A Baby for Albie, page 1
A Baby for Albie
Silverdale Coven, Volume 2
Mandy Greenwood
Published by NaomiAoki, 2019.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
A BABY FOR ALBIE
First edition. June 6, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 Mandy Greenwood.
ISBN: 978-1393622185
Written by Mandy Greenwood.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Coming in July
About the Author
About the Author
Prologue
ALBIE TIPPED HIS HEAD back and stared at the front door of his apartment as it opened. There were only a handful of people here at the mansion who’d dare walk in without knocking first, Dominic being one of them. He’d been seeing the three hundred-year-old dhampyre casually ever since Dominic drifted into Silverdale city almost a year ago. Albie knew there was more to their relationship than a simple physical attraction; knew Dominic was aware of it too, but neither of them was prepared to mention it. Instead they danced around the issue, happy to pretend it was all a bit of fun and not at all connected to the Fates.
It helped that Dominic was employed by the Security company Albie ran working as on off-the-books agent. The security company had a wide-ranging scope in their world, akin to that of a private army and provided protection services to human clients as well as to those of the supernatural world. But its primary objective was the protection of the Silverdale coven and all those allied with it.
His arrival in Silverdale city rather fortuitous, a true gift from the Fates as Dominic’s newness and extensive experience fighting in battles across Europe meant he was perfect for infiltrating a dhampyre organisation threatening Silverdale and Vampire Society at large.
At least that’s what Albie had thought the group’s aims were. As Dominic sunk deeper into the ranks of disgruntled dhampyres the group preyed on, they began to realise that its aims were numerous and often contradictory. With each new piece of information Dominic gathered, Albie felt more confused and unable to work out the best plan of attack to bring them down. Rumours swirling through the streets of Silverdale spoke of a desire to reveal the existence of supernatural creatures to the human population or to rule over them like they were cattle. Both ideas weren’t agreeable to those within their society that had existed beneath the surface of the human world for centuries, fearing the return of witch trials and inquisitions that hunted them. Remaining in the shadows was safer, for everyone.
“Hey. Didn’t expect to see you tonight?” grinning at Dominic while trying to figure out why the dhampyre had landed on his doorstep instead of cruising the streets of Silverdale looking for leads. Not to mention there was something a little off about him.
“Complaining?” Dominic asked gruffly, eyebrows rising in challenge while he rubbed at the scruff on his jaw.
“No-” yet if Dominic was here for a booty-call it was a little strange that he’d yet to move away from the doorway. Almost as if he was hesitant to come closer, when normally Albie would already be flat on his back, Dominic’s heavy weight pressing down on him “-but there is a reason you’re here that doesn’t involve sex?” pushing off the couch, Albie walked toward Dominic.
And while Dominic’s arrival on his doorstep was driven by a motive other than sex, Albie knew that would happen too. Not ones to ignore any opportunity that came their way, especially when it might be days, weeks before they got a chance to see each other again. But he couldn’t ignore the strange restlessness attached to Dominic; the haggard pained look that hadn’t been there the last time Albie saw him two weeks ago. Whatever it was setting him on edge wouldn’t remain secret for long. Albie had no intention of dancing around the issue when there were better things they could be doing with their time. Horizontal, bed-involving things.
Dominic let out a ragged sigh weighted down with an emotion Albie wished could remain hidden for a little longer. He wished he could ignore the pull toward Dominic; the demands they make it permanent... Who was he kidding? It was already permanent, and it was only because Dominic had already been turned when they met, that the debilitating pain of separation Alric had suffered with Eden, didn’t affect them. Not that it didn’t hurt to be apart, but the pain was more tolerable.
Albie stopped in front of Dominic far enough away that he couldn’t reach out to him, but closer enough that his scent wafted around Albie thick and heavy. Tempting. He folded his arms across his chest, narrowed his eyes and reminded himself that right now he was Dominic’s boss and not his occasional bed partner. “Well, spit out. I don’t have all night to stand here waiting for you to figure out what you want to say... unless you’re here to end our casual arrangement, I don’t care how blunt you say it.”
Red flared behind his brilliant green eyes creating a gorgeous hue that rivalled the autumn leaves scattered on the grounds above. “I’m not ending this. Ever,” Dominic growled. A shiver ran down Albie’s spine, he wished Dominic would hurry it up, wanting that raw power; the dominant attitude fully focused on him. “But it’s going to be harder for us to meet for the next while-” Albie raised an eyebrow, not liking the sound of where this was going. “-as I got an invite to join the organisation... to attend one of their training camps.”
“Where? When?” This was brilliant news. The best chance they had of taking the group down before their influence became to great. “How did you wrangle that? You weren’t sure they believed your cover story last time we talked.” His mind was already jumping forward, thinking of what plans they needed to have in place so that Dominic could convey all the information he uncovered back to him safely. Muttering to himself as he paced the floor.
Dominic grabbed a hold of him, spun him around and scowled. “You don’t have to look so damn pleased about it!”
