Making his way around the table, he pulled Starr up, holding her in his arms, carefully.
“I can sense it. The life has only just started but I can feel it inside me.”
The bewildered look on her face told Ronan a hell of a lot. His mate hadn’t expected this to happen and was as shocked as he. “So, Dragons can sense their unborn child?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we have a connection with it and can actually feel it growing. I don’t know an awful lot, only stuff told to me when I was very young and I’m trying to remember it.”
Ronan could feel the apprehension in her body. “Hey, don’t worry, we’ll work it out but cac I never thought to hear those words from you. I can’t say I’m not shocked but I’m happy as hell and we’ll work it out together. Fuck! I’m gonna be a father!”
Margaret’s high pitched squeal from the door to the kitchen alerted them that they weren’t alone. “I knew it! I knew you were pregnant! That ‘glow’ I was talking about, well, I’ve only ever seen it on pregnant ladies! Congratulations to you both, this is miraculous!”
Starr laughed at the excitement in the woman who was barely stopping herself from jumping up and down. “Thank you, Margaret.”
Ronan’s head whirled with the information, worry for his pregnant mate forefront in his thoughts. “Maybe you should stay here? Let me go home and sort out whatever it is that’s going on. You would be safer here.”
Starr’s head swiveled around, her eyes locking with his. “No. I won’t even consider that. I need to be with you during this and I mean I need to. Our bond will grow as the pregnancy progresses and you will also start to bond with our child before it’s born. But only if we stay together. Wherever you go, I and our baby go.”
He thought his head was going to explode. Starr was pregnant and they were going to be bonding with an unborn child. How was that even possible? “Okay, mo chroi, don’t get upset. We’ll work something out and take it one day at a time. For now, we need to get on the road.”
Margaret rushed forward, hugging Starr. “Oh my, this is so exciting! Please let me know how things go.”
Starr returned the hug, smiling so wide it looked as if it hurt. “I will, in fact, we may come back here sooner than you think.”
“I hope so!” Margaret gushed as she released her hold on Starr.
“Thanks again, Margaret.” Ronan said as he led Starr away.
“You’re not feeling sick or anything? Don’t women get morning sickness at the beginning of pregnancies?” he asked as he helped her up into the SUV, already with their cases in the rear.
Laughing as she buckled up she shook her head. “Nope, no morning sickness and I’m feeling great. However, we do have to talk.”
Ronan got in, driving away far more sedately than their express arrival. “Okay, let’s talk. What do I need to know?”
She turned in her seat. “Well, firstly, I’ll need to go Dragon a lot more than I have been. At least a few hours every day, more if I can.”
“Why?” he interrupted.
“If you hadn’t butted in I woulda told you by now, but, I’m a Dragon, we don’t do the whole pregnancy and birth thing quite the same as the rest of you. Now, Ronan, I don’t want you to freak. Okay?”
His eyes darted between her and the road ahead, his heart rate rocketing. “Why would I freak?”
“I won’t give birth like a human, or a Witch, or a Wolf. When the time comes I need to be Dragon and I give birth to a rather large egg...”
The SUV swerved as Ronan almost lost control, his head swiveling around. “What? What did you just say?”
Her tinkling laughter filled the SUV and it was some moments before she could carry on. “I said, I will need to be Dragon and I’ll lay a rather large egg. Then when one of us touches it the egg will begin to crumble and our child will be there.”
Ronan cursed. “Feck! How the hell does that work? An egg? When it’s born is it in human form or Dragon form?”
He noticed one of Starr’s hands circling her belly. “It will be in Dragon form, but only for the first few moments. Once it’s fed from me, the child will change to human form and will remain so until it’s about ten or so. Only then will it regain the power to transform.”
“Holy Hell!” Ronan laughed.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but it’ll be fine. I promise.” Starr placed a hand on his thigh, squeezing it tightly.
