CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Draven removed the wand from inside of me. “Everything appears to be normal except the fact that it grew at a rapid rate—and there’s no heartbeat.”

“This is all too crazy.”

I’d already accepted the fact that I was a vampire. It was easy to accept because I knew, deep down, that it was the only way for Draven and me to be together forever. But now, everything was starting to become overwhelming. Even when Draven came inside of me, I didn’t think my vision was real.

Now, I knew it wasn’t a vision at all.

Draven turned off the machine and sat back down beside me. “It will be different for a while, but you’re not alone.”

“I know. I just never imagined I’d be a pregnant vampire. How does that even happen?”

Draven grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “I know how it happened, Draven, it’s just too surreal.”

“I know. I never thought I’d be a father.”

I grabbed his hand. “Now you will be.”

After Draven called in sick at the hospital, we lounged around the house watching Grey’s. It was the perfect lazy day that I’d wanted to spend with him. The hunger was intense. Every ten minutes, I needed a bag of blood, and if I didn’t get it, I was hangry—hangrier than I’d ever felt as a human.

Athan went to OBB and grabbed my laptop and a list of things I needed to do before the week’s end. It felt weird not going to work since moving back to Burn Falls. I’d been extremely busy learning everything, but Ted was showing me the ropes. Now, I had to figure it all out on my own because there was a chance I’d rip his head off.

Literally.

I paused the TV. It was an episode where Meredith was talking to her dying mother about advice. It made me realize that I wanted to speak to my mom and tell her everything. Even if this was all a secret, there was no way I’d be able to have a baby and not tell her. That would be wrong. Plus, her husband of thirty-one years was part vampire. She needed to know.

“So, I was just thinking …”

Draven turned his head to look at me. “That you aren’t going to make me watch this show again?”

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “It’s not my fault you’ve never seen this show.”

“I do this for a living, sweets and it’s nothing like this.”

“That’s good. I would hate it if you’d slept with all your nurses.”

“Well …”

“What?” I screeched. “You have?”

“Not my team. Even if I can compel them.”

“I don’t want to know who in case I ever meet them.”

Draven lifted me and set me on his lap as I squealed. “Are you jealous, sweetheart?”

I laughed. “Why would I be jealous? I get to remember everything about sex with you.”

“You want a refresher course?”

I kissed his lips with a smack. “Yes, but first I need to tell you what I was thinking.”

He smiled. “Okay, what’s that?”

“That we should tell my mother we’re vampires.”

I expected Draven to yell in protest, saying it was a stupid idea to go around telling everyone that we were vampires. Instead, he said, “I agree.”

“What?”

“Athan and I were talking, and I think the best plan is to get your family and leave for a while.”

“Leave?”

“If Renzo is coming, I’d rather us not be here. That way he’ll come, learn your father died, and go home.”

“And it will be over?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. We think he wants his family to strengthen his coven and mob.”

I balked. “Really?”

“It’s the only thing I can think of, and after he finds out that Miles is dead, he may look into his kids.”

“Me and my brother and sister.”

“Exactly.”

“So my siblings are in danger too?”

“Maybe. It’s best we lay low for a while.”

“And then what?”

Draven shrugged. “Maybe Athan and I will come up with a plan by then. I don’t know.”

“What about your job? What about OBB?”

“I’m hoping you can work from home and I’ll take a leave of absence for a while.”

“Work from home? I know I’m doing that now for a few days, but I have no idea what I’m doing when I’m even there. Plus, we need to file taxes soon. I need all that paperwork that’s in my office.”

Draven nodded slowly as though he was thinking of what to say next. “Let’s give it a few weeks and then figure it out. If we need to come back, we will. Athan and I are hoping we can form our own army.”

“An army?”

“I don’t know how many vampires Renzo has now in his mob, but I know we’ll need more than just me, Donovan, and Athan to beat him if it ever comes down to it.”

“You have me.” I smiled.

“You’ve never killed, sweetheart. You have no idea how to fight.”

“You can teach me.”

Draven put his hand on my belly. “Not now I can’t. There’s not a chance I’ll let you be in danger.”

“When Selene visited me the other night, she said that I will be strong enough to kill Renzo.”

“How?”

“Because I’m pregnant with a pure vampire and it will keep me safe.”

He stared at me for a beat. “While that may be true, you’ll have to get close enough to actually kill him. We can’t take that chance because we don’t know what he’s capable of. All it will take is his speed and strength to rip out your heart.”

