by J. E Hanson
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, but Christian had enough, “I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO THREATS! COME OUT FROM WHERE YOU ARE FUCKING HIDING AT, AND WE WILL DEAL WITH YOU! BRING YOUR HUSBAND, AND WE WILL DEAL WITH HIM TOO!”
Ava wrinkles her nose, “I love it, when you give me more threats. I love all the positive attention that all of you are willing to give me. Never fear Jeannie, I refuse to kill babies—or small children. Of course, our sanctimonious vampire laws forbid it! But, when you die, your child will remain alive. That will be okay, because when your bones turn into dust—your baby will happily take your place. Just so, we can keep this pathetic family feud going! Which does suck that your baby will get to live forever, but you are unable to. Ha! It must suck to be hybrid after all! I forgot to mention that pesky little countdown. It is about to commence in a few. I wonder what will go boom in less than ten seconds!”
His face changes to an expression of fear. Joey is a step ahead of him. “Grab Jeannie, and take her back to the mansion! Keep her outside though!”
Joey instructs Rosalie, and she nods her head. She grabs both Papa and me. She snaps her fingers to teleport us back to the castle.
“You have to stay here!” I begged her.
She shakes her head no, “We have less than ten seconds to get everyone out of there. There is no time to discuss this with you, Jeannie. I have to go.”
She leaves with a snap of her fingers. Papa keeps his swords out, “You need to stay right behind me, Jeannie. We have no clue where she put the bombs at.”
Joey snaps five of our BIB members back to the castle. Leo instantly goes to work by tracking the scents around the castle.
The FOL drop the rest of the BIB back at the castle along with any leftover vampires. Ember and Rosalie stand right next to me.
Snow and Ian moves us further down the driveway. Erik and Leo sniff the ground for bombs.
“Where are our husbands at?” I ask Ian.
He takes both his guns out, “They are searching the grounds at the Palace of Meropis right now. They are still searching for bombs. There is no telling where she put them. She made another vampire wear a silver grenade, except she rigged it wrong. I have no clue, if there are other bombs.”
After five additional minutes, Christian returns with Joey and Gabriel. He is visibly shaking with anger, “I want that bitch found! I had enough! She threatened my child and my wife! I will not rest until she is captured!”
Alexander smooches his girlfriend, “There is nothing we can do about it tonight, brother. We have combed through all the buildings. There is nothing there.”
Leo returns with Ice, “The castle is clear. I have no idea why she issued a threat, and not follow through with it.”
Christian picks me up in his arms, and he carries me inside the castle. He moves me to a chair in the library.
Sophia runs inside the room, “Your Majesty! Thank the heavens all of you are safe! There has been a terrible explosion at the Palace of Meropis! I was afraid, your grace was involved!”
Christian slams the chair across the room, and it shatters into a million splinters, “THAT BITCH DID IT AGAIN!”
Everyone who is an Enforcer loads their guns, and they unsheathe their weapons. Christian pulls me close to him, “I want all the bullshit with Ava to end tonight! You need to take your cousins, and lock yourselves in the secret room. We will not rest until we capture her. She has to be on this fucking island.”
Ember tries to keep Gabriel here with her, but he removes her hands, “She threatened our baby. I have to go, Ember. Do what Chris states. Go with Jeannie, and stay there. I will return before you know it, babe.”
She clutches her husband tightly, “Please be safe Gabe, I love you!”
He bends down, and he kisses her again, “Try not to worry, baby. We have her number. I love you too.”
Charlie returns with my guns, “Just in case she comes here. Stay strong. We will return soon, darling. Do not fret about that bloody psycho bitch. We will hunt her down like the bitch that she is. You have my word.”
My two guns have live rounds. Sophia hands us our clothes to change into. He receives a kiss goodbye, “I love you, Chris. Please bring her fangs here to me.”
