Chapter 19 - Propagation

WARNING: This chapter contains strong language and sexual content (pictures included).

The rest of the honeymoon was just as blissful as the first night for Allanna and Xavier. It didn’t matter that she was pregnant – the two got it on as often as they always did. This time, instead of christening an abandoned shack they were hiding out in, they christened their very own apartment.

Xavier also bought them a trendy new Ferrari, and they christened that with pleasure in the middle of the night when hardly anyone was around (although the possibility of getting caught just made it hotter).

Things were really looking up for the lovers. They were both enjoying married life, and Allanna was even enjoying the maternity clothes she was wearing. Most people would say maternity clothes were hideous, but she actually found herself liking them. She and Xavier both looked forward to the arrival of their baby more and more every day. Allanna didn’t seem to be having any problems with the pregnancy, and thanks to Xavier’s seemingly unlimited supply of income, neither one of them even had to work. All they had to do was relax and enjoy each other’s company.

“You know what we should do?” Allanna asked as she rested her head in Xavier’s lap one day. “We should start thinking of baby names.”

“Already? You’re only about five months along.”

“I know, but there are millions of names we could choose from.”

“Well, I’ve always been partial to the name Preston.”

“Preston? That’s a pretty weird one. How about Byron?”

“That sounds like someone was trying to say Brian but they were dyslexic.”

“Oh, be quiet. I like unique names.”

“As do I. What do you like for girl names?”

“I like Trudy. Or Nadine.”

“I prefer Carina or Veronica.”

“You can tell we’re from two different time periods. Your names are more old-fashioned than mine.”

“Maybe we can come up with a name that’s not old or new.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know what.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

“You haven’t been able to hear anything, have you?”

“I’m afraid not. Like I said, I probably won’t be able to until after the baby learns to communicate. That’s just how it works.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Lying there in Xavier’s arms, Allanna felt so content and so complete. When she was a child, she’d always dreamed of a knight in shining armor carrying her away to a big castle and they’d get married and have a family together. Her life was no fairy tale, and they weren’t exactly living in a big castle, but she still mostly got the thing she wanted most out of life. She never would have thought it would have been with a vampire. She could barely picture it happening with a human. But she was very glad she did. It proved that true love can find anyone.

It’s funny that as she was thinking this, her cell phone rang and when she answered it, she was surprised to hear Cynthia’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Cynthia? What is it?”

“I just needed to know if you were okay.”

“I’m fine. You haven’t contacted me since that night four months ago. I never even knew if you got my note.”

“I got it, I just didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe you were really going to run away with a vampire, after springing one free and turning the whole pack against you.”

“Not the whole pack. You’re still on my side, right?”

“Of course, which is why I’m calling. I need to warn you – your dad is pissed off. I’ve never seen him so crazy. He keeps talking about what a failure you turned out to be, what a disappointment you are, and…well, I’ll spare you the rest of the details.”

“No, don’t. I want to hear it. What else did he say?”

“Allanna…”

“Please, Cyn.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Cynthia sighed and said all in a rush, “He says you were so easy that even a vampire got into your pants and that you’re a disgrace.”

“He…he said that?”

“I said you didn’t want to hear it.”

Allanna couldn’t respond, because Xavier grabbed the phone out of her hand and said, “You can tell her father that I love his daughter and I didn’t smooth-talk her into anything. You should also throw in that she’s now my wife.”

Allanna tried to stifle her sniffles as she watched Xavier’s face. She could hear Cynthia on the other end of the line thanks to her advanced hearing ability, but that didn’t make matters any better.

“The whole pack is worried sick about what you guys bred,” she was saying. “No one has any idea what it might be, except that it won’t be good.”

“I can assure you that’s not true. And what business is it of theirs, anyway? They essentially exiled Allanna, and it’s our child, so we’ll take care of it.”

“That’s not the problem. The problem is, it’ll probably have both werewolf and vampire genes, and it might not be controllable. It might be a danger to both species.”

“How would you know what the vampires are thinking?”

“I don’t, but that’s what Allanna’s dad seems to think. I guess that’s one thing those two bone-headed leaders can agree on.”

“So you’re calling to warn us.”

“No, I’m calling to warn Allanna. I’d lay low for a while if I was you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Okay, well, I can hear Allanna sniffling back there, so tell her I’m sorry I upset her. I’ve gotta go, there's a war going on over here and let's just say the odds aren't exactly in our favor.”

Allanna heard the phone click to disconnect the call and Xavier handed Allanna’s cell phone back to her. He then wrapped her in his arms.

“I can’t believe my dad would say something like that,” she wailed, the war not even prominent in her mind.

“It’s all right,” Xavier consoled, stroking Allanna’s hair. “He’s wrong; he’s just speaking out of anger and hurt.”

“Oh yeah? Was your dad speaking out of anger and hurt when he said your mother deserved to die?”

“Perhaps. Although that could have been Mortius brainwashing him.”

Allanna just cried harder and began to sink onto the floor. Xavier sunk down with her and cradled her in his arms until her sobs subsided. When they did at last, she sat up on her knees and took Xavier’s face in her hands. He sat up on his knees as well and gazed into her eyes.

“Thank you,” she said solemnly as little tracks of mascara dotted her cheeks. “I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Nor I you,” Xavier replied. He then sat down on the sofa and pulled Allanna into his lap before leaning in to plant a kiss on her soft lips.

