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  I could feel the tension coming from my mate as she listened to the wretched howling of the dying humans. Nora, my love. I am well. I haven’t actually battled anyone. We are in the security room still. The fight is almost over. Got to love technology.

  I love you, Falcon. I loved to hear those words from her.

  I worship you, my queen. Feeling her tension only infuriated me more. The fact that they came to harm her signed all their death warrants. No games, no mercy. Rest for now. I will be there soon to hold you and our daughter.

  Kick some ass, my King.

  I laughed then returned back to Gideon who eyed me with confusion. “One day, I’ll find my mate and then I’ll look crazy to everyone around me.” He’d been waiting for a mate for a long time as well. Selfishly, I hoped he didn’t find her until the war was over. We needed him too much for him to lose his mind during the mating period.

  “Shut it. I had to check on her and our daughter.” I arched my brow at him, waiting for the reality of my words to strike. It only took a second. He dropped to his knees, bowing to me in reverence. “Get off your knees, Gideon.”

  “Your Highness,” he croaked out, choked up with the revelation. The dog also bowed before me. Now it was getting awkward. How the fuck did he know to do that?

  “Stand up, please.” They both returned to form. “Thank you.”

  “I can’t believe it. Congratulations, your Highness.” The grin on his face seemed permanent. I didn’t blame him because I felt the same way. This had been everything we’d all waited for. Centuries of wars and fear coming to an end. We couldn’t count all our chickens just yet, but the hope brought us immeasurable joy.

  “In private please call me Falcon. This is already going to be hard getting used to. Let us look for more of these fools.” We spun back to the screens and scanned the air for possible planes. The vampires wouldn’t be that bold because if it failed their escape would be to plummet into the ocean. They most definitely would survive the landing should they not get their heads lobbed off by the debris, but the water was infested with sharks and I had every intention of keeping it that way until the war was over. For a few minutes we surveyed the monitors, but nothing showed up.

  I finally gave the all clear for us. “It’s time to clean up my island.” Like a flash, I teleported us both to the beach and began tossing the body parts of the unfortunate and foolish humans into the ocean. No sense in stinking up the place. With both of our speed, we had the place cleaned up and took the weapons back to the security room. All sorts of weapons were gathered in there. Most of the guns retrieved from the beach were no longer functional with the blast damage, but they could be stripped and used for new weapons. Once we had time, we could transport them back to the castle for our men to repurpose them.

  It reminded me that I hadn’t checked my home for anything remaining. I hadn’t been there after it had been turned to ashes. My stores of weapons were locked away in a bunker under the home. They would be useful. We have about sixty master bladesmiths in the army and they are working diligently to make us more and more blades.

  “Wow, that happened faster than I expected,” Gideon exclaimed while removing his armor. Looking at the clock on the wall, we dispatched of all our enemies and cleaned up the mess in an hour.

  “Yes, it did.” I nodded in agreement, stripping off my own armor. As I did I got a whiff of the air around us. My nose twitched from the strong smell of death. The tinge of blood lingered in the air from the weapons. “Let’s wash off the weapons and ourselves. I don’t want to scare my mate.”

  Love, are you all awake? I asked, running the sprayer in the large vat made for this specific reason.

  Yes, we’re waiting to hear from you. Her voice sounded exhausted. The deep raspy tone told me that she was barely keeping her eyes open. I’d keep the visit short and get her to our comfortable bed.

  Good, I will bring Gideon and your pup to see all of you.

  “Come, you both. It’s time to meet the future.” Her dog nearly leaped down the hall as I opened the door. The sound of his claws scraping the ground loudly as he beat us there. He’d been super protective of Nora, but I wondered how he would be with the baby. He could have been biding his time to get to her.

  I reached the door and unlocked it for them both, holding onto the dog’s collar. As soon as we entered the beast did something incredible. He pulled away from me, tearing the leather collar right off. He reached up and sniffed around my daughter who was being tightly held and comfortably asleep. His snout rubbed against her hand and caused my beauty to open her eyes.

