"Who says I have a key still?"

  Why was he acting like this?!

  "There was no other way you could have gotten into my house. None of the windows were broken and the door wasn't busted in either. You need to get rid of it or give it to me."

  I extended a hand out to him as he fished into his pockets, pulling them inside out to reveal nothing more than a wallet and a cellphone.

  "Looks like there's nothing here, a shame."

  "Why did you touch my mate?" I growled. He tilted his head to the side, pursing his lips. He looked quite pleased that he was getting to me. I was always calm, always tried to remain level-headed. But I wouldn't let anyone fuck with the people close to me.

  "I just wanted to give him a look-over. I'm surprised with you, though, moving on so quickly. I thought what we had was special."

  How badly I wanted to slam my face against the table.

  "You were one who left me! And let's be real, like you said, it's not like we'd actually been in a proper relationship for many years."

  Another shrug. "Even if we weren't together formally, you were still marked as my mate."

  "And you were out with other guys behind my back for longer than I can remember."

  "It wasn't really behind your back if you knew about it. I didn't keep it a secret, either."

  I stood out of my seat, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and bringing him close to my face. I didn't care about the stares, but I wanted to make that smirk on Clay's face disappear for good.

  "You listen to me. If you ever, ever come near me or my mate again, I'll make you wish you never marked me to begin with."

  "You're just as bad as the other vampires who decide to mate with humans." He slapped my hand away, making me release him. He stood tall, straightening out his shirt.

  "I'm serious, Clay! You can't come near us anymore, not when there's a baby involved."

  That certainly got his attention. His brows arched incredibly high as his eyes widened, mouth falling slightly agape as he stared. Disbelief was written across his face.

  "You… what? With a human?"

  Clay's teeth bared slightly, his fangs glinting in the dim light in a threatening display. I refused to let him bully me, so I didn't back down like I used to.

  "Stay away from us," I warned.

  "You put a child in one of those things? I can't believe you, you bastard!"

  "What's your issue with me being happy for once? I always wanted a family, and you could never give that to me."

  "Excuse me, gentlemen. But I'm gonna have to ask you to leave…"

  Both of us turned to see a small man come up to us, looking between the two of us. He must’ve been the manager.

  "Gladly," I told him, walking around the table and past Clay. It was my full intention to simply leave him there with no further exchange just to piss him off, but he wasn't going to let me off the hook that easily.

  He grabbed me by the back of my shirt, spinning me around and taking me up in his arms. Suddenly he kissed me, right there and then, in front of everyone. His lips pressed so hard onto mine I thought they would bruise me, even with the limited blood flowing through my veins.

  I was stunned, standing still and unsure of what to do. It was as if a light switched off in my head before I got hold of myself. I shoved him back as hard as I could, causing him to stumble back into his seat, a harrowing look given to me in return.

  "Stay the fuck away from me," I repeated, walking as quickly as I could out and away from the coffee shop. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he’d do something so stupid. If I hadn't made it clear enough to him yet, that should do it.

  I was no longer interested in him, and I was happy where I was. Nothing he did would change that.

  And I wasn't even scared to admit it.

  I loved Eric.

  Chapter 10

  Eric

  I couldn't stand that wretched feeling in my gut. It felt as though I was being torn from the inside out. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like to be pregnant, was it? I had much more respect for all those ladies coming into the office.

  But maybe it was just enhanced because of how fast vampire pregnancies went. I leaned back against the sofa with a forearm pressed over my face, trying to swallow back the nausea that was creeping over me. I constantly had to grit my teeth to keep the nausea at bay.

  Geoffrey had returned from the store with nothing in hand, which was strange as I thought he’d gone out to get garlic. He didn't want to say why he was empty handed, either. Something must have happened.

  My phone rang, and I forced myself to sit up and look at who it was.

  Josh. Why would he be calling me? We were co-workers, but not the best of friends.

  In fact, he never contacted me outside of work unless it was to swap shifts.

  "Hello?" I answered weakly, bringing the phone to my ear as I stared up at the ceiling.

  "Eric! What's going on?" He sounded weird, like his throat was straining.

  "Just hanging around. Enjoying my vacation and all."

  "Cool, cool. Are you alone right now?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Because I have some shit to tell you, man! It's about Geoffrey."

  I rolled my eyes, expecting more gossip and rumors.

  "What is it this time?"

  "Remember how I said I think he had a boyfriend? I mean, I know you went out to dinner with him and all, so I thought it was important in case you were having some type of office romance."

  "You've got to be kidding me," I sighed. Again I sat up, looking at the clock. "It's so early, too. Why are you bugging me with this?"

  "He has a boyfriend! I saw him last night with another dude at the coffee shop."

  My heart stopped beating.

  No. Fucking. Way.

  "Are you sure about that? I really don't want to hear any more lies about our boss."

  "Scout’s honor. He wouldn't even talk to me because he was so anxious waiting for this dude."

  "Well, so what?" I was sweating now. "Just because he met someone at a coffee shop doesn't mean that they're in an actual relationship."

