After we go over the plan one last time, Rylan escorts Lizzie off the property. I keep part of my attention on his presence, monitoring his emotions for any spike that might indicate she’s attacked him. It’s getting easier to keep track of the men. They all shield too well for me to get much more than a faint impression, but I think that’s preferable for everyone. I don’t want to invade their privacy, and I look forward to a time when I’m able to get my own shields in place.
If we survive the next twenty-four hours, maybe I’ll even manage it.
“We will.”
I glance at Malachi. “You know I hate it when you do that.”
“It’s difficult not to when you’re thinking so loudly.” He takes my hand and tugs me against his chest so he can wrap his arms around me. Wolf said he needs a little time alone and headed in the opposite direction of both his sister and the town. His presence along the bond doesn’t feel as calm as Rylan’s, but he’s not in a full-out panic state anymore.
This is, I realize, the first time Malachi and I have been alone in quite some time. I run my hands up his chest and look into his dark eyes. “There are more ways tomorrow could go wrong than there are ways it could go right.”
“I know.” He cups my face and drags his thumb along my lower lip. “But we’ve survived impossible scenarios already. What’s one more?”
“That logic is so incredibly flawed.”
He gives a brief smile. “It’s the only logic I have.”
I don’t understand how he can be so steady, so unafraid, so sure things will work out. “Even injured, my father is a significant threat. He’s stronger than me, faster than me, and—”
“He’s not more determined than you.” Malachi holds my gaze. “He’ll be fighting for his life. You’ll be fighting for so much more.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “We won’t leave you to do it alone. All three of us will be fighting our way to you. You just need to survive until we get there.”
Survive and prove I’m strong enough to rule.
I tuck myself under his arm. “Lizzie asked a question earlier…”
I don’t know if it’s the bond or merely Malachi’s intuitiveness that has him sensing the direction of my thoughts. “About the baby’s father.”
“Yes.” It’s something I didn’t even think could be an issue, mostly because I’ve only be focusing on the immediate future and survival. But the fact remains no matter what magic is capable of, science reigns supreme when it comes to eggs and sperm and the like. Which means that this baby has a single biological father. It’s strange to think of it as a baby. I’ve barely come to terms with the fact I’m pregnant, let alone what the end result will be.
Still, the last thing I want to do is cause harm if I can avoid it. I just don’t know if I can avoid it. “I don’t want anything to come between the four of us. It feels like every time we find some measure of peace, we get kicked in the teeth and something happens that messes everything up. I don’t—” I take a deep breath. “I said I want to keep the pregnancy and I meant it, but I also don’t want the baby to be a point of contention.”
Malachi smiles gently. “Come, little dhampir. Do you really think so little of us that we’d fight over a baby like dogs with a bone?” He sifts his hands through my hair. “That baby is ours. All of ours. The genetics and powers matter little.”
Some tension I didn’t realize I was carrying leaks out of me. I press my forehead to his chest and let him hold me for a few beats. “I want this to work.”
“I know. It will.”
There’s plenty for me to fear. I should focus on what happens tomorrow, for one. But I can’t help spinning out a future with several children, with a family that’s built on love and respect instead of fear and threats. I have a chance at that future with Malachi and Rylan and Wolf. We just have to survive long enough to take it.
“Okay.” I lift my head. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I love you.” He says softly, as if it’s a simple truth and not one that rocks me every time those three little words leave his lips. “I love them, too. We are a unit, Mina. All four of us. I know this hasn’t been an easy journey and it’s not likely to get easier, but we will prevail.” His hold on me tightens before he seems to force himself to relax. “We will cut down anyone who threatens our future. Anyone.”
With that kind of promise, what can I do but return it. I go up on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his lips. “Starting tomorrow, with my father.”
I half-expect a night that feels like our last night in this world, but everyone is sober and distracted. Malachi keeps his arms around me, but both Rylan and Wolf pass by with casual touching as we settle down for the night. They’re all too wired to sleep, but I can feel it pulling at my eyelids, a tyrant lord demanding their due.
“You need to eat.”
It takes me a moment to realize Malachi is talking to me. “I’m not hungry.” It’s not strictly true. My stomach is empty and craving blood, not food. But considering how Malachi’s reacted to that fact so far, I don’t think he’ll welcome the news. Not to mention part of me is scared to feed that way again. What if I lose control? Our plan is too carefully balanced to have one of the men out of commission because I went too far and drained too much.
“Little dhampir.” He shakes his head. “I might not understand what’s going on, but that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to go without.”
“You can’t harm us,” Rylan says from where he’s just pulled on a pair of lounge pants. “We’re stronger than you and there are more of us. If you get out of control, we’re more than capable of handling it.”
I blush. I can’t help it. “I get overwhelmed.”
“That’s just practice, love. All baby vamps get a little wild.” Wolf flashes fang. He’s not quite back to normal—I don’t think he will be until we’re done dealing with his sister—but he’s a bit more of his wild and charismatic self.
“Come, Mina.” Malachi practically carries me to the bed and drops onto it with me in his lap. He holds me with my back to his chest and offers me his arm. “Drink.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll not have you weak simply because we don’t understand what’s going on. Obviously you’re taking blood the same way a full vampire does. We’ll not deprive you.”
I press my fingers to my lips. “What if my teeth change again and I do damage?”
“Try to control it.”
Considering I still don’t know what is going on with me, trying to control it is a laughable objective. Still, for them, I will attempt it. “Okay.”
“Your claws.”
It takes a moment to realize he’s speaking to me, to understand what he wants. I close my eyes and concentrate, trying to envision my fingers changing to claws the way they’ve done in the past. For a beat, nothing happens, but then a faint tingling starts at my fingertips. It’s tempting to open my eyes, but I resist, focusing on that feeling, on expanding it until my nails shift.
When I finally look down, the tips of my fingers have morphed to dainty claws. They’re small, but they’re sharp. “Could I do more?”
“This is how training starts.” Rylan leans forward to examine my new fingers. “You have to work up to a full shift, because if you panic halfway through…” He doesn’t quite shudder, but the feeling is there in his voice. “It won’t kill you, but it’s a painful and scary experience. Better to wait until you master this first.”
The thought of being stuck in some half-transformed state makes me feel vaguely ill. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for that.”
“You will.” He says it with a quiet confidence that makes me take it as truth. Maybe someday I’ll be able to shift into a giant wolf the same way he can and we’ll run together. The thought pleases me. It’s not something I would have sought out as an ultimate dream before now, but I want it. Another part of our future that I will fight to be able to experience.
I drag a single claw along Malachi’s forearm. Not deep enough that it won’t heal easily, but it also won’t close immediately. He presses his forearm to my mouth and I drink greedily. The first explosion of his blood against my tongue feels so right that I moan. This. This is what I’ve been craving.
Drinking this time isn’t the frenzy from before. I can feel that monster inside me, pressing up against my skin, but Malachi’s blood sates it before it has a chance to crave more. Or maybe I just haven’t depleted the energy I got from the last feeding. This is all so new, it’s impossible to say for sure.
All I know is that I lean back a few minutes later, sated and sleepy. “Thank you.”
“Sleep now.” Malachi’s words rumble through my back. “We’ll look out for you.”
I want to stay awake. I do. But with his blood thrumming through my veins, my body has other ideas. My blinks lengthen and deepen. I’m aware of Rylan reclining on the bed next to us and Wolf flopping on top of him with a casual intimacy that makes my lips curve.
Together.
We’re together.
This is how I want it to be.
Always.
