Words tumbled out: "How is it possible that there were so many signs of the bond? What other explanation could there be? We were true mates."
Braxton seemed to consider his next words carefully. "Having felt a true mate bond now, I believe you were missing something essential. Even with those other signs. When you talked to me about the coldness between you … the way you didn't need to touch her … the way you didn't like many of the fundamental parts of her personality. There is no way the fates would have gifted you a mate so incompatible to you."
I had spoken in some length to Braxton on the issues Cardia and I faced during our very short mateship. At first everything had been as expected. A strong attraction. A blood compatibility. But then this weird space, which had always been between us, started to grow, little negatives which colored the relationship. It was too damn soon for the honeymoon period to wear off. That could take decades for supernatural mates. If it ever happened at all.
Still, I had to offer some sort of explanation. "Maybe our bond was different because it's vampire and not shifter."
There was no denying that a certain level of ruthlessness existed in my race. Practical and methodical we were. Designed to be warriors. To fight without remorse. We were one of the more battle ready of the races.
Braxton laughed, and then groaned. I'd definitely nailed his ribs. He deserved it though. "We've seen plenty of vampire mate bonds, Max. It's as strong as for shifters."
I'd been grasping. We both knew it. "It's too late to find out now. Cardia's dead, and the dead reveal no secrets."
Braxton lifted his head and fixed a hard glare on me. "The fact that you can even mention your mate's name and the word dead in the same sentence, tells you everything, bro."
Clenching both of my fists, the shaking in my arms intensified. "I'm so fucked up. I shouldn't even be here, I shouldn't be able to exist without Cardia, and yet the pain eases more every day. I want answers."
Neither of us moved then, both staring into the forests around us. The leaves above us were thick enough that the area was heavily shaded; the undergrowth was also thick. A scent drifted across the wind and my body instantly reacted. Damn. I wasn't emotionally prepared to deal with this.
I couldn't stop myself from turning to find her, Mischa, frozen on the edge of the forest, her eyes darting across the scene of our fight. The area around us was ripped and plowed as we'd pummeled each other into the ground.
Her scent was familiar and my beast inside roared to life. This was not the first time this had happened, and just like the other time I pushed the instinct down. The vampire part of my soul didn't control me. We had a symbiotic relationship, we were as one, but my mind was stronger than my base instincts. To aid in this, I cut off my sense of smell, locking it down so I could keep a clear head.
With a shake of her head, Mischa started to move. Her footsteps were heavy as she pounded closer; she was stomping. Okay, clearly she was pissed about something, and that was not a part of her personality I was familiar with. I'd always known she had a fire burning deep in her essence, one that hadn't emerged yet. At least not in my presence.
Maybe today was the day. I was strangely looking forward to whatever words were about to come out of her mouth.
Braxton and I pulled ourselves up to sit, which gave me a front row seat to Mischa in all her angry glory. What the … ? Everything inside of me froze as the petite female stormed across the clearing to reach us. Was she … what the actual fuck? Was she pregnant?
I released my senses to roam free again, and as I sucked in deeply I scented the slightly different note of her essence. Without thought I was on my feet, the energy roaring to life as the beast inside started to lose its mind, thrashing against the heavy cage which kept the predator locked down.
I expected Mischa to freeze as I started to stalk toward her. No doubt my eyes were as black as pitch, and the heavy throb of my fangs indicated they were at full extension. I was fully vamped out.
But she didn't. She continued marching toward us, sidestepping me in an instant so she could ream Braxton a new one.
"Braxton Compass, what the heck are you doing fighting with your brother? Jess is waiting for you at the house." Her voice lowered then. "She's run out of cake." The very real panic in Braxton's eyes would have had me laughing, except I was no longer in any sort of place for laughter.
The dragon shifter's eyes flicked back toward me and he took a step closer to Mischa, crowding sort of protectively around her. "It's not the best idea for me to leave you with Max. He's not in control."
