Forbidden Blood (27 page)

Naya was still staring into her suitcase, not meeting his eyes, as she whispered, “How do you feel about vampires?”

He paused.
So, this is what is bothering her.

He set down her stuff and walked over to her. He pulled her into his arms, breathing in her
familiar vanilla scent and the richness of her pregnancy.

When she looked up to his face, he told her, “Naya, I could not care less that you’re a vampire. I don’t have any prejudice toward them or you. I am not my parents. I am not your parents. I can make my own decisions about whom I like or don’t like. Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Since the night we met, I thought I’d made it pretty clear that the fact that you’re a vampire doesn’t matter to me.”

“I suppose, but remember, I just found out that you knew this whole time. And having a one-night stand is different than having a baby with someone.”

He rubbed his thumb across her cheek. “It still doesn’t change the way I feel.” He bent down and kissed her.

He’d meant for the kiss to be gentle and sweet, but then she kissed him back, and he was suddenly as hard as a spike. He was ready to throw her down on the bed. It had been too long since they’d had sex, and he wanted to be inside her.

Reluctantly, he broke their kiss before he forgot where he was. “We’d better hurry up if you want to be gone before your parents get home.”

Her breathing was ragged, and it was nice to know he wasn’t the only one aroused.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They hurried and finished packing, being careful not to touch each other intimately.

When they got downstairs, she told Hans, “I’m going to be gone for a while. Please tell Mother and Father that I will be somewhere safe, and I will contact them when I’m ready to talk.”

Vaughn squeezed her shoulder, reassuring her that this was the right thing to do.

“Tell them I need some time and space right now.”

“Yes, Miss Naya,” Hans said.

“Thank you.”

They grabbed everything, headed to the car, and loaded it all in. When they pulled away, Vaughn noticed that Naya didn’t even look back.

Dwyer Lowell, wolf-shifter and alpha of the Minnesota Pack, opened his cabin door to see the cat-shifter standing on the other side. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I need to speak with you.”

“We aren’t supposed to be seen together.”

The cat sighed. “You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”

“Nope. In case you didn’t know”—he leaned closer—“I’m not your biggest fan.”

“I know, but we have an agreement.”

“Fine. Get in here, and get it over with.”

The large cat glared at him while he entered the room.

“Now, what do you want?”

“First, did you tell your men to be more careful? Vance’s daughter spotted them a couple of days ago. He’s sending a team out to investigate, so they’d better not find anything.”

Dwyer growled. He didn’t like this cat telling him what to do.

Understanding he’d overstepped, the cat put his hands up. “Sorry. Please just tell them to be more cautious.”

“What else?” Dwyer asked.

“Second, we have a change in plans. I just found out Vaughn knocked up some vampire bitch with his spawn. I don’t know where he’ll be staying or if she’ll be with him, but she needs to be included now that she’s carrying a Llewelyn. So, we have to put the plan on hold for a while.” He shook his head. “Stupid kid. Why did he have to go and make things more complicated?”

This asshole just thought they were at his beck and call
. “How long do you expect us to wait around?” Dwyer barked.

“I don’t know. I will let you know as soon as I know anything. Why does it matter? I’m paying for all of you to be here anyway.”

“Yeah, and the longer you have my men and me stay around here, the more we risk exposure. We can’t lie low forever. We’re wolves. You have two months before we head out. Deal or no deal.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “I will keep you updated.” He stomped out the front.

Just as Dwyer closed the door, his youngest son, Damien, walked in from the back of the cabin.

“Who was that?” Damien asked.

“Not important. Doesn’t concern you.”

His son exhaled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you think it’s about time you explain to me what we are doing back here?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he bit out. “When I want you to know, I will tell you.
Drop it
.” The little shit thought he was better than his old man.

“You know we’re not supposed to be within sixty miles of the cities—at least, not all of us together. Aren’t you worried the Llewelyns will find out?”

“I said,
drop it
.”

