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  Again, he was drawn to her and found it odd that in the chaos of the situation he was wondering why was she wore glasses. Shifters, like most supernaturals had perfect vision and weren’t susceptible to degradation like humans.

  “Jace has to make it. He has to save Jaidis,” Orlando snapped at the female, making her flinch with his harsh tone.

  The female shook her head and held her hands up, palms out. That familiar frangipani scent overpowered everything else and settled the worst of Orlando’s anxiety. It was rich and earthy, offering a measure of comfort and his heart slowed down a notch.

  “Don’t shoot the messenger. I meant nothing by it. I want the female to live and her baby, too,” the female admitted, her wide amber eyes contrite. He should feel bad about his behavior towards her and the others, but he was too worried about Jaidis.

  “Her name is Jaidis and she will live. You hear me, Jaidis?” Orlando asked, leaning down to whisper in Jaidis’s ear. Oddly, he couldn’t smell the frangipani this close to her and he questioned where it was coming from.

  Jaidis stirred as Dr. Fruge cut her shirt from her body and Orlando got a glimpse of the wound to her abdomen. There was a slash diagonally across her flesh and it was flayed open, revealing her womb.

  Orlando’s blood went molten in his body. That piece of shit had tried to cut the baby from Jaidis’s stomach, careless of the damage he caused. Orlando heard a gasp escape the female cop as he jumped up, storming towards Kenny’s inert body.

  Orlando’s progress was cut short when O’Haire stepped into his path. “Get out of my way,” Orlando gritted out. “I’m going to rip him apart.”

  “No. You’re not. Trust me, he’s dead. Stand down,” Steve ordered and pushed against Orlando’s effort to get to Kenny. “Gerrick and Jace will be here soon. They’re going to portal here using the picture I sent them. Now, go back to Ember and Dr. Fruge,” the male added as he shoved Orlando in the opposite direction of Kenny’s body.

  Orlando glared at the male. He contemplated fighting O’Haire, despite the fact, the male outweighed him by at least forty pounds, but the doctor’s voice intruded. “Get over here, Orlando. She’s asking for you and I need your help.” Orlando was at Jaidis’s side before the doctor finished speaking.

  “I need to cut into her womb and don’t have time for anesthetic. Thank the Goddess she is a month overdue instead of early because I have nothing here to deal with that scenario,” the doctor explained.

  Horror filled Orlando at what the doctor was about to do. Reality hit home at how dire the situation was. He’d endured his share of injuries but could not imagine the pain of having a womb cut open and your baby ripped from your stomach while you bled out.

  Orlando wanted to shield Jaidis from what was going to happen and take the pain for her, but he was helpless to do anything. He fucking hated this feeling. He’d rather be skinned alive or bitten by a thousand skirm than feel so useless.

  “I’m right here, Jaidis,” he murmured grabbing her hand thankful when the female cop took over applying pressure to Jaidis’s chest.

  “Take…care…of him. Promise,” Jaidis murmured, her voice barely audible.

  “You will be here to help me take care of him,” Orlando reassured her.

  She couldn’t die. The thought of her not surviving made Orlando’s heart excel into overdrive and his thoughts spiral out of control.

  “No…take care…of my Brantley,” Jaidis said and then her eyes went vacant as a soft sigh escaped her mouth.

  “We’re losing her,” Dr. Fruge announced. “I’m taking the baby now.”

  Orlando’s head snapped up and locked onto the doctor’s movements. As if in slow motion, he watched the male use a scalpel and swiftly cut through the flesh and muscle of the womb. In a rush, the baby was exposed. Curled into a ball, Orlando got the barest glimpse of a fuzzy blond head before the doctor’s hands reached in and pulled the baby out.

  Suddenly, time sped up and in a blurry haze. Orlando faintly heard Jace and Gerrick arrive just as the baby let out a loud wail and Dr. Fruge announced they’d lost Jaidis.

  No! This couldn’t be happening.

  They were fucking wrong.

  Jaidis wasn’t dead.

  Jace could save her. There was no other option.

