Her whole body jerked. No! She couldn’t allow that!

  “If you’re going to turn this into a kingdom that attacks and kills shifters, then what sort of future would a shifter child have here? Do you think your people would accept him?”

  “I will protect my child!”

  “By creating a climate where that child would be seen as the enemy?”

  Guinevere shook her head, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “No. Don’t try to twist this around Andy. That’s why you’re called Twister, isn’t it? Because you’re good at twisting things all out of shape until it’s not clear which way is up and which way is down? It has nothing to do with the storm, as much as you’d like everybody to think that.”

  Andy sprang to his feet. “Guinevere, stop. You know that by turning on the Brotherhood, you’re giving room for anti-shifter sentiments to rise. You say you’ll protect the baby. How will you protect him against the hate flung at him from every side? How will you even understand the nuances of that hate? Sure, maybe you can protect him. But too much protection, and he won’t understand the true danger he is in from his own people.”

  “And you think you can do better among the shifters? Look at how much Typhoon hates us! And he’s part vampire. This baby won’t be any safer with you!”

  “Except we already know that a hybrid can hide under the radar, looking and acting like any regular shifter.”

  Guinevere shook her head. She didn’t want to accept this—couldn’t accept this. It seemed everything she did, every choice laid out before her, would end up putting her baby in danger one way or another. How was she supposed to deal with this when she didn’t have any good options?

  Tears started to fill her eyes as she realized she had one good option.

  The dream she had so longed for. The dream she wanted more than anything else but never thought she was going to be able to fulfill. She had to give it up. If she gave the baby to Andy, he’d protect him. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in the way he spoke. This might be a surprise for him as much as it was for her, but he was already as protective of their child as she was.

  The tears ran down her cheeks as she shook her head against the knowledge. “I…”

  Andy’s gaze softened as he came toward her, holding out his arms. Guinevere let herself melt into his embrace.

  “Whatever is best for the baby. I have to do whatever is best for him. So… but you have to promise that when he’s born, you run. You don’t contact your family, you don’t tell the Brotherhood. You and he disappear. You go so far away that nobody will be able to find you. You don’t look back.”

  Andy kissed her. “I promise.”

  He sounded as subdued as she felt.

  “Then I will put my support back with the Savage Brotherhood.”

  Yes, it meant her rival would tell everybody about her pregnancy, but he was probably going to do that anyway. Andy was right. It would be safer for a shifter-vampire hybrid if there was some semblance of peace, some hint that they might be able to get along. An ache deepened in her heart, though, at the thought that she might only be able to hold her baby once. That she would have to send him away as soon as he was born, for his own safety.

  “Andy…” she looked up at him as tears flowed down her cheeks.

  He smoothed his thumb over a tear and pressed his hands to either side of her face. “I know.”

  He kissed her again. Deeply, passionately. Like all these threats weren’t hanging over their heads. Guinevere clutched at him, reveling in his strength and the comfort he brought. It was so strange. She’d had lovers before, and they each gave her something different. But Andy gave her something none of them had, and she hated the thought of giving him up as much as she hated the thought of giving up her baby.

  But as their kisses deepened and grew more desperate, she knew she would. In a heartbeat—no matter what her dreams were, she knew she’d give them all up, so her child would have the best chance at life.

  Because in the end, that was all that mattered.

  ***

  As expected, as soon as Guinevere contacted Typhoon with a full rundown of what had happened, she received news that her rival had mobilized his armies. It all happened so quickly, she knew he’d just been waiting for her to turn against him. She could already imagine his smug expression as he gave the order—and soon after that, the news of her pregnancy broke.

  Earl’s face was creased with fear and worry as he told her this. Guinevere sat next to Andy, her stomach feeling queasy and all stretched up. Andy’s hand kept hold of hers tightly.

