“She won’t give me the time of day but I will keep trying. I’m a tenacious fuck. Jordy is the one for me…unless of course you can hook me up with a dragon.” By the way Jenson laughed, he could tell the male was joking.
“You had better not hurt that female. Jordy is more sensitive than she looks.”
“Hurt her?…I need to at least be in the same room with her for more than two minutes in order to be able to do that.” He turned serious. “I wouldn’t though, you know that. What’s going on between the two of you?”
The male had carried a torch for his best friend for as long as he had known him. “It’s complicated.”
Thankfully, Jenson left it at that.
Kai pressed down on the dispenser, shower gel squeezed into his hand. He rubbed his fingers together before lathering himself up. Fuck! His dick was bigger. It was longer and thicker. Motherfuck, what was happening to him? What else was going to change? Next thing he knew he’d sprout scales, or grow wings. He sure as fuck hoped not.
Moving quickly, Kai rinsed himself off. He couldn’t wait to see Ruby. To hold her hand, to talk to her, to touch her. The more he pictured her sweet smile, her warm gaze, the more anxious he was to be with her. He couldn’t fucking wait.
Chapter 19
It hurt.
Pain tore through her and she growled.
Her belly tightened. She grit her teeth for a moment before panting hard. The breathing helped. This one lasted longer. She felt the urge to go into a crouching position. It was too soon. She needed to wait until there was an urge to push. If she moved onto her haunches too soon, she would tire herself out.
Ruby could hear the wind blowing through the trees. There was the quiet rustling of the leaves. Despite the agony, she felt at peace. Dark had almost completely descended. She’d been in labor for almost three hours. A long time. Too long. She tried not to panic. Tried to hold onto the sense of calm.
The pain subsided and she allowed her head to fall back onto the tree. The respite would not last long. This egg was coming. She only hoped it was an egg. What would she do if a baby emerged? What if her child was unwell? What if there was a problem with her egg? Maybe she should call for help.
“No,” she growled out loud. Her teeth erupted and smoke curled from her nostrils. No one was allowed close. Her egg would be here soon. Everything would be fine. She would release her egg and it would be perfectly oval. It would also be soft and vulnerable. She would kill anyone who came near it. Claws broke through her nailbeds. She wished Kai could be here. He could hold her hand. Talk her through this. Her teeth ripped through her gums. It wasn’t safe for any of them though. She had to do this alone. If anyone approached, she would shift, she would kill and her egg would fall to the ground. It would break.
“No,” she growled. The sound no longer human. You are alone, she reminded herself. Breathe. Calm.
Kai would be angry. Hopefully he would understand. Please let him understand. She groaned as another pain overtook her.
****
At first he’d been disappointed at discovering her note. The late afternoons and evenings had become their time. Ruby had received an invite from the queen. Tanya had invited her to high tea. Whatever the fuck that was.
Kai liked that the two of them had spent some time together. It was important that she make some friends and have some other interests besides him. Tanya had a young son. It was also a mixed birth since Tanya was a human. Although nowhere near the same, the queen and Ruby still had enough in common to warrant a budding friendship.
Highfuckingtea.
He doubted high tea went on this long. The sun had set. It was getting late. Ruby wouldn’t stay away this long. Would she? He’d gone from sitting on the couch, to pacing the room. Was he acting like a jealous male? It was possible. Ruby wasn’t even his female yet.
Yet.
He was beginning to think of her as his. The fact-of-the-matter was that she wasn’t his female. He had no right to be jealous or demanding. Ruby was carrying his child though. Surely that gave him some rights. Something wasn’t sitting right with him. Ruby would probably laugh at him for being worried over nothing. This probably was nothing but he’d be fucked if he sat around any longer in order to find out.
Kai was at the royal wing of the castle in minutes. He leapt up the stairs like a male possessed.
The guards at either side of the door did a double take as he banged on the door.
“Stop that,” one of them warned.
“You are not permitted to disturb the royal family.” The other male chimed in.
