The next morning…

Bay felt exhausted. It had been one long-ass night. He yawned as he left his room.

Delta was just leaving his room as well. The male grinned when he spotted Bay approaching. “Good morning.” He sounded upbeat and chipper, even though his eyes were bloodshot.

“Morning.” Bay smiled.

“I wish we could stay another night.” Delta scratched his head. “One night is nowhere near enough.”

“We have to get back to work,” Bay muttered.

Delta nodded. “Yeah, I guess we do. Do you have any idea when the next Hunt is planned? I really want another shot at trying to catch a female.”

Bay shook his head. “They’ve been canceled until further notice.”

They heard someone approach. Bay looked in that direction. It was Beck. The male was frowning, which was strange. In fact, he didn’t look happy at all. “Did she find you?” he asked as his eyes narrowed on Bay. “Is everything okay?”

“Did who find me?” Bay shook his head. “Was someone looking for me?”

“Your vampire came to Beach Bums last night looking for you.” He paused. “By the look on your face, I can tell you have no idea what I’m talking about. You obviously didn’t see her.”

“Ceri?” Bay frowned. “She was here?”

“Yep.” Beck nodded. “It looked serious. Both Reef and Wade were with her, along with a vampire male. Torrent knows about it. The vampires were sent here on his orders. I sent them across the road to where you said you were going. I wonder what happened to them.”

His heart beat faster. Ceri. There. Ceri was there, or at least she had been. She was looking for him with an entourage of dragons from his tribe. Why? “I wasn’t there long. I left within a half hour or so, it could be that they missed me.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. Adrenaline pumped. “I can’t believe she was here.” He paced towards the parking lot, then stopped and turned back. “I know we’re supposed to be leaving now but I have to go back to the Jolly Roger.”

Beck widened his eyes for a few seconds. “To do what? She won’t be there. It’s a Sunday morning. The bars and clubs will all be closed.”

“I have to go and look. Maybe she’s at the hotel she stayed in last time.” He pushed a hand through his hair, trying to come up with a plan. “I can’t just leave if she’s here.”

“You’re talking crazy.” Beck pointed to the line of SUVs, to all the males waiting to leave. “I told you she was with males from our tribe, chances are good that she’s back at the lair, or someone there will at least be able to fill you in on why she was here in the first place. Wade and Reef looked serious, they all did. I’m sure there is a valid explanation.”

“I can’t believe I missed her.” Bay shook his head. His instincts told him to look for her. To keep looking until he found her, but Beck was right, his approach was the rational one. Bay sucked in a deep breath, trying to clear his head, trying to get his heartrate under control. He finally nodded once, breathing out through his nose.

They all piled into the SUVs and made the forty-minute trip into the mountains. The dragons had bought a large property there. Acres upon acres of land. They had built garages for their fleet of vehicles. There was also a large cabin they used to change and shower. A caretaker took care of the place, staying on the property. The caretaker was a dragon. From time to time a new dragon would be appointed the assignment.

Bay pushed the remote and watched the garage door slowly open. He parked next to another vehicle that had arrived just ahead of them. He and three males exited the vehicle. Beck glanced at his watch. “We’re running late,” he announced. “There’s no time for lunch. We need to leave in five?” He raised his brows.

Bay nodded, he was thankful the male had stepped in to take the leadership role. He was still feeling shell-shocked.

They headed for the house. One of the Earth dragons stood just outside the front door on the porch. He had been assigned to live in the house for a period. The duty usually lasted a couple of weeks at a time as caretaker of the property. Bay couldn’t remember this male’s name. He lifted his hand in greeting.

Beck was walking just ahead of him, the rest of the males trailed behind. They would undress at the cabin, leaving all of their clothing for the Earth dragon to launder. Once a quick check of the perimeter was made, they’d leave for home. Bay suddenly felt a sense of urgency. Maybe Ceri was back at the lair. He had to get there and find out. He needed to know what the hell was going on. Worry ate at him.

He moved in ahead of Beck, climbing the stairs that led to the porch, two at a time. Just then, the door opened and a dark-haired male walked out. The male’s eyes were narrowed and focused on him. Three strides later and the male had closed the space between them.

Vampire.

Bay caught his scent— Bam! The male hit him. The punch landed square on his jaw. Hard too. Bay staggered back a step but kept his footing. “Wait, I—” he tried.

Bam!

The male hit him again. This time in the mouth. Bay tasted blood. Who the fuck was this asshole? Bay growled, blocking the next punch. He pulled back, intent on giving the fucker a taste of his own damned medicine but someone grabbed his arm. The Earth dragon gripped the vampire under his armpits, holding him back as well.

Bay snarled.

The vampire snarled right back, fangs bared. “You fucking bastard!” the male growled. “How could you?”