Albie balked at Dominic’s anger. “Why shouldn’t I be excited? This is the best break we’ve gotten on the bastards in the last twelve months. And if you haven’t forgotten, they’re threatening our very existence.”
“And here I thought you might be opposed to my disappearing for several months. Longer even, depending on how this all plays out... guess I was wrong about that.”
Taking a deep breath, Albie pinched the bridge of his nose and dug fingers into his hip to stop an angry retort bursting out. “This between us is a casual arrangement... there shouldn’t be anything to miss.” Lies. They both knew it. But neither prepared to come out and say it. “And besides, you still haven’t given me any details.”
Dominic stepped back, stumbling as he banged into the door. Shoved a hand through his hair that Albie noticed had gotten longer since last time they’d met. “Tomorrow. They’re taking me out to wherever their camp is tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? That doesn’t give me enough time to plan anything. Need to make sure everything is in place... so we can contact each other....” Albie’s voice faded into a quiet muttering that matched the tempo of his panicked pacing.
“Plan?” Dominic’s voice cracked with surprise, eyes-wide as he stared at him. “We’ve got hours left together before I disappear who knows where, and you want to plan?”
Albie spun back to face Dominic, puzzled by the strange expression he wore: pained and confused. To him, planning made sense, not prepared to let Dominic go anywhere without contingencies in place because the chances were high that this infiltration could explode in their faces. He needed to know that when the dangerous shit happened that he could send people into rescue Dominic; that he could protect him. A selfish need that was tangled up in the guilt that it was him sending Dominic into danger and that if he got hurt it would be his fault... his lack of planning that would have caused it. And if the worst happened... if Dominic didn’t make it back- No, Albie refused to entertain that possibility, the dhampyre had centuries of experience that would enable him to return alive.
There were too many unsaid words between them that need to be spoken.
“How else am I supposed to make sure you come back alive? I need to know that you’ll be safe, protected Dominic.”
The anger that pulled tight at Dominic’s shoulders fled as they slumped. Hands that had been threaded through his long hair now rested on his hips as he shook his head. And when he stared at Albie, his breath caught. Raw emotion that conveyed more than any of the thousands of words, in the hundreds of languages they could speak.
“What am I going to do with you?” Dominic stepped forward, grabbed a hold of Albie, tossing him over his shoulder and ignored Albie’s surprised squawk. “Fuck making plans, Albie. We’ve done that for months now. I have a much better idea for how we can spend our last few hours together, and it requires a bed.”
TWO WEEKS LATER
Albie knew being separated from Dominic was going to hurt, the low thudding ache that resided behind his heart and had grown more insistent since Dominic had left t
he boundaries of Silverdale city. Hadn’t even needed to wait for the wolves tracking Dominic to report back as the dull ache in chest turned into a sharp tearing sensation that had him doubling over in pain before returning to the same dull ache he’d grown used too. He’d been glad Alric hadn’t been present too witness it, successfully keeping it hidden so far that he’d found his fated one. Easy to do when he and Dominic barely acknowledged it in private. Albie had wanted to avoid the inevitable teasing from Alric considering how much strife–some of which was deserved–Albie had given his best mate over Eden.
But unfortunately, that stroke of luck was coming to an end, even if Albie wasn’t quite ready to admit it.
He clutched at the porcelain toilet bowl and stared up at Eden’s all-knowing smirk from where he sat on the floor; his lunch having made the same hasty escape from his stomach as his breakfast had. Pleaded with his eyes, not trusting it to be words that tumbled from his mouth, that Eden wouldn’t shout out as the door of his and Alric’s apartment opened. Albie knew who it was, he’d come here for a meeting with Alric to discuss Dominic’s sudden descent into silence. He just hadn’t expected- no, he’d hoped his nausea would’ve taken a break for a few hours.
“Eden is Albie here yet?” Alric’s voice echoed through the apartment. “He was supposed to be meeting me here.”
“Please don’t. Eden I’m begging you.”
“This isn’t something you can hide Albie,” Eden told him, grinning as he stepped out of the bathroom to make sure Alric could hear him. “He’s here. He had a rather impromptu meeting with our toilet.”
“He what?” Alric’s surprised squawk cracked high making him and Eden wince. Albie half-expected to hear the tired cries of Emric, who Eden had only just gotten down to sleep. “Are you pregnant?” Alric asked staring at him puzzled from the doorway of the bathroom.
“No,” Albie spat through gritted teeth. “It isn’t possible.”
Alric snorted. “Do I need to sit you down and have a conversation about how babies are made... the importance of using protection... because my friend there is no other explanation for your deep conversation with our plumbing fixtures.”
He scowled. “It. Isn’t. Possible.” Alric raised an eyebrow in disbelief, because yeah, all the signs pointed to Albie being pregnant. “Dominic’s a dhampyre.”
“And yet...”
The reality of situation couldn’t be denied. Vampires didn’t get sick for no reason at all. Albie closed his eyes, head thudding against the cold tiled wall. “It looks like I am.”
