ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: M.V.B. - Most Valuable Baby (Sports Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Interracial Pregnancy Romance) (34 page)

“This is rich,” a familiar voice broke the silence.

“Áine,” Kain said, sitting straight up. The warmth that usually poured from his skin increased to a blazing heat. He pushed himself to his feet, moving in the direction of the voice. In the darkness, Jocelyn couldn’t make out her features, but she could see that she was tall with a tight body and long thick hair which fell to her waist.

“When Delaine told me you didn’t show up for the meeting I couldn’t believe it. With everything you’ve done to get back in his good graces, you wouldn’t throw it away just like that. And to think, he was going to offer you a place in the clan again.” She took a step towards him. “I’ve been following you for a few days now, Kain. I’ve watched you with her.”

“What I do doesn’t concern you,” he shot at her aggressively.

“On the contrary,” she walked around him and over to the side of the bed, hovering over Jocelyn. “This,” she reached out and grabbed Josey’s arms violently, digging her long nails into her skin, “this concerns all of us.”

Kain’s eyes suddenly illuminated, an intense red glow pouring out of them. “Don’t touch her,” he ordered Áine, dashing across the room and throwing her back against the wall.

“You want to do this here?” she challenged him, stepping forward, seemingly unaffected by his attack. In a movement that was swift and almost fluid, she leapt forward, knocking him to the ground. He threw her off him, flipping her over and into the wall across from the bed, leaving an indent.

Áine lifted herself up from the floor as Kain did the same, taking a step forward to put himself between her and Josey. “They’re already coming,” Áine warned, a smile spread across her face. “You have no choice, Kain. You and your human are coming back to The Caves.”

“Stay as close to me as you can,” Kain whispered to Josey. “We’ll find a way out of this somehow”. Not long after a group of shifters landed to ferry Kain and Josey back to The Caves.

CHAPTER FOUR

The large stone fortress was the size of an entire city, with caverns and hidden passages everywhere. As she was ushered in, Josey was unable to focus on her surroundings due to the throbbing in her stomach and the gripping fear in her chest. Kain lead her down one passage, and then another. Áine walked to his right, and a small group followed behind.

When they reached a large room, with ceilings reaching over one hundred feet, they stopped. When Josey looked around she saw who she could only assume to be the Dtor. He was seated on a large stone throne at the front of the room. He matched Kain in size, but his hair was a deeper red, and his eyes a lighter green. When he stood to his feet to walk towards them, Kain lowered his gaze to the ground. “Delaine,” he said respectfully.

“So, this is who’s causing all the trouble,” Delaine said, walking in a circle around Jocelyn. “I can see why she caught your eye. She’s very attractive.” He stopped when he was directly in front of her, leaning down to examine her face. “What will we do with you?” he asked in a taunting tone.

“Don’t hurt her,” Kain said firmly.

“You’ll have your chance to speak,” Delaine shot at him quickly. “You see,” he said to Josey, “you didn’t have to get mixed up in all of this. But my dear friend here couldn’t control himself enough to spare you.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Kain tried to speak again.

“I said you’ll get your chance to speak!” Delaine yelled. “You just can’t follow orders can you, Kain? This is exactly why you’re unfit to lead our clan.” He turned away from the quickly. “Take him away!” he yelled out. In a rush of movement, two figures appeared at his side, grabbing him by the wrists. He fought back, throwing one to the ground, and lifting the other a foot in the air with just one arm.

“If I may interject,” a small, elderly man said walking towards them. Kain let the man he was holding fall to the ground, and Delaine turned to give him his attention. “What’s your name, child?” he asked Josey.

“Jocelyn Turner,” she answered weakly.

“Hmm,” he muttered. He stood at an equal height with her, his dark green eyes piercing into hers. “Is it?” he questioned her.

“Yes,” she replied confused.

“There’s something different about her,” the man said thoughtfully, turning to face Delaine. “I would like the chance to spend some time with her alone.”

“Of course, Docart,” Delaine replied, a hint of distain in his voice. “But you,” he turned to face Kain. “I’ll be spending time with you alone as well.”

CHAPTER FIVE

That was five days ago. The only interaction with clan members since had been with Raghnall, the Docart. He was the clan elder, and advisor to the Dtor. His father before him was a Docart, and his father before him. Their lives were spent studying and memorizing the intricate history and lore of their kind, absorbing as much knowledge as they could, to then pass it on to the next in line.

She resumed her pacing back and forth, waiting for him to appear. “Jocelyn,” the raspy voice said as the door pushed open.

“Raghnall,” she returned his greeting.

“Today is going to be different than our usual meetings,” he explained as he took her by the hands and lead her back to the bed. Once she was seated, he pulled over a large wooden chair and sat in front of her.

Until now their meetings had been short and left her with more questions than answers. While the reality of where she was had settled in her mind, she still felt confused and in need of explanations. “Different how?” she asked hesitantly.

“I’ve said since the day I met you that there was something different about you,” he noted as he leaned forward in the chair. “Delaine is losing patience, and I’m afraid that we’re running out of time.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I can’t sit back and let you discover this on your own. I’m going to have to guide you to it.” Before she had the chance to articulate her confusion he continued. “I asked you your name once. Jocelyn Turner isn’t your name, child.”

“I know my name,” she replied, a little defensive. The baby began to shift back and forth inside her, causing a rush of heat to spread through her limbs.

“No, it’s not,” he insisted. “Think, child. You have to think.”

“I don’t know what it is you want me to tell you!” she exclaimed with frustration.

