Mated to Two Beasts

by T. S. Ryder

  And if what Phil was saying was true, was there a chance that Sheridan's long-awaited child would survive this? That hope gave her the strength to stay still and listen to the hammer coming down.

  Phil turned and watched, but Maribel kept her eyes closed, sobbing openly. Each blow rang through the still air, matched by grunts of pain from Sheridan. Her stomach churned and she thought she might vomit or pass out. Her legs were too weak and she sagged against Phil.

  When he finally let her go, she knew it was over. She fell to her knees, retching. And when she started to raise her eyes, Sheridan's voice, thick with pain but still strong, rang out.

  "Don't look!"

  Maribel froze. She trembled, fighting the desire to look at her husband and show him he wasn't alone. Sobs shook her body.

  "Oh, let her look." Armstrong's voice was full of malice. "Let her see what you've become. The vampire king, dying as a slave would have. Soon the vampire taint will be cleansed from off the face of the earth."

  Maribel's eyes rose against her will. She cried out again, then clamped her hands over her mouth. Sheridan lay on the ground, the wooden cross beneath him. His arms were outstretched, those thick silver nails piercing his wrists, ankles, and shoulders. Dark blood trickled from the wounds and his already pale skin looked translucent. His chest heaved and his eyelids fluttered.

  "Put him up," Armstrong ordered and turned to Maribel. She pulled a pistol out from under her jacket "Everything that vampires have tainted must be cleansed."

  "Wait." Phil stepped in front of her. "Wait. He brainwashed her—"

  "She's tainted."

  "You promised me."

  "And you've never lied?" Armstrong smiled at Phil, showing all her teeth. She looked deranged. "Everything touched by vampires must be destroyed. And you spent time with them, those vampires. Don't worry, I'll be sure to put your money to a good cause."

  Phil cursed and rose his gun, but Armstrong was quicker. The gunshot rang through the air. Smoke rose from the pistol in Armstrong's hand. Phil stumbled back, eyes widening. Blood poured from his chest. He blinked once and collapsed. He lay there, unmoving.

  Maribel pulled in a deep breath. The gun pointed at her now and she froze. She stared up at Armstrong's merciless eyes. A part of her was relieved that she would die with Sheridan.

  But her heart sank. Her arms wrapped around her stomach. If she died, so did their baby.

  "Please," she whispered.

  Sheridan grunted. Armstrong ignored him but Maribel turned to where the men were lifting the cross from the ground. Sweat broke over her king's face. His muscles bulged. With a roar that filled the air with rage, he yanked his body off the cross. The silver spikes ripped out chunks of wood. He fell to his knees, his howl of rage turning to pain.

  The men dropped the cross and rose their guns. Sheridan's hands came together and he pulled a spike from one of his wrists. Bullets flew all over the place. Armstrong shouted, firing her gun again and again. Sheridan lurched forward and drove the silver stake into her heart.

  Armstrong's men stopped firing their weapons. Everything seemed to go still as Sheridan withdrew the stake, pain and anger twisting his face. The human stumbled back, gasping.

  "Fitting," Sheridan spat, "that you would die like the vampires you despise so much."

  Armstrong dropped. Sheridan turned to her two men. He pulled the second stake from his other wrist and ran at them. They dropped their guns and fled. Neither of them turned. Neither saw Sheridan stumble and fall. He lay on his face, unmoving.

  "No," Maribel whispered. She dragged herself to her feet and ran to him, tears running down her face. "Sheridan! Don't leave me."

  She rolled him over with effort. His eyes rolled wildly, his face ashen. Maribel's heart jumped to her throat. The silver was poisoning him. She set to work quickly, grasping the ends of the stakes that had been driven through his body and pulling them out. Each wound was crusted with dead, black skin, like an old scab left to fester. The smell of burning flesh made her stomach roil. She choked back bile and continued.

  When she was finally done, Maribel pulled him into her arms as best as she could. Numerous holes riddled his body. There was nothing she could do about the bullets inside his body. His eyelids flickered, and when his gaze focused on her he shook his head.

