Chapter 24
Tavis felt his jaw drop. He must have misheard. The shock on Anna’s face, and Bree’s hand clapped over her mouth, told him he hadn’t.
“I’m so sorry, Anna,” Bree said.
“Why would you say that?” Anna looked frantic.
Faelan put an arm around Bree, who was shaking. “Maybe I’m wrong,” she said.
“Wrong?” Anna’s eyes were wide, scared. “You mean you’re serious. You can’t know that.”
“I’m sorry,” Bree said again.
Ronan and Shay ambled over to see what the fuss was about.
“What’s going on?” Shay asked.
“Anna’s pregnant,” Matilda said. “I don’t mean to be forward. But who’s the father?”
Anna’s mouth tightened. “Oh God.” She ran toward the castle, and Tavis took off after her.
* * *
Tristol swirled awayfrom the disturbance in a black mist. He was beyond pleased. His hybrid had impregnated Anna. She must be protected from Voltar. Taking her away would create too many problems. Namely, everyone would be looking for her. And he had to focus on getting rid of Voltar before his plans were ruined. Anna was probably safest here, surrounded by warriors. Tavis would die before he’d let anyone hurt her.
Tristol almost wished he had mated her with Tavis. He was remarkably strong and loyal. And he wasn’t out of control like the hybrid. Perhaps next time. After Voltar was destroyed.
* * *
Anna holedup in her room, pretending she wasn’t there. She ignored Bree’s knocking, and then Tavis’s a few minutes later. After his footsteps faded, she slipped into the hall hoping she didn’t meet anyone. She ran into Niall, who was eating a sandwich nearly as thick as his arm.
“Sorry,” he mumbled around a full mouth. His eyes widened, and his throat worked. Anna would have walked past him, but she was afraid he was choking. He finally swallowed. “Roast beef,” he said, holding up the sandwich. His eyes dropped to her stomach. “I was hungry.” Another awkward look at her stomach. “Congratulations... Uh, I gotta go.” He hurried away.
She was still standing in the corridor staring after him when Brodie appeared. “Hey,” he said, glancing at her stomach. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Good.” He kept staring at her stomach.
“Stop looking at my stomach.”
“Okay,” he said and hurried away.
Instead of slipping out for a long walk, she went to find Ronan. He was out near the stables, looking into the woods. “What are you doing?” she asked.
He swung around and faced her. “Nothing. Did you hear a funny noise just now? A whirring sound?”
“No.”
He glanced back toward the trees and frowned.
“I need your help,” Anna said. “I need to get away.”
“From?”
“Everyone.” She was terrified. She’d rather face Voltar than think about becoming a mother.
“You can’t leave. Voltar and Tristol are out there, and my guess is they’re looking for you.”
“I’ll risk it. I need to be alone. And I don’t want the Council to find out.”
“You can’t just run off,” Ronan said. “The father has a right to know what’s going on. I take it we’re talking about Tavis.”
“Who says I’m pregnant? Bree was just guessing.”
“Bree doesn’t just guess. How did this happen?”
“Really?”
“You’re not the kind to…”
“Have sex?”
“Well...” He scratched his arm. “I thought you had issues with sex. Not that it wasn’t good with us.”
Better than good, but it had been a mistake. Or bad timing. Both of them had been hurting and vulnerable. Neither should have let it go that far. He knew it. She knew it. So they pretty much pretended it hadn’t happened. “Maybe I’m discovering its lure.”
He gave her a slow grin. “You’ve got the hots for Tavis... bad.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Will you help me or not?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Montana.”
“It’ll take me a day or two to arrange it. I have to step up security.”
“I’ll hide until then. Thank you.” Anna hugged him.
Ronan seemed surprised. After their encounter, they didn’t do a lot of touching. He pulled her closer and just held her for a minute. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “The clan will help you out. You’ll have so many surrogate mothers and fathers you’ll be sick of them. And you’ll be a great mother.” His hands slipped lower, over her battle marks—which didn’t tingle when he touched them—to her butt.
“What are you doing?”
“Just making sure there’s no spark. Nice. Very nice. But no spark.”
“Then get your hands off my ass.”
* * *
What the hellwas she doing? Anna had just found out she was pregnant, and here she was in Ronan’s arms with his hands on her arse. He turned around and stomped toward the castle, fury in every bone in his body. That’s what beauty got you. Pain and betrayal.
But how could it be betrayal if she wasn’t his? He didn’t even know if it was his bairn. It could be the hybrid’s. Bollocks. She could be carrying a half vampire inside her. Though how anyone could know she was pregnant this soon was beyond him. But everyone seemed to put stock in Bree’s feelings.
He stopped. Anna was going to need help. Voltar and Tristol were out there, and she might be carrying an inhuman bairn. Tavis had sworn to protect her. In fact, Michael had ordered him to do it. Tavis was going to protect Anna no matter if she wanted it or not. He walked back toward her. When he got there, his caring thoughts shriveled to dust. She was racing across the field on horseback with no saddle. He hurried to the stables and grabbed the first horse he saw—a big white stallion that had been saddled and hitched to a rail. Niall was nearby in one of the stalls. Tavis pulled the reins free and climbed on his back. The stallion reared on his hind legs, and Tavis leaned in, nudging it with his heels. The stallion dropped down and headed for the open field.
“Hey,” Niall yelled.
Tavis raced after Anna. She was headed for the woods. She was fast, but his horse was faster. He caught up and yelled for her to stop. She slowed her horse and turned. Tavis jumped down and walked over to her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Riding,” Anna said.
“Without a saddle? Get off?”
“What?”
“Get off.”
Anna frowned, but she dismounted. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “But you need to chill.”
“I’ll not have my bairn—or someone else’s—ripped out of its mother before it’s born.”
She looked as shocked as if he’d slapped her. “You think I’m trying to kill my baby? Are you insane?”
Tavis stepped back, confused. “You’re not?”
“No, I’m not, you ass.” Her cheeks were hot with anger. She turned and walked back to her horse.
“You weren’t,” he said to her back. Shite. “Anna, wait.” He ran after her. “I saw you bouncing around up there without a saddle, and I thought you were trying to lose the bairn.”
“What kind of monster do you think I am?”
“I don’t... I mean, you’re kind, but they said you didn’t want a family,” Tavis said.
“I don’t. But I wasn’t trying to lose my baby. I would never do that. Even…”
Even if she’d been forced.
“I thought I saw someone in the woods,” Anna said. “Someone I recognized.”
“And you couldn’t talk to him later instead of racing bareback across the field with a bairn barely set up in your womb?”
Her face went as pale as the vampires in Tristol’s fortress. “I didn’t think about it.” She looked devastated. “How can I be a mother? I don’t know how.”
Tavis slid his arms around her shoulders. “You’ve had some harsh things to deal with, and I’m sorry for my part. But you’re good, Anna. You’ll make a good mother, and you’ll raise a good child. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know who the father is.”
She leaned back, eyeing him strangely. “Of course, I know who the father is. You.”