Loving the leech (Guardians of Red Moon city #4)

Kaylin’s POV

Aleida is fantastic in every way! I’m happy to have her in my life and get the chance to know her on a deeper level than her subjects do. Yesterday we had a spa day, including face masks, massage, and a whole afternoon of peace. I don’t talk much, but it doesn’t matter because she talks for both of us. She makes me laugh despite the sadness in my heart and doesn’t force me to talk about something I’m not ready for. I fall asleep with Aleida next to me and feel relaxed for the first time in months. When the sun’s rays wake me out of my deep sleep, the anxiety comes back again, and I inhale a shaky breath.

I pull my body up in a sitting position and lean against the headboard of the massive bed I apparently sleep in from now on. Aleida mentioned that I would be entitled to occupy a guest room, but this is ridiculous! The enormous size of not only the bed but also the room is unnecessary. Especially given my habit of being in a small cell with slimy walls whispering evil things the longer you’re there. A knock comes from the door, and I don’t answer, which I don’t need either since Aleida sticks her head in. She smiles big at me and sits down on the bed next to me with a pile of clothes in her hands.

“Good morning, Kay,” she says, and I smile at her. “I suspect you need a shower and a change of clothes. We also need to get food inside you. It’s not good for either you or the little one if you starve.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, and Aleida looks at me in amazement before breaking out in a big smile.

“Finally, you’re talking to me! It’s a big step forward, and there’ll be more before we’re done. Go and take a shower now! I’ll wait for you here until you finish,” she says, gently pushing me toward the bathroom.

I take the clothes from her hands and lock the door behind me. The water washes away all the dirt, blood, and unhealthy particles that accumulate on my body. At first, I just stand under the rays smiling at the thought of still being alive. It’s easy to lose focus on what’s essential when locked up in a cell, especially while being innocently convicted. Since Aleida took me to her home, I’m also beginning to think more clearly than before. I smile when I see that the same shampoo I used as a human is at my disposal on the shelf in the shower.

Slowly I massage the various products into my hair and body. I can’t help but enjoy when my hands clean my swollen stomach that grows with life inside. It’s been a long time since someone took care of my body, myself included; hence I take adequate time. I get out of the shower and dry myself thoroughly, amazed at how my skin looks without dirt. Like I’ve said, it’s easy to forget about simple things like how it feels like to shower. The clothes Aleida has given me consist of a light pink summer dress for pregnant women, underwear, thin tights, and a black cardigan.

I get dressed and walk back into the bedroom. Aleida sits on the bed with a hairdryer next to her and a phone in her hands. When she discovers me, a big smile appears again, and I return her smile with one of my own. It’s hard to explain my and Aleida’s relationship since I don’t know how it works. Somehow it feels like we’re family, even though we’ve never met before yesterday. Maybe it’s because she’s a hybrid, or well, she used to be before she got the powers of the moon goddess. I don’t know what she classifies as today, and it doesn’t feel polite to ask.

“It was nice having a shower, huh?” she asks, and I nod in response. “Excellent! Then we can proceed with drying your hair and brushing through it. May I?”

I nod again, and she leads me to a stool that I sit down on. She connects the hairdryer to the outlet and begins taking care of my hair. I close my eyelids and enjoy how well Aleida takes care of me. It isn’t far off that I fall asleep when she strategically and gently tames the birdnest that is my hair. In the end, she turns off the hairdryer and brushes through each hair until it hangs flat down my shoulders. She ends it all by rubbing in a hair oil that I love the scent of, and she laughs lowly at me.

“I loved this hair oil when I was pregnant too; it’s one of our elders who makes it. Apparently, it contains spices and herbs that help pregnant women feel better, much like the supplements humans use,” Aleida explains, and I nod, astounded that she knows humans use such. “What do you say about a little face cream and light make-up?”

I nod again and let her have the helm, happy to look pretty for the first time in ages. Aleida doesn’t harm innocent people or is mean to them if it isn’t necessary; I realize that when I hang out with her. She cares about me and wants me to be well; therefore, I blindly trust her when I receive her help. I shudder as her fingers massage my injured face, and she furrows her eyebrows as I twitch by the pain from my injured cheekbone. Gently she continues to lubricate and put make-up on my eyes until she finally puts aside the tools.

She points to the mirror behind me, and I turn around, only to be surprised at how beautiful I am despite my injuries.

“You’re a beautiful and strong woman, Kaylin,” Aleida says, looking at me through the mirror. “I understand how you feel because I’ve been at the point you’re at now. It isn’t easy to climb out of the darkness that surrounds you, but it’s possible, and I’ll be here for you all the way.”

