Unafraid (12 page)

“I can’t breathe,” she gasped just before she
coughed and blood spewed from her mouth. Griffin cursed and probed
her chest with his fingers. She hissed when he found her broken
ribs.

“Tessa, you cannot leave me now. I need you
to listen to me. Are you listening?” he asked, but Tessa was making
peace with herself before the end came. Her head had to be split
open. She must have a punctured a lung because each breath she took
was a struggle. She was spitting blood and that always meant
eminent death in the movies.

“I think it’s time to go now.” She coughed up
more blood. “No family. No real friends. The man I love is a
vampire whose people seem to hate me. Why should I even want to
live? This is a mercy.”

Griffin gasped and spoke in a wobbling voice.
“You want to live because the dumbass vampire you love loves you
more than his family, his friends, or his people.”

Shit, had she said that bit about dying out
loud?

“Open your eyes for me, baby.” She didn’t
want to open her eyes. It hurt and she was tired. “Open them
now!”

Tessa dragged her lids up and there he was.
Griffin tried to smile but it was a sad effort. His chin wobbled
and his eyes filled with tears. “I’m going to save your life. I
can’t lose you. I love you too much.” She coughed up more blood and
the light faded a little more. She weakly shook her head. It was
too late.

“It’s not too late!” he barked and she
winced. Damn her errant mouth. “Will you be my mate, Tessa? Please
say yes. My blood will speed your healing. It can stabilize you
until I get you the help you need.” She was stunned. He would ruin
his life just to save hers. “It will not ruin my life.” He gently
wiped blood from her lips and kissed her tenderly. It seemed that
all of her thoughts where public now. “You are my only love, my
mate for all time. Please accept me, Tessa. You need my blood now.
I’ll have to bite you, but I won’t take much blood, just enough for
the bond to take hold.”

Oh, God! It was her dream all over. Only in
her dream she wasn’t dying. Griffin smiled. “Did you dream this was
coming? Good. It’s meant to be. Will you be my mate?”

Tessa nodded, too weak to answer with the
words of joy and love that were flooding her fading consciousness.
Her vision narrowed to the wrist he’d just ripped open with his
fangs. She didn’t want to drink blood.

“I know you don’t want to but it’s going to
save your life. After this you will be my mate, my female to love
and protect forever. I don’t know how things will work out with my
family, but none of that matters as long as I have you by my side.
Please don’t make me live without you.” His voice broke. She tried
to reach for his wrist but her arms were useless.

“I love you. Forever.” She looked into his
eyes when he lifted his shredded wrist to her mouth.

Tessa didn’t have time to think about the
taste or smell of the thick, coppery liquid filling her mouth. With
her first swallow, Griffin bit down on her wrist and lapped at her
blood. He growled and suckled for only a moment and then in the
back of her sleepy mind, she felt him. He licked the wound on her
wrist to close it and held her to his chest while she swallowed and
swallowed.

A funny thought occurred to her just before
she gave in to exhaustion. This alley had plagued her dreams. She’d
found the love of her life in this alley and she had, at least by
vampire standards, just been married in that same alley on the
dirty pavement.

* * *

Griffin took Tessa back to her home as fast
as his legs would carry him. Her place was the closest and they
needed to get off the street. His mind was spinning with the
decision he’d made. His heart felt like it would explode when he
saw Delphina kick Tessa in the chest. It seemed he would lose her
not to his family obligations, but to an attack by one of his
own.

He could have saved Tessa without binding
himself to her, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He’d planned to beg
her to be his mate as soon as he found her tonight. He hadn’t made
the decision hastily. He was sure she would figure out soon enough
that he’d used her injury to manipulate her into a quick
capitulation.

What he’d done was a dangerous thing for him,
but Griffin was willing and ready to pay the piper if the worst
happened. He would have gone crazy with grief whether Tessa was his
mate or not. He had just tied his life to a female who was on
death’s door. If he lost Tessa before they were mated, he could
have survived. If she died now, it would destroy Griffin. His heart
and soul would forever search for the one that made him complete
and if she died he would want to die inside as well. He knew this
was true because his sister had taken her own life after losing the
mate she’d loved and bonded with in secret.

