The Blind King's Reign (A Black Dagger Brotherhood fanfic)

Chapter 2

The Blind King’s Reign

Chapter 2

     John and Rhage stood outside the door to the birthing room. Inside, propped on a bed was their queen, surrounded by a flurry of movement as Jane and Vishous prepared everything for the birth. Her brother could hear her pants and occasional whimpers of pain. He winced every time he saw her bite her lip to stop herself from screaming out. And he was not the only one, Rhage too was on edge. He could only imagine how her hellren would react once he saw her like this.  The rhythmic sound of boots pounding told him he didn’t have to do the mental trip. John and Rhage turned to their left to see Wrath running towards the room. Then, their king stood before them, panting with exertion. He took a deep breath and stiffened. His head turned towards Rhage. He growled low in his throat smelling his shellan all over the Brother. The blond vampire took a step back and put his hands up to ward him off.

      “Wrath man, I just carried her in okay? She’s inside. Her water broke.” Rhage spoke quickly.

     John stepped forward and laid a hand on his king’s shoulder, making him turn his head. The black curtain of his hair flicked with the movement.  John squeezed his shoulder but Wrath brushed him off, not welcoming the comfort he offered. He pushed past both of them and entered the room to his left. He froze when his senses registered the situation. The metallic scent of blood and his shellan’s salty tears sent him into an all out bonded male panic. Beth, feeling him there looked up from the birthing table just as a contraction hit her. She whimpered in pain and gasped, making Wrath rush to her.

     Vishous, however, stepped before him, “You have to wash your hands my L-” and was promptly shoved away so roughly he hit the medical cabinets on the right of the room. The females gasped.

      “Motherfucker! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

     The king growled at the Brother and crouched, ready to pounce, but before the Scribe Virgin’s son could do more than brace himself, Doc Jane appeared between them with the mother of all scowls on her face. She pointed one finger at Wrath.

      “You will calm down right now. King or not I will not have this kind of shit from you in my clinic.”

     Both males lowered their heads and though the tension was still there, they both had a rein on their aggression. Well, reins in the case of V and huge metal chains on Wrath but still, they were not ripping each other’s heads off…yet. The king let out a huge breath.

      “V. Go and tend to Beth.” A snarl was cut short. “Wrath, you come with me.”

     When neither moved she cursed and grabbed Wrath’s shirt to herd him toward the door and he allowed himself to be guided. Even if just for a couple seconds.

      “I’m not leaving her, Jane!” His words were so warped they could barely be understood at all. But the way he planted his feet at the entrance was enough to communicate the message. She looked back at Beth who had her arm draped over her eyes and was panting.

      “Yes you are. You are going to go out there, sit the hell down and calm down.”

      “This is where I’m supposed to be!” he growled.

      “Not the way you are right now.”

     His mouth closed with a snap, his shoulders sagged. Jane put one of her pale hands on his upper arm.

      “Wrath, you’re not helping her like this. She needs you. But she needs you in control, for support, she can’t afford to worry about you too right now. She has to worry about herself and the young. That’s her job and you’re making it harder.”

     Shame enveloped him like a blanket and settled on his heart, making it as heavy as a damn eighteen-wheeler. To think he was so weak he couldn’t even control himself and offer his shellan some comfort. Man, he was an awful bastard. A shit of a hellren.

      “I’ll be out in the hallway.” He whispered.

      “We’ll get you when- we’ll get you Wrath.”

     He nodded and closed the door behind him.

***

     Wrath could feel everybody’s eyes on him as he stepped into the hallway. He threw himself unceremoniously onto one of the very uncomfortable plastic chairs. His back ached, confirming his old belief that the fuckers were never made with the intention of making those waiting feel even remotely at ease. The king breathed deeply and recognized the scent of worry coming off in waves from all around him.  An ascending whistle was heard. Then Blaylock translated,

      “John wants to know if something happened to his sister my Lord.”

     He put his face in his hands, “No. They’re still prepping her. I was just given a time-out...” Nobody asked him to go into details which didn’t surprise him at all. He heard a whine to his left.

      “George. No! Wait.”

     Qhuinn tried to restrain the Golden Retriever but to his master he went. George settled his big boxy head over the Blind King’s thigh with a sigh of solidarity. And Wrath was thankful for the gesture. He petted the dog for what seemed like forever, the soft fur and warmth soothing him.

     Mary’s voice interrupted his trance when she said, “Wrath you’re going to leave poor George bald.”

     And she was right, the poor thing didn’t complain but he was stroking the dog so hard he was sure he must have been hurting him. So he eased up a little and mumbled a “Sorry”. There were some seconds of guarded laughter after that, making the atmosphere lighter. But what came next filled them all with dread all over again.

     The door to the room opened and Vishous stood there in scrubs.

      “Are you calm enough my Brother?”

     Fuck no. “Yes.” The king stood, ordered his guide dog to remain and followed his Brother into the birthing room. His heart and head spinning.

 Disclaimer: The Black Dagger Brotherhood and its characters belong to J.R. Ward and I claim no ownership of them or the world she has created. This fan fiction is written for entertainment and to practice my writing skills.