Unveilded by the Depths

Rebecca

Sebastian

I look at Jefferson as I cradle a sobbing Nix in my arms. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Jefferson's frown lightens when Oliver harrumphs quietly. "Do you?"

Oliver nods. "I think I might. When Becca pushed in your DNA, she didn't just add it, she replaced hers with it. So, really, genetically, Nix is yours and Brandon's, Becca was just the surrogate."

"What's with the blood then?" Dillon asks.

I kiss the top of Nix's head as I realize what Nix just figured out. "Becca is using it, not only for spells, but transfusions. She's transfusing Nix's blood into herself. It is necessary to keep Nix's power under her control."

"When did she do it last?" Jefferson asks.

"When?" I sigh and think back. "First week of June." I tip Nix's head up, forcing her to meet my eyes again. "Right?"

"Don't Sebastian!" she orders me, feeling my upset through the bond. "You did all you could. You kept me sane."

"What does she mean?" Brandon asks.

"He sat on my lap while she stole my blood."

"How?" Alpha asks.

"How? She's a witch!" Nix says.

I don't want Nix to remember those times too much, so I push the conversation forward. "That's why," I say. "Why she's so desperate. Her body is rapidly losing Nix's blood cells. Soon, she'll lose control."

"Then what?" Dillon asks.

"It all comes out." Nixie spouts out.

"EXPLAIN," Alpha orders.

"Everything she locked in the box with Lorelei. Everything she stole from me." I hiss when I see her eyes flash. "But I must pay a cost."

"Sprite?" Dillon looks terrified so I let him take her.

"What cost?" Brandon demands.

"I don't know," she says from Dillon's arms. "Some part of me, I think." She looks from Dillon to me, "What if she takes my sprite? What if I'm just a wolf?"

I look at Dillon and jerk my head, he nods and swings her up into his arms, carrying her to our bedroom at full Alpha sped. "You will never disappoint us, princess," I tell her the minute the door closes behind us, locking out the world.

Dillon kisses his mark. "Even if you can't breathe underwater."

She laughs through her tears. I pull her hair, hard enough to get her attention but not to hurt her. "Focus on the now, princess. We'll worry about the later, later."

Her whimpering wakes me. I've heard it on too many nights. She's having another nightmare, thanks to her mother. Before, trapped in the body of a tabby, there was little I could do. Now, I have options. I sigh, and wake Dillon up with a mental nudge.

He snaps alert and focuses on her. "Why don't you wake her up?" he asks quietly.

"Just wait a couple minutes. I want to see if this follows the same pattern as all her other nightmares or if it's different."

"Why?"

"Because her mother caused all her old ones, which would mean she still can get in Nix's subconscious."