Blood Yellow (2 page)

CHAPTER ONE – THREE MONTHS LATER

“
H
ave you heard from him yet?” Nikole said into the phone.

“No, Nikole, I
haven’t. I told you, as soon as I do hear from him, I will call you immediately.”

Nasir never gave up information willingly when it came to her akh, but Nikole believed him this time. Something about his tone, or maybe it was simply because she was ruling in his absence, and he had no choice but to obey, led her to
believe him without question.

“The moment he contacts
you, I am to know. I cannot keep avoiding everyone’s inquiries about where he is. We need to find him. I need him back.” She felt the anger at the situation grow when she spoke of her akh’s disappearance. This wasn’t like him at all. He had always been the one to be responsible and take charge. She blamed herself really, she’d chased him away. Hanging up the phone, she looked over to Alec. His hard lean body lying out on the couch always made her mouth water. She couldn’t believe it had been three months with him. Moving from her desk and heading to the end of the couch, she sat on the armrest, looking over him as she took in his masculine beauty.

“They
haven’t found him yet?” He moved his body around, giving her room to sit with him.

“No, they
haven’t. Of course Nasir promised I will know the moment anyone finds or hears from him, but it still worries me that he has been gone for so long.” She knew her face always changed when she spoke of Zayn.

Alec leaned forward to
take Nikole’s hands into his and pulled her down on the couch with him. He brushed her hair out of her eyes, kissing her cheek softly. “He’ll come home. He wouldn’t leave you forever. You know that.” Taking his finger up to her chin and tilting her head up to his, he looked into the clear violet shade they were giving off.

Nikole blinked for a few moments, taking in the mesmerizing sight of him.

Alec leaned in again, kissing her. He let his tongue push through her lips and scrape across her teeth.

She reached around his back with her hands while he pulled her into his lap. Breaking the kiss, she looked down at him. She still could not believe she was staying with him
here in his cabin.

“Thank
you for how wonderful you have been. I am not sure what I would have done had you not been around to help me.” Nikole knew she needed to leave and go home to her house. She had been away far too long. “It isn’t right that Nasir had to rebuild our home alone. I think I should return tomorrow.”

Alec took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it. “If
that’s what you want, Nikole, I won’t stop you from leaving. You’re completely healed, and you don’t need assistance anymore. I will miss your company; I’ve grown accustomed to you being here.” 

She let out a soft laugh while he kissed her hand. “Would you like to come with me?”

Alec nodded a yes to her. “Of course I’ll take you. I wouldn’t want you venturing down the mountain alone, my sweet princess.”

Nikole knew he was teasing. He knew what she meant. “Don’t be
coy. You know damn well I meant for you to come stay with me at my home.”

“Of course I knew
you wanted that, but I wanted to hear it. It warms my heart knowing you want me with you.”

It was her turn to lift his chin with one finger; she moved to place a kiss on his lips and veered off to his neck. She let her tongue play along his vein, teasing his skin and increasing his need and desire.

“Mmhmm, Princess, you know we talked about this. You can’t tease me like you do, and I might have to do something bad if you keep it up.”

Nikole purred into his neck, letting the vibrations of her
sound send shivers down his spine. She ran her teeth along his skin, the fangs marking him from his jaw line to his shoulder. She felt his hands cupping her bottom as he stood up. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and he walked them to his bedroom.

“What do you think you are doing?”
she laughed while wiggling against him.

“I told
you I was going to do something bad if you didn’t stop. Well three months is enough teasing. It is time for the princess to pay for her room and board.” Wandering hands caressed her backside a bit more and trailed up to the small of her back before he sat her on the bed.

“You think I am going to let you ravish me all evening on my last night in the cabin?”
she asked, grinning and biting her lip, hoping that was exactly what he was planning. She had been trying for weeks to get him to take their relationship to the next level, but he never had.

He looked down at her, smiling. Letting his hands
drift to her pants, he slowly unbuttoned them, pulling them down her long, muscular legs. “If that is an order from my princess, then I have no choice but to obey.”

She had no other option but to enjoy the
look of pure need and desire in his eyes. Everything she wanted in a man, she had found in him. Nothing he did caused any strife between them. “You know what you haven’t done yet, my dear sweet Mr. Palermo?”

He ran his hands down the inside of her thighs, watching her face as she resisted the urge to smile. Her teasing always excited him, but he
didn’t want to admit that. “I thought we were rectifying that right now, Princess. Have you changed your mind?”

She blinked a few times, watching his hands on her skin. His fingertips
, Gods his fingertips. Looking for the words that had been misplaced by his delicious distractions, all she could manage to mumble was something about his pledging loyalty to her.

Alec’s lips pressed against her neck, his hot, wet tongue teasing her soft skin. As he ran his fangs d
own her vein, he felt Nikole give herself over to him.  He watched her collapse in his arms, like she was giving up all of her stress and anxiety.

“Alec, please say you will not leave; tell me you are mine.”

Her hands roaming his body and sent chills down to his knees, he had no desire to deny her, so he gave her what she wanted. “Yes, Princess, tonight I’m yours, and I pledge myself to your service.”

CHAPTER TWO

A
dara seemed to live in the bathroom lately; you’d think they would make things easier for women with her condition. But no, no knee pillows, no nice warm porcelain thrones for her to hug as her stomach tried to decide if it was going to live or die.
Just kill me now
. Three more months of this nightmare, and she would lose her mind. How did the humans do this year after year? Never again would she make this mistake. This was a once in a lifetime event, and no one was going to change her mind.

Hearing her cell phone go off again, she already knew
whom it was. Idiot. Like she wanted to talk to him now. Look what he’d done to her!! Besides, he’d left. Why should she even care about him? He’d chosen to leave and run rather than to come find her and Nikole. Fuck him. He didn’t deserve her time.

