Human children that got the Sentinel mark tattoo were usually mocked and ridiculed and for good reason. They usually believed they were just as good as or better than Sentinels and had the att.i.tudes to match, which was mostly why they were mocked. They were c.o.c.ky little b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

"Yes!"

"And the reason that you hid it here?" he asked, feeling like an idiot because the answer was pretty obvious.

"Chris."

He chuckled as he pulled her hand closer so that he could press a kiss against her tattoo. "Is that why Chris and Ephraim have been wearing matching bandages?"

"They're mocking me, because I've been wearing this thing for so long," she mumbled pathetically. "Just imagine what they would do if they knew what I've been hiding."

They would make fun or her day and night, because they viewed her as a little sister and saw it as their responsibility, and right, to torment her. Even he'd admit that they did a great job. They took their job seriously, very seriously.

"Do you want me to kick their a.s.ses?" he asked, linking their fingers back together as he adjusted the angle of penetration.

"No," she muttered, sounding pathetic and making him glad that she couldn't see him smile. "They'd just make fun of me more. I'll deal with it, I guess," she decided, finishing it off with another drawn out sigh that had him biting back a chuckle that would probably end with him taking a very cold shower.

"Do you want me to distract you?" he asked, punctuating each word with a slow roll of his hips.

"I suppose," she said, sounding put out.

"I could stop," he offered, releasing her hands so that he could slide his hands between Danni and the bed. He cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, making sure that her firm nipples peeked through his fingers so that they rubbed against the comforter as he pushed back inside her.

"And I could kill you," she reminded him, earning a chuckle, because he knew that if he stopped right now, she'd kick his a.s.s, make him finish her off with his mouth and then leave him to either relieve himself or deal with blue b.a.l.l.s, neither prospect sounding pleasant at the moment.

Chapter 54.

"Wait. Where are you going?" she managed to ask, panting heavily as she struggled to push herself up on trembling arms.

"s.h.i.t!" Christofer said, rushing across the room towards the door, shoving his hand through his hair, his pants unb.u.t.toned and his- "You may want to put that thing away," she said, trembling as she watched him, torn between amus.e.m.e.nt and frustration as he grabbed his erection, forced it back into his pants and- "G.o.d d.a.m.n it!" he shouted, stumbling into the wall, wincing as he reached down and cleared the zipper.

"Christofer?" she said, trying to get his attention as he continued towards the door.

"Be right back," and with that, he was gone.

"Okay..........," she said, watching as the door closed behind him, leaving her to wonder what the h.e.l.l just happened.

One minute he'd been driving her out of her mind as he'd kissed his way down to where she really needed him and the next he was falling off the bed, stumbling to his feet and racing for the door. She'd still been able to scent his l.u.s.t, but there had been another scent coming off him, one that she couldn't quite figure out.

As she sat there, struggling to catch her breath, she thought over what had happened over the last few minutes, trying to figure out what she'd missed. Maybe- "Go sniff her," Christofer suddenly demanded just as the bedroom door flew open and Ephraim and Caine came stumbling into the room, struggling to zip up their pants.

"Ummm," was her only response, because really, what else could she say when the man that she loved left her naked, trembling and alone in bed only to return a few minutes later, shoving two half naked men into their room and demanding that they sniff her.

"Bossy b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Ephraim muttered as he finished b.u.t.toning his pants.

"You could have at least waited until I was done!" Caine snapped.

"Sniff!" Christofer bit out, pointing at her.

It took a few seconds for what he was asking them to do to really sink in and when it did, her jaw dropped. He didn't just seriously ask them to- With a muttered curse, Ephraim walked over to her, leaned over and inhaled, but before she could die of mortification, Caine followed suit, swearing more vividly as he leaned over, inhaled, frowned, inhaled and muttered a whole new genre of curses.

"Is she?" Christofer demanded, staying where he was by the door.

"Yeah," Caine said, rubbing his hands roughly down his face.

"It's fresh. Probably by just a few hours," Ephraim explained, doing a wonderful job of keeping her in the dark.

"It shouldn't be possible," Caine said, dropping his hands by his sides as he shared a look with Ephraim.

"She was fully marked."

"It must have grown back during the change," Caine said, shooting her a curious look that had her pulling her sheet up higher as she tried to make sense of their words.

"We overfed her," Ephraim explained. "It was probably enough blood to fix everything and restore her body."

"What grew back?" Christofer asked, and at that moment she could have kissed him, because she was wondering the same d.a.m.n thing.

"Her uterus," Caine said gravely, his expression full of pity as he looked at her. At least she thought he'd said her uterus, but that was impossible.

