Arena Wars Trilogy

by Hoffman, Samantha

  “I wanted to witness your pregnancy with my own eyes. It seems that my information on you and your mate has not been incorrect. You are pregnant by your vampire soul mate? When are you expected to give birth? Will it be soon, or will we be waiting for a few more weeks?”

  “Any day,” I said, feeling Quinten’s warmth on my left, and Ray’s on my right. “Why are you so interested in all of this?” I asked, though I was sure I knew the answer. “If you don’t mind me asking,” I added hurriedly, in case she thought I was trying to be disrespectful. It wouldn’t do well to get on her bad side on our first meeting.

  She regarded me with a cool, unruffled expression. “I think you know why I’m so interested. The birth of a cross-species baby is a very huge deal. I fought in the vampire werewolf civil war alongside Roger Mason, and I saw many vampires and werewolves mercilessly slaughtered. If there is a way to prevent that from happening again–which it is going to soon–I would like to hear about it. Now, are you sure that these babies are your mate’s? I have to ask,” she said when Quinten, Ray, and I all tensed.

  “Yes, they’re his.” I met her soft brown eyes and took a deep breath. If she was interested in possibly helping me, unlike the previous Council had been, I needed to tell her everything I knew about them before she made her decision. “These babies are half-vampire, and as such, are already werewolves. I’ve felt them shift inside of me recently. They’ll be born as werewolves, instead of having to be bitten to become wolves.”

  Her thin eyebrows lifted gracefully, and she stared at me for a minute, never once speaking or moving. Finally, she nodded her head slightly. “Very well. I have been looking forward to this day for a while now, and I am glad to finally meet you. This Council has already spoken about your situation, and we have all agreed to give your babies the benefit of the doubt.”

  I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until she finished speaking, and I gave a relieved sob. Quinten pulled me tighter, smiling at nothing in particular. “Thank you,” I choked out. “Thank you so much!”

  “That does not mean this Council cannot change its mind,” Dera told us. “We are allowing your children to be born so that we can see for ourselves whether or not they pose a threat to our community. If we deem them life-threatening or dangerous, we will reconvene and decide the best course of action to take. Do you understand, Miss Moore? This is not an entirely free pass; our decision may change once they are born.”

  I forced myself to nod, though my mouth had suddenly gone paper dry. “What you’re telling me is that you might be planning to senselessly murder my children after they’re born.”

  “Alanna,” Ray warned quietly.

  Dera raised her hand, silencing Ray. “Let your daughter speak, Raymond Moore. She has a lot to consider right now.” Dera looked at me again. “You are here today to either accept or decline my next offer. Waiting outside this room are ten strong, honest, loyal werewolves that I have spoken to. They all feel the same way as I do; they are tired of bloodshed and vampire attacks, and would like to see these babies born. I have authorized a protection detail that will extend until after you give birth. Would you like this Council’s help?”

  Red flags immediately popped up in my mind. “This Council and I don’t exactly have a good record,” I said, looking at her. “What guarantees do I have that they won’t turn on me the moment we leave this building? How do I know they won’t slaughter me and my family in our sleep? You can’t guarantee my safety from anyone, including your own men and women.”

  Her lips tilted up in the barest of smiles that I’d ever seen and I got the distinct impression that I had just passed a test of some kind. “You have my word that this Council is much different from the corrupt one before it. As the head of this Council, I will personally check in on you and your family in the next few days, and you can believe that I will be anxiously waiting for news of these babies.” She leaned forward and peered down at me. “Not all werewolves are as heartless and uncaring as you’ve seen so far. I truly wish to make our world a better place to live for both species, and your babies can help me do that.”

  “So you’re another person that wants to use our babies for their own needs,” Quinten said, frowning. “Is that supposed to make us feel like we can trust you? If so, I think you’re underestimating us. We’re in this so deep we can’t trust anyone other than our immediate family and friends. I don’t even trust half of the people that are on our side now, and I certainly can’t bring myself to trust the Council that tried to sentence the two of us to death,” he hissed, eyes blazing.

