Bureau Under Siege (14 page)

Ronan felt the beast beneath him quiver.
“I told you I need to be Dragon more often while pregnant and I just had my very first panic attack. My heart almost beat out of my chest with the need to turn. I had to fight it back or I would’ve hurt you and anyone else standing close by. I can also feel our baby so much more today and it’s a little scary.”

“What’s scary, my love, tell me and maybe I can help.”
Ronan frowned, not liking the idea of his mate being scared or anything.

“I’m going to be a mother. Of a Dragon. A Dragon that others will try to catch, a Dragon that has only my garbled memories of our race. A Dragon that I have no idea how to bring up.”

Ronan leaned forward, along Starr’s powerful neck and placing his face on her.
“Firstly, WE are having a child, you’re not doing it alone. Secondly, I will not let anything happen to you or my child, no way no how. Thirdly, whatever memories you have will be enough because we’ll make our own. Together, as a family, we’ll make our own memories for our child. Oh yeah, and fourthly, this little one might be something else entirely, not just a Dragon. After all, it’s got me as its father so we have no idea exactly what to expect. Whatever it is though, we’ll face it together. Okay?”

The long neck before him moved from side to side before the head turned around, those violet eyes spearing him with the intensity of her gaze.
“Thank you, I guess it’s still hard for me to remember I’m not alone anymore.”

“You’ll never be alone again, Starr.”

A loud roar erupted from Starr’s beast, flying faster and faster.
“I love you, Ronan!”

Ronan laughed.
“I love you too, Starr. More than you’ll ever know, baby.”

The Dragon flew higher, faster, then dropped down in an almost vertical dive. Ronan holding on for dear life as Starr maneuvered in the sky, doing things a beast of her size should
not
be able to do…but did.

“Can’t you feel it? Our baby, can’t you feel it, Ronan?”

Still hanging on, Ronan tried to concentrate, pushing his senses toward his mate. A little sliver of something catching his attention.
“What the hell is that?”
he thought as his mental powers almost tickled his brain with…something.

“Yes!! That’s it. That’s our child!”

Ronan sucked breath into his lungs as his entire being was overwhelmed with intense feelings of love and protection. Several moments passed before he thought to send some of his own thoughts towards the tiny thing housed within his mate. Centering his thoughts and feelings, he then pushed a feeling of love towards their child.

The Dragon twitched beneath him.
“Starr! You okay?”

“Yes! I felt that and so did our child. We have the proper bond, Ronan! We have the bond!”

Laughter erupted from him.
“I can only assume that’s a good thing?”

“I didn’t know if we would have it, what with you being a bloodsucker ‘n all, but we do. You have no idea how happy that makes me, Ronan.”

“I think I do, mo chroi, because I’m feeling kinda elated right now. So, how does this work? Will we know what you’re carrying? And just how far does the bond go?”

Ronan’s heart was beating very fast, his body full of excitement and love for his mate and child. He was damn sure he had never felt as happy as he did at this precise moment.

“Yes, as I get farther along I’ll know if it’s a girl or a boy but we’ll only be able to let our baby know of our love. It’s still a baby so we won’t have any kind of meaningful contact with it, just the bond that grows stronger and stronger.”

Ronan nodded to himself.
“I guess that makes sense. It’d be kinda weird if we had a conversation with a baby.”

Laughter escaped him again as he thought on trying to explain this to Sam. His best friend was gonna freak but hell if he knew how to explain this to him.

“Dragons may be magical but even we can’t talk to babies. But, we do have a very strong bond with them, even before they’re born. Now, my love, what say I get us home so we can have some time to ourselves?”

Ronan heard the meaning in her words, his reaction immediate as his heart rate sped up again. This time with excitement of a completely different kind.
“Sounds like a plan. Come on, I’m sure you can fly faster!”

“You asked for it, buster,”
Starr replied before taking off like a bullet towards home.

Chapter 15

Ronan jumped down from the Dragon’s back, still amazed at how quickly they managed to reach home. Starr landing softly on the roof, his hand gently rubbing her scales before he leapt off, moving away as he waited on her changing.

After a moment or two when still the Dragon was before him he stepped forward, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

The great beast shook its head from side to side, before she spoke in his head.
“I’m not sure, my Dragon doesn’t want to relinquish itself. It’s very strange and I have no idea what’s going on. It’s never happened before.”

Ronan moved closer, his hand running along the side of the beasts face. “Is it because of what you said about staying Dragon longer now you’re pregnant?”

“I think so, it’s the only reason I can think of, but I can’t stay Dragon all the time. Well, not here in the city I can’t.”

Ronan frowned, this could pose a problem if Starr’s Dragon refused to surrender to his mate’s wish to transform. “Hell, Starr, we’ll need to move you if this keeps happening. Somewhere safe, where you can change whenever you want.”

“Hold on, I’m almost there.”
Starr’s voice in his head sounded strained, not something he had heard before and he watched worriedly as the great beast shimmered and Starr stood gasping for breath.

Ronan ran forward, taking her in his arms before picking her up, carrying her to the stairs leading down to their apartment. “You okay, Puff?”

