Reese

I’m nauseated, damn it. I’m nauseated, tired, and my boobs hurt. Oh, yeah, and I’m pregnant. Double damn it. Sariel has been present for the last week, keeping an eye out for the other Watchers. He’s been none too happy with me going to work most nights and Barnes has commented on my personal bodyguard more than once. Sariel doesn’t have the easy charm of Galen.

Thinking of Galen brings a sharp pain to my chest. Either Sariel has been forcing Galen away, or, a more upsetting prospect, Galen has abandoned me. I can’t believe he would leave me willingly. Especially not after I’d just told him I was knocked up. My chest grows tight as I contemplate Galen choosing to abandon me. As much as I have grown to like Sariel, I need Galen.

Shuffling into the kitchen, I fight off a wave of sickness and grab for the crackers I broke down and bought the other day. Nibbling on a cracker, I sit at the bar of the vastly underutilized kitchen. How am I going to do this? How am I going to be a mother?

“Evening.” That smooth deep baritone I’ve come to crave covers me, and I wait to see who I’m talking to, hoping desperately to hear the lilt of an Irish accent on his next words.

“How are you feeling, baby?”

Disappointment settles on my chest—a heavy weight. “Oh, you know. Just trying not to puke.”

He wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my neck and trailing light kisses over my skin. It’s a strange thing, seeing the man I’ve begun falling for but knowing he’s not looking back at me. Sariel breathes against my nape, pulling me close.

“Let me distract you,” he says, his voice rough.

The idea of letting him inside me brings another wave of sickness. I grit my teeth and take long, even breaths until I’m sure I won’t throw up. “I don’t really feel like it.”

His hands tighten around my arms. “I need to feed.”

That sends my heart racing, and not in a good way. “Won’t that hurt the baby?”

The baby. That’s the first time I’ve mentioned it. Saying the word makes it so much more real.

“No. If you’re strong enough to carry my child, you’ll be strong enough to feed me as well.”

Stiffening, I finally ask the question I’m afraid to ask. “What happened to Galen?”

“What do you mean?”

His evasion strengthens my suspicions that he’s keeping Galen from me. Turning to him, I ask point-blank, “Are you keeping him prisoner? Is that why he left me?” I hate the tremor in my words.

Silver irises meet mine, and I’m surprised by the tender, almost sad look in them. “I didn’t do anything to him. He chose to leave. He’s locked himself away and gone dormant. He can’t hear you or me. He’s gone.”

Those words cut through me like a hot knife through butter. My heart splinters as I hear the honesty behind his statement. Galen left me. As a tear escapes down my cheek, Sariel puts his arms around me. “This is a good thing. He left because he knows you’re mine. You’ll see soon enough.”

I don’t want him, and as he tightens his arms, pressing his lips to mine, I can’t breathe. I’ve seen him in the throes of his hunger. He’s infinitely stronger than I am and could easily feed from me without permission. His hands snake down to the top of my leggings, sliding under the fabric and into my panties before I can stop him. I can’t help it, my body reacts to Galen’s, even though I know it’s not him. Sariel presses a finger inside, moving in and out as I let out an uncontrolled moan. I stare into his eyes, wishing the swirling silver would return to the warm brown I want to see.

“See? You want this,” Sariel murmurs. His lips are a breath away from mine, and as he moves to kiss me, I turn away, trying to keep my traitorous body from letting him pleasure me.

Tears spring to my lashes when he adds a second finger. “Stop,” I whisper.

He stills immediately. “What?”

“I need you to stop.” My throat is thick with tears.

“I don’t understand. Why?”

Feeling sick again, I push past him. “I just can’t.”

I walk swiftly to the bathroom, locking the door and turning the sink on to drown out the sobs I’ve been trying to hold back. How can Galen think I’m anything but his? I can’t believe he doesn’t know how much I want him. I told him, only a week ago. Anger blooms in my chest. I told him he was the one I wanted, and he left me. Well, fuck him. Fuck all of this.

