Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
I can’t breathe.
There, on the base of her lower back, is…is…
My mark.
Something slams into me with the force of a train. Something I think I’ve known about for a while. A connection I can no longer deny or hide or bury. All things Annika flood into my system with a crashing wave I can feel drenching my powers, my heart, my soul.
Mine.
“Dagon?” she asks, the seductive smirk all but gone. “What is it? Did a bug get on me during the hike?” She hurries to the mirror in the bathroom, turning to look at where I was staring.
My muscles won’t work. I need to go to her. I need…I need…
“Omigod!” Her lips part then shut then part again. She shakes her head, then something like clarity filters over her delicate features as she turns to face me again. “Dagon,” she says my name like she’s coxing a wild animal. “It…it doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“That’s my mark on your skin, Annika,” I growl.
She visibly swallows. “I know,” she says. “But I know where you stand. I’ve always known. It’s okay. I…it’s fine. This is fine.”
Nothing feels fine.
It’s like my entire world has shifted into a space I never knew I desperately needed. My instincts are roaring, searing, screaming.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
Annika…my mate.
Ice fills my veins. She’ll never know peace as a hunter’s mate. She’ll never know safety. Only a life of looking over her shoulder.
“Annika,” I say, my heart trying to tear out of my chest. “I—”
Both of our phones ring at the same time.
Annika’s eyes widen as she hesitates, but after a few seconds, we both grab our phones.
I don’t know who’s calling her, but Alek is on mine. “What’s wrong?” I ask by way of answer. We just spoke earlier, so something must’ve happened.
Images of Samuel launching another bloody attack race through my mind.
“Olivia is in labor. It’s…intense. Get Annika home as quickly as possible.”
I’m moving before I can even process his words, the tone of his voice. I hurry back into my clothes, Annika doing the same, a panic overtaking her eyes that has nothing to do with the mark on her back.
“My aunt,” she says, her voice cracking as we grab our bags and hurry through Cassandra’s mansion. “Dagon, what if this kills her?”
“It won’t,” I lie because I know I can’t guarantee that. None of us can. Vampire births are rare and extremely dangerous. But in these modern times, they’ve been less fatal. “It won’t,” I assure her again, tucking her under my arm as we find Cassandra, Talon, Saint, and Aurora hurrying toward the cars pulling up front.
Annika and I climb into one, the driver breaking all laws to speed us to the airport.
And I keep hold of her throughout the entire flight, even as she goes quiet and colder than I’ve ever seen her before. Fear and worry and grief flow straight from her into me, down that newly formed bond I can barely understand. It’s all I can do to separate our emotions as we fly, helpless, toward home.
CHAPTER 12
Annika
Apained cry flies past Olivia’s lips, and I swear every living being within the residence can feel it.
My heart clenches as I pace back and forth in Gabriel’s medical room. The vampire doctor moved my aunt here a week ago, and had done everything in his power to make the space as comfortable as possible. Beside the medical grade bed and the hospital equipment, the room is adorned with thick blue rugs, a lush sitting area against the focal wall, and tons of open, airy space—which is beneficial with how many of us are in here right now.
Of course, Ransom is at Olivia’s side, clutching her hand as another contraction racks her body. Gabriel is on the other side of the bed, monitoring her levels, and instructing her in a calm, calculated manner.
Myself, Aviana, and the king and queen round out the space, the rest of our little family lingering in the hallway just outside the room.
I don’t give any attention to the fact that I can feel Dagon out there, his nerves as shot as mine. The mark on my back practically burns for acknowledgment. I ignore it. My aunt has been in labor for two straight days with little improvement, and while I’m not much help, I’m trying, offering supportive words whenever there’s a lull in contractions.
My aunt is the strongest vampire I’ve ever known, but a body can only take so much. Icy fear prickles against the back of my neck, and I suck in a sharp breath, practically willing the baby to come. Once the baby is out, Oliva will heal. She’ll be okay.
An alarm sounds from one of the many machines in the room, the shrill, long beep like a death knell.
“Olivia!” Ransom’s voice is scraped raw, his eyes panicked as Olivia’s head lulls to the side.