Cured By Blood: A Vampire Pregnancy Romance

by Samantha Snow

  Dru wanted to leave the two women to talk, for Tara to make her explanations to her friend, but he was still uneasy about leaving Tara alone with anyone. Not just for their safety, but also the fear that someone would do something to cause harm or take Tara. It baffled him that the situation had gotten so chaotic. He didn’t know he wanted or needed someone to love until he met Tara.

  He wanted to listen to her wishes and not turn her, but his greed of wanting her around allowed him to talk her into the transition. And then she turned, and she was pregnant due to drinking his blood, and now people were going to be after her and she was a wild card still.

  “Can we go inside and talk? Or to the gardens?”

  “He did this?” Cyndi was looking past Tara to Dru.

  “Yes, he did. He saved my life.”

  “You didn’t want this; you didn’t want to be turned. You told me.”

  “Well I also didn’t have the time or money for the registration either.”

  “You’re not registered?” Cyndi’s eyes got wider as she looked between the two of them.

  “Actually, there is a lot that has happened and is still happening, but I would rather not stand around the parking area talking about it. We can go sit somewhere and talk. Please, Cyndi, you’re my friend, I need you to understand.”

  Cyndi eyed Dru, unsure of how to feel or what to say. She had nothing against vampires; she just wasn’t completely comfortable with them. For someone who grew up with a medical family and spent her life in the field of medicine, vampires defied all logic and science for her.

  She nodded to Tara and followed them into the stone mansion, or at least that what it looked like. Inside was like a modern castle. All river rock, dark wood, and deep green and blue velvets with silver accents and displays. It was enchanting, beautiful, but also surreal.

  Tara led the way into a large kitchen. There was a marble island in the kitchen, larger than any she had seen before, with bar stools on one side. Dru pulled around a stool to the other side and Tara patted an empty one next to her.

  “You’re not going to bite me, are you?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Cyndi didn’t miss the slight arching of Dru’s brow as he watched her friend.

  “What’s your name?”

  Cyndi turned to Dru, feeling rude at not knowing such a thing when she was in his house.

  “Druian Kablarian, pleasure to meet you Cyndi.” He held out his hand, Cyndi shook and nodded before taking the seat next to Tara.

  “So, you met him, somehow...”

  “Online, I was looking for a vampire to spend some time with before I died. Someone that knew ages of things, that had a disconnect to human life.”

  “And he turned you into a vampire?”

  “Not quite. We got serious rather fast. I was able to lay off the meds as long as I had a small amount of his blood. Eventually we realized we were in love, and I wanted to spend a very long time with him, and he wanted the same, so we made the decision.”

  “And you didn’t register?”

  “There wasn’t time. When I first met him, I actually had less than three weeks.”

  Cyndi turned a green shade of white, her hand clapping over her mouth.

  “You didn’t say anything!”

  “I’m sorry, Cyndi, I didn’t want you upset and brought down about it. I thought it would be easier, if my death was a quick event and not something dragged out for weeks. You would want to be there for me, to watch me shrivel and die and you would be miserable and sad.”

  “I would want to be there! I’m your friend, you’re my friend, and it’s been killing me that I haven’t spent more time with you!”

  “I know, I’m sorry, I really am. But my decision changed, and now we have lots of time together.”

  “Unless the government finds out or until I grow old and die.”

  Tara nodded solemnly, staring at the counter top.

  “I’m working on that, actually. According to her new paperwork, Tara was born 80 years ago. She was turned over fifty years ago. I am working on finishing up erasing her history, all of it. She has been living as a human for protection from the anti-vamp groups that harassed her years ago. With my influence and protection, she felt comfortable becoming registered.”

  Cyndi looked at Tara and back to Dru, one hand fiddling with her ear, her mouth half agape, unsure what to say.

  “It’ll work. Dru is very connected and wealthy. Everything will be okay.”

  “And you plan on taking care of her for decades, possibly centuries?”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t have turned her if I didn’t plan on that.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Over 800 years.”

  “Wow, that still blows my mind,” Cyndi turned back to Tara, “Are you healthy and happy?”

  “Well, yes. Definitely and finally healthy and happier than I have ever been in my life.”

  “I can’t say no to that. It’s your decision, your life, and you have already made the leaps. All I can say is that I’m happy for you. I’m happy and grateful that I get many more years with you, Tara, and I hope that everything goes smoothly.”

  “Thank you!”

  Tara wrapped her friend in a hug and nodded to Dru over her shoulder. He smiled and stood to leave.

  “So that’s all of the news? As crazy as it is?”

  Dru paused and looked at Tara; her hand automatically went to her belly. Cyndi looked down and then back up, a confused expression on her face.

  “What?”

  “Well, you see, Dru was giving me his blood for a bit, to help with the pain and everything. What we didn’t know was that even though it wouldn’t cure the cancer or stop me from dying, it could repair other things.” Tara took a breath and continued, “Dru is a natural vampire. He was born that way. They get to a certain age and stop aging. It’s rare but not as rare as you would think. What is really rare is if a made vampire can have children…”

  “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes, with twins, actually.”