He quickly kisses my stomach, and he nods yes. He points to the secret room. My cousins and I hide out in there. This room is set up to be fire, and bomb proof. She will be unable to break into this room, even if she tried. None of the Enforcers remains with us. Rosalie unzips my dress for me. I change into a maternity nightgown, and an ivory robe. Ember and Rosalie help each other out of their dresses. The television sets automatically drop down from inside the room. One of the television sets streams Supernatural News of Meropis. We watch in horror to see that the beautiful palace is now a pile of rubble. But, the fairies and angels are able to pause time to make sure everyone is out, before it blew.
Rosalie smiles with pride, “We are able to freeze time whenever we want. We can teleport people to any location too. Which really comes in handy. The only thing we are unable to do, is go back in time.”
Ember changes into a pale blue pair of pajamas. She walks over to the kitchen, “I don’t know about you two, but I am starving. My little man wants food.”
“I am hungry too. Are you hungry, Jeannie?”
Rosalie walks into the kitchen. I nod a quick yes. Rosalie and Ember tag team in the kitchen. It was hard to not pace back and forth, just to wait. I am worrying about my husband, and the rest of the BIB. My fears include losing my Papa, who chose to join them to track the bitch down. She is definitely on the most wanted list tonight. Our husbands are willing to deliver her final death. I pace until they finish making dinner.
Rosalie hugs me, and she forces me to sit down, “We are all worried about our men, but it will not do any good for our babies, if they are not receiving nourishment from us. Sit down, and eat, Jeannie.”
I take a bite of their southern fried dinner. Normally, I would never eat any of this, but my stomach craves more of their food. Rosalie made chicken, and Ember made steak. I am starving, and they are not making it any easier on me, by giving me carbs. I have to heat up a bottle of blood, in which stops them in their tracks. I quickly chug the blood down after the microwave stops. I decide that one bottle is not even enough blood, so I stuck two more bottles in the microwave.
“How can you go from eating human food to drinking blood?” Ember asks a valid question.
“The blood has a sweet taste. I am used to switching from both sides that I never think about it anymore. The BIB is even used to my mortal and my vampire side now. They worry about me drinking extra blood, but my stomach quiets down when I ingest it. This kills my pregnancy craving for blood. A part of me believes that my baby is leaning towards her daddy’s side.”
I take the warm bottles out of the microwave, and then I start to drink them within minutes. I wipe my mouth off, and let out a loud belch. I quickly apologize to my cousins for my undignified behavior.
Rosalie wrinkles her nose, “I hope your baby feels better now.”
I yawn, and head for the couch, because the fatigue commences. Ember pulls out a blanket for me, “You need to sleep. You also need to keep your mortal side well rested.” I yawn again. Rosalie hands me a pillow. They make me lay down in bed.
~~~***~~~
I fall asleep in minutes, but the nightmares begin. This time, I dream that I am giving birth to my baby, but Ava is in the room with a scalpel in her hand cackling mercilessly. The nightmare changes on me. The next room shows Christian screaming over me, and he is trying to keep me alive. Alexander holds our baby in his hands sobbing tears of blood. Christian turns to Charlie, and Charlie demands him to turn me now. He stands over my body, pounding on my chest. He turns me right on the delivery table. I watch in horror when he screams out, “NOT AGAIN! I WILL NOT LOSE HER AGAIN!”
The room fades out to show me wearing solid white. I am in an achromatic room with padding. I study myself closely, and I struggle to stand u
p. A voice booms inside the room, “Your senses have changed, Jeannie. You have turned to our side.”
I watch myself stand up, and glance at my own eyes. They are no longer chestnut. They are crimson. My fangs even descend. I gargle a loud ear-piercing screech from my chest. I have to wake up from this nightmare. They hand me a bottle of blood, and I crush the bottle of blood in my hand. I watch myself jump on the ceiling in a feral cat position. I pull my head back, and it appears as if I am a full vampire. I scream out, “NO! CHRIS, NO! PLEASE SAVE ME!”
Chapter 22
I feel someone wrapping their arms around me. I woke up to find myself still in the hidden room with my cousins. Christian pulls me right beside him, “Your sister escaped again. We took out as many rogues as we could, but the bitch somehow escaped. I am so sorry, but I am here with you now.”