Did he know this male? “Who the fuck are you?” Bay growled back at the still struggling vampire.

Then the male’s expression changed. He stopped trying to break free. His nostrils flared and a look of shock and puzzlement caused his brow to crease. “You don’t scent of human,” he mumbled. “Why don’t you scent of female?”

“Stop this!” a female yelled. “No more, Drago.”

Bay pulled in a deep breath. It was his turned to be shocked. He lifted his eyes and there she was. Ceri. She was there standing just a few feet away from him. Wearing a light blue summer dress and a light knit jersey, she looked even more beautiful than he remembered. “Ceri? What’s going on?” Then his own senses kicked in. This was the male he had often scented on her. Her friend? Maybe he was more? He snarled at the male. “Who are you, asshole?”

Beck grabbed Bay from behind, holding onto him. “Calm down!” he yelled, right next to his ear.

“I’m sorry,” Drago addressed Ceri. “I lost it when I saw this jerk. After watching how his actions made you…” He stopped talking and glared at Bay.

“What actions? What happened?” Bay asked. “Would somebody mind telling me what the hell is going on?” He looked Ceri in the eye and then at Reef who was standing behind her in the doorway.

“We need to talk,” Ceri said, her expression was grave.

“Has everyone calmed the fuck down?” Beck asked.

“Yes,” Bay growled, sounding anything but calm. It couldn’t be helped. Something was up. Something major. Worry churned in his gut.

“Do you plan on throwing any more punches, vampire?” Beck asked.

Drago grit his teeth. “Don’t hurt her.” He pointed a finger at Bay. “Do you hear me?”

“It’s okay, Drago, I’ve got this.” Ceri gripped the male’s bicep and squeezed.

A growl was torn from Bay at the sight of Ceri touching the male.

The Earth dragon let the vampire go, the male turned to Ceri. “Call if you need me.”

“I will.” Ceri nodded.

“I mean it.” The male took her hand and Bay had to work hard not to growl again. Not to launch himself at the male and tear his head clean off. He grit his teeth instead. It was an unfair fight. The vampire would be dead in seconds.

“I mean it, dragon.” Drago looked his way. “Don’t you dare—” He let Ceri’s hand go.

Bay snarled, feeling his teeth lengthen, feeling his scales rub.

“Stop!” Ceri moved to stand between them. “Both of you.” She put a hand on his chest. Her touch felt good. All too soon she was drawing back.

Bay suddenly realized where he was. He glanced behind him, at the males who had attended the Stag Run. All of them watched with keen interest. “Beck.” He locked eyes with the male. “Take over.”

Beck nodded. “Don’t worry, I will see the males home,” his second in command announced. “You stay and…deal with this. I’ll see you at the lair.”

Bay nodded once. “Thank you.”

He turned to Ceri. “I think we should go for a walk.” The cabin was big but not nearly big enough. It would take the males at least fifteen minutes to prepare for the trip home. He didn’t want any of them hearing what was said. Not the males, not the Earth dragon and certainly not that asshole, Drago. This was between him and Ceri. Bay was racking his brain, but he couldn’t think of a single thing she would have to say to him. She wasn’t there for sex, or because she was in love with him. That much was clear. Why then?

They walked in silence for a few minutes, taking a path that led into the forest. It reminded him of the last time they had been together.

He couldn’t scent that male on her. Not like before. He wondered why. Her scent had changed. Maybe she was drinking from someone else. Who? He felt his hackles rise even though he couldn’t scent that she had rutted. Not recently, at any rate. It calmed him somewhat.

“What’s going on?” he finally blurted, unable to hold back any longer. “Why was that male so upset with me?”

“I’m sorry about Drago. He was upset because I was upset.” She rubbed her lips together and pulled in a deep breath.

“Why were you upset? It wasn’t anything I did, was it?” He shook his head, frowning.

“I have no right to be upset or angry, and Drago had no right to hit you.” A strange expression crossed her face. He thought he saw her hands shake right before she clasped them together.

“You look nervous. Why are you nervous? You said you were upset…why?” This wasn’t making any sense.

“I’m upset because apparently blonde humans are sometimes blonde all over, not just on their heads.” Her eyes blazed for a moment in…anger. Then it was gone.

“Oh.” Realization hit. He swallowed hard. “You were there last night.”

She nodded.

“You saw—”

“I saw enough,” she pushed out. “That’s not why I’m here though. Your…sex life has nothing to do with me. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I didn’t rut that female,” he countered. “If you had stayed that little bit longer you would have seen me—”

“It doesn’t matter.” Her voice was flat.

“It clearly does because you were upset. You are upset about it now even though you’re pretending not to be.”

“I’m not upset about that.” She pressed her lips together “I’m upset about something else.”

