb

  After a mad dash to the mansion, we found ourselves locked out of the birthing room. We heard voices inside.

  “Ugh, we’re late,” I groaned, leaning against the door.

  “Hey!” Theo called.
He knocked on the door. “Is it over? Can we come in yet?”

  I began in a harsh whisper, “Theo, you can’t just - “

  I stopped talking as Pierce and Benji’s voices came from the other side of the door. Then it opened, revealing Benji and the rest of the family. There was also a man with glasses that I didn’t recognize, who stood unassumingly in the corner.

  I rushed to my brother’s side and the words spilled out of me.

  “Sorry we’re late,” I said. “We couldn’t leave because the sun was out and Adriel couldn’t go outside and I didn’t want to leave him alone, and oh my god is that the baby!?”

  As soon as I laid eyes on the baby, my heart melted. A new feeling welled up within me, like a delicate blossom unfolding - a feeling I couldn’t have even imagined before this moment.

  “Oh, she’s so small!” I whispered. “Oh my god, I’m an uncle.”

  Benji smiled. His eyes shone brightly, despite how exhausted he looked. It was the happiest I’d ever seen him. “That’s right, you are. Lark, meet your uncle Caleb. Caleb, Lark.”

  As Benji offered his newborn child to me to hold, I hesitated. A magnetic pull urged me towards her, despite my anxiety, and I took her into my arms. The warm feeling exploded inside of my chest. Love and protection swirled into one overwhelmingly powerful emotion.

  Lark peeked at me with her eyes, and I melted.

  My niece.

  I was in a daze when I returned her to Benji. It felt like I’d been thrown into the deep end of a pool and instantly learned to swim.

  Without thinking about it, I searched for Adriel.

  In the background, I was aware of Margaret holding her granddaughter for the first time. I was surprisingly okay with being in the same room with her since the first time she attacked me. Now she was too distracted with Lark to pay me any attention.

  Adriel gazed lovingly at Lark, then spoke to Benji and Pierce. “She’s just wonderful. Congratulations, both of you.”

  “And look!” Theo cried, pointing to Lark’s mouth. “She’s got her daddy’s fangs!”

  “I guess she is half vampire after all,” I said.

  “Of course she is,” Pierce said with amusement. “What else would the other half be?”

  The stranger in the room, who I’d barely noticed until now, finally spoke. “I’m super proud of you for that delivery, Benji - Lark is beautiful, by the way - but can anyone else explain to me what the hell is going on?”

  Seeing as nobody was actively trying to kill him, I assumed he was here for a reason. I leaned closer to Benji and asked, “Uh, who is this guy?”

  “The doctor who delivered my baby,” he explained.

  “Oh.” I shrugged. “Okay.”

  The doctor blushed. “I’m Dr. Maxwell Green, and I have no idea what’s happening right now.”

  Theo gestured as he explained, “We’re vampires, this is our house, no we won’t eat you, blah blah…”

  Maxwell looked as flustered as a kid on school picture day. He pointed to where Margaret was standing a moment ago. “Then why did that woman abduct me and threaten me? She said if I didn’t help deliver a baby, I’d be sucked dry!”

  But Margaret wasn’t there - and neither was Lark.

  My heart dropped to my stomach. A horrible dread swallowed me up. My hand instantly reached for Adriel, like he was the only rope out of the pit I’d fallen into.

  Adriel didn’t have to speak. We both knew what the other was thinking.

  We had to find Lark.

  Simultaneously we lunged into the hallway. Margaret lurked at the far end of the hall, holding something close to her face. Not something - someone.

  Margaret meant to drink Lark’s blood. The sight nearly made me sick to my stomach.

  “Margaret!” Adriel snarled.

  A sob ripped from my throat. “No!”

  I couldn’t watch. I couldn’t see my niece - a brand new life in this world, barely minutes old - be killed in front of me. In front of her whole family.

  The next moments were a blur. Shadows flew around the hall as Pierce and Adriel surrounded Margaret. Everything happened so fast. The brothers saved Lark from Margaret’s grasp, but that didn’t stop the deep sense of dread permeating in the air. Margaret had tried to drink the lifeblood of her own granddaughter.

  I couldn’t stop shaking. I clung to Benji as the events unfolded. Lark whimpered in her father’s arms. I just wanted this to be over.

  My own safety, and my own fear of Margaret, was forgotten. Above all, I wanted Lark to be safe. A fiercely protective urge gripped me, and I knew I would do anything to defend that baby.

  All three of us humans - me, Benji, and Maxwell - huddled around Lark as the vampires took their fight outside. The surreal nature of it all dazed me. I could barely think anything beyond wanting to care for Lark.