Joey and Gabriel reemerge. They appear, as if they have fought valiantly tonight. They have clumps of skin, tar, and dried blood throughout their hair. I clutch my wonderful husband tightly, taking a ragged breath, “I was so scared I lost you! I am so thankful you are okay!”
He picks me up in his arms, and he carries me to our bedroom. He places me carefully on the oversize bed. I never even make a dent in our bed. He kisses me again, and he stops, “I need to take a shower, but I will return in a few minutes.”
I watch him take off the clothes he is wearing. Christian always appears amazingly hot, when he wears his Enforcer attire.
The Enforcers wear the solid charcoal leather pants. They either wear an ivory—or charcoal tank. He unloads his guns, and then he tucks them away in our walls. He walks to our bathroom naked. I feel giddy, when I see him without anything on. He will even keep his clothes off, just for me. His shower seems to last forever. I wait patiently for him to leave the bathroom. My nightgown falls to the floor, and I quickly tuck myself underneath our large ivory blanket. After another ten minutes, the door opens. He normally blow-dries his hair, but tonight he crawls in bed beside me.
He always does this after he fights. He pulls me underneath him, and he jerks my legs apart. He plunges his hard cock deep inside. My fingernails dig into his back, “Oh keep fucking me, Chris!”
He lets out a few grunts. He intensifies his hard thrusts to pound me with his flesh. His fangs click, and he grabs my right breast. The prick stings, but it escalates to the peak of an orgasm, “Fuck, Chris!”
He stops after a few more sucks to shift me on top of him. My hips rock back and forth over his. My speed intensifies to hear him talk in his native tongue. We remain this way for a few more minutes until he finally climaxes.
He stares at me, “I thank the gods for you every single day. I love you, Jeannie.”
My lips cover his lips, and he entices my fangs to come out and play. We make love until all his adrenaline exits his system. Christian cradles me in his arms, “I will kill the bitch, if it takes all eternity.”
I drift off to sleep underneath his arm. My dreams stop turning into nightmares when Chris is with me. There are eight hours of blissful sleep.
But sadly, I awoke all alone in our bed. My baby is already awake, and kicking me this morning. I stand up, and walk into the shower. There is a trail of rusty blood on the bathroom floor. I weakly cry out.
Christian runs in, “What is wrong?”
My index finger points to the floor, “I am bleeding! I don’t think this is a good thing either!”
Christian picks me up, “Let me carry you to bed. I will call Dr. Li immediately. Try not to panic.”
“I don’t understand… what is going on? The baby is kicking me like crazy this morning!”
He lays me down in our bed within a second. “Prop up your legs, and try to relax,” Christian instructs me.
Sophia enters our room, and Chris directs her. She places a towel underneath me. About an hour later, Dr. Li enters the room a day early with her ultrasound scan, “I hear you are bleeding. I will check to make sure everything is okay.”
Alexander enters our bedroom with a worried expression on his face. Rosalie and Ember join our bedroom shortly after Alexander. Rosalie sits beside me, “Is everything okay?”
“You need to let your legs fall to the side, please. I have to check you real quick.”
My legs falls to the side, as Dr. Li orders. I feel her hand enter inside me. She quickly expresses her concern, “Your cervix is still firmly closed. We will go ahead, and perform the anatomy scan today to see what is going on. It may be just old blood.”
Leo turns on our television. Dr. Li hooks up her equipment with the help of Leo. Ian and Leo wait to speak until after the anatomy scan.
Christian places his hand underneath his chin with not only a worried look on his face, but I can feel him through our blood bond. He makes me a little upset.
Alexander stands right next to his brother. Dr. Li lifts my nightgown up, and she keeps my hips covered with the blanket. She squirts the hot liquid on my stomach. She notices our baby is kicking me like crazy, “I know baby! Let me see what is going on with mommy.”
Zane enters the room to see what is going on too. She cues up her ultrasound machine. The first thing we see is the body of our baby.
Rosalie gasps in awe, “There is your baby! Wow! He or she has gotten so big!”