  Dera nodded her head sadly. “I understand that, and I am truly sorry for how the two of you have been treated. I ask you to trust me now when I tell you that I am different. I will do everything in my power to make sure that your children are born happy, healthy, and safe. You have my word on it,” she said, sitting back. “And to be honest, I am your only chance at surviving the next few days. By now, I am sure that you know Roger Mason has begun amassing an army to use against you. Without my help, you will be not only outnumbered, but out-experienced. Take my help now, while I still choose to offer it.”

  I took a deep breath, and put my hand on Quinten’s arm. “We accept your help, Dera. Thank you. You won’t regret helping us.”

  “I truly hope so,” she said, motioning for the door. “You are now free to leave. The ten wolves I have picked out for you will be waiting for you by your ride, and they will remain with you until I call them back. They have orders to follow Ray’s decisions and lead, and I expect you to call me if they do otherwise. Now, leave this place, and prepare for the fight of your life.”

  Chapter Ten

  “I don’t understand,” I said a few hours later. “Why can’t Dera just take the full force of the Council and squish Roger like a bug? She can stop this fight from taking place, instead of just giving us untrustworthy fighters to even out the numbers. Does she want to needlessly sacrifice wolves and vampires?”

  “No, she can’t,” Ray said simply. “Roger has lost many of his supporters, but they’re not all gone, I assure you. He still has massive sway, especially with the older crowd that all think the same way he does, and he’ll use that to his advantage. Besides, Dera just took office as the head of the Council, and she can’t openly move against him in such a public way. She’s hoping we can take care of Roger for her.”

  “That’s kind of lazy of her, isn’t it?” I asked, looking out the window at the new additions to our camp as they set up their tents in the backyard. “I don’t think we can trust them. I just figured we could use all the help we could get. It’s not like it could hurt, right? I mean, this house is full of friendly werewolves and vampires with excellent superhuman hearing. They won’t get near us with ill intent, right?”

  Ray shrugged. “I’m not sure. I do know that I’ll feel better about your safety as long as you have Quinten, Jax, and Darren in your room with you at night. I know they’ll keep you safe.”

  I frowned. “Dad, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again when I have to. I have something incredibly precious to fight for now–to protect–and nothing will stand in the way of that. Not homicidal werewolves, or vengeful vampires, or the Council…nothing.”

  He put his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close, and kissed my forehead. “You sound like a real parent already. I can’t wait to see how you do after they’re born; I think you’ll do great.”

  Hearing him say it made me realize just how unprepared I was to be a mother, and I could feel tears building up. We were still in constant danger, and we still didn’t have a place to call our own, and that just wasn’t acceptable when you were about to bring two new lives into the world. I took a deep breath, trying to fight back the mix of emotions I was feeling.

  “I’m not as sure as you are,” I said quietly. When I looked at him, I was surprised to see he was smiling “What are you smiling at?”

  He shook his head sl
owly. “Nothing. It’s just…you are so much like I was at your age. You’re even stronger than I ever was. I wouldn’t have been anywhere near ready to face what you’re going through. I think I would have caved in and just given up, because I wouldn’t have had anything to fight for. At least, not until you came along. Then everything changed.”

  “Were you ready for me?”

  He laughed, causing me to smile. “No, I was not ready for you.” When he stopped smiling, he looked at me again, all serious like he was lately. “I didn’t have a whole lot of people that cared about me like you do. I didn’t have any siblings or cousins to help me along. My younger sister–your aunt Linda, or Linnie as we called her–didn’t survive the change from human to wolf. Your uncle Charles died a few years after you were born, but at the time he was off fighting and killing as many vampires as he could after the death of his mate.”

