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  Laughing, she turned around and saw Jack standing there with a stricken expression on his face as he saw his son for the first time. In the morning light, he looked really good, with his blond hair a little longer and a little darker than it used to be and his brown eyes once again warm and beautiful. He was bigger than before, broader across the chest and wider in the shoulders, as if he had grown into his body while he had been a vampire. Seeing him standing there, it was hard to believe that he had been a monster only a week ago, especially now that he was burning with life.

  If things had been different, having him in her kitchen as they ate breakfast would have been the norm. They would have had six years together as a family and she was certain their love would have only deepened. Hell, there might have been another child or two in there with them, instead of just one son and an Aradian who was watching them with much too much interest. Clearing her throat, she took Jack by the arm and led him over to the empty seat across from Toby, who was watching with open curiosity.

  Knowing he was too stunned to help himself, she placed a few pancakes onto his plate and poured some syrup on top, not even bothering with the butter. “Here you go.”

  Blinking his eyes, Jack looked up at her in confusion but he still remained unmoving as he turned back to his son. Putting a fork into his hand, she nodded towards the pancakes, “Eat. And then we’ll be heading out.”

  His fingers tightened around the fork as he continued to stare at Toby until Toby started squirming in his seat. Concerned, she started to head around the table to her son, muttering, “This was a bad idea.”

  “No,” Jack protested, using the heel of his free hand to wipe at his damp cheeks. Sniffing, he shook his head and tried to smile but it was a pathetic attempt and her heart went out to him. “I’m okay.”

  He was Toby’s father and it wasn’t his fault he hadn’t been there before now. Moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, she sat down next to Toby and met Jack’s eyes from across the table. “Toby, I’d like to introduce you to your, um, to your dad.”

  Toby’s eyes went wide in his head as he scrambled off the table and hid behind her. Pain exploded in Jack’s eyes until they heard Toby whisper, “You let a vampire into the house?”

  She huffed out an unexpected laugh, pulling him around and setting him on her lap. “Look at him, Toby, truly look at him.” After a moment of concentrated scrutiny, he nodded his head and she asked, “What do you see?”

  Everyone held their breath as Toby looked at his father, whom he looked so much alike. She hadn’t realized how very much Toby looked like Jack until she saw the two of them side by side. Was the child she carried going to be a near exact duplicate of Feryn?

  “He’s not waxy,” Toby said, his words coming out slowly as he thought about what he was saying. “His eyes aren’t clouded and he doesn’t smell. He’s not a vampire.”

  With a smile, Malorie looked up and saw the longing in Jack’s eyes and knew that she couldn’t keep him from his son, not when he had already lost everything else. Glancing at Jiro, who was busy eating his pancakes while keeping a close eye on the situation, she cleared her throat. “Um, Jack, how do you feel about spending some time with my… with our son?”

  His eyes brightened as elation flooded his face and a smile trembled on his lips, “Really? You’d let me spend time with him?”

  “Well, not unsupervised, of course,” she added, guilt and wariness making her cautious. “Jiro and Toby are going to be heading to the Aradian compound to get some fishing in while I try to track down Gustav. I was thinking you could join them.”

  A mixture of emotions twisted his features, from confusion to hope to caution, as he looked between Jiro, Toby and Malorie. “Your father is missing?”

  “Sort of,” she said. “It’s complicated.”

  Jack nodded his head as he absently ate some of his food. After chewing and swallowing, he looked at Malorie with continued confusion, “What is an Aradian?”

  Jiro snorted but it was Malorie’s turn to be confused, “Surely you know.”

  Jack shook his head, “I don’t.”

  “It’s typical of vamp creators to keep their creations in the dark,” Jiro offered. Giving Malorie a significant look, he added, “And generally, we don’t discuss it with humans.”

  “I’m pretty sure you can make an exception for Jack,” she said. “I mean, he’s Jack, the only vampire to be de-vampirized.”

  “Malorie,” Jack groaned. “The Aradians?”