  “But…wow.”

  “I have two friends flying in to stay with us in a few days. One is a vampire archivist, an elder. The other is basically a vampire doctor-scientist. He studies this stuff and has for years.”

  “But, you can’t go to a regular doctor and where will you have them?”

  “Here. They will be here and we will do whatever we need. Dru has a medical room being built in the cellar as we speak.”

  Cyndi sat still, shaking her head slightly, eyes wide. Tara frowned and glanced at Dru. He shrugged and walked out, not knowing what more he could say and figuring the women needed time alone. Tara didn’t know what else to say. There were all of her secrets, on the table. Cyndi would either be there for her and support her or run away and never look back. Tara almost felt like yelling, the tension was so strong and the anticipation of her friends reaction was too unclear.

  “Cyndi?”

  “Uh, yeah, I’m trying to process all this. I mean, an hour ago I was expecting to come visit my sickly dying friend. I get here and you’re a vampire, live in a mansion with a man you say you’re in love with, and you’re pregnant. Oh yeah, and the government would love to get their hands on you, especially since you are technically illegal. I don’t know what or even how to think about all of this.”

  “I do love him. I promise. He makes me so happy. And he is a really great guy, he’s smart, he loves gardens and books, he’s a Viking!” Tara wiggled her eyebrows and got a smirk from Cyndi, some improvement.

  “Geeze Tara.”

  “I know. Did I say I’m sorry yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know I mean it. I would have faked my own death or just disappeared if I didn’t. I’m risking a lot telling you, even seeing you. I don’t want you in trouble.”

  “Screw that. I would have hunted your ass down and demanded to see a body. And I’m not worried about trouble. This is the most exciting thing to happen sinc
e the door broke on the psych ward at the hospital.”

  “Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

  “So, you are going to need as much medical help as possible. You do know a nurse.”

  “That I do! That would be awesome, Cyndi. I wouldn’t want anyone there as much as you.”

  “When will they be here?”

  “In two days.”

  “Ok, well, let me know and I want to be there for the big sit down. I want to learn and know as much as I can and be helpful,” Cyndi gave Tara a soft smile, tears glistening in her eyes, “I don’t know why I felt anything but happiness. You went from dying to living a whole new life, having a man that cares about you, not worrying about jobs or money, living here, and having children, something you never thought you would do.”

  “Yes, it is a bit of a cursed gift, with all the issues, but it’s amazing, for sure.”

  Tara was relieved as they moved on to small talk about the hospital. She offered her friend a glass of expensive wine, and they laughed and gossiped like old times. Tara felt a huge weight off her chest. As the conversation went on, though, she felt herself getting antsy, a pang in her gut begin to itch its way out. She knew she would need to feed again soon, Dru warned her the first few weeks as a new vamp were hard enough, a pregnant new vamp (with twins!) would have a much harder time.

  Cyndi was ready to go anyway, she had to work later, so Tara said her goodbyes and returned to the house. As she walked down the hall, Dru met with her, holding two more blood bags.

  “Aww, how did you know?”

  “I just figured with all the emotional stuff and the fact you’re not even a 24 hour old vamp yet, it was about time.”

  “Thank you! I wonder if I’m going to start craving O positive or something.”

  “Vampires usually don’t actually have much of a preference, really.”

  “Because of the babies?” Tara laughed, “I figured pickles and ice cream were off the menu, so maybe I would crave a certain blood type or person type or something.”

  “Oh, yes, I see. I actually have no idea.” They walked toward the bedroom, Tara was about worn out for the day. She still had a hard time believing everything had happened in less than a 24 hours. .

  “Cyndi wants to help, since she’s a nurse. So she asked if we could let her know so she could come over when the other two get here and hear what they have to say and the plans and all that.”

  “That would actually be a pretty good idea,” Dru nodded, “I mean, they know their stuff, but having someone who knows you personally, a female, and that can help fill in the human gaps of vampire medicine. We have no clue what to expect.”

  “I figured.”

  Tara bit into the first bag and had it drained by the time they sat on the bed. She finished the second one and stripped down before climbing into the bed.

  “Is it normal to feel so tired?”

  “The first few days to a week or so is a mess. You could stay up the whole time or sleep the whole time, it can be crazy. Again, you were already dying and now you have a body fully repairing itself as well as nurturing two fetuses. There is a lot going on.”

  Tara agreed before pulling Dru back down as he stood to leave. Her libido was definitely in full swing. She couldn’t help but want to tumble in bed with him all day. But after an hour she let him leave as she felt the drowsiness kick in. Dru told her the time of day could affect her as well. Sun just exhausted them more as they got older, but in the beginning, survival instincts were making her body want to sleep through the day, not that there was much left by the time she did drift off to sleep, though.

  Dru headed toward the cellar to see how the guys were progressing. A frame was already built on the rock walls and the metal pieces were being hung. They would coat them with a protective paint, but the metal would prevent interference or detection of the medical gear as well as make the room easy to clean up. The men were doing a great job, working fast and efficiently, though once again he thought of the price tag and felt they should be. The more he thought about that, though, the less he cared. At this point, he would be happy in a broken down cabin as long as he had Tara.