  “It’s nothing more than we knew was going to happen,” Guinevere said, trying to bolster her own spirit as much as theirs. “Seal all the entrances to the kingdom. Send word to Typhoon that we’re under attack and…” She glanced to her left. Hurricane was Andy’s brother-in-law and extremely rich. He might be able to help them. But could she really go to him for help, after the way she treated him all those years ago? She let out a sigh. “Contact Josef Downing. Ask, beg, if you need to, for funds to help us defend ourselves.”

  “I’ll do that,” Andy said instantly. He squeezed her hand and gave her his rakish grin. “Only I’m not going to ask him, I’ll ask Roxy. She can’t say no to her little brother, and Hurricane can’t say no to her.”

  Earl looked between them and his jaw flexed. “There is more.”

  Guinevere rose a brow.

  “There are a handful of guards who are questioning their loyalty. They’re calling you a shifter-lover and that you carry demon spawn…” He glanced at her stomach and his shoulders slumped. “You should expect an attack from within the kingdom as well as from the outside.”

  Guinevere nodded, her expression hard. “I am. And I will deal with it. Now seal the entrances, Earl. We will face this threat as we have the ones before. Straight on and without flinching.”

  Chapter Nine

  Twister

  It didn’t take long after Earl left for the dissenters to arrive. Guinevere had told Andy what to expect and he was only a little surprised to see that she was exactly right. Five vampire guards, who she greeted by name, came to confront her. They claimed to want to talk peacefully, but they already had their weapons drawn. From the looks of confusion and outrage on their faces when they saw her, they hadn’t even known she was pregnant.

  “Is that a shifter?” one of them yelled, pointing at her stomach. “Did you fuck a shifter and create an abomination?”

  Guinevere remained poised. Andy could feel the tension building in the room; it wasn’t going to be long before the vampires attacked. He adjusted his stance, readying himself for when they did. His gaze swept over them, assessing the size and mood of each of them. A few of them glared back at him but most were looking at Guinevere.

  “What I did,” she said slowly, “was find a way that vampires can have children. Most of you have mates; wouldn’t you also want to have children?”

  “Not with shifters we don’t,” the leader howled and leapt forward. His sword struck out at Guinevere.

  Andy was between them quickly. He grabbed the vampire’s wrist and twisted sharply. The sword clattered to the floor as the vampire’s arm snapped. He shoved the vampire back to the others; but it seemed to be enough for them. They all charged forward, shouting and waving their weapons. Three of them went for him. They slashed at his neck as he jumped out of range of their blades. Guinevere shouted out for them to stop.

  They were past listening to their queen, though.

  The five vampires all came at him, swearing at the tops of their lungs. Andy planted himself in front of Guinevere. As another sword came at him, he punched the vampire in the arm, then the throat. He was able to take the sword from the vampire and used it to block first one strike then another. His wolf howled in his chest, pounding against his ribs with the desire to shift and tear them apart.

  If they drew a single drop of blood from Guinevere, he would. But in the meantime, he would try to merely defend. They were going to need all the strength they had against their enemies.

  Guinevere snatched up a fallen sword and parried a thrust aimed at her. Andy turned to help her and almost got his head taken off for his efforts. A snarl ripped from his throat as he managed to shove three vampires back. He took off the arm of a third and kicked the fourth in the stomach. They showed no sign of backing down. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

  He seized the grenade that he’d brought in all those weeks ago, still sitting on Guinevere’s bookshelf. He yanked the pin out with his teeth and grabbed Guinevere. As he rushed her into the bathroom, he threw the grenade behind them. A shout sounded as he slammed the door.

  The next moment, the whole earth shook with the force of the explosion. Rock and plaster rained down on them. Andy threw himself over Guinevere, shielding her.

  When the shaking stopped, he eased his weight off her. Her pale skin was smudged with dirt as she gazed at the door. He twisted to look as well, and his stomach dropped. The stone door had been cracked in half. The top lay in a heap at the bottom and beyond were piles of stones. He might have managed to stop this attack, but they were stuck.

  “Okay.” Guinevere turned wide eyes on him. “And how was that supposed to help us?”

