After our shower, I tried to dress into my scrubs, but I couldn't get into them. In fact, I couldn't even pull the pants up past my upper thighs. I sighed, opting for a loose-fitting blue dress that came to just above my knees and showed off my legs. Then, I slipped into some low heels. At least I hadn't gained weight anywhere else other than my stomach, ass, and breasts, of course. I was beginning to think that I had two cantaloupes on my chest instead of breasts. I laughed to myself as I ran a brush through my hair and pulled the front up, but let the rest fall loosely into blonde waves over my shoulders. I wasn't going to work, after all, so I could look a little more casual. I stepped in front of the mirror, satisfied, but ran a hand over my stomach, unable to believe that it had actually grown bigger overnight.Lance let out a long whistle, looking at me, as he came into the room, dressed in a light gray suit and blue shirt, open at the neck. Obviously, he was planning on doing s
Amy opened the door and I was shocked to see Kellen standing there, with his dark blond hair falling across his forehead and brilliant green eyes. Somehow, it never dawned on me that he was a vampire. "Lance sent me to help test your sunlight serum.""Kellen, really? You're a vampire?" I laughed. Somehow, I didn't catch it with him. He hid it well. He shrugged, grinning. "Don't you have to work today?""No, this is my day off," he said, smiling, as the dimple appeared on his cheek."And you're going to spend it letting us torture you?" I asked in disbelief. "Yes, I want to live a normal life well as normal as possible," Kellen said with a shrug.Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. "Have you seen Christina since she was discharged?"Kellen suppressed a smile. "Crissy? A few times after dark."Then, I understood. He wanted to do this for her. "How is she?"His face lit up. "Better now. Her hair's growing in a bit now, but she keeps wearing the wig. I tell her not to, but
"Okay," he said, cringing. I snapped the drapes closed and he doubled over to his knees. "What happened? How do you feel?" I asked, stooping down beside him. "It was painful, but not as painful as before.""And you didn't blister this time," Amy said, jotting down the results. "Again," Kellen said, rising to his feet."Do you need to rest?" I asked instinctively.Kellen smirked. "I'm a vampire. We don't need rest.""Do you need a minute, then?""No, I'm fine," he said, bracing himself, ready to go. "Again."I nodded and filled a syringe with another ounce. "Ready?""Let's go for two more ounces this time," Kellen said, as a smile played on his lips. "We really should go slowly so that we can record the results at each stage," Amy interjected, jotting down the results.I nodded. "Let's just go with another ounce," I said to Kellen, then flicked the syringe as I held it up. "Ready?"He nodded and I injected it directly into his jugular vein. "We're at three ounces now."
"I don't know, but we have to get out of here," Amy said, already headed toward the door, but I stopped her."Amy, there's something that you should know," I said, looking into her eyes. "Leila, we have to get out of here ""Someone is after the baby," I blurted out. "What?"I turned around to look at Kellen, who was standing with his fists clenched by his side."In New York, someone compelled Lance's driver to take me to Central Park, but I got away and two of Lance's men stopped him before he could take me to them," I said, following Amy to the door. "Okay," Amy said, then ran quicker than human speed behind a counter and pulled out a very large curved knife that resembled a handheld sickle. "Stay close and we'll protect you." Then, she looked over at Kellen. "Are you up for this?"He nodded. "Absolutely.""Nothing happens to her," Amy said to Kellen over my head as if I wasn't there."Agreed," Kellen said with his jaw clenched. "What the hell?" I asked, eyeing the ver
I carefully stepped around the bodies lying on the floor, writhing in flames around us, as if we had just stepped into a living picture of Dante's Hell. Kellen pulled me back and Amy rushed to the door just as another vampire rushed in, growling, when someone pulled his head back from behind. A moment later, his head was removed from his body. When the body fell away, Charlotte was holding his head in her hand by the hair, and then dropped it. It blazed as it rolled across the floor."No!" I said, backing away. "Charlotte, good," Amy said, shoving me toward her. "Help me get her to Lance.""Yes," Charlotte said innocently, reaching out to me. "Let me help you ""No, Leila's right!" Kellen yelled, pulling me behind him. "She's a traitor!""Charlotte? A traitor?" Amy asked, confused. "Yes, she is! Amy, she tried to compel me and Lance fired her!" I yelled, stepping backward up the stairs."Is this true?" Amy asked, pulling me behind her. "It was a misunderstanding," Charlotte
"Okay, that's enough," he said, pulling my arm until I was on my feet."Let me go!" I yelled. Then, Garrett picked me up off the ground and carried me to the waiting limo, and shoved me inside. Amy slid into the backseat on the other side of me, Charlotte slid into the front passenger's seat, and Garrett slid behind the wheel of the limo. "Let me go! When Lance finds me, he's going to kill all of you!""Shut up about your precious Lance!" Charlotte said, slapping me hard on the cheek across the seat."Don't hurt her," Amy said. "I can't lose my test subject. I'm tired of being my own guinea pig.""Yes, you most certainly are a pig," I agreed angrily.Amy grabbed a chunk of my blonde hair and yanked my head back. "Shut up or I'll kill you now!""No, you won't," I corrected calmly. "You need me.""Shut up before I kill you both!" Garrett said beside me, pushing his gun under my chin. Then, he took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around my head, covering my eyes. "What the hel
