“I don’t know,” Riley and Ari said together, before Ari added, “but I think Lea does.”
Riley, Clyde and Ari all turned to face Lea expectantly.
Lea sighed, looked down at her feet and said, “This morning, when I tried to use my magic to see if there was something seriously wrong with Riley… something strange happened. I don’t know what exactly, but-”
“-but you knew I was pregnant?” asked Riley, sounding betrayed.
“Not exactly,” Lea admitted. “I mean, I thought you might be. But I didn’t know how, how it was possible.”
“Did you have a premonition?” asked Ari. “After you touched Riley, your eyes, they went white, just like your grandmother’s did before she told me about my destiny.”
“No, not a premonition exactly,” said Lea, “but I heard someone, a female voice. She told me that… that a vampire and waere were about to produce a miracle, and then when I performed the spell to see what was wrong with you, I realised you were pregnant.”
“But, why didn’t you say anything?” snapped Riley.
“Because I’m not a doctor! I told you I couldn’t help you, which is true. You can’t heal a pregnant woman, they aren’t sick,” Lea explained. “And how was I supposed to know what I heard was true? I thought I’d just imagined it or something. I mean, who ever heard of a vampire being a parent?”
Ari was listening very carefully, her heart hammering in her head. There was something strange about what Lea had said, that a female voice had told her that a waere and vampire were about to produce a miracle. This was not the first time that a disembodied female voice had spoken in a riddle like this. Her mind flashed back to a few months ago, after the battle against the blood hunter, when Chris had told her that a female voice had spoken to him after he had died, saying that he needed to control the shadows.
“But,” said Clyde, his eyes wide as they fell on Riley “but does this mean… are you saying that I am the father?”
Slowly Lea nodded and then she added, “After I saw you, I called my gran and told her what happened-”
“-you did what?” snapped Clyde, his previously hopeful face now entirely replaced with rage. “How could you? No one can know about this! Riley is already in enough danger from being a waere! What do you think would happen if anyone discovered that she was pregnant and that the father was a vampire?”
“My gran is a good witch,” said Lea, immediately on the defensive, “besides, I had no idea if what I saw was actually true. Hell, I was hearing voices; I thought I was going insane. But the voice told me that a vampire and waere had produced a miracle, so I think we can say for sure that you are the father. That being said, I don’t know why Riley can’t shift; maybe it would be a good idea to get in touch with another waere and find out what is normal for a pregnant-”
“-what?” hissed Clyde. “Riley is pregnant, she is a waere and she is carrying the baby of a vampire, not to mention the fact that she can’t shift into an animal any more to protect herself. There is no way she is stepping a toe out of this room.”
“But how are we supposed to find out what to expect?” asked Ari. “This isn’t exactly chartered waters.”
“We will work it out together,” said Clyde, reaching for Riley’s hand and grasping it tightly in his own.
“So for the next couple of months I am going to be your hostage?” Riley asked, shaking her hand free.
“Riley,” said Clyde. “I was turned when I was twenty-four, well before I had ever fathered any children. If you think I am going to sit back and do nothing when the woman I love is carrying my child, then you’re wrong. I don’t know how or why you are pregnant, but father or not, you are stuck with me. We’re in this together. I’m going to keep you safe, and we’re… we’re going to have a baby.”
On these last words, Clyde’s face broke into a smile and he raced to Riley, hugging her hard as he lifted her up into his arms.
“Careful,” she said, wincing from the strength of Clyde’s embrace, “you’re crushing me and your unborn child.”
“Sorry,” said Clyde.
Immediately Riley grasped Clyde’s shirt and pulled him closer, saying, “You don’t have to be too gentle,” and she kissed him hard on the mouth.
When Riley, Clyde and Ari told the rest of the coven the good news, the room quickly filled with a disbelieving silence. After the shock had worn off however, every manner of question had been flung at Riley. Thomas had been downright disbelieving of the story. It wasn’t until they had mentioned that Lea was the one who had told them Clyde most definitely was the father, when he seemed finally to believe it was possible. After that congratulations had been thrown around by everyone, followed by many group hugs, which considerably tested Ari’s small dorm room.
During this Ari couldn’t help but watch for Ragon’s reaction. Though the pair had never even once talked about children, Ari was sure that if given the chance, Ragon would want to be a father. She couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes, almost hopefully, had darted at her when the news had been announced. Almost as if he hoped that this miracle might be reproducible for them.
“So,” said Patrick, after kissing Riley on both cheeks, “where will you go?”
“Go?” asked Riley, looking from Patrick to Clyde with furrowed brows.
“Well,” added Patrick, “surely you aren’t going to hang around a campus full of vampires when you are pregnant.”
“Actually I haven’t worked out exactly where we will go. I have friends in Ireland that can-” Clyde began to say.
“-wait… what?” Riley said quickly, “We aren’t going anywhere. I want to stay here.”