  Andy hesitated a moment. “Well… It gives us some privacy, at least. Right?”

  Guinevere’s mouth dropped open. She seemed on the brink of saying something, but instead, only laughter came out. She slapped a hand over her mouth as she kept giggling. Tears started to stream down her face again, but Andy wasn’t certain if those were tears of mirth or it was just all the overwhelming emotion crashing down on her. He pulled her into his arms anyway, wanting to give her comfort.

  She pressed her face into his shoulder. Andy breathed in her scent of fresh fruit, wishing that it could stay like this forever. The sound of their heartbeats combined with the baby’s steady thrumming. For a moment he dared to hope what it might be like for the three of them if he took her with him. They could run together. Leave behind the kingdom, the Brotherhood, everything. Just be lovers and their child.

  The image made him smile, but he knew it wasn’t possible. Sure, they could keep Guinevere human by having her drink his blood, but if they were to suddenly disappear? The vampire kingdoms would still be after them. Perhaps they’d be able to get Typhoon to lend them some support.

  Andy understood now, though. Typhoon had told him once that being an alpha meant making the hard choices. At the time, Andy thought it just meant doing things he’d rather not. He didn’t realize that sometimes it was even against instinct. Against what was right morally for the sake of the greater good.

  No, Typhoon wouldn’t help them. If he did and it came out that he was half vampire himself, he’d lose his position for sure. Then how was he meant to protect civilians? Not only against the worst of the vampires but against the Brotherhood, as well. Andy had joined to defend civilians against vampires, but there were plenty who had just wanted excuses to break the law and act out in violent ways.

  Guinevere pulled back from him, a soft smile on her lips. “So. Since Typhoon sent you to speak with me, does that mean that you’re a member of the Brotherhood again?”

  Andy shrugged. “Typhoon said he’d make me a member again. Not sure if it’s official yet or not. And if it is… I’m not sure how long it will stay that way. There are a lot of people still mad at me for what I did.”

  “You mean when you raided the coven and hesitated in killing the vampires there?”

  “Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean.” His expression darkened. “There’d be plenty of people mad at just that, but I nearly got people killed.”

  He sighed as he took a seat on the floor. The room they were trapped in was the bathroom. The large tub was full of water and heat rose from it. Idly, he wondered if it would be a good idea to soak and relax while they stuck here. They had no radios, no cellphones, no way to contact anybody outside of this room.

  “What about your crew?”

  “Hmm?” he turned back to her.

  Guinevere sat beside him and pressed herself into his side. She was shivering, so he put an arm around her. “Does your crew blame you?”

  Andy considered for a moment before he shook his head. “I don’t think so. At least, they don’t seem to. Why, though… that’s something else entirely.”

  “Maybe because they know why you did what you did and agree with you. You know… I don’t want to say that I stalked you, but I did a lot of research on you. I make it a point of pride to know about the people I spend time with,” she added quickly, a pink flush rising in her cheeks. “Anyway, I think that the Brotherhood needs more people like you. You have every reason to hate vampires and not be willing to give a word of mercy towards us. And yet… you did. You were willing to give the benefit of the doubt. To those vampires that hurt your people… to me.”

  Her voice cracked on the last word and Andy pulled her closer. “You’re different.”

  “Not really. I have my dark past. I… I didn’t get this position through diplomacy and good works, Andy.” She turned her face into his shoulder. “I was hateful. I hated everybody, and I wanted to see them suffer and none more than the bastard who turned me into a vampire. He made me his slave. I have done my best to forget about everything he did to me… but the things I did to become queen…”

  Andy’s arms tightened. He knew enough from what she had told him in the past, some of what she had been through. He thought about asking for more details of what she had done, but did it really matter?

  “The thing is… you’ve made yourself better,” he told her, slowly and haltingly at first, but gaining more confidence as he realized what he wanted to say. “Instead of going all ego-maniac like the other vampire rulers, you decided to use your position to make the world a better place. To try to create some peace between vampires and shifters.”