After splashing some water on my skin, I pull myself together and open the door. Sariel is standing right outside, gaze guarded.

“Are you all right?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I can’t do this.”

I stalk through the house, heading to the bedroom where Galen and I had spent our first night together. Pulling my small duffel bag out from under the bed, I throw it on top of the bed and begin furiously packing.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His question is venom laced.

“Leaving.”

“No. You can’t.”

“So help me, Sariel. I will stake your ass while you sleep if you don’t let me go.”

He sucks in a harsh breath. “You wouldn’t.”

Heart filled with rage, I stare him down. “Try me.”

He sighs. “Are you really that unhappy?” Without giving me a chance to answer, he sits on the bed and stares down at his feet, muttering to himself. “How is this happening? I finally found you, and you don’t want me. Is this part of His punishment for us? He took you away once and then turns you against me now?”

There was a time when these words would have spoken to my tender heart. Maybe I would have chosen to stay. Not now. He wants something I can’t give him. I see it clearly. He thinks I’m his lost love, that I’ll fix everything. I know I’m not. Zipping my bag, I heft it over my shoulder and walk to the door, jumping when his hand catches mine.

“Please don’t leave me,” he begs, his brow pinched with hurt.

“I’m not her.”

As I walk out into the night, the fear of being taken by Watchers hits me, but I know this is something I have to do. If I stay with him, I’ll be living a life in captivity with a man I don’t love. I’ll have to stare into the face of the one who left me and know the depth of my feelings were misplaced.

* * *

Standing outside my apartment, I work to control the shaking of my hand as I insert the key into the lock. I haven’t really talked to Trisha since Portland. When I came home to get my stuff, she was gone and I’m sure she’ll be furious with me for starting things back up with Galen. The apartment smells stale, like it’s been empty for a long time. Heading into the kitchen, I switch on lights, searching for evidence of Trisha—my stomach clenches. The note I left her a week ago is still on the table. Something is wrong. Her bed is made, but the dishes I’d left in the drying rack sit where I left them. Where is she?

Pulling out my phone, I dial her number. A faint buzzing catches my ear, and, heart pounding, I follow the sound. Her phone rests on her nightstand, plugged in to the charger and flashing with my picture.

Trisha never goes anywhere without her phone. I teased her about her unhealthy attachment to the device all the time. An uneasy feeling grips my chest, and I turn to leave, ready to grab my stuff and go back to Sariel.

“There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Trisha startles me, making me flinch and drop my keys.

“Trisha. Shit. I thought something had happened to you.”

A wicked grin spreads across her lips. “Something did. Something amazing.”

As she starts toward me, the only thing I can focus on are the two sharp fangs extending where her incisors should be.

“Fuck,” I whisper.

* * *

Sariel

I sit stunned on the bed. She shouldn’t have left. There shouldn’t have been a single reason her heart would want to be separate from mine. How could this happen? Rising, I move around the room, searching for anything that she may have left behind. The sound of the door opening has me smiling. She realized her mistake. She’s come back to me.

“Galen? Hey, man, where are you?” Devin’s unwelcome tone grates on my nerves. No. No. No. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Threading my fingers through my hair, I tug hard, trying to bring myself back from the edge of hysteria. Working to pull myself together, I take a deep breath and head downstairs to greet Devin. Not wanting to betray myself, I attempt to submit to Galen, let him take control once again. I can barely sense him, closed off and dormant. Shit.

“Galen, you need to come back,” I say, but he doesn’t respond. Sulking. Vampires are such sensitive creatures. “Fine, have your fit. The world is falling to pieces, and you’re busy pouting.”

Devin is sitting on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table. “Wow, you look … um, different. What’s going on with your eyes there?” He gestures in my direction, and I wince. So much for remaining incognito.

“Galen isn’t here,” I say, not even trying to change my accent to match the cadence of his friend’s.

Devin shoots to his feet, blurring across the room and grabbing me by the throat in the space between breaths. “What have you done with him, Sariel?”