"What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Christofer demanded. "What does her uterus have to do with her being marked?"

And just like that, she lost the ability to breathe.

They knew.

"When a shifter marks a human," Ephraim explained, looking disgusted, "they make it impossible for their property to have a child. They want their property sterile. They might tolerate their property having s.e.x with someone else, but they refuse to allow anyone else to set any type of claim."

And just like that, her stomach dropped with the realization of why tearing her back apart hadn't been enough for the beast that attacked her. He'd wanted to make sure that she could never have a child, because he'd seen her as nothing more than a thing to do with whatever he'd wished, even making sure that she was never able to live a full life and to- "She's definitely pregnant," Caine announced. "It's a Pyte," he added, sounding relieved and making her wonder what else he'd expected it to be when his announcement registered.

"I'm sorry, but what did you just say?" she asked, absolutely positive that she'd misunderstood him.

Caine opened his mouth only to quickly close it and shoot Ephraim a panicked look. Ephraim simply rubbed the back of his neck as he muttered, "We f.u.c.king suck at this."

"There's no way that I could be pregnant," she said, expecting all three men to quickly agree, but they didn't.

"Can we have a minute?" Christofer asked, suddenly looking exhausted.

"Congratulations, Cloe," Ephraim said with a warm smile as he headed for the door. Caine said something, probably congratulating her also, but she couldn't hear him over the loud buzzing going off in her head as she struggled with the news.

"Are they sure?" she found herself asking as she sat there, feeling numb.

Christofer walked back over to the bed and sat down next to her, he took her hand into his, entwining their fingers and nodded, slowly, looking sh.e.l.l shocked. She expected him to say something, to explain how this happened, to rea.s.sure her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay and that this wasn't some sick joke, but he just sat there, staring off at nothing. She didn't know what to say or do at this moment. It wasn't something that she'd ever expected to hear and it sure as h.e.l.l didn't feel real by having three men sniffing her.

A small knock sounded at the door, followed by a hesitant, "Cloe?"

d.a.m.n it, she'd forgotten all about Marc, but as much as she wanted to stay here and let everything sink in, she couldn't ditch Marc. The poor kid needed a distraction and as she looked up at Christofer, sitting there looking like he'd just been kicked in the b.a.l.l.s, she decided that perhaps she did too.

"That looks like a fun game," Cloe said, picking up another copy from the shelf.

"Izzy would love it," he said, calculating how much money he had in his pocket and how much he had in his sock drawer at home. He quickly realized that he was about ten dollars short. He'd have to wait until next week when he got his allowance to buy it, he decided as he reluctantly put the game back.

"What about you?" Cloe asked, looking at the game.

"What about me?" he asked, looking around the large game section, hoping to find a game that he could afford for Izzy.

"Wouldn't you like this game?" Cloe asked as she turned the game over.

He shrugged. "I don't have time for games anymore."

"Why not?" Cloe asked, putting the game into the hand basket that he was carrying for her.

"I just don't," he said, shrugging as he moved down the aisle only to stop when he'd spotted the game that he'd asked his father to reserve for him last year. He'd forgotten all about it. His fingers shifted anxiously by his sides, anxious to pick up the game and buy it, but he forced himself to look away and move on.

"That's a shame," Cloe said with a shrug as she picked up the game that he'd forced himself to walk away from and dropped it in the basket.

"Why's that?" he asked, looking towards the toy section, wondering if he should just buy Jessica and the babies something to keep them occupied so that Izzy could rest when he spotted Christofer.

He didn't know Christofer that well, but he liked him. He especially liked the way that Christofer was able to tap into his bloodl.u.s.t strength without losing control, something that he was hoping the Pyte would show him how to do once he went through the change. Marc was about to turn his attention to the toy section when he realized what section Christofer was standing in.

The baby section.

He felt his stomach drop as he caught a glimpse of the expression on Christofer's face, the same one that his brother Chris had worn after he'd found out that Izzy was pregnant the first time. He looked miserable and terrified as he picked up a pink baby blanket and stared at it as though he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at.

"Because I was going to ask Mr. Grumpy pants over there to take us to-"

"You're pregnant," he blurted out, hoping that he was wrong.

Cloe sighed as she dropped another video game in the basket. "Please tell me that you didn't scent it," she said, cringing slightly.

"No," he said, his stomach turning as he swallowed back bile.

This couldn't be happening. There were already four babies at home with two more on the way. Six babies to watch over and protect was going to be hard enough, but seven? He couldn't protect them all, Izzy and his mother. It was too much. It was- "Hey," Cloe said, sliding her arm around his small shoulders as she pulled him into her side, "relax, kiddo."