  "Hold up, you didn't hear the rest of the story. They started fighting and the manager came out and told them to get out, but they kissed!"

  The blood in my veins ran cold at his words, but I was still holding onto hope that this was all a misunderstanding.

  "I don't believe you, Josh."

  I was about to hang up when he started shouting at me to wait.

  "Hold up! I have a proof! Just a sec, let me send you a pic."

  With a gulp, I turned on the speakerphone and stared at the screen, waiting for the text message to come through.

  Finally, the little icon at the top of the screen popped up, and I clicked it with hesitation. It wasn't long until the image loaded and rendered.

  Josh and that Clay man who was here before. Geoffrey's hands were on his chest, and Clay had his arms wrapped tightly around them. Kissing.

  "Oh HELL no!" I shouted, grabbing my phone and throwing it to the ground. I could still hear Josh babbling on the other side, but I didn't even want to talk anymore.

  I couldn't believe it. I saw the damn photo and I still couldn't believe that he would do this to me. After everything he said, after everything we did. No wonder he didn't come home with anything—he was too busy hanging out with Clay and fucking around my back!

  Finally, Josh's voice disappeared. I stood from the couch and grabbed my phone, storming into our room and grabbing my suitcase to stuff it full of clothing.

  He was not going to play me like that. I was going to call him out right this fucking second.

  I stepped out of the cab. It was going to be expensive having him wait out here for me, but I wasn't going to stick around long enough for Geoffrey to try to get back in my good graces. I was going to make him look like a fool in front of everyone, just like he made me feel.

  When I stormed into the office, the few patients that were waiting to seek treatment from Dr. Geoffrey looked at me in surprise, as did the administrative team up front.

  "Eric, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on vacation!" the greeter asked, ceasing her typing from behind the front desk.

  "Where is Geoffrey? I need him right now." I seethed as I approached her.

  "Uh, he's with a patient right now…"

  "I don't care! This is an emergency, and I need to see him!"

  "I can't interrupt him, he's… Hey! Where are you going?!"

  I stormed off from them, walking down the hallway with the exam rooms on it, kicking in each door until finally stumbling upon the room he was in. He had a clipboard in hand, going over the documents as he talked to a patient.

  "So just set up your next appointment at the front and I'll see you—Eric! What are you doing?!" He dropped his clipboard, the sound of it clattering loud in the otherwise silent clinic.

  "What were you doing last night?!" I screamed, feeling the tears begin to well up in my eyes.

  "This is very inappropriate and unprofessional, I'm so sorry," he said to the patient as he hurried up to me. He forced me out of the room with him as the door shut behind us. Even in the hallway, people could hear us.

  "What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked, examining me again. I pushed him away hard enough to shove him into the wall. Despite his vampire strength, he must not have expected me to act in such a way. But I didn't care.

  "Why were you with Clay? And why were you kissing him?!" I shouted, taking a few steps away from him, refusing to give him any chance to try and grab me or kiss me to make me feel better.

  "Who told you?" he asked nervously.

  "So it's true! I can't believe you would do something like that to me! After everything you told me! You don't care about our family!" I screamed louder, my throat feeling raw. I stormed away, but I could hear his footsteps following me into the waiting room.

  "Eric, where are you going? I can explain everything, just listen to me!"

  "No!" I said, turning back to him. "I don't want to hear any more of your lies. I don't want to hear that you love me or some other bullshit! You cheated on me!"

  "I didn't cheat on you! It's all a big misunderstanding!"

  "You said you went to the store to get garlic. I'm so stupid. Garlic probably isn't a thing anyway. I'm just a big fucking joke to you! And now we've got a child to deal with? I should have listened to Josh in the first place. He warned me about you, and I didn't listen."

  "Josh is behind this? I should've known, that idiot. You can't believe him, he's the office gossip."

  "He's not wrong about that," I heard the woman at the front desk said. It was my fault that everyone was in our conversation right now, but I didn't want to hear it.

  "Oh, shut up Linda. You're just as bad as he is," I spat at her. She harrumphed and spun around in her office chair, clearly offended.

  "Will you please just let me explain myself? I don't want to fight. I… I love you!"

  I shook my head, "No. I can't stand any more lies. Just leave me alone. I came here to tell you that, and that's it. So have a good fucking workday."

  Finally, I stormed out of his office, jogged back to the taxi that was waiting for me, and hopped inside.

  "Where to now?" the man asked me, staring at me in the rear-view mirror.

  "Take me to the Red Gate Apartments." I watched out of the window as Geoffrey walked out of the office. Everyone in the massive front windows of the clinic was staring at me and at their doctor.

  I had my own herbs here, and thankfully garlic didn't mold. I was supposed to be moved out before next week, as I already had paid the remainder of this month's rent before moving in with Geoffrey. What a joke that was.

  "How are you supposed to string these together?" I groaned, using a bit of yarn to tie the bulbs together. If he wasn't lying, then this would keep him from coming anywhere near my home. And if he was lying about it, then I was just wasting time.

