He gazed at her thoughtfully. "You're bluffing."
Cassandra exchanged a determined look with Kat.
"You know I'm always itching for a good fight." Kat pulled her fighting staff out of her coat pocket and extended it.
The man's nostrils flared as he saw them preparing to engage him. "This is how you repay my kindness for sheltering you?"
"No," Cassandra said with a calmness she didn't feel. "This is how I repay the man who protects me. I won't see Wulf kept like this after all he's done."
She expected the man to fight, instead he stepped back and bowed his head respectfully toward her.
"She does have the courage of a Spathi."
"I told you so," Phoebe said, her face shining with pride.
The man offered them a slight smile. "Go inside with Phoebe, princess, and I will have your Dark-Hunter brought to you."
Cassandra eyed him suspiciously, not sure if she should trust him or not. "Promise?"
"Yes."
Still skeptical, Cassandra looked at her sister. "Can I put any faith in that?"
"You can. Shanus is our Supreme Councilor. He never lies."
"Phoebe," Cassandra said sincerely, "look at me."
She did.
"Tell me the truth. Are we safe here?"
"Yes, I swear it by everything I hold dear-even Urian's life. You are here because Stryker will never think to look in an Apollite commune for you. Every one of us here knows that if your baby dies, so does the world. And our lives, such as they are, are still precious to us. Twenty-seven years to the people here is better than none at all."
Cassandra took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."
Phoebe opened the door behind her while Shanus excused himself and left them to explore their new home.
Cassandra stepped into an extremely nice living room. Probably four to five hundred square feet, it had everything a regular human home might have. A stuffed sofa and love seat, entertainment center complete with television, stereo, and DVD player.
"Does that stuff work?" Chris asked as he walked over to examine it.
"Yes," Phoebe said. "We have relays and uplinks that can bring the human world down to us."
Kat opened the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom that were off the main living area. "Where's the kitchen?"
"We don't have kitchens," Phoebe explained. "But the councilors are working on getting a microwave and refrigerator brought in for you. Along with groceries. There should be something here very soon for all of you to eat."
Phoebe showed them a small dark green box on an end table. "If you need anything, the intercom is here. Just press the button and one of the operators will help you. If you want to buzz me, just tell them you want Urian's wife and they'll know which Phoebe to put you through to."
A knock sounded on the door.
Phoebe went to open it while Cassandra stood back with Kat and Chris. "What do you guys think?"
"It seems okay," Chris said. "I'm not picking up any evil vibes, what about you two?"
Kat shrugged. "I agree with Chris. But there's still a part of me that doesn't trust them. No offense, Cass, but Apollites aren't known for being honest."
"Tell me about it."
"Cassandra?"
She turned to see a woman her age with Phoebe. The woman's blond hair was arranged in a bun and she wore a light pastel sweater with a pair of jeans.
"I'm Dr. Lakis," she said, extending her hand to Cassandra. "If you don't mind, I would like to examine you and see how the baby is doing."
Wulf sat in the cell wondering how the hell he had gotten himself into this. They could be killing Cassandra for all he knew and he had docilely allowed them to take him.
"I should have fought."
Cursing, he paced the small cell where they had incarcerated him. It was dim and dank, with only a bed and toilet inside. He'd never been inside a human jail, but from what he'd seen in movies and on TV, the Apollites had modeled this one after them.
He heard footsteps outside.
"I'm here for the Dark-Hunter."
"We were told he's to stay."
"The heiress wants him and she won't remain under our protection unless we release him."
Wulf smiled at those precious words. Leave it to Cassandra. Then again, she was extremely stubborn when it came to getting her way.
It was one of the things he loved most about her.
Wulf's heart stopped as that thought went through him. There were a lot of things about her that he liked.
Things he was going to miss...
"Are you mad?" the guard outside continued to argue. "He'll kill all of us."
"He's not allowed to kill Apollites, you know that. No Dark-Hunter can kill us until we go Daimon."
"Are you willing to bet your life on that?"
"No," Wulf said loudly so that they could hear him outside. "He's willing to bet yours on it. Now let me out of here so that I can make sure Cassandra hasn't been hurt."
The door opened slowly to reveal a man who was surprisingly taller than him. It wasn't often Wulf met such a person.
"So you do protect her," the man said quietly.
"Yes."
The Apollite gave him a strange look. "You love her." It was a statement, not a question.
"I barely know her."
The man gave a half-smile at that. "Time has no meaning to the heart." He held his hand out to Wulf who shook it reluctantly. "My name is Shanus and I'm glad to know you will do anything to keep her safe. Good. Now, come, she's waiting for you."
Cassandra was lying on the bed while a nurse prepared her blood transfusion. It was a good thing too. She'd been weak before tonight, but the added excitement of Stryker's attack had taken a lot out of her.
The doctor handed her a T-shirt to put on instead of the sweater so that they could hook her up to the machine. At first, they had balked at her refusing to drink blood. Apparently, Apollites weren't squeamish, but Cassandra had enough human in her to not want to do that.
So after a brief, heated debate, they had given in to her.
Cassandra exchanged shirts while the doctor prepared her for a sonogram.
"You will need more blood than normal to accommodate your baby," Dr. Lakis explained as Cassandra lay back down on the bed. The doctor lifted Cassandra's shirt, exposing her slightly rounded stomach. "It's a good thing you're here since Apollite blood is stronger and will have the nutrients in it your baby needs. You'll also need a lot more iron and calcium since you're part human. I'll make sure you have plenty of vitamin-enhanced food to eat."
Cassandra heard Kat say something outside the door. She lifted herself up on her elbows and cocked her head to listen but she couldn't make anything out.
Weird. Chris and Phoebe had both gone on to their rooms to sleep.
Cassandra was about to get out of the bed to go check outside when Wulf came through the door.
Relief flooded her at the sight of all six feet six inches of that well-muscled male form. He looked tired, but unhurt. She drank in the gorgeousness of his body and face.
The doctor, however, looked at him suspiciously. "Are you the baby's father?"
"Yes," they said in unison.
Cassandra held her hand out to Wulf who took it, then kissed her knuckles.
"You're just in time," the doctor said as she rubbed an oily gel over Cassandra's belly. She placed the cool paddle against her.
The machine on the cart bonged and hissed.
Cassandra watched the screen anxiously until she saw the teeny-tiny infant that was kicking its feet.
Wulf's hand tightened on hers.
"There he is," the doctor said. "A fine healthy little boy all ready to take on the world."
"How can you tell it's a boy?" Cassandra asked breathlessly as she watched her son flex. He looked much like a tadpole to her.
"Well, we actually can't really tell yet," Dr. Lakis said as she took measurements with the machine, "but I can feel him. He's strong. A fighter like both of his parents."
Cassandra felt a tear roll out from the corner of her right eye. Wulf kissed it away.
She looked at him and saw the happiness on his face. He was proud of his son.
"Everything looks fine so far," the doctor said as she printed out a small photograph of the baby. "You just need to rest a lot more and eat a better diet."
The doctor wiped the goo off her belly while Wulf and Cassandra looked at the tiny picture.
"He looks like an angel," Cassandra whispered.
"I don't know. I think he looks like a frog or something."
"Wulf!"
"Well, he does. Kind of."
"Dr. Lakis?" She waited until the doctor paused and looked at her. "Do you think the baby will..." She hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.