“Dad—”

“I’m going to bed.”

Dwyer walked into the bigger of the two bedrooms, stripped off his shirt and pants, and climbed into bed. He loved his son, he supposed, but Damien was too honest, regardless of the circumstances. If only Donovan were still around, then he would understand why his old man had made a deal with the enemy.

Donovan was his firstborn son and next in line to be alpha. But seventeen months ago, he’d died in an accident. The accident never would have happened if the Llewelyns hadn’t kicked his family and pack out of the Twin Cities. It was Vance Llewelyn’s fault his son had died. It was Vance’s fault he had lost their half of the business and were practically bankrupt.

Now, Vance would pay for what he’d done to his family.

Dwyer knew part of his thinking wasn’t rational, but he really didn’t care. All he wanted was revenge.

Damien Lowell stood outside his father’s bedroom, debating if he should knock. Deciding it would be pointless, he turned away. His father wouldn’t tell him anything. His father didn’t trust him the way he had Donovan.

But Damien couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. His father was stupid if he thought Damien hadn’t smelled the cat-shifter who had just left. He needed to find what the cat’s business was with his dad and if that was why they were back in Llewelyn territory.

“Fuck.”

His father had always been impulsive, but ever since his older brother had died, his father had gotten worse. He wasn’t thinking about the good of their pack anymore. Unfortunately, Damien was the only one wise enough to see it. Everyone else blindly followed his father. After they had been driven from the cities, the pack had been too afraid to question anything. Nobody wanted to cause further problems even if it was the right thing to do.

Damien wanted
the pack to stay together, too, and of course, he’d also wanted to come back home. He’d grown up in the cities, and his mother was buried here, but he wasn’t willing to break any shifter laws to do it. Even if he was all on his own, he was determined to find out what his father was up to before he did something that would ruin the Minnesota Pack forever. Now that his brother had passed away, Damien was next in line to be alpha, and he had to make sure there would be a pack left to lead someday.

No matter what, Damien would do everything in his power to make sure it happened.

V
AUGHN AND
N
AYA went straight to the vampire clinic after leaving her parents’ house. She hadn’t even officially moved out, and already, she thought of it as her parents’ home rather than her own.

As they walked from Vaughn’s car toward the clinic, she found she was considerably more anxious than on her first visit tonight. She hadn’t welcomed their treatment of her earlier this evening, and she
was nervous about what they would say about her hybrid pregnancy, yet at the same time, she craved any information they had for her. She needed to know what was going on. She could only hope there would be good news. This pregnancy had been unexpected, but she already knew she wanted this baby—she peeked at Vaughn—more than anything.

Vaughn held the door open for her, and she noted the empty waiting room. She was relieved because she felt like this was a private moment. Even the reception desk was empty, so she had to ring the bell for service, but it was definitely better than having
rude Nurse Tina there.

A female vampire came around the corner with a smile on her face, but her steps faltered, and her smile turned into a frown when she noticed Vaughn. Then, the female hurried to the reception desk.

Shooting daggers at Naya, the receptionist hissed, “You can’t bring
him
here.”

Taken aback, Naya asked, “Why?”

“He’s a shifter. This place is for vampires only.”

The female vampire wasn’t much older than her. Apparently, there was still some prejudice in her generation.

The receptionist looked Naya up and down like she was infected with a horrible disease. “Rumor has already spread about your…transgressions.”

This lady was worse than the nurse.

To top it off, the receptionist turned to Vaughn with a look of disgust. “
Do they all smell like a litter box?”

Naya felt Vaughn stiffen next to her, but he didn’t say anything. She was exhausted, hormonal, and intolerant after everything that had occurred earlier in the night.

Her patience snapped, and she leaned over the desk and grabbed the female by the shirt. “Listen here, bitch. You don’t talk to him like that—ever. He is the father of my unborn child, who happens to be the King and Queen’s future grandchild. So, unless you want to find yourself without a job, you’d better apologize
—now
.”