“It’s the prince’s sleep time.” The first guard added.
“I’m looking for my female.” He knocked again, louder this time.
“Do that again and I will remove your hand at the wrist.” The same guard harbored a deep frown. He looked like he wouldn’t hesitate to follow through.
“My female is in there. I need to see her…now.” Maybe yesterday, Kai would have been hesitant to take on two royal guards but today that was a whole other matter. He didn’t want to hurt these males though. Just thinking of how Jenson had looked after a light tap, made him think twice about any violence. “Look.” He sighed. “My female left a note to say she was visiting with the queen.”
“There is no one visiting the queen at this time,” the other male said. “Your female is definitely not here.”
Kai felt himself frown. “What?” That didn’t make sense. Maybe they had missed each other on his way here. No fucking way.
Just then, the door opened and Brant was there. He was wearing his suit pants but without a shirt. He frowned, his eyes were dark. “This had better be good.” It was evenly delivered but Kai wasn’t fooled. The male was not impressed.
“Is my…Ruby here? She said she was visiting with the queen. It’s getting late and I’m worried.”
Brant shook his head. “I’ve been here all evening and I haven’t seen her. Wait a minute.” There was the sound of a child’s laughter as he closed the door, disappearing behind it.
Brant returned seconds later. “Tanya hasn’t seen your female.” He cocked his head. “Is everything okay?” He pulled a phone from his pants pocket. There was more laughter from behind Brant, as well as the sound of little footfalls. “I’ll call for a team to look for her. I’m glad you came to me.”
“Oh fuck!” Kai slapped a hand on his forehead and pulled it over his face. “I’m such an idiot. She said she was meeting Jordan. I got that completely mixed up. I know Tanya and Ruby have spent some time together and I…” He let the sentence die. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.” His heart was damn near beating out of his chest.
Brant narrowed his eyes on him. “Are you sure that—” There was a loud bang followed by an even louder wail.
“Oh no…oh…” Tanya sounded worried.
Brant turned back. He cursed.
“Oh, Sammy.” Tanya said. “It’ll be healed in a second.” She cooed. The crying only became louder. Kai could scent the coppery tang of blood. By the way Brant’s nostrils flared he could tell the male could scent it as well.
“I’m sorry I disturbed you.” Kai pointed behind him. “I’ll head to Jordy’s place.”
“Let me know if she’s not there. If anything happens to her…” He shook his head. “We’ll be toast…burned fucking toast.”
“I fucked up. She’s fine. Ruby is with Jordy.” He kept it simple. Although he was dying inside, he forced himself to remain completely calm.
Brant nodded once before shutting the door in his face.
Kai turned and raced back downstairs. He didn’t stop until he was at the door to Ruby’s room. He got down on his hands and knees and put his nose to the floor. He didn’t give two fucks how it might look to anyone who happened to come down the hallway. Ruby had been in and out of this room many times. He needed her most recent scent marker.
Got it.
Once he had the faint tendril, he latched onto it. It was slow going because e
very so often there was an overlapping scent. It didn’t help that there were so many other smells around as well. Things became infinitely worse once he got outside. There was a light breeze blowing and a crispness to the air. It was difficult to hold onto her scent. He kept on having to go back because he was sure he was following an old trail. Had she gone for a walk on her own? Had something happened to her? Where the fuck was she?
Kai turned a three-sixty circle so that he could look around himself. There were acres upon acres of wilderness surrounding them.
“Where are you?” He growled. His stomach was wound so tight it felt knotted. He was tempted to run. To scream her name. It would be a futile exercise because she could be anywhere. Panic boiled just below the surface.
Kai retraced his steps and got down on his knees, his nose on the ground. Why the fuck couldn’t he have been born a wolf shifter?
Wolf shifter.
Fuck. Yes. He pulled out his phone. Kai scrolled through his contacts list and pushed Becky’s name.
“Is everything okay?” She sounded worried. “It’s Ruby isn’t it?”
“She’s gone,” Kai growled.
