Point of No Return (16 page)

“Yes. I thought maybe I should come to you
and get a prescription for a morning after pill, but I was worried
I might already be pregnant by Devlin.” I paused. “We’ve only been
together one night, but it was multiple times. Medically, what are
my chances of being pregnant by him? I know that the spell he used
was a different one, that you confirmed his fertility.”

“Sar, considering what you’ve told me, in my
experience, you are almost certainly not pregnant,” Stephen said
after a pause. “The spell Devlin used was a potent one, and he was
100% fertile just twenty-four hours after taking it. But pregnancy
depends more on your body than his, like it always does with any
male and female trying to conceive. The same goes for your accident
with Theo.”

“What do I do?”

Stephen sighed. “Do what I said. Call me if
you miss a period, or if you have any other symptoms of pregnancy:
nausea, cravings, or that Lust you had last time. It’s too early to
tell if you’re pregnant.” He paused. “I also have to advise you of
a medical law that affects your situation. I understand you are
Oathed again to both Danial and Devlin. By vampire law, as your
doctor, I must inform them both of your health status after every
visit with me, if they do not accompany you to the actual clinic.
Both Danial and Devlin called to remind me of this law very early
today. Since you didn’t come in to ask me this question, I won’t be
notifying them of this.” He paused. “If I were to treat you and not
notify them, I could lose my license. Please, be careful.”

He was saying that if I came to him for a
prescription for the morning-after pill, he would have to report
that to Devlin. “Thank you for telling me,” I whispered. “I didn’t
know that.”

“I’ll write you out a prescription for
prenatal vitamins, and put it in the mail for you today. If you
aren’t pregnant, it won’t hurt you. If you are, with either kind of
child, they’ll help to keep you strong.”

“Are there any restrictions?” I asked. “I can
limit myself to one glass of wine.”

“Don’t have any rough sex with anyone,”
Stephen replied. “Don’t drink more than a glass of wine at most.
You already don’t smoke. As for blood donation, keep it at a
minimum. Devlin assures me he has knowledge about that. As much as
I know his history, he brought you back to good health, so his
advice has merit. Take it.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I will. Bye.”

I put the phone back, and got a glass of
wine, though it was only about three o’clock.
Thank God, Stephen
had told me about that law...

Theo came in and saw me drinking. “What
happened?”

I relayed the conversation to him as I sipped
my wine. “I needed a drink after that. Thank goodness I called and
didn’t go there to see him.”

“That law’s in place to help Oathed Ones, not
hurt,” Theo replied. “Danial used it not long ago against a vampire
in Buffalo who drained his Oathed One, then claimed it was an
accident because he didn’t know she was anemic—”

“Be that as it may, the law complicates
things,” I interrupted.

“If you somehow are pregnant, either way,
we’ll have to tell Devlin,” Theo said firmly. “There isn’t anything
complicated about it.”

“That’s easy to say,” I replied, upset. “It’s
going to be a lot harder to do.”

* * * *

I opened my eyes and yawned. Then I looked at
Theo beside me, and everything came flooding back.

I’d see Devlin tonight, maybe sooner if Lash
really came to pick me up at noon instead of five. God, I wanted
him. It felt like weeks since I’d last kissed him, or heard his
beautiful voice sing to me. Maybe he was in his bed, wanting me
like I wanted him. I should go to him now, drive there this
morning. If he wasn’t there, I could wait for him. As he opened the
bedroom door, I could be there in his bed, naked and beckoning
wantonly...

A hand brushed me lightly as Theo turned over
beside me, snoring softly.

Shame flooded me. What kind of life was I
offering him? This wasn’t fair to anyone, but it was most unfair to
him. He deserved to be happy.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, smoothing his hair
back from his brow. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, opening his storm cloud
eyes. “Don’t be sorry for anything. We’ve got each other, and
that’s all that matters.”

“I have to leave tonight,” I said, touching
his chest tentatively. “Make love with me?”

He brought me into his arms, and began
kissing me. First, the kisses were soft, and gentle, then rough and
passionate. Breaking away, he rummaged in the nightstand drawer,
quickly put on a condom, then rolled on top of me. With an eager
moan, he slipped inside, already moving fast. I moved with him
enthusiastically, writhing beneath him, crying out repeatedly. The
sensation was undeniable, and it washed over us both as one, our
screams blending together in raucous harmony as we spent
ourselves.