I smile at her with tears in my eyes, but they don’t base on grief but gratitude. She takes my hand and leads me out the bedroom door. Loud sounds are coming from downstairs in the form of laughter and cheerful conversations between friends. Aleida holds me steady as I waddle down the stairs while my other hand lies on my stomach and calms down the little one who moves unstoppably. When we get into the dining room, they stop talking to each other and stare at me. I recognize them all from the day before, and even though I know they don’t pose any danger, the anxiety comes crawling.

This is Aleida’s family, for fuck’s sake! A little boy comes running towards me and gives me a toothy grin. I squat down and smile at him.

“Hey! My name is Alexander, what’s your name?” the little boy asks, and I caress his hair gently.

“My name is Kaylin, and it’s very nice to meet you,” I answer softly, and he smiles even more.

Another little boy comes up to me and presents himself as Elias. These must be Aleida’s firstborn sons, the twin boys with whom she made her way through uncharted lands to protect. Elias is quieter than his brother but smiles equally at me. Alexander looks at my swollen stomach.

“Is there a baby in there?” he asks, and I nod.

“Yes, there’s a baby in there,” I respond, smiling. “Do you want to feel it?”

He nods and puts his little hands on my stomach. Elias does the same, and I see when they both look at each other in amazement.

“Mate,” they say at the same time, and Aleida gasp next to me.

I know what a mate is, and werewolves shouldn’t be able to understand who their mate is until they turn sixteen. Especially not when their mate isn’t even born yet! I look astonishingly at Aleida, smiling at me before she helps me up from my squatting position.

“It seems that your child is the mate of my sons,” Aleida says happily. “We’re going to be a real family!”

I laugh at her enthusiasm, and she starts helping me move toward the table when her sons stop her. Alexander and Elias take a hand each before leading me to the chair. Elias pulls it out for me, and I sit down.

“Thank you, boys, you’re real gentlemen,” I say, caressing their cheeks. “I’m glad that you’ll one day be my sons-in-law.”

They hug my stomach from each side, and this time it’s one of the men laughing.

“Okay, boys. You’re not old enough to be don Juan’s; go brush your teeth,” says the one I think is called Kian.

Both boys look embarrassed and run out of the room. I gasp when a kick vibrates through my rib, and Aleida appears at my side in no time.

“I don’t think your little one likes his or her mates disappearing,” she chuckles.

“Apparently not,” I answer and smile gently.

A werewolf comes into the room with a plate she places in front of me, and I thank her before she disappears just as quickly again. I want to eat, but I don’t know if I can. Tears come up in my eyes when I see the scrambled eggs and toast that William used to make for me. It’s getting hard to breathe, and Aleida stands up next to me. My head lies against her belly, and she caresses my hair.

“It’s okay, Kaylin,” she whispers. “He’ll realize his faults, and if he doesn’t, I’ll kick his face in.”

I want to laugh at her choice of words but am unable to do so when my tears keep falling down my cheeks. She caresses my face, and when I look into her eyes, the darkness that surrounds me slowly disappears.

“You’re emphatic, just like me!” I exclaim and look at her with big eyes.

“I wasn’t before; the moon goddess gave me the power. But I have far from as many powers as you have,” she replies, smiling.

A woman and a man stand behind Aleida with their hands on her shoulders. However, it’s clear that these are the souls of people who love Aleida more than everything else. The woman smiles at me and then starts talking.

{Can you tell our daughter that we love her and are proud of whom she has become?}

I nod and notice how Aleida looks strange at me. My smile gets more prominent when I realize that this is Aleida’s parents.

“Your mom and dad want you to know that they love you and are proud of the woman you have become,” I say softly, and Aleida looks at me in amazement.

“You can channel,” says one of the other men I think is named Henry.

“Yes, I can,” I answer and turn to Aleida again. “Your parents are behind you and asked me to tell you.”

She turns around with a smile even though she can’t see them. Her mother caresses Aleida’s cheek, and I use my power to make her feel her mother’s touch. Aleida closes her eyes and smiles despite the tears slipping down her cheeks. The couple disappears, and Aleida turns toward me. She hugs me and sobs on my shoulder.

“Thank you for that. I felt it,” Aleida whispers, and I hug her back.

I sit down again and draw in a shaky breath before I start eating. My tears fall even though my eyes are closed, and you can’t hear any sounds beyond my chewing. Slowly I open my eyes to a crowd of people who look at me with sympathy.

“What is it, Kaylin?” one of the men asks gently.

“He did this,” I answer quietly.

“Did he make this breakfast for you?” another asks.

“He did, but I don’t think that’s what she means,” Aleida sadly replies.

“If it isn’t the breakfast, what-?” the same man begins to ask.

“He did this,” I answer hard, closing my eyes. “He made me into someone I’m not.”

“Whom are you talking about?” one of the men asks, and I can’t answer but break down instead.

“Her beloved that I told you about,” Aleida replies, getting up to walk up to me. “It’s okay, Kay. I’ll take care of you and help you build yourself up to the strongest you can become. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Aleida helps me up, and with my head leaning against her shoulder, she leads me out to the back of the house. A thick oak stands proud in the middle of the lawn, and it reminds me of the home of the Everton clan.