“What do you mean gone?” Her voice a panicked edge.
“Gone as in when I went to go and collect her earlier, she wasn’t home. There was a note saying she’d gone to Tanya’s for tea. Only, she never went to Tanya’s. I don’t know where the fuck she is.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m worried.”
“I was afraid this would happen. Ruby was adamant she wanted to be alone. I think she’s gone into labor and is trying to do this herself.”
“I think so too.” His voice was thick with emotion.
“Where do you think she would go? Shit! This is really bad.” Becky sighed. “I need to call Brant and Zane. We need to assemble a team. We need to find her ASAP.”
“Wait,” he growled. “Ruby is out there alone somewhere. I looked through her room and she took her cell phone. She can call us if she needs us…”
“Are you telling me we should just leave her?” Becky practically yelled the question at him.
“No. That’s not what I’m saying. I don’t think we should send a team of males out there though. She’s alone, frightened…” His voice hitched and he had to pause a few seconds in order to get himself under control. “She’s very strong, Becky. If a bunch of males do end up finding her, they might not survive it. Ruby didn’t want us there so she won’t want a group of strangers walking in on her either. I have a plan.”
He could hear Becky breathing on the other end of the line. A few long seconds went by and then she sighed. “You’re probably right. What are we going to do then?”
“Please tell me that your mate is on vampire territory.” He squeezed his eyes closed.
“Who Ross? Yeah, he’s sitting right next to me.”
“No, the other one. Your wolf.” Kai squeezed the back of his neck.
“Rushe?” Becky sounded confused.
“I tried to follow her scent trail. I’m pretty sure she’s somewhere outdoors. I think I may have been able to track her if she’d stayed within the castle. The wind is making it difficult for me to hold onto her scent. I need your wolf to help me find her.” Kai had seen the male often. Becky was mated to Ross, one of the elite, and to Rushe, a wolf shifter. A more unorthodox couple did not exist.
Unless he mated Ruby. Maybe they would take the honors. Anger burned in him, followed by fear. He couldn’t believe she was actually trying to exclude him from the birth. It wasn’t completely unexpected though. Every time any of them discussed it, she would shut down and just nod. He should’ve known this was coming. That was, if she was even in labor.
She had to be.
Everything in him told him that she was. Fucking hell! He clenched his fist and grit his teeth, fighting his instincts to run. To go all out. To do something.
“Yeah.” Becky gave a breathy reply, after a long wait. “He’s here but I’m coming with. Don’t even try and exclude me.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea…”
“Tough luck! I’m coming.” Her voice was stern. It had a don’t-even-think-about-arguing edge to it.
“Fine,” he growled. “But you’ll need to stay back…both of you will.” He told them where he was and ended the call.
It only took five minutes for them to arrive. All three of them. A human, a wolf and a vampire. May as well have been an hour. Kai was pretty much crawling out of his skin by the time they got there.
“About fucking time,” he growled. “No offense but what are you doing here?” He looked pointedly at Ross. He didn’t have a problem with the male but four was fast becoming a crowd. “You know that my female doesn’t want anybody to be with her. That’s why she snuck off like this.”
Ross grit his teeth. He narrowed his eyes at Kai. “I’m here to protect my female. Where Becky goes, I go.” He hooked an arm around her, his hand splayed on her belly.
The other male, the wolf, grinned. “Having a bit of trouble with your nose?” He rolled his eyes. “You vampires and your terrible sense of smell.” He glanced at Ross who instantly relaxed somewhat.
“Don’t hit me,” the wolf growled. He took a step towards Kai, right into his personal space and sniffed at him.
What the fuck?
“I just need to get a handle on your female’s scent. Give me a few seconds. Thanks for showering and making this difficult for me.” The wolf, Rushe, sniffed some more. The male was impressive in size and stature. This time he took a few steps to the left and then back to the right.
The male pointed. “She went that way.”
Kai swallowed hard. He was pointing towards the forest. They began to walk, he had to work hard to make himself stay behind the wolf. The male stopped every so often, to sniff the air or at the ground.
