Blue Moon: Blood Moon Trilogy #3 (38 page)

The number of vampires storming the manor was alarming; I hadn’t realized just how many of them there were. I had thought we’d gotten rid of most of them before I’d been taken prisoner. I’d only ever seen a select few around the compound, after all.

Nick and I hopped into the fray immediately as we chased after Bobby, who had now completed his transformation. His clothes hung off him in shreds due to being larger than Cordelia, but he also seemed to be a little more man than beast in some ways. While they both stood on their hind legs, Bobby wasn’t completely covered in hair the way a werewolf was, but his skin had darkened. His face shape had changed slightly, only his muzzle didn’t extend quite as far out as ours, and his ears remained human. I thought Cordelia was terrifying to look at, but whatever Bobby was surpassed even that. It had to be because he was a vampire who’d been turned, while Cordelia had been a werewolf. There must have been some truth to the theory about the basic genetic code of each species determining the outcome of the hybrid process.

On his way through the house, Bobby grabbed a vampire and tossed it our way. My body warmed, muscles tightening as the wolf leaped forward, hungry for the kill. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I grabbed the vampire and held him. He struggled in my arms, trying to free himself and twisting his neck in an effort to bite me. Seconds later, Nick was there, moving fluently, and ripped its head off. It took seconds for the creature to turn to dust, and then we were moving through the chaos once more.

But we couldn’t find Bobby; his distraction had been successful.

A feeling formed in the pit of my stomach, gripping and churning until it was all I could focus on. I soon recognized the feeling as awareness; something was wrong. Looking away from the vampire Nick was currently dismembering, I turned to the left and found Roxanne being held against a wall…by Bobby, whose hands were wrapped tightly around her neck. My only guess was that she’d tried to stop him, and he wasn’t having any of it. Her face quickly turned red, and was on the verge of turning purple as I made my way toward her.

With a growl of anger and frustration, I leapt forward, claws engaged. In seconds, I was there, grabbing Bobby and swinging my right arm, striking him across the face. He barely reacted, his face hardly budging, yet his eyes widened in horror. I allowed myself to revel in his fear for a moment before his hands slackened around Roxy’s neck, allowing her to slide to the floor, gripping her neck and coughing.  I was just pulling my arm back to slash his throat when I noticed him gripping his stomach. Glancing down, I noticed smoke coming from behind his hands, and then he was engulfed in flames, turning to ash right before my eyes.

I stared in disbelief, unable to process what the hell just happened. His death was kind of anti-climactic, if I was being entirely honest, but it no less satisfying. He just…spontaneously combusted. How was that possible?

It wasn’t until Alistair ran into my line of vision, helping Roxy to her feet that it all fell into place. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice hoarse as she thanked him. His hands were red, almost blistered, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain, and they were fading in color by the second. It had been a spell. He’d cast a spell, and judging by the look of distress on his face, it was one that might be frowned upon when his circle found out. He hadn’t used it to defend himself, but to save one of mine, and he looked worried about the possible consequences.

I opened my mouth to thank him as the room fell deathly silent. While Alistair tended to Roxanne, I looked around to see that the fighting had stopped. My pack was bloodied, but not beaten, and the few vampires that remained appeared horrified, having just watched their leader burn from the inside out.

Realizing their fate, the vampires tried to run, but my Pack took care of them before they were able to get too far. Soon, the Pack was all that remained amidst a haze of ash, and for the first time in months, it felt as though a weight had been lifted. The constant cloud of gloom and doom had cleared. We were finally free…

Slow, dragging footsteps pulled my attention to the entry where Colby was, arms wrapped tightly around her torso, Zach holding her, and I remembered just how much this freedom had cost us all…especially her and Corbin.

Corbin rushed toward his sister, sporting a limp that we would have to tend to sooner rather than later, and he eased her down onto the couch where she told him everything that had happened in the pit. He pushed her hair back, assessing her skin beneath the blood, making sure it wasn’t hers, and I listened as everyone assured her she did the right thing. Much to my surprise, she wasn’t as broken up about what happened in the pit as I thought; she sounded relieved. She had achieved vengeance for her parents’ murder, and it alleviated any and all guilt that she might have held under different circumstances.