I push him off me with little effort. “Stop your posturing. He’s having a good old-fashioned tantrum. I haven’t done anything.” I stop and think for a second. “Reese is pregnant. She’s mine. He’s not taking it well.”

Devin’s eyebrows rise. “Fuck.”

“There’s more,” I say, knowing I need him as an ally if I’m going to keep the other Watchers at bay. “There are Watchers after us. My brothers will kill her if they find her.”

“Why?”

I sit him down and relay my story. When I’m done, he rakes a hand through his blond hair and sighs.

“It’s never easy for the poor guy. Never fucking easy.” When I give him a questioning look, he continues. “You were dormant at the time, but Galen has struggled since he was made. No one asked him if he wanted this life. He woke up as a vampire. Alone and being forced to feed on whoever wandered by to stay alive. He slept underground, damn near fried more than once. When I found him, he was starving, racked with guilt and on the verge of meeting the sun. Took me near a decade just to get him to some form of contentment. And now that he’s found happiness, it’s all a lie. She’s not even meant for him. No wonder he retreated.”

I can’t help but feel bad for Galen. But at the moment, my thoughts need to be on getting Reese back here, where she’ll be safe.

“Where is she?” Devin asks.

I shrug, trying to play it off and keep my worries to myself. “She left.”

“Okay. So, how do we get Galen back?”

“I don’t know that we can. He’s closed himself off. I tried talking to him, but he won’t even acknowledge me.”

Devin sighs. “Typical moody Irishman.”

Galen’s phone buzzes from the pocket of my pants. Frowning, I pull it free and sigh when I see Reese’s name.

Trisha turned apt hlp pls

What the fuck does that mean? I read it over and over, a sense of urgency clawing at me. Something feels wrong. Shoving the phone at Devin I ask him to read the text. “What does she mean?”

“Shit,” he mutters under his breath. The look in his eyes makes a sick feeling take hold in my gut. “She’s in trouble. We need to get to her apartment now.”

The door is open when we arrive, and I have to work to calm my hammering heart. If she’s been hurt, I’m the only one to blame.

“Reese,” I call, not caring if Trisha hears me.

A soft whimper comes from down the hall, in the bathroom, and I feel Galen stir. Devin stiffens beside me, and when I look to him, I see his fangs are out, pupils dilated.

“Blood. Lots of it,” he says.

Racing to the bathroom, I throw open the door, gasping when I see her. She’s covered in blood, shaking but alive. At the sight of her, Galen surges to the forefront, fighting his way back. Help her! I drop to my knees and pull her to me. Her arms are bleeding, marred by long scratches along the veins, and she has a bite wound on her neck.

“Galen?” Her skin is pale, face clouded by pain, but she still calls for him … not me.

“No, baby. It’s Sariel.”

She shakes her head, beginning to cry. “Why did he leave me?”

She wants him. She should be mine, and she cries for him. I can feel him pushing through, and I relent, letting him take the reins and falling back to the shadows.

* * *

Galen

“A ghra, I’m here.” My hands move over her body, checking again for any more injuries. She’s shaking in my arms as I pull her close. She wants me. Even in the haze of pain, I can see the happiness when she realizes I’ve come back. Stroking her cheek, I stare as though I may never hold her again. “Tell me what happened.”

Devin comes back into the bathroom, his mouth pinched. “Whoever did this is long gone.”

“Trisha,” Reese says, that one word heavy with emotion.

I shake my head, pressing kisses to her temple. “She’s not here.”

Raising one hand, she points to the bathtub. Standing, I cross the room and rip the shower curtain away, revealing her, or what’s left of her. Trisha lies in a pool of blood, a wooden stake jutting out of her chest.

“She was … I … I killed her.” Tears pool on her lashes again, but she takes a breath to steady herself. “She attacked me, but I staked her.”

“Fuck,” Devin whispers under his breath. “Badass.”

Looking around the room, all I see is chaos. Broken glass, blood everywhere, and I feel sick. I left her, and this happened. “Where did you find a stake?”