“The reason for you being here?”

She nodded. “We’re idiots!” She put up a hand to silence him. “I’m the bigger idiot of the two of us. It just never occurred to me.” She looked down at the ground. “Never in my wildest dreams.”

“What’s going on, Ceri? Why are we idiots? Why are you here?” It definitely had nothing to do with anything he hoped it would be. She’d made that clear…yet again.

“You need to know that you don’t owe me anything. I am perfectly capable and perfectly…”

He watched feeling concern as a tear slid down her cheek. “Okay, you need to talk to me, Ceri. You need to tell me what’s going on. I’m getting worried here. Enough riddles and talking around things. You need to—”

“I’m pregnant and it’s yours.”

The air left his lungs. His legs suddenly felt weak. Bay sat down, right there on the ground with a thump. His head spun. His mind raced. His mouth suddenly dried right up. He put his head in his hands, trying to control his breathing. Trying to control the racing of his heart.

Oh crap! Crap!

His shoulders rose and fell quickly. Bay was upset. Of course he was. For years he’d thought he was incapable of having kids of his own and now— She could see that it was too much for him. They hardly knew one another. A vampire was having his baby. A bloodsucker. Someone he hardly knew.

Oh god! A baby.

Her stomach did that clenching thing again. Ceri pulled herself together. She could do this. She could! “Look, I can see how upset you are. I understand. I had a similar reaction when I found out yesterday.”

His head was still in his hands.

“You need to know that I can handle this.” Could she though? Yes! Her stomach clenched harder and she tasted bile. “I thought that you should know. It—”

Bay closed the distance between them, still on the ground. He nuzzled his face into her belly. He put his arms around her. “That scent. That’s what I could smell. You are with child. My child.” He looked up at her, his eyes were glistening just a little bit, like he wanted to cry but was holding himself back.

“You’re excited about this? Happy?” She bit down on her lip. She hoped that he would be open to being involved in this whole thing. Ceri had never expected this level of excitement though.

“Yes!” He nodded, climbing to his feet. “I’m thrilled. How are you feeling? Are you—”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Okay, so you’re happy.” It was a good thing. She gathered her thoughts. “I think I must have become pregnant the last time we were together. When you were cured, I guess I was cured as well. It never occurred to me that taking each other’s blood would cure me too. Stupid though, if you think about it. Then again, the whole thing was a long shot. Curing you, that is. I don’t think I really expected it to work.”

“Neither did I. It came as a shock.”

She clasped and unclasped her hands before folding her arms to stop herself from fidgeting. “That makes me three months along. Although I’m not sure what that means.”

Bay grinned, his smile was beautiful, it lit up his whole face. His eyes danced. “It means we’re three months away from becoming parents.”

“Most likely, yes.” She licked her lips. “So far, even with cross-matings, the young tend to take the characteristics of the father. For the most part, at least. You need to know—”

"You're having my whelp." Wonder-filled his voice. "I'm going to be a father. I can't believe it."

She nodded, feeling her mouth turn up at the corners, his excitement catching. “Hopefully, if all goes well.” There was a flipside to this coin.

His eyes clouded in an instant. “What do you mean if all goes well?”

“I had the operation to remove my womb because my pelvis is too narrow. It was deemed too risky to ever attempt bringing a baby into this world. I have watched females die trying.” A lump formed in her throat, the words catching.

“Are you at risk?” His voice had turned gravelly. Scales appeared on his chest.

“I met with your healers today.”

Bay’s jaw tightened. His eyes hardened. He looked pissed. “What did they say?” His voice was gruff. “Are you in any danger?”

She was shocked by his reaction. He was probably worried about the baby. “A dragon female is pregnant for six months and a vampire female for twelve, we are hopeful this pregnancy will be shorter than a vampire one. Hoping the baby will be smaller than—”

“A dragon whelp is small. Much smaller than human children, I am told. Surely—”

“Vampire young are the largest of all the young. A terrible design for sure, since we have the narrowest hips.” She clutched her sides. “We have no way of knowing how this pregnancy will progress.” She shook her head. “Charlotte, a vampire female, had a similar thing happen to her. Her pelvis is also too small to have had a vampire child. She mated an elf and her womb began functioning again, same as mine did. Again,” she shook her head, “I feel like an idiot for not thinking of it. It just never crossed my mind. Not once!” She swallowed. “Anyway, she birthed a healthy elven child. A female. Elves only carry for four months though. The birth was not easy, but it was possible. And then Stephany ‒ another female with narrow hips ‒ birthed twins for the wolf alpha. She carried for three months. It was a smooth birth. No complications. This,” she pointed between them, “combination has never been tested. Even six months might end up being too long.”