Arms wound their way around my waist, hands resting on my lower belly, and I jumped, my back still tender and my body still a little strung out from everything that we’d been through. Nick’s scent filled my head, and I relaxed in an instant, settling back into him.

“You good?”

I sighed, the tension melting and oozing from my pores. “I am.”

Nick pressed his lips against my clammy neck. “It’s over now—for good, this time.”

“Hard to believe,” I replied softly, placing my hands over his.

We stood in silence for a brief moment, and fear shot through me again when I remembered everything we’d just been through; I’d been tossed around like a ragdoll and beaten…what if something had happened to the baby?

Always so in tune with my thoughts and picking up on my body language, Nick pressed his hands flat against my bare skin. “And the baby?”

There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of my belly that soon turned into the strangest of flutters. It wasn’t too long ago that I didn’t want kids, but now that there was a possibility that I might have done something to harm it?

Nick’s hands retracted quickly, and he pulled away from me. Slowly I turned, worry creasing my face when I saw the startled expression in his eyes as he looked down at my belly. I opened my mouth to voice my fears when he pointed. “I think it moved.”

I snapped my mouth shut, perplexed as I looked down at my belly. “What?” That nervous flutter flared up again as I placed my hands on my belly, and that was when it hit me like a loaded freight train: the flutter I felt wasn’t borne of nerves and fear; the flutter was the baby moving.

Happiness swelled in my chest, consuming me until I smiled so wide my cheeks started to ache. “I guess she’s just fine,” I responded, grabbing Nick’s hand and placing it on my stomach, wanting to share this with him.

The baby kicked again, this time a little harder, and we laughed—genuinely laughed—for the first time in a couple days. The sound drew the attention of our packmates, who gathered around to share in the joy. I worried it might be a little insensitive, but seeing their love and support told me this was exactly what they all needed right now.

There had been casualties in this war, but we’d come out victorious. We’d come together and destroyed our enemies successfully. They accepted me as their leader when they didn’t have to, and we worked together to put an end to this centuries-long war.

I looked up at Nick, smiling. “What happens now?”

Leaning down, he kissed my nose gently. “We live happily ever after.”

“Easy as that, huh?”

Nick’s grin widened as he nodded once. “Easy as that.”

M
onths had passed, and I could happily admit that they were the most relaxing they’d been since I’d first been bitten. While I was still learning the ropes as the new Alpha, there was this tranquility that now surrounded the Pack.

With Bobby gone, there was no longer a threat to us…

At least, not from the coven.

There seemed to be an increase in strange attacks in and around the city—some attacks spreading far into other provinces, and even the northern territories, from what I was being told.

Jackson and Nick were sure it had to do with Marcus’s death; rivaling Packs as well as strays would try to contend for territory, or worse, to take over the Pack. News of my ascension to Alpha had started to circulate, and I could only assume that others saw this as a prime opportunity to strike.

Because it was the responsible thing to do, I’d sent some of the Pack out to investigate these attacks. Eighty percent showed signs of a werewolf attack—the bites, the smell of an unknown wolf in the area, the huge, looming attacker that disappeared shortly after—but the others were just your run of the mill muggings that the police could handle without our interference.

A baby’s cry pulled me from the dossiers I’d been reading in an effort to strengthen my knowledge about our history. There was still so much to learn, and I needed to know everything about our laws if I was going to help enforce them and maintain control of my Pack and our home should anything else happen.

I looked up to see Nick enter the room, holding a fussing baby boy. He was staring down at the baby, smiling wide as he murmured something. It warmed my heart to see him so affectionate and attentive.

“Where’s Layla?” I asked.

Nick looked up at me, still smiling that infectious grin. “She and Vince went for a run, so I offered to watch Samuel.” Watching as I pushed myself to my feet and rounded the desk, Nick’s expression changed, his eyebrows furrowing with concern. “How are you feeling?”

I groaned and laid a hand over my gigantic stomach, trying to calm the baby from doing its daily acrobatic routine. “Exhausted…” I sighed, and then I winced. “Restless. I would kill to get out and run.”

Nick leaned forward and kissed me. “We’ll try to head out tonight, sweetheart.”

