New Kingdom: American Court Ch. 10

"What are you doing with the blood being produced now?"

"Destroying it immediately. But I will admit a certain admiration for this plan. It is the perfect way to form an army of vampires."

"Was."

"What?"

"You said that it is a perfect way but you should have said was because you've stopped it."

"Always my defender."

"Apparently not. You thought I called you a monster."

"Because, right now, I feel like one. I know that we need to do something else but I swear I have no idea what it is."

"Can I see them?"

"Yeah," Gabriel answered with a smile. "Actually I've wanted to ask you to see them but I didn't know how fair that would be to you."

"Fair to me?" she asked climbing off his lap.

"The emotions involved are ....powerful. There's something about them that makes my chest hurt."

Suppressing a sarcastic mid life crises comment, Alena smiled at Gabriel and took his hand, while he led her from the apartment. As they walked through the corridor, she was reminded again of her dream. If she had seen Edward and Iona, and the children, who may be their newest guests, she silently questioned if they would see Cassian again soon.

They continued walking in silence until Gabriel stopped in front of the infirmary. He pushed open the door, looking around the room, and then led her to the sterile cribs. Never having children, Alena could not guess how old they were by their size. She knew from reading the medical records that the experiment had failed in multiple terminations until less than four weeks ago so these two must be about one month old.

"Can I hold them?" she asked.

With a nod, Gabriel motioned to one of the clinicians to assist Alena in opening the unit and lifting the girl from her confines. Once the various tubes were adjusted, she sat in a metal chair and gazed at the child in her arms. Tenderly, she stroked the small arm with her fingers noticing the little hand opening as she neared it. Placing her thumb in the tiny palm, Alena smiled as the small fingers wrapped around her digit and gripped tight.

"Hey little baby," she said in a soft voice. "You're in a good place now. I promise that you will never be with the bad people again. Gabe is gonna kill them for us."

"You should write children's stories."

"Trust me, every girl likes a hero," Alena continued in her soft voice. "And you happen to be ours."

"She's happy," he said. "She's been scared but now she's happy. She likes the sound of your voice."

"Good. Let her brother know that we'll get to him in a minute. And can we do something about this room? Maybe some color? And clothes, why can't they have clothes?"

"I'll see what we can do," he said watching her talk and kiss the baby.

After a few minutes, Alena asked the clinician to help her put the girl back to bed and help her lift the boy. The conversation was much the same, with Alena promising the child that he would grow strong, protect his sister and have fun playing in the mansion. When she started telling him about the waterfalls at Gabriel's house, she paused at looked at her mate worried that he would discourage her from continuing.

"Do you see anyone else waiting in line to claim them?" he asked. "Actually I'm relieved that you have attached to them so quickly. I dreaded asking this of you."

"Do we need permission from anyone?"

"Obviously, there's a concern about their ability to harm the New Kingdom. But I have vowed to protect the kingdom and the Third Creation, which I suppose they are now members."

"Will they need this blood for the rest of their lives?" she asked looking at the plastic tube connected to both arms of the small boy.

"They do until they can produce their own blood source."

"We need to name them?"

"Adam and Eve?"

"Too obvious."

"Jack and Jill."

"Not funny."

"I could go on forever but you have something in mind."

"He will be Joshua. It means salvation. He was made to destroy us but he will actually help us save the New Kingdom."

"And the little girl?"

"I named him so you can name her."

"Fair enough. I choose the name Abigail," he announced rather quickly. "I think they are both sleeping. Maybe we should follow suit."

"Uh, ok, it doesn't feel late though," she said handing the child to the attendant and following Gabe from the room.

"It's not," he agreed pulling her into his arms. "But I suddenly feel the need to be alone with you for several long, fun filled hours."

"No complaints here," she said as her lifted her from the floor and sped to their rooms.

As the lovers entered their rooms another couple entered the mansion through a hidden service door.

"I told you that I would be able to return," the man hissed through his fangs to the tall, red hair woman.

"As a coward, sneaking in through the servant's entrance," she replied, dropping the body from which she had just fed.

"Did you kill him?" the man asked in rising panic. "You should not have taken his life blood. This will only infuriate Edward."

"Do you honestly think Edward will accept you back into the fold with open arms?" She hissed in the man's face. "After poisoning his mate and then running away, I can't imagine how thrilled he will be to know that you are once again under his roof."

"The fact that I have returned to the enemy camp proves that I am not a coward," he said with a snarl. "I had to choose the best strategy for my master's plan."

Laughing at his boast, the woman leaned so close that her nose pressed against his face. With a slow shake of her head, she smeared the blood fresh on mouth across his face.

"Don't confuse me with a newborn puppet, you fool," she replied. "You are here because the master wishes you to be here. You have no will of your own. You and I have committed treason against our kind; do you really believe we are trusted by the master?"

At the flick of her wrist, Cassian fell forward struggling to remain on his feet. He led the way through the dark corridor in the lowest level of the mansion. As they ascended to the next floor, he stopped at one door.

"This is my room," he announced.

"In the basement?" she screeched. "They kept you with the rats? So much for being a brother's emissary. I guess I can understand your need for destroying Edward. He and his bimbo changeling have humiliated you."

