CHAPTER 1. BIRTHED BY THE ROADSIDE.

CAELEN’S POV

If they died, so would I.

My fingers gripped my phone tighter, my brows furrowed as I listened to the person on the other end of the call.

“We're already looking at other options, Mr Lopezㅡ”

“How long do they have if we're not able to find a suitable match?” I cut him off, my voice gruff.

Trees loomed in the distance as the car zoomed across the almost empty highway, darkness seeming to envelop us like a cloud.

The driver cast a short glance at me through the mirror, his fingers tightening around the steering before his eyes darted back to the stretch of quiet road ahead of us.

The doctor hesitated for a second and that told me everything I needed to know. “About a week.”

My stomach churned and I wanted to smash my fist into something to take the edge off.

A week. A week before my quadruplets would be dead. I couldn't lose my sons. Not this way ㅡ not because they couldn't find the perfect match to feed on.

Being a vampire didn't seem too hard at first. I built an empire. A name. A life that seemed perfect. And then, they came along. My little perfect boys. But they also came with a rare defect ㅡ they couldn't feed on any blood I provided for them.

The doctors said it was rare. Said we would need to find a perfect blood match and if we didn't on time, they would starve to death.

I couldn't lose them. Not when they were the only things I had done in centuries that felt right.

“Find a way, Marcus. Or it won't end well.” I hissed into the mouthpiece before hanging up.

With a sigh, I tilted my head back against the headrest.

Don't get mad. Don't…

“Shit!” The driver suddenly exclaimed as he swerved suddenly, almost sending us off the road and into a ditch.

I immediately got my bearing, holding on to the seat with a deep scowl on my face. “Are you blind, Matthew?!”

The man turned to look at me, his eyes blown wide. “I swear, I was looking at the road. She just popped out of nowhere andㅡ”

She?

My brow raised and I held up a hand to silence him. “Did we hit her?”

He peered into the rearview mirror. “I don't know, sir. I can't find her.”

I almost palmed myself across the face. “You idiot, go check up on it.”

He scrambled out of the car and I watched him dash to the back of the car, his eyes blowing wide for a second as he looked at something on the floor. “Uhㅡ sir…”

Oh, what in the heavens name could this be about now?

With a disgruntled sound, I stepped out of the car, the sole of my boots clicking against the tarred down, my dark coat billowing behind me.

My feet moved slowly, almost effortlessly as I rounded the car and paused, tilting my head to the side.

The woman lay there on the ground, her hair matted with dirt and sweat ㅡ like she had been running through the surrounding forest.

My nose flared as a sharp, familiar scent hit me.

Human.

My gaze drifted down to her stomach and my brows crinkled in confusion.

She was…pregnant.

What was she doing all the way out here?

“Who are you? Are you okay?” I crouched low to take a better look at her.

Her eyes fluttered open as she stared up at me, her lips chapped and dry but she struggled to move them. “H…Help…me… save my baby…please… you can't let them get my baby…”

I looked up at my driver and he stared down at me with the same puzzled look on his face.

“Shall we get her to the hospital or…leave her here?”

My gaze drifted back to the woman who was whimpering, her voice the same broken whispers. “Pleaseㅡ”

I couldn't believe what I was about to do.

“We'll get her to a hospital.”

The driver scrambled to get her, steadying her as he helped her to her feet.

“Careful with her, Matthew…”

The words were barely out of my mouth before she let out a shrill scream, the sound absolutely gut wrenching as fluids dripped down her legs.

My gaze traced it, my eyes blowing wide.

Oh shit.

Her fingers dug into Mathew's skin as he laid her back on the roadside, confusion written clearly across his features. “Oh fuck. Uhㅡ we need towels. Lots of it. Calm down, ma'am. Let me help you.”

You have to be kidding me.

My feet moved fast as I rummaged through for a towel.

Fuck.

None.

I poked my head out. “There's no towel, Matthew!”

Her screams cut me off, another piercing wail that sent goosebumps scattering across my skin.

Oh god, were we really helping a random woman deliver a baby on the side of the road? I needed a fucking professional here.

My fingers moved swiftly as I grabbed my phone, pressing it to my ear. “Hello? Ana. Get the doctor to my location immediately. There's a human giving birth ㅡ yes, Ana, a baby ㅡ Now!”

I rolled my sleeves up, watching as Matthew tried to ease her through it. “You're doing so great. Just breathe.”

I don't know how long it lasted. But my hands were shoved deep into my pockets as I watched the woman let out one last cry before the wails of a baby could be heard.

It felt like the world stood still for a second and I stared at Matthew, watching as he cradled the crying baby in his hands gently. “Sir…” His voice was soft. “It's a boy.”

I stared down at the fragile baby, tilting my head slightly. “And the mother?”

He looked down at her motionless figure and shook his head. “What do we do with the baby?”

For a second, my mind blanked and I didn't know what to say.

Then, I reached for the baby, my gaze never leaving his face scrunched up in pain and discomfort as Matthew handed him to me.

I stared down at him, watching as his cries quietened down into soft mewls.

Something drew me to him. Almost like a nagging pull. One that dampened my senses like he wasn't human.

I studied the baby carefully, a flicker of hope igniting inside me. “Maybe you're what I've been searching for…”

Matthew looked up at me like I was crazy. “Are weㅡ”

My gaze found his in the dark, the air seeming to become still.

“We'll take him to the mansion and take care of him.” My gaze slid to the baby in my hands and my voice softened. “We'll name him Ezra.”

And I had a strong feeling that he may be everything I'd been searching for.