As their lips touched, Xavier thought about what he’d just said. Allanna wasn’t a vampire. She wouldn’t live forever. She’d age like any other person, whereas he would take three times as long to catch up to her. In human years, she was already only a year younger than he was. He refused to lose her. But the only way to keep her by his side forever would be to turn her into a vampire. If she were a human, that would be an easy feat. But she was a werewolf. He had no idea how his chromosomes would interact with hers. He didn’t even know how their offspring would turn out.

But he’d find out soon enough.

********************

Five months later…

Allanna was nearly due for delivery. She waddled around the apartment like a penguin, willing the baby inside her to come out so that she could see her feet again.

She also missed transforming and running at night, but she wouldn’t feel particularly safe doing that anyway. Bridgeport was a big city full of people, and several of them were probably hunters. Thanks to Xavier, they were able to at least keep food in their stomachs. His near-century worth of funds bought them a lot of meat, and Xavier had even learned to like it enough to satiate his thirst, so long as the meat was extra rare. They were making do, and they’d even gone shopping for baby things, but since they didn’t know the gender, they hadn’t made any purchases yet. Their apartment thankfully had two bedrooms, so at least the baby would have a place to sleep after it was born. The two just hoped that they were keeping a low enough profile to avoid being found.

It was a burden always being on the move to avoid the wrath of two irate species who’d abandoned them both, but Allanna and Xavier were determined to do whatever they could to keep their child safe.

Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed very long in Bridgeport.

The vampires found them first. Xavier should have seen it coming. They went against all logic and went out to the more desolate part of Bridgeport to stargaze. Then they saw a horde of angry glowing eyes coming straight for them.

“Shit!” Xavier exclaimed as he stood up. Allanna slowly got to her feet as well. She looked around and fear engulfed her. She couldn’t transform, and she could barely even walk with her stomach protruding so far. Even if she could help, she and Xavier were both greatly outnumbered.

“Just leave us alone,” Xavier snarled. “We’re not bothering you anymore. You can have your war with the werewolves all you want, but we want nothing to do with it. Let us be.”

Mortius stepped out from the shadows and looked irritatingly smug in his formal suit with red scarf. Maybe he thought he was James Bond or something.

“Xavier, this has nothing to do with the war,” he droned, ignoring the James Bond thought. “It has to do with the fact that you betrayed your clan, committed treason, and are about to bring an abomination into this world. We can’t allow you to live.”

“Our child will not be an abomination. We’ll take care of it, and it won’t be a threat to anyone.”

“On the contrary. It will be tarnished with the blood of that creature standing next to you, and we won’t allow it to live.”

“Fuck you, Mortius. I’m tired of dealing with your shit. I’ll never forgive you for what you did to my mother, and if you think you’re going to come after my wife and child, you can go to hell!”

Mortius just frowned. He shook his head in disgrace before saying, “You’re a fool, Xavier. You had everything, and you could have had more if only you’d accepted my daughter’s advances.”

Gloria emerged from the propagation and shot Xavier a death glare. If looks could kill, he would have turned to stone.

“Instead,” Mortius continued, “you chose that dog to be your mate. That’s unfathomable, and it goes against every bit of our existence. You should also know that I chose you to watch over our hostage for a reason. I was testing you, to see if you could be trusted, and you failed the test. You deceived the clan like your mother did. Even if I was forgiving, you've adamantly proven time and time again how untrustworthy you truly are. Your dear friend Malik paid the price of saving you that night all those months ago, and now you’re next.”

In that instant, Mortius lunged. He grabbed Xavier by the shirt and punched him in the face. Allanna jumped away from the two brawlers but then she heard a sound that froze her in place.

That sound was the sound of a gun firing. She looked over and saw that Daddy’s Little Girl Gloria had a gun in her hands.

“Stay still, mongrel!” she demanded.

Allanna dodged another bullet, but she saw that, as it zipped past her, it was silver.

The punching next to Allanna didn’t cease, and she had no way to help Xavier.

Another shot rang out and it barely missed her leg.

“Stop moving you fucking bitch!” Gloria screamed.

Allanna saw that none of the other vampires were helping. In fact, this whole thing seemed to be about Mortius and Gloria. Mortius was attempting to kill Xavier for betraying the clan, while Gloria was attempting to kill Allanna for stealing her man.

Jealous much?

“Fuck you!” Gloria yelled, and this time Allanna couldn’t dodge the bullet in time. She ducked, but not fast enough. She felt the bullet graze her side, barely missing her abdomen carrying her baby, and she fell to the ground on her back, clutching her wound.

“You fucking bitch!” Xavier yelled with vehemence. He landed one final blow to Mortius’s balls before charging toward Gloria.

Suddenly, lights flashed over the hill. They were red and blue, which could only mean one thing – the police were on their way.

“Damn it!” Mortius cursed. “Some human heard all the commotion and saw a fight so they called the police. Let’s get out of here!”

Xavier dodged one last punch as he ran toward Allanna. Her vision was getting blurry. The silver was already spreading through her system, poisoning her blood.

“I won’t let you die!” Xavier declared. He picked her up and yelled one final warning at the retreating vampires, some of which were his father and sibling:

“If she dies, you all die!”

Xavier then hastened to take Allanna back home, hoping that he wouldn’t be followed.