Chapter One
THREE MONTHS LATER.
Dominic breathed a little easier now that he was back within the boundaries of Silverdale City. Just knowing that Albie was closer than he’d been in months settled the ache in his chest. It didn’t disappear completely, because only seeing Albie would achieve that, and as much as he wanted to slip into one of the many tunnels criss-crossing the city, Dominic hadn’t returned to Silverdale alone. His undercover mission still very much intact. His cover story so well believed by the organisation, Timere Lucen, that he’d infiltrated, it hadn’t taken Dominic long to earn the dhampyre leader’s trust.
Everett Vaughn, a young dhampyre who like Dominic had been turned three hundred years ago was the charismatic leader of Timere Lucen. And yet there was very little known about him. In the two months since Dominic had entered the group posing as a disillusioned dhampyre who yearned for his former life as a human, he’d not learnt anything about him other than Everett Vaughn wasn’t his real name. But that wasn’t surprising, many dhampyres cast off their old names, assumed new identities as the centuries passed even if only in a legal sense to exist within the human world. Amongst their own kind, they all tended to cling to the name of their once human self, wanting to maintain a link to their past, their history and culture. Vaughn chose not to. And Dominic couldn’t uncover what his human name had been or his place of origin. But what he had figured out was that Vaughn most likely had been a man of the cloth; devoted to religion in an almost fanatical manner and someone who’d have viewed becoming a vampire as sacrilegious.
It wouldn’t have been the first time someone of faith had been turned only for them to despise what they’d become. Often against their will. Dominic remembered stories Albie had told him, of watching the rise of the new Christian religion and the fun the older vampires had in turning them. They’d gotten a kick out of showing the cross-wielding priests that no matter how much holy water they threw it wouldn’t hurt them. Vampires pre-dated all but the most primitive belief systems. And Dominic himself had witnessed it on the battlefields, the lengths a newly turned dhampyre went to kill themselves, not appreciating being saved from death. Couldn’t forget the dhampyres he’d put a bullet in to halt their agonising screams as they tried to burn themselves on a pyre and going mad during the long torturous process.
Except Vaughn hadn’t chosen that route.
No, the dhampyre – despite the rhetoric he feed his followers about striving for a future where they could live openly and free of persecution amongst humans– not only wanted to rid himself of his accursed immortal existence but destroy the existence of all supernatural species. At least that was one message Vaughn spouted. Dominic quickly learned, Vaughn was the master of double speak, capable of giving speeches that could be interpreted whatever way his followers wanted. And his followers were a motely group of dhampyres consisting of those disillusioned with their immortal life, and those cast out of their covens for committing crimes that endangered them. Dhampyres drifting through life seeking a purpose, an acknowledgement that their beliefs weren’t wrong, and Vaughn gave that to them.
But how he’d managed to gain Vaughn’s trust, Dominic still didn’t know, but he’d taken full advantage of the position, accessing information that might otherwise have taken many more months to have obtained.
Before he could deliver the information, he’d uncovered-the plots against other covens and not just Silverdale–to Albie, he first needed to guide the five other dhampyre’s with him to the Timere Lucen safehouse on the east side of the city near the university. Raising a hand, the creeping feet behind him halted and Dominic glanced at the GPS coordinates on his phone, flicked his gaze over the street ahead. Buildings surrounded them, many of them clad in bright neon signs that created colourful displays on the pavement while others were more rundown their lights flickering annoyingly. The area wasn’t safe despite being close to the university. A haven of bars that didn’t care for the legal age of its customers and sold more than booze. Many of them targeting supernatural creatures that lived within Silverdale.
Breathing deep, he shuttered out the sounds of those behind him and concentrated on the traffic whizzing past and the people staggering home after too much beer or having lost a little too much blood. Most of them would be students who lived nearby and while Dominic’s group wouldn’t standout if they walked amongst them, it wasn’t humans driving his cautiousness. The bars in this area didn’t just cater to students, but to those humans that had learnt of their existence and loved the thrill that came hooking up with a creature that could kill them. There were plenty within Silverdale city who craved the taste of humanity and only too happy to indulge them, sometimes a little too much. It was a part of Silverdale Security’s responsibilities to police it and ensure that knowledge of their existence was kept safe. And that was who Dominic needed to avoid, none of them able to produce the documentation required to live long-term in Silverdale if asked.
“How much further, Dom?” Gregor asked, sidling up next to him. Too close for his liking, but he had a cover to maintain as much as it grated. “The others are getting restless. We’ve been waiting in this dingy alley that stinks of humans and vampires for the last hour.”
Dominic turned back to stare at the rag-tag group he’d brought with him. Only he and Gregor with any prior experience in a combat setting, but even then, there was a big difference between fighting your enemy in a large field on the outskirts of a town, to sneaking along back streets waiting for the right moment to attack. His own taste for bloody conflict had died almost a century ago when the humans began to develop more painful and cruel ways to kill each other.