Charlotte laughed so hard that tears sprang to her eyes. "And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?""I'll find a way," I walked over to the chair and sat down at the small table. "Tell me, why did you kill Steven?""How very perceptive of you!" Charlotte said, clasping her hands together excitedly."Well, I was the one who killed him, actually," Garrett said as a smirk played on his lips. "Yes, well, at my insistence, of course." Charlotte walked over to his side and ran her hand over his chest."Why?""Well, after I happened to find you in the alley with those thugs, you said that you were following a scent," Charlotte said, sitting on the chair across from me at the small table. "I knew it was blood, so I just put two and two together. The only time that humans crave blood is when they're pregnant with a dhampir child. It was quite easy to deduce, actually.""You bitch," I said, realizing that it was becoming my favorite word for her. "You pretended to be my friend!""Uh,
Garrett obeyed, stepping into the center of the warehouse. He took his clothes off and stood stark naked in the middle of the room. Before I could object, he bent over slightly and his body began to contort and morph. His face protruded outward into a muzzle as he doubled over, and his hands turned into massive paws just before they touched the floor. A moment later, a giant brown wolf was standing in the center of the room before me, snarling, growling menacingly. "You're werewolves," I said in disbelief. Why the hell not? I had already met vampires and witches. Why not werewolves, too? Abruptly, I realized that I had been living a blissfully sheltered life.The brown wolf growled."Although we are werewolves, we can change at will," Leo said as a smile played on his lips. "That wasn't always the case, but I developed a serum.""And what do you want with my baby?" I asked, trying to fit all the pieces together."If there are no more vampires, then they'll no longer be a threat t
Leila reached over and took her from me. "Well, Amy and Angela went through a lot of trouble to organize a surprise anniversary party for us, so you'd better not disappoint them and look surprised."In the last several months since The Outsiders attacked and Leila was turned into a vampire, the cure had been perfected and several vampires were turned successfully back into humans. We had to set up a secret relocation program for them, as well, as they would no longer be able to protect themselves from supernatural creatures. Many of the innocent Outsiders were also turned into humans again, successfully. Once they had the cure, their bodies reverted back to their human form, to our relief. Also, Drake had built a private facility just for vampires going through The Change, headed by Amy and Elias. They both would be busy for a long time.I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth, over exaggerating mock shock. "How's this?""Silly Daddy!" Sirena said as she laid her head on her mothe
"Something tells me that you won't need to bite your wrist for me anymore," she joked, suddenly sounding more like herself."Leila!" I said, crying openly as I pulled her to my chest. I pulled back and crushed my lips to hers, and she responded with all of the pent up passion that we both felt. "Leila, love. I'm so sorry ""Shush," she cooed, looking into my eyes. "It wasn't your fault.""Yes, it was!" I said, as tears ran down my cheeks. "I should have protected you. I should have been there for you!""Shush," she said, then smiled. "You were." I looked at her, puzzled. "You were with me in my heart. Before I died, you were the last thing I thought of; your face was the last thing I saw in my mind. I love you, Lance.""I love you, too," I cooed, "always and forever."Suddenly, the noise behind us began to die down. I helped Leila to her feet. Drake and Amy were behind us, still protecting us, having never left our sides. Amy was holding her scythe, and Drake held my sword. "Than
"Leila?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as the screams of dying vampires resonated within the cave behind me. I closed my eyes for a moment and then silently prayed. "Please, help me to find them."I opened my eyes. As I looked at the caves, the one in the center of the humongous cavern stood out. I ran down the narrow path, throwing vampires over my head behind me as I ran, letting my coven tear them apart, and killed several at once, taking their heads off easily with my sword. I threw several against the wall with a wave of my hand, who were ripped apart by shifters. Then, I shoved my hand into the chest of another vampire with milky white eyes when he got too close and listened to his screams as he burst into flames. I jumped over his flaming body when I saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel, running my sword through another vampire that was coming at me. As he lay on the ground, I stomped on his throat and ripped his head from his body. As I rushed down the tunnel toward t
