Chapter 32

Kayla

Over the last two months, a lot of things had changed in my life. A lot. Which was an understatement and something I was still trying to come to terms with.

I felt like I should’ve been experiencing some kind of sadness, an emptiness as I watched the last of the movers pack up my uncle’s belongings and put them in the back of the large semi. But all I felt was this rightness, as if I should’ve done this before, as if this was how things were supposed to go.

I gave one more look at the now virtually empty home, a few of the pieces of larger furniture covered in white drop cloths and staying because the new owners wanted them, and a smile tugged at my lips. I was starting a brand-new chapter of my life.

My uncle would’ve been proud—proud of me, because I was doing what I wanted, what I finally felt would make me complete. I finally loved something enough to take a risk, even though I didn’t know what tomorrow held, especially in this situation with Adryan.

But it was exciting nonetheless.

I wasn’t surprised it hadn’t taken long to sell the Tudor. It was prime real estate in a gorgeous area.

My cell vibrated in my coat pocket, and I reached in to grab it, seeing a text from Sasha.

Sasha: We still on for lunch tomorrow at BB’s? Noon? ’Cause I met a guy and need to gossip. Also, I want to know more about your plans with school and after.

I smiled and typed out a reply.

Me: I wouldn’t miss it. Got some news myself.

After a few more texts back and forth, I put my phone back in my pocket. School was temporarily on hold. Although I planned on finishing up my degree at some point, and it was something Adryan supported me in doing, the truth of the matter was, I’d been going at it so hard because I’d been missing something in my life. I thought putting all of myself into courses would fill that void.

I hadn’t realized that void was not having my mate.

So yeah, school could wait as I enjoyed—for the first time—loving things around me and just living instead of existing.

I hadn’t told Sasha about Salvatore and his involvement with a twisted, exploitative group of assholes. I didn’t tell her about the Otherworld or that Adryan was a vampire.

I didn’t tell her any of that because truthfully I didn’t want to have more to deal with on top of everything else. I cared for Sasha so much, and telling her about the paranormal world we lived in would freak her out, not to mention the shit with Salvatore being an even bigger blow.

But I’d have to speak the truth at some point, especially seeing as she’d always be in my life. She was the first person I’d connected with on a personal level. A friend through and through. She deserved to know about all the stuff happening, but now? No, now wasn’t the best time.

I was still working all this out myself, and the last thing I wanted was to drag someone else into this crazy world that was upside down. Especially if telling her didn’t solve or accomplish anything. Adryan assured me she wasn’t in any danger. In fact over the last few weeks he’d had one of his men watching over just to be sure.

The only thing I told Sasha was the one and only “date” I’d gone on with Salvatore hadn’t panned out, and thankfully she hadn’t pressed, just told me her cousin had gone back to Italy, which I wanted to call bullshit. God, I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to be honest with her, but the truth was I feared it would put her in unnecessary danger.

I stepped onto the front porch, Bear my big, silent canine protector—and always at my side—following at my heel and stopping beside me. I shut the front door, and locked it for the last time.

For a moment I just stood there and stared at the key in my hand. As if Bear sensed my melancholy, he butted his head against my thigh. I smiled down at him and ran a hand behind his ear, giving him a scratch.

I’d rolled my eyes when Adryan told me—because he sure as hell didn’t ask—that Bear would be by my side to keep me safe when he couldn’t be. I might have scoffed but I truly didn’t have a problem having Bear by my side. Both Adryan and Bear had become a point of calm for me in the otherwise turbulent sea that was my life over these last few months.

I turned just as the moving van rounded the corner of the driveway and disappeared from sight. The sun was just about to set, the pinks and oranges turning the sky dusky and dark as it sank beneath the horizon and night started to take over.

It was beautiful and sad, the latter because I’d never see it just like this again, but happiness was still far stronger than anything else. I just stood there, the wind frigid, but the smell of the seasons changing filled the air.

The flash of headlights caught my attention, and I watched a sleek black luxury car coming down the driveway. Instantly my heart rate picked up, my body flushing and desire racing through me, pushing everything else away.

Adryan.

He wanted to be with me every step of the way. Hell, I was pretty sure if Adryan could permanently secure me to his side, he’d do it without a second thought. In fact, he’d tried that arrogant, chauvinistic bullshit with me plenty of times, but if we were to be together, we had to work as a team. I wasn’t a piece of property, and he didn’t own me, even if he thought otherwise.