  As Dr. Fruge passed the tiny infant to his shaking hands, Orlando’s world crumbled around him.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Holy fucking shit,” Gerrick muttered, drawing Orlando’s attention.

  Compared to the realm police in the room, the warrior created an imposing picture in his black patrol gear, not to mention the scar bisecting the left side of his face. In Orlando’s opinion, the scar alone made Gerrick appear menacing enough.

  Emotion clogged Orlando’s throat and it was nearly impossible to respond to the warrior. Anger, sadness and despair were consuming every thought. This female meant everything to him and he was losing her.

  After a couple seconds, Orlando bit out, “You have to save her,” he implored, pinning Jace with a bleak stare and ignoring Gerrick.

  Orlando acknowledged Jace must have come straight from the hospital because he was still in his green scrubs. He’d never understood why medical staff, particularly doctors, wore clinical attire. Much like Jace with his scrubs, Dr. Fruge was never seen without his pristine white lab coat.

  Did they do it to appear more capable when dealing with the sick and injured patients? The realm police didn’t wear uniforms like the human police force, but that didn’t mean they were any less professional.

  Orlando imagined the clothes gave a false sense of security. Anyone could throw on a pair of scrubs and everyone would assume you were a doctor who could help them. Fucking ridiculous if you asked him. Clothes didn’t make you competent.

  Personally, he preferred Jace in his Dark Warrior attire. That gave Orlando confidence in Jace’s ability to fix the problem. He admitted he was borderline certifiable at this point, focusing on unimportant thoughts such as clothing.

  His gaze shifted from Dr. Fruge to Jace and Orlando noticed the warrior was shaking his head, causing his long black braid sway. That was the straw that broke him and instantly his rage boiled over.

  Jumping up, he grabbed Jace’s hair, stilling his movements. Jace’s eyes turned black with anger and Orlando realized what he’d done and quickly released his hold on the warrior. Jace’s eyes returned to their warm amethyst hue and the small warm bundle in his arms squirmed, drawing his attention. If it weren’t for Brantley keeping him in check, Orlando would swear he was trapped in the worst nightmare ever.

  The baby started crying again and Orlando felt like shit. He’d startled the infant when he jumped up and he needed to calm down. Several deep breaths later and Orlando managed to steady his hands enough to cradle the infant close. The tiny being was so fragile and still covered in gunk. He had a slimy, white film all over his flesh and was wrinkled. Orlando hadn’t realized babies resembled the cartoon character, Mr. Magoo when they were born. Izzy had been so cute at birth and he figured all babies were like that.

  Gray eyes speckled with gold met his gaze. Brantley had his mother’s beautiful eyes and Orlando amended his previous thought. This baby was perfect.

  “She’s gone, Orlando,” Jace’s voice interrupted.

  Orlando lifted his head and locked eyes with the fellow warrior. “There is no heartbeat. You know I can’t heal mortal wounds,” Jace explained gently, his purple eyes somber and filled with regret.

  Orlando already knew that, but didn’t want to believe it. There had to be a way to save Jaidis.

  Glancing away from Jace, Orlando noticed that Gerrick was pacing next to them, hands fisted on his hips. It was obvious the situation upset Gerrick nearly as much as it did Orlando.

  “Surely the Goddess is not going to torture another warrior like this,” Gerrick mused.

  Orlando refused to believe what the warrior was suggesting. Jaidis wasn’t Orlando’s Fated Mate no matter how much he had prayed
for that in the past weeks.

  Gerrick was one of the happiest warriors at the compound, but he hadn’t always been that way. In fact, he had been the surliest warrior at Zeum for decades. No one had understood why until Gerrick had shared how he’d lost his Fated before he’d had a chance to mate with her. And then Shae came along. She was the reincarnation of his lost love and now the warrior was content. There was a peace about him that had been missing.

  “You can save her,” Orlando implored which stopped Gerrick dead in his tracks.

  Hope flared to life and Orlando couldn’t stuff it back down as he clung to anything that meant Jaidis would come back to him.

  Ordinarily, Orlando didn’t allow much to ruffle his feathers and he always saw the silver lining. That ship had sailed. The moment he’d stepped foot in the small house, everything had been clouded over by death and despair and he would give anything to turn back time. And, Gerrick was just the man for that job.

