Bloody Vows

by J. E Hanson

  Erik tilts his head at Joey, “Is your wife wearing a brand new perfume?”

  Joey stands straight up. The color from his face drains, “OH, FUCK! That is not her perfume! That is our baby!”

  Sam appears confused, “What do you mean?”

  “Our pregnancies are different, than your pregnancies. We reveal a potent stench, when our babies are in the second trimester. That scent tells us what we are having, and what their name is, FUCKING SHIT!” Joey paces back and forth appearing upset about something.

  Ian flips off his shades, “Say… what? I am very confused. Can you repeat that to us again?”

  Zane snaps his fingers, “Oh, I see… so the chocolate strawberry scent is the scent of your baby. I assume that is the scent of a girl.”

  Joey plops down on the ground with his hands smacking his head, “FUCK! I have a girl! FUCK! DAMN! I want a boy! I am not ready to be a father to a little girl! SHIT! How am I going to raise her? I will have to kill any man eyeing her, like she is their fucking lunch!”

  Christian continues to hold me, “I have no words of wisdom. You will need plenty of luck.”

  Joey stood up, “WAIT! Did you mention a musk scent? That doesn’t necessarily mean she is having a girl! Surely, she is not having a girl, and she is having a boy instead!”

  I finish off the second bottle of blood, “I have to see Rosalie, and apologize to her.”

  Christian frowns, shaking his head no, “That is not a viable option at this time. You just survived your first animalistic frenzy. It is not a good idea to see her until we are sure that you are no longer a threat.”

  I stand up. The BIB flocks around me, “I AM NOT A THREAT! How could you state that I am not a threat, and then switch to that I might be a threat? I slipped up just this one time! Louie, will you please tell him!”

  Louie stares at his feet, “Princess, you could easily relapse, and actually hurt someone. I believe you need to stay in your bedroom.”

  “Please don’t keep me in our bedroom! I swear I am okay! I fucked up this one time! I swear it will never happen again! Look… if I am such a huge threat, you can silver me! I AM NOT A THREAT!” I yelled angrily at Chris.

  “I believe her, and I will help you out, if you need it. I take her at her word.”

  Oddly enough, the one person who should have reservations is actually standing up for me.

  “Joey, please sit your wife in the library,” Alexander instructs Joey, and then he turns to Ian and Zane, “Ian and Zane… go open all the windows please,” Alexander turns around to face me, “if you so much as make a sudden movement—or one tiny twitch, I will silver you myself.” He holds out his hands to me.

  Joey left our bedroom to give Rosalie the message. I walk in between Alexander and Christian. Sam and Charlie walk ahead of me. Erik and Zane walk behind us. The rest of the men walk ahead of Sam and Charlie. I stay close to them, and I am almost up against Christian. They are not trying to use silver chains against me. All of them continue to have faith in me. I have to apologize to Rosalie.

  They open the library doors, and they are watching my facial expressions intently. “I know you will be okay. We are one, and I know you will never harm Rosalie,” Christian whispers to me. He puts his complete faith and trust in me.

  My eyes swell with bloody tears, “I am so sorry, and I am scared too!”

  Christian leans over, and he embraces my lips with his, “I love you, baby. Remember… our baby is growing inside you, so please keep that in mind.”

  I nod yes. He urges me to walk inside the enormous library. I am still clutching tightly to his firm hand. We walk slowly inside the library. The fairies are standing directly in front of Rosalie to protect her. The BIB stands directly in front of me. Ember sits off to the side with the AOM fiercely protecting her.

  I carefully pinch my nose, but Alexander jerks my hand down, “You will make it even worse on yourself if you do that! You must immerse yourself with the scent,” he lectures me.

  I attempt to hold my breath, but Christian notices, “DO NOT DO THAT EITHER!” he scolds me for the first time in months.

  I groan, and then I inhale the chocolate strawberry scent in the air, but the smell is not as fragrant, as it once was. My stomach growls loudly. Something gave me a sharp kick. I gasp, and place my hand over my stomach. Christian cocks his head to the side, “What is that all about?”