Starr laid her head on his shoulder, her body trembling slightly. “I just feel tired and I never feel tired after going Dragon. It usually invigorates me but she just didn’t want to let go.”

“We may have to re-think the pregnancy, Starr. If you need to transform more often and for longer then the city is not the best place for it.”

Ronan felt her nod. “I know but where will I go? I don’t want to be away from you.”

“You won’t, we’ll work something out. Leave it to me and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

Starr snuggled closer, her lips kissing his neck as he opened their door. “Hey! Thought you were tired?” he said with a laugh as he carried her inside.

“I’m not
that
tired! Now, where was I?” Starr’s lips latched onto his, her tongue darting to gain entrance to his mouth as he groaned with passion.

“Take me to bed,” Starr murmured, her fingers gripping his hair to hold him in place.

“You sure?” he asked, still worried about her comment on being tired.

“Hell yeah! Didn’t I tell you that Dragon’s hormones go wild in pregnancy? Yeah, I’m sure I’ve told you. You’ll be working hard to keep up with my
demands
, Fang.”

Laughter bubbled up from his chest, “Oh I think I can manage that!” he chuckled as they reached their room.

Placing Starr on the bed she flopped back as he undressed her slowly. His lips kissing each piece of skin he uncovered, his hands caressing lightly until she was whimpering with need. Her clothes littered the floor as he flung his own to join them before lying beside her and taking her into his arms.

Their lovemaking was less gentle than he had planned with Starr taking over, flipping them so she rode him hard. Her head flung back as she moaned in ecstasy, his hands holding her hips and moving her easily upon him.

His fangs erupted. “Starr!” he exclaimed, his need to feed from her growing each second.

Starr’s head lowered, her eyes flashing when she saw his fangs, smiling sensually before lowering her neck to his mouth. Ronan pierced her skin, the ambrosia that was his mate’s blood flowing into his mouth. His taste buds came alive as he tasted his mate fully before swallowing the first mouthful slowly.

As soon as her blood assaulted his senses he drank freely, savoring every drop as his bite took them to heights no human would ever know. Starr screaming with abandon as he held her tight, taking a little more of her blood before retracting his fangs from her throat. Her body still quivering beneath his fingers as he gently stroked her slick back until she came down from her high.

“Jeez, that was
good
!” Starr snuggled against him.

“Good? Good? I’d say it was fucking
glorious
!” Ronan tipped her over onto her back, his body covering hers as he laughed down at her. “Shower?” he asked, Starr giggling, nodding in agreement.

Rolling off her he got up, picking her up easily and heading to the attached bath. “Hey, did you see Creed at the funeral today? He was acting a little weird, kept looking around as if he was searching for someone.”

Starr frowned. “No, I didn’t notice but how can you tell? That he’s acting weird that is, I mean, he always seems to act a little weird to me.”

Ronan smiled. “More weird than normal then, I wonder what was up with him.”

“No idea,” Starr said with a smile, “and I’d rather not be thinking of Creed while we’re showering together, Fang!”

“Sorry, now let’s get you all nice ‘n clean.” He started to soap her body, seeing her relax under his hands he cleansed her fully before wrapping her in a towel. “Sleep, Puff, you need rest.”

Starr grabbed a towel, rubbing furiously at her jet black hair, throwing it over her shoulder as she walked. “Yeah, I know, come on Fang.”

Ronan felt the happiest he had in his life watching his pregnant mate do something so ordinary as toweling her hair. His heart was full of love as he dried himself before following her, stark naked, back to their bed.

*****

Creed paced back and forward as Veronica sat on the steps leading to her small cabin. Her frown and crossed arms barring the way both physically and metaphorically to her home. His own emotions were in turmoil, not quite understanding how this had happened. A vampire rarely found their truemate and he already had lost his so how could this She-Wolf be his too?

“So, Vampire, what happens if I tell you to just take a running jump? What if I don’t want a mate? Up ‘til now I’ve done okay on my own so why would I leave here and go with you?”

Stopping, Creed turned his eyes towards her, his eyes locking with hers. “You can do whatever the hell you want, Veronica. But, I’m guessing you know how these things work and usually we don’t get much choice in the matter.”

Veronica’s eyes lit up with anger as she spat out, “I’ve told you! My name’s Ronnie! Stop calling me Veronica!”

“I happen to like Veronica.” Creed kept staring, his eyes never leaving hers, “Ronnie sounds like a guy at a bar, not a beautiful woman.”

Her arms uncrossed, eyes widening. “Beautiful? You think I’m beautiful?”

The shock in her voice surprised him.
“Could she not see herself in the mirror?”
he thought as he took in her petite features. “Of course I do. Are you blind?”

Standing up quickly she placed her hands on her hips. “No! I’m not fucking blind but I
am
lame! It’s you that’s blind!”

Stepping forward Creed closed the distance between them, with her standing on the top stair her face was slightly above his. Seeing anger and upset clearly in her eyes he shook his head. “No, I’m not blind and you are not
lame
as you put it. You have a slight limp caused by an accident so stop making out you’re a cripple.”

