Chapter 8

Nerezza's Point of View

All of the things we had bought barely fit into the back of Priamos' car. From the look of it, I never expected the coupe to have much of a boot anyway. But Farren had insisted that Conan got as much as possible. Toys and clothes. Baby furniture took up most of the space. At one point, Priamos had to put a stop to her buying. Cut her off, as she had said with a sheepish smile.

I never minded that she went all out. That Conan would have a lot more than I ever dared have. He would also have the life I had always dreamed about. Which was the best possible outcome. My parents would have loved to see their grandbaby. The love of their lives. But I still mourned them from time to time. Cursed the drunk driver who had slammed into them.

If it hadn't been for a drunk man's poor decision, they would have most likely gotten to know their new grandson. Even if it was through my stomach. But in hindsight, maybe then I would never have found Priamos to start with. I would have finished school and gone to college on a scholarship.

I watched as the streets passed by us. Priamos was barely doing the speed limit, for fear of my safety. His eyes never wavered from the road and I was thankful for it, my parents' accident still very fresh in my mind. I was now an orphan.

"How did you find Farren?" Priamos asked, still keeping his eyes on the upcoming robot. We slowed to a crawl and stopped at the red light.

I glanced at him from the side of my eye. "She was pleasant. Unruly and wild as well. All and all, I think I might appreciate my new sister." I replied honestly. Priamos nodded along, a pleased smile on his lips. 

"She can get a bit much sometimes. And really overshare most of the time but she means well." He admitted. I looked at him fully, turning in my seat to watch him. His eyes remained on the road. We were first at the red light. The moment it turned green, he would go. He wanted to get me home. Make sure that the day hadn't taken too much out of me.

"I am just disappointed that I had to hear so much about you from her and not yourself. We have been together for close to five months now, the least you can do is let me in." I moaned again. Priamos chuckled and placed his hand on my knee.

"Tell you what, we get home and eat and I will give you three questions." He suggested and I smiled up at him.

"Five."

"Four."

"Five."

"Three."

"Fine! You win. Three is enough for now. I might be riding on the high that was today, so pressing you doesn't seem as bad." I laughed and braced my stomach as we pulled away from the robot. Priamos smiled, this time turning his head to look at me. 

One moment, he looked overjoyed, the next, his face morphed into fear. Hot and thick unlike anything he had shown before. I frowned but it was a millisecond too late. A car hit my side, flinging us to the other side of the road. We spun once. Twice. I stopped counting when my stomach vomited everything up and over the dash.

Glass was shattered around us, the back of the coupe getting the most damage. Before I could say another word, Priamos was in my face. "Are you alright?!" He half-screamed and half-asked. Genuine fear crowded his face when he took me in.

There was an ache in my arm. My head was throbbing, most likely from whiplash. But on my thigh, there was a small pool of blood. Some glass had bitten into my skin. Cut my tights open and made me bleed. When I tried moving my right leg, the glass bit down worse and I yelped. Priamos' eyes narrowed in on me. 

With a hop skip and a jump, he was out of the car and rounding to my side. I kept my eyes on him. Trailed him as he walked. Almost ran. I could feel his anger as he stared back at the driver that had hit us.

This was what my parents must have felt like. Trapped. Useless. In pain, until they took their last breath. Panic skewered me and I inhaled as deep as I could without wincing. There was a pain in my ribs as well. 

Priamos gripped the mangled side of my door and tugged. Veins popped out across his arms. I could see his heart throbbing in his throat. He pulled again and metal finally gave way with a screech. Fresh air flushed my skin, making me feel exposed compared to the more cramped mangled car. I was more exposed to his eyes as well.

He scanned me quickly. Meticulously. Noted the glass in my leg and the bruises on my ribs. Drawing up his findings, he turned on his heel. I could see his determined steps. The way he leered at the car on the other side of the crossing. People were stopping but no one approached us. Looked from the sidelines as Priamos tugged the man from the car.

The other driver looked to be in his twenties. Trembled when Priamos picked him up by his collar. My mate was well over two meters tall. Built like an ox. The young man trembled again and I heard Priamos' voice growing louder.

"She is pregnant you fucking idiot! You could have hurt my mate and child! What the fuck were you thinking!' Priamos screamed and I tried my best to slide out of the car. To stop him from hurting the man.

It must have been an accident. Surely, he couldn't have been drinking.

"I am sorry sir, I didn't see the red light." The man tried to explain profusely.

My legs wobbled beneath me as I tried standing. In the distance, I could hear sirens. Police sirens along with the ones from the ambulance. My head continued to throb as I walked closer to Priamos. Kept my hand on my stomach and prayed I didn't pass out before I reached him. 

The edges of my vision turned black. The world turned neon. My mate was still screaming at the man. Still had him by his collar. Some other men tried desperately to get him off of the other guy but he wouldn't move. Bulled his way forward until the man was flush against his mangled car.

Still, I crept forward. Tried to get to him. Just because the man who had killed my parents was drunk didn't mean this one was. Accidents happened all the time. I could forgive my parents' murderer, so Priamos could forgive this one for causing us slight harm.

The distance between us closed when a woman offered me a hand. She draped my arm across her shoulder and we trudged forward. Moved closer to my mate about to kill this boy. I could feel Conan move inside of me, woken up by the sudden explosion of noise and fear. This was going to ruin our beautiful day out.

"You are his mate, yes?" The woman asked and I nodded. "He loves you dearly but I am afraid he might end up in jail if he carries on." I looked at Priamos again. We were close. Just at the edge of the crowd that had formed around him. Tried to get him to let go of the man.

"Priamos Torrez. Get your ass fucking off of him!" I screamed and my lungs nearly buckled. It was enough to make me collapse into the woman even more. Trembles came in short bursts as I tried to hold most of my weight.

The moment I spoke his name, Priamos pulled away from the boy. Looked back at me from above the crowd's head. I scowled at him. He turned towards the man and took a step back. Looked at me again and I shook my head.

The crowd parted and my mate walked closer. "You shouldn't be exerting yourself like this, my love. Something might trigger you and cause problems." He tried to explain to me in a soft voice. I glared at him.

"Did you hurt that man?" I seethed. He shook his head. 

"Good. We don't want to set violence as an example for Conan. Now, get me to a hospital." I murmured right before the rest of my body gave out. Exhaustion bled into me. Drained me dry and left me hollow.

The last thing I heard was Priamos screaming my name.