Hannah paced around the apartment, the news of her pregnancy still on her mind.
Tonight's the night. Alexander was coming back from his mission tonight, and she couldn’t wait another day to tell him the news. He needed to know.
"You okay, Hannah?" asked Gracie from where she sat in the living room in front of the television. "You looked stressed."
"I'm fine,” Hannah said. "Just got a lot on my mind."
"Oh," said Gracie, the answer enough for her. "You want to watch Adventure Time with me?"
"Maybe in a little bit,” Hannah said. "I've just got some stuff to think about first."
Hannah grabbed a cup of coffee, making sure to only pour half the amount she normally did. Part of her wanted a glass of wine, but she knew that was off the table for the time being. Her coffee in hand, she stepped out onto the balcony and stared out onto the evening city.
Alexander's going to come home in a little bit. Then I'll give him an hour or two to decompress, then I'll give him the news. He's done with the mission by now, and if it went well he'll be in a good place to get news like this.
She sipped her coffee and looked askance.
Or, I could tell him when he's got the contract taken care of. Then he'd be even less stressed. But then again, he might be more stressed because of all the pressure from the new work.
She sighed and set her coffee mug down.
There wasn’t not going to be a perfect time for this. This was major fucking news and she just need to give it to him straight. She was already over a month along with this baby and he had a right to know.
Hannah turned around and leaned on the railing, her eyes settling on Grace in the living room.
Geez. That kid's going to have a new brother or sister before too long. And I'm going to be the mom.
Even though she was fairly stressed out by the idea of telling Alexander the news, now that she'd had a few days to process everything a small feeling of what she could only describe as joy began to creep into her thoughts. And now, whenever she considered the fact that she was finally, after thinking that it would never happen, be a mother, she couldn't help but think about the future with hope and eagerness.
What am I going to name it? And do I want a boy or a girl? I mean, either's great, but I don't know…
It was a strange feeling that came over her; it struck Hannah as feeling as though she'd gotten a new lease on life. Placing her hand on her belly, she thought about the journey that lay before her, a journey that she'd once extinguished all hope of making.
Her smile spread even further than before. She was going to be a mother. She placed her hands on her belly, knowing that it was too soon to be able to feel anything, but still savoring the idea that there was something growing inside of her. She loved it, and at that moment was filled with a feeling of overwhelming joy.
It'll be fine. Alexander might be a little shocked, but he'll come around. Was she just in denial?
But before she could give the matter any further thought, a chime sounded from the entrance to the apartment. It was the sound of someone coming down from the roof.
"You invite anyone over?" asked Hannah, returning to the living room."
"Nope,” Grace said, her eyes still on the TV.
"Maybe your dad's coming home from work in a helicopter?"
"Maybe,” Grace said.
Then, the elevator door opened, and Hannah gasped when she saw who was there.
It was Marcus, the man from the party.
"Hey, gorgeous," he said, his face in a menacing expression. "Been a while."
Hannah staggered backward.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, fear gripping her. "Where's Alexander?"
"He's a little busy,” Marcus said, stepping into the apartment and pressing the elevator door closed and sending it back up to the roof.
He looked around at the place, nodding his head in approval.
"Nice fuckin' place," he said. "Looks like Price's tastes go deeper than just women."
"Who is that, Hannah?" asked Grace, peeking out from behind the couch.
"I'm a friend of your dad's, kiddo,” Marcus said.
He then reached for a nearby basket of apples, took one, and bit into it with a loud crunch.
"I'm a work associate; competition."
"Tell me what the hell you're doing here,” Hannah said, mustering up whatever courage she had in spite of the fear that ran through her. "Now."
Marcus's thick eyebrows raised.
"Wow, someone's bossy," he said. "I'm here for you tow lovely ladies, of course. See, Price and his crew have been a real pain in my ass recently. And this shit with the Langford contract is just the last goddamn straw. So, I figured that I'd come pay you two a little visit and see if I couldn't, ah, persuade him to drop his bid."
"If you don't leave now, I'm going to call security,” Hannah said.
As Hannah spoke, Grace ran to her side and grabbed onto Hannah's leg, hiding behind her.
"Don't bother,” Marcus said, taking another bite of the apple. "I got this place cut off from the rest of the building. One of the problems of living up in the sky like this—easy to be isolated."
"What are you going to do with us?" Hannah demanded.
"You're going to need to calm down that tone of yours, young lady,” Marcus said. "You're not exactly in a position to be demanding anything."
Then the elevator sounded another chime, and when it opened it revealed four gun-wielding men, all with the same menacing expression that Marcus wore when he walked in.
"But I'm feeling nice, so I'll let you know what's up,” Marcus said, taking the last bite out of his apple and tossing it aside. "I've been keeping tabs on Alex since he became my direct competition, and I know that the two women right here in this apartment are just about the most important things in the world to him. So, being the shrewd negotiator that I am, I decided that using you both as a bargaining chip would be just the thing to get what I want."
The armed men closed in around Hannah and Grace, grabbing them by the arms.
"Hannah!" shouted Grace, tears streaming down her face.
"Just stay calm, Gracie,” Hannah said. "We're going to be fine."
