Bound (12 page)

Donavan continued to smile and nodded as if he expected nothing else. Lucy let out an audible sigh of relief and I stared at her. What was her game in this anyway?

The two of them guided me out to the front door and all but shoved me forward.

“If you can’t bring him in I will have him shot. If you try to run, I will have him shot. If you think to call your friends . . .”

“I get it,” I said. “You’ll shoot him. No need to spell it out Einstein.”

Donavan laughed as if I’d hit the punch line in a joke. “No, no. I won’t shoot him for that, your friends are all dead so there will be no need to try and call them. You are quite the tart aren’t you?” He laughed as he shut the door, locking it behind me.

I started out across the tiled courtyard to the front gate, limping ever so slightly, the spot where the dart had stuck me throbbing in time with my blood pumping.

“Sebastian,” I called out, my voice echoing down and out over the water, the ships moored there bobbing along with the gentle roll of the waves. It was peaceful considering how short a time ago it had been a freaking war zone.

I made it all the way to the fence without any movement. I called out again and waited. Nothing. My heart began to pound. What if he’d left me here, believing me safe, believing me better off without him? I didn’t think I could go through that again.

“Sebastian!” I screamed, my fear giving me more decibels than normal.

I limped up along the fence line towards the bluffs Burns and I had stood on. I kept calling for Sebastian and still there was no response. As a last resort I let out a whistle.

There was a shift in the bushes at the base of the cliffs and my hopes rose. Scout pulled himself out of the shrubs and literally crawled to the fence. I crouched down and put my hands through, touching his face. It was obvious he was hurt badly, his left leg at an odd angle and his body a mass of bruises. Through his right bicep was a gunshot wound that had crusted over.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, emotions clogging my throat. I stood and half ran to the nearest gate. I slipped through and locked it behind me, running to Scout’s side. He grimaced when I helped him to sit up, propping him against the fence. “Sebastian, where is he?”

Scout shook his head and my throat tightened. No, he wasn’t dead; I couldn’t believe that was what Scout was trying to tell me. He pushed himself to stand and hobbled on his broken leg towards the water. I followed, trying to decipher what it was he was trying to show me. A shot rang out and a bullet ricoched off the pavement in front of me. Scout dove for cover behind the nearest bush and I held up my hands.

Apparently I wasn’t to go towards the harbour.

Another shuffle of bush and Scout scuttled away down the water line, dragging his broken leg behind him. I scrubbed my face with my hands, emotions welling up hard and fast.

As my strength began to wane I turned and called for Sebastian again. I walked slowly, favouring my leg, back to the gate. A scan of the area nearly stopped my breath. There was a hand and arm sticking out from under one of the green hedges. I ran to where the body lay and let out a gasp of relief. It was the Alpha male; the one Sebastian had been fighting. His guts were ripped out of him, spread in a semi circle where the ravens and crows had made their feast.

Was this what happened to Sebastian? Had he died alone and in pain, keening for me? A sob ripped from my throat as I turned and familiar hands grabbed my arms.

Sebastian let out a low rumble, a wild look in his eye that I ignored as I threw myself at him, great gulping sobs of relief pouring out of me.

At first he didn’t respond, and then slowly he slid his arms around me and buried his nose in the crook of my neck. Moist warmth slid down my skin and dripped into my shirt, leaving a burning tingle wherever the tears roved.

I clung to him, the razor edge of fear sharp on my heart leaving me more than a little needy. I was terrified to lose him again. “Sebastian, come with me, please,” I said, as I took his hand and walked to the gate. He stared at the high fence and stopped dead in his tracks. I didn’t blame him, the memory of Vincent and the captivity in that camp was too fresh. But we didn’t have a choice. I knew that Donavan would shoot us both if we tried to run.

I didn’t know how else to explain it so I took his hand and placed it on my belly. “Please.”

