Chapter Ten

“I don’t understand,” I said a few hours later. “Why can’t Dera just take the full force of the Council and squish Roger like a bug? She can stop this fight from taking place, instead of just giving us untrustworthy fighters to even out the numbers. Does she want to needlessly sacrifice wolves and vampires?”

“No, she can’t,” Ray said simply. “Roger has lost many of his supporters, but they’re not all gone, I assure you. He still has massive sway, especially with the older crowd that all think the same way he does, and he’ll use that to his advantage. Besides, Dera just took office as the head of the Council, and she can’t openly move against him in such a public way. She’s hoping we can take care of Roger for her.”

“That’s kind of lazy of her, isn’t it?” I asked, looking out the window at the new additions to our camp as they set up their tents in the backyard. “I don’t think we can trust them. I just figured we could use all the help we could get. It’s not like it could hurt, right? I mean, this house is full of friendly werewolves and vampires with excellent superhuman hearing. They won’t get near us with ill intent, right?”

Ray shrugged. “I’m not sure. I do know that I’ll feel better about your safety as long as you have Quinten, Jax, and Darren in your room with you at night. I know they’ll keep you safe.”

I frowned. “Dad, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again when I have to. I have something incredibly precious to fight for now–to protect–and nothing will stand in the way of that. Not homicidal werewolves, or vengeful vampires, or the Council…nothing.”

He put his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close, and kissed my forehead. “You sound like a real parent already. I can’t wait to see how you do after they’re born; I think you’ll do great.”

Hearing him say it made me realize just how unprepared I was to be a mother, and I could feel tears building up. We were still in constant danger, and we still didn’t have a place to call our own, and that just wasn’t acceptable when you were about to bring two new lives into the world. I took a deep breath, trying to fight back the mix of emotions I was feeling.

“I’m not as sure as you are,” I said quietly. When I looked at him, I was surprised to see he was smiling “What are you smiling at?”

He shook his head slowly. “Nothing. It’s just…you are so much like I was at your age. You’re even stronger than I ever was. I wouldn’t have been anywhere near ready to face what you’re going through. I think I would have caved in and just given up, because I wouldn’t have had anything to fight for. At least, not until you came along. Then everything changed.”

“Were you ready for me?”

He laughed, causing me to smile. “No, I was not ready for you.” When he stopped smiling, he looked at me again, all serious like he was lately. “I didn’t have a whole lot of people that cared about me like you do. I didn’t have any siblings or cousins to help me along. My younger sister–your aunt Linda, or Linnie as we called her–didn’t survive the change from human to wolf. Your uncle Charles died a few years after you were born, but at the time he was off fighting and killing as many vampires as he could after the death of his mate.”

Jax’s mother hadn’t survived the change either. Her loss had devastated both Jax and Charles, but Jax was the only one to really recover. If Charles had just gone home to his son instead of continuing his quest for revenge against all vampires, he wouldn’t have been killed, and Jax wouldn’t have spent his teenage years mostly taking care of himself.

Of course, if Jax hadn’t spent most of his teenage years alone, he probably wouldn’t have had an excuse to stay with us as often as he did, and I wouldn’t be as close to him as I am now. I felt so lonely when he graduated high school, got his own place, and moved off of Ray’s couch. It was like all the fun had been sucked from the room, and I was left with nobody but Ilene to keep my company.

“Alanna, you’ll be ready when these babies get here. Trust me. From one parent to another, I can tell you there are some things we just know. Someone as caring, brave and willing to fight for what she knows is right will have no problems raising her children the right way, especially since you’ll definitely have help. Hell, I’ll probably be around so often you’ll get sick of me.”

Suddenly overcome with emotion, I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. “I could never get sick of you, Dad,” I said quietly. “After everything you’ve done for me, you’re welcome to move in with us if you want,” I said, laughing with him when he began to chuckle.

He gave me one more squeeze before leaving me in the living room. I looked out the window one more time, at all the new additions to our camp, and I had a slight feeling of unease at the sight of them. Jax and Quinten were outside watching them like hawks, and that made me feel a little better, but not by much. There were ten werewolves in our camp that I wasn’t sure we could trust, and they could do quite a bit of damage to us if they wanted to.

With a sigh, I opened the backdoor. Hot air rushed to meet me, and I felt the sweat start to bead up and drop down my back, between my thighs, and between my breasts. Within seconds it felt like my entire shirt was plastered to my body, and I plucked uselessly at it, trying to fan myself off and stay cool. I couldn’t wait until I wasn’t pregnant anymore, and I could get my old body back, and I could stop being so hot all the time.

Everyone was in the backyard, and I couldn’t help but notice the obvious tension between them. Darren was standing beside Quinten, Maria, and Violet on one side of the yard. With them were Jax and Ray. There were two unknown people behind Darren, and after a few seconds I recognized them as two of the dhampirs we’d rescued from Roger’s mansion.

On the other side of the yard were the ten unknown werewolves that Dera had lent us. They looked angry and uptight in a strange place surrounded by vampires and dhampirs they didn’t know. I couldn’t blame them; being around strangers hadn’t generally worked out well for me or anyone in my family, and I understood how nervous vampires made werewolves, and vice versa. The two species had been slaughtering each other for centuries.