  “Time trace and change all this,” Orlando said gesturing wildly toward Jaidis’s body while tightly securing the infant with his other arm.

  He couldn’t look at Jaidis because her lifeless form made the entire situation too real. The squirming baby in his arms and the blood staining the hardwood floor were reminder enough.

  The pitying look in Gerrick’s eyes made the ache in Orlando’s chest feel as if a skirm had sunk its venomous fangs directly into his heart. He wanted to punch, or, better yet, kill something.

  “I can’t do that, Orlando,” Gerrick informed him dourly.

  “What the fuck do you mean you can’t do that?” Orlando thundered which made the infant cry louder and the rest of the room’s inhabitants go silent.

  Everyone looked at him with apprehension as the room vibrated with the Brantley’s piercing objections. Frangipani engulfed him, caressing him with buttery seduction. Again, curiosity nudged his brain as to where the scent originated. He looked sideways and noticed Ember had paused next to him. The scent had come from her, and, once again, her presence calmed the worst of his anger.

  He had assumed earlier that the scent had come from Jaidis. Thinking back, he conceded what he’d smelled from Jaidis must have been a perfume because it lacked the enticing sweet coconut that Ember’s held. His leopard was drawn to her like a cat was to catnip and he had to resist rubbing against her body. Regardless, the heavenly aroma soothed his frayed nerves.

  “Here,” Ember murmured as she held out a blanket. “Wrap him up. Infants can’t regulate their body temperatures and need warmth.”

  Orlando looked at her sideways, noting her amber eyes held compassion. A small tattoo of a Celtic knot snagged his attention. The delicate artwork accentuated her long slender neck. Apparently, it was his day to get sidetracked by every minute detail because he couldn’t stay focused for shit. Shaking off his wayward thoughts, he accepted the blanket and her assistance in wrapping Brantley in the soft material.

  “Thank you,” he told her before turning his frustration to Gerrick.

  “Now, tell me why you refuse to help Jaidis when it’s obvious she means something to me,” he demanded.

  Gerrick exhaled loudly and began pacing again. “First, it’s too late. Too much time has passed. But, even if it hadn’t been too long, I still wouldn’t do it.” When Orlando opened his mouth to argue, Gerrick snapped, “Shut the fuck up and listen. There are consequences for my time tracing. You know that. Remember what happened when I went back and saved Shae? We lost the amulet and Rhys had to go to Hell, literally, to retrieve it.”

  “Of course I remember, jackass. But, you still saved Shae knowing there would be consequences because you couldn’t live without her,” Orlando retorted angrily.

  “Yes, because she was my Fated Mate and I had lost her once. I knew what it was like to live after losing a mate and couldn’t survive that loss again. Not that I want to see anyone suffer, but, from what I see, this female belonged to the dead male over there,” Gerrick pointed out and Orlando winced at his words as the knife to his heart found purpose.

  Orlando was all kinds of fucked up. From day one, he had fought for every scrap of food he’d eaten, had been called scarecrow as a stripling by his peers, and his siblings hated him for being the runt of the litter. Eventually, he grew up, filled out and became a Dark Warrior thinking he’d left all that pain behind, but his demons continued to haunt him as he kept falling for the wrong females.

  “Look at this innocent baby,” Orlando hedged, hoping to play on Gerrick’s sympathy. “If you won’t go back for me, do it for him. He deserves to have his mother raise him.”

  Gerrick stopped his infernal pacing and glared daggers at Orlando. “That child deserves the best, and, yes, he should have his mother raise him, but Fate had other ideas so that’s not possible for him. It’s too late, O. I can’t help her. I would only go back so you could watch her die all over again and I refuse do that to you. I can see how devastated you are. I’m simply not able to go back far enough in time,” he concluded.

  Orlando hung his head and brought the child up to his nose. He inhaled deeply seeking a calm that eluded him. Jaidis’s scent reached him, but it didn’t affect him like Ember’s tantalizing frangipani. That scent is what held his attention and soothed the worst of the hurt in his heart.

  “What the hell happened?” Orlando mumbled aloud.

