She had been dreading this appointment for two weeks, ever since she had gotten home from the safe house and seen Jackson for the last time. After being poisoned by vampire venom twice, Ava wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the baby. She had talked to Shadow about it once, who told her that she had been bitten three times while carrying her oldest daughter, but that didn’t really soothe Ava’s fears.
She was afraid that something had gone wrong, and that she would lose the only part of Jackson she had left.
“Ava?” came the voice of a nurse. Ava stood up, taking a deep breath as she followed the woman through the doorway and into an examination room. Melanie went with her, carrying her purse.
The doctor already waited for her and greeted her warmly. After making sure all the information he had was up-to-date, the doctor turned to her with a smile.
“So, you said on the phone that you were worried about being pregnant?”
“I am pregnant.” The multiple home-tests she took proved that. “But, I—I got sick recently. I’m afraid that it—it put stress on the baby, maybe. I was very, very sick. I was practically in a coma. We’re not sure what caused it. I was visiting my parents and… I got sick.”
Beside her, Melanie shifted and frowned deeply. She didn’t believe a word of it, but how was Ava meant to tell her the truth?
The doctor nodded. “Well, we will get an ultrasound technician in here shortly and take a look at things. How far along are you?”
“Uh… Two months. Maybe three?” Time was such a blur that she couldn’t even remember what day it had been when she and Jackson had run together in the woods. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
The doctor nodded.
Within a little while, Ava was laying on the examination bed, her shirt rolled up over her belly. Cold gel spread over her stomach as the doctor pressed the wand against it. Ava held her breath as she watched the screen, her eyes darting toward the doctor’s face.
“See that?” she said, pointing at a spot on the screen. “That’s her heart.”
A burst of relief washed over her. Melanie gripped her shoulder, smiling.
Ava stared at the tiny pulsing thing. “Is she okay?”
“Looks okay to me,” the doctor said. “We can do some blood work, but that’s a healthy pulse if I’ve ever seen one.”
Her muscles relaxed and she leaned back. Her baby was okay. It seemed like a miracle, but there it was. They were going to be fine. The question was what was she going to do now—staying in Coalfell didn’t seem like a good idea. Not when Jackson was right there. If he saw her pregnant and put it together… she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to walk away a second time.
Melanie drove her home silently. When they passed by the bar, Ava couldn’t stop herself from looking over at it. Jackson’s bike was nowhere to be seen, and she slumped back again.
“Are you coming to work tomorrow?” Melanie’s voice was a fake upbeat.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, you did disappear for two months and then came back pregnant. You’re lucky you were given your job back.”
Ava flinched at the accusation in her voice. She did consider herself lucky to have been given her job back, indeed. Jackson had faked an official-looking document detailing her time in a hospital, and her boss had been very worried. He assured her that she was welcome to return. And she needed the money, what with a baby on the way…
Once they were back in her house, Melanie made them both some tea while Ava slumped into the couch. She was so exhausted lately that she wasn’t certain if she had recovered from the venom. Maybe it was just normal pregnancy stuff.
Melanie brought her the tea. Catnip. Ava took a deep whiff of it. It calmed her instantly, her panther stretching and purring at the familiar scent. Melanie lapped at hers, looking very cat-like as she did so. Her legs curled under her and her eyes remained locked on Ava.
Eventually, Ava sighed and set her tea down. “What do you want to know?”
“Where you really were.”
Ava looked away. “I was sick.”
Melanie narrowed her eyes.
“I was sick.” A lump rose in her throat. “But… but there is more than that. I wasn’t with my parents. I was with… a man. And he…”
Tears started to roll down her face. Melanie’s accusing expression turned to one of horror and sympathy. She moved forward, taking Ava’s hands in hers.
“You can tell me. Is he… the baby’s father?”
“Yes.”
“Who—"
“It doesn’t matter,” Ava said, cutting her off. She didn’t want to talk about Jackson, didn’t even want to mention his name. She had pushed him away completely so that he was lost to her, and now she would be raising their child by herself. “I can’t have him. Oh, my God! I want him. I want him so bad.”
The tears increased. Shock, then relief, flitted over Melanie’s face.
“So you were with him willingly?”
Ava opened her mouth then closed it. Not exactly willingly, but not the way that Melanie had been fearing, either. She let out a shuddering breath as she fought to regain control of herself.
Since she had lost him, Ava thought about Jackson constantly. All she wanted was to see him, yet every time she drove past the bar and saw his motorcycle, she kept driving rather than stopping to see him. Ava wondered if he even thought about her at all—then she wondered why it should even matter to her. She made her choice. She had to leave it at that. A life of gangs and violence… it wasn’t for her.
“Hey.” Melanie wrapped her arms around Ava. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to be here for you, understood? I’m here for you. You’re not alone.”
Ava nodded, forcing a tremulous smile on her face. Her parents had said the same thing when she told them about her pregnancy. But the thing was, she wasn’t alone because she had been abandoned. She had been the one doing the abandoning.
The thought broke down the rest of her defenses and she collapsed into Melanie’s arms.
