SAM
Isnagged a bottle of blood from the fridge in my apartment, popped the top, and chugged. The aching in my gums diminished the more I drank, as did my bloodthirst. Hours of sleep, a hot-as-fuck dream, my hunger sated, four stunning children, and a ravishing auburn-haired goddess erased every fucking piece of bad shit that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. This time yesterday I’d been in hell. But no more. The next time I went to hell, I was taking my enemies with me—in particular, Rianne. That bitch was why my family had to run and was one of the reasons for Layla’s tension. I would find a way to make Rianne suffer.
I skirted the kitchen island and wound my way over to the floor-to-ceiling window that spanned one wall. My apartment—or the penthouse, as my sister had dubbed the spacious open floor plan many years ago—had high ceilings with exposed white pipes and ductwork that blended in well with the walls, keeping that factory style of the former textile building.
Darkness crawled through the courtyard below, the stars twinkling in the night sky. A guard stood tall outside the prison across from me. Hawk was doing the same outside the infirmary’s nursery. I liked and trusted Hawk, the young SEAL team member proving to us he was ready for anything. He was respectful and didn’t mouth off like our other new recruit Petty Officer Dawson. I appreciated Dawson’s arrogance in certain situations, but he needed to learn where to direct his superiority.
Jordyn and Harley were also in the infirmary’s nursery, helping Beverly and Wendy, the nurses on duty. Jordyn and Harley’s presence gave me another reason to feel like I could breathe. Layla and I had several things to do, and in the quietness of the night and with our children fast asleep, we could begin packing.
Where I would bunker down if the council ruled against me or if my father didn’t have a chance to enact his plan was a mystery. Sawyer had offered his childhood home. While I was grateful he’d been thinking of me, I couldn’t put his parents in harm’s way. They didn’t need to take on my problems.
Sawyer had mentioned something about witches in his hometown, but even so, they couldn’t protect me, although if they were seasoned witches, they might have a shielding spell or some witchy magic to throw off my scent.
My thoughts fizzled when I heard Layla sniffling. I chucked the bottle in the trash and dashed into the nursery.
Layla was sitting on the carpeted floor, legs curled under her and hugging a stuffed elephant, crying.
I crouched down. “Hey, baby doll. I’m here. What’s this about?”
On the way to the apartment, Layla had been excited about heading up to Maine. She couldn’t stop talking about the ocean and inhaling the salt air. The July weather was perfect for swimming in the surf, walking on the beach, and enjoying the sun. A pristine setting and environment for relaxing and healing while taking care of our little ones.
She giggled through tears. “I’m sorry. I’m a blubbering mess. I wanted a chance to use this room. I wanted Ellie, Luna, Rorie, and Orion to wake up with the elephants and be mesmerized by the cute musical crib mobiles.”
I sat down and stretched out my legs on either side of her. “This room will still be here when we return. Besides, you love the ocean. And you can take the stuffed animals, the mobiles, and anything else except the cribs. Jo is having new ones delivered.”
We planned for Harley to take the suitcases and boxes in her long-bed crew cab truck and leave before Layla, Jordyn, Abbey, Jo, and the babies. Actually, we were staggering departure times. That way we didn’t look conspicuous. A caravan of vehicles leaving the base would draw attention given the masses outside our gates.
I was amazed how fast things were moving, and sitting on the floor in our nursery, I was beginning to feel emotional with Layla. I loved this apartment. Traipsing from one foster home to another for most of my life, I’d never lived in one place for more than two years. They hadn’t been loving environments either.
She scooted between my legs. “What if the apartment is gone when we return?”
I wasn’t about to tell her that wasn’t possible, because the humans might be able to overrun the naval base. I didn’t see that happening easily. Except for the human wives and children living on base, the populace was vampires.
I curled her hair behind her ear. “Whether or not the base is still standing when we return doesn’t matter. What does is our family.”
“I know. It’s just the idea of moving again. My sisters and I haven’t had a place to call home since our dad died.” A waterfall of tears poured out of her.
“Wherever we are will be home,” I said.
She played with the belt on her robe. “I get that. But the kids will need stability.”
Sadly, we might be on the run for a long time. Maine was a great spot for the time being, but no one could stay hidden forever. Not with the media breathing down our necks.
“Everything is happening too fast, Sam. I feel like I’m falling into a rabbit hole with no way out. I mean, I know we’re at war, and that bothers me, but not as much as the unknown does. How long will we be moving around? Can we live in peace when this is all over? Who was my mom? Her family? Who am I? What are our kids?” With each question came another tear.
I leaned away, my forehead creasing. “We know whoyouare. We know Orion is a vampire. The girls will show their powers soon enough.” I had a feeling they carried the vampire gene, but maybe they needed my blood to activate it. After all, Doc had given Orion my blood to save his life. So he was the first to reveal who he was. “We’re uncovering more about your mom’s lineage.”
“Yesterday, before Jo blew into the birthing suite, I tried to tell you something about my mom.”
“You saw her when you died, right?” I remembered that, but it had gotten lost in the madness.
“My mom’s message was about a prophecy involving one of our kids. She couldn’t tell me who, but one of them will change the course of humanity and upset the balance of the world. What if just being born did that? Think about it. Adam’s press conference happened after I gave birth, right?”
As far-fetched as her idea was, I didn’t want to discount it. Fate and destiny had a way of playing out in weird ways. The birth of supernatural babies, which had only happened once in our history as far as we knew, could set off a chain of events.
She squeezed my thigh. “You think it’s possible?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