  “Thor,” I warned him, sensing a change in the air. If he tried to hurt my baby, he’d be a dead pooch. I doubt that it would happen, but the worry of father mixed with a threat made me ravenous to see those eager to hurt my family pay with their lives.

  I heard him whimper then step back. His movement became erratic as he staggered back. I dashed to my family, blocking them from the dog that suddenly acted wild.

  Just as he released a howl, something insane happened. His body contorted, many times. Slowly but surely the son of a bitch shifted into a human—a naked human. He stumbled onto his ass with his legs crossed and his head down. Draco immediately launched a bed sheet at him as we all stared in awe. Whatever he was, we didn’t want him naked around our women. It was clear to me that he wasn’t looking good. The transformation took something out of the vibrant animal he was moments ago. Whatever just happened was pertinent to my daughter and I wanted answers. He clearly couldn’t give them to me right now. I had to do something before he died on me.

  Love, can you move to the other bed? I asked, running to Thor.

  Of course, she answered.

  Chapter 4

  Charlotte

  Holy shit, I muttered mentally. Draco looking at me crossly. He tightened his hold on me like a jealous fool. I didn’t laugh because this was more serious than he knew.

  What the fuck does that mean? I’ll tear his damn head off.

  It wasn’t because the man was naked. A vision, caveman. Chill out. I bit out in annoyance, pushing out of his arms. And don’t ask. Can’t say.

  It was something that came to me, and I saw the suspicion in my mate’s eyes. More had been revealed. I couldn’t utter a word of it, but history had been made here. From here on out, the war just grew.

  Thor staggered, laying on the floor, pulling the blanket over his body with no visible strength. Falcon picked him up and placed him on Nora’s bed. He switched into doctor mode and began running tests on Thor. We all stood around and watched. Nora and I just had a baby and we could barely stand. I led her over to my bed because she kept trying to help Falcon.

  “Relax and hold your baby, Nora. Let Falcon do his thing,” I said, touching my hand on her shoulder.

  Falcon lifted his gaze away from Thor and to Nora “Love, please rest. I’m sorry, but I can’t let him die. At least until he gives us some answers. Good ones,” Falcon growled.

  “He’s on our side,” I informed them. They all looked at me waiting for more, but they were shut out of luck. “I can’t say any more than that.”

  “I’m not going to let him die. Calm down, my love,” Falcon said to Nora who sat on the bed next to me with her baby in her arms. I guess she must have been telepathically panicking. She seemed to be shaking, looking at her baby then back at Thor. We lived in a paranormal world, this shouldn’t affect us this way anymore, but there was always something new to throw a wrench into the mix.

  I continued to rub her arm while Draco took our son from me, guarding him close. This had been one hell of a night and morning. The sun rose about ten minutes ago and I felt so exhausted. All I cared to do was sleep, but at the moment it didn’t look plausible. Thor’s life hung in the balance.

  For about ten minutes we all watched Falcon work his magic. Draco hadn’t let his guard down and seemed to grow tenser by the moment. Falcon covered Thor with a blanket to his shoulders to keep him warm, then washed off
his hands. “There’s nothing more I can do for him right now. He needs to rest. His vitals are weak, but I added a drip and some monitors.” He pulled Nora and the baby into his arms, wiping the tears from her eyes. She had the kindest heart. “Charlotte, I know you say he’s on our side, but do we have any more threats coming today?”

  “No, I can’t see anything. I’m really tired though,” I said through my dazed and zoned-out moment.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll stay up for the next two hours at least, while you all sleep,” Gideon offered. “Then I’ll take a little nap. We have the alarms set and we’re fast. They won’t make it to landfall before we’re in the security room.”

  Falcon took command of the room and delivered his order. “You’re right. Okay, everyone including you, Gideon, get some rest. We need it.”

  Within minutes, we were all in our rooms, getting ready for a well-deserved rest.

