“Mother, what can I do for you?” Adriel asked gently.
“Nothing,” Margaret spat. “Not unless you can impregnate an omega and produce a child any faster than he can.” She pointed her claw-like finger at me.
At any other time, I would have been offended that she couldn’t even call me by my name, even thoughIwas the one fulfilling her wishes. But right now, I was too worried. She wasn’t quite right, and I didn’t know what to do.
“Mother,” I said, “I’ll have a pregnancy test done as soon as I can. I promise.”
Margaret’s expression wavered, and for a moment, I saw gratitude among the anger and frustration. In a thin voice, she said, “Thank you, Pierce. That’s all I wanted to hear.” She sighed and held the edge of the dining table as leverage. “You’re a good son. I don’t say it enough.”
Adriel held out his arm for her, as she was obviously having trouble walking, but she swatted it away. She didn’t say another word to him as she left on her own. When she was gone, Adriel looked at me, appalled.
“Why did she shove me away?” he asked quietly. His composure, too, was shaken by Margaret’s behavior. “I only wanted to help.”
“I don’t know, brother,” I murmured. “I suspect something is very wrong with our mother, and she has too much pride to let us help her.”
Adriel’s gaze fell to the floor. “Pierce… Are we going to lose her?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Unfortunately, it’s looking that way. She’s in such a hurry for us to produce an heir that it’s the only explanation.”
He met my eyes now, serious. “What are we going to do if she passes before that can happen? EvenifBenji is currently pregnant, can she really hold out for another nine months?”
The gravity of the situation hit me. I sighed and sat down, holding my head in one hand. “I don’t know. All I can do is hope.”
Ever the optimist, Adriel added, “Pierce, if we lose her, we won’t be able to feed. We’ll all die.”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m aware.”
Then, Adriel decided to test my patience even more by saying, “If we cannot use the fog to feed safely, then you know what will happen. We’ll turn on the nearest human we can get our hands on, and right now, that’s Benji.”
I stood sharply, knocking the chair back, and grabbed Adriel by the collar of his clean-pressed shirt. “Don’t you think I know that?” I hissed. “I’m trying my best to solve this situation! I don’t see you or Theo doing the same!” I gripped him tighter. “And don’t you ever threaten my mate again, or - “
“Guys, stop fighting!”
Theo’s cry made us pause and glare at him. He pushed himself in between us, but I had no intention of letting Adriel go before I got my point across.
“This isn’t helping anyone,” Theo said.
“Promise you won’t touch him,” I growled to Adriel.
Adriel’s eyes narrowed at me, but there was no malice in his expression, only a vague sadness. “You know as well as I do that none of us can promise anything. A hungry vampire operates only on instinct. I’m only telling the truth.”
The rage in my chest flared up, then dimmed. I let go of him. Despite my outburst, I knew he was right. Without Margaret’s fog to cast illusion over the humans’ eyes, we had no safe way of feeding, and if Benji wasn’t gone by then…
“Maybe,” Theo murmured, “me and Adriel should start looking, too.”
“It won’t matter,” Adriel said. “I suspect Benji is already pregnant, so that’s no longer an issue. What will be a problem is if Margaret even survives the gestation.”
None of us spoke. A stiff silence hung in the air. For the first time since our turning, we weren’t invincible. We all knew what the other was thinking. If things didn’t turn out as planned, this could be the end of us.
If Benji didn’t give birth before Margaret passed, we would all be doomed.
* * *
After the servantshad prepared breakfast, I returned to the room. But I heard a troubling sound behind the door and paused, listening harder. It sounded like Benji was crying.
I entered the room to find Benji curled up underneath the covers, sniffling.
“Benji?” I asked urgently. “What’s wrong?”
