Darkness Falls (31 page)

Except, she had been terrified when Jiro had slumped over after Feryn fucked her brains out and then went off to find his son. Jiro had been taunting her about her having sex in front of him but she hadn’t cared because she had been so utterly relaxed she didn’t think anything would bother her ever again. But then he had abruptly stopped talking and all of her senses flared up with warning and she knew Feryn was in trouble. How could she live with herself if she hadn’t done everything in her power to make sure he stayed safe?

So she had followed him, using the route that she knew so well even though she’d never travelled it. When she saw him and how close he was to the edge, she couldn’t let him kill Taella, especially when she knew what it did to him when he had to take an Aradian life, no matter how justified. She had been more than willing to bear that burden, especially once she saw Varick in real life and not just her dreams. His body was even more wasted, more starved, more abused, than he had shown her in her dreams and in that moment she was fully capable of ripping the Aradian bitch’s head off. Freeing him from his bindings had been awful because the rope had eaten into his flesh and when she untied each knot the old wounds were torn open. Every time he winced she had wanted to cry.

It had been a relief when Varick had sunk his fangs into her throat to regain some of his strength. Unfortunately, he hadn’t closed the wound when she had pulled away to go to Feryn’s side and it hadn’t even occurred to her that there might be a problem until after Feryn told her to stay put. Of course, the jerk couldn’t be bothered by her or the fact that she was still bleeding, not that she blamed him when she saw the wrath emanating from Varick as he held Taella’s life in his gaunt hands.

Still, Feryn could have closed the bite marks before sending her off with Jiro, who still hated her. It had killed her to ask him to take care of her and she didn’t even want to think about the lusty groans that came from his throat when he did. But that was nothing compared to the terror she felt when he had abruptly pulled his head back and looked at her with wide, almost maniacal eyes.

“Jack’s a Breeder now?” he asked, licking a drop of her blood off his lower lip. “How?”

She shook her head, refusing to answer his question, afraid of what would happen if she told him. In that moment, she was afraid of him, of Aradians. She could only watch in horror as he closed his eyes and replayed her memories, a smile slowly curving his lips.

“Malorie,” he chided, looking down at her with that dark gleam in his silver-green eyes. “You’ve been keeping secrets from us again.”

“I haven’t….” she protested but it was no use.

“How long have you known your blood created Breeders?” he asked.

“It’s not like it was intentional,” she countered, taking a step away from him as her heart thudded painfully in her chest. “Besides, it might be a fluke.”

“It makes sense, though, doesn’t it?” he asked, matching her step for step and ignoring her comment. “And it would probably take far less blood than the amount Jack had consumed to create another Breeder.”

“You can’t do what you’re thinking of doing,” she hissed, her hand touching the base of her throat as if he was about to bite her. But he wasn’t going to be the one to bite her.

He smiled cruelly, “You have no idea what I’m thinking, Malorie.”

“I saw what you went through when you had to destroy your vampires, Jiro,” she said, trying to reason with him. “You can’t risk that.”

“I’d risk all of that and more for the chance to have a Breeder.”

She got back at him by throwing up all over his pants and shoes before shoving her hands into one of the plants to expel the rest of her Netherspace energy build up. It was getting stronger and if she wasn’t careful, she might end up destroying the world or being destroyed. Carrying an Aradian baby was doing very weird things to her body.

Flinging herself onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling as she contemplated what it meant for the Aradians to be aware of the possibility that Breeders could be created, not born. What if Jack was just a fluke and Jiro went out and created vampires only to have his hopes dashed? It was one thing when he wanted to test her blood in the hope of finding a cure for vampirism, it was quite another knowing that he was going to make a vampire with only a slight chance of creating a Breeder. He would blame her for it if his experiment failed.

Resting her hand on her stomach, she let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Since she doubted Jiro would get into any trouble between now and then, she’d discuss it with Feryn before the celebration in a few days. But tonight was for Feryn and Varick.

Chapter 12

Several days later, Malorie stared in horror at the scrap of material that would barely cover her breasts and ass. Feryn had kept his distance from her for the better part of the week, barely speaking to her and never touching her. Then he had shown up and handed her the aforementioned dress, informing her that she was to accompany him to the party celebrating Varick’s return. After the explosive reunion in the Aradian caves, she had thought they had made peace of sorts but obviously she had been mistaken; Feryn was still furious about Hunter. Therefore she was no closer to broaching the subject of Jiro and vampires with her mate than she had been before.

“You can’t be serious!” she cried out, holding the scrap of material between two fingers as if it were toxic. “I’m not wearing a dress that reveals more than the skimpiest of bikinis.”

“At least you’ll be wearing something,” he ground out, still not looking at her directly, as if it hurt to look at her. Would he ever forgive her for doing what she knew was right? “Most of the guests prefer nudity.”

“Then I’m not going at all,” she growled, flinging the dress to the ground and wrapping her arms around her stomach in rebellion.

For a moment, his eyes heated as his gaze dropped to her breasts and her nipples tightened in anticipation. Just as quickly the fires were banked and he mirrored her image, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Whether you like it or not you are my mate and you have to attend by my side.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate because I’m not going.” She didn’t want to be fighting with him but everything was so messed up right now. Between the lack of sleep and an unpredictable appetite followed by even more unpredictable morning sickness, Malorie looked like hell and she knew the dress would only emphasize how awful she looked. Her stomach only had a slight curve but her breasts had taken on a life of their own over the past couple of days, growing from a B cup to a generous C cup practically overnight. How did Feryn expect her to prance around in practically nothing?