I rolled my eyes but still smirked, because for as insufferable as he was, I still loved him with every part of me.

But for this instant, as a grown woman, and an independent one at that, I’d had to do things on my own, and one of those things was dealing with my uncle”s home and finalizing everything.

I found myself looking at the two men Adryan had sent over to make sure things went smoothly. AKA—to kill anyone who tried to hurt me, per Adryan’s words. Although the men in question looked human, I was pretty sure they weren’t. I knew they weren”t vampires—what with the whole glowing ball of danger in the sky that didn’t faze them. But other than that, I didn’t know what they were.

They noticed Adryan’s car and gave a nod toward it, then got into their own vehicle and were gone.

The car came to a stop at the end of the driveway, and for a moment it just idled, the windows tinted so dark I couldn’t see inside. But I knew Adryan watched me. I could feel his stare, practically hear his growl for me to come closer.

The driver-side door opened, and I snapped my focus to the sunset. It was already well below the horizon, but there was still that lingering glow that—from what I’d learned about vampires—didn’t burn them to a crisp like in the movies, but did suck the energy right from them until they were so weakened they were easy as hell to kill.

So my heart was obviously in my throat as I looked back at the car and watched Adryan straighten to his nearly seven-foot height, a cell phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low and characteristically deep, but I heard his conversation well enough.

“I know you don’t want me there… yeah, yeah I know I’m a pain in the ass.” He exhaled. “You love me anyway.” He chuckled when I scowled.

I assumed he was speaking with his sister, Luna, because he didn’t joke with anyone, and the only time I heard the L-word leave his lips was in reference to me, and more recently his family. But hell, I still felt a twinge of jealousy.

“He’s well though?” Adryan asked about Lennox, and although I didn’t know his nephew, I’d heard about the awful circumstances regarding his injury. “Yeah, Luna, I know… as well as can be, given the shit that went down.” The deep sigh that left him was one of annoyance. “Well, keep me posted, yeah?”

Adryan stared at me as he spoke in sure, quick responses to his sister. “Yeah, put your annoying-as-hell mate on the phone.” A moment of silence passed where Adryan slowly grinned at me, causing all kinds of fluttering to happen in my belly. “Banner?” he said in a hard, all-businesslike tone, his body visibly tightening. “Any news on your end on the Odhran situation?”

Just hearing about the wolf made me think about Larkin. God, she’d looked so sad and battered, on the verge of being broken in that cell. I didn’t know what had happened to her after we left. Adryan had told me Odhran was her mate and had been searching for her for “a long-ass time.”

He’d told me Odhran had never given up on finding her, and sure as hell wasn’t going to stop now that he was so close. The confidence in my vampire’s voice had reassured me slightly, but Adryan hadn’t seen the bruises on her body, her dirty shift, the way she’d had dark circles under her eyes or been too thin.

I wanted to help her. I wanted to find her too even if we’d only shared each other’s company for a short time. But I didn’t have to ask Adryan. He’d called up his soldiers, barked out orders to go back into those underground tunnels and search for Odhran and Larkin, as well as any other Otherworld creatures trapped there.

He’d been thinking about others, and I fell in love with him so hard in that moment.

But there hadn’t been anything left in Vermont, the fire and smoke damage causing things to collapse and getting through to the tunnels almost impossible. I wanted to believe Larkin had gotten out safely, that Odhran had recused her. I wanted to believe that so badly that I’d asked Adryan if he’d stop searching for them. His reply had been sure and quick and without hesitation.

“Fuck no, I’m not giving up. I’m a stubborn bastard, princess.”

I listened to him speak with Banner about any and all new information his soldiers had found, heard the deafening silence of Adryan staying quiet as he listened to whatever Banner was saying. At the end of it the conclusion was the same between both men.

They wouldn’t give up until Odhran and his mate were found.

Once the call was ended, Adryan tucked his cell back into his pocket, and I could see the snarl on his face as he looked toward the glowing sky. He promptly lifted his hand and gave the setting sun his middle finger, which would have been humorous if I wasn’t nervous as hell for him, given he was outside before the sun had fully set and feeling the remnants of the heavy conversation he’d clearly just had.