“I love him,” she sobbed. “I love him but I can’t have him.”
Melanie held her while she cried for what seemed like hours. Eventually, the sobs turned to sniffles, and she was able to pull away from her friend. The truth of everything that happened pressed against the back of her teeth, but she knew she couldn’t tell Melanie what had happened without going into the vampires. It was so unbelievable she knew that Melanie would never accept it.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Ava ran a hand through her hair. It was greasy. When was the last time she had showered? Two days? Ugh. There was no need for her to start falling apart over this. No, she was tougher than that. Starting tomorrow, she was going to get her life back to normal… even though she knew there was no normal left.
She thought about Jackson, his mouth, the way he touched her, fighting the thoughts out of her head. She knew she had to get rid of him for good, that it would do no good to dwell, but Ava found it was almost impossible to move on.
“We met at the bar,” she said slowly. “And it was… it was like a movie. Just everything about him clicked with everything about me. I ran away with him, I thought that I’d found…” What had she thought she’d found? “And then I found out he was part of the gang. And I can’t live like that, so I left him.”
Melanie’s eyes widened. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. He let me go.” She turned her gaze to the two cups of tea, now cold. “He let me go.”
***
The months flew by. Ava pushed Jackson from her mind and focused on taking care of herself. Her belly grew bigger and rounder week by week, and pretty soon she had people at the coffee shop asking her when she was due and being offered a place to sit regularly. Her dedication to her job didn’t go unnoticed, and it was soon bearable work. As the time drew closer for her to give birth, she was pleased to see that she had racked up the savings she needed in order to take time off when the baby was bor
n.
One night after a long day, she went home and curled up on the couch, her hands pressed against her stomach as the baby kicked. She had just started to doze off when the door was flung open. Jackson came charging in.
Her heart jumped into her throat as she got to her feet. “Jack—”
His gaze focused on her belly, then darted back to her face. “You have to come with me. Now.”
Chapter Ten
Jackson
Jackson sat at the bar, taking a shot of the cheap whiskey he’d ordered, something to wash the taste of her out of his mouth. He closed his eyes, and again, despite himself, her face flitted behind his lids, a soft smile or a scowl, those beautiful, angry eyes. He sighed as he opened his eyes again, putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it. He took a long drag as Les came over to him.
“Another shot?” he asked.
Jackson shook his head, gesturing to his bottle of beer instead. He wasn’t trying to give himself a headache, even though it was how he seemed to end each day no matter how much he drank.
He’d lost everything. After he killed Astrophel, he had thought everything was going to be okay. That finally he’d feel at peace, that for the first time in his life he was going to have a future to look forward to. Then Ava had left. He had been so certain she’d stay, but she left…
And then there were the vampires. His actions had stirred up the vampires to a frenzy; things had calmed down now, but several of the other kings had been talking about declaring an all-out war. Astrophel’s kingdom had been consumed by the others. Still, it had been hard work keeping them out of shifter territory. Without leadership, they ran rampant. His crew had had to kill vampires left and right as they snuck into the town. The other chapters were facing the same issues.
Once the vampires got their own under control, Typhoon had arrived. The alpha of the Brotherhood had been furious. He stripped Jackson of his title and Jackson was frankly surprised that Typhoon didn’t kill him. He was disgraced, allowed to come to the bar only because Les was such a good friend of his parents.
Even so, whenever he walked through the doors, the others, members of the gang that used to look up to him with pride and trust in their eyes, always turned away. Shuffling back outside, heads hanging. He couldn’t blame them, not really, but it still hurt.
Les brought Jackson the beer and set it down in front of him. He looked like he was going to say something, but only shook his head and turned away. Jackson cracked open the beer and began to gulp it down when his phone started buzzing.
Annoyed, he pulled it out. Val. Again. She was calling him more often these days. Typhoon had made her the alpha in his place. While Jackson was glad that it went to someone who had the strength and smarts to actually be an alpha, it didn’t stop his wolf from snarling every time she called him to watch the girls. It was because she was off pulling missions or fighting vampires. While he was no longer invited to the party.
He thought about declining but answered anyway. He adored his nieces, and quite frankly didn’t trust anybody else with them these days. Not when some members of the gang might be looking to topple Val and claim the spot of alpha themselves.
“Shadow,” he grunted in greeting.
“Bring Ava to the safehouse.”
Jackson sat up a little straighter. A tingle ran down his spine and his hands clenched. “Why?”
“Don’t be an idiot, Jackson. Did you really think that the vampires would let her go just because Astrophel was dead? The kings want her. They say that because you killed Astrophel, they need her to resurrect his son to be king. But we both know that’s bullshit.”
A tremor ran down his spine as he remembered what Ava had told him. They needed to sacrifice a panther, a lioness, and a kite. Were they still determined that Ava would be their panther?
“Typhoon’s agreed to this?”
“The vamps are threatening to come at us full-force. He says even if we are able to defeat them, the loss of life will be catastrophic. He’s headed your way. Get her to the safe house now. I’ll meet you there.”
