Lake Of Sins: Escape

Chapter 4

TROY FORCED HIS EYES OPEN. All he wanted was to bury his aching head under the blankets, but his mate was standing next to the bed, one hand on his shoulder and the other rubbing her protruding belly. "Tina, what's the matter?"

"There's a Guard here to see you." Her brown eyes were wide with fright.

He jumped out of bed. Jackson had finally returned with Trinity. He'd expected the Guard to find her yesterday or at least last night. He couldn't wait to see Remy and give him the news. He pulled on a pair of pants and shirt and headed for the door.

"Why is the hairless Guard here? Is everything okay?" She trailed after him, peppering him with questions.

He wanted to shout at her to shut up, but that would bring tears, especially in her condition. He stopped and faced her. He'd never understand how some could find the large, milk-laden breasts and widening hips of a pregnant female beautiful. He struggled to hide his disgust as he bent and kissed her softly on the lips. "Don't worry. Go back to the kitchen and leave everything to me."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, but stopped her as she turned to leave. "No one needs to know that there was a Guard here." His tone held a warning; no one gossiped as much as Tina.

"Of course. I won't say a word." She ducked her head and he dropped his hold. She scurried toward the kitchen.

He opened the front door. Jackson stood in the shadows of the cabin.

"You can't be here," he whispered harshly. "I'll meet you at the large oak tree on the west side of the encampment." He shut the door in the Guard's face. His brother was on duty in that isolated section of the camp and knew how to keep his mouth shut. He ate a slice of bread with jam, giving Jackson time to get out of sight and then left his house.

The sun was bright but already on its descent. It had to be mid-afternoon. He'd slept longer than he'd thought. He shouldn't have taken that second draught of valerian. Millie had told him that this batch was strong, but he'd needed to sleep. Last night had been a disaster. He and Remy had spent the entire time fighting. Remy was sick with worry over Trinity and they had other issues to consider as well. Millie would be retired this year. She hadn't gotten pregnant in over five years and that didn't look good for her or Remy. He had to persuade the other Lead Producers and Benedictine to re-pair Remy not to retire him. Of course, this meant that Remy would need to breed with his new assigned mate and Remy swore that he couldn't do that.

That had escalated the argument. Troy managed to breed with his mate enough to keep her pregnant. It wasn't something that he enjoyed, but he did it. Remy could too. Otherwise, he would have to find another female who was willing to keep their secret. That was not going to be easy, plus she'd still need to bear offspring so someone would have to mate with her.

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and ducked behind a bush. He'd travel the rest of the distance near the fence, hidden by the overgrown vegetation. It would not be wise for him to be seen speaking in private with the hairless Guard. He did not need any enemies. Some were already suspicious of him and Remy. He stopped near Jackson who lurked in the shadows by a large tree.

"Where is she?" he asked the Guard.

"We lost her. We had her scent. We were right on top of her and then"—Jackson snapped his fingers—"she was gone."

"What do you mean she was gone? She must have left scent somewhere." This could not be happening. It would mean the end for Remy. If someone found out about this, the Almightys would hold Remy and Millie responsible. They would be punished severely.