  Guinevere lifted her head.

  He grinned at her. “Maybe you and I aren’t so different in that way. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, too. But in the end, we can choose to reinvent ourselves every day. That’s what you have done, and that’s what I have done. And the baby—”

  He cut off, a wave of grief overwhelming him. If things happened the way they expected, she wasn’t going to be there to see their baby grow up. How were either of them supposed to deal with that?

  ***

  It was several hours later when the sound of movement came from the other side of the pile of rocks. Both Andy and Guinevere lifted their swords and readied themselves, just in case it was the enemy. Andy’s wolf snarled. If whoever it was even thought about hurting Guinevere, he’d rip them limb from limb.

  “Andy?”

  He glanced at Guinevere.

  “I’m glad you’re with me.”

  Warmth spread through his chest as he managed a smile at her. “I’m glad I’m with you, too.”

  Their gazes lingered on each other for a moment. Then rocks fell on their side of the cave-in, creating an opening just big enough for a single person to slip through. Andy braced himself in front of Guinevere, sword pointed at the opening. A face appeared, followed quickly by the whole head as a woman slid through the opening as though she was made of jelly.

  “Aw, really?” Frieda grinned as she bounced back to her feet. “I expected to at least see a little kissing going on. Was hoping for more, if you know what I mean.”

  She waggled her brows at them, and Andy barked out a laugh. “Why are you here?”

  “Never mind that.” Guinevere marched out from behind him and glowered at Frieda. “How the fuck did you get in here? Earl was supposed to have sealed the entrances.”

  Frieda looked unfazed. “Well, he tried to keep us out, but Stewie fed him this line of BS that Typhoon sent us and—”

  “Stewart’s here?” Andy exploded. He threw his hands up. “Well, why not? He can take care of himself, a human in the middle of a vampire kingdom that’s about to go to war.”

  That did get Frieda’s attention. She frowned at Andy and folded her arms. “Really? What do you take me for, an idiot? He’s not here. He rode out with us and got us in. As soon as we were in, that Earl dude sealed up the entrance. Stewie’s going to inform Typhoon that the crew is in here, trapped by enemy forces as we attempt to help out our very close allies.”

  Andy wasn’t much mollified, and from the look on her face, neither was Guinevere. There was nothing to do now, though. “Who all came?”

  “The whole crew, of course. As soon as we heard that Typhoon reinstated you to full Brotherhood membership, we came rushing right over to help out.” Her gaze dropped to Guinevere’s stomach for the first time; the motion was almost unwilling, like she had been fighting the urge to do so. “Seems like that little tidbit was true, too.”

  Andy shifted his posture, shielding Guinevere once more.

  Frieda rolled her eyes but still smiled at him. “Dude, come on. Chillax a little. We might not be psyched about you having a vampire bun in the oven, but we trust you. You’re family, which means the little tidbit is, too.”

  A lump rose in his throat. It was the stupidest, most inane reaction he could have had to her statement. And yet, he couldn’t stop it. His vision blurred with tears, and a fond warmth spread through his chest. Soundlessly, he groped for Guinevere’s hand. He nodded at Frieda.

  He and the crew had been close. He knew that. He also knew that it was hard for them after he had nearly gotten two of them killed raiding that vampire coven. It had been in the back of his mind since then that maybe one or two had forgiven him but that they’d never trust him again. But now? They were willing to seal themselves in a vampire kingdom, willing to put their lives on the line for him again?

  And more than that. They were willing to just accept his unborn child, even though he was half vampire?

  It was more than he’d ever hoped for.

  They got the rocks cleared out enough for Guinevere to fit comfortably through a moment later. She glanced around her chambers with a look of dismay on her face. What hadn’t been blasted to bits was scorched black. Andy winced, but she shook her head and smiled at him. He hadn’t let go of her hand, and now he looked around at the familiar faces of his crew. They were all there, even Stephen who had nearly left the Brotherhood a while back.

 

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