My lips tingled with the memory of Nick’s kiss, and suddenly I was craving an entirely different stress reliever. Sensing this, Nick snickered softly, handing Samuel to me. The transfer was awkward, and I was still getting used to holding something so small and fragile, but I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was a few months ago when he was born. Having never been exposed to a lot of other people’s children, cuddling someone’s young wasn’t a skill I had ever mastered.

There was still another month or so before I gave birth, according to Layla. I was both strangely excited and absolutely terrified. It really depended on the day—some days I flipped back and forth often enough to give me whiplash.

The instant Samuel was cradled in my arms, he quieted, his big blue eyes looking up at me briefly before closing. He inhaled a shuddering breath before releasing it in one contented sigh, and then began sucking his lower lip.

In that exact moment, I wished it was my baby I was holding.

Just mere months ago, holding a child wouldn’t have had this affect on me. Maybe it was the wolf’s maternal instincts, or maybe it was mine, but my arms ached with the desire to hold my own child, to feel the warmth of its skin against my own.

“Looks good on you,” Jackson said as he sauntered into the room.

I smiled. “Thanks. How were things in the city?”

The smile fell from his face as he leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “Nothing’s changed. Strange attacks, victims are alive, but bitten.” He sighed. “I haven’t seen an influx of attacks like this in years.”

“You still think it’s strays?” Nick asked.

“Unless a neighboring Pack has encroached on our territory, yeah.”

“Is that a possibility?” I inquired, bouncing slightly when Samuel stirred in my arms. My stomach tightened briefly, forcing the baby that was housed in there to stretch. It was uncomfortable, but it passed after a moment.

“Anything is possible,” Jackson replied, eyebrows pulling together as he eyed me with concern. “But do I think it’s probable? No. The neighboring packs have always been supportive and loyal to Marcus and his pack. I would bet the farm that strays are up to this.”

“How many victims were there this month?” I asked, trying to run the numbers in my head.

“About five, last I checked.” Jackson ran his hands over his face. “It doesn’t seem like much, but when you add it to the thirty-three others that have been attacked in the city alone since Marcus died in January, we’re looking at an army…not a pack.”

“So we’re expecting five people to shift for the first time tonight?” I confirmed.

Nick nodded. “Brooke, this is the second full moon this month,” he reminded me. “A blue moon is rare, and there’s an added boost that comes with it. It’ll probably force the others from the past couple of months to shift as well. We could wake up to several fatalities and more potential wolves.”

I thought about what he said, my head bobbing. “What are the chances of recruiting? Finding them before they shift? All of the attacks have been reported, we have most of their names. What if we could make them understand?”

“You want to bring strays into the Pack?”

I cringed, remembering Karl, but I shook it off, not wanting to give up on these people who had no choice. They were no different than I was in  the beginning. “I don’t know, but I do know we can’t just sit back and do nothing while we wait for them to make a move.” I paused, another idea coming to me. “Maybe we go out tonight as a pack and run with them, and when we wake up, we can make them understand.”

“And if the ones who bit them find them first—or worse,
after
us? What then?” Jackson was always pooping on the party.

“Then we try to reason with them. We make them see that our territory is not up for grabs.” Another pang in my stomach made me hunch over, and Samuel woke up at the sudden movement.

Jackson, being closer, took the baby from me, and Nick rushed over to help me to a chair.

“Brooke, are you okay?” Nick’s voice inflected with worry.

I shook my head and breathed through the final pinches. The baby stretched again as though annoyed with the sudden inconvenience. “Yeah. I’m good. I think I just need to shift. It feels like the tension pangs I get when I go too long between runs.”

Nick knelt at my side. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “This seems like more to me.” His hands moved gently over my belly. “Layla said you’re weeks away from delivering, but that you could realistically go any time.”

Denial swept over me, washing away his nonsense. “You’re insane,” I told him, trying to stand up when my belly tightened again, rendering me immobile as I clenched my teeth through the pain.

Nick’s head whipped toward Jackson. “Find a way to get Layla back here,” he ordered. “She and Vince went for a run.”

“I’ll send someone. Maybe Alistair could send out one of his magical doo-dads to contact them first.”

“Do whatever you have to,” Nick commanded, turning back to me and holding my gaze; I was suddenly scared. We weren’t ready for this to happen tonight…or even in the very near future. What were we thinking? I knew I couldn’t do this.

