I had so many questions. There was a part of me that hoped Jason had been lying. But was only one way to prove if he was being truthful? I wasn’t sure I would get any answers from Silas but there was only one way to find out.

The thing that I hated the most was that I still wanted him even if I didn’t want to. I sank down on the bed feeling like my world had been tipped over and I couldn’t put things back in their place.

But when I saw the time I hurried into an outfit. I didn’t want Silas to suspect that something was wrong. I had to pretend everything was fine for fear he would discover what had transpired earlier.

I had formed a list of questions I wanted answers to and when I heard the telltale footsteps outside my bedroom door I took a brave breath. It was time to face Silas.

While there was no way I was going to tell him about Jason, I was going to try and find out if some the things Jason had told me were true. It would be the only way to figure out if he had been telling the truth.

The door opened and the familiar sight of Silas in the doorway of my bedroom door hit me straight in the chest. I was winded momentarily.

He swept his gaze over the outfit I had picked out for tonight. It was a short black dress that hugged my figure in all the right places. I still wasn’t brave enough to wear lingerie. It entailed an intimacy I didn’t believe we had. For me that type of thing was for lovers. That wasn’t a word I would use to describe our union.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Usually there was little conversation but I wanted answers. I crossed my arms.

Silas slowed as he took in the defensive action. “Is there something wrong?”

“I want answers.”

“To what?” he asked, he cocked his head to the side as he studied me.

“From the time I woke up in this world I haven’t had a chance to ask questions. Questions I need answers to.” I thought I was playing it well, trying to force him to give me something so I could figure out if Jason was right.

As much as I didn’t want him to be right, I had to know. Good or bad.

“What do you want to know Avery?” He sounded impatient.

He was a prince. Prince of vampires. I could no longer view him simply as the handler that I had met in training.

“Like how will I know when I’m pregnant?” I hoped I wasn’t. If Jason was right, it would be death sentence.

That was just the first of many. Are you expecting me to die? Are you sleeping with me every night knowing that there is a good chance I won’t survive a pregnancy?

“Once a week you’ll be tested.”

I was taken aback when he actually answered. That had been easier than I had anticipated.

“Tested?” I asked, wondering if it involved peeing on a stick.

“Blood test.” He nodded. “Tomorrow I will take you to the compound for it.”

I swallowed. Could I be pregnant already? Was it even possible to get pregnant so quickly? My attention went my flat stomach. It felt impossible what he was telling me. But I now lived in a world of supernatural creatures, nothing seemed impossible.

“Will this pregnancy be the same as a human one?”

My heart was beating nervously as I waited for him to answer the question.

He shook his head.

I held my breath for a moment, then I released it to try and hide my nervousness.

“How’s it different?” I asked, unsure if I was ready for what he would say.

I wanted Jason to be wrong. That’s what I wanted more than anything. If he wasn’t, then I feared it would crush me. Would it be a way out of this cruel world that hadn’t shown me any mercy? What was there to continue for?

There were things I was afraid to learn but I couldn’t bury my head in the sand, no matter how much it hurt.

“It’s quicker.”

I was get the feeling he wasn’t completely comfortable answering my questions and was keeping his answers short and to the point. Not offering more information than necessary.

“How quick?”

Nine months didn’t seem that long suddenly.

“A month. Technically around twenty seven days.”

That was crazy. Less than a month to form a complete baby. I felt a slight panic.

“It’s also more high risk than a human pregnancy.” My stomach sank at his revelation.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for any more information. I didn’t want him to confirm what Jason had told me, I didn’t want any of it to be true.

“High risk?” I echoed.

Did I want to know all the things that could go wrong? Now that I had found something I wanted to live for, I feared death.

He nodded. “Human pregnancies aren’t without risk. Sire pregnancies are higher risk..”

I frowned. I needed something more concrete than that. “What is the success in birth rates for Sires?”

I knew before he answered it wasn’t going to be good but I had to know.

“Thirty percent.”

Only thirty percent of babies survived the pregnancy.

My head spun. I moved to sink down on the edge of the bed, Silas was standing closer. I hadn’t even heard him move. It was all falling apart, just when I had began to hope. Just when I had started to believe I had a chance at something that resembled happiness.

“What’s the survival rate for the mothers?” My voice was uneven. I could hear the fear in it.

“You are healthy and strong Avery. There should be no reason you can’t successfully bear a child.”

“Answer the question Silas?” I insisted, more forcefully. I had to know. There was no more sticking my head in the sand.

I knew it was going to be bad before he answered, he was confirming what Jason had warned me about.

“Most Sires who experience complications will die.”

I was slow in doing the math but then it clicked into place.

“Most Sires?”

His lips thinned into a tight line before he nodded slowly.

I shot to my feet. “That means nearly seventy percent of the mothers don’t make it?”

He didn’t answer but he didn’t need to.

“And that wasn’t something you thought to mention?”

Anger mingled with hurt. I couldn’t even look at him right now. I felt so betrayed.

I turned to put some distance between us. These weren’t the answers I had been hoping for and now that I knew how dangerous it was, I had mixed emotions over it.

For all I knew I could be pregnant already, my fate sealed. That thought made me spiral. There was already a chance that I would be dead within the space of a month.

I stopped myself, feeling the hopelessness of my situation sink in. Now that I knew how little I meant to Silas was there any point in wanting to survive. Maybe this would be a blessing in disguise. A way out a harsh world I was never meant to survive in.

“So it could play on your mind? So you could live every day in fear?” His soft spoken words stopped me. Our eyes met.

“How could you believe that not telling me the truth would be better?” I was truly hurt. Hurt that I meant more to him as a baby incubator than anything else. It was soul destroying.

He moved closer but I backed away, putting my arms around my waist. “I want you to leave.”

I was too upset to pretend and I didn’t want him around.

He had been the only thing that had felt right and it was devastating to discover that I had allowed my imagination to run away with me, imagining things that didn’t exist.

Imagining a cold hearted vampire had the ability to love or care for me. It simply wasn’t possible. It wasn’t part of his DNA.

To him I was no more than a slave to use to whatever end he pleased.

He frowned. “What’s this about Avery?”

I pressed my lips together, refusing to answer him.

If he cared he wouldn’t be putting my life in jeopardy. His actions showed me all I needed to know.

“Please leave,” I whispered. I needed him gone.

“I’m going to put this down to hormonal emotions. Tomorrow you are going to tell me what’s going on.”

And with that he left. Leaving me heartbroken and alone.