My brother wasn't wrong. I was hanging on by a thread. And while I respected his need to keep his mate's sister safe, everything inside of me was screaming that that was my job.
Mine.
This was a mental battle I'd been having with myself since Mischa had first appeared in Stratford. The connection between us had been instant and it had been strong. Her similarity to Jessa, did have me wondering for a short time, if that was the reason for the bond. I'd even tried to convince myself of that, but I knew it was something more. But what was it? What the hell was going on with me? At times I felt stronger emotions toward Mischa than I had to the vampire who'd been my true mate … supposedly.
Unable to stop myself, I moved with super speed to her side, reaching out to touch her. At the last minute I managed to refrain. "Who do I need to kill?" My voice was at the lowest of registers, right before the vampire side of me took control. She hadn't been fertile during our time together, which meant … "Whose baby is this, Mischa? Who dared to touch you?"
My words were coming out wrong. She was not mine, she was free to be with any of the supernatural races. It's just that I'd never seen her with anyone before I left, and she was clearly heavily pregnant. It could be a few months for a vampire hybrid or even longer for the other races. She'd only been in Stratford for five months though, and in that time we'd been a little busy dealing with the dragon king and his bullshit.
It better not have been rape, because death would be way too kind for that supe. In fact, he would wish he killed himself by the time I was done with him.
I lost the battle with my hands then, and somehow I was cupping her face. She was a tiny thing, a foot shorter than me, slim but curvy. Her eyes were the color of oceans and I often found myself wanting to stare into the mesmerizing depths.
I was just opening my mouth, to demand more strongly this time, when she reached up and her soft hands grasped mine. Heat shot around my body, through my dead heart, and had my stomach roiling. Before I could figure out what the hell that was, she wrenched my hands off her face and took a step back from me.
What the hell? She'd never done anything like that before. She'd always been so gentle and sweet, seeking me out. Unlike most of the races, she'd been raised with humans, and had never acted like a normal shifter.
After we slept together I'd had many regrets. Mischa had been desperately trying to find her place in our world, and as my pack mate's twin, and a virgin, I should never have touched her. Our night together had been … a mistake. Of sorts.
I'd handled the days after in true asshole fashion, not knowing a better way. I had hoped that by distancing myself from her, she would come to understand that a long-term relationship wasn't possible between us.
Then I'd met Cardia at the sanctuary and everything changed. There had been no choice but for me to fully turn my back on Mischa. Complete cold shoulder. I'd had to protect her from Cardia. I'd known very early on that the vampiress was possessive.
Case in point with Jessa. I'd taken a stand with our relationship and my true mate had not handled it well. A time would have come when she'd have retaliated. Jessa could hold her own, but Mischa was not a fighter. I'd wanted her far from Cardia's radar.
Mischa and Braxton were currently having some sort of silent conversation, and it was pissing me off to the point where my fangs were so fully extended that my gums actually ached.
"Talk to me!" My glower landed on Braxton. "You lied to me, Brax. I asked how everyone was and you never mentioned Mischa was pregnant. Not once."
The pauses made sense now though.
Surprisingly it was Mischa who spoke up again, fire blazing through in her voice and flickering in those ocean eyes. "Don't blame Braxton. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I tried right after the council leadership ceremony, but you took off so fast. You just … left."
For the first time a note of vulnerability crept into her tone. It was gone in an instant, her face hardening again, but I had heard it. The truth was I had avoided saying goodbye to Mischa. That another female was even close to my mind or heart when I had lost my true mate … it was not a fact I could deal with.
"So tell me now. Everything."
My patience was gone, and even though I knew I'd already pushed hard enough, I couldn't stop from growling her name to hurry her along.
She bristled at the demand in my voice and I never in a million years expected her to say what she did next.
"I'm over four months pregnant. The baby is yours."
Mischa Lebron
The past twenty minutes were like something out of the Twilight Zone. What the hell was happening?