  Draco returned from putting our son in his cradle, then wrapped his arms around me from behind. I naturally fell back into his embrace, feeling good and hurt at the same time. The fear of my new visions taking up space in my head. “I know you can’t say anything, Charlotte. I’m sorry, but a feeling of pure jealousy came over me. I regret it very much.”

  I turned around and looked into his eyes. They were full of remorse and pain. “I understand. If you saw a woman naked in front of me I’d probably rip her head off.”

  He kissed my forehead, then helped me onto the large bed. “Thank you. It’s more than that though. I feel like I’ve seen him before. And well, I can’t remember in what capacity.”

  “Draco, just remember he’s on the side of good. That’s all that truly matters,” I muttered. My son’s loud cries shook me out of my sleepy fog. “Bring the baby to me so I can feed him then we can all sleep.”

  Chapter 5

  Draco

  After taking my family to our room, I helped Charlotte to bed and set our son in his cradle. We hadn’t picked out his name yet. We had it narrowed down and my favorite was Marco. It meant warlike and since he was born in the middle of the war, I thought it was fitting. I still had to run it past Charlotte, but it was the one I wanted.

  I looked down at my mate feeling a world of turmoil in my heart. The last twenty-four hours had been a test of will. Not mine, but rather hers.

  I sat in our room on a chair near the window, thinking about everything that happened. I’d almost died. I would have left my mate to the fate of the world with my son and still having to do her part. Nothing in the prophecy guaranteed our safety, but I had to be strong. Charlotte needed it, deserved it.

  In less than half a year, everything changed. I had a son. One who I was sure would grow just as large or even larger than me. God, when I saw how massive he was coming out of my tiny little mate, I felt like a bastard. Why couldn’t she have had a baby like Nora? Itty Bitty. I knew it was because she carried a warrior inside her. After that, I didn’t want to even touch her anymore. I wanted her naked every second of the day and I still did, but I didn’t want to get her pregnant again. She suffered enough. The thought of never loving Charlotte all night long burned a hole in my gut. We weren’t like humans though. This one may be our only one.

  “Draco, why aren’t you sleeping?” Charlotte sighed from the bed.

  “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind,” I admitted. She sat up, looking at me for a few seconds as if she was trying to read me. I smiled at her, so she wouldn’t see my apprehension.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” How could I tell her that I didn’t want to have sex anymore? Hell, I didn’t want to hear it from my own mouth.