"Good girl,” Marcus said. "Keep that little rug rat nice and calm. And you two don't have shit to worry about anyway; if Alex does the smart thing, he'll give up this contract, take his crew out of the game for a little while, and everything will be hunky-dory for the happy little family here."
Then he walked over to Hannah until he was mere inches away.
"So, you'd better hope that Alex is a smart guy. Because he as well as anyone else should know what I'm capable of when I see something I want."
He backed off and turned around, waving his hand through the air.
"Let's get this fucking show on the road," he said. "Get ‘em up to the chopper."
One of the men withdrew a black cloth from his pocket and slipped it over Hannah's head. Her world became black, and the girls were led into the elevator and onto the roof. Hannah heard the steady thumping of helicopter blades, and seconds later she was shoved inside.
As the craft took off, Hannah reached out in the direction of the still-whimpering Grace and took her hand. Grace grabbed it back, and the two of them held on tightly to each other during the ride. After a time, the helicopter touched down, and when Hannah was shoved out of the helicopter, she could sense by the still around her that she was outside of the city. The girls were led inside some kind of building, and Hannah was tied down to a chair. Once her hands were restrained, one of the men took the black bag off with a quick yank.
Hannah saw that she was now inside a large, luxury home outside of the city. She looked out the window and saw a sweeping view of the ocean beyond a cliff drop-off. But Grace was nowhere to be found.
"Where are we?" asked Hannah, equal parts fear and anger running through her. "And where's Grace?"
"Why, my private estate,” Marcus said, taking a seat across a large leather chair. "You and the little lady are gonna cool your jets here until we can get in touch with Alex. And Grace? She's off in one of the bedrooms. Don't you worry—she's safe and sound; I just can't stand the sound of whining kids, you know? Drives me up a damn wall."
"I swear to God,” Hannah said, tapping into a well of anger that she didn't know she had in her. "If you lay a hand on her…"
Marcus raised a palm, as if to say "quiet down, now."
"Just chill out. I'm no kid-killer."
Then he rose from his seat and walked toward Hannah, that same menacing smile on his face. Looking around the room, Hannah scanned the half-dozen or so men who were positioned around the place. They were all heavily-armed and didn't look like they were in the mood to mess around.
"But as Alex would be the first to tell you, I've got no scruples against rubbing out a grown woman who got in my way."
A cold chill of fear ran through Hannah.
"But then again,” Marcus said, "I know your situation is a little different as of today."
"What?" spat out Hannah.
"Didn't I tell you that I'd been keeping an eye on you?"
He chuckled and continued.
"I know all about the little bit of news that you got from the doctor. A mother-to-be, how about that? Alex'll be just pleased as punch when he finds out. But there's more to it than even you know, my little dear."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm a thorough man," he said. "And I like to make sure that I have all the information. So, that's why I had my tech man take a look at your medical file. Imagine my shock when he told me that you'd been diagnosed as infertile, yet here you were carrying a perfectly healthy baby inside of that belly of yours. But I'm sure you and the doc just chalked this up to good luck, right?"
Hannah said nothing, instead glaring at Marcus with such intensity that it almost pained her.
"Let me guess, you've been having strange dreams that're so real that you're totally out of sorts when you wake up, right?"
"…Yes,” Hannah said, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Just like I thought. You see, darling, you're what's known in the shifter world as ‘fated.' You have any idea what that means?"
Hannah shook her head slowly.
"Well, allow me to fill you in," he said. "To be ‘fated' means that a human has a unique connection to a particular shifter. Not sure why it is, precisely, but it means that the human is drawn to one of our kind. Almost meant to be with him, in a manner of speaking. So, your dreams were a way of drawing you toward him. Neat, huh? And what's the purpose of all of this? Well, no one knows for sure, but the most common little theory is that the shifter-human hybrids that fated couples produce are more powerful than just your run-of-the-mill shifters. And that's what you got growing inside you right now."
Hannah was shocked. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"How do I know you're not lying?" demanded Hannah.
"Now, what the hell would I have to gain from lying about something like this?” Marcus said, affecting a fake tone of hurt to his voice. "But don't take my word for it—the proof is in the pudding, as they say."
With that, he approached Hannah and poked her in the belly. Hannah felt a tinge of revulsion as he touched her.
"But that's enough of that,” Marcus said, backing away. "Our boy come home yet?"
One of the men nodded.
"Just walked in," said the mercenary. "You want me to pull him up on the TV?"
"There's nothing I'd love more,” Marcus said with a cocky smile.
The merc tapped on a nearby tablet and moments later a large camera feed appeared on the TV mounted on the wall. Hannah recognized it immediately as Alexander's apartment. The camera appeared, from the angle, to have been mounted in the corner of the living room. Hannah watched as Alexander stepped into the room, his speed slowing as he realized just what had happened.
"Ah,” Marcus said with a smile. "Look at that."
Alexander then rushed around the apartment, eventually returning to the living room. Hannah wished she could somehow speak to him through the camera feed. Looking around, his eyes landed on the camera, and he slowly approached it. Once he realized what it was, he brought his hand back and into the camera, destroying it and ending the feed.
"He knows where to find me,” Marcus said. "Let's hope for your sake that he does the smart thing. But either way, I know I'm going to have some fun."