As I stood there for a moment and just appreciated the sight of him, I knew that although he might be arrogant and self-righteous in the most annoying—attractive—ways, regardless of his “faults,” he was mine and I was his.

He kept his sunglasses on and smoothed a hand over his jaw, which was covered in a trimmed black beard. I’d joked about him growing one out and how hot it would make him.

Of course the cocky bastard had scoffed and informed me I already found him hot, yet over the following week he’d let it grow in. Even now, despite his arrogance, he still did things to please me.

Hell, I’d find Adryan hot if he was covered in dirt and wearing a stinky-ass burlap sack, but I’d never tell him that. That would just make his ego even bigger, and that’s the last thing anyone needed.

As if he knew what I was thinking about, his smile was slow and satisfied. The arrogant, hot-as-hell bastard.

The sun fully set, dusk turning into evening. I found myself moving toward him. Adryan took off his sunglasses real slow, real sexy-like, and then really nailed it home when he gave me one of those devilish winks.

I grew wet, achy, and ready to have him fuck me right here as a last parting gift to this place. I walked to him, my heart beating harder and faster the closer I got to him. I smelled him before I reached his big, muscular body, a rich and intoxicating scent that reminded me of spices, clean sweat, and burning embers.

He held his arms open, all smugness leaving his face as pure, unadulterated heat and raw, filthy need now replaced it. I let my gaze lower to where I saw the monstrously thick erection tenting his slacks like a third limb. Adryan was long and girthy, wider than my wrist, the length of my forearm. It was a ridiculous size, one a man shouldn’t have realistically, one that wasn’t humanly possible. But he wasn’t human, was he?

It hurt when he pushed into me, a stretch and burn I knew would always be present because no way could my body ever get accustomed to something that big. And God help me but I wanted that fullness, wanted to feel like he was stretching me in half every time he fucked me.

“Mmm,” he hummed in deep approval as I stepped into his waiting embrace and rested my forehead between his pectoral muscles.

“How’s Lennox?” I asked softly and felt him smooth his hand over the back of my head.

“Healed fully, although he will forever sport scars across his face. I tried telling him it makes him look badass, but even my charming personality couldn’t bring him out of the darkness he’s currently stuck in.”

“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.” He made a deep sound in the back of his throat and just kept stroking the back of my head.

“Lennox has to find his own way out of a hole that deep and that dark. He can’t be forced. He knows he has family and support and that he’s loved. All we can do is be there for him when he finds his way back.”

He wrapped his arms around me, and I just breathed him in, let the heavy weight of his arms around me lull me into a sense of calm, like I was wading in a warm bath. And for long moments I just let the here and now surround me. The sadness and worry faded, and in its place was that warm—soon to be scorching—heat that only Adryan could have growing in me.

“You’re wet for me,” he growled and lowered his head to bury his face in my hair, inhaling deeply, his arms banding even tighter against me. “You have an extra sweetness to your scent, princess.”

My heart was thundering as I slowly tipped my head back so I could look at his face. His eyes were hooded, his fangs longer because of his arousal. I pressed closer, and his cock dug deeper into my belly, solidifying that thought.

The longer I stared into his eyes and stayed silent, the more his arousal faded and his expression cleared. Gone was that raw heat I was so familiar with when he wanted to fuck me, and in its place was concern and silence.

“Who do I need to kill?”

I found myself laughing softly, which probably made me insane, given he’d just offered to kill someone on my behalf, and that wasn’t something Adryan joked about.

“Kitty?” he growled, and I took a step back, still silent, my throat extra tight and dry all of a sudden. “Tell me what the fuck is going on so I can do something about it, preferably destroy whoever the hell put that worried look on your face.” He cupped my cheek, his palm so big it dwarfed my face.

I leaned into his hold, unable to stop myself from letting him take control. I liked the fact that he wanted to take care of me above all else. I loved that he wanted to protect me. Yeah, he was brutal and over-the-top, and his default was to kill and ask questions later. Then again, he didn’t ask questions because he didn’t fucking care, didn’t have remorse, didn’t bother with worrying about repercussions.

He made me feel safe in a world that had opened up under me and made me anything but.