  "Maribel," he groaned.

  "I'm here," she whispered. "I'm here, I'm not going to leave you."

  "No. You have to get away."

  Maribel held him tighter. "I'm not leaving you."

  "You have to go. I need to feed. I need blood. You have to go, or…" His gaze fastened on her neck. "Go, Maribel. Please. I don't want to live if it means killing you. Please. Call Billie. She'll know what to do. Just go before I lose control. Go! Now!"

  Maribel's heart hammered. She shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

  "Don't argue with me."

  "No. You don't argue with me. If I leave you'll die."

  Sheridan groaned, eyes rolling.

  Maribel shook him hard. "Don't you dare leave me! Stay with me, Sheridan. I love you. Drink from me. You aren't going to kill me. Please. For me. I don't want to… I don't want to have to live without you."

  She kissed him hard. Sheridan was still. Slowly, one of his hands rose. It combed through her hair before resting on the nape of her neck. He guided her neck to his mouth and kissed her throat gently. Maribel's skin tingled and she shivered. She braced herself against the ground.

  "Count to ten and stop me." He grasped one of the silver stakes and pressed it into his hand. "Drive it back into my wound if you have to."

  Maribel nodded. She closed her eyes. His breath was cold against her skin. His fangs grazed her skin. A sharp sting made her gasp. The sting turned more painful and she couldn't stop herself from crying out. And then the pain was gone. She felt Sheridan suck. A rush coursed through her. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't pleasure either. It was something else, something that made her arms buckle. She fell down over him.

  "One," she gasped. "Two. Three."

  Another pull. Sparks exploded over her vision. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

  "Four. Five. Six. Seven."

  Sheridan held her tighter.

  "Eight."

  His hands clenched her arms.

  "Nine."

  He released her abruptly, gasping. Maribel’s heart beat wildly, exhaustion running through her blood. The world swayed beneath her. But she rose her head just the same. Sheridan looked down at her. Their eyes met. His face was regaining what little color it normally had. He brushed his fingers against her cheek.

  "Ten," she whispered. "Told you."

  "Yes, you did." His eyes closed. "You're always right."

  "Are you going to be okay?"

  "Yes. I just need to rest for a moment. Then we can go home."

  "Home," Maribel whispered. "That sounds good."

  Chapter Ten – Sheridan

  A scream made Sheridan jump. He winced as his still-healing wounds pulled. There had been substantial damage to his bones where the spikes had been driven through, and even after all these months, he still wasn't back to peak condition. If it wasn't for the silver Armstrong had used, he would have been healed within a week, two tops, but with the extra damage of silver poisoning, it had taken him four times that long just to start walking again.

  Another scream rang down the corridor. Sheridan's heart jolted. Whatever pain he was still in from his injuries, it was nothing compared to the agony he could hear Maribel was in. He felt sick with worry, but there was nothing he could do.

  Maribel was in labor and had been for the past two hours. The midwives wouldn't permit him into the birthing room with her, declaring that birthing babies was women's business. He wished he could be there, to hold her hand as she went through this pain.

  The scream died off and Sheridan let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He'd never felt so helpless before. Even when they had been in Armstrong's clutches, when he was forced
to stay still while the nails were driven into his body, he hadn't felt like this. Then he knew he could do something to save Maribel if he needed to.

  And he had. The agony of ripping himself off that cross would stay with him forever, but he had saved her.

  Now, if something went wrong with the birth, there was nothing he could do. No amount of brute force or strength of will would be able to free her from the dangers of childbirth. He was helpless.

  Billie walked up the corridor. She winced as Maribel let loose another scream. Sheridan dug his fingernails into his palm until this scream passed as well. With a sigh, he yanked at his hair. If something didn't happen soon, he was going to go crazy.

  "You're a woman," he said to Billie. "Go into the birthing room and find out what's happening."

  "Sir, with all due respect I'll only get in the way. Labor takes a long time. I remember when my younger brother was born my mother took nearly a full day to birth him."