“Hit out your grief,” Aleida says, pointing to the tree.

I walk to the front and feel the strong bark that protects the tree from external threats. For the first time since I got taken away from my beloved, I let all emotions come forward. The first blow to the bark makes no difference. The second blow is more substantial, and the more times I hit, the more emotion comes out of me. Finally, my fists hit the tree until it creaks, and when I hit one last time with a scream over all the pain, it breaks off in half and falls. When the tree is in front of me, I fall to my knees with tears overflowing. Aleida is with me in no time and holds me while I scream out all my pain.

How can I proceed with the knowledge that I’m entirely without family in the world? My mom, dad, and cousin are off the face of the Earth, in the only place I can’t reach. My whole body shakes in Aleida’s arms, and she does her best to hold back her own tears. How do you continue to fight when there’s no longer anything to fight for?

Aleida’s POV

Kaylin’s pain is obvious, and I prepare for it to be chaos when she turns on her humanity fully again. I recognize myself so much in the woman lying in my arms, shaking by all the crying that doesn’t end. My eyes fill with tears for my newfound friend, who’s an innocent victim in a world darker than anyone can believe. I caress her hair and whisper softly to her until she finally falls asleep in my arms. My mates are standing at the back door with sadness written over their faces. I get up and walk over to them.

“How’s she doing?” Miliano asks, worried.

“Yes, you heard yourself how she’s doing,” I answer with a shaky inhalation.

“She reminds you of the dark place you used to be in, right?” Kian asks and hugs me.

I nod and let my mate embrace me while I think back to the darkness I’m now out of. The front door opens on the other side of the house, and my big brother’s voice spreads in the hall.

“Hello? Anybody home?” Nathan shouts.

I walk into the house and hug my brother. It’s been a while since we last saw each other, and I’ve missed him. You always need your siblings, no matter how old you get!

“Hey, Nate,” I say, embracing him.

My brother smiles and is about to respond when he suddenly starts sniffing at me. His eyebrows pull together, and his nose draws in the fragrance deeply. What’s he doing? Without commenting, he walks through the house out the back and stops when his eyes fall on Kaylin. What is with him?

“Mate,” he whispers, and I gasp.

Nathan has been waiting a long time for his mate, but I never thought it would be a mate he has to share with anyone else. Yes, I have two mates, but they’re at least related and used to each other. Nathan and William don’t know each other as far as I know. I can guarantee that this will mess up the pot a lot. A vampire princess with two soul mates, one as a vampire and the other a werewolf; you never hear about that anymore.

“Why is my mate lying on the lawn?” Nathan asks and walks up to her. “And why is she pregnant!?”

“Calm down, Nathan! You’re going to wake her!” I growl. “I can explain everything to you, but not when she hears. We need to get her into the house.”

He lifts her without hesitation, and I walk towards Kaylin’s room while my big brother accompanies me with his unconscious mate in his arms. I look at him in the corner of my eye and see him smile as he looks at her. Nathan puts Kaylin gently on the bed and caresses her cheek. He kisses her forehead and then accompanies me downstairs; I sit down on the couch with him across from me.

“I understand that you have many questions, and I promise to answer them all as best I can,” I promise, patiently waiting for him to gather his thoughts.

“What’s her name?” he asks and looks at me with the same gaze as my mates usually do when I get into a room.

“Her name is Kaylin Clarkson, vampire princess, originally half-human,” I answer.

“Why is she pregnant?”

“Kay has a beloved, William Everton.”

Nathan growls soundly, and for a moment, I worry that I might have to call a renovation firm because he’s going to demolish my entire living room. Instead, he surprises me by breathing in a couple of times and then becoming calm again.

“What happened to her?”

I tell him all the information I know about the vampire princess, and Nathan is gratefully silent throughout my explanation. When I finally finish, his face only shows one feeling; sorrow.

“How do you feel? I know you don’t particularly like vampires,” I say gently, and he closes his eyes.

Nathan breathes in deeply and then out again before his eyelids open. He smiles big, and I know what he decides.

“It’s not the knowledge that she’s a vampire that’s the problem. The problem is that my vampiric participant exposed her to this. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Kaylin Clarkson is mine, and we got to work through our problems to make it work. Because my wolf and I agree; we can’t live without her now that we’ve found her.”

A/N:

Hello everyone!

Oh, surprise, surprise! Aleida’s brother is Kaylin’s second beloved, and he’s determined to solve the problems Kaylin has in her life, even if that means he has to share her with a blood-sucking idiot who doesn’t know what he has in his life.

❀ Did you foresee this twist, or was it a surprise?

✿ Are Kaylin’s feelings understandable?

❀ Were you prepared for the fact that Kaylin’s children are the mate of the twins?