  Jax’s mother hadn’t survived the change either. Her loss had devastated both Jax and Charles, but Jax was the only one to really recover. If Charles had just gone home to his son instead of continuing his quest for revenge against all vampires, he wouldn’t have been killed, and Jax wouldn’t have spent his teenage years mostly taking care of himself.

  Of course, if Jax hadn’t spent most of his teenage years alone, he probably wouldn’t have had an excuse to stay with us as often as he did, and I wouldn’t be as close to him as I am now. I felt so lonely when he graduated high school, got his own place, and moved off of Ray’s couch. It was like all the fun had been sucked from the room, and I was left with nobody but Ilene to keep my company.

  “Alanna, you’ll be ready when these babies get here. Trust me. From one parent to another, I can tell you there are some things we just know. Someone as caring, brave and willing to fight for what she knows is right will have no problems raising her children the right way, especially since you’ll definitely have help. Hell, I’ll probably be around so often you’ll get sick of me.”

  Suddenly overcome with emotion, I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. “I could never get sick of you, Dad,” I said quietly. “After everything you’ve done for me, you’re welcome to move in with us if you want,” I said, laughing with him when he began to chuckle.

  He gave me one more squeeze before leaving me in the living room. I looked out the window one more time, at all the new additions to our camp, and I had a slight feeling of unease at the sight of them. Jax and Quinten were outside watching them like hawks, and that made me feel a little better, but not by much. There were ten werewolves in our camp that I wasn’t sure we could trust, and they could do quite a bit of damage to us if they wanted to.

  With a sigh, I opened the backdoor. Hot air rushed to meet me, and I felt the sweat start to bead up and drop down my back, between my thighs, and between my breasts. Within seconds it felt like my entire shirt was plastered to my body, and I plucked uselessly at it, trying to fan myself off and stay cool. I couldn’t wait until I wasn’t pregnant anymore, and I could get my old body back, and I could stop being so hot all the time.

  Everyone was in the backyard, and I couldn’t help but notice the obvious tension between them. Darren was standing beside Quinten, Maria, and Violet on one side of the yard. With them were Jax and Ray. There were two unknown people behind Darren, and after a few seconds I recognized them as two of the dhampirs we’d rescued from Roger’s mansion.

  On the other side of the yard were the ten unknown werewolves that Dera had lent us. They looked angry and uptight in a strange place surrounded by vampires and dhampirs they didn’t know. I couldn’t blame them; being around strangers hadn’t generally worked out well for me or anyone in my family, and I understood how nervous vampires made werewolves, and vice versa. The two species had been slaughtering each other for centuries.

  But they all had to understand that we had a chance to stop all of the fighting for good. If we could just stick together for a little while longer, we might be able to keep a lot of people–both vampire and werewolf–from ever being killed again. Even though they had no reason to like me, trust me, or fight for me, they had a chance to save their future friends and family from suffering.

  “What’s going on out here?” I asked, stepping in-between the two sides. Brent and Nolan were both in the middle of everything as well, and they looked at me. “Your dhampir friend showed up with two more dhampirs just like him, and it’s got the Council’s lackeys nervous,” Brent said, tugging anxiously on his long, red beard. “Perhaps you can smooth things out before someone does something stupid that puts us all in jeopardy.”

  I turned to face the Council’s werewolves. “The dhampirs are not going to harm you in any way. You can relax. Our enemies are out there,” I said, motioning to the woods. “They’re not here, standing with us, willing to fight by our side. We don’t have enough friends at the moment that we can afford to turn willing fighters away.

  “It shouldn’t matter that they’re half-vampire. They’re on our side, and you need to put your prejudices behind you if we’re going to get Roger Mason out of our lives. He’s getting crazier and crazier by the day, and we’ll need all the help we can get to banish him.” I looked at the Council’s werewolves and frowned. “I don’t give a damn what your previous thoughts about vampires were. But for right now, they are our allies, and they need to be treated as such. So suck it up and come say hello.”