"They did no such thing. Iona worshipped me and he treated me well. It was that self righteous bitch of a sister that destroyed everything," he whined.

"Patience, Cassian. You'll have your revenge," the woman promised. "But first, we need to do our job. Where would they be held?"

"The treatment rooms are exactly one floor above my room. To my knowledge, those rooms are the only ones designed for any medical treatment."

"Convenient," she commented softly and then narrowed her eyes when she saw his nervous trembling. "Are you afraid, Cassian?"

"No! It's just that the General is also in house."

With a harsh laugh, she watched Cassian squirm in fear. She quickly approached him and slapped him across his face. "Do you honestly think Gabriel Philandros will be babysitting a couple of test tube freaks?"

"His people will be. His mate could be."

"Then it will be a win-win situation for us. I will get the brats and you will get the bitch," she said with a seductive smile.

"I was hoping you would say that," he grinned with his yellowed fangs contrasting against the dark blood drying on his face. "But how will you move the children? Don't they need special care?"

"Leave that to me."

In Gabriel's office, Alena completed her online transaction with a smile. Baby furniture, baby toys, and baby clothes, you name, she bought it. Actually, Gabriel bought it, she acknowledge as she placed his credit card in the desk drawer. Before visiting the babies, she quickly entered a few words in the search engine and clicked the enter key.

As the suggested sites populated the screen, she wondered how she could get birth certificates. Obviously, the hospital records could not be used. Remembering stories that she had heard years ago, she contemplated presenting a handwritten entry in a family Bible to the proper authorities. If she chose some small town, maybe she could present some fabulous tale of a home birth during a snow storm.

Smiling at her cleverness, Alena looked at the screen and paused when she saw the first suggested site. With a single click of the mouse, she read the simple sentence and dropped her head. No matter how serious and uncaring he seemed to others, Gabriel had a tenderness that she had always adored. He had rescued the children claiming that they were a danger to the New Kingdom but he alone had fought for their health and safety. He had given her the credit card insisting that she would know what to buy. And he had named the girl.

Looking at the screen again, Alena's eyes filled with tears of happiness as she read the meaning of the name Abigail. Closing the browser, she dried her face and smiled. No matter how many plans they had made, life had sent them on one detour after another. In the end, she had Gabriel. And now they had their children. Exiting the office, she hurriedly descended the stairs in anticipation of holding her babies.

Yes, she would care for these children as though they were her own. With Gabe's help, they would complement each other's parenting skills and have a happy family. He had laughed when she asked him if they needed someone's permission to become official guardians.

"Edward will kiss you for relieving him of any implied duty that his DNA has created," Gabriel had responded.

Before she entered the lab, Alena realized that Gabe had not only been happy that she requested responsibility for the children but he was also happy to have them in his life too. Why else give the girl a name that meant "a father's joy?"

Opening the door and looking at the cribs, two facts slammed into her mind: 1) she was not the only adult visiting the children and 2) she had forgotten to call a guard to escort her from Gabriel's office.

The woman standing over Joshua's incubator was definitely a vampire. She was beautiful by every definition. Tall and thin, she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and glared at Alena. When she opened her mouth to speak, white fangs sparkled against her red lips.

"Are you going to stand there like a fucking statue or are you going to kill her?" the woman asked looking over Alena shoulder.

Before Alena could turn, small but strong arms grabbed her from behind. With her arms locked at her waist, she could only turn her head slightly but it was enough to see that hideous face that she remembered from the day she was attacked. The same face now haunted her in dreams.

Wrapping his left arm around her body, he placed his right hand at her throat. With an evil smile, he gazed at the vein throbbing in her neck but resisted even the slightest taste of the sweet morsel. His appetite would be sated when she lay dead at his feet. Tightening his hold, he looked to her eyes to savor the fear that would be evident there. His hopes were shattered when he saw that she had turned her head away from him more concerned with Helen standing by the children.

Ignoring him would be her last stupid move. As the anger surged through his body, he grabbed her head prepared to rip it from her shoulders but stopped when he heard the menacing growl. In less than a second, he was releasing Alena as his arms were pulled away from her and pinned behind his own body. In one move, he was twisted around to face Gabriel, imprisoning him in his grasp, and Edward and Iona standing close behind.

"Gabriel," Edward said. "Let him go. He will not go unpunished."

Ignoring Edward's request, Gabriel was consumed with the sight of his mate in Cassian's grasp and the feel of the coward's body trembling in his hold. He grabbed the man's head and pulled until he heard the sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping. Looking to Alena, he saw that she was mesmerized at the sight of Cassian's decapitated head still gripped in his hands.

"Tsk, Tsk, Gabriel," Helen said walking to him. "We were just visiting to see this miracle of modern science and you, in your uncontrollable rage, have killed the emissary of Heron, vampire King of Asia. As his official ambassador, it is my duty to inform you that Heron will require your death sentence," she said finishing with a brilliant smile. "But of course, we would prefer to avoid killing a member of the Third Creation, so we settle for an exchange. Give us the children," she said with her gaze roaming over the two children and finally resting on Alena, "and your mate."