  *****

  Ember watched the Dark Warrior as he clutched the baby to his chest. Her heart was torn to pieces for him. It had been difficult to witness his devastation. She wanted to bring Orlando into her arms and comfort him. The male was so distraught and it touched her. And, it wasn’t just because she found him to be the sexiest male she’d ever seen. The moment he had walked into the house she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  Like most supernaturals in the realm, Ember had grown up with stories of the Dark Warriors and how fierce and ruthless they were. The warriors were all that stood between demons and the rest of the world and battle their enemies 24-7. She wouldn’t have imagined a Dark Warrior being so sensitive and compassionate, but it was clear to her Orlando had intense feelings for the female which was surprising. Ember had seen the mate mark on the dead male and noted it matched the one on the female. She had belonged to someone else.

  Ember had never encountered a more gruesome scene between mates in the century she had been working with realm police. As a CSI, she was called to all crime scenes and had seen her share of shit, but nothing like this.

  Based on his comments, Orlando believed the male attacked the female and then shot himself. She was still piecing the evidence together to determine what had happened, but something didn’t sit right with that assertion.

  “Based on what I’m seeing, this male didn’t shoot himself,” she responded as she donned a pair of latex gloves then bent to pick up a small piece of glass.

  “Who the fuck are you to say he didn’t shoot himself?” Orlando demanded.

  The male’s scowl and furrowed brow contradicted the delicate hold he had on the baby. Admittedly, both looks were sexy on the well-built shifter.

  He was clearly pissed and his eyes darkened with his anger, but all she could think about was what his full lips would feel like against hers. Ignoring that disturbing impulse, Ember focused on the issue at hand.

  “Name’s Ember, in case you missed it. I’m the local CSI for realm police. It’s my job to collect the evidence and determine what happened,” she informed him and pushed her glasses up her nose.

  “Okay, Ember,” Orlando sneered.

  For a split second, she was offended that he spat her name like a curse word. He acted like she was responsible for his pain and it was a punch to the gut. She didn’t know this warrior from Adam and it shouldn’t matter how he felt, but the first two words out of his mouth made her think he couldn’t stand her and that cut deep.

  “In your expert opinion, what happened here?” he finished and met her gaze. His emerald green eyes held her captive for s split second.

&nb
sp; Pissed about her reaction to him, as well as, his indignation, she glared at the shifter and took pleasure when her cougar ascended. Her eyes burned then her claws extended from her fingertips, piercing the gloves she wore. Orlando’s eyes flashed before his pupils became oval-shaped and she could see his leopard prowling beneath the surface.

  He might be distraught over the dead female, but he wasn’t unaffected by Ember. The connection she felt to Orlando was not entirely one-sided. His leopard was reaching out to her cougar, making it difficult to concentrate. It took great effort to keep control and not shift right then and there so their animals could become acquainted.

  Breaking eye contact, she glanced down at the piece of glass in her hand. It looked like cell phone glass. Scanning the room, she noted the blood splatter on the floor and the sofa cushions, as well as, droplets by the windowsill. She picked her way around the room for a few seconds.

  Crimson drops marred the tan fabric and the cushions were askew. The contents of a side table were all over the floor in disarray. O’Haire had moved the sofa, but she recalled its original position. Stepping back, she bent and found what she was looking for. Retrieving the cell phone, she held it and continued examining the scene.

  She nearly stopped in her tracks when she heard Orlando’s leopard growling as she moved closer to the dead male. The embroidered name on the pocket of the coveralls indicated Kenny was the name of the male. Turning her head, she met Orlando’s black eyes. If it weren’t for the infant in his arms, she had no doubt that Orlando would be dismembering Kenny even though he was already dead.

  Kneeling, she remained careful to avoid the blood, but moved close enough to take in the scents surrounding the male. Gunpowder overpowered his natural scent that had faded with his death. Oddly enough, she smelled gunpowder around his face and on his hand, as well as, the hardwood floor beneath his palm.

  Confident of her assessment, she straightened and addressed Orlando, noting that everyone was glued to every move she made. It seemed everyone wanted to know what had happened between the mated couple.