Chapter 150: Prenatal Care

[Rosalynd].

“My Groom?” I look at him strangely. “What do you mean? I thought you said..”

“I mean his vessel,” Vincent clarifies. “He is already madly in love with you and has the right mix of powers to hold the dark lord himself, especially since he has recently discovered his witch powers.”

Evander isn’t part witch. Gideon is all witch. The only man that leaves is…

“Axel!” I stand up suddenly and almost fall forward. Slone reaches forward to catch me.

“Strap her in this time!” Vincent roars. “Take her to the operating suite. It’s time we make her body ready for him.” He then turns to me, his grin stretched from ear to ear. “Don’t worry daughter, I’ll go collect your groom now. Once he’s ready, you’ll be reunited.”

Slone pulls the straps down tightly, so tight that my fingertips turn white with blood loss. As I fight against the bindings, the arms of the wheelchair dig into my skin.

A hard slap across my temple has me bent in half screaming.

“Stop struggling,” Slone advises, her tone flat. “It won’t do you any good and you are just causing yourself harm.”

“What do you care,” I spit, tasting blood where I bit the side of my mouth. “You’re planning on sacrificing me to some unnamed hell god anyway! I might as well go out fighting.”

“Is that what you think is happening here,” she snorts. “That’s just what he’s telling you. The real plan involves your offspring. Those hellions will be the key to Terra and eventually Tara. Sure he’s grateful for the dark lord’s help, but as soon as he’s done bedding you, Vincent plans on destroying the host.”

“That “host” just so happens to be our mate,” Willow growls through my clenched teeth. “If he tries anything, we’ll bite his throat out.”

“Be my guest,” she yawns. “It’ll probably just regrow. Vincent isn’t human anymore. He doesn’t age, doesn’t sleep. Even when he makes love there is no love behind it,” her voice takes an ice edge. “Whatever humanity he had was burned out of him a long time ago.”

“Slone…”

“Don’t you DARE pity me, Rosie,” she pushes faster, propelling me towards the double doors of the operating room. “Not all of us get to live a life of sunshine and roses. Some of us have to settle for thorns. Don’t worry, you’ll get yours soon enough.”

Using her back to push open the doors, she swings me around, parking me next to a large, metal table that is currently at its lowest setting. On the sides of the table are two long gutters that have spouts leading down to a built-in receptacle system. Next to the bed are shelves full of various body parts from an assortment of creatures, each one floating suspended in a viscous fluid.

Setting the locks on the chair, she walks over to the shelf and places a hand on a jar. Inside is what looks like something between a lizard and a human infant. Its curled body is about the size of her palm.

"This is Geoffrey." She caresses the jar. "He died that night when you pushed me into the wall."

"Slone, I'm sorry I.."

"You do not get to talk!" She turns and screams, her face red. "This is my time!"

I close my mouth watching her. I wish I had free hands to defend myself. Maybe then I might survive whatever it is that she has planned for me in revenge.

"When I made it back here, Vincent told me he was already dead. He then tried to impregnate me again using one of his...monstrosities," her face is twisted in anger and pain as she looks to the side, her eyebrows tightly scrunched. "I made sure that...thing didn't survive. I destroyed it, and any chance I might ever have of having another child. I made sure of it. Vincent will never use me that way again."

She takes a deep breath, her mind lost in a dark fog of thought. "But that wasn't enough, Rosie. Do you know why?"

I shake my head, afraid to use my words.

"Because YOU are sitting here, pregnant by someone you love, happy, and in a relationship with three men and I HAVE NOTHING!" she continues to stroke the glass vial. "This child had been made in love. Vincent had one kind moment to spare. He would have been like you, Rosie, a child with a soul. Your little brother. I didn't care that he'd be different than all the other children. I loved him. I still love him. My poor, baby boy."

As she stands there and weeps, I am helpless to do anything to ease her pain. I cannot say anything because she won't let me. I cannot reach up and hold her because I am bound. So I sit there, helpless.

And I realize that must be part of my punishment as well. She knows that I still love her.

“Well we best get you ready for your wedding,” her voice is falsely bright as she wipes her eyes. “I can’t imagine you’ll be a good girl and get up on that bed without me forcing you?”

“After seeing this,” I indicate the wall of body parts behind her. “Not a chance.”

“That’s what I thought,” she sighs. “I guess I’ll just have to drug you.”

Slone isn’t slow or gentle, she plunges a prepared needle into my neck and the world goes hazy before going completely black.

I wake to the sound of cold metal scraping along woke up. Opening my eyes wide, I see Vincent standing over me, my legs strapped into stirrups, my clothing replaced by one of those paper gowns.

"Fascinating," he says as he looks at my lower half. "Unexpected. I've never seen anything quite like this before."

My werewolf metabolism kicks in and I feel the rest of the drugs wearing off. Vincent looks up and his eyes are wide with shock.

"Slone, how much did you give her?"

"Enough to down an elephant, or a rabid werewolf," she calls out from the other side of the room, her voice struggling as she lifts something heavy.

"Very fascinating. It must be something else in her DNA that made the drugs wear off sooner." He is looking at me not like a person, but a puzzle to be solved. "Did you find the bone saw?"

"Yes," she huffs bringing it over. After repositioning his goggles, he lifts it and holds it with both hands. "It's a good thing you are part werewolf, you should be able to repair the damage.

"Damage?" I start to struggle more as the saw makes its way to my belly.

"We tried to remove your baby the easy way, it looks like we'll have to try the hard way instead."

"What are you doing," I scream. "You cannot have my babies."

"Babies, oh delightful!" he pauses, thinking. "I'll try to salvage the fetuses for research purposes, but we need to clean your uterus of any unwanted growths before the dark one is to impregnate you. I'm sure you can understand why..."

"No, I don't understand," I snap back. "These are my babies. I have no interest in being impregnated by your dark lord!"

Ignoring me, he brings the saw down to my belly. Closing my eyes against the pain, I wait for the saw to pass through my flesh.

Except, it doesn't.

I open my eyes.

My entire midsection is glowing blue, the blade of the saw twisted and folded.

My babies are protecting themselves.

"Damn it!" he shouts, throwing the saw down. "This isn't going to work."

A set of heavy footsteps approaches from the other side of the room. "Don't bother," he says. "My host tells me that they will be born soon. We can wait."

I turn towards the voice I had hoped most to hear in the world.

Axel.