He closed his eyes and a tremble rippled through him. I pulled on his hand and he stepped forward with me, slowly, but moving. A scuffle to our right snapped us both into high alert. It was Buck and he was watching us go inside the fence with a look of disbelief. Sebastian grunted at him and flung his hand as if tossing Buck something. Buck nodded and slipped back down the slope towards the water.

“You just made him Alpha, didn’t you?” Sebastian nodded once and then touched my cheek with his hand. He had given up his leadership over a second pack to be with me, his love overriding the animal drive to be Alpha.

My eyes filled and we walked into Donavan’s compound together, holding hands, ready to face whatever would come our way.

18

“I hope you’re sure of this Donavan, bringing a Nevermore in here un-sedated,” Lucy whispered to herself, as Sebastian and I walked past her. He glared at her but otherwise didn’t make a single move in her direction. I clung to his hand, fear bubbling up in my throat. I had no illusions about what would happen to Sebastian if he went after one of the other people in this compound.

I headed back to the room that held the ultrasound machine and Donavan was still there. He didn’t look up when we came in.

“No doubt your Sebastian wasn’t as malleable as you’d hoped. Mara, it isn’t your fault, my wife Juliana is the love of my life and she attacks the cage whenever I come ne . . .” His words stuttered to a stop as he lifted his eyes and saw us standing hand in hand in the doorway.

“This is Sebastian,” I said, and smiled up at my scowling husband. I squeezed his hand. “Sebastian, this is Donavan; he’s a son of a bitch, but may have a cure for Nevermore.”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, then he looked down at me and the wildness ebbed. He lowered his head and pressed it against mine.

Donavan cleared his throat, his smile gone, his eyes narrowed. “Ultrasound first then, as I am a man of my word, I will draw blood off the male.” His voice was colder than it had been, even for him, and there was a sharp edge to it now.

I didn’t let go of Sebastian, and he helped me on to the table. A few moments later Lucy came in, slightly pale, but still doing as Donavan wanted.

She said nothing and the silence was heavy and full of fear, the air around us seeming to thicken, clogging my throat.

The gel was cold and I sucked in a lungful of air. At Sebastian’s concerned look I smiled, “Just cold.”

He nodded, and then Lucy swirled the ultrasound on my little bump and a picture came up on the screen.

“There’s the head,” she said, and shifted the position. “And there’s the heart.”

A staccato not unlike the thrum of hummingbird wings came rushing over the ultrasound and I held my breath. Sebastian stared at the screen then looked at my belly and back again. Emotions filled me up and started to spill over. “That’s our baby,” I said.

“Love too,” Sebastian strangled out, the words rough but I knew. “Love too,” I whispered back.

Donavan stood, a strangled look on his face, and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Sebastian leapt to his feet, a growl on his lips at the sudden noise. I took his hand and pulled him gently back down to sit beside me. “It’s okay Bastian. Just stay with me love.”

He settled back down and Lucy blanched as she stared at me. “He really does love you doesn’t he?”

I smiled back. “Yes, more than I ever imagined.” I paused, took a breath, and asked a question that had been burning in the back of my mind. “Donavan is trying to bring his wife back, isn’t he?”

Lucy stopped what she was doing and looked at me, finally giving me a slow nod. “Juliana is the whole reason he’s doing this. They were married for nearly twenty years, childhood sweethearts. But she doesn’t remember him at all. Just like the rest of them don’t remember their family. It’s why I’m here. To help him find the cure.” There was more than sorrow in her voice; bitterness lay heavy on her words as she all but glared at me and Sebastian.

“Seeing me and Sebastian together hurts you, doesn’t it?” I asked, my voice soft. Again she nodded. I closed my eyes and imagined what it would have been like if Bastian had forgotten me and stayed with Jessica. The pain at the mere thought was instantaneous and overwhelming. I understood why people resented us.

Lucy went back to the ultrasound and slid it across my belly. She stopped over a section that I thought might be the baby’s tummy, but was hard for me to tell with the slight movement that continued through the whole session.