  Margaret’s screams outside were sharply cut off.

  I snapped to attention when Adriel and Pierce returned, both wearing somber expressions.

  Adriel’s voice was hollow. “It is done. Margaret is no more.”

  There was no celebration, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t full of intense relief. Benji held Lark closer to his chest. He probably felt the same way.

  I gazed at Adriel. He was trying desperately hard to keep a neutral expression, but it was clear to see the conflicted storm of emotions broiling beneath the surface. Judging by the wooden stake in Pierce’s hands, Adriel wasn’t the one to land the final blow. But it still couldn’t have been easy.

  Margaret was the one who saved Adriel’s life all those years ago, I thought sadly. She saved the lives of all the vampires here. And yet, in the end, things had to turn out like this.

  Margaret had only been using Benji and Pierce to create a dhampir - a half-vampire, half-human child - to save herself. While a dhampir could manipulate the fog, that wasn’t the real reason Margaret had been so intent on producing one. She was going to drink Lark’s blood to restore her own life essence. She was going to trade the newborn’s life in exchange for extending her own. She had no real interest in her own granddaughter beyond what ran in her veins.

  I shivered violently. I couldn’t stand to think about it any longer.

  The conversation passed. I listened, numb. The newcomer - the doctor named Maxwell - was given a place to stay at the mansion until they could figure things out further. Among the chaos and heavy atmosphere, I didn’t think anyone noticed Adriel and I’s fingers laced together as we sought some wisp of comfort.

  Pierce and Benji left together, holding Lark close. Theo showed Maxwell to his room. Not knowing what else to do, Adriel and I decided to return to the cottage.

  Silence hung in the air. Adriel took a seat on the couch, absentmindedly toying with his papers. I sat next to him, but not too close. I didn’t know if he needed space right now.

  “I can leave you alone, if you want,” I offered.

  “No,” Adriel said quickly, more forcefully than I expected. He reached out for my hand and gripped it tight. “Don’t leave. Please.”

  My heart clenched at the raw pain in his voice. “Okay. I’m right here.”

  He gestured for me to come closer, and I brushed my shoulder against his. A slight tremble shook his frame, almost imperceptible.

  “I can’t imagine how you must feel, but I know that was hard,” I murmured. “You were very brave.”

  Adriel didn’t speak, but he nodded.

  “I’m sorry things ended up this way,” I continued. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It feels like it is,” Adriel muttered. “She was foolish. We could have saved her. We didn’t try hard enough. I didn’t try hard enough, and now she’s gone.”

  “Adriel, stop,” I said, firm but gentle. “There was nothing you could do. She made her own choices.”

  His brows furrowed together and he shut his eyes. “I know that logically. But in my heart, I can hardly believe it.”

  I brought him closer in my embrace. There was nothing el
se I could do except offer him comfort. Thankfully, Adriel didn’t push me away - instead, he completely folded up in my arms. My heart ached. He looked small and vulnerable, like an injured wolf.

  Then, his frame went taut and shuddered. I didn’t realize what was happening until I heard the muffled sound of sobs. My heart broke.

  “Oh, Adriel. It’s okay,” I murmured, stroking Adriel’s hair as he cried.

  We stayed curled up against each other for a long time. It pained me to see him so upset, but I knew this was a breakdown he needed to have. He spent so much energy bottling up his emotions and refusing to deal with them that it was inevitable to lose control eventually. I whispered comfort in his ear and stroked his back in circles. The shivers wracking Adriel’s frame slowly quieted down until his breathing became smooth and rhythmic.

  Finally, he sat upright. The rims of his eyes were still wet with tears.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he murmured. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and glanced away as he wiped his face. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I think you needed that.”

  “You may be right,” he mumbled. “I can’t even remember the last time I cried. It might have been before you were even born.”

  I linked our arms together. His skin felt uncharacteristically warm. “Don’t feel bad, Adriel. We’re boyfriends now, right? You don’t have to feel embarrassed about this sort of thing with me.”

  He nodded weakly. “Yes. It’s just hard to keep that in mind when I’ve been on my own for so long.”

  “You can tell me anything,” I insisted. “It’s fine if you need time to yourself, but don’t forget that I’m here for you.”

  Adriel looked into my eyes. The cold calmness that usually glinted on the surface had shattered, revealing the raw vulnerability beneath. It was so tenderly exposed that I had to force myself not to glance away.

  “I’ve realized something,” Adriel said quietly.

  Continuing to hold his hand, I asked, “What’s that?”

  “I never told you that I love you.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear in this moment at all. “Oh.”