Queen (Bloodline Vampires 3)

“Even with the what?”

The feeling in my stomach gets worse. A pulse that becomes a thrum. I press my hand there and flinch. It’s hot. Literally hot to the touch. “What the fuck?” Another pulse, hotter this time. It hurts. “What the fuck?”

“Mina, love, did you just say you’re pregnant?”

I open my mouth to answer, but the mist around us swirls. No, swirls is too tame a word. It feels like what I imagine being in the middle of a hurricane is like. Phantom wind pulls at my hair and clothing, so strong it forces me back a step from Wolf. “Tell me how to summon him!”

He shakes his head again. “It’s not worth the risk.”

The fact this comes from Wolf, who is arguably the most unhinged of my men, should be enough to stop me. To convince me to find another path. Instead, it only infuriates me. I agreed with them on passing on Azazel’s last offer. It was the right call, but that was back when we had options.

I’m out of options and out of ideas.

“Tell me.” Power thrums through my voice, demanding answers, demanding obedience.

“Damn it, Mina.” He hits his knees, and guilt tries to prick me, but I don’t have time to feel guilty. He speaks in rough tones. “Circle of blood, charge it with your magic, focus your intent on him and him alone. He’ll come.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shudders, slumping down to his hands and knees. “It’s not worth the risk,” he repeats. “He’ll ask for more than you can safely pay.”

It’s worth the risk to me. I’d do worse than summon a demon if it means getting my men out of my father’s clutches and to safety. “I can handle myself.”

“You’re making a mistake, love.” The mist rises up and swallows him whole. I take a step in his direction, but there’s nothing there. It’s as if Wolf never existed. If we all survive this, then I’ll deal with the consequences of using our bond to force his compliance. Maybe it makes me a monster, maybe he’ll never forgive me, but at least he’ll be alive.

But only if I succeed.

My body clenches in agony, jarring me from my thoughts. I double over, holding my stomach, and scream.

“Mina!”

I jerk away to find Grace with a freaked-out expression on her face and her fingers digging into my shoulders. She doesn’t immediately let me go, though. She pauses, gaze searching my face. “Are you awake?”

“My eyes are open!”

“Yeah, they were before, too.” She shudders and releases me, backing up quickly. Like she’s scared of me. She glances at the door, but then seems to change her mind about fleeing my presence. Instead, she walks stiffly to the other bed and sinks onto the edge. “What the fuck was that, Mina?”

I start to sit up, but my body feels like I’ve run miles and then climbed a mountain. “Ouch.” I press my hand to my forehead, wincing when I realize I’m sweaty. Really sweaty. My stomach hurts a bit, but nowhere near like it did in the dream.

I sit up so fast the room takes a sickening spin around me. “I dreamed of Wolf.”

“Honey, I don’t know what you were doing, but that wasn’t normal dreaming.” Grace shudders again. “Your eyes were open and you had this aura… It was like some demon possession shit.”

“Do demons possess people?” Wolf had said Azazel was a one-trick pony, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other types of demons out there. As I’m discovering, the universe was vast and had more than one realm. Even in this one, there were more supernatural creatures than vampires. I’m a prime example of that, for all that the seraphim are supposed to be extinct.

“No.” She shakes her head. “They can do a lot of fucked up shit, but possession was invented by the church.”

That’s right. She’d know, wouldn’t she? I’m sure being from a family with a legacy of hunting monsters was handy when it came to information about said monsters. They must keep records. “How do you know that but not how to summon Azazel? It seems like it should be right up your alley.”

“My mother destroyed the records before she made her bargain.”

So much emotion in such a short sentence. There are layers of history there, and I should care, but I can barely think past the current mess. When push comes to shove, I barely know Grace. I shiver, the air conditioning icing across my sweaty skin. Whatever happened to me, it’s over. For now. I think back through what Wolf did and didn’t say. He’d told the truth when it came to summoning the demon, but his simplified version left a lot to be desired. No doubt that was on purpose since I’d had to compel the information from him in the first place.