“But,” said Ragon, speaking for the first time, “surely you agree that you and the baby would be safer somewhere else. You will start to show soon and then-”
“-so what if people know I am pregnant. That is normal for girls… you know, having babies. No one will think that Clyde is the father; if they see us together, they will probably just think that I am his source and that he has a fetish for pregnant women.”
The moment that Riley had said that is normal for girls, Ari’s heart dropped and she looked away from Ragon. Riley was of course right; girls did have babies, that was the normal order of things, but not for Ari. Ari was in love with a vampire and whatever miracle had allowed Riley to have a baby, was almost certainly impossible for her. With another twinge of sadness, Ari released not just what this meant for her as woman, but also what it meant for her line, the Grandor line. She would be the last Grandor descendant.
“You really don’t want to leave?” asked Clyde.
Riley shook her head but before she could speak, Sandra said, “Well, I think Riley would be safer with us. She has a coven of vampires protecting her, not to mention the Grandor descendant, a wraith and a witch. No hospital will be able to offer that sort of support. Who better to oversee her pregnancy?”
Ari smiled knowingly at Sandra. There was a defensive look in Sandra’s eyes as she moved to stand by Riley. Sandra had been turned by Thomas on her wedding night, when she had been dying. It had been Sandra and Larissa to point out to Ari that vampires couldn’t have children. Clearly, vampire or not, some women were just maternal, and Sandra, with her eccentric makeup and comforting southern accent, was as maternal as they came.
“Ok,” Clyde said slowly, “but if we stay here-”
“-thank you, thank you, thank you,” Riley said hurriedly, sweeping to Clyde and kissing him all over his face.
“Let me finish,” said Clyde, smiling, “if we stay here, you cannot stay in Cruor halls, you cannot get into trouble, you cannot talk to other waeres about being pregnant and you most defiantly cannot shift into a…”
But his words trailed off. Riley could not shift in an animal; they had already discovered that, what they didn’t know was why.
“Shift into an animal,” Riley finished for him, “well, I should at least be able to keep that promise.” Everyone in the coven look
ed confused and so Riley explained. “We found out today that for some reason I can’t transition. No idea why, but it would be nice to find out from another waere if-”
“-ah, ah, ah,” Clyde said quickly, wiggling his finger annoying at Riley, “don’t forget rule number three; you cannot talk to other waeres about being pregnant.”
“Why does it sound like your placing me under the scrutiny of the Final Death Laws?” asked riley.
“Because I love you,” Clyde said simply.
“But maybe another waere might be help. I have no idea about being preg-” Riley started to say.
“-do we have a deal or not?” Clyde asked quickly.
Riley nodded reluctantly and said, “Anything else master?” as she bowed slightly. “I assume that the Clyde rules of Riley’s Pregnancy are not punishable by death?”
“As a matter of fact, there is one more thing,” said Clyde, just as Riley rolled her eyes. “I am doing this because you are the most important thing in the world to me. That and we will need to sign you up to live on campus, preferably in Omega halls, so Ari is close by. There is no way you will be sleeping at mine from now on.”
“That seems reasonable,” Riley conceited.
After that Riley and Clyde had headed down stairs to check with Rick if there was a free room, while the rest of the coven went back to Cruor. This left Ragon and Ari alone in her room together. Ragon was looking at her, his eyebrows furrowed and his face stuck in an expression of confusion and sadness.
“Bit of a shock, hey,” she said casually, wanting to break the tension.
“Yea, I mean, it’s great but, but I can’t believe it. Ari, are you ok?” he asked, reaching for Ari’s hand and pulling her towards him.
Pressed up against him, Ari buried her head in the nook of his shoulder. Was she ok? She should be happy, even jubilant, at the prospect of Riley being pregnant, but she wasn’t. She was jealous. Well, maybe that wasn’t the right word for it. Perhaps envious. Not because she wanted to have a baby. Ari was only twenty-five and had no thoughts of bringing a child into the world, not just yet anyhow. But her relationship with Ragon meant that she would never be able to have children with him, even if one day she was ready.
“Yea, it’s nothing,” she said, trying to keep her voice from sounding flat.
“It’s ok,” said Ragon, sweeping her into his arms as he carried her over to her bed. “I think I can guess what’s wrong. I saw the way your face fell when Riley was speaking before; when she said that it was normal for girls to be pregnant.”
“Oh, yea, well, I am just being stupid.”
“No, you’re not,” said Ragon. “I can’t imagine how it must feel for you, but I have watched Sandra for the past century and know that the curse of being a vampire is not an easy one for women to bear. It seems unfair that you should have to suffer also, simply for being-”
“-for being in love with one,” said Ari, her eyebrows raised. “You think I would give up everything we have just to have a child?”