  Either way, it was enough to help pass the time. I'd cried enough over this, my emotions surely heightened by the fact that I was pregnant. I sniffled, grabbing another garlic bulb to tie onto the string, although this one kept popping out just like the first few had. It didn't matter how tight I tied it, the result was the same.

  "Fuck me." I was going to have to leave Worj. I couldn't stand for him to find me or pester me again. It wasn’t like I could go back to work after the scene I'd caused. Not like I wanted to, though. Wherever Geoffrey was, all I knew is that I wanted to be far away from him. There was no way in hell that I'd put up with him anymore.

  "It's not like he'd even come after me, though," I said to myself. He'd tried to call me several times, but nothing more than that. He didn't even bother trying to send me a text. I turned to the door when there was a sudden knock.

  Was that him? It was so early in the morning. Why would he risk coming here before the sun came up?

  "Who is it?" I barked, standing up and heading over towards the door.

  "Maintenance. We're having a water problem with the valves, we've got to check on everyone's taps."

  I didn't know anything about that stuff, so I couldn't tell if he was lying or not. After taking a look through the peep hole, I could see the blue uniform that the men who came to usually fix my apartment wore. I let out a sigh. Why was I so nervous and on edge?

  I unlatched the top lock and the handle lock. "Come in, then."

  The door flung open hard enough to knock me back onto my ass.

  And it wasn't the maintenance man who reached down to pick me up.

  It was Clay.

  "Thanks for the warm welcome." He grinned, grabbing me under my arms and lifting me back up.

  "Hey, get off me, you asshole!" I said, leaning forward to bite his arm hard enough for him to release me.

  He hissed, letting me go. I stumbled towards the small living room just past the kitchen, diving for the string of garlic I'd made and lifting it up. Two of the bulbs fell out of the tie, but there were still several hanging on.

  "Get back! I-I'll use this if I have to."

  "And just what do you expect that to do?" he asked me—but he was bluffing. I could already see the wrinkles across his nose, the slight teary wince of his eyes and the redness already creeping around them.

  "Fuck you!" I shouted, throwing it at him.

  Which, of course, he easily dodged.

  "Oops," I said, backing away as he smiled at my failed attempt to hit him with it.

  "Why are you here? I told Geoffrey to go to hell. There's no reason you need to worry about me anymore." I tried to crawl away from him, but he was on top of me in a second, crushing me beneath his weight as he sat on my hips, pinning my wrists down.

  "Because I know him. He'll pursue you until the sun burns out in the sky and the Earth finally implodes on itself."

  That cocky smile faded and he grimaced in my face. I turned away, shivering at what he was going to do. He wouldn't suck me dry, would he?

  "He's not going to love you the way he loved me, do you understand me? I'm going to make sure that he comes back to me."

  "I-I thought you were already seeing him."

  "Hm." He sat up, releasing my arms. I flailed to no success; he wasn't getting off of me. "I left him, and seeing you with him makes me sick to my stomach. So now, you're going to help me get him back."

  Wait.

  What?

  "So you're his ex-mate!"

  Finally, it was all clicking together in my frazzled mine.

  "I'm going to be his mate again, and it's your mate marks that will fade. Get your phone," he commanded, standing up off me, allowing me to scramble for my cell. I could call 911 right now, but I didn't know what good that would do.

  Could you shoot a vampire dead?

  "Text him that you're leaving town tomorrow morning. And if he comes after you, you'll get rid of the baby."

  "That's just sick, you weirdo!" I said.

  "Do it!"

  "Make me!"

  I shouldn't have tested him, because he came right at me, in my face faster than I could imagine. Faster than Geoffrey.

  "I will, if you don't do as I say exactly. I'm giving you a chance to leave Worj forever. And if you don't, I'll drain you of every drop in your body."

  With a gulp, my shaky fingers finally managed to open my texts. I typed out a long spiel to Geoffrey, saying exactly what Clay wanted me to. Clay watched every word that I was typing, quick to correct anything I said that he deemed to suspicious.

  How could I have been so dumb to believe Josh? I should have known I could trust Geoffrey. And now look at me. Stuck with his monster of an ex-lover… There had to be something I could do to make him come and rescue me.

  Chapter 11

  Geoffrey

  How could he do this to me? After everything?

  And I couldn’t just fire Josh for texting him that. He was trying to look out for his friend—I could understand that—but he had no right to meddle in our affairs. I looked like such a fool with the way Eric left me standing in the clinic like that. And I hated when people stared at me. It had to be one of the most embarrassing moments in this century of life.

  Even though I’d attempted to call him several times before, he refused to answer. So I just gave him the space he needed. After he calmed down, maybe we'd be able to have a proper discussion and I could explain the situation to him.

  Suddenly my phone lit up in the darkness of my home. His name shone on the screen.

  "He's actually talking to me? Why is he awake at this time?" I said aloud, reading the message quickly.

  "Wait a second…"

  It made no sense.

  He was threatening to leave Worj. And if I came after him… what did it mean that he'd “get rid” of our baby? An abortion? Who would do that, when he was a man that was pregnant? Unless he could find other vampires to take it out of him… I did tell him that there were more living just outside of town.

 

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