  I feel another swift kick, “I am lost for words. I believe our baby is kicking finally, and she seems pretty hungry.”

  Christian places his hand over my stomach, and he chuckles, as he feels our baby kick, “Our baby is strong. Are you sure we are having a girl too?”

  The baby kicks him again. He bends down to kiss my stomach, “I take you at your word. Are you the one causing your mother all these problems?”

  The baby moves, and kicks him again. The BIB taper off, but they keep their guard up. I sit directly in front of Rosalie, “I am so sorry for earlier, and this is my fault!”

  Rosalie glances at her Enforcers, and she stands up. “SIT DOWN, ROSALIE!” Erik snaps at her. He is afraid of what I might do.

  Rosalie ignores him, “My cousin is not a threat! I can see it in her eyes!”

  She walks over to me, and I hug her, sobbing, “I am so sorry, and I had no idea!”

  Rosalie cries in addition, “I know you, and I believe you will never hurt me! I blame myself for not warning you!”

  I inhale her scent, and I finally adjust to her, “You smell like chocolate strawberries. My baby is hungry and wants it.”

  Rosalie stifles a chuckle, “I believe your baby takes after her father. My baby is a girl! I have a girl! But… I am so anxious for her, Jeannie!”

  I sob in her arms, “We will be fine! I am just as scared as you are!”

  Joey breaks the tension, “Are you sure our baby has the fruit and chocolate scent?”

  Rosalie gives him a dirty look, “I am pretty sure we are having a girl! Now call your mother!”

  Joey takes out his cell phone, and he urgently talks to his mother. His mother snaps herself inside the library.

  Rosalie turns to me, “Will you be okay? I am so sorry for not warning you.”

  I nod a quick yes. Violet walks over to us, and she sniffs her stomach, “HOT DAMN! I FINALLY HAVE A GIRL IN THE FAMILY! MY NEW GRANDBABY IS A GIRL!”

  Violet is doing a chicken dance around the library, and the rest of us are giggling. Violet is able to make the tension disappear.

  She walks over to her son, and she is nearly choking him to death, “I LOVE YOU!”

  She went from chortling to dancing, and she is finally sobbing in his arms. Her expression amuses us, especially her chokehold she has on her son right now. She keeps mashing her lips against his cheeks, “WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!”

  Joey seems upset, “I thought we are having a boy! But, there is a musk scent!”

  She continues to make us snicker as she smacks the back of his head, “That is not from our Rosalie! My grandbaby is a GIRL! Get used to it!”

  Momma, who has that musk scent if it isn’t our baby?” Joey whines. We snort, as he whines to his mom.

  Everyone turns around to Ember. She is standing there crunching on more potato chips, “What are you all staring at?” she asks.

  Gabriel bends down to sniff her stomach, “MY SON! I KNEW IT! SHE IS HAVING MY BOY!”

  Violet walks over to Ember, and she smells her stomach, “Ember is having a boy! Congratulations to the both of you! Rosalie, your grandmother will be tickled to death! She is having a girl great-grandchild, and a boy great-grandchild! She went from losing to gaining!”

  I begin to mope, “I have no clue what mine is yet. This sucks! At least all of you have a scent to go by!”

  Rosalie shakes her head at me “Now that is not actually true. Dr. Li believes your baby is also a girl.”

  Violet squeals, and she scares me to death. She nearly mows me down, and she hugs me, “OH MY CREATION! YOU ARE HAVING A GIRL TOO!”
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  Joey covers his face with his hand, “Momma… you are embarrassing me! Let Princess Jeannie go!”

  Violet commences to weep, “These three girls no longer have a mother! Don’t you dare tell me not to hug these girls! They have no parents left! My soul breaks for them! I am so happy for all of them! Now I have to throw these girls a baby shower together!”

  Joey shakes his head, “Momma! You are embarrassing us!”

  “Your mom is perfectly okay. I miss my mother at times. Your mother is an amazing woman, Joe,” Christian compliments, and he eases his mind. He is right about one thing. Violet is an amazing mom. Especially, since she helps all of us out.

  Rosalie embraces her husband, and she turns to my husband, “What was your mother like?”