The sound of the cell phone ringing continued to
echo in her bathroom. He wasn’t stopping to leave a message this time; he just kept calling and calling. Deciding she wasn’t going to talk to him but that she would listen, she stood up from her tile floor, took the phone out of her pocket, and moved to her bed.

“Hello, Zayn.”
There was curt shrillness in her voice. She hoped he felt her pain, her anger.

“Adara, thank Gods you answered. I have got to talk to you.”

“Oh you do? Well, it’s so kind of you to speak to me after three months of no one knowing where you were. I’m sure if you had needed me, then you would have at least told me where you were going. But seeing as you just vanished, no, no you don’t need to talk to me.”

Zayn understood why she was angry, but her tone, so spiteful and full of anger, cut him through to his heart.
“You don’t understand, Adara, I had to. Let me come see you; let me talk to you and explain where I have been. Please?”

She
didn’t want to see him at all. She had started to show, and she looked sickly. Not eating and being unable keeping things down for a few weeks did that to a girl. “I can’t meet you, Zayn. I have somewhere to be, and I won’t have time to see you.”

“I’m at your place. Just open the door,” Zayn said, praying that she listened to reason and talked to him.

Adara was shocked and couldn’t believe what he just said.
He’s here, at my home.

“Zayn, you
can’t just show up whenever you want.”

“Actually, I can.
I am still your king. Now please open the door.” His voice was no longer pleading for an audience but firm, powerful. He didn’t want to play that card, but he wasn’t going to stop until he saw her.

She
didn’t know what to do; she couldn’t run, but could she hide her illness? She looked around the room for a sweater. Yes, a sweater would cover up the weight she had gained. She slipped into a bright pink one and headed to the front door. Breathing deeply, she opened the door and gasped.

“Zayn, you, you’re so thin.
What is going on? You look sick! Come in.” She pulled him inside, shutting the door quickly and bringing him close to her body. She ran her hands over his face, no temperature. His arms felt like mush; he looked like he hadn’t even been working out.

“Adara, stop. I have not fed on anything since I left. I vanished into the woods and tried to
die. I just couldn’t live with myself for what I caused Nikole to go through and what I put you through.” Looking away from her, he was unwilling to let her see the shame that he felt. He’d left everyone, let them all down. He moved his hand over to hers, letting it brush her softly before she pulled it away.

“Zayn…”

“Adara, please. Please I am so sorry for leaving you the way that I did.”

She
didn’t want to be that close to him, she couldn’t be without getting sick. She took her hand to his chin and turned his head to look into her eyes. She saw the sadness, remorse, and regret displayed all over his countenance. As she opened her mouth to say something, she quickly realized that she was going to throw up. Fleeing from the couch and heading to the bathroom, she didn’t have time to shut the door to give her the privacy she craved.

Left sitting on the couch, Zayn quickly stood up and followed her. Unsure of what to do, he simply knelt down beside her, holding her hair
back from her face as he stroked her back softly. “Baby, is everything okay?”

“What does it look like?”
she spat out between dry heaves. When she felt her stomach lighten up, she stood and moved to wash her face. She was not happy to have him staring at her; he didn’t deserve to be here. “Leave, Zayn, just leave.”

“I can’t leave you when
you’re sick. I will not to leave you again.” He watched as she pushed away from the sink to leave the bathroom. He followed after her until he saw her open the front door. He stopped in the hallway and started to shake his head no. “I’m not leaving you when you are sick, forget it.”

“I’ve been sick for three months, and you have not been
here, so get out. King or no king, you are no longer welcome in my home. Leave.” She left the door open for him and walked off to the kitchen to find something to settle her stomach. As he walked past her, she looked up to him and couldn’t help but let a tear fall down her cheek. She was really sending him away.

With her back to him, she missed seeing him come around the corner. Her only
focus was on the water she was pulling out of the refrigerator. Taking a few deep breaths and letting them calm her nerves, she opened a bottle of water. She was taking a sip, then suddenly felt his hand on her back. Slowly, she set the water back down and closed the refrigerator door before turning to him. His hand grazed her body as she turned around, jumping back when it reached her stomach.

“I told you to leave, get out now!”

He watched her push past him, her shoulder hitting his chest. He did not understand what was wrong with her; he had never seen her like this in all the years they had known each other. “Adara, come on, talk to me. Tell me what’s got you so sick and upset.”

She headed to the bedroom and slammed her door, locking it shut. She just couldn’t be bothered with him. Why
couldn’t he understand she was hurting and didn’t want to see him?

“I am calling your okht. If you
won’t leave me alone, then she can come and get you.” The sound of him pounding on the door trying to get in was driving her nuts. She even saw the wood start to give a bit as it started taking on a concave form. “Zayn do not even think of breaking my door, you hear me?! I’m dialing.” She wasn’t; she was too sick to call anyone.  She just wanted him to go away. It was at that moment she heard the crack that broke the door into pieces. She watched as the wood came at her, and she moved as fast as she could in an attempt to evade it.

Zayn watched as half of the door
he’d broken came at Adara, knocking her out cold. He saw her body drop to the ground, the wood lying on top of her frame. He rushed to her side and tossed the wood across the room. He heard something break, but he didn’t pay attention to it. “Adara, wake up, baby, please. Oh Gods please, please wake up!” He shook her, trying to get her to stir, but nothing happened. What did I do?

He stood up and started to
pace back and forth. Come on, Zayn, think. He rubbed his temples while he paced through her room trying to decide his next move. He saw what the door had broken when he had come through it and went to pick up the glass that had fallen on the ground. It was then that he noticed the book on the floor. A pregnancy book. He reached over picking it up and looked at the chapter she had book marked.

He read the
title out loud, “Week 12-16: What Your Body is Going Through. Holy Shit."