“What if it’s not full Dragon? I know you spoke before about this and Dragon’s mating with humans and said all their children were Dragons. But, I’m not human and I would bet my next paycheck that a Dragon has never had a child to a Vampire before. So, what if it’s different somehow?”
Starr looked thoughtful, staring off to the side, before answering. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Whatever happens we’ll deal with it together and I know we’ll love our child, no matter what.”
Ronan couldn’t help but worry and tried to hide it as best he could. “We sure will.”
“I’d rather we kept this to ourselves, for a little while at least.”
He couldn’t agree more though for far different reasons to what hers were. He didn’t want any enemies finding out she was pregnant because it would make her into a perceived easy target. “That’s fine with me, baby. I think you should get checked out at the clinic though.”
Her answer was firm. “No, I don’t need, nor want, any doctors. A Dragon pregnancy is not like any other so they won’t have any experience of it anyway. They can’t do anything to help and I don’t want them touching me.”
“Why?”
She sighed heavily. “It’s hard to explain, but only my mate should be in close contact with me and certainly be the only one to touch my stomach. The bonding will start very soon, Ronan, and that’s a very special time between us. All three of us.”
“I see, well, I’ll do what you think’s best. Unless I think there’s a real need for you to see a doctor, that is. If that happens then I won’t argue with you. You will see a doc. I won’t put your health at risk, Starr, not for anything.”
Starr nodded her head, although she had a slight frown on her face. “I suppose, but we tend to go through our pregnancies in the peak of health so I don’t envision any problems. However, I want to try and put it behind us for now. We need to concentrate on what’s going on back home. Once that’s sorted then we can deal with this rather unique child.”
The rest of the journey to the airstrip flew by as they chatted easily about anything and everything. Ronan had a load of further questions about the baby but he could sense Starr’s reticence in speaking any more about it. “I guess she’s coming to terms with being pregnant too.” he thought more than once.
As he thought on this surprising development he started to worry. Their lifestyles, their work, didn’t exactly exude safety and to bring a child into that was more than scary, it was downright terrifying. “How the hell can I be a good father?” he asked himself over and over.
As he pulled into the parking area he took his phone out, sending his Agent in Charge of Vegas, Paul, a text to say the vehicle was ready for pick up and he’d leave the keys in the small office. “I’ll only be a minute, go on and board,” he told Starr as he took their cases out and locked the vehicle before going to hand the keys in.
When he boarded the jet, Starr was already sitting, her feet curled up beneath her, and a faraway look on her face. Justin, the pilot, was conducting his outside pre-flight checks. Sitting down next to Starr, she didn’t even notice until he reached over, taking one of her hands in his.
“We’ll be okay. I’m sure we can figure out this parenting thing. If Josef can do it, then we sure can.”
She jumped at his touch and voice, turning with a worried look. “Really? It’s just kinda sinking in and I’m scared for so many reasons. What if there’s more Witches out there wanting to capture a Dragon? What ‘bout our work? There’s so many things to think about and my head hurts just trying to
sort it all out.”
His thumb softly circled the top of her hand, feeling the need to soothe her. “We’ll be fine. I’ll make sure our child is safe and as far as work is concerned, we’ll do whatever is required. You could either stop work for a while, or do part time. Whatever is best for all of us.”
Starr scowled over at him, “Me? I’m the one to stop working? What about you? Couldn’t you take some time off?”
He sat back, looking at her face and trying to figure out if she was joking. By the deepening scowl he thought not. “Well, I’ll take some time off for the birth, of course. However, Starr, you do realize I’m the Director? It’s not so easy for me to take extended leave and I just assumed you would want to spend time with the baby.”
He wasn’t sure what she thought, but just upping and taking months off at a time just wasn’t an option for him. Surely she would understand that?
“I do want to spend time with our baby. I just don’t want to do it alone. I’m sorry, Ronan, Dragons are special, we deal with things differently than most and family is one of those things. The start of a child’s life is very important and normally the mother and father spend it with the child together.”
