Twenty-Four…

Twenty-Four: Paternal Instinct

Vaclav’s necklace was downloaded at XM Sims. 🙂

One week after returning home, Aubrey peered into her father’s tiny prison.

He’d been imprisoned for over two months.

Was that a twinge of guilt she felt?

Aubrey went to ask Vaclav to let her inside the prison. She felt compelled to speak to her father.

Vaclav followed her to the dungeon and unlocked the prison door.

“Finally decided to come see me?” he asked. His voice was raspy, weak; his clothes tattered.

“I hate the things you did to me, the things behind my back. I hate all the secrets you kept from me,” she began.

“But now I understand why you did some of those things. So I forgive you… and I still love you.”

“You do?”

“Well, for the most part I forgive you. I’ll just never understand why you took my son.”

“I always knew you were a special girl, Aubrey. You were always my special daughter. I’ll always love you. I’m sorry about all the wrong I’ve done.”

“That’s—okay. I’m getting better dealing with it all.” She was tempted to tell him about her ordeal with John Lansing, but didn’t. Her father had enough troubles to worry about.

Maybe she could convince Vaclav to free him.

“If it helps any, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble getting back your son,” he said.

Aubrey’s ears perked up.

“Before leaving Sunset Valley to find you, I made arrangements for your grandmother to give you back your son. Since she used to be involved with their leader, the Shadows will do as she says.”

Aubrey smiled and thanked him. Then she looked up at the skulls lining the wall.

A feeling of dread permeated her, but quickly passed.

The previous leader of the Shadows… my grandfather, Aubrey marveled. She still couldn’t believe it. Then she wondered who was currently ruling over the clan, and what had happened to her grandfather. Was he killed? Did Vaclav do it during the last war?

An hour passed; then Aubrey joined Vaclav in the dining room. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, she rushed over to fidget with the fireplace.

“Wow this gets pretty hot, doesn’t it?” she murmured wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Come to my bedroom and I’ll show you something hotter,” he said.

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t talk like that. Shawn could be around the corner.” She nervously glanced at the doorway.

“You agreed,” he laughed strolling toward her.

He pressed and rubbed against her.

“Stop it,” she said.

“No,” he replied kissing her neck, shoulder.

“Vaclav, if you don’t stop I’m going to stick this poker in your—”

The poker dropped to the floor, as Vaclav spun Aubrey around and kissed her.

“Mmmm,” he moaned.

“Shh,” she hushed.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it? And no one is coming into the room,” he said.

…until just then.

Startled, Aubrey and Vaclav turned.

“What’s up?” he greeted.

Aubrey knew that he knew. There was almost no doubt.

She gaped at Vaclav.

“Just tell him,” Vaclav urged.

“Are you crazy?” she hissed. “No.”

“Tell me what?”

“Nothing,” Vaclav replied.

The following night, Aubrey went over to the jewelry box.

Every so often she’d gaze at the talisman’s beauty, remembering when Vaclav first draped it around her neck.

Aubrey’s mouth flew open. The box was empty.

“Looking for the talisman?” Shawn said appearing out of nowhere.

Steeling herself, she turned around.

“Don’t worry. It’s in a safe place,” he added.

“But none of that matters.” He paused, his eyes haunted. “I know about you and Vaclav. I’m not stupid.”

Aubrey stood frozen like a block of ice, her pulse thundering in her ears.

“Besides, Riley told Jakub about the possibility of your baby being Vaclav’s, and Jakub told me. Yeah, Jakub and I have gotten pretty close in these last several weeks.”

“Jakub’s also been sharing blood packets with me… against Daddy Dearest’s orders.”

“Shawn, I’m sorry about Vaclav. But what do you expect? You’ve treated me like dirt practically since we got married! My God, I can’t even have sex with you without worrying you’re going to bite the shit out of me!”

“I’ve scheduled your amnio for tomorrow evening,” he announced, ignoring everything she’d said.