He ground his teeth together and for a moment, his eyes held anger and, if she wasn’t mistaken, desperation. “My son refuses to go unless you’re there. Please, Malorie, do this for m… for Varick.”

Swallowing, she eyed the material lying on the ground and debated whether or not she could go out into public in practically nothing. She
had
promised Feryn she would attend the celebration but at the time she hadn’t known how little clothing was involved. Now she wasn’t sure she could be at a party where everyone would be naked, or nearly so, and all of the gorgeous, non-infuriating women would be panting after her Feryn. Instead of admitting her jealousy, she asked the question that had been plaguing her since they returned from the caves, “Why hasn’t Varick been by to see me?”

Feryn didn’t answer right away and she wanted to scream at him for ignoring her but she remained silent. When she arched an eyebrow, silently demanding an answer, he growled, “He’s barely speaking, Malorie. I don’t know what state of mind he is in and I don’t want to put you at risk if he proves to be dangerous.”

“And yet you’re making him go to this party where there will be tons of people?”

“It’s a celebration.”

“It’s an orgy,” she countered sharply, frustrated with his cool demeanor. If he would only unbend a little, she could explain that her changing body felt awkward and unwieldy and she didn’t want to be around a bunch of skinny girls. Finally, she settled on a portion of the truth, “I don’t think I’m comfortable attending.”

“Varick refuses to go unless you go,” Feryn ground out again, oblivious to her distress. “And it’s in his honor.”

“I’m sure he won’t be missed once the festivities get underway.”

“Perhaps,” he reluctantly conceded.

“Then let him hang out here while you do what you have to do.” She could imagine all of the beautiful girls that were going to be there, all of them ripe for the plucking and all of them trying to entice Feryn into plucking them. The thought made her sick.

“I’m not sleeping with anyone other than you,” he told her, as if reading her thoughts. Reaching out, he almost caressed her cheek but then he let his hand drop at the last moment and she found she desperately missed his touch. He had been strictly hands off since the caves and she was sure he was punishing her. Or maybe it was all part of his game plan so she’d learn to be more obedient. Like that was ever going to happen. “I’ll never sleep with anyone else.”

“Like there’d be much sleep involved in what you do,” she snorted, lashing out at him so she wouldn’t hurt so much. At his fierce scowl, she begged, “Just let Varick hang out with me here, Feryn. I don’t want to go to an orgy.”

“Fuck, Malorie!” he roared, throwing his hands up in the air at her stubbornness. “Can you not do anything I ask of you?”

Mutinously, she started at him, “Not when it involves naked women and a naked you. And I definitely don’t want to be there if it means a naked me.”

He closed his eyes as he pressed his lips together in a tight line, “Fine, then wear whatever the hell you want to wear.”

“What are you going to wear?” When he remained silent, her lips parted in shock, “Please tell me you’ll be wearing something.”

After a moment, he sighed and told her, “If you wish, I’ll put something on.”

“I don’t want women staring at what is
mine
.”

“Well, I want everyone to see what belongs to me,” he said softly, earnestly, reaching up and lightly drawing his finger along her cheek, the tender touch a balm to her parched soul. As if reminding himself that he was mad at her, he stepped back and a cold, impenetrable mask settled over his features once again. “You know what? Do whatever you want. I’ll find another way to get Varick to attend his own damn party.”

With that, he spun on his heel and stormed out of the bedroom, leaving Malorie to stare after him. For being so old and powerful, he really knew how to throw a temper tantrum while piling on the guilt. Letting her arms fall to the side, she bent down and picked up the flimsy dress. With shaking hands, she laid it out on the bed and took off her clothes, calling herself a fool for being hopelessly in love with such a proud man.

Going to the party would give her a chance to talk with Varick to see how he was doing. It didn’t make any sense that he wouldn’t want to see her, not after all of the trouble he went through to reach her through her dreams. Except for the fact that she had been the only one he could connect with. Maybe he cared for her as much as Jiro did and she was no more than a means to an end. Either way, he might have some insight into Feryn’s thought process because memories were not enough, especially when they caused more stress than comfort.

When she put the outfit on, she found that the dress was actually a lot more concealing than she had thought it would be. It draped across her breasts, wrapped around her hips, and the hem fell a few inches below her bottom. As long as there wasn’t a strong wind, she probably wouldn’t flash anyone but she had on a pair of silky, pale panties just in case. The dress also framed her mark, which glowed against her sun-kissed skin in equal parts beauty and magic. Studying her reflection in the mirror, she realized she didn’t look as awful as she had thought she would look.

She wondered if Feryn would notice.

Grabbing her phone, she checked to see if maybe her father had finally called but, of course, he hadn’t. Calling her ex… calling Jack, she stared at her reflection while waiting for him to answer. For the first time in her life she had some color, thanks to the tropical sun and having nothing to do but lay on the beach. Since Toby loved swimming in the warm water and playing on the sand, it really wasn’t a hardship. Jack often joined them and they had developed a weird, new friendship. 

It was no longer strange being around Jack. At times they would fall into the comfortable bantering that had always come easy to them and sometimes they would sit in companionable silence. She had learned just the teeniest bit about his life as a vampire but she knew it made him uneasy so she never pushed to learn more. In return, she shared a few stories about trying to have a normal life and how difficult it had been. They also spent time in the secret grove so Jack could practice in private, even though Jiro knew about Jack.