But they all had to understand that we had a chance to stop all of the fighting for good. If we could just stick together for a little while longer, we might be able to keep a lot of people–both vampire and werewolf–from ever being killed again. Even though they had no reason to like me, trust me, or fight for me, they had a chance to save their future friends and family from suffering.

“What’s going on out here?” I asked, stepping in-between the two sides. Brent and Nolan were both in the middle of everything as well, and they looked at me. “Your dhampir friend showed up with two more dhampirs just like him, and it’s got the Council’s lackeys nervous,” Brent said, tugging anxiously on his long, red beard. “Perhaps you can smooth things out before someone does something stupid that puts us all in jeopardy.”

I turned to face the Council’s werewolves. “The dhampirs are not going to harm you in any way. You can relax. Our enemies are out there,” I said, motioning to the woods. “They’re not here, standing with us, willing to fight by our side. We don’t have enough friends at the moment that we can afford to turn willing fighters away.

“It shouldn’t matter that they’re half-vampire. They’re on our side, and you need to put your prejudices behind you if we’re going to get Roger Mason out of our lives. He’s getting crazier and crazier by the day, and we’ll need all the help we can get to banish him.” I looked at the Council’s werewolves and frowned. “I don’t give a damn what your previous thoughts about vampires were. But for right now, they are our allies, and they need to be treated as such. So suck it up and come say hello.”

There were reluctant grumbles from some of the Council’s wolves, but one by one they walked across the yard, closer to the dhampirs and vampires that were on our side. Nobody got within touching distance, but this was a start. Now we could get together and come up with one final plan that we could use to wipe out Roger and Eli when the time came.

We were running out of time. I would be giving birth in just a few short days, and then all hell would officially break loose. If Roger attacked before I had the babies, I would be fat and slower than normal, and I would have to constantly worry about every little nick or blow and if it would hurt the baby. But if he attacked after I had the babies, then I would worry about their safety non-stop. No matter when Roger attacked, I was going to be sidetracked and that would put me in more danger than I’d already be in.

The worst possible thing that could happen would be if Roger decided to attack while you were in labor, not before or after. Then you’d really be defenseless…

“Alright, so what’s the plan?” one of the Council wolves asked. “If we’re going to have any hope of taking down Roger Mason, we’ll need a solid plan of action. I’m not risking my life for some half-assed attempt by a bunch of kids,” he said, looking around at me, Quinten, Darren, and the other dhampirs.

Now that he’d said it, I realized it was kind of true. We looked like a group of kids getting ready for a fight on the playground after school, except the other people showing up wouldn’t be kids. They would be ruthless warriors hell bent on killing us and making sure that none of us survived to see the light of day ever again. What kind of chance did we really stand?

Ray put his hand on my shoulder. “The plan is to train, convince more fighters to help, and to be as well prepared as possible. We can do this, as long as we buckle down and focus. We’re acting like Roger is some invincible god that can’t be killed. He can be killed, and he will be. We just have to stick together and see this through,” Ray said, making sure to look at everyone during his little speech.

“We have to remember that we’re not just fighting for ourselves. We’re fighting for something much more important than just a few lives. If we can ensure the birth of these children, we might be able to stop the fighting for good. We can’t forget that, or we’ll end up losing.”

Nolan looked at the Council’s werewolves. “Alright. What do you say we teach these dhampirs how to properly fight?”

Giving each other nervous, uncertain glances, the werewolves, vampires, and dhampirs moved off into groups to begin their training. They were obviously uncomfortable at the thought of being near one another, but they were willing to try and make it work. And it was all because of Ray’s little speech. I couldn’t believe how big of an impact words could have, and I looked at Ray out of the corner of my eyes. “You’re making these babies sound like messiahs or something. What if when they’re born, they don’t stop any of the fighting, and things just continue on as bad as they are now? All of these people will be let down, and they’ll blame us.”

“It’ll be better if we don’t dwell on that right now. We have far more important things to do. For now, let’s train.”

*****

“I am not fighting a girl half my age,” Brent said sourly. “Let alone a pregnant girl. Especially since she happens to be the very pregnant daughter of an old friend of mine.”

“Yeah, well, this pregnant girl is about to kick your ass if you don’t brace yourself,” I warned, bending into a defensive crouch. I had my hands curled up into dangerous fists, and even though I felt like my center of gravity was way off and I would collapse at any moment, I would have no problems defending myself. In fact, I felt that I might be one of the most dangerous people in the backyard. There was an instinct rising inside of me, and it wasn’t just animalistic.

It was pure maternal instinct, and it was one of the deadliest feelings on the planet.

Brent tilted his head and our eyes met. “You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you?”

Instead of answering, I threw myself at him, hoping to catch him by surprise and force him into acting. He blocked a wild haymaker, and he grabbed my wrist and twisted, before shoving me away from him. Spinning in place, I hooked my leg behind his kneecap and yanked, sending him to one knee in the dirt.