  There were reluctant grumbles from some of the Council’s wolves, but one by one they walked across the yard, closer to the dhampirs and vampires that were on our side. Nobody got within touching distance, but this was a start. Now we could get together and come up with one final plan that we could use to wipe out Roger and Eli when the time came.

  We were running out of time. I would be giving birth in just a few short days, and then all hell would officially break loose. If Roger attacked before I had the babies, I would be fat and slower than normal, and I would have to constantly worry about every little nick or blow and if it would hurt the baby. But if he attacked after I had the babies, then I would worry about their safety non-stop. No matter when Roger attacked, I was going to be sidetracked and that would put me in more danger than I’d already be in.

  The worst possible thing that could happen would be if Roger decided to attack while you were in labor, not before or after. Then you’d really be defenseless…

  “Alright, so what’s the plan?” one of the Council wolves asked. “If we’re going to have any hope of taking down Roger Mason, we’ll need a solid plan of action. I’m not risking my life for some half-assed attempt by a bunch of kids,” he said, looking around at me, Quinten, Darren, and the other dhampirs.

  Now that he’d said it, I realized it was kind of true. We looked like a group of kids getting ready for a fight on the playground after school, except the other people showing up wouldn’t be kids. They would be ruthless warriors hell bent on killing us and making sure that none of us survived to see the light of day ever again. What kind of chance did we really stand?

  Ray put his hand on my shoulder. “The plan is to train, convince more fighters to help, and to be as well prepared as possible. We can do this, as long as we buckle down and focus. We’re acting like Roger is some invincible god that can’t be killed. He can be killed, and he will be. We just have to stick together and see this through,” Ray said, making sure to look at everyone during his little speech.

  “We have to remember that we’re not just fighting for ourselves. We’re fighting for something much more important than just a few lives. If we can ensure the birth of these children, we might be able to stop the fighting for good. We can’t forget that, or we’ll end up losing.”

  Nolan looked at the Council’s werewolves. “Alright. What do you say we teach these dhampirs how to properly fight?”

  Giving each other nervous, uncertain glances, the werewolves, vampires, and dhampirs moved off into groups to begin their training. They were obviously uncomfortable at the thought of being near one another, but they
were willing to try and make it work. And it was all because of Ray’s little speech. I couldn’t believe how big of an impact words could have, and I looked at Ray out of the corner of my eyes. “You’re making these babies sound like messiahs or something. What if when they’re born, they don’t stop any of the fighting, and things just continue on as bad as they are now? All of these people will be let down, and they’ll blame us.”

  “It’ll be better if we don’t dwell on that right now. We have far more important things to do. For now, let’s train.”

  *****

  “I am not fighting a girl half my age,” Brent said sourly. “Let alone a pregnant girl. Especially since she happens to be the very pregnant daughter of an old friend of mine.”

  “Yeah, well, this pregnant girl is about to kick your ass if you don’t brace yourself,” I warned, bending into a defensive crouch. I had my hands curled up into dangerous fists, and even though I felt like my center of gravity was way off and I would collapse at any moment, I would have no problems defending myself. In fact, I felt that I might be one of the most dangerous people in the backyard. There was an instinct rising inside of me, and it wasn’t just animalistic.

  It was pure maternal instinct, and it was one of the deadliest feelings on the planet.

  Brent tilted his head and our eyes met. “You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you?”

  Instead of answering, I threw myself at him, hoping to catch him by surprise and force him into acting. He blocked a wild haymaker, and he grabbed my wrist and twisted, before shoving me away from him. Spinning in place, I hooked my leg behind his kneecap and yanked, sending him to one knee in the dirt.

  He lashed out at me with his right hand, and I instinctively jumped back to avoid being hit. Brent and I circled each other. He looked ready for a fight, and I hoped he wouldn’t take it easy on me just because of my pregnant state. Roger and his fighters certainly wouldn’t take it easy on me, and I wanted to be as prepared for that fight as I could.