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I can’t stop smiling at Mya and how she asserts herself as if she’s already a vampire.
“Chill, flexy.” Monroe comes to my side. “We have to prepare for a hostile takeover first.”
Fuck me. A hostile takeover.
I refuse to let that happen.
I’ll do whatever it takes to help my guys get some sort of control to put a stop to what sounds like a new round of divisions, something that happened so long ago right after the uprising.
I shiver thinking about it.
The world really could use a dhampir right now. And I can use a bit more help. I’m just afraid that I’ll fail. I’m afraid I won’t be the powerful being that both Alexander and Lawrence swore I could be, that my guys assure I am.
“He’s right, Mya. We have to protect ourselves first,” I say, looking at my guys. “Once we know everyone here is safe, then we can fuck shit up.”
Monroe ruffles my hair. “That’s what I’m talking about, little bird. The leaders are going to regret even considering splitting up the population again. I won’t stand for it.”
“None of us will,” Sawyer says.
They sound so certain.
Without that, I’d be hopeless. But right now, I know we’ll make it through. I always do. Now, I have more to fight for than ever. I’ll never stop fighting.
Chapter nine
Knox
Out for Blood
Hayleycurlsagainstmyside as I flick my finger across the screen of my com device. Tatum sent me the numbers of blood donations that pay the fees outside of what we need here, and it doesn’t look good. Even though we have more people, we don’t have more blood. We have taken on an influx of pregnant women and children, and neither of those groups can donate.
We’re going to have to see if we can create a stronger alliance with some of the other crews. I don’t know how successful that would be. We’ve always been good in our separate hotels, but to accomplish this, we’ll need to be under one roof, leaving a lot of extra property out there to be taken over.
Fuck this shit.
The only thing keeping me from losing my cool is Hayley’s soft breathing and being able to comb my fingers through her hair. She keeps me calm even when my insides feel as if a tornado wreaks havoc within me. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s changed my life on so many levels. It all started with that one performance. Her performance that changed all our lives, and now, she’s offering to do so again.
A part of me hates even considering putting her back on that stage even if it is us who control the show. I don’t want people to look at her as an object. She’s far too precious and important to me. She carries our child. The Bella Crew baby. Goddamn it. I wish I could scream it to the world.
The lights flicker on, and I stare up at the ceiling. I kind of wish they would remain out for a little while longer, so I can let Hayley sleep. It’s probably been a while since she’s had a full day’s sleep, and just having the peace that comes with the night with both of us together gets to me in a good way. She deserves to be able to rest. I’m sure the pregnancy has taken a toll on her body, even if she hasn’t mentioned it. She might not have even realized it. Just the stress of everything could be making it worse when she deserves to enjoy every moment of this miraculous experience for her.
I take a moment and grab the ultrasound belt from the machine beside the bed, still in the same spot from when I checked her to confirm. I could hook her up twenty-four seven if she’d let me. I just love seeing the mini dancer growing inside her. I never knew I’d like the idea of having children. Human children have always made me nervous. They’re far more delicate than anything in the world, and I’ve always been afraid that something could happen. Because technically, they are our future blood sources, but not our child. There’s no way he or she will ever feed a vampire out of obligation. It’s what I hope to create. Everyone here does it because we work together. We don’t threaten them. We don’t withhold anything if they need to take a break. It’s just one of those things. Life. And our kid will get a far better one than any of us have ever had. They won’t have to experience the fear elicited from the uprising or the divisions. They will not have to grow up thinking that they are less than another. I will ensure it.
The soft heartbeats of Hayley and the fetus hum through the air, sending my own heart out of control with love. I blow up the image of the projection, getting a better view.
I frown. This can’t be. The fetus measures further ahead, way more than it should be, compared than what it had been last time. At this rate, it could be possible that Hayley would have the baby in threeish months instead of the five I calculated.
“Why are you frowning? What’s wrong?” Hayley lies frozen beside me, her eyes capturing mine. If I had realized she had woken up, I’d have composed myself better. I know immediately that she fears for the health of the fetus, and I feel bad that she does for even a second.
“Nothing’s wrong, vixen. I promise. I was just thinking. The baby’s growing a bit fast, but I’ve only been comparing it to other humans. We both know that it isn’t, so this is kind of a guessing game.” I stroke my fingers over her stomach, noticing the slight bulge for the first time. I don’t know if I’ve just been so consumed with everything else, but I just hadn’t taken the time to give Hayley the attention she needs, but I love seeing her torso beginning to swell.
“Oh.” She sits up, scrubbing her hands into her eyes. “Do you think that I will deliver sooner? Or am I just going to have a giant baby? Crap. What if it takes after Sawyer if it’s his? I don’t know if I can—”
I tip my head back and roar a laugh. I can’t help it. I also can’t blame her for the sudden fear of thinking she’s going to deliver a man-sized human. I truly doubt that will be the case.
“I promise you that I will make this as pleasant and comfortable as possible. You have to trust me.” I remove the belt from her waist and turn off the machine. “If anything, I’m nearly certain it just means that we have less time than we thought.”
“Fuck.” Hayley sits up even more, and I shift her to my arms and hold her on my lap.