But as I stared into his blue eyes, I knew I had to be honest with him, knew that no matter what, Adryan would be with me every step of the way. But this… this truth was life changing, and I didn’t know how a man—a vampire—like Adryan would handle it.

God, I don’t even think I am fully handling it right now.

“Do you think of the future?” I asked softly and immediately felt stupid for saying it. The future was probably all he thought about.

Adryan didn’t show a lot of emotion—well, not in the “normal” way people did, with laughing and tears, with sadness or affection. He showed me he cared, that he was devoted to me and only me, by eliminating any danger with blood and violence, by fucking me hard and giving me all the things I needed to feel whole.

“You are my future.”

My breath hitched when he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. Although I felt how tense his body was, how much he wanted me still, he was holding back. I knew that wasn’t the easiest task for a male like him. And the fact that he tried to go against the very essence of what made him who and what he was made me soften for him even more and fall harder for my vampire.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered against his lips before he pulled away. When he did break the kiss, it was to pull back a couple of inches to stare into my eyes, a totally self-satisfied smile curving his full, sexy-as-hell lips.

“Of course you are,” he said all cocky-like. “The amount of times I’ve been fucking you, and for as much as I filled you up with my seed, there’s no way I wasn’t gonna knock you up.” His grin was absolutely self-satisfied. “To know I got you pregnant,” he growled, “turns me on, princess.”

Oh my God. The arrogance.I couldn’t help but snort and lightly smack his wide, hard chest.

But then his expression sobered. “A baby.” He let go of my face to take a step back. I instantly felt that chill from the loss of his hard body pressed to mine. “Hell,” he said low and ran a hand over his jaw. “Me, a father?” He shook his head but was grinning. “Not sure anything crazier has ever happened.”

He looked down at my flat stomach, and instinctively I placed both hands on my belly.

He hummed low… in pleasure. And then before I could say anything, he dropped to his knees, my arms falling to my sides as he wrapped his around my body and rested his forehead on stomach. For a second I was frozen, staring down at Adryan’s dark head and broad shoulders. He was saying something low and deep, inaudible.

“Adryan?” I whispered and tentatively lifted a hand and touched the top of his head. I wasn’t used to this side of him. He was always so sure of himself, arrogant in his actions. But right now? I didn’t know what to say.

When he didn’t move away, I tunneled my fingers in his short black hair and he started shaking his head again. He finally lifted his head so he was looking up at me.

“I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve this baby.” Oh God, his voice… his voice was deep, and if it ever held any kind of heartfelt emotion, it was laced in the words right here and right now. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve you,” he kept saying over and over again.

It was my turn to cup each side of his face, forcing him—which was a laughable thought, seeing as he overpowered me a hundred times over, but he let me have control right now—to stare up at me so we could look into each other”s eyes. “You deserve this baby. We deserve happiness no matter what?—”

He was shaking his head and closed his eyes for a second before opening them, those dark irises flashing red. “The things I’ve done in my long life, the heinous, brutal violence I’ve delivered to anyone who crossed me, and the total lack of fucking remorse—zero remorse, kitty—means I’m a monster in the worst possible way.” I had been shaking my head the entire time but stayed otherwise silent. “You, so perfect and sweet, with a soft heart that I love so much. Too much.” He rested his forehead back on my belly and murmured, “And this baby.” He took a shuddering breath. “Gods, our baby is going to be everything good and sweet, soft and innocent like what makes you… you, princess.” He lifted up my shirt and ran his lips along my skin. “You’re both mine. Mine forever.”

I didn’t want to cry, but here I was with fat tears rolling down my cheeks as I kept smoothing my fingers through his hair and feeling his warm breath moving along my belly, the feel of him saying we were his over and over again soft vibrations through my abdomen.

“I love you, princess, as much as a male like me can with a cold, black heart.” He stood and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into the protectiveness of his body, enveloping me fully. “Whatever I am, and all that makes me jealous and possessive, territorially violent when it comes to you, is yours.” He kissed my face over and over again, not missing a spot, his fangs, long and sharp from the emotion he felt, moving along my skin. “You gave me everything I never deserved. I’m yours. Gods, princess. I’m yours.”

And as I listened to him devote himself to me and our baby growing in my belly, as I felt the truth in those words and how he held me so tenderly, mindful of how much stronger he was than me, I knew everything would be okay.

Everything would be perfect.