"Are you feeling the urge to push?"

No answer.

"Jacque," Jen growled as she looked up at her best friend, but she was passed out cold. "Okay, so maybe that's a good thing."

"I found," Sally's breathless voice came barreling in behind her. Jen didn't turn around as she heard things clatter to the ground and Sally gasp. "Oh God."

"Praying would be a good right about now, but I also need supplies," Jen practically yelled. "What did you bring me?"

"I… I found—. Holy crap, Jen, that's too much blood."

"SALLY! Pull your crap together and give me what you found and then place your hands on your best friend and do your gypsy mojo or so help me I will knock you out just to shut you up."

"Right," Sally breathed out. "Thank you. Okay, all I could find were a couple of blankets. I don't know how clean they are."

Jen snatched the blankets from her and then motioned for Sally to kneel down next to Jacque. "We need to know what's going on inside, Sal. Do your thing and tell me if there's something you can do and be quick about it."

Jen wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched Sally place her hands on Jacque's swollen belly. She closed her eyes and then went perfectly still. She didn't know how Sally's magic worked or what it was she was capable of, but she begged the Great Luna that she could save Jacque and the baby.

"The placenta isn't attached to the uterus anymore," Sally said, her eyes still closed. "That's where the bleeding is coming from. The baby's heartbeat is dropping. We need to get it out. I'm trying to slow down the bleeding. You wake Jacque up and make her push this child out, now."

Jen crawled up to Jacque's face and patted her a few times. "Jacque, come on, you have to wake up. Jacque," she said a little more forcefully. When that didn't work she growled. "Screw this." Then she slapped her friend hard. "WAKE UP."

Jacque gasped and blinked several times. Her face immediately grimaced in pain.

"You have to push, Jacque," Jen told her urgently. "You have to start pushing, now. Do you hear me?" she asked, grabbing her face and jerking it so that Jacque was looking directly into her eyes.

Jacque nodded though she looked pretty out of it.

Jen went back down to Jacque’s lower half and positioned herself in-between her friend’s legs. "Okay, Red, push. And don’t you dare be a pansy ass. You push like your life and the life of your baby depends on it because it does."

Jacque took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could. She rested and when a new contraction started again she took another deep breath and pushed again.

"That's it, push, push, push," Jen chanted as she watched to see if the baby's head was close to crowning. More blood was pouring out of her and Jen was beginning to get very scared that it was going to be too much.

"JENNIFER!" Decebel bellowed. "Tell me what is going on! Fane is frantic. He can't get through to Jacque and he smells her blood." He paused and suddenly Jen felt his rage and fear douse her.

"Dec, what's wrong? Talk to me," she implored.

"Vampires," he practically whispered. "They smell her blood too."

Jen felt her own blood drain from her face.

"They're coming to you," Decebel was snarling. "We're coming. You and Sally are going to have to hold them off. I don’t think we will beat all of them."

"HOLD THEM OFF? I'm in the middle of helping Jacque give birth and she's bleeding. Dec, it's so much blood. I don't, crap, I don’t—" She couldn't get the words out. She couldn't say that she didn't know if her best friend was going to live. She couldn't give voice to something so horrific.

"Hang on. Tell Jacque to fight. She's strong. We're coming."

"Sally, get your swords and stand guard."

Sally's eyes popped open. "What? Why?"

"The vampires are coming."

Costin could feel her panic. Sally was trying hard to keep him from being able to hear or feel her, but her emotions were so intense that no barrier would have kept them hidden from him.

Something horrible had happened or was happening in that moment. He could feel her fear, but it wasn’t fear for her life. Costin knew his healer would always put others before herself, so it didn’t surprise him that whatever she was fearful of, the fear was for someone else’s wellbeing. He didn’t know if that comforted him or not. Her mind was so full of chaos that he could only pick up a few thoughts—Jacque—too much blood—figure out what is wrong…. He could put together a million scenarios for what those words in that combination could mean, but he still wouldn’t really know what was happening.

He tried to send her a thought but his words seemed to bounce off a barrier. The wall she’d erected was there and he couldn’t get through, but her emotions were of such strength that they were getting past the barrier to him.

“Dammit,” he muttered under his breath. He’d been trying to remain calm and carefree around Titus because he didn’t want the little guy to pick up on his worry and stress. He’d been through enough in his short little life. He didn’t deserve anymore grief, pain, or sorrow. Titus deserved love, hugs, attention, and someone else to be strong for him. Costin would do everything in his power to give his son those things. So when he heard said little boy finishing up in the bathroom after declaring that he needed to ‘use the potty—NOW,’ Costin slapped on a smile, pushed back the worry, and prepared to become the most talented actor in history.

Fane roared as his claws tore through another vamp’s chest. His heart was racing much too fast and he knew it was his because of his mate. Something was wrong, very, very wrong.

"Peri!" he yelled over the noise of the battle at the fae who was defending herself against three vampires at once. "Flash to the girls. Jacque is in labor!"

He saw the fae’s eyes widen just before she disappeared. He wanted to go with her, but he couldn't leave his pack to fight so many vampires on their own. Even one less fighter could tip the balance and it was already not looking great for them.

The vampires had picked up on the smell of Jacquelyn's blood a moment after Fane and it had sent them into a frenzy. Fane and the others were trying to hold the monsters back, but he had already seen two get past the group. The swarm of vamps seemed to continually replenish, more appeared just as quickly as their comrades were destroyed. Fighting them off while also now trying to move back toward the dungeon room where they’d left the girls was proving too much.