“Hmm,” Lucy’s eyes narrowed, and she slid the reader piece to the left.

“What? Is something wrong?” My heart started to speed up at the concern on Lucy’s face. Sebastian picked up on my anxiety and started to stand, his face tight with worry.

“I don’t know Mara. The baby is healthy, but I’m just not sure. I have to get Donavan back in here, I don’t use this enough.” She put the ultrasound down and left the room; I started to shake. Not again, I couldn’t go through losing another baby. Please God, don’t let this happen to us again.

I covered my face with my hands and Sebastian leaned over me, cradling my head to his chest, hiding me while I sobbed. I tried to pull myself together. When Bastian let out a low growl I knew that Donavan had come back in and I managed to stop the tears and hiccup back the last gulping sob that threatened to pop out of me.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” he said, smiling at me and placing the ultrasound back on my belly. I grimaced as his fingertips brushed across my skin here and there. I was not comforted by him in the least.

He moved the ultrasound first to the left and then to the right and back again, his grin never slipping.

“What’s wrong with the baby?” I asked, my anxiety getting the better of me.

Donavan turned the machine off and Lucy wiped my belly with a cloth. “The baby seems to have some deformities. It isn’t apparent what exactly the final result will be, but I have no doubt they are a result of the Nevermore drug. You did conceive this child after Sebastian took the shot?”

I nodded, my heart numbing to what he was saying. I licked my lips, trying to work up the spit to ask the question. “But the baby is okay? I’m not going to lose the baby?”

Donavan shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. But it looks as if it has extra limbs. At least one extra arm for sure. Something I’ve seen on a few of the Nevermores. It’s rare but does happen.”

I let out a sigh and leaned back on the table. Sebastian stared from me to Donavan and back again. “It’s okay, the baby is going to be okay.” I had to trust in that, had to believe that I wouldn’t lose this child, or my husband.

Donavan left the room and Sebastian and I were alone. He bent, laid his ear on my tummy and I put my hand on his head, running my fingers through his dark hair.

Moments later Lucy came in, needle and vial in her hand. “I need to draw blood and then I’ll take you to your ce . . . room.”

I got Sebastian to sit down and Lucy was able to draw blood quickly from him. He didn’t even flinch when she had to jab the needle in. I glared at her and she staved off my words with a wave of her hand. “Their skin is thick like hide, there has to be some force or the needle won’t go in, so no need to give me the stink eye girl.”

I grit my teeth and contented myself with stroking Sebastian’s other hand, tracing the veins and patterns under his skin.

“There,” Lucy clapped her hands, making both me and Bastian jump. “We’re all done.”

I stood and she waved for us to follow her. I took Sebastian’s hand, gripping it tight, as if by sheer force I could keep him here with me. I was deathly afraid to be separated from him and, even if it meant I would be caged like an animal, I didn’t care.

Lucy led us upstairs, which surprised me. The theatre still had much of the local and native artwork up on the walls, but it didn’t hide the fact that the theatre was utilitarian in looks. Everything was cement. Walls, floor, ceiling. Maybe it was for acoustics or maybe just a cost issue, but either way it was far from pretty. We stopped on the third level and took a door down a long hallway. It opened up into the Coast Bastion Hotel and from there Lucy took us to a nice, clean room on the first floor.

“Don’t know why you get this room, but here it is. The water works but don’t expect it to be hot.” We stepped inside and she shut the door, locking it behind her.

Alone with Sebastian, I stripped out of my clothes and walked to the bathroom. I didn’t care if the water was cold; I just wanted to be clean. I think it had been nearly a week since my last bath in the bunker.

I cranked the water on, fully intending to have a bath. I could pretend I was camping at the lake or something.

As the tub filled I peeked back into the main room to see Sebastian sitting on the floor, his back against the wall so he could stare at the bedroom door. His breathing was rapid, his chest rising and falling so fast I thought for a moment he might be having a heart attack.