He didn’t question why Val was suddenly for protecting Ava. Instead, he hung up his phone and dashed out of the bar, shouting over his shoulder for Les to put it on his tab. He leapt onto his bike and raced towards Ava’s house.
Her scent enveloped him as he rushed inside. Ava squealed and jumped to her feet. Her face paled as one hand reached out toward him.
“Jack—”
She cut off. Her blouse clung to her figure, showing off her rounded pregnant belly. Something inside of him twisted, but he didn’t waste time on emotion. Not now. Instead, he moved toward her.
“You have to come with me. Now.”
She didn’t speak. She stood there with a surprised look on her face, her hands on her smooth, rounded stomach.
“Ava…”
“Hi,” she said softly.
He couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare at her, drinking her in, the sight of her face like a dream to him. Then he went to her, taking her face in his hands, pulling her in for a soft, hot kiss, one that he needed. He kissed her again, then again before she started to respond, breathing against his lips, her eyes closed as she tasted his mouth in return. Jackson breathed her in, wrapping his arms around her, feeling the hard, roundness of her belly against his abdomen. He continued to kiss her, his head spinning as he smiled against her lips.
The vampires were coming. He pulled back and shook his head. “There isn’t time for this. We have to go.”
“What?” Ava blinked in confusion. “Why?”
“I’ll explain. I guess we have to take your car, you’re too huge for my bike.”
Ava’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?” she spluttered.
“Ava, please. Please just trust me.”
He held his breath as he stared up at her. For a moment, he thought she was going to refuse. But then she nodded; he let out a sigh of relief. Without another word, he took her wrist, a pleasant thrill going through him at the touch of her skin, and pulled her from her home.
She cradled her stomach as they drove. His gaze flickered towards it. She sat tense, staring straight ahead. Eventually, Jackson cleared his throat.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“Pregnant.”
“I see that… mine?”
She nodded stiffly. He sighed. Of course, it wasn’t going to be as easy as just starting back up where they had left off. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles were white. Releasing a shaky breath, he tried to relax.
“Were you going to tell me?”
She glanced over at him. “No.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
Jackson hesitated for a moment. The truth of what had been happening pressed against his lips, but he didn’t want her to feel like he was blaming her for what had happened. Instead, he let out a shaky sigh and nodded.
“I know why.”
Ava’s shoulders sagged slightly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and swallowed hard. “It’s a girl.”
A girl. A smile spread across his face. “What are you going to name her?”
“I haven’t decided,” Ava said. “Any ideas?”
Something like hope flickered through Jackson. He swallowed, mind flitting over the possibilities. “Uh… Snow?”
Ava laughed softly. “Like Snow White?”
He shrugged. “What about Ella, then?”
“I never knew you were into fairy tales.” Ava’s laugh deepened, but it cut off abruptly. When he glanced at her, concerned, he saw deep fear in her expression. “Jackson… are the vampires really coming after me again?”
“Yes. I won’t let them touch you, I swear. They will not touch you.”
Ava nodded and fell silent again. The quiet between them was tense, full of energy. Jackson found himself wanting to tell her everything, wanting to beg her to take him back. But he knew it wasn’t fair. He couldn’t make it seem like she
had an obligation to be with him.
“So… are you okay?”
Something snapped inside of him. His voice cracked as he answered. “No, Ava. I have not been okay. I’ve been the fucking opposite of okay.”
Ava narrowed her eyes at him. “There’s no need to take that tone.”
Jackson focused on the road, breathing deeply. “Sorry. It’s just… a lot happening. Ava, I…” He couldn’t tell her about being kicked from the gang… “Ava, if I wasn’t part of the Savage Brotherhood… would you have told me?”
She tensed and glanced away. “I… I don’t know. Maybe. But you can’t. It’s too important to you.”
“Don’t you think that should be my decision?”
Ava turned her face toward the window beside her and said nothing.
He let out a deep sigh, relaxing his grip on the wheel again. “So… So I met this woman. At the bar.”
She tensed, shoulders hunching forward.
Jackson reached over to take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “She was beautiful. Perfect. And she was wild—she ran with me. She let me touch her. She let me see who she was. I’d never known anybody like her. It seemed like we were always locking horns. She never let me get away with anything, and I loved it.”
Ava didn’t say anything, but she turned back to him. She dragged her teeth over her bottom lip.
“I lost that woman,” Jackson said. “The moment I got her. I never got to see her run again and I barely got to see her smile. I lost her. That is what’s wrong, Ava. I know that I wasn’t good enough for her, didn’t deserve her. But, God, do I love her.”
Ava gasped softly. “Jackson…”
“Don’t say anything. Not right now. Please. Just let me hold your hand and pretend everything is going to be okay.”
“Jackson—“ she began again, but she cut herself off as they turned down the long road in the forest that led to the safe house.
They pulled up to the house to see that nobody was there yet. Jackson frowned. He’d expected to see Val, at least. Still, an empty house meant that he had time to fully explain to Ava what was happening. He helped her inside, his arm around her waist as he looked around them. Every shadow seemed like a threat and his wolf snarled, wanting to tear through anything that threatened their mate.
Tornado_A Paranormal Romance Page 8