Shrugging, she picks up a piece of wood and turns it in her hands. “She threw me into the shelves we used as a linen closet. I used what I could.”

Immediately, I rush back to her side, scooping her into my arms and crushing my lips to hers. Tear-filled eyes stare at me when she pulls away.

“Why would she want to kill me?” she asks, bewildered.

“That wasn’t Trisha. Not anymore. New vampires aren’t in control of their humanity. It takes years to build that kind of resistance to the hunger.”

Devin casts me a sidelong glance and gestures to the hallway. Gently placing Reese on the couch, I murmur that I’ll be right back, and I follow my friend out of Reese’s range of hearing.

“I need to get out of here. There’s so much blood, it’s too tempting, and I haven’t fed for a few days. Are you going to be okay?”

I nod, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thank you, Devin. Watch yourself out there.”

He offers me a solemn incline of his head and leaves without another word.

Reese sits with her knees pulled up to her chin, hugging her legs and trying to contain her tears. I ease up behind her and slide my hands over her shoulders and up to her hair. Running my hands through the long dark waves, I work to comb my fingers through the tangles so I can soothe her.

“I need to heal you. Will you take my blood?”

She goes even more pale, then slightly green. “I can’t, I’ll be sick.”

Massaging her scalp, I lean close to her ear. “You won’t. I promise. But you need this. The … the baby needs it.”

She stiffens under my hands, and I can tell she’s considering my offer. “It won’t turn me, will it?”

Shaking my head, I murmur, “No. I would never do that to you.”

Turning her head to look at me, she winces as the wound on her neck pulls. “Ouch, shit. Fine, just make it quick, okay?”

I chuckle before walking around the couch and settling down next to her. Turning us, I lie slightly across the cushions, pulling her back so she’s against my chest, her hips between my legs.

“Don’t look. As soon as my wrist touches your lips, open your mouth and drink,” I say, stroking her hair.

She’s trembling, and I waste no time. My fangs extend, and I tear into my wrist. Dark blood wells to the surface, and with a strange feeling of exhilaration, I press my skin to her mouth. The moment her tongue touches me, fire races through my veins. My cock swells, my breaths come in short gasps, and an almost orgasmic feeling takes over. She sucks tentatively at first, testing her tolerance, but as soon as she becomes accustomed to me, she starts taking long, drugging pulls of my blood. Soft moans escape her, and I can feel the need to bury myself inside her begin to build to uncontrollable proportions.

Stop her, Galen. She’ll take too much. Sariel’s warning clears my head, and I gently pull her lips free.

“That’s enough, a ghra. That’s enough.”

Assessing her injuries, I’m relieved to see the deep scratches on her arms are almost gone and the bite on her neck is now just remnants of dried blood. She sighs and leans back against me.

“I love you, Galen. Don’t ever leave me again.” Her words are soft in the stillness surrounding us, but they send a jolt through me.

I close my eyes and take in the depth of what I’ve just heard. How can she love me if she’s meant for Sariel? She’s pregnant with his child. She’s his soul mate. Picking her up, I carry her to the safety of her bed so I can deal with the carnage in the bathroom. Eventually, Trisha’s body will turn to ash, disappearing without much of a trace, but the blood and destruction in the room won’t go away on its own. Rolling up my sleeves, I set to work.

Wait. Sariel interrupts me as I am gathering the pieces of splintered wood littering the floor. I need to get closer to Trisha. Something isn’t right.

Pausing, I stand still, trying to sense what he’s feeling. He’s right. There’s a strange yet familiar scent coming from her body. As I move closer, I can see she’s already slowly turning to ash. She’ll be gone by morning.

This is bad. She’s had the blood of a Watcher. Gadriel. I can still feel the small traces of his grace on her. He must have had her under his control. We need to get Reese to safety until I’m strong enough to fight him.

My skin crawls at the idea of facing Gadriel. Sariel may be strong, but my body can withstand only so much.

Gadriel won’t wait very long before trying to get to her again. We need to be ready, and I’ll need strength.

I know what he means by that. He needs to feed.