“Turner may be your parents’ name, but it’s not yours. Why?”

A realization rushed over her. “I was adopted,” she said quietly.

“And what was your name before?”

“I don’t remember.” She became flustered. As her thoughts ran back and forth in her mind, she became dizzy. The baby began to move around wildly in her womb, causing the air around her to become heavy with heat, almost suffocating her.

She leaned back, trying to remember a life she lost long ago. But a blinding pain that spread throughout her entire body shattered her thoughts. “Ah!” she cried out, wrenching forward in agony. She heard the Docart speaking, but she couldn’t make out his words. The discomfort wasn’t coming from the baby. It was Kain. He was in trouble. What he told her about being connected, feeling each other’s pain, was true. Over the last five days, her body would surge sporadically whenever the Dtor took it upon himself to torture his rival, questioning him as to how he was able to mate with a human. He taunted him, reminding him that his irresponsible behavior was precisely why his father forced him away.

As she pinched her eyes shut she saw him. He was lying on the ground; the room was dark and damp. Delaine was hovering over him. Kain tried to push himself up, but a surging pain rushed through his body. He was bleeding. She could see a pool of blood forming on the ground around him.

“Jocelyn!” Raghnall’s voice broke her thoughts, pulling her back temporarily from the trance.

“It’s Kain!” she cried. “He’s in trouble!”

“That’s why you need to do this, child. The only way you can help him is if you focus! What is your name?”

Another bolt of pain surged through her body. “I can’t!” she yelled. “He’s hurt!”

“Think!” the Docart ordered her. “Think!”

“Duncan!” she heard herself cry out. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, her body shaking uncontrollably.

The Docart leaned back slowly, examining her. “I thought so,” he said knowingly. “Listen to me, Jocelyn. I know it’s hard, but you have to keep your mind here. I know you’re hurting with him, but unless you focus on what I’m about to say, you won’t be able to help him.”

She found the strength to push their connection from the front to the back of her mind. The pain still consumed her from time to time, but she kept her eyes focused on Raghnall’s and her hands pressed tightly to her womb, feeling the unborn child move back and forth inside her.

“Good,” he said when the tears stop pouring from her eyes, and her breathing returned to normal. “I ask you your name, because a human and a shifter conceiving is unheard of. Except for one instance, thought to be more legend that truth,” he spoke slowly, making sure she was following. “There was once a great Dtor, Dtor Nolan, said to be the greatest that ever lived. He was the strongest, most powerful shifter the world has even known. Even in human form he would instill fear in everyone he met. Until one day, when he was raiding a village with a section of his clan. That’s when he saw her.” Raghnall paused before he continued. “The Dtor, upon seeing her, immediately loved her. She didn’t cower in fear at his advance, and the instant he reached out to touch her, he felt it. They both did.”

“The spark,” Jocelyn muttered.

“The spark,” Raghnall agreed. “The clan wouldn’t accept her, however, so the Dtor renounced his life as a shifter and started one with her. The vacancy that arose when he left led to one of the greatest wars of our history, the Red War. All of the great houses battled for power, including the ancestors of both Kain and Delaine. Legend has it that at the end, Kain’s great grandfather came out victorious, ushering in the reign of House Connelly.”

“But what does that have to do with me?” she asked, trying to keep the thoughts of Kain from her mind.

“Duncan is a surname that derives from Donaghue, which in turns comes from Ó Duinnchinn,” he explains. “Dtor Nolan’s surname was Ó Duinnchinn.”

“What are you saying?” It didn’t make sense. How could she come from a line of shifters?

“You’ve had the dreams, haven’t you?” he asked. “The ones in which you’re flying, high above everything. You’re warm, and your body moves fluidly; you feel like you’re one with nature—the stones, the water, the air.”

“It’s because of the baby,” she tried to explain. “I didn’t have them before the baby.”

“That’s of no importance. It’s your destiny, child. It’s always been inside you. You just never had anyone to help guide you to it.”

“My destiny?”

“Dtor Nolan was promised to Aisling, of House Ó Conghalaigh, the ancient name for Connelly. A great prophecy foretold of a union between the two houses, one that would lead to the greatest and most powerful line of Dtors that our kind has even known. But when he left to be with the human, the hope of fulfilling the revelation was lost. Until now. You and Kain, together, are that prophecy made flesh.”

Unable to push the thoughts of him from her mind any longer the images came flooding back. “He’s still in pain,” she whispered, leaning forward and clutching her stomach. “He needs help!”

“And you will be able to help him,” Raghnall reached out to bring her back to the conversation. “But it won’t be easy. Duncan or no, you still come from a human line, one which has become more and more predominant in your genes through the years.”

“What can I do?” she asked, her hands shaking.

“You have to find who you really are, child.” He leaned back and exhaled slowly. “The problem is, shifting during pregnancy is dangerous, and can be harmful to you and the baby.”

“Then how?”

“You don’t have to shift to be a shifter,” he said quietly. “You just have to embrace it. Let the part of you that has been suppressed your entire life come to the surface.”

“I can’t,” she said dejectedly. “I don’t know how. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be, or how I’m supposed to feel!”

“You’ll figure it out,” he said standing to his feet. “You have to. Kain will help you.” Raghnall stood and slowly made his way from her room, the door sealing shut with an ominous groan.

CHAPTER SIX

When she was alone in her room again, her head began to spin. How could Kain help her? He wasn’t there. He was suffering; he was the one that needed help! She lied back onto the bed, holding her stomach in her hands and squeezing her eyes shut focused solely on Kain.