“I promise you this, Ruby. This body will carry my baby. I’ll tear down heaven and earth with my own bare hands to see that through.”
I could barely breathe. It was hard to remember basic human functions when I lay beneath this devastating masterpiece of a vampire prince with a breeding kink that was like anything I’d ever heard or seen or could have mentally prepared my vagina for. Shit.
I wanted to fuck him right here and now.
But of course, fuck me. And not in the fun way because my world went static at that moment.
I reached for Sterling, who seemed so far away now. It was like the dreamscape had cleaved in half, and we were falling in opposite directions. “Wh–what’s happening?”
“You’re waking up.” His voice was distant and barely discernable. “The next chance you get, find a safe place to sleep. Corry and I will be waiting.”
An impenetrable darkness swallowed me, and I felt myself hurtling back to consciousness.
And with his last words, new strength filled me.
“We love you, Ruby Renada.”
Chapter eighteen
Vicious Animals
IwokeuptoVincent lightly shaking me awake. “We’re almost there, Little Monster.”
Lifting my head from the crook of his arm, I directed my attention to where he nodded toward the horizon.
My stomach bunched into a tight knot when I saw it.
Before me, standing out like the green giant’s sore thumb, was the largest freaking tree I’d ever seen, read of, or heard about.
To call it “big” was like calling Corry’s dick “average.” It was bigger than if all the trees on Earth were chopped up and mashed back together to create a huge mutant tree. Larger than Vin’s ego, or if every book Sterling had ever read was stacked on top of one another.
The tree was so monstrous that a new word needed to be invented to properly describe its size. It jutted out from the seemingly endless jungle, and with all the countless lights and buildings mounted in its branches, it lit up the night like a beacon.
“What do you think of the fae Life Tree?” Vin’s monster rumbled.
Life tree. The name made sense. It was like the heart of the jungle, teeming with life.
“It’s like if the Beacons of Gondor had a baby with that one tree from the movie with the blue aliens.”
Vincent’s nostrils flared with mild irritation. “I don’t get your human pop culture references.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” I rolled my eyes. “I know you’re not a books and movies guy, but not evenLord of the Rings?”
“The youngblood tried to make me sit through that shit. Why do humans love torturing themselves with four-hour-long movies? Especially when they have such short lifespans.”
I laughed. “Wow. He started you off with the extended editions? I really am in love. Maybe I’ll have his babies before yours.”
He pinched my ass, and I opened my mouth to yelp in surprise but swallowed the noise down when I caught his eyes fixated on me, something dark and dangerous brewing behind them. “This is a bad time to rile my feathers now with that bratty mouth of yours, little mate.”
A smug smirk crawled over my lips. “Don’t lie. You love my bratty mouth.”
“I do. But you better watch what words you fill it with, or I’ll find my own way to keep it busy.” His tone had a sharp edge to it that had my heart racing. “That would make for one hell of an introduction to my people.”
Some of the most potent male pheromones I’d ever scented rolled off of him in powerful waves, crashing over me like a tsunami. Goosebumps exploded over my skin, and it was everything I could do just to keep it together.
Wicked jokes aside, it wasn't really an empty threat, was it? Soon hewouldbe fucking me in front of his people. Whether they accepted me or hated my guts, this shit was happening. And if he betrayed me again, in front of all those people…
I'd make him pay. I prayed it wouldn't come to that. If it did, there'd be no repairing my broken heart.
