Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

KAEL

T he warehouse loomed before me, a carcass of rust and shadows, its hollow insides echoing with the distant scuttle of vermin. Displeasure curdled in my gut like sour blood. This plan reeked of desperation. I'd reached out to Brayden earlier as I sought an alternative, but even he, with his penchant for finding loopholes, had conceded. No workaround existed; Ivy was essential.

I cast a sidelong glance at her, irritation etched on her delicate features. The marks I'd left on her neck stood out. A vampire's brutal love bites and mark of ownership. They were an intended beacon for Lucien's eyes, a broadcast of possession and protection. Ivy caught me looking and her frown deepened.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Her voice was a blade wrapped in velvet, sharpness hidden beneath softness.

"Not in the slightest," I replied, the word clipped, final. "If I had my way, you'd be back in the safety of my estate while I deal with this nuisance."

Ivy grumbled at me as she rolled her eyes.

The rumors had gone out through my line, hopefully filtering into the ears of the spies Lucien had turned from vampires I'd created. Ivy had escaped my containment of her and was on the run, currently hiding in this warehouse. Only time would tell if it was enough bait for Lucien, but I had to ensure she was ready before I left her mostly alone to play her part.

Inside, my certainty wavered like a flame in the wind. I had to find solace in one undeniable truth. Ivy had taken my blood. She was as prepared for this task as she could be. Then she glared at me again as she tugged on her jeans. The dried remnants of our earlier encounter. She'd insisted on washing off my mark, but I'd refused and threatened to do it over and over again if she dared wash my essence from her body.

Ivy was mine. I wanted Lucien and any other creature close enough to scent her to know it as well.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered, breaking the silence as she stepped through a doorway.

The plan unfolded in my head for the umpteenth time, the details sharp and clear as the edges of a silver stake. "You know what to do when he arrives," I stated, more a command than a question.

"Got it, got it. How many times will you go over it? My ears are about to bleed," she shot back, her tone dripping with irritation.

"Once more won't hurt," I insisted, before her hand flew up.

"Save it. 'The L Guy' will be here any minute." She spat out the nickname, an attempt to avoid stirring the beast within me at the mention of his true name. The mere sound of it on her lips was enough to boil my blood.

"Fine," I conceded through gritted teeth. I turned, intent on putting distance between us, knowing well that my presence was gasoline to the fire about to burn.

"Actually, I don't mind helping you make your exit," interrupted a voice so smooth and cold it could freeze hell over.

My body tensed, every muscle coiled like a spring. I spun around, my hiss slicing through the air. "Traitor."

Laughter echoed from the shadows, mocking, cruel. He emerged from the shadows with a vicious smile. "Oh, Kael. You were always so predictable."

Ivy gasped.

My instincts roared to life at the threat to my mate and unborn child. I lunged at Lucien, rage fueling every muscle, but he was already moving toward Ivy.

In the midst of my fury-fueled assault, another betrayal struck. A firm grip like iron manacles snatched me and wrenched me back. A silver dagger pierced my chest with a white-hot brand of agony. Not deep enough to end me, yet sufficient to paralyze my strength. Breath hissed through my teeth as I turned to see who had betrayed me.

"Explain yourself!" My voice, though weakened from the searing pain, was a lethal whisper.

"Lucien is the future," Douglas proclaimed, his eyes alight with fervent belief. The treachery cut deeper than the stake he'd pierced my chest with. Douglas had been loyal for over two centuries when I'd turned him. His loyalty was such that he was the one who'd driven us here… right to Lucien. While we'd laid a trap for him, he'd turn it around on us.

"Future? What madness has taken you?" I ground out, every word laced with venom.

He leaned close, a zealot's whisper. "A new breed of vampires. We won't skulk in the shadows any longer, or bend our knees to humans. All he must do is sire offspring with the human, and we shall unleash our kind from this subjugation."

"Breeding?" I spat the word as if it were poison. "You think such things can change our fate?"

Douglas's grin was all the answer I needed, his conviction unshaken. How could blind faith twist so grotesquely? A future built on such fragile dreams was doomed to crumble, but there was no reasoning with the delirious. Pain lanced through my chest, yet it was the sheer idiocy of Douglas's words that truly struck me.

The future he painted—a lineage of born vampires—was laughably flawed. "You're a fool," I hissed, the silver in my chest a cold reminder of his betrayal. "Even if his plan had merit, which it doesn't, you've overlooked one simple fact."

Douglas's brow furrowed, and I savored the flicker of doubt in his eyes before continuing. "I've already marked her as mine, in every sense."

The snarl that escaped him was cut short as Lucien intervened with a dismissive wave of his hand. "True, he has," Lucien admitted, his grip on Ivy's neck firm as he pulled her closer. He leaned in, taking in her scent, his expression twisting into one of distaste. "But that's no obstacle," he announced. "There are ways to erase such... mistakes."

At his words, the air left her lungs in a desperate cry, but she was trapped. How dare he lay claim to a life not his to take or judge? The urge to rip him apart surged within me, but the silver held me bound.

A cold smirk curled on Lucien's lips, his grip on her neck unyielding. "Perhaps I'll keep the child," he mused aloud, eyes dancing with malevolence. "What an excellent leash to control you, my dear human. And if you prove... cooperative, your role could become quite... enjoyable."