“A Fire dragon female had the whelp of a vampire male.” He sounded animated. “It was a success. The whelp is more vampire than dragon. They are happily mated. I heard the other day that Ruby is with child again.”

“It’s all very encouraging. Like I said, I’m hopeful.” She cleared her throat, putting a hand on her belly. A slight curve. She’d felt more movement. Was already in love with this child. She prayed for what felt like the hundredth time since finding out that she was pregnant. Prayed for a healthy baby, most especially a normal birth.

“It’s going to work out.” He touched the side of her arm, quickly pulling back.

Ceri nodded, forcing a smile. “I will stay in touch with you and keep you informed. We should probably exchange contact information.” She giggled. It came out sounding nervous as hell and maybe a little hysterical. “We have no idea—”

“No.” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing onto hers.

“What do you mean, no? I thought you were happy. That you would want to know what was happening.”

“I want more than to stay in touch. I’m staying with you, Ceri. I’m the father.”

“That won’t work.” She shook her head.

“It’s going to have to work. Either I’m going to move in with you or you’re moving in with me. You can choose which you would prefer.” He folded his arms.

“Hold up.” She took a step back. “No way! We hardly know one another, we—”

“Best we get started then. We have a couple of months to get to know each other. You are the mother of my child. We need to make this work.”

Her head spun. She took another step back. “No. Forget it! There is no ‘us’.”

“I’m not forgetting anything and there soon will be an ‘us’, if I have anything to say about it.” His eyes seemed lighter.

“You almost rutted another female last night.” Okay, that came out sounding jealous. “Not that I’m judging you, because I’m not. You were free…are free to do whatever you want. I didn’t and certainly still don’t have any hold on you.”

“You do have a hold on me, a huge hold, you’re carrying my whelp,” he growled.

“That doesn’t mean anything!” she yelled.

“It means everything!” he yelled back.

“You know what I mean.” More softly delivered.

He nodded. “I know exactly what you mean, and it’s bullshit.”

“We don’t love one another. I do not plan on holding you in a loveless mating because of this child. We can still be good parents to him or her.”

His chest heaved. His eyes had lost their sparkle. “Fine, we can live together as friends then. See where it goes.”

It hurt so badly to hear him concede ‒ essentially that’s what he had done ‒ to not having feelings for her. “How is that going to work?” Her voice was shrill. Why was he being pigheaded about this? “And I would just wave goodbye every six months while you go off on your Stag Run. Then one day you’ll bring someone home and you’ll mate her. We’ll all live together as one big happy messed up family? What if I want to bring someone home?”

He snarled like he was jealous at the thought. His eyes were definitely lighter, glowing a little under the deep shade of the forest. He walked a few steps in the opposite direction before turning back. Bay pulled in a deep breath. “We’ll figure it out. I won’t be separated from my child. I’m going to assume you won’t be fucking around while with child. I can promise the same. I need to keep an eye on you, to make sure nothing happens and that you are both safe. We can talk again once our child is born.”

Ceri was happy he cared so much about the baby. It hurt that it seemed like that’s all he cared about. “Don’t hold yourself back on my account.”

He made a noise of frustration. “It wouldn’t be on your account.”

“On the baby’s and my account then.” Shit! This wasn’t going as planned. That was an awful thing to say. “Please forget I said that. I didn’t mean it. Let’s give this some thought.”

“I don’t need to think about it. I’m taking a leave of absence. I’ll move in with you.”

Her heart raced. She loved the idea of this. Loved it way too much. It scared her as well. He was doing this for their child. Only for the baby. They may never have seen each other again if it hadn’t been for this pregnancy. “I don’t have a spare bedroom.”

“You have a couch and I’m taking it. We’ll move to my lair when we are closer to the birth.”

“Don’t I have a say in any of this?” She knew she was being difficult. This was such a mess.

He took her hand in his. It was big and warm and comforting. “Of course you do. I want you happy and comfortable. Being in your own space will afford you that. Then I want you safe. Both of you.” He glanced down at her belly. “You are carrying a dragon whelp. We should be here for the birth. We have human doctors and dragon healers. Again, it is something we can discuss.”

For a few moments, she felt like she was struggling to breathe. Not so long ago she thought that she could never have a baby. Now she was a couple of months away from giving birth. There were no guarantees on how any of this would turn out. Could she live with a male she had feelings for? The father of her baby. Could she live with Bay knowing he more than likely would never return her feelings? While, at the same time, there was a good chance her feelings would deepen.

“You are not alone. We will do this together.” He squeezed her hand. Why then did she feel loneliness so acute it hurt? She swallowed back tears and nodded. “Does that mean you agree?” His beautiful eyes lit up.

“Yes.” The word sounded choked. “It’s the hormones.” She shook her head. At least she still had Drago.