  “Well,” she looked to Jiro for help but he just smirked at her, leaving her on her own to explain what an Aradian was, what Jiro was. Scowling at the jerk, she turned back to Jack and tried her best to explain, “After my first encounter with them, I had assumed they were hot-blooded vampires but now I know the truth and, well, it’s, quite honestly, all sorts of bat-shit insane.”

  “Hey!” Jiro protested.

  “You had your chance, asshole,” she breathed, her eyes darting to Toby as her cheeks heated in remorse. She shouldn’t have sworn in front of her son but Jiro brought out her inner snark. Licking her lips, she focused on Jack and continued to talk, “Aradians are living beings, Jack, and they are not vampires but they do create vampires.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  She sighed and finally blurted, “Because they’re not fully human, Jack. They’re aliens. Well, alien-human hybrids who can create vampires. But only the complete idiots create vampires.”

  Jack swallowed audibly as the color faded from his cheeks. “I think you’re insane, Malorie.”

  “So says the former vampire.” Jiro exhaled noisily and shook his head as he faced Malorie. “Are you certain you want to let him near your son?”

  “Well, he’s human and you’ll be there,” she said, her stomach already in knots about leaving Toby behind. “And I’m certain you won’t let any harm come to him.”

  “You’re not thinking clearly if you insist on running off on some fool mission and leaving Toby with your vampire husband.” Jeeze, he sounded like Feryn.

  “Former husband,” she clarified.

  “Former vampire,” Jack added with a low growl, glaring at Malorie.

  Ignoring the heat that was prickling her cheeks, she smiled at Jiro, “Aren’t you the least bit interested in figuring out why he’s no longer a vampire? How he was cured?”

  She saw the interest gleam in Jiro’s eyes as he studied Jack and she knew that Jack was a puzzle Jiro would be unable to resist. Leaning forwards so she was closer to him, she added, “It might mean a new weapon in dealing with vampires, one that may hurt the Aradian creator less than a vampire’s death.”

  “Feryn will be furious,” Jiro said, his resolve weakening as hypotheses started forming behind those silver-green eyes of his. Resting his chin on his hand, he studied Jack with a sharper eye and Malorie could almost feel the anticipation that he refused to show.

  “I’ll deal with Feryn,” she said boldly, though she wasn’t sure how since he was angry with her at the moment. “There’s just one caveat.”

  “And what’s that?” Jiro asked, finally tearing his gaze away from Jack.

  “You’re not allowed to cause Jack any pain,” she told him. Glancing at her twice-dead husband who was more alive than ever, she added, “You can take a limited amount of blood and you have to have his permission if a test is too intrusive.”

  “How would you define intrusive?” Jiro asked.

  Her gaze flew to his as he was clearly considering his options. “Anything that involves probes of any type is too intrusive. Anything that would leave a scar is too intrusive. Anything that involved extreme temperatures is too intrusive. Anything that makes Jack uncomfortable is too intrusive.”

  Jiro huffed, “Jeeze, Malorie. How am I going to get any answers if you put so many limits on me?”

  “Don’t I have a say in any of this?” Jack asked.

  “No,” Malorie and Jiro answered in unison as they continued glaring at one an
other. Tearing her gaze away from Jiro’s, she faced Jack, “Jack, it’s for your own good. We have to figure out what happened and why. If you have any desire to get to know Toby you have to do this.”

  “What about you?” he asked softly.

  Glancing briefly at Toby, seeing the fascination on his face as he listened to the adults arguing, she swallowed thickly before meeting his gaze, “As I’ve told you, I’m with Feryn now.”

  “And where is your vampire mate?” he asked with venom in his voice.

  She sighed in frustration, “He’s not a vampire, Jack. He’s an Aradian, just like Taella. We’ve been over this.”

  Standing up, she started clearing the plates from the table. There were only a few things to do before she sent Toby off with Jiro, before she went to New York. A frown tugged at her forehead because she wasn’t sure how that would work since Jiro was going to transport her to the city but he was the one she had tasked to watch her child. Distracted by her thoughts, she dumped the dishes in the sink, cringing when she heard the unmistakable sound of ceramic breaking.