Griffin had felt just a glimpse of what it
would be like to live with Tessa’s beautiful light shining in his
heart and mind forever. He’d felt some of her pain and oddly a
sense of amusement just before she lost consciousness. When Tessa’s
mind shut down in the alley, so had their mental connection and
Griffin was frantic to get it back as soon as possible. As long as
he could feel her he would know she would live. Even after such a
short time with his mate, the loss of that connection was nearly
painful.

* * *

Tessa struggled to open her eyes. Griffin was
arguing with someone, but he stopped shouting suddenly and sat
beside her. She could feel his anxiety and fear. He was stroking
her face and asking questions she couldn’t understand. Then he
changed tactics and came at her through the new bond they’d formed.
He was searching for signs of health and mental wellbeing. She had
a head injury and her lungs were in rough shape but it was obvious
his blood had helped heal her enough to save her life. When the
sounds began to filter in, Tessa remained quiet and listened.

“What happened when you caught up with
Delphina?” Griffin asked Mason.

“We’ll keep an eye on her, but she isn’t
going to be a problem. She isn’t willing to risk her family’s
social ruination if she pisses us off. Also, I reminded her that
murder is a crime whether the person is a human or vampire. She
tried to kill Tessa in front of two future Councilmen. Like I said,
she won’t be a problem.” Mason paused before continuing.

“I don’t think we should do this Griffin. She
isn’t strong enough and the change will be difficult for healthy
humans. Its bad enough you bonded with her when she could have
taken you out with her. Just look at how irrational you are now,”
Mason argued.

“If it comes down to saving her, we will do
it whether she likes it or not. I love her, Mason.” He was running
his hands over her arms and caressing her face while he spoke.

“I know you do, man, but she seems to be
waking up and we should wait until she’s in full health to give her
the best chance of survival.”

“Survival from what?” she croaked.

“Hey there, baby. You’re awake. You scared
the shit out of me. You’ve been sleeping for nearly two days.” He
pulled her closer to place kisses on her face. “Rest while I get
you some water.” He left the bed. Tessa pried open her eyes to find
Mason looking around her tiny home in horror. His expression was so
comical she couldn’t help giggling. Both men looked at her like she
truly did have some brain damage. Tessa greedily drank the water
Griffin gave her. Once in an upright position she could breathe
much more deeply. She had a headache, but it wasn’t too bad.

“Tessa, we need to talk,” Griffin spoke up.
Again she felt fear and anxiety flowing through him. It was
extraordinary to be so deeply connected to another person. She
could feel his emotions. She also felt his love for her and an
intense need to protect. “I want you to become like me. I want you
to accept the change.”

“Why?” She was confused. He loved her; she
knew that because she could feel it blazing through her mind. But
he’d told her that over half of the humans that tried to change
died in the process.

“I can feel your confusion. Let me explain. I
nearly lost you twice. The last two days have been pure hell
without your presence in my mind. You were mortally wounded before
my eyes. You are human, baby, and that isn’t a bad thing. The
problem for me is that I am not human. If I don’t lose you to an
injury or disease in the next eighty years or so, I will lose you
to old age while I remain roughly twenty-five. I want us to be
together forever like we promised when we bonded.”

Griffin pressed his hand over her heart. When
he removed his hand she saw the gold chain around her neck. There
was a beautiful engraved sunburst pendent hanging from the chain.
Griffin turned it over to show her the inscription on the back. It
said ‘The center of my universe.’

“I was going to ask you to be my mate before
your injury.” The truth of his statement rang through their bond.
“I know I’m asking you to take a big risk, but I love you. I love
you and I don’t want to live without you now or eighty years from
now.”

She pondered his words and another
conversation they’d had on the day he took her to his new condo. If
he was willing to take risks, so was she.