“But she said—”

Draven stood and set me on my feet. “I’m not taking the chance for him to kill someone I love and my baby again, Calla. End of story.”

He sped off to the bedroom and slammed the door, getting the last word.

For now.

“Renzo is coming!” Athan shouted as he came storming through the front door. Before I could respond, Draven came flying out of the bedroom.

“What?”

“I just met that Donovan kid at the bar, and he said that he was on his way here to warn you. He got a call from one of his buddies in the coven that Renzo left to, and I quote, ‘do things on his own.’”

“When?” Draven asked.

Athan shrugged. “He doesn’t know. The friend said that he’d left to handle coven business, and when he returned, he’d learned Renzo had left. Doesn’t know when and didn’t want to ask to look suspicious.”

“Where’s Donovan now?”

“Left. He beat feet because he doesn’t want to run into Renzo.”

“We gotta go,” Draven stated and moved back to his bedroom. Athan and I followed.

“Now?” I asked.

“Now.” Draven grabbed a bag from his closet and started filling it with clothes.

“Go where?” I questioned.

“As far as we can get before the sun rises.”

“But my mom.”

Draven stopped stuffing clothes into the bag. “Right. We’ll pick her up on the way.”

“Can’t we just stay here?” I asked. “Renzo can’t come inside.”

“He can burn the house down with you in it,” Draven stated a matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” My eyes widened, and I looked at Athan. He nodded in agreement with Draven.

“Go pack your laptop, sweets, and all the blood bags. We’re leaving tonight.”

Not being there at OBB to oversee the operations and whatnot felt as though I was letting my father down. It was going to go under. I knew it. My father must have been rolling over in his grave because he’d worked so hard to get it to the point it was at and I was going to leave it to burn to the ground.

“What about Al and Betha?” I questioned.

Draven looked to Athan. “We could call them and tell them that they each need to get out of town,” Athan offered. “Drive as far as they can and then lay low.”

“They have school for several more months.”

“Do you want to take the chance of Renzo getting to them?” Draven asked as he returned to packing.

“Of course not.”

“We’ll talk about it on the way out of town. We need to go now,” Draven clipped.

I didn’t argue anymore as I went to pack my laptop and made sure I had my cell phone and charger in my purse. Athan went to his room, and I heard the rustling of clothes. Moments later he and Draven were ushering me to the car, and we were driving toward my mom’s house.

“How am I going to get my mother to invite me in? She’s going to think we’re crazy.”

“Shit.” Draven slapped the steering wheel. “Since you’re no longer human, your invitation doesn’t work on me either. She’ll need to invite us all in.”

“I’ll stand guard,” Athan said from the backseat.

“Can’t you compel her to let us in?”

“If she stares me in the eyes long enough.”

“Well, we’re going to have to try that or get her to come outside in the freezing cold while we tell her some folklore about vampires.”

“We knew this day would eventually come,” Athan stated.

“Yeah, but we didn’t know it would happen like this,” Draven said.

As we drove closer to the house, we were all sucking on blood bags as I thought about how it was all my fault. If I hadn’t seen my father get attacked, he might have died there in OBB, and we never would have gone to Draven’s hospital. Draven would have never taken it upon himself to keep me safe, and he and Athan would be—

“We would be right here with you,” Draven indicated.

My gaze cut to him. “You were reading my thoughts?”

He shrugged. “We’ll teach you how to hide them. But everything happened for a reason. Maybe Selene never knew your father would be attacked and left to die. But she made us true loves for a reason.”

“You two make me want to puke,” Athan murmured.

“Starting to think you are jealous of us.” I laughed.

“Nothing to be jealous of. I’ve never wanted to settle down and find my soulmate.”

“You have forever to change your mind.” Draven chuckled. Without looking, I knew in the moment of silence that Athan had rolled his eyes. It was totally something he’d do.

Draven pulled up in front of the house. The light by the front door was on, but all the lights in the house were off.

“Maybe she’s not home,” I said.

“Call her.” Draven motioned with his head toward my purse after he cut the engine.

I dug inside my bag and then dialed my mother. It rang three times before she answered. “Calla?” she asked with sleep in her voice.

I cleared my throat. “Hey, Mom, I think I lost my keys. Can you come open the front door?”

“I’ll be right down.”

“Thank you.” We hung up.

“Let’s go and let me talk,” Draven said, opening his door.

The moment I opened my door, I sensed him. Renzo was here.

And he wasn’t alone.