  Maybe it would be better if she took Toby with her, then Jack would be able to get to know their son under her supervision. But was she prepared to deal with Toby and Jack? And God knew Feryn would have a coronary if she were to go off on her mission with her dead husband in tow, especially since Jiro wouldn’t be with them to make sure nothing happened. Not that anything was ever going to happen because as much as she had loved Jack, she was with Feryn now.

  Pressing a hand against her stomach, against the mark Feryn had placed there and the baby he had given her, she smiled slightly. As Jiro said, bondage trumped marriage, at least when it’s the bond between an Aradian and a Breeder.

  She had to find her father because she desperately needed his sage advice. Plus, if she went on this quest then she wouldn’t have to deal with the upheaval of her entire world. She just needed to get away from it all and do something.

  Warm hands wrapped around her shoulders and for a moment she thought Feryn had relented and returned to give her a proper sendoff but it was only Jiro. “Malorie, you can always change your mind and come back to the compound with us. I’m sure nothing would make Feryn happier.”

  She had to smile at his efforts but nothing was going to make her reconsider because she had to sort out her thoughts and she had to find her father. “I’m going to New York.”

  Heaving a sigh, he leaned against the counter and looked at the table where father and son sat and stared at one another, sizing each other up. Grabbing their glasses, they each took a drink of their orange juice at the same time before wiping their mouths off with the backs of their arms. It was almost perfectly coordinated and Malorie felt an upsurge of love swell in her chest as she looked at the two of them. It wasn’t just their likeness that was uncanny but their very mannerisms and it made her confidence falter.

  What would happen if Toby decided he preferred life with his father? They were so much alike and Jack had experience living a civilian life so he wouldn’t struggle as badly as she had over the past six years. Toby would get to be a little boy without worrying about upsetting his mother and….

  Pressing a hand to her stomach, she looked at Jiro, who looked so much like Feryn beneath the bleached hair and diamond earrings she had to take another breath. Everything was closing in on her and she wasn’t able to catch her breath and if she didn’t get out of there she was going to break and there would be no putting her back together.

  “We should go now,” she said, staggering across the floor and kneeling by Toby. Wrapping her arm around her son, she looked up at Jiro, “How is this going to work? Are you going to walk me through the rift, or whatever you call it, or is there a way to push me through so you can stay here and keep an eye on Toby?”

  “I’m not going to run off with our son, Mal,” Jack scoffed with a hint of bitterness and resentment in his voice. Grabbing his plate and standing up, he added, “It’s not like there is anywhere I can go since I’ve been officially dead for six years.”

  “I’ll open the gate and you’ll just step through, landing close enough to your destination,” Jiro said, ignoring Jack’s outburst. “And I’ll stay behind with Toby and Jack.”

  Tilting her head to the side as a random thought popped into her head, she blurted, “Maybe you can introduce him to one of your humans.”

  “Malorie!” Jack roared, sounding almost scandalized by her suggestion. “I do not need a vampire’s charity.”

  “Not a vampire,” Jiro grinned without taking his eyes off Malorie. “I think it would be best if we keep Jack away from the general population until we determine what he is and whether or not he’s a threat.”

  “If he were a threat I wouldn’t trust him with my son,” Malorie ground out, desperate to leave before her doubts could get the better of her. “So, just do your thing and get me to New York.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Jiro lowered his voice and growled, “Don’t go.”

  “I have to do this.” Swallowing painfully, still hugging Toby, she whispered, “Please, Jiro.”

  “Fine. I’ll give you four days.”

  After hugging Toby and telling him how much she loved him and how much she was going to miss him and to be a good boy, she stood up and faced Jiro, “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, he eyed her from head to toe, “You’re not bringing anything with you?”

  Patting her pocket, she grinned, “I have an ID, some paper work, and a credit card.”

  “Blade Soldiers always travelled light,” Jack said with a conspiratorial grin before he caught himself and wiped the smile from his face. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Who’s ID do you have?”