He lashed out at me with his right hand, and I instinctively jumped back to avoid being hit. Brent and I circled each other. He looked ready for a fight, and I hoped he wouldn’t take it easy on me just because of my pregnant state. Roger and his fighters certainly wouldn’t take it easy on me, and I wanted to be as prepared for that fight as I could.

Brent jabbed at my chest with his right fist, and I leaned back, letting his fist sail past my left shoulder. I reached up and grabbed his wrist and spun up and under it, coming up behind Brent and popping his shoulder out of place. My foot slammed into the back of his thigh, and his leg crumpled beneath him as he dropped to the ground. Before he could get to his feet, I kicked him between his shoulder blades, and he skidded to a stop in the dirt with a groan.

He sat back and watched me with his dark eyes, and I waited for him to do something. After a second, he looked away from me, and he popped his shoulder back into place in a well-practiced manner. He’d obviously been injured like that before. “How did you do that? Doesn’t it hurt?” I asked, curious.

Brent shrugged. “It hurts more to leave it popped out like that. Once you get it back to normal, it feels so much better. The pain vanishes almost instantly. Especially for those of us that heal faster than the average person,” he said, grinning. “Why? Want me to teach you how to do it?”

I nodded eagerly. “It seems like it would be a useful thing to know.”

“It won’t do you much good, because you’ll be sitting out of the fighting all safe and sound,” Quinten said, looking at me. He was helping the new dhampirs with their training, but he’d been watching the entire fight, ready to jump in and intervene if he felt like he had to. “Alanna, you can’t honestly believe that anyone here is going to let you fight.”

“I am fighting,” I said stubbornly. “You will not all be fighting for me while I sit around all safe and sound, hidden away out of danger. Quinten, I’m the one with the biggest reason to fight.”

Quinten sighed exasperatedly. “You do realize that you could get hurt, or even killed, right? If you die, so do these kids that everyone else is willing to fight and die for. You have to think about what’s best for everyone, not just your pride.”

“I have thought of it. Quinten, I’m trying to keep as many people alive as possible. In our current situation, one fighter could be the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death. If I can help out, I will.” He shook his head but didn’t argue with me anymore. He seemed to realize that nothing he could say would change my mind or my decision. I was determined to help out as much as possible, despite what anyone said.

Training continued while I took a seat in the grass and watched. Quinten joined me, wordlessly sliding his arm around waist and pulling me closer. We watched Brent and Nolan help train the dhampirs and the Council’s wolves. Jenna and Darren watched with interest, taking mental notes of everything that Brent and Nolan showed them. I hoped they were fast learners, because they were two of the most unnatural fighters I’d ever seen. Even though Darren had improved greatly since starting, he was still going to need someone to watch his back during the fight. If they couldn’t get the hang of everything, they wouldn’t last long in a fight, and it would be better for them to sit out instead of me.

Dera called every hour on the hour, looking for a status update on the pregnancy. After her fourth call, I was ready to bite off someone’s head just for looking at me the wrong way. I had to force myself to be cordial and polite while talking to Dera on the phone, but the second she hung up in her brisk and efficient way, I was feeling ready to rant and rave about every word she’d said. Finally, after the fifth phone call, Jenna brought me into the kitchen to help her start dinner.

Cooking for so many people was incredibly difficult, and it took several hours to prepare enough. Surprisingly, Jenna let me handle the second half of dinner while she worked on two very large cakes. When I asked her what the special occasion was, she just smiled, shook her head, and continued baking. While she decorated them, I spread out the food over the kitchen counter and the kitchen table. People drifted in to gather up a plate of food before heading outside to eat around a small fire that Ray had made. When I peeked out the window, I noticed that the group around the fire was incredibly segregated. The dhampirs sat on one side of the fire with Violet, Maria, and Quinten, while the wolves sat across from them. Jax sat beside Darren–who I was pleased to see was sitting next to Jonathon–and Ray sat beside Jenna. His arm was around her waist, and he winked at me as I sat beside Quinten with my own massive plate of food.

Brent saw the amount of food on my plate and laughed, causing everyone else to chuckle with him. I shrugged it off. “I’m eating for three. Leave me alone,” I said with a grin. Nobody argued with me, probably because they’d all most likely noticed my mood dip with each Council-related phone call, and they knew I was ready to tear into someone about my current circumstances.

When Jenna disappeared back inside the house and came back out with a cake, everyone turned to look at me. As one group, Ray, Jax, Darren, Quinten, Jenna, Brent, and Violet all broke out into a sloppy verse of ‘Happy Birthday’, startling me. When they finished singing, I just sat there slack-jawed and surprised. “It’s my birthday?” I asked quietly.

Ray chuckled. “You forgot your own birthday? It’s not every day you officially stop being a teenager.” He got a faraway look in his eyes as he smiled. “Twenty years old. I remember that time in my life. You know we were gonna wait until this was all over to celebrate, but we figured that we could all use some good in our lives right now. What better way to celebrate life and what we have than with a birthday cake and friends?”

Jenna cut up birthday cake and dished out pieces to everyone in the group. Even the Council’s werewolves took slices, and I could feel the tension lighten up all around the fire. They would probably never be comfortable around one another, but if we kept training together, I figured they would at least be able to stand each others presence.

And that was a step in the right direction.