We ran over the rough terrain as the wind blew past us. The sun was high overhead, but the heat didn't affect vampires the way it affected humans. None of the elements did. We ran over mountains and even jumped over a gorge, not losing one vampire. Within minutes, the sound of running water rushing by filled my ears and I knew we were getting close. Soon, the black and red mountain peaks rose up before us. Within minutes, we were on the edge of Promontory Point, on the west side of the Hoover Dam.I looked down at the blue lake and at all of the surrounding igneous rock formations that created mountains, just as Xander came up on my right side. "She could be anywhere."Xander clasped a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find her." Then, he turned to his wolf pack, who had joined us. "Split up! Look for any sign of Leila and the baby!" Xander then began ordering his pack to go in every direction. Immediately, they leapt and turned into werewolves in midair, digging into the sand and pushing
I pulled the phone out of my pocket and dialed Javier's number."Mr. Steel," he answered on the first ring. "Who was standing guard?""Gregory and Cal," he said in clipped tones, knowing that I meant the penthouse"The Outsiders took Leila," I said, headed down the stairwell. "Round up some men. We're going after her. Meet me in the lobby in five.""Yes, sir," he said as I hung up the phone and dialed Ferdinand's number. "Mr. Steel?""How the hell did The Outsiders get into the castle?!" I demanded."The fire alarm sounded and there was smoke," he said, his heels clicking against the hard, tiled floor of the lobby. He was in the casino. "We were busy evacuating the guests ""While they came after my family?!""They must have come in the back way," Ferdinand said. "There was chaos ""Tell me about it later. We're going after Leila." I hung up the phone just as I reached the bottom of the stairwell, flung open the door, and looked around, spotting him walking toward me. The
I pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialed Adeline's number, but there was no answer. I shook my head, realizing how close I had come to becoming human. Just a few minutes later and I wouldn't have been able to save my family. I just hoped that I wasn't too late. I quickly dialed Javier's number as I headed out the front door of Kalyssa's cottage."Lance?" he said, answering on the first ring. Chaos erupted in the background as my heart sank."What happened?""Oh, thank God it's you," he said. "Leila has been ""I know. Xander just told me," I replied. "Where is she?" I was already starting to run, not waiting for Amy, Xander, and Elias."I don't know, but someone had to have taken her." Sirens sounded loudly in the distance.Anger filled my body. "Tell me about it when I get there. I'm on my way."I clicked off my phone and ran at super speed across the desert, faster than a car could travel. My vampire seethed for vengeance, pushing me harder, faster, as memories of the y
I woke in a cold sweat. Moonlight was streaming in through the window, piercing the darkness. Hunger rose within me; a hunger like I'd never known before. I needed blood and I needed it now. I rose from the bed and stalked toward the door.I could smell blood and it smelled luscious.My fangs extended immediately as I skulked down the hallway, closer to the delicious scent, closer to what I wanted, closer to what I craved. The scent grew stronger, more delicious, more tempting as I drew near and it was clearly, fully human. I placed my hands on the wall, beyond all reason, beyond sanity, as I inched closer to my target. I turned the corner, ready, as saliva rushed into my mouth in anticipation of the meal in which I was about to indulge. My heart pounded against my ribcage, as if it wanted this kill just as much as I. My vampire seethed within my chest, inching me closer, but when I turned the next corner it was Leila."My God, Lance! You scared me!" she said as she reached for t
"Have you thought of becoming human for her?" I asked in a low voice.Kellen let out a deep breath and sat back down on the couch. "Yes, I have.""And?" I knew that I was prying, but he had been a vampire for a very long time, and becoming human again was a big step.Kellen bit his lower lip, thinking, and then looked directly into my eyes. "Yes. I would do it. If I could grow old with her, I would do it in a heartbeat," he said without hesitation. "That's why I get it, Lance, between you and Leila. I get why you're doing this. I would do the same thing, if I were in your shoes."I reached out and clasped his hand, giving him a man shake. "What does Crissy say about it?"He shrugged. "She wants to become a vampire for me."I nodded. "And how do you feel about that?"He shook his head. "Man, I love her with all of my heart, but I don't want that for her." He pushed up from the couch, walked across the room, and then turned around abruptly. "I want her to go to college. To have
She smiled. "Well, after tomorrow, it won't be a problem.""Well, after tomorrow, you won't be able to find me.""Not until after the baby's born," Amy corrected. "After Leila's fully recovered, then you can go anywhere you wish.""Sounds good to me." For a moment, I wondered if we had another child and we were both human, would the child be human, too? But I brushed the thought aside. After this baby was born, we would have two children, which was more than I had ever hoped for."Well, I'm off," Elias said as he headed toward the door. "Amy, I hate to leave you alone with him in this state."She smiled. "I'll be fine. Go! Your patients await. I, on the other hand, am off from work for the next few weeks."Elias laughed. "Yeah, yeah! Don't rub it in.""You really need to take some time off, too, though."Elias laughed. "Well, with my staff taking time off ""Okay, don't you have to go?""Why? Trying to get rid of me already?""Yes! How'd you guess?"We all laughed when ther