Chapter 5

Alpha Erick’s POV:

Raven and I secure the house and set guards in place to keep all of us safe until we know exactly what is going on with this new vampire threat. I want to know why Liam talked to vampires on the bayou and why the council members are dead. Another question, where the hell is Liam's body? The council members went into no details about any of that. They came into the house screaming he was dead and accusing Kate. Something is off here. If no one has seen his body, is he dead?

Vivian comes out of the house looking for us. "Alpha Erick! Raven!" she screams as she runs out of the house. She is frantic.

"Stay in the house, Vivian!" I yell at her. We run toward her. I do not need anyone getting hurt. I need them to all stay inside secured.

"It is Meaghan! The baby is here!" Vivian yells. She grabs Raven, smiling. "Your baby is here, Raven."

Raven runs to the house. I run behind him. Vivian goes back up the stairs, and I see Belle coming out of the back bedroom. She follows Vivian back up the stairs. There is blood on Belle. What the hell? Why was she down here with Kate and Meaghan?

I follow Raven into the back bedroom to check on Meaghan and see the new bundle of joy. When I go inside the room, Kate is sitting on the bed beside Meaghan and the baby. She looks exasperated. Something did not go right; it is written all over her face.

"Everything okay?" I ask. Kate looks up at me, and her eyes tell me something is wrong.

"Yes, Alpha Erick. There was a problem, but umm, well, I am not sure exactly what happened to be honest," Tibo says. Tibo looks flustered about the situation.

Kate gets up and grabs me. "Come with me, please. We need to talk," she says. Kate takes my hand and pulls me out of the back bedroom. She is holding my hand tight as she leads me away. Her face is red, as if she has been crying.

"What happened?" I ask Kate as she tries to catch her breath.

"Meaghan went into labor fast. The baby started coming quickly. I helped her deliver the baby. Erick, the baby, was not alive. Belle came to the baby and saved her. She saved the baby, Erick. She knew the baby needed help," Kate says, falling into my arms.

"You don't think this is a good thing, do you?" I ask her. Belle is so young. She is already shifting, and now this.

Kate shakes her head. "I am glad she saved the little one, but how did she know? There are so many questions that are burning in my mind right now. Thankful, I am so thankful she saved the baby, but what kind of powers does she have that she knew. Erick, listen to me; she knew what was happening," Kate says, her voice shaking.

I hold Kate in my arms. Raven comes into the kitchen. "She is fine. Meaghan told me what happened. I do not understand but thank you for saving her and being there for Meaghan. I cannot thank you and Belle enough. You saved her," Raven says.

"It was not me. It was all Belle. I panicked. I did not know what to do. Tibo was late getting here, and the baby came fast," Kate says humbly.

"Whatever happened, I am thankful for Belle," Raven says.

Kate smiles at Raven. She is hurting, and I can see it all over her. Kate worries so much about Belle and her powers as a hybrid. Chan and Claudia have only shown wolf traits, but Belle is like her, which scares the hell out of her. She worries about the Imperials and the vampires coming for Belle. I do too, but Kate lets that fear for Belle eat at her almost daily.

Kate being Kate, tries to put on a solid face. "What did you name her?" Kate asks.

"Kathryn, we named her after you. I hope that is alright," Raven says.

"I am honored to share my name with such a beautiful little girl," Kate says.

Raven goes back to spend time with his wife and child. I take Kate to the living room to try to calm her. I sit with her and hold her for a moment. Belle and Levi come to join us. They sit with us as Kate processes everything that happened today. Her council members are dead, a vampire is running loose on our territory, and we have no idea how our child saved Meaghan's baby.

"I am okay," Kate whispers to me, laying her head on my shoulder.

I know she is not okay, but she will pretend she is and carry the weight alone like always. This is not something she will openly talk about until she is ready to talk about it. She worries so much for Belle.

"No secrets, Kate, please remember to talk to me," I say to her.

"I know. I am not hiding anything. I am worried," Kate whispers.

Tibo joins and sits with us. "I am not sure what happened in there, but the baby is fine. She is perfect," Tibo says.

"Baby was stressed," Belle says.

Belle takes Levi by the hand, and two leave us to play. I watch as she walks away, holding Levi's hand. She is a typical child, yet she has so much power inside her. She is not typical, and she is extraordinary.

"I assume, mother and baby will be here for a few days, judging by all the guards outside. I will be by to check on her tomorrow," Tibo says.

"Thank you, Tibo," I say. I get up and shake his hand.

"Let it go, Kate. Just take it as a blessing," I say to her as I sit back down with her.