“Hey,” Nick said, centering my focus. “Don’t freak out. Just breathe.” The way he was staring at me told me I’d just said everything I was thinking out loud, and he was now working hard to calm me back down. “You were there when Layla had Samuel. Everything is going to be okay.”

I let his words sink in, closing my eyes and allowing myself to believe them. The contractions happened sporadically, and while we waited for Layla to return, Nick helped me up to our room and into bed.

“You really want me to do this here?”

“It’s just a bed,” he told me, tugging our comforters off and tossing them on one of the chairs by the window. “I just want you comfortable.”

I stared at him, eyes narrowed. “You’re being awfully sweet right now. You wouldn’t be trying to stock up on brownie points for when you refuse to get up in the middle of the night to change a diaper, would you?”

His mouth fell open in shock. “Wha—? Baby, please.”

I pressed my lips together. “Mmm hmm.”

Roxanne and Alistair came jogging into the room, and I smiled when I noticed him place a hand on her lower back. I had recognized the attraction between them when they first met, so it thrilled me to watch as their relationship changed over the months.

After news of what Alistair had done to Bobby on the night of the battle had made its way back to his sect, he had been cast out and forbidden to return. I owed him my life and the lives of my pack, so I offered him a place to stay, and he has been maintaining our barrier spells in return. We’d managed to maintain a symbiotic relationship, and the Pack was better for it. Stronger and better equipped, even.

“I managed to link minds with Layla and Vince, telling them to return,” Alistair informed me. “Is there anything else we can do?”

I shook my head, rubbing my hands over my stomach during this moment of calm. “No. Thank you, though.”

Alistair looked toward Nick, then me. “Something to numb the pain, perhaps?”

“Like drugs?” I queried.

“Yes and no,” he said. “I could cast something to relax you enough that you won’t feel the pain, but you’d still experience the birth.”

“Like a mystical epidural,” I stated, intrigued. Another contraction hit, and I fisted the sheets at my side. Alistair’s option was more appealing by the second, but when the pain ebbed, I ultimately decided against it.

Over the months, I’d come to accept the pain I endured as part of the journey. The pain was only temporary and served to remind me that I was alive. It took me to where I needed to go, and often the reward was worth it.

Like now. Having this baby was reward enough.

Layla burst into the room, pulling her shirt on the rest of the way. “Sorry! Sorry!” she huffed, coming to a full stop next to me.

Respectfully, Roxy and Alistair wished me luck and exited the room, leaving Layla, Nick, and me alone. Layla did a quick check of my abdomen before asking me to change into something a little less restricting than my yoga pants. While I changed, she and Nick worked together to put down protective mats and extra towels and sheets.

Within the hour, my water had broken, and my labor progressed rapidly. I didn’t realize that the contractions I had been feeling before were mild in comparison. Nick sat by, trying to coach me, but ultimately feeling pretty damn helpless as I went through this.

As soon as Layla gave the order, Nick climbed behind me on the bed, allowing me to rest my back against his chest, and he held my hands as I bore down and pushed. The pain blinded me, and I tried to keep myself from crying out, eventually losing that battle toward the end of each contraction.

Layla assured me that progress was made with each push, and she continued to cheer me on with a chorus of
“just one more push, Brooke! Just one more!”
She only made herself out to be a liar, eight pushes later.

I was slowly fading. My energy was running out, and I didn’t know how much longer I could do this.

Nick pressed a cold cloth to my forehead and offered me some ice chips—I’d never understood this whenever I had seen it on TV, but I did now, and I appreciated how oddly refreshing they were. “You’re doing great,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head. “Just a little longer.”

“He’s right, honey,” Layla said, looking up at me from between my legs. “I can see the baby’s head. Just one m—”

“If you say it, I will kick you out of here,” I threatened, only half meaning it. Behind me, Nick chuckled, and Layla tried to suppress a smirk. I prepared to apologize when another contraction started to gain momentum.

Recognizing this, Nick sat me up, took my hands in his, and I pushed as hard as my body would let me. I could see that Layla was saying something, but I couldn’t hear anything as I focused on the pain.

Moments later, a flood of relief passed over me. Exhausted and proud of myself, I closed my eyes, laying back against Nick and breathing heavily, mentally preparing myself for the next push…