They moved quickly and quietly. Ross kept his arm around Becky. He carried a black bag. Kai recognized it as her healer bag.
Once they reached the tree line, Kai had a good idea where Ruby was. If he was right, they would reach her within a minute or two. They had walked plenty over the last two weeks, always taking a different route. They had only ever entered the forest once. That day. She had to be in that clearing.
He called for a halt, by tapping the wolf on the back and putting his hand up. “Think I know where she is,” he whispered. “I want you guys to stay here…please.” He added when he saw Becky’s face. “I have my phone and if I’m right, she’s very close. If I shout loud enough, you’ll be able to hear me.”
Becky didn’t look too happy. She shook her head. Her eyes were wide. Then she looked him in the eye. “I don’t like it,” she whispered. “But I’ll wait here. Text me, call me or something once you find her. If I don’t hear from you, I’m going to walk towards you.”
Rushe growled. It was a deep, gravelly noise. It sounded just like a fierce wolf. He had nothing on the dragon shifters though. On his female.
Ruby.
The sense of urgency returned with a vengeance. He needed to get to Ruby and it needed to happen right now. “I will.” He kept his gaze on Becky for another two seconds before turning and making for the clearing. Once inside the confines of the trees, he could scent her better. It was fresh. She was here.
Within a half a minute, he could hear her. Her low growl’s, her heavy pants, her sobs and cries. He had to force himself to slow down, to approach her slowly.
“Ruby, I’m here.” He announced, making sure she was aware of his presence, even before he got a visual of her.
“No!” A loud wail. “Stay away.” Her voice was deep and gravelly. He could tell that she was fighting a shift.
“I’m here for you. I want to come closer, sweetheart. I want to see you.”
“No.” A sob. “Just give me five more minutes. Please.” The agonized plea tore at him. She sounded so lost and afraid. He had to make himself stay where he was instead of running to her like he wanted.
“You are not doing this
alone. Let me hold your hand.” He moved in closer. She was there, in the clearing. She wore a T-shirt and was bare from the waist down. Ruby was on her haunches.
She was sweating. Her hair clung to her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed red. Her bottom lip was chafed. She clutched her T-shirt. Her gaze moved from him to between her legs, back to him.
“Don’t come any closer.” She was pushing. A deep, gravelly, growling sound emerged from her throat. It was deep and drawn out. He tried to inch closer but her eyes locked with his, holding him in place. “No.” It came out sounding like a breathy plea. “Please don’t. I’ll hurt you.” She moaned. “My egg is coming…I can feel it.”
Kai removed his cell phone. He sent a quick text off to Becky, telling her that he had found Ruby and that she seemed to be doing okay. He hoped.
“Please,” he begged. “You can’t hurt me…you won’t hurt me. I’m the father of this baby. Ruby, I would never hurt you or him…I promise you.”
She was openly sobbing. Tears ran down her cheeks. She shook her head. “No. Stay there. Don’t come any closer.” Her eyes glowed. They were vertical slits. More dragon than human. Kai didn’t give a fuck. His female needed him and he was going to hold her hand. He was going to be there for her dammit. Even if it fucking killed him. Literally.
Kai moved closer.
“No,” a low growl. “It doesn’t matter that you are the father. Males of our species are never present during the birth. We do this alone.”
“That’s fucked up, Ruby. Take deep breaths. I’m coming to you.” He took a single step. “I won’t let you do this alone.”
He could hear the air moving in and out of her lungs. Could hear her sobs and cries. Kai could also see that there were claws on the ends of her fingers, that her teeth were sharp and dagger-like. Lord help him. Despite his extra strength, she would probably tear him to pieces if she shifted now. It didn’t matter.
He moved slowly. Ruby looked down. She was breathing hard and began to push again. Kai crouched down next to her. “I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here.” He touched a single finger to her arm and she visibly jumped.
A Mate for Kai (The Program #6) Page 20
