A Cursed Bloodline - Chapter One
Chapter One
I continued to stare at the tiny heartbeat on the screen. “How did this
happen?” I asked stupidly. “Have you been sexually active, Celia?”
Dr. Belman’s voice was soft and surprisingly patient. I thought about all
the times Aric and I had been intimate in the last few weeks. “Um. Yes.”
“Did you use birth control?”
“Yes.” He raised
his eyebrows. “It’s true,” I insisted.
I had started back on the Pill when Aric and I resumed our relationship.
Dr. Belman pointed to the monitor. “Every time, Celia?”
“Well, no. But it was only one night.” That was the truth—sort of.
Granted that one night we’d made love four times, but that didn’t matter,
right? I looked back at the little beating heart. I guess it does . . . matter.
Tears streamed
down my face. Although I completely freaked, I couldn’t help smiling.
Aric and I are
having a baby.
Dr. Belman removed the internal monitor, the same monitor I insisted he
use to disprove the pregnancy test results. I thought he was just in
obstetrician mode when I explained my symptoms and he had me give a urine
sample. Extreme fatigue and nausea could have been related to anything I might
have contracted on my recent international trips.
“Are you all
right, Celia?”
I
sat up and wiped my trickling tears. “Yes. No. I’m not sure, but I will be.”
“Do you feel the young man responsible will be supportive?”
Don’t you mean the young
werewolf? “In time. Aric is just going through a lot at the moment.” You see, Dr. Belman, he was severely burned
and disfigured three days ago, in Chaitén, Chile, trying to save the world from a seven-headed fire-breathing
demon.
“Regardless of
what challenges he’s facing, if he’s worth keeping, he’ll make you and his
child a priority.” He sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I apologize,
Celia. I know it’s not my place to speak to you like this, but you are a nice
young lady and deserve a good man.”
“I appreciate
your concern, Dr. Belman, but Aric is a
good man.” He’s just hurting.
Dr. Belman tapped my arm and regarded me thoughtfully. “If you say so, I
believe you.” He helped me off the exam table. “So, miss, the plan is you will
stop taking birth control at once and you will see me in four weeks. Here is a
prescription for some prenatal vitamins.”
I pushed my long wavy hair from my face and stared at the script. Somehow
the piece of paper officially announced I was becoming a mommy. Another tear
escaped my eye. “Thank you, Dr. Belman.”
On the way
home, different scenarios of Aric’s reaction played in my head, and I wondered
how to tell him. He hadn’t called, though he’d said he would. It was rare for
him not to stay true to his word, and even more rare for him not to check on
me.
My head spun
with worry. The demon hadn’t just marred Aric physically, he’d brutalized his
self-esteem. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel and entertained my
options. I couldn’t call his Warriors. If Aric’s Pack Elders found out, his
friends would surely be punished and so would Aric. I also couldn’t involve my
sisters. They would suspect something, and in this case, Aric should know my
news first.
Will you be happy for us, Aric?
Four days ago, I wouldn’t have asked myself that question. I would have
known based on the depths of our feelings, and from the intimate moments in our
past. I remembered one day in particular when we first began living together.
We lay in bed facing each other. Aric traced my jawline with his finger as he
spoke. It tickled and made me smile. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“What is it,
love?”
He’d returned my smile. It made him happy whenever I used that term of
endearment. “I’ve noticed you haven’t had your cycle. Do you think you could be
pregnant?”
My fingertips
playfully danced against his muscular chest while I tried in vain to suppress
my blush. “My periods are irregular. They only come about every nine weeks.
Don’t worry, I should be getting another one soon.”
“I wasn’t worried,” he’d replied. At the time, I
could have sworn he seemed disappointed.
Another time I recalled, Aric and I had run into a family whose baby I’d
delivered when I was still a nurse. We each took turns holding the baby and had
exchanged heartfelt glances. Although neither of us had articulated our
feelings, I knew we’d wondered about our own family one day.
Well, it looks like the day has come a little sooner
than expected.
I was stopped at a light when my phone buzzed. My heart clenched when I
read the incoming text.
I’m sorry. I need some time alone. Aric
The obnoxious car
horn behind me snapped me from my stupor and made me drop the phone. It
was just as well, I probably would have thrown it with how frustrated I felt. Damnit, Aric. Don’t do this . . . not today.
I drove to my house in Dollar Point to gather some personal items
following my doctor’s appointment. I was about to take a walk along Lake Tahoe
to clear my head, when someone knocked on my door. Anara waited on my doorstep,
holding a charm similar to the one Genevieve had given me to pass through the
wards. My hackles instinctively rose. “What are you doing here, Anara?”
A long, vicious growl rumbled through his chest. “I’m here to tell you
that if you ever see Aric again I’ll—”
“You’ll
what? Kill me?” I was livid. How dare he come to my home and threaten me! Anara
just laughed. “No, you stupid woman. I’ll
kill him.”
His response incensed me. I crouched and readied myself to
attack. “Not if you’re already dead.”
Anara threw out his hand as if batting a fly, sending me slamming into
the portrait-filled wall. Glass from the frames cut into my skin, stinging and
piercing my flesh like the jagged teeth of a shark. Warm blood trickled down my
back and soaked through my thick cotton sweater. He held me a few feet off the
floor with just his will. I jerked my shoulders, trying to move, to kick—anything to break from his hold. My
limbs failed me. I reached into my tigress for strength, but Anara’s power
caged her within me.
He walked inside, slamming the door behind him. Invisible fists struck my
face with each step he took. He broke my nose and bloodied my face without ever
lifting a finger. My ears rang from the jolts and from the eerie call of
howling wolves.
“Do you think me merely a vampire or a Tribemaster you can so easily
defeat?” he spat. “I am an Elder. I
can summon the power of the Pack and use it to my liking. I can kill Aric and
anyone I wish from miles away. No one can stop me—and no one can help you!”
He lifted his
palm and squeezed his fingers, choking me slowly from where he stood. Spots
speckled my vision. I thought he would kill me until he dropped his hand and
released the pressure burning my throat. He paced in front of me, rubbing his
jaw, seemingly pleased with the amount of magic at his fingertips. I spat out
blood and tried to speak. “Why Aric?” I croaked.
His hot breath
stirred against my face. “I will not allow you to taint his bloodline. He is a
king among wolves and you are nothing but a whore. I’d rather see him dead than
with an abomination like you!” His stare traveled the length of my body with
the deepest of loathing. He lifted the edge of my sweater, before yanking it
down with disgust. “I never understood what he saw in you,” he
scoffed.
Anara’s hold continued as he stalked away. “My followers are everywhere,
Celia. I can manipulate them to do my will, just as I did Virginia. I will know
if you see him, I will know if you speak to him.”
The
realization of his words struck me like a thunderbolt and washed my bleeding
form with cold dread. He was the one
who believed me the key to his destruction . . . and to all he led.
Anara stopped at the door, the muscles of his back tightening until they
bulged against his red shirt. “If you dare
tell anyone about this, your sisters will share Aric’s fate.”
As a testament of his power Anara didn’t release me until about an hour
after he left. I crashed to the floor, coughing and shaking. The only thought
racing through my head was the need to protect Aric, my sisters, and the baby
growing inside me.
Back to A Cursed Bloodline