Guardian Angel

Chapter Fourteen

 Chapter Fourteen

"Shut the fuck up, Jasper."

Aric's words and Jasper's snickering were muffled by the ringing in my ears as I sat there on my knees on the floor, trembling and trying to piece together what he was saying, what I remembered from growing up. It was like every memory I ever had suddenly came roaring back to life, from the moment I had a strange visit to the hospital when I was just a couple years old to that most recent moment at the kitchen table, talking to dad.

My skin crawled and shriveled, and I felt another wave of nausea consume me, but all I could manage was gagging and dry heaving.

Oh god.

No, no, this wasn't happening.

This had to be a dream— a fucking nightmare.

We're pregnant.

We?

Something in me snapped at that. Rage consumed me hard and surged for a split second before unbelievable pain exploded in my head. I screamed, clasping my hands at my head as pain cracked and popped through my head like it was being fried from the inside out. It was so sudden, I didn't know what to do, except sink to the floor, grabbing onto my head.

"Wait," Aric exclaimed, moving toward me, "Stop the collar! What if it hurts the baby?"

"I'm not the one who put it on him," Jasper drawled.

"Ugh!" Aric reached out and snapped the collar off, tossing it aside. The agony didn't stop right away, but subsided slowly. I groaned, trying to catch my breath as my head throbbed so bad I could barely open my eyes now. I just slumped against the floor, wrestling with the pain that was making my ears ring again and the news that just made me feel... defeated.

What if it hurts the baby?

As if everything he had done to me until fucking now wouldn't have?

Oh god.

How long?

"How long," I moaned, pressing my face against the cold floor to find relief from my pounding headache. I could feel Aric overtop of me now, brushing the hair out of my face.

"What, honey?"

"How fucking far along am I?" I repeated through clenched teeth. Aric tsked, drawing his hand back and I heard Jasper snort, like he was amused.

"According to the tests, not very. Could've been anywhere between last night or a week ago, it can't confirm specifics. Just that you're around a couple weeks into the growth."

Oh thank fuck, I thought in relief, pressing my head against the floor. There's still time.

Aric's hand was on the back of my neck and pinning me to the floor a second later. He was on top of me, like he was about to start slamming my head into the floor, but Jasper was suddenly there. One second lounging on the sofa without a care in the world and in the next, he had his arms up under Aric's, hauling him off and throwing him clear across the room so he skidded and hit the wall hard enough to crack it in.

The dust and rubble settled as Aric coughed and moaned, rolling over onto his side. I blinked rapidly, jerking my head up, only to go still when I saw Jasper standing over me, standing at the ready to smash Aric to pieces if he got near me.

"I don't know how to make it any clearer," Jasper said slowly, now making dramatic gestures to refer to me, "Asset requires protection. Mother calls protection. Mother assigns protection to asset. Asset's condition takes priority over all other things, including your fucked up weird fantasy of controlling someone." Aric's eyes flashed and he lunged to his feet, only to slow with a grimace as he rubbed his shoulder in pain. Jasper smirked. Aric glared at me now.