“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be upset, I mean, I would understand if you decided…” he started to say, pausing as he took in a deep breath of unnecessary air. “This isn’t coming out right. I just want you to know that I would understand if you decided that you didn’t want to be with me because of it.”
“What?” said Ari, sitting up so fast that her head span. “How can you even say that?”
“Because, because it’s the right thing to say.”
“I don’t know what the future will bring. Well maybe sometimes I do,” she added, smiling. “But I know that right now I am in love with you. That’s all that matters. I know that when we first got together, you didn’t think you deserved to be with me. But surely you have seen how happy I am now. It seems stupid to risk this feeling, this amazing and wonderful feeling, just because there is a preconceived idea about what is normal. I mean, I’m not normal. Ever since I found out what I could do, it feels as if someone has wanted me dead. What if the Ancients find me and drag me back to their layer… what if-”
“-I would never let that happen.”
“My point is,” said Ari, speaking slowly now, “I have no idea about tomorrow. Maybe one day I would want a child, maybe one day I would feel safe enough to raise one. But if that day ever came, I wouldn’t want to raise it without you. Besides, right now, being with you… that’s all that matters. And I’m not about to leave you, just because in ten years’ time I might decide I want to have children.”
“If you wanted children, you could have them. I would never stop you.”
“Didn’t you hear the part about how I want, no, need you in my life,” asked Ari, genuinely confused.
“Ari, you aren’t a vampire. You always talk about us as if we are one and the same, but we’re not. You’re human. You can have children if you want to. I won’t let my curse define your future, or stop you from having everything you want and deserve.”
“That’s ridiculous. I would never want to have a child with someone else,” said Ari, dismissing this notion with a wave of her hand.
“It doesn’t have to be black and white like that. We could adopt or-”
“-it’s not just that. I don’t know if I would want to bring a child into all my madness. It feels like every moment I am facing off against someone that wants me dead.”
“I told you, I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve been keeping you safe since you were a baby. I haven’t failed yet.”
“I know, but, but. Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes I just think I would all be a hell of a lot simpler if I were a vampire,” said Ari, letting the words slip from her mouth before she could even think about them; she had not meant to say that.
She and Ragon stared at each other, and in that moment Ari’s greatest desire was to know what he was thinking. Though she had put allot of thought into becoming a vampire, Ari still had no idea if it were something she truly wanted. Did Ragon think she had said this because she wanted to become a vampire? She held her breath, unsure if she should reword her sentence or wait to see what Ragon would say. Soon Ragon spoke, sparing her from having to.
“Ari,” he said, sighing, “we have no idea if vampire toxin will even be able to turn you. You know as well as I that being the Grandor descendant means that you can resist our lull. I’m not going to risk your life trying to keep you forever. Let’s just stick with the here and now,” he added, reaching for her hand and intertwining it in his. “The future is… exactly that, in the future. And, speaking of the future, I have organised a driving lesson for you in a week.”
“Really?” she said, recalling their earlier conversation, when Ragon had been none too impressed that Chris had had to drive her and Riley to the hospital.
“Yep.”
Ari smiled knowingly as Ragon kissed her. It was a deep kiss, one which made her toes curl and her heart race. She pressed her body up against his and breathed in deeply, smelling the cold aroma that she had come to associate with him. It felt wonderful being this close to him, her body partly warm from the bed spread and yet cool from Ragon’s touch. Before long she felt Ragon’s fingers trace the bottom of her shirt, then he lifted up over her head.
“Well,” he said, tossing her shirt so that it fell to the floor, “we may not be able to have children but we can sure as hell practice.”
Yes they could, she thought, just as Ragon reached for her pants and tore them from her, actually splitting the line of denim at the thighs.
“Hey,” she said, pretending to sound upset, “those were my favourite jeans.”
“I’ll buy you a new pair.”
She shook her head, her eyes finally settling on the collar of Ragon’s shirt. In one quick motion she placed her hands against the fabric and pulled. Nothing happened; the shirt remained firmly intact, although perhaps a little stretched at the neck line.
“Want some help?” he asked, and she nodded, watching as he tore his own shirt off his body.
“God that was sexy
,” she laughed.
“Wait till you see my next trick.”
Ragon reached a hand out to hold her throat, gently lowering her to the bed. Slowly he kissed down from her lips, pausing at her breasts so as to unclasp her bra, then bite playfully at her exposed nipples. When he reached her thighs, his hand released her neck, so as to pull her underwear down. Ari was breathing very fast now, her heart hammering in her ears, dulling the sound of everything else around her. When she felt his cold tongue press against her skin she lunged forwards. Ragon rewarded her by kissing her sweet spot and then very carefully, licked her clit. Ari let out a moan, one which she quickly stifled when she realised how loud it was. At the same time Ragon’s tongue moved faster and faster, sending her body into shivers of pleasure. Slowly he brought his hands down to rest on her flat stomach, feeling her chest rise and fall quickly.
Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) Page 8