The beast within me growled, a deep and primal sound. "Touch her or our child again, and I will tear your head from your shoulders," I threatened through gritted teeth, straining against the silver that seared my flesh.

"Silence, Kael." Lucien's bit out. With a casual flick of his wrist, he signaled Douglas. "Kill him."

Ivy's scream pierced the air of the warehouse as she pleaded. "Lucien, please!" Ivy's voice broke, desperation coloring her every word. "Please don't kill him."

Lucien turned his gaze toward her, cold and calculating. "Why should I spare him?" His tone dripped with disdain. "Kael is an inconvenience to be eliminated."

"Then you'll kill me too," she declared, her voice trembling but resolute. "Because if you hurt him, I swear I'll end my own life."

"Empty threats," Lucien sneered. "I already planned for Kael to give you his blood to make you more durable. That won't matter since you're still an enhanced human against a master vampire. You are no match for me."

Fear clawed at my insides as her declaration hung in the air. My gaze locked onto hers, willing her to see reason.

"Kael's blood makes me faster," she countered. "One swift move is all it would take. I'd be too far gone right before your eyes, and you wouldn't be able to do shit about it."

"Don't you fucking dare harm yourself, or the child." The plea came out rough, like gravel against silk. "If he takes you, I will find a way to bring you back. You must survive."

Lucien's glare bore into Ivy. "What are you plotting?" he demanded, his grip on her tightening.

She stood defiant, unyielding. Then, in a blur too fast to follow, a sickening snap echoed through the warehouse. Her scream tore through me.

I fought against Douglas's hold, every muscle straining, the silver stake moving infinitesimally closer to my final death. But no matter how I writhed, the metal remained lodged and Douglas's hold didn't wane.

The air crackled with the scent of ozone as magic bombs detonated, showering the room with blinding light and disorienting noise. A guttural groan escaped my captor's throat as his grip on the stake slackened. Seizing the moment of weakness, I wrenched the silver from my flesh and thrust it into his heart. His body shriveled before my eyes.

I darted through the chaos. Faces I recognized stormed the warehouse, their arrival a relief when the turn of events had begun to feel hopeless. Maeve, both fierce and graceful, flew through the cacophony of distractions to whisk Ivy away from Lucien.

I lunged at my betrayer, determined to be the harbinger of the final death. I aimed for his heart, fury guiding my hand. I stopped just before the tip pierced his heart, pinning him to the concrete floor.

"Why?" I hissed.

He looked up, a twisted semblance of amusement playing on his lips. "You cursed me with this existence," he spat. "I've been biding my time, dreaming of nothing but your demise."

"Taking her was incidental, then?" I growled, pushing the point closer as if testing the fibers of his heart.

"Merely a delight until I discovered the true potential she carried." His voice was laced with newfound purpose. "I would have been the herald of a new era, with her as the vessel."

"Your time ends now." I drove the stake home, a vow that Lucien's reign would never begin. The silver pierced his undead heart, and his eyes widened in shock, then dimmed as his body crumpled into itself, shriveling into the grotesque husk.

Spinning to find Ivy, I surged toward her. Maeve stepped aside, her expression a mix of relief and wariness, and the others mirrored her retreat.

My gaze fixed on Ivy as I stalked her while snarling. "Playing games with your life and our child's?" I scolded, feeling the protective rage churning inside me like a storm. "To think you would dare threaten to harm yourself."

But she laughed, a sound that rippled through the tension-charged air. "Do you really think I'd carry actual poison?" she retorted with a smirk. "All I had was a bluff. Just enough to leave a bit of doubt."

I clenched my jaw, unable to fully mask the reluctant admiration. She was fearless, even reckless, but it was that very fire that fuelled my obsession. "Perfectly vexing," I muttered, scanning her wrist where the bone had already knit back seamlessly. "You are perfect for me."

"Of course I am," she quipped, though her eyes held a hint of softness.

I bit through the flesh of my wrist, then pressed the wound to her lips, urging her to drink deep. "For strength," I insisted, despite her attempt to wave it off. "And you will not walk to the car. I'll carry you."

"I'm barely even pregnant. Walking is good for me." Her protest fell on deaf ears.

"No one knows what to expect with our child." I loomed over her as I tried to get her to take more blood. She pushed my hand away, except when it didn't move, she stepped back. "There is no precedence for what could happen."

"Kael, I'm pregnant, not porcelain," Ivy sighed as I scooped her into my arms, though she leaned against my chest.

"Until we can be certain," I countered firmly.

Maeve gave a small wave. "Good luck, Ivy. Call if you need a sane voice," she offered with a knowing glance. Ivy nodded and waved back at Maeve.

"Leave the mess to me," Brayden called with a playfully sarcastic tone. "I don't mind cleaning up after you."

I didn't bother with a response. Instead, I carried Ivy toward the SUV Douglas had driven us here in. First, I'd take Ivy back to my estate and have a doctor called in to stay with us until the child was an adult. Then I'd unleash a torrent of research and lore on Ivy.

It had been over a millennium since there was a known vampire hybrid baby according to Maeve. We would be busy for the next few months, however long Ivy's pregnancy lasted. I didn't know what the future entailed, but I would ensure no one dared harm what belonged to me.