  Pulling the license from her pocket, she read the name, “Um, Matilda Macklemore.”

  Jack snorted, “Ah, good old Matilda. I remember when you made up that alias, the way you chuckled to yourself because Matilda was twenty-one and you were only seventeen.”

  Malorie’s anxiety eased a bit at the memory and for a moment she was seventeen again and sitting in an abandoned diner with Jack. He had been one of the few bright spots in her bleak life and she had forgotten how much fun they had had between battles. Even in the midst of chaos, he had always had the unique ability to make her smile and she missed that. She had missed him.

  After he had died, her world had been flipped on its head and she had never properly mourned his loss. Now that he was standing in front of her, alive and well, she had the absurd desire to bawl like a baby. It had to be her pregnancy hormones that were making her so emotional and it was way past time she left. Turning her back on Jack, on the past, she gave Toby one last kiss and faced Jiro, “Open the passageway, Jiro. I’m ready to go.”

  Stepping forward and wisely not saying anything, he placed his hand over her heart and closed his eyes. Words of a long dead language spilled from his lips and she felt them slither over her skin, making her shiver. The air shimmered around them and then there was a gaping hole into the Netherspace, the ether between this world and the one she grew up in. There was no more time for doubt or fear and she took a steadying breath before she stepped into the vertigo-inducing void.

  She had forgotten just how horrible the Netherspace was as she felt her body being pulled apart and pressed together, as colors and darkness writhed around her, as silence echoed in her head. Her mouth opened to scream but no sound came out and she called herself a fool a million times over for wanting to travel through Netherspace to return to her world. She should have stayed on the island and been happy living in paradise with the man she loved and the child they created. Her son would thrive and when it came time for Toby to procreate, she was certain the Aradians would only bring him the best and brightest….

  What the fuck was she doing? Her thoughts were as scrambled as her body and she prayed the journey would soon be over. When it came time to return, she was going to ask Feryn to make sure she was knocked out cold because she didn’t think she
could go through this again.

  Suddenly, she was vomited back out into the world but it kept spinning around her and she lost her breakfast. Heaving until her stomach ached and her throat burned, she collapsed onto the ground and passed out, hoping that she was in a safe place. It would suck balls if she was murdered in her unconsciousness.

  Chapter 4

  Feryn looked down at the beautiful woman with long, brown hair as she looked up at him with worshipful gray eyes and suddenly he wanted more than a hard and vigorous fuck. He wanted to consume her, to feel her in his soul and own her completely. Cupping her full breast in his hand, brushing his thumb over her erect nipple, his thoughts tore through his head, dark and dangerous and wonderful.

  The woman’s legs were already spreading to accept him as he moved over her body and he smiled because he knew she was exhausted and yet she still wanted more. This time when he took her, he was going to take all of her and there was nothing to stop him. As her body welcomed him into the wet depths of her pussy, he bent his head and sank his teeth into her slender throat. A pleasure filled moan escaped her lips as he began to drink in rhythm to his slow, penetrating thrusts.

  Her life flooded into his mouth, her blood rich and delicious and he couldn’t get enough. Even when her nails dug into the flesh of his ribs, he wanted more. He drank until he could feel her heartbeat against his lips, until he swallowed her pulse and there was only the smallest flicker of life left within her.

  Pulling his teeth from her throat, he sat back and bit his wrist, all the while keeping his eyes on the pale beauty beneath him. She stared up at him with wide eyes and a still body as he continued to gently ease back and forth within her. As his blood pooled on his skin, he held his arm up to her parted lips and drizzled crimson drops into her mouth.

  Slowly, oh-so-slowly, color seeped back into her pallor and her slender fingers wrapped around his wrist and held it to her mouth. As she greedily drank, the strangest thing happened and Feryn wouldn’t have believed it had he not been experiencing it for himself. Heat burst in his chest and he felt a surge of power. He could feel her pleasure flowing through his blood and his eyes closed in ecstasy as orgasm tore through his body.