“Give me my fucking daughter.”
A cackle came from her throat, villainous and terrible. “If you want her, you’ll have to get to her first.”
I lunged for my baby, desperate to touch her, to make sure she was all right. I needed to see her, to look into her eyes. Each step that should have brought me nearer at a rapid speed seemed to cause the distance to grow instead of lessening. Inch by inch, I drew closer, and the blanket began to fall away from where it had obscured her face. I was almost there. I reached out, ready to take her.
Before my hand brushed against the soft cotton, the image of my mother vanished, only to be replaced by my night-darkened bedroom. I was awake and alone, breathing hard, tears dripping down my cheeks.
“Moira?” I called, my voice cracking in a mix of fear and distress as I turned on my bedside lamp.
What I saw couldn’t possibly be real. I couldn’t be... I wasn’t... there was no way.
Wild sex aside, I’d been taking my suppressants religiously. They were supposed to prevent this from happening.
So I couldn’t be pregnant.
I couldn’t.
I reached up and cupped my breasts, the memory of needing to feed my child still burning in my mind. But nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Why are you cupping your tits?” Moira asked as she came back into the room through the bathroom door.
I shook violently. “Nightmare.”
“Was someone after your boobs?”
“Kind of?”
She shrugged. “Sounds like a typical day at the office.” Padding to the kitchenette, she began filling the kettle.
“What are you doing?”
“Tea. I can’t sleep, so I’m making tea. Want some?”
I nodded and swung my legs to the side of the bed before standing. God, I was fucking woozy. My stomach churned, my head throbbed.
“You don’t look so hot.”
Sucking in a huge breath, I gave her the truth. We’d weathered this particular storm together before. No point hiding it now. “I think I need to take a test.”
Her face scrunched for one second. “A test? Are you still sleeping?” But then she blinked, her face draining of color. “Shit, Sunday, I thought we talked about this.”
She grabbed me by the elbow and ushered me into the bathroom. Despite her words, her touch was gentle. She was in full caregiver mode. She pulled one of the spare pregnancy tests from the cabinet and handed the box to me.
“Aren’t you taking your pills?”
“Yes. It was just... this dream felt so real.”
Her eyes widened. “You dreamed you were pregnant?”
“I saw the baby. I felt it.”
I took the test out of the box and had to fight the wave of anxiety crashing through me before I could tear open the package.
“I’ll just be in the kitchen.” Moira crept out of the bathroom carefully, as though any sudden movements might break me.
Pulling my pajama shorts down, I did my business and set about waiting. My palms were sweaty, my stomach a roiling ball of nerves. In short, I was freaking the fuck out. I did my best to block my emotions from Noah because the last thing I needed was a panicked vampire at my side right now.
My feet bounced, tapping out a soft beat on the tiled floor as I waited. My brain was surprisingly empty. I wasn’t able to think about anything other than what the results of the test would be.