Veronica’s face turned red with anger. “Firstly, how the hell do you know what happened to me and secondly, I’m a freaking
Wolf
, do you have no concept how
any
kind of weakness is looked upon in a Pack? Do you? No! I bet you fucking don’t!”

Creed’s arm snaked forward, his fingers running down the side of her face, expecting her to pull away. “You are anything but weak, Ronnie, and I know because I asked Jason about you.” He was surprised when she stayed in place so he carried on. “I could sense you before we even got here and as soon as we did, your scent almost took my breath away. I saw you. You saw me. But you turned and walked away so I asked your Alpha.”

Her face moved towards his hand. “What did he say? That I’m the only She-Wolf of my age still unmated and he would love for you to take me off his hands?”

“No.” Creed’s hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her in place. “He said none of that but he
is
aware of why I asked and gave me his permission to pursue
this
.”

“I don’t need anyone’s permission, for anything, Vampire,” she said but she didn’t attempt to move away from him. “In fact, I do just ‘bout anything I want. I’m not good at taking orders so if you’re looking for a nice docile Wolf to keep your bed warm then you better go look elsewhere. ‘Cause that’s not me!”

“Oh I most certainly don’t want a docile woman, Veronica.” He saw her eyes flash again at his use of her full name. “A docile woman is definitely
not
something I would be even remotely interested in. In fact, the truth is, I wasn’t looking for any woman. Wolf or otherwise. This is as much a shock to me as I think it is to you.”

“Hmm, now, do I believe you? Or not?”

Creed moved quickly, snatching her head forward and covering her lips with his own. The little gasp as he did so causing his ardor to flame into overdrive. He kept his eyes open, staring as hers fluttered closed, his hand so dark against her pale skin as he held her in place.

His heart beat way to fast, his ardor straining against his zipper as his lips continued to cover hers. Slowly, so very slowly, she started to relax, her mouth opening so his tongue could gain entrance. As soon as it did he pulled her into his arms properly, holding her against him as her hands bunched up in his dress shirt.

Creed could hear her heartbeats increasing, faster and faster until he worried she would have some kind of coronary. He forced himself to remove his lips from hers, any doubts he may have had disappeared at their contact. Veronica’s eyes opening with wonder and distrust clearly showing.

“I think I should leave you to think on things.” He gave her a small smile, tracing a finger along her bottom lip. “I’ll come back tomorrow evening, if that’s okay? We can talk some more then.”

“Whatever,” she whispered, her face closing down as he stepped back.

“Don’t think for one minute you’re getting away from me. I just think you need some time to digest this and I
will
be back tomorrow.”

Turning quickly Creed strode away towards a long SEB SUV still parked in the clearing. Stopping halfway to stop and check if Veronica was still there. She was, but her arms were again crossed over her body as she watched him. “Tomorrow,” he said before continuing to the vehicle.

Creed took several deep breaths before finally starting up the car and driving away. His eyes on the rearview mirror to catch the last glimpse possible of his She-Wolf.

*****

Sam held Charmaine tight within his arms as she fell asleep after their lovemaking. Her soft skin felt so good beneath his palms that were stroking gently up and down her naked back. Her mood had been very low when they returned, hardly speaking on the return journey, telling him she was upset.

He tried to explain that Wolf funerals always got to him too and he thought he had gotten through to her. That was until she burst into tears as soon as they were behind closed doors. Her words hitting him deep within his soul.

“I’ve never seen such sorrow before and the way everyone was there to show their support brought it home to me.”

His questioning look had her continuing on. “You all care about each other. There was so much caring and love today that it showed me just how close you all are. It’s like a very large family. A family that takes care of each other. Not like the one I’m used to. What kind of father sells his daughter just to get some power?”

Her sobs almost breaking his heart as he lifted her tear streaked face. “Yes, we do take care of each other and you’re now a part of that, baby. We always look after our own and I promise you will be taken care of and I’ll always love you, Charmaine. Always.”

“I love you too, Sam. So much it scares me.”

Taking her into his arms and consoling her. “I know, babe, I know. It scared the shit outta me at first too. Now I can’t wait to make it official and let everyone know how much I love you.”

Tears continued to fall down her pale cheeks, his mouth moving to kiss them away, before he finally took her to bed where he was determined to make her feel good before she fell asleep.

He was pretty sure he had fulfilled his brief as she screamed his name like a banshee as she came around him. Charmaine’s body quivered for several minutes as she came down from the high that he delivered for his mate with his body and his Vampire bite.

He could still taste the remnants of her blood in his mouth, savoring the last hints of her unique flavor before his own eyes closed. Sam’s body staying wrapped around hers as he too fell into sleep.

*****

Kyra’s Wolf ran just behind her mate’s. Serge’s great beast leading one of the Wolf hunting parties. They had been out for hours and her Wolf had worried for her mate as his anger and grief almost overwhelmed her senses. It wasn’t until they had caught and brought down a large deer that his mood started to lift. That deer would probably be back at the Pack land by now, along with the other two they had managed to get.