Kate shakes her head. "It is not that. I was wondering about the vampire. I saw him. I saw how much he looks like Macon. It is uncanny. He is in my family for sure, somehow, maybe by Alexander. I want to know where he came from," Kate says.

"What are you suggesting?" I ask her.

"I have no idea. There are only a few of Alexander's vampires that will talk to me. If I try to talk to the vampire, he might talk to me," Kate says.

"Yeah, and he might try to kill you, leaving your children without a mother," I say.

I pull Kate as close to me as possible. I kiss her on the forehead as I hold her tightly. "Do not do anything stupid," I say.

I know she is thinking of ways to get to the vampire. I do not want her to mind-link with another Imperial or look into the spiritual plane. I think it is time we find out more about Rainwater and Alexander's love affair, but I refuse to put her at risk again. I cannot lose her or have her go to the dark place inside her. I need her here, present and herself, not something dark.

"I promise you, I will not do anything stupid," she says softly.

One of the guards comes into the house. "Alpha Erick, Alpha Kate, we have him. We caught the vampire," the guard says.

Kate leaps to her feet. "Do not kill him. I want to talk to him. Take him to the pack jail, secure him, and put guards on him. I will be there shortly," Kate says.

My guard looks at me. I nod my head in agreement. "Do as she says," I instruct him.

My guard leaves. "I will get Raven," I say to Kate.

She grabs my arm. "No, Raven should be with Meaghan. You come with me. I need you to anchor me," Kate says.

"Okay, but you should tell him what is going on. Please do not leave him in the dark. He will not appreciate it," I say.

Kate nods her head and goes to the back to tell Raven what is happening with the vampire. There is no way they caught the vampire that quickly and easily unless he allowed the guards to catch him. He has something to say to Kate. I want to hear this myself.

Raven comes out with Kate. I knew he would not allow her to go alone, and neither would Meaghan. Pack first, always. The three of us go out of the house and get into Raven's truck.

"I am sorry, Raven," Kate says. She hates that Raven is leaving Meaghan.

"It is fine. Meaghan needs to rest. Vivian is keeping an eye on her and the baby. It is fine. Besides, I am not going to let you have all of the fun," Raven says.

Raven cranks the truck, and we drive to the pack jail. The guards are ahead of us. I hope they have the vampire secure before we get there. I do not want anything to go wrong with this. Kate should have killed him and let it go, but I know we need answers. I am not sure if the answers are worth the risk.

When we pull into the jail, Kate is ready to go in and talk to the vampire. "Wait, let Raven or me go in first. I want to make sure everything is secure," I say. Kate agrees reluctantly.

"Sure, Alpha, take the lead," Kate says. She squints her eyes at me in disapproval. I lean down and kiss her.

"Alpha or not, you are still my wife, and I will protect you," I say to her.

Raven and I go into the pack jail first. Guards are ready with vampire-killing weapons, guns, and stakes. Alexander's little toys come in handy occasionally. We leave Kate standing by the door with a guard and go back to check to make sure the vampire is secure.

I walk up to the cell. "You got a name, kid?" I ask the vampire.

"My name is death, and I have come for vengeance," he hisses at me.

The vampire begins climbing the wall and hissing at Raven and me. The young vampire is angry and ready to kill. Whoever he is, he is definitely not here to make friends. He came here to kill us.

Kate comes up behind us. The vampire drops from the ceiling to the floor. "Her, I want to talk to her. I have been looking for you, Kate," the vampire hisses at us.

The vampire walks slowly to the cell door. Guards are ready with tasers, and guns equipped with special bullets to kill him. "Stand down," Kate says to the guards. "I want to see what he wants."

"We need to talk alone," the vampire hisses. He looks at me when he says it. He does not want me in here.

"I will be fine," Kate says.

"This is that stupid I was talking about earlier. This is not smart, Kate," I say to her.

"I know, just give me five minutes alone with him. I promise I will be fine," Kate says.

I lean down close to Kate. "What if he kills you?" I ask.

"Then I will be a vampire, and you will have to stake me. Erick, I know what I am doing; please let me talk to him," Kate says, smiling. This is not a laughing matter.

"That is not funny at all, Kate. I will give you three minutes," I say.

I take a gun from one of the guards. "If he tries anything, shoot him in the chest," I say to her, handing her the gun. She nods her head. “Better yet, shoot him in the head,” I say.

Raven and I step outside the cell area to wait. "I will give her three minutes, and that is it," I say to Raven.

"Understood," Raven says.