  That thinking led him back to Blaine and the incident earlier. He had a bad feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better. He wished he knew what the other two men were doing there, though. Did she hire thugs or body guards or were they something else. He doubted it was the police; they wouldn’t be camped in his woods.

  Shaking his head in frustration, Dru headed to his office again, calling his lawyer. He told him what had happened; skimming over the fact that Tara was unregistered, telling the lawyer that she was a new registered waiting on paperwork. His lawyer convinced him that if anything should come of it, he could prove someone was trespassing on his property and thus be able to get the case dropped.

  He did want to know every time Blaine contacted him and to keep a log of every interaction in case they needed to countersue her or have something in case she did go to the police.

  Dru felt a little better after the call, until he saw the new email icon and saw the address. It was from Blaine. The image was a still from a video, Tara’s face crystal clear, her incisors out poised over Blaine’s neck, and her hands being pulled back with strands of hair coming from Blaine’s head tangled in them. There was a single line saying that Blaine wanted to talk about her financial issues. Sighing, and unsure if he was making the right choice, he forwarded the email to his lawyer. This woman was going to make life hard. But as long as he could keep her away from Tara, there wouldn’t be much she could do.

  CHAPTER 13

  Tara stood at the window, curious about Dru’s friends. They had arrived to the local airfield via one of their private jets. With their ages, they preferred to arrive at night. Salvador was the vamp doc and over 1800 years old and Ardo was the archivist and over 3200 years old. Tara was anxious and excited, elders rarely were seen in public, and only a handful ever did an interview or was seen at all.

  Her new vision allowed her to see them exit the car, despite it being in the dead of night. She could tell them apart immediately. Salvador had dark hair, part of it pulled back while the rest hung loose, and stood tall and thin, very pale but not as much as Ardo. Ardo, on the other hand, had dark hair just past his shoulders, his face so white it seemed to be translucent or glowing, and he wore a long gray robe, like you would see on a monk or wizard.

  Dru had told her that elders usually became archivists and lived in something like what she would consider a monastery to be like. They had seen more in their life times than most history books covered. Their sole dedication was to writing and preserving the history of the vampire race, and the “truths” of the human race, or so Dru had said.

  Dru greeted each man with a nod before ushering them to the door at the rear entry. Although they had set a full discussion session with Cyndi the next evening, Dru had set up four arm chairs in the study in front of the fire place for their first night at the manor, Tara had discovered the proper term for the house mansion castle thing. She smiled as they approached the door and entered. Both men seemed to have almost solid white eyes with only the pinprick of a pupil. Tara felt unnerved as they looked her over. Salvador seemed to smile, but the pull at the corners of his mouth was hardly discernable. Ardo just looked at her.

  “Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Tara.”

  “Salvador Gansling,” he nodded to Tara.

  “Ardonious,” the older man mirrored the first.

  “Please, follow me to the study. We’ll have someone take your bags to your room.”

  Tara led them to the study and Dru entered last, shutting the door behind him. As they took their seats, Dru pulled out a bottle of very old wine and blood that had been unsealed and heated for the occasion. Dru explained how they would add the blood before heating the wine, bringing everything up to a more palatable state. She had tried a sip and was quite pleased with the taste. The men seemed to
be happy as well.

  “So, Tara, tell me about your condition prior to the turning.” Salvador spoke over his glass.

  “Yes, well, I was dying of cancer. I had a history of ovarian cysts that had apparently led to ovarian cancer. By the time they discovered the issue, the cancer had spread and was already affecting my blood and bones. One ovary was basically dead, my kidneys were failing and my liver was beginning to shut down.”

  “There was no chemotherapy treatment or surgical operations?”

  “No, it was decided that it would only cause more sickness and possibly speed up the degradation.”

  “And you were drinking Dru’s blood prior to deciding to turn?”

  “Yes, in lieu of taking my medications. It helped my pain levels and my nausea.”

  “Has the equipment been set-up yet, Druian?”

  “Yes, Salvador. I had a section of the cellar completely converted into a medical station, per se. There is an ultrasound machine, blood drawing and testing equipment, and a bunch of things I have no clue about that was on your list.”

  “Very well. When can we do an examination?”

  For people that had been around for so long, Tara was stunned at how quickly they moved around in conversation and plans. She had just met them and already they knew most of her story and wanted to begin poking and prodding her. Dru seemed unfazed; perhaps it was because after so many years, people decided that bland chit chat and useless conversation were no longer necessary in order to be polite. Tara couldn’t decide if it seemed rude or admirable.

  “If you have no issue with now, I would prefer to get it done as soon as possible, as well. The sooner we know how things are progressing, the easier it will be for us to decide how to proceed.” Ardo’s voice was almost whispery, as if he had used it so much for so long it was beginning to fade, that or he knew perfectly well how to preserve his voice and use only precisely what he needed to make his point clear.

  “That is up to Tara.” Dru looked to her, waiting for the response.

  “Honestly, I am just as curious as all of you. Now is fine with me.”