  Sheridan blanched. How could he survive another hour of this, let alone a day? More importantly, how could Maribel? Even in this day and age when there were so many medical advancements and knowledge, women still had to go through this!

  "Why did I ever decide I wanted to be a father?" He yanked harder on his hair. "I would take it all back to stop Maribel from being in this agony!"

  Billie smiled sympathetically. "She'll be fine, my lord. You have the best midwives available and all the equipment they need. She is the one who decided she didn’t want drugs. But if I can distract you?"

  Sheridan let his hands fall to his side and nodded. "What news have you brought me?"

  "The governor has once again extended a personal apology to you for your mistreatment at Armstrong's hands and has decided on a compensation for the blood donors whose identities were revealed. The investigation into the vampire relations bureau is still under way, but so far there have been no other anti-vampire sentiments found in it. And the men that attacked you with Bennet and Armstrong have both been caught."

  Sheridan nodded in satisfaction. That was good to hear. Since the attack on his person, the governor had been bending over backward to keep the relationship with the vampire kingdom friendly. A war with vampires would be costly, not only in terms of loss of life but also in trade. The king had no desire to make things more difficult than they had to be, but it was a good wake-up call for the humans to police themselves better.

  "Invite the governor to come see the baby," Sheridan said, brow furrowing. "I'm getting tired of his apologies."

  "And have you made a final decision about Romanoff?"

  Sheridan ran his hand through his hair. "Yes. The general will stay in the dungeons, except for a few hours every day when he serves at a human soup kitchen. Maybe if he serves them, he will develop compassion."

  "And if it doesn't work?"

  "Make sure he's always heavily guarded when among the humans." After experiencing being nailed to a cross himself, he was never going to threaten crucifixion again. It was his hope that Romanoff would come to see reason eventually.

  The door to the end of the hall opened. A wizened little woman came sweeping down the corridor, a satisfied smile on her face. As she got closer, Sheridan could smell blood and the distinctive scent of newborn baby on her. He ran to meet her.

  "Your daughter has been born, my lord."

  A girl. Sheridan's face broke into a smile. "May I see them?"

  The midwife nodded.

  Sheridan turned to Billie. "Gather everybody in the ballroom for the announcement, and prepare a statement for the press."

  Billie nodded. Sheridan raced down the corridor, beaming. The midwife followed close behind him and made him wash his hands before he was allowed into the birthing room. The other midwives bustled about, cleaning up, but Sheridan went straight to the bed where Maribel was lying. Her skin was pale with exhaustion, brow sweaty, and dark bags circled under her eyes.

  She was so beautiful.

  "Hey," she croaked at him.

  Sheridan sat on the bed next to her and peered into the face of the tiny baby she was holding. "Hey."

  The hospital gown she wore was on backward, the opening at the front. It was gaping so that the baby could rest right against her chest, a receiving blanket covering them both. Big brown eyes, blinking and squinting, peered out of the tiny wrinkled face. Sheridan gently stroked the downy hair.

  "She's beautiful," he whispered. "Perfect, just like you."

  Maribel smiled sleepily. "I don't feel all that perfect right now. I feel like I was just hit by a truck."

  Sheridan had to laugh at that. He looked up as the midwife checked Maribel's pulse and her eyes. "Can I take her back to our room?"

  "Always in a rush!" The midwife rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Men! The woman just had a baby. Give her half an hour and we'll see. But if you want your privacy, we can give you some."

  "Thank you. You may go announce the baby's gender now."

  The midwife bowed at her waist. She hustled the rest of the midwives out quickly, leaving husband and wife alone. The baby was rooting around, her lips pursed. Maribel shifted her hospital gown off her breast and held the baby to it. The baby girl latched on and began to drink eagerly.

  "Amazing. She knows exactly what to do." Sheridan beamed.

  "Mmmm. I wish I could say the same. I know we took those parenting classes and everything, but I still worry. I never even had a babysitting gig before this. What if I do something wrong?"

  Sheridan kissed her forehead. "You won't be alone."

