Because I've Lost Everything

Chapter Twenty

Saturday: January 12, 2016

Clawdeen Wolf

The last time I had seen D, it had been three weeks after her engagement to Caleb. I hadn't seen her since then. Nearly four months without seeing my friend. I was beyond worried. She hadn't left the house. She wouldn't answer my calls or my texts. She hadn't spoken to Dracula. Believe me, I had checked.

I had checked every form of her social media.

Nothing.

It was like she wasn't alive any more.

That was when I found myself standing on Caleb's front porch, pounding my fist against the door. When the door swung open, Caleb stood there. For the first time, he didn't look perfect. Usually, he seemed so put together, but not today. He squinted at the intrusion of the sunlight, as the light in his foyer wasn't on.

His hair was longer than the last time I had seen him. It looked like it hadn't been brushed in days. His blue eyes had lost their shine. They were dull and bloodshot. Dark bags hung below his eyes. His shirt was wrinkled, a fine contrast to the normally perfect wrinkle-free state of his clothing.

"Hey, Clawdeen," he said. His voice was rough. He cleared his throat. "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

"I want to see my best friend," I said.

He shook his head. "No, you don't."

"Um, yeah, I do."

He sighed. "Suit yourself." He stepped back. "Shut the door when you come in." I walked into the house and slammed the door behind me. Caleb flinched and walked away from me, turning down a hallway. I followed. The hallway was dark. Not once did Caleb make a move to turn on a light. We came to a room. He reached out slowly and undid the lock at the top of the door. The door opened, revealing the only light I had seen since stepping into the house. "Lu, sweetheart, Clawdeen's here to see you," he said softly. He turned back to look at me. "She's not very... responsive. She talks when she feels like it," he said. He stepped into the room and motioned for me to follow.

D was in the corner of the room, her back to us. I could see her bones through her skin. She looked pale, even for a vampire. She was frail. One wrong move and she might break. I reached back and shut the door.

She whirled around to face me, fangs bared. She let out a low growl, but she wasn't looking at me. Her gaze was focused on Caleb. My eyes scanned her body, searching for any possible injury. I opened my mouth to speak, but Caleb beat me to it.

"Pregnant," he said quietly. "Seventeen weeks," he added. D charged at him. If she had been running at me, I would've jumped the hell out of the way. Caleb, however, didn't move. He didn't even flinch. D jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. She let out another growl and pressed her teeth into his shoulder. She didn't bite down, though.

"Jesus," I muttered.

"It's been like this for a while," Caleb said. He placed a hand on the back of her head as she sunk her teeth into his flesh. He grunted and closed his eyes. As he let out a shaky breath, his eyes opened. "She started to recover about two weeks after she killed that man out of town. Then she found out she was pregnant, and..." He shrugged. "Well, you see what happened," he added.

"You look so... tired," I said.

"I haven't slept much," he said. "Xaphan's been helping me take care of her, but it's not helping much. Believe it or not, she's only calm when her teeth are in my shoulder," he said. He chuckled, but it sounded hollow. "I want to talk to Vladimir about it, but I can't leave the house. I can't even do my own job," he said.

"I could bring him here," I suggested.

"What, so he can see his daughter like this?" he asked. He shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks, Clawdeen. He'd kill me if he saw her this way," he added.

"Then what's your plan? Let her suffer for another, what, five months?" I asked.

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I called Mister and Missus Stein. They're coming over in a few hours to induce labor."

"It's premature. Way too premature. Caleb, it'll die."

"It's one-half fallen angel, one-fourth human, and one-fourth vampire. Clawdeen, it's three-fourths immortal. The hope is that it'll continue to grow and develop on its own, even without Lu." He swallowed roughly. "And if it dies, at least I'll have Lu back."