Theo stopped jerking, then moved back from
me, peeling off the condom. He threw it away, then spooned me.
“That was wonderful,” he said, sated. “I worried you were afraid to
be with me, or something.”

“I don’t know what I was worried about,” I
said vaguely, snuggling into him. “At this moment, it’s not
important.”

“No, it’s not,” he said lovingly, hugging me
next to him.

* * * *

After a large breakfast of at least a
thousand calories each, Theo and I arrived in the great room at
Danial’s house. No one was around.

I walked to Danial’s door and knocked. He
didn’t answer.

Theo called out “Danial?”

“We’re in here,” Elle called out.

Theo and I went into her room. Danial, Elle
and Theoron were lying on her bed watching the end of ‘The Last
Unicorn’.

“Mommy!” Theoron shrieked.

I picked him up, marveling at his size. He’d
looked close to two years old before, and now he looked easily five
years old. “You’re big,” I managed.

He looked at me and smiled. “I’m growing fast
now, Mom. Tears says that I’ll be as tall as Elle in a month.”

His verbal communication was flawless. I was
stunned speechless.

Seeing my upset, Danial came over to me.
“Terian said that Theoron is going to grow faster now, Sar. He may
well be an adult in December.”

Remain calm, or you’ll scare the kids
.
I eased myself quickly down onto the bed. “Why is that,
Danial?”

“Can we see a movie today?” Elle asked
suddenly. “Please?”

“I want to see one, too!” Theoron shouted.
Instantly, his eyes bled to red, and his fangs descended.

“Theoron, control yourself,” Danial said
gently.

Theoron looked at his father, and took a deep
breath, his eyes going back to their dark green as his fangs
receded. “I want to go,” Theoron said firmly. “I never get to go
anywhere.”

“You can’t go with them,” Danial said gently.
“Not today.”

“Danial,” Theo said. “Why don’t we all see
that movie together? Elle and I can meet you and Sar and Theoron
tomorrow night. If Terian comes, we’ll have plenty of guards.”

Danial looked at Theo in surprise. “That
would be great,” he answered. “I want to start taking him outside
the grounds now that he’s older.”

“I’m hungry!” Elle said loudly and
meaningfully.

I turned to her. “Go get your bag, and don’t
be rude. We’re leaving shortly.”

Elle scrambled to get her bag, then ran out
the door, Theo following.

“I’ll see you Saturday,” Danial said. He drew
me to him, kissing me lingeringly. “Have a good time today and
tonight.”

“Had to add that last bit, didn’t you?” I
smiled up at him.

“Dad,” Theoron said, tugging at Danial’s
sleeve. “I’m hungry, too. When are the women getting here?”

I looked at Danial curiously. “Donors?”

He nodded. “I have two coming this afternoon.
Theo is learning how to take blood while inflicting as little pain
as possible. He’s made much progress in the last week.”

“I’d known this was going to happen, I just
didn’t think it would be so soon.” I patted Theoron’s head. “I’m
glad you’re doing so well. Just don’t grow up too fast.”

“It was the real blood right from a vein at
The Gathering that caused his growth to accelerate,” Danial said.
“That mixture of dried blood Stephen gave us sustained Theoron, but
it seems in retrospect, we should have given him fresh blood from
the start. It is something I’ve passed onto Devlin. He’s said he
plans to use only that with your child.”

I looked down at Theoron and tousled his hair
again. “I am glad you were little for a while,” I said
wistfully.

“He’s safer the older he gets,” Danial said.
“Remember, Sar, Theoron will likely have an increased lifespan.
He’ll still be ours, he’ll just be bigger.”

“I’m going to be really big,” Theoron said
proudly.

“You’ll always be my baby,” I said
lovingly.

Theoron gave me a grimace. “I’m not a baby
anymore,” he said, his green eyes flashing.

Danial laughed. “His eyes are so much like
yours, Sar, so spirited.”

“Are you coming or not, Mom?” Elle
yelled.

