Kai didn't say one word to Orlando. I'm sure what Orlando said cut deeply into Kai's heart. He knew it was true that I loved Orlando.
Before I knew it, Kai put me in the car, and then he got in the driver's seat. Instantly, the bloody cut on his lip healed flawlessly. All he did was lick the fresh blood away while he remained quiet.
Then he started the car when I burst into a heavier wail. He swerved his eyes at me for a second like he was surprised to see me crying this hard. Quite frankly, I was surprised at myself, but I lost all dignity and cried like a baby. No matter how many times I wiped my eyelids, I couldn't dry my watery tears.
Kai backed out of the parking space, saying. "I suppose those pregnancy hormones are affecting your emotions."
I didn't say anything from all the sniffling I did. Luckily, we were back home shortly. Once the Butler greeted us at the front entrance, I saw Veronica, her husband Eric, Kai's parents, Zoey, Chester, and a few others, chatting in the living room. To my embarrassment, everyone saw I was crying uncontrollably.
"Awe, what did you do to her, Kai!" Veronica wrapped me in a hug and scolded him.
Kai chuckled, "I didn't do anything this time. She's emotional from her pregnancy."
"I see that," Mr. Collin said on the couch. "Why don't you take her to your room and give her a bubble bath."
"Yes, that always helped me during my pregnancies," Mrs. Collin smiled lovingly at her husband, cuddling beside her.
Kai gestured in agreement before he took me from Veronica's arms. He led me to the bedroom and made me a toastie warm bubble bath. He helped me undress and then sat on the brim of the tub to wash my hair. All that crying I did, subsided.
"Thank you," I whispered while he massaged my scalp.
Kai asked, trying not to get too nippy, "For what?"
"For not killing Orlando," I clarified, weaker.
Kai snorted before he bit his tongue from slashing out rudely. "Don't thank me when I didn't do it for you!"
"Then why didn't you do it?" Either, I bravely or stupidly asked.
Kai rolled his eyes annoyed. "Because I didn't wanna put that stress on our baby," he bitterly proclaimed.
"Yet, you hurt Crystal enough to land her in the hospital," I exclaimed, slightly raising my tone.
"Sure, I hurt her, but not enough to hospitalize her," Kai snarled. "Orlando's exaggerating the truth."
"I saw a picture of her! You gave her a black eye, a busted lip, and sprained her knee!" I increased my voice louder.
Kai huffed and then said passively, "I am not in the mood to fight. So stop it, before this argument escalates into something bigger because I'm sick of you taking your lover's side over mine."
A teardrop rolled to my cheek before he wiped it away with his curled knuckle. I took his words seriously and decided to drop the conversation.
Ya, I was mad and upset, but I know he could've killed Crystal and Orlando if he wanted to. I was grateful enough that he stood down, and didn't hurt or kill Orlando for punching him today.
~~~
The next morning, I didn't make it to college. Instead, I laid in bed deathly sick from my pregnancy. At lunch, a knock tapped on the door.
"Come in!" I shouted loudly for whoever it was to welcome themselves in because I was too ill to answer the door.
That's when Darlene came in with a silver tray. "Master, wanted me to bring you this soup," she said, setting it on my nightstand.
"I can't eat," I said, sitting up against the pillows in bed.
Darlene sat at my bedside, frowning. "Master told me to tell you that he ran out of that mint leaf. He has to travel to another dimension to get you more for your pregnancy sickness."
"It's ok." I asked her, "Why do you call Kai master?"
Darlene's eyes grew sadder and she explained in her snake-like voice. "Long ago my Coven made war with Kai's Coven to take over it. In the end, Kai's Coven defeated us. Only a few selected from my Coven were taken as minions. Which means, we are nothing more than slaves to serve whichever Alpha chose us. Kai chose me, my brother, my brother's two advisors, and ten of his guardians."
"I'm sorry," I frowned.
Darlene held her tears, saying. "It's the risk any Royal makes when they choose war to conquer another Coven. The Collin Coven isn't to reckon with. My Royal relatives lost against the Collin's Coven."
"Does Kai treat you right?" I asked in hopes he did.
"It depends," she replied, being honest. "If we disobey, Master will punish us."
"Maybe, I'll talk to Kai about how he treats you," I told her and touched her hand.
But she shook her head, being serious. "No, Master isn't terrible. He clothes us richly and makes sure we are well-fed. If I misbehave, I'll only receive a small punishment. Over what he did to my brother and his friends. Master could be far worse, especially if you complain," she warned.
"What more could he do?" I asked, trying to understand her reasoning to not wanna get on Kai's bad side.
"Master could let his guardians or allies use me as a sex slave, but he doesn't let any vampire touch me, or the other vampiresses his family enslaved to them," Darlene told me.
I asked, wondering, and I truly felt bad for her disposition as a minion. "What has he done to your brother and his friends?"
"Master detained my brother for trying to cross him," Darlene said as tears slid down her cheeks. But she quickly cleaned her eyes dry and picked up the spoon and bowl to feed me my soup. "You should eat my Queen," she dropped the topic, and she did her best to smile.
"I'm sorry about your brother," I whispered and she was grateful for my kindness.
"Eat up, my Queen," she insisted, so I opened my mouth for her to feed me.
"Where is Kai?" I asked after my fifth bite.
"Master is working from his office," replied Darlene as she fed me another bite. "If you need him, I can get him for you." Intense discomfort started to knot my belly.