  Joey tries to place a hand over her mouth, “You really don’t have to answer that Chris. My wife is extremely blunt, as of late.”

  Alexander stands up, taking Chris’s side, “Our mother was a wonderful mother too.”

  I listen to him, and hang on to his every word he is willing to divulge, when it comes to their mother.

  Alexander blinks, “Not only was I the first one born as a vampire, but also in our mortal existences too. I was born before Christian, by mere minutes. We carry some traits from our mom, but majority of our traits comes from our father. Chris has a temper, as our mother also had at times. I take after our father. We are equally ruthless when we have to be. Our mother actually had crimson hair, but we share her eyes. She was patient with us, but Chris seemed to enjoy being the troublemaker. He is the one who finds majority of the fights. I always wind up saving him.”

  Christian interrupts him, “Not always… I took the beatings for you. Oh… how we forget! I believe I saved your hide on multiple occasions as well. Our mother was warm, patient, and kind. She had a slight temper, when it came to our family. She was also ruthless, when she had to be. Our father, on the other hand, was tough when he needed to be. We learned early on, to never cross him either.”

  Christian wraps his arms around me. My stomach is on the move again, and this time it kicks him hard. He brushes his lips against my cheek, and he rubs my stomach. The rest of his friends are holding their wives close to them too. We are all expecting their babies now. I am nervous about our baby, but excited at the same time.

  Chapter 20

  We celebrate Christmas with laughter and cheers. Papa is holding a New Year Masquerade Ball. Christian originally didn’t want us to participate, but I want to get out of the castle for a change. My stomach continues to swell out. I have an appointment in two more days. Sean Fierce is now my fulltime wardrobe expert. He has to customize my dresses, and outfits to suit my pregnancy. The non-stop vomiting ended a few days ago. Now I am constantly craving raw food. My fangs hurt worse than ever before. The need for blood ingestion escalates. I am drinking a bottle of blood every hour on the hour to keep the pain away.

  Christian works out last minute security details with everyone. I step out of our bathroom.

  Louie gasps, “Oh wow! Girlfriend, you are gorgeous tonight!”

  The lanky Vampire Enforcer is wearing an ebony tuxedo with an ebony and ruby vest. My stomach is more prominent. I drape an elegant crimson ebony shawl over my arms, and cover my stomach to hide our precious cargo. My dress tonight is also crimson with ebony, and it has tons of sequins from my bust to the floor.

  I feel like a pregnant gypsy tonight, “I feel huge. Our baby is really sticking out now.”

  Sean gasps, “I believe I finally outdone myself this time. Nobody will notice your cute baby bump. How is the little fella doing?”

  I cock my head to the side, “Are you sure I am having a boy? What if I am having a girl instead?”

  Louie pins my tiara to my head, “I believe a lot of the guys are trying to change their bets. They believe you are carrying a boy, since your bump is in the front and low.”

  I begin to tear up, but Louie stops me, “Don’t do that, sweetie. I told them that they are all idiots. Now hush, and please stop crying. This pregnancy is making you incredibly emotional right now. And, here I thought Rosalie was bad with all her blunt cards she has been dealing out lately. The only one, who is handling pregnancy well, is Ember.”

  My doors open. Louie finishes working on my makeup. Ian and Zane are both wearing leather. This is not a good sign, if they are on duty tonight. There must be something my husband is hiding from me. I peek at Ian, “What is going on? You know I hate it when you hold things from me!”

  Ian turns his head to reveal an earpiece. I instantly know they are all wearing wires. I walk over to his sleeve, and yank it up, “You guys better spill the beans to me right this instant! Especially you, Christian!” I yell through his microphone in which is hiding in his sleeve.

  Ian shakes his head, trying to keep his laughter at bay.

  Zane clears his throat, “Your husband is waiting for you, Princess. Please be careful tonight. We have a bad feeling that Ava might be up to her shit again.”

  I immediately spring into action by hitting the wall. The wall drops to reveal a few guns.

  Ian moves in front of me, “You know Chris will not let you fight your sister again. Chick… you have to think of your baby. You are really huge!”