“Amnio? You mean—”

“Amniocentesis, where they stick a long needle inside your stomach, draw out amniotic fluid and do a DNA test. Yeah, we’re going to find out who really fathered your kid.” His words shot out like ice pellets.

“Fine.” I want to know the truth; every bit as much as you do.

“And don’t think you’re leaving this room to go crying to Vaclav. You’re staying right here until tomorrow evening,” he snarled. Then he walked to the door and locked it. 

                                                            …

Instead of a clinic or a hospital, Shawn brought her to a scientific laboratory to get the paternity test done.

Aubrey thought it was weird, but everything about Shadowvale was weird.

Aubrey hated not being able to tell Vaclav the night before. She couldn’t sleep, the loneliness cut like a dagger. She missed Vaclav and despised Shawn for locking her in the bedroom. It seemed like the vampirism didn’t just turn Shawn into a bloodsucker, it was also turning him into a hateful creature. Granted, he was always selfish to a degree, but lately he was becoming a monster.

Upon entering, it already smelled like bleach and disinfectant. Yuck.

“Jakub said this is the same lab where they inject the rogues with something to make them less stupid,” Shawn mentioned. “That way, they’re easier to train for the so-called military.”

Who the fuck cares? Aubrey wanted to ask. She gazed at the wall aquarium and imprisoned fish.

Inside the lab, a nurse and doctor shuffled around and got everything ready for Aubrey’s arrival.

“You have nothing to worry about. We’ll take excellent care of you and your baby.”

Is it too late to run away? she wondered.

Meanwhile, Vaclav was in the other room. One of the nurses prepared to draw a blood sample.

He didn’t flinch when the needle penetrated.

He only continued to glare at the nurse.

Then it was Shawn’s turn. Once the needle poked him, he grimaced in pain.

Afterward, Aubrey was undressed and settled in a reclining chair. The nurse switched on the monitor while the doctor opened an enormous needle syringe.

Shawn stood and watched. Aubrey cursed him in her mind.

The doctor stared at the monitor. “We’re going to do an ultrasound while inserting a hollow needle into your womb. The sonogram is to ensure the needle stays away from the baby,” she said. Then she rubbed alcohol on Aubrey’s stomach. “You’re going to feel a pinch and some pressure.”

The needle burned as it went in, searing its way through her flesh.

Aubrey sharply exhaled. A pinch and some pressure?! Fuck, it hurts you stupid bitch!

“Almost finished,” the doctor assured.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…”

Aubrey’s mind focused on the adorable puffer fish she’d seen in the wall aquarium. She struggled to block out all thoughts of pain.

And then it was finally over.

“Wow, Aubrey. You handled that a lot better than what I thought,” Shawn declared. “I just hope the baby’s mine… for your sake.”

She shot him a look that could kill. How she wished her eyes could shoot real bullets at him.

A few minutes later, Aubrey and Shawn waited in the lobby. Vaclav was nowhere to be seen.

The doctor shuffled into the room. “Normally it takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to get the results, but we’re a far more advanced facility. As such, we’ll have the results within two hours.” She turned and left.

Two hours?! Oh, God…

Anxiety crept up within, and panic was lurking just around the corner. If the baby were Shawn’s, what would Vaclav do? Would he still love her the same? And if the baby were Vaclav’s, would Shawn really hurt Aubrey in vengeance?

As the minutes passed into hours, a bit of news was revealed that Aubrey had not expected…

Vaclav burst through the doors, startling Aubrey.

“Aubrey, it’s your father,” he said.

“He killed himself.”

Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn’t even feel them. She felt… nothing.

My father’s dead? No. It’s not possible.

And with fantastic timing, the doctor strolled into the room.

“We’ve finished with the DNA analysis,” she began. All eyes were on her.

“It’s concluded that Vaclav is the father.”

“Are—are you sure?”

“Quite.”

Incredulous, Shawn looked up at Vaclav.

“Shhhhhit,” he groaned.

                                                          ****

😛 Thanks for reading!! ♥ ♥ Chapter 25 coming on Monday, of course. ☺