"I can't," he said, shaking his head as he struggled to take a breath, but it wouldn't come. He couldn't get enough air, the store wouldn't stop spinning and the image of Jessica's bleeding head and the sounds of Izzy screaming in pain because of him blared in his head, growing louder and louder with each pa.s.sing second until- "Shhh, relax," Christofer said soothingly as he suddenly found himself being held like a child in the large Pyte's arms.

"I'm fine," he tried to tell him, but the only thing that came out were choked sobs as he embarra.s.sed himself by crying like some little kid.

He wasn't a little kid. He was a man now. He had responsibilities. His little brothers, his nephew, Jessica, his mother and Izzy were all counting on him to take care of them. He shouldn't be losing it like this. He should be manning up!

"Let it go," Christofer said, holding him tightly.

He stubbornly shook his head, desperately trying to get himself under control. He needed to stay in control, needed to keep a level head, especially with so many people counting on him. He needed to- "Let go," Christofer whispered again and just like that, he did.

Chapter 55.

"Please don't tell anyone," Marc said, looking miserable as he sat across from them, absently playing with a French fry.

"There's nothing to tell," Christofer said, gesturing for Marc to eat. She was glad to see him so relaxed. He'd given her quite a scare earlier when he'd lost it. She'd been about to wrap him in his arms when Christofer had swooped in and taken over. She'd been amazed at how great he'd been with Marc. No matter how hard Marc cried or shook, Christofer had been patient with him, listening to him and rea.s.suring him that everything was going to be okay. She'd never thought of Christofer as the fatherly type, but the way he'd handled Marc had warmed her heart.

Reluctantly, Marc took a large bite out of his French fry before dipping what was left in ketchup while she sat there, trying not to pout. She missed food, real food, right now more than ever as she was forced to sit there on the hard plastic bench in the diner filled with mouthwatering scents. What she wouldn't give for a double cheeseburger, fries and a triple chocolate milkshake with- "Why aren't you eating?" Marc asked her, looking curious as he shoved the rest of the fry in his mouth.

"I can't eat food," she explained, almost positive that he'd been told that she was a Pyte.

"Except when you're pregnant," Marc said with a shrug as he grabbed another fry off his plate.

"She can eat real food?" Christofer asked, resting his arm along the top of the bench behind her.

"Mmmmmhmm," he answered around another fry. "It will help with the morning sickness, but she still needs," he paused to look around the diner and make sure that no one was listening, "blood."

"But I can eat?" she asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yup."

As soon as the word was out of his mouth, she stole one of his fries, shoved it in her mouth and closed her eyes, grimacing at the memory of what had happened the last time she'd tried to eat food only to moan in pleasure. It tasted so good, so d.a.m.n good. She opened her eyes to steal another fry, but Christofer beat her to it by placing a fry against her lips as Marc gestured for the waitress. As she sat there, savoring fry after fry, she decided that perhaps being pregnant wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Kill me," she whimpered, holding her stomach as she leaned against the tree, her eyes closed as she tried not to lose the rest of her dinner.

"We should get going before it gets any darker," Marc said, shifting nervously by the road.

"Call your father or brother to come get you," Christofer said, standing beside her as he rubbed her back.

"Kill. Me," she stressed, wondering why he wasn't putting her out of her misery.

"She needs blood," Marc said, shifting the shopping bag that she'd asked him to carry for her to his other hand so that he could pull his phone out of his back pocket.

At the mention of drinking blood, her stomach rebelled. Just the thought of drinking or eating anything was too much to handle. She was starting to think that she may have overdone it a bit at the diner. She hadn't planned on eating so much, but the moment that she'd been able to swallow that fry without wanting to puke her guts up, she'd sort of lost it.

Not that it was her fault. It wasn't, at least not as far as she was concerned. It was Ephraim and Christofer's since they'd convinced her that she'd never be able to wash down a juicy cheeseburger with a thick chocolate milkshake again. Once she'd discovered the loophole, an unexpected pregnancy, she'd decided to indulge herself......just a bit.

Two double cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, chicken tenders, three chocolate milkshakes, two large Pepsis, one ice cream sundae, and four different slices of pie later and she was regretting a few of her choices tonight. At the time, she'd been relieved that Christofer had been too lost in his own thoughts to comment on her dining choices, but now she really wished that he'd b.i.t.c.hed about that second burger that was threatening to make another appearance.

"How far away is the house?" Christofer asked Marc as he rubbed her back.