  My mood switches from anger to tears in three seconds. Louie in one swift move smacks Ian on the back of his head, “That was really rude! She already believes she is as big as a float in a parade! Keep your comments to yourself!”

  Ian shrugs his shoulders, “I swear I never meant it that way, chick! Shit! Now, Chris will put my ass on recon!”

  I can hear his voice echoing, “Where is my wife? What is the hold up?”

  Ian stutters, “I am… dude… what I meant to say… is shit… she is upset! I believe it would be in her best interest to keep her home tonight.”

  Louie swats at Ian, “You are being such an insensitive prick! He said her stomach is huge! Jeannie is a little upset, because she thinks she is huge.”

  Christian is wearing his prince crown. He always appears amazing. He drops my hands, and he places his hand over my stomach. Our baby must have noticed, because the baby kicks his hand, causing him to grin, “I believe you are the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world. You are carrying our child. I find that extremely sexy. Now… you can put your guns away, because there is no way I will allow you to fight. Your job is take care of our baby, and not to fight wars with your psycho sister tonight. You need to stop fretting my dear. Shall we leave—or are you having second thoughts?”

  I glance at his hands, and he is already pulling my guns from my hands. He places my guns back in their hiding place. The sea of lust grips me hard, and I give him full control. He is no longer trying to talk me out of going tonight. All he has to do is stare at me with those gorgeous ultramarine eyes of his, and I surrender automatically to his will. I shook my head no, and he kisses my lips. My hand moves to his arm. I take the hint, and walk out of our large bedroom. Ian stays on my right side. He places his shades back on his face, and he returns to guard me.

  Christian stays on my left side, but he keeps me close to him. We descend the stairs together with flashes of continual lights shooting in the foyer. Willow makes sure to grab a few additional shots of Christian and I.

  We exit the castle, and we sit in an armed Hummer. His hand clutches mine tightly. I am okay until we pull around the front of a large alabaster dome building with the gold roof. The paparazzi return in full force tonight. My stomach has sudden sharp movements. Our baby consistently moves, and kicks me, because my nerves are on edge.

  Christian pecks my ear, “Our baby senses what you are feeling. Which is why our baby is kicking you insanely tonight. You need to take a deep breath, and try to relax. We can always leave, if you feel uncomfortable.”

  The limousine opens, “I can do this Chris!” I whisper back to him.

  We cease our whispers. I take Ian’s hand, which he offers me. He helps me step out of the limo. Chris quickly exit
s next, and he remains on my left side. The paparazzi close in, and they begin to scare me. Ian quickly knocks a few of them back.

  One practically jabs a microphone in my face, “Are you continuing with the pregnancy despite it being an abomination to vampires?”

  The reporter makes Christian furious, but Ian clicks his fangs, and he snarls, “How dare you call an innocent baby an abomination! You need a lesson in manners!”

  Christian practically picks me up, because he is furious. We enter the building in an instant blur. The flashes of light stop when the doors slam shut behind us. A couple of ushers hand us our masks. My mask hides my eyes with his gentle persuasion.

  We walk through the long corridors. Ian and Zane open the double doors for us. More pictures flash in every single direction. You can find Rosalie and Ember easily. Rosalie is currently dancing with her husband in the middle of the floor in six-inch stilettos. Here she is, a month ahead of me, and she can move around the dance floor with ease. My workouts still continues, but she remains more fit than both Ember and I. Ember’s baby bump is just as big as mine is. Gabriel has her right by his side also. The tiaras are on our heads along with our husbands wearing their crowns. The music stops, and Rosalie at six months pregnant can still lift her left leg straight up.

  Papa stands next to a few other supernatural kings and queens. He has a new date by his side, and she seems bored. He must have paid another escort service for a date again. He smiles in my direction, and he currently wears a scarlet mask. He motions for me to come join him. My husband escorts me to him. He receives a hug and a peck on his lukewarm cheek.

  A man from a few feet away currently wears a yellow mask. His long grey hair is in a low ponytail. There is a crimson hair woman staying by his side in a matching yellow mask. They take me by surprise.