He had so much more to learn as far as Dragons were concerned. Although raising a family hadn’t been one of the things he thought he would need to learn about. “I see, well, we can work things out. I’ll go to work a bit later, take a proper break during the day and finish earlier. But that’s about all I can promise for now. We’ll figure it out together, Puff.”
“Shit!” Starr exclaimed, “I’m sorry, I know you have to work and your job is important. It’s the hormones. As soon as we become pregnant our hormones go into overdrive and start infusing us with how things should be. Like staying close to our mate so they can bond with the baby. Like both parents being around to raise the child, especially in the beginning...it again strengthens the bond. Like shutting everything else off and focusing on the baby alone. It’s in our DNA and I know I’m going to be a pain in the ass while I try and fight it.”
His heart went out to his mate as he saw the struggle clearly on her face. “You shouldn’t have to fight your DNA, Puff. We’ll just find different ways to deal with the situations. I’ll do my best to make everything as it should be, but, I can’t promise the twenty four-seven attention that you may crave. So I guess we’ll both have to compromise.”
Her smile was dazzling as she launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you. I know this is a shock, it was for me too. I guess I didn’t realize the power within the ceremony that Talon performed. I never expected to fall pregnant with you, Ronan. I’m sorry, maybe I should’ve taken precautions.”
Holding her close he soothed her. “Shh, don’t think that. I’m happy, really. It’s just a shock and we need to get this thing with Creed over with and then we can concentrate on the little one. So, tell me, you said earlier about going Dragon more?”
“Yes, the more time spent as Dragon the better really, so I’ll be spending a lot of time on the roof. As soon as the light goes I’ll change and just stay there for a while. If we were in a different situation I would spend most of my time in Dragon form, but, I know that’s not going to happen now. So, I’ll just do it as often as I can. However, as the pregnancy nears the end I will need somewhere private to give birth. I don’t fancy doing that on the roof.”
Ronan shuddered, the thought of his mate giving birth on the roof of a city building not pleasant. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, Puff, but rest assured you won’t be having our child on the roof. Now, give me as much information you have about all this, all of it, don’t leave anything out.”
So she did and they were still discussing things when Justin touched down just outside Denver. The small bump as the wheels hit tarmac surprising them both. “I guess we’re home.” Ronan said as he looked out the window.
“I guess we are.” Starr looked out too, as if not quite believing they had talked the entire flight.
Ronan unbuckled his belt. “We better prepare ourselves for whatever we’re walking into. I know it’s not going to be good, whatever it is.”
Starr agreed. “I know, but we’ll get through it, whatever it is. Come on, Fang, let’s get to work.”
Chapter 3
They were back at the offices, walking through the double doors, very quickly. Ronan’s alert senses were picking up Elite Guards and Wolves all around. As they pulled into the underground garage their driver turned around. “I’ve been told to pass on that Creed will be waiting for you in Sam’s office.”
Ronan opened the door, holding a hand out to help Starr as he addressed the driver. “Thanks, can you get our luggage taken up to our apartment, please.”
“Certainly, boss.”
Ronan cringed at the “boss” part, doing his best to ignore it as he and Starr took the elevator up to the fourth floor. As soon as he stepped into the hallway he sensed the difference in his people. They were on edge, wary, and more than a few heads turned around at their approach. Nodding a hello to a few, they made their way to Sam’s office.
A few things assaulted his acute senses as he entered. Sam sat behind his desk, Creed stood in one corner, and Charmaine sat behind a small desk set up to the side of Sam. It was to Charmaine his eyes flew, marks on her neck plainly visible and Sam’s scent all over her. Raising an eyebrow at his friend, who smiled sheepishly before shrugging his shoulders. Seemed as if the young Witch they’d rescued was indeed his friend’s mate. Interesting turn of events.
As Charmaine blushed he turned to Creed. “So, are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?”