Dr. Li measures the head, the length, and she smiles, “Would you like to know what you are having?”
Ember squeaks out, “We want to know! What are they having?”
Dr. Li chuckles, and she makes a swift move, “You are having a girl! Congratulations!”
The news agitates Zane, but Ian sneaks out a tiny chuckle. He hands Ian money from his wallet.
Christian leans in, “How do you know for sure?”
Dr. Li switches the screen to realistic 4D technology. She scans between the legs of our baby, and she reveals the sex of our baby. What is so funny is that our baby has a huge smile on her face. I chuckle a little bit. Dr. Li reveals her tiny face, and she has my nose and chin. The rest of her appearance is similar to her daddy. I glance at her hair, and we see her hair forming. Our baby moves again, and she gives the thumbs up sign.
Ian whistles, “She is going to look like her mommy. Wow! I wish they had these things when my sisters gave birth. This is insane!”
Dr. Li takes careful measurements, but she keeps returning to a certain spot, “I need to have a word with Dr. Hunter and Dr. Washington in private.” Zane and Alexander leave the room.
Christian kisses my lips, “I will be right back. I will see what the problem is. Try not to worry. We are finally having our girl.”
“Please find out, why they left like they did. I am beginning to worry.”
They left the room with the ultrasound. I glance nervously at Ember and Rosalie. Ember pats my hand, “I am sure everything is just fine. Try not to worry, Jeannie.”
“I am sure they would tell you, if something is wrong with your daughter,” Rosalie rubs my other hand.
I went from feeling calm in those ten minutes to a sense of panic, anger, and fear. I can feel Christian.
I sat straight up in bed, “Something is wrong! I know something is wrong!” I cried out.
“That is just your imagination. Everything will be just fine,” Rosalie tries to soothe me, but it isn’t working.
“NO! I KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG!” I scream to the top of my lungs, since I can feel his emotions.
The girls keep me in the bed. “I am sure the guys can figure something out! The last thing you need to do is get out of this bed, Jeannie! Now try to stay calm and relax! There is nothing you can do right now!” Ember yells at me.
Dr. Li returns with the ultrasound. Alexander ties his hair back, and he takes over the machine. Zane stands right by the television set with his thumb over his lips. My husband returns five minutes, after he tries to calm down in front of me. Alexander squirts more goop on my stomach. I watch our baby come back to life on the big screen.
Zane points, “DAMN! Go over that part one more time, Al
ex.”
“That is exactly what I found too. Which is where the problem lies.” Dr. Li points at the same spot.
Alexander and Zane zoom in. We can see something is wrong. Christian speaks in his native language, and Alexander turns to him, “You need to remain calm, Chris. She can sense your emotions. When you are upset, she will be able to tell. Try not to panic.”
He slams his hands on the desk, and he is trying his best to keep calm, but I know something is wrong, “What is going on, Alex? You normally tell me the problem. Please don’t keep me in the dark! What is wrong with our little girl?”
“You have a rare condition known as placenta accreta. We have no idea what causes this, but it is common with female fetuses. This is a life threatening condition. The only way to make sure everything will be okay is to perform a caesarian section.” Zane is the first to explain this condition is, and what I can expect.
I gulp trying my best not to cry, but Rosalie is the first to burst into tears, “What does that mean? Will they be okay?”
“Which means you are a higher risk. We will keep you monitored at least two times a week now. We will no longer allow you to travel, exercise—or have sex. I am placing you on strict bed rest until the baby is born.”
Tears of blood are streaming down my face. Ian takes off his shades, and then he puts his hands over his face. Christian keeps his face away from me, and I can see his body tremble. I know he is already upset. Ember holds Rosalie in her arms, and she is crying too.
“Chris we need to have a talk with Saber. You have your answer now.” Alexander talks rationally.
“She is going to be okay, right? Please tell us!” Rosalie searches me frantically, and she continues to panic.
“We will do everything we can to preserve her mortal side. We will have everything on standby just in case things take a turn for the worse.” Zane informs everyone.
I know what he means now, and my worst nightmare is coming true.