“I’ll do it.” Griffin let out a sigh of
relief. Mason groaned. “Under one condition,” she qualified.
Griffin frowned.

“What condition?” he asked gruffly.

“I want a baby.” She smiled. Mason groaned
again. Griffin got up and began to pace.

“A baby will more than likely kill you,
Tessa.” Mason explained. “No human woman on record has ever
survived long after giving birth to a vampire child. The
pregnancies are difficult and the births even more so.”

Griffin continued to pace. He knew he had
painted himself into a corner. He had to agree and all three of
them knew it. He fell to his knees and laid his head on her lap.
“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I love you and I want a baby with
the man I love. Your baby. Our baby. If you are willing to risk my
life in the change I will agree to the risk but you have to be
willing to also risk my life for our child.” She smiled.

“It could actually work, Griffin.” Mason
said. “It’s a huge risk but she has survived a life threatening
injury without any real medical intervention. The fact that she is
your mate, with your blood in her body, could make all of the
difference.” Bless Mason’s helpful little heart. She would now
forgive him for hurting her in the past.

Griffin crawled onto the bed and gently
lifted her into his lap. “Do you really want this, Tessa?” She
could feel him probing around in her head for the truth.

“I would have wanted to have a baby either
way. I want a family of my own. Please don’t deny me the one thing
that will make my life complete now that I’ve found you.”

* * *

Two Years Later…

Tessa’s huge, round belly contracted into a
tight ball while Griffin watched the monitor and counted to ten.
She’d been pushing for hours with no pain relief and the time was
finally near. Griffin wanted her to give birth at a vamp owned
clinic with plenty of drugs and equipment in case of emergency, but
Tessa had made him promise to keep her a secret until after she was
changed. It was logical that she didn’t want to risk being attacked
again until she could defend herself, but it made it impossible for
him to explain a human woman delivering a vampire child to medical
personnel.

In between contractions he leaned over to
kiss her belly. She ran her fingers through his streaked hair and
panted while he spoke to the child in her womb.

“You’ve been naughty in there, little one.
Mommy is tired. It’s time to let Daddy hold you for a while.” Tessa
smiled weakly. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat. Some
of the blood vessels in her eyes had popped from the force of her
pushing for so long. Her belly began to tighten again and Griffin’s
stomach churned. He should never have agreed to this madness. If
she died, it would likely be within the next day and it would be
entirely his fault. He would never survive without her. The pain
would drive him insane.

“Stop that,” Tessa scolded him. “I’m not
going to die. This is what labor is like, Griffin.”

“I hope the kid looks like you.” He nuzzled
her forehead, trying to lighten the mood.

“I hope she looks like you.” Tessa was
convinced they were having a girl from the very beginning of her
pregnancy and he tended not to second guess a woman who was always
right.

“We will have a baby with this one, Tessa. I
know you’re tired but give it all you’ve got. You’re doing great,”
the midwife spoke from the bottom of the bed.

The contraction built and Tessa wrapped her
fragile little body around her protruding belly and gave one last
mighty push. It was the most beautiful and terrifying moment of
Griffin’s life. With that push, Tessa delivered a squalling baby
girl. The midwife briskly wiped the baby down and laid her on
Tessa’s chest. They inspected their little bundle of joy while she
seemed to be giving both of them the once over. The baby’s eyes
were the same captivating crystal clear aquamarine of her mother’s
eyes. Tessa smiled through tears of joy.

“I think we both got our wishes. She looks
like both of us.” Tessa gently stroked the baby’s full head of dark
hair. Griffin hated the white streaks in his hair. When he was a
kid his mother told him they were birthmarks. When he got older his
father told him they were a very rare sign of great power among
their kind. His father had high expectations of his only son. The
marks had been a curse and made him different his entire life, but
when his daughter came into the world with the same markings, they
became beautiful and his chest swelled with pride. Of course she
would be a powerful being. She was a Vaughn, after all.