Creed’s body was tense, held taut and anger rolled off him in great waves. “My past has caught up with me and I’m afraid I’ve put everyone in danger. For that I apologize. I don’t apologize for my actions though. I would do the same again in the same circumstances.”
Starr moved closer to Charmaine, perching her backside on the end of the desk as Ronan stared at Creed. “You need to start from the beginning and give us any and all information you have.”
Creed’s nod was imperceptible but then he sighed and started to talk. “About two centuries ago I lived in the Balkans, I was employed by a Vampire named Mikhail Karloff. He is a very dangerous and powerful being and his organization then blossomed into the Ukrainian Mafia of today. He is the head of it, runs it, controls it, and has an army at his beck and call.”
Sam swore, “Fuck! That’s not good, boss. Those Ukrainian Mafia guys are fucking crazy.”
Creed nodded. “Yes, they are. Now, when I worked for him I was just a gopher, working my way up in the organization, but then something happened to change all that. To change me.”
Ronan knew they were coming to the crux of the matter, and the reason for the danger that was apparently on its way.
“I met a young woman, a Witch, and well, we fell in love. She was my true mate. We all know not all of us Vampires find ours and I was overjoyed to have found mine. But with finding her came problems. She knew about my job, who I worked for. To say she didn’t like it is an understatement. She told me she couldn’t mate with someone doing that kind of work. She’d seen first-hand the damage that Mikhail did, killing indiscriminately and without mercy or remorse.”
Creed stopped, a distant look in his eyes.
“Go on,” Ronan encouraged.
“So, Darya and I argued, a lot, but her influence on me changed me, as a person. Deep down inside me she broke through and made me care. About her, about others and I soon saw she was right. I couldn’t continue to do what I had been doing. We made plans to leave the country. In fact we were going to leave the fucking continent. Travel here, to the Americas.”
Creed’s voice hitched and it was clear for them to see he was fighting for control. “I think you can guess where this is headed but I’ll tell the story. This one time only, I will not speak of Darya again.”
His eyes met each of theirs, as if making sure t
hey understood. “Mikhail had sensed a change in me so had me followed. They soon found Darya and my frequent visits to her, together with her unhealed bites, told them all they needed to know. Mikhail was furious. None of his men left...ever. Well, not alive anyway. So he did what he does best, he ordered his men to kill her. But, his little pet, Oleg, decided to take charge of the hit.”
Creed stopped again, clenching his jaws so hard Ronan thought he was going to break some teeth. Taking a deep breath in, the Elite Guard continued. “Mikhail is gay, Oleg and he had been together for a long time. Oleg convinced Mikhail to let him deal with Darya and he agreed. Oleg, however, isn’t or rather, wasn’t gay. We all knew this but none of us ever said anything. Mikhail would, most definitely have ‘killed the messenger’ and none of us were that stupid. Oleg was with Mikhail only for the position, for the money, the power, so getting let loose to go after Darya he decided to have some fun. He beat her, raped her, beat her some more, sodomized her and then ripped her throat out.”
“No!” Starr exclaimed as both Sam and Ronan cursed loudly.
Creed’s eyes met Starr’s and for the first time they all saw the hurt he kept hidden deep inside.
“Yes, he was still lapping her blood from his fingers when I arrived. I think you can also guess what happened then. I killed him and it wasn’t pretty. At first I just sat there, waiting on Mikhail’s men to come looking for Oleg and find me. I wanted to die and thought going down fighting was the best way to do it. Then I heard a sound, from the large oak wardrobe. I ripped the door off and found Darya’s little sister sitting sobbing hysterically.”
Charmaine gasped, the sound loud in the room, where, Ronan was sure, a pin dropping would’ve sounded like an explosion.
“It was at that moment that I sensed more of Mikhail’s men closing in. So I did the only thing I could, I grabbed her and ran. I couldn’t let Darya’s fate be hers too. We only just made it out but didn’t stop running until we reached Australia.” Creed stopped, taking several deep breaths.
Bureau Under Siege Page 2