“Come on, you,” Danial teased, grabbing up
Theoron as he shrieked loudly in joy. “Let’s go wish them off.”

* * * *

We hadn’t finished our meal at the restaurant
when Elle started in.

“Theo, are you going to leave Mom again?”

Theo froze, glancing over at Elle, then me. I
looked back at him expectantly.

“No,” he said, swallowing hard. “I’m never
leaving your mom again, Elle. I was wrong to do it the first
time.”

“Promise?” Elle persisted.

He put his arm around her shoulders. “I
promised her, and I promise you, too.”

“Good!” she said loudly. “Can I have another
sleepover?”

“That means a lot of planning,” I said
firmly, glancing at Theo. “I’m not sure how busy this spring is
going to be. The next few weeks is right out, Elle.”

Elle gave me her best wheedling face. “Dad
said I’d have to ask you and Theo.”

“Maybe in a month,” I said, considering.
“What do you think, Theo?”

He looked back at me and nodded. “I’m in.
Finish your pancakes.”

“Great!” Elle said excitedly. She dug into
her food, finishing before either of us. “Can I play the stuffed
toy machine?”

I handed her some money. “Sure. But for five
dollars, I expect more than one toy.”

“You got it,” she said boastfully, pocketing
the money and walking away.

The waitress brought our check over. “Your
daughter a beauty,” she said to Theo and me with an appreciative
smile. “She’s going to break some hearts when she gets older.”

Theo’s eyes met mine as we both said, “Thank
you.”

“Being the only child can be lonely
sometimes,” the waitress said meaningfully.

“We want to have at least one more,” Theo
said, grabbing my hand. “Wish us luck.”

The waitress smiled at us. “Good luck to
you.”

My stomach lurched. “I’m going to the ladies’
room,” I said quickly, then added a smile so he wouldn’t think I
was upset with him. “Keep an eye on Elle.”

I hurried to the ladies’ room, my nausea
increasing.
What was wrong?

Bile rose in my throat, and I choked it back.
I breathed deeply over and over, forcing myself to think about
absolutely nothing. Slowly the feeling passed.

When I was sure I wasn’t going to be sick, I
went and washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror.

It was too soon for morning sickness. It was
just the greasy food.

Quickly I left the bathroom, my face in the
mirror not believing what I was saying any more than I did.

Chapter Nine

“Devlin, I may be pregnant with Theo’s
child.”

Cavity looked back at me from my bed,
nonplused.

I let out a breath. “Damn it.”

I’d been trying in front of the mirror in my
bedroom for the better part of the afternoon to come up with some
way to break that news to Devlin. So far, I still sounded lame.

Theo called out from the other room, “Lash is
here!”

I sighed, grabbed my bag from the bed, and
went out the bedroom door.

Lash was standing near the door. Elle was
standing a little behind Theo, peering at him from behind her
father’s back in the stance of a much younger child who was
afraid.

I wasn’t surprised. Lash had that effect on
most everyone, including me. There was an air of violence around
him, no matter how nondescript he looked dressed in his simple
black shirt and jeans. He stood there now almost defiantly, his
arms folded across his chest, his jet-black hair wild-looking, the
scar across his left side of his face and eye baring his long fangs
in a lopsided smile that dared Theo to make a move.

His flat eyes flicked up to mine.
“Ready?”

Lash was the only were I’d ever met who
retained his animal eyes in human form. I’d concluded he’d done it
deliberately somehow, to increase his fear factor. His snake eyes
were always unsettling, not just for their alien quality, but the
sheer cold flatness for them.

“You want to stare at me, you can do it in
the truck as I drive,” he hissed, his smile twisting his face
further. “Get moving, My Lady.”

I went over and hugged Theo and Elle. “Have a
good time.”

“Call me tomorrow evening, when you get to
Danial’s,” Theo said firmly. “I’ll see you later that night, for
the movie.”

“Remember, don’t watch anything too scary
with Elle. Try to—”

“Shh,” Theo said firmly. “Just hug me and go.
There isn’t anything to say.”

He was right. “I’ll see you before you know
it,” I said, brushing the hair out of his eyes. I leaned in for a
last kiss, then headed to the door without looking back. “Bye.”

I walked out the door into falling snow, Lash
following.