Losing Hope

Chapter 16 - Dream on

(Her - Hope) 5 years and 6 months ago...

Not a lot of people know I'm pregnant. I shared the news with Maria and Francisco only. I don't even know if I will let Alistair know. We will see next time he will be here... I feel so lost. I've never imagined I will become a single mother, a teenager single mother! Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. As scary as it is, knowing I have a part of Ryder growing in me is the best gift I could ever ask for. I'm so happy but at the same, I feel so guilty for not telling Ryder.

I condemn the women who do that and now I'm one of them. Conclusion: don't judge what other people are doing when you can't know the reason behind. Every time I'm feeling sick, I can't help but smile and think about the little human being growing in me. And the next second I want to cry knowing he will grow without his father. This is so frustrating and confusing! I love him so much already. Willow, the seer, told us the sex, my little man!

She also warned me that I will soon be in great danger and she advised me to not tell one else that I'm pregnant. People knowing will put them in danger but also my son and me. This is why I don't know if I should tell Alistair or not... I don't want to hide my pregnancy but I don't want my baby to be in danger. All of this makes me feel sick. I was ready to leave in at the charge of his father if it would protect him but Willow and Enzo told me he would not. At the same time, I know it's selfish but I don't want to miss a moment of his life. This part of Ryder is my reason to live right now so can't lose him. I will soon need Phoebe's help to hide it if I really want t0 hide it. I start to have a little bump. God I wish Ryder would be by my side but he already moved on so even in better circumstances it wouldn't have been possible.

I sigh.

"Stop thinking about him. He's not worth it. And you have another man to think about" Enzo orders, sitting by my side.

"I wish I could." I mumble.

"You don't eat enough Hope! I need to be more careful now that you're not alone. You need to really take a good care of you for both of you." He wishers disapprovingly.

"I know!" I snap before getting up.

"Where are you going, I'm not finished!" He thunders.

"Bed, I need to rest!" I bark back before entering the house. I backtrack, never leave upset is one of my new mottoes.

"Night Enzo! We will finish this discussion tomorrow." I state quietly. I'm on his back.

"All right. Night Hope." He acknowledges.

Good thing with the pregnancy is I'm so exhausted that even with my mind full of worries I still fall asleep easily. Another dreamless night for me! Or it was what I thought because I'm woken up in the middle of the night by a fight in my room. What the hell!

Daniel and Vladim are fighting in my room.

"What's going on here?!" I roar, Jumping out of the bed, ready to separate them.

I separate then and before I can understand what's going on. Vladim takes out a dagger and try to stab me but Daniel comes in front of me.

"NO!" I yell, horrified.

Vladim runs away while Daniel collapses on the floor.

"Don't let him go! Go after him." He orders me.

At the same moment Phoebe and Enzo enter my room. I nod and jump through the window and shift before touching the ground and run after Vladim.

I tackle him down rapidly and shift back in my human form. I focus my gift to stuck his feet in the ground.

"Why?" I demand.

"You're too powerful. Nobody should hold such great power. Henri was powerful, you... you're a mistake, an abomination. And you're even not born an elemental do you imagine what your child will be able to do. No! I cannot let you give birth to another monster nor let you fall in the wrong hands. You're too dangerous to stay alive, it's nothing personal." He answers, trying to freed his feet.

"How do you know about the baby?" I ask, putting my arms in front of my little bump protectively.

"So I'm right you're pregnant."

"Do you know what he will do to you and your baby? He will use it against you. You are giving him an advantage you don't even know. He will torture both of you and once he will have broke you, he'll kill it in front of you!"

"Who are you talking about?" I ask, confused.

"He was already obsessed with Henry but when he'll learn of your existence he will never give up until he has you as his weapon. But unlike Henri you can become his breeder too."

"Who?" I hiss.

"I will make sure that will never happen. Even if it means I've to kill you." He states instead of replying.

"Well you're failing!" I retort.

"Yet, I will try until my last breath and as you don't have the nerve to kill someone, I will succeed one day."

"Kill him! He's dangerous for our baby. We need to protect him." My tiger demands and I can see how determined he's in his eyes. He will never stop and if I let him go he could go looking for help.

"Don't be so sure! Nobody will touch my son, including you." I say before breaking his neck. I let my tiger take over to finish him. Our first kill...

"This is nothing personal!" I use his own words against him, while I'm still kicking his body.

"Hope! It's over. He's dead!" Enzo says wary but still walking toward me. When he sees that I'm not aggressive toward him, he closes the distance and hugs me.

"It's over! I got you!" He whispers.

But he's wrong... It's only the beginning. I can feel it in my bones.

When we arrived back at the house. Phoebe is waiting for us outside with red puffy eyes and Maria is crying in Francisco's arms. I already know.

"Daniel?" I tremble.

"I'm sorry. We were too late and the dagger was poisoned." Francisco sobs.

Two days after we did a really nice funeral, Daniel would have loved it. He's now resting beside Henri in our own cemetery. A lot of people were there, including Alistair, Ezequiel, Masha and Lilly. But before they arrived I asked Phoebe to hide and protect my baby.We also buried Vladim but without any ceremony. But he has the right to rest in peace whatever his mistakes are.

Everything changed that day. I finally realize how Willow was right and how I need to be careful. No place for mistakes and no one else can know about Daniel, my son. I have decided to call him Daniel in memory of an amazing man.