  "Yes. Yes, you're right. I don't have to do this on my own. I have you."

  "Of course. You have me, and you'll always have me."

  He wrapped an arm around her. Maribel laid her head against his shoulder, nestling in closer to him. Both were silent as they watched their little baby feed. Sheridan kissed his wife. The road bringing them here had been painful, but oh so worth it. If he had a choice, he would do it all again.

  "I love you," he whispered.

  "I love you, too."

  Maribel kissed him as a cheer rose from the ballroom.

  *****

  THE END

  Owned by the Vampire King

  Description

  A curvy runaway trying to survive PLUS a sexy Vampire King who wants a child PLUS a killer on the loose!

  Twenty-something Rosa Lopez is on the run, hiding from her abusive stepfather. Living in a women's shelter and struggling to feed herself, life isn’t easy. So when Angelus Rex, King of the Vampires, offers her a way out, she accepts.

  The deal is simple. She gets all the riches and luxury she could ever imagine. In return, she will be his mistress and have his child.

  Angelus has been a Vampire for hundreds of years. Now he wants an heir. And with her lush curves and delicious smell, Rosa is the one he wants to impregnate.

  What started off as a business contract becomes complicated when Angelus and Rosa find a passion that neither can deny.

  But there are enemies who want to destroy Angelus and his mate. Don’t they know what happens when they cross a Vampire King?

  When everything that he loves is in danger of crumbling to dust, Angelus has to make a decision that could destroy everything. Can Angelus save Rosa and their baby? Is he prepared to risk it all to save the one he loves?

  Chapter One - Rosa

  Rosa Lopez pulled her thin jacket tightly around her plump frame, shivering in the freezing wind. Her heart sunk so low that she couldn't feel it beating, tears freezing upon her cheeks as she gazed at the doors: closed and locked.

  She had arrived just a few minutes too late, and now the women's shelter she lived at was closed. Her backpack, full of college textbooks, was so heavy that she felt like her shoulders were breaking, but she didn't dare put it down on the snowy ground. If her books were ruined, whatever chances she had for the future would vanish. She only had one chance to escape this city and that was to graduate with her massage therapy license.

  Rosa's gaze
swept up and down the abandoned street as she desperately tried to decide what to do. She had a couple hundred dollars in her pocket, but that was meant to hold her to the end of the month for food. She already couldn’t afford things like fresh vegetables or really anything other than bread and instant noodles. If she found a hotel for the night, she would have to get through her days with only the single meal the shelter provided. The buses had stopped running by this time, so she couldn’t even find refuge from the cold on public transport.

  If I use my credit card, Michael will find me.

  Hefting her pack higher on her back, Rosa started walking. Hotels didn't take cash, and she couldn’t risk using the credit card. If her stepfather found her… He wouldn't, so she wasn't going to think about that. Sometimes there was a homeless woman behind the theater on Twentieth that would let Rosa curl up beside her, protected from the wind by the garbage bin. It was her best bet for having a safe place to sleep until classes tomorrow.

  A sleek, black car pulled up to the sidewalk right beside Rosa and she tensed. It wasn't a cop car, which was a relief. She knew a few women at the shelter would purposefully get themselves arrested on nights like this so they could have a meal and a warm place to sleep, but that wasn't a luxury she could afford. Michael Jones, her stepfather, was on the force and she just couldn’t risk it.

  The window rolled down, revealing an unnaturally white-skinned woman smiling at her. "Hi there. You look cold. Would you like to get in?"

  Rosa stared at her suspiciously. She knew serial killers tended to be men, but that didn't mean she should just climb into a stranger's car. "I'm fine, thanks."

  "Just get in," the woman said. "You look like you could earn a little extra money… How does five hundred, plus cab fare in the morning sound?"

  It wasn't the first time someone had propositioned her, but it was the first time coming from a woman. Rosa swallowed hard. Five hundred dollars? It sounded too good to be true. It was almost three times as much as what she was normally offered. Not that she had ever accepted before. Yet, there was a first time for everything, and five hundred dollars was extremely tempting.