  “No, we need the rest. I’m coming,” I answered, climbing into bed and rolling to my side away from her. “Rest well, my mate.”

  ~~~~

  I woke up, covered in a sheen of sweat, frantically looking for Charlotte, but she wasn’t there. I flew off the bed, looking around. The baby wasn’t in the cradle either. Had I dreamed this all up? Had something happened?

  Charlotte, where are you?

  In the baby’s nursery.

  I teleported there instantly and saw her sitting in the rocking chair nursing the baby. The sight of her breasts that had grown enormously since the birth stiffened my cock. I turned away and walked over to the bookshelf with all of the things Charlotte picked for the little one.

  “Why didn’t you wake me to help you with him?” I asked once my lust calmed down enough to speak.

  She rolled her eyes, then responded. “Because you were sleeping.”

  “You were sleeping, too,” I argued.

  “Yes, but you needed it. You almost died yesterday.” So she thought I was too weak to carry my son or help her. I’d been useless, and it seemed she still believed that to be the case. My injuries were far from healed, but I was still the same vampire and just as strong as any of my soldiers even with the pain. I needed to change the subject. This wasn’t the time for me to lose my temper. I felt a myriad of emotions that weren’t positive in the least. I hoped as time had passed that it would be easier to handle them.

  “What shall we name him?” I asked, hoping to change my temper.

  “I liked Marco the best. What about you?”

  “I do, too.”

  “So then it’s settled?” she questioned, raising that eyebrow with that beautiful smile of hers that melted my heart. I returned the grin then nodded. “Good, because I want another hour of sleep. She got up without my assistance and took him to the changing table. I watched as she effortlessly changed Marco’s bottom. He squirmed around and stared up at her with a smile. From all the human babies I’d seen over the centuries, he looked to be closer to a year old rather than a few hours old. My little warrior was going to be a beast when he got older.

  Chapter 6

  Falcon

  Thor had fallen asleep and I forced everyone to get some sleep. Nora had just set the baby down after a quick feeding as I paced the room. I needed to rest up, but my mind lingered over Thor. As I worked on him I could see that his body started to heal quickly, but it would be a couple of days until he could function on his own. I wonder how long he had been in a dog/wolfish form? I didn’t miss what happened between him and my daughter. She released him. What did it mean?

  “Falcon, what are you thinking about?” Nora asked while pressing her hand to my chest, stopping me in my tracks. I looked down at my queen her eyes tired but welcoming as always.

  “Nora, love. I’m just thinking about Thor. His body is healing fast, but his life has been trapped as a dog. I wonder if he’ll be able to talk or is the damage permanent. I want answers,” I grumbled, stepping back and running my hands through my hair.

  “Do you think Charlotte will know?” she asked me, wrapping her arms around my waist and placing her head on my chest, settling my pulse again. She’s my soothing balm.

  “She does, but she’s not telling us.” With Charlotte, I always tried to keep my cool. She couldn’t be blamed for it. I bent down and kissed Nora’s head. I wanted to hold Nora all day and make love to her, but I had to wait two more days. The blessings of a vampire body. The healing abilities were unusually fast.

  She looked up at me with a serious brow and snipped, “Maybe if you ask her if he will talk, she can tell you that.”

  “I suppose. I didn’t ask.” I hadn’t considered asking since we only had been in there for a few minutes. The idea had merit and now I couldn’t rest until I knew the answer. I looked at the door twice and back to Nora.

  “Do you want to ask her now?” she asked, arching her brow daring me to lie to her.

  “I do. Do you mind?” I returned the arched brow, wondering if she would be upset. Since she had the baby yesterday, I’ve left her side more often than not. I craved to be at her side, but the leader in me, and my new title forced me away. In a few hours, I have to return to the castle ruins to talk to my soldiers. It was a must and she would understand, but that didn’t mean she appreciated it. I’d had centuries to hope for this life,
she had months to adjust to it all. I owed her my soul; she needed to be worshipped instead of neglected.

  She gave me that smile that warms my soul. I could never get enough of the way she stares into my eyes with love. “No, go ahead. I’m going to lay down with the baby. I’m kind of sleepy.”

  “I’ll be back in two minutes, then I’ll come hold you for a while.” I bent my head and kissed her lips. Immediately, a growl ripped through my chest and I lifted her to the bed, pinning her to the mattress. She elicited a moan as I attacked her pulse; I kissed and licked her rhythmic sign of life. I forced myself to pull away, realizing what I was doing and summoning any control I could muster.

  “I’d love that, my King,” she whispered. I turned back to her, wondering if she felt abandoned.

  “I’m really sorry about leaving you again, Nora,” I reiterated, taking her hand in mine and bringing it to my mouth. I kissed her palm.

  “Okay, I’m fine. Just go,” she laughed off, pushing me slightly.

  I teleported outside their bedroom door, knocking lightly. Draco opened it still dressed in the same clothes, scrunching his brow. “What’s wrong, Falcon?”

  “Nothing. I have a question for Charlotte that I’m hoping she can answer.”

  “One moment.” He closed the door, then less than a minute later opened it and welcomed me in. I saw Charlotte on the bed with the baby cradled in her arms. I must have walked in on feeding time.

  “Sorry to interrupt. I just had a question,” I repeated.

  “Sure, ask away.” She smiled at me, but I saw a hint of fear in her eyes.

  What did she know? Why couldn’t she tell us? I hoped she had this answer and wouldn’t avoid telling me the truth. “Will he be able to talk?”

  She nodded then smiled. “Yes, Falcon, however, it will not be for a good while. He must recover and return to normal. I don’t know when that will be, but that’s all I can say.”