Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp)

by Lawson, Cassandra

  Hannah didn’t turn around. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. “Yes, you did. I was enjoying the sunset.” It amazed her that her voice didn’t shake. “I guess I let my mind wander, and didn't hear you come in.”

  He took her hand in his, and turned her to face him. “How was your nap?”

  “Restful, thank you.” She flashed, what she hoped was, a convincing smile.

  Nathaniel placed his free hand on her belly, and looked into her eyes. “You are radiant. I can see our son growing within you already.” His voice was too formal, and she realized that he was uncomfortable too. That made her feel a little better.

  “Can we go downstairs for dinner now?” As much as she hated the idea of being around the entire family, she hated the idea of being alone with Nathaniel more.

  “Of course. Our son needs his nourishment. The rest of the family is waiting for us.”

  He put out his arm, and Hannah took it, after a slight hesitation which he did not seem to notice.

  Thankfully, they walked to the formal dining room in silence. Roman sat at the head of the table. Nathaniel pulled out a chair for her directly beside his seat at the foot of the table. To her left sat Isaiah then Drew. Justin sat directly across from Isaiah. The chairs opposite her and Drew were empty.

  As she looked down to place her napkin in her lap with her almost trembling hands, Hannah noticed that Isaiah’s hands were shaking. He was fidgeting, there was a large bandage on his cheek, and his hair was unkempt. He turned to her as though he might speak, but he did not. It was then that she noticed the haunted look in his eyes.

  It was almost a relief when Roman finally spoke. “I’m glad that you have decided to join us this evening, Hannah.”

  She hadn’t been aware that she had a choice in the matter. Despite her terror Hannah managed to keep her voice steady. “I apologize for my outburst earlier.” She placed her hand on Nathaniel’s, and smiled. “Luckily Nathaniel was kind enough to forgive me. I hope that you can as well.”

  Roman examined her, and then smiled. Despite his smile, Roman’s eyes and voice remained distant. “You have had a great many shocks recently.” He thought for a moment then admitted in a warmer voice. “Ursula believes we could have handled things better. I’m sorry that we frightened you.”

  She bowed her head. “Thank you.”

  “Nathaniel, I would like this wedding to take place soon,” Roman said without emotion. “It would be unseemly to have a visibly pregnant bride. News of her condition will not leave this house.”

  Drew didn’t seem to know when to keep his mouth shut. “I don’t really think people care about that stuff anymore.”

  “I care,” Roman said in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

  Drew nodded, and said no more on the subject.

  Nathaniel squeezed Hannah’s hand. “When would you like to have the wedding?”

  “Whatever date you want is perfectly fine with me.” She hoped that didn’t sound patronizing. “I would like my friends there. It would be nice if Lydia is well enough to come, but I suppose we may not be able to wait that long.”

  Roman nodded his approval.

  Conversation halted when the kitchen staff came in to serve dinner. Hannah wasn’t used to seeing so many servants at the house. There were three different platters with meat, a bowl with mashed potatoes, a plate with rolls, and a bowl with gravy. There were no vegetables. Servants moved around the table, starting with Roman, and placed the food on each plate. Hannah noticed that the meat was almost raw. They heaped pieces of meat, dripping with blood, onto her plate.

  Drew cut into the meat, causing a river of blood to flow into his mashed potatoes. He sucked the blood from the meat ravenously. Everyone was eating with the same abandon, except Isaiah who seemed to feel as sick as she did.

  Nathaniel set down his fork and knife. “Why aren’t you eating?”

  She looked down at the blood on her plate, and then across at Drew who was humming as he ate.

  “What on Earth are you doing, Andrew?” Roman sounded annoyed. It was a nice change from his usual apathy.

  “I just had the sudden urge to hum Mary had a Little Lamb.”

  Drew looked smug. Isaiah paled even more, and began to twitch.

  Justin clutched his steak knife, and glared at Drew.

  For the first time, Hannah noticed how impressive the steak knives were. They could probably be used as weapons. Why she had that thought, she was not sure.

  “That will be enough!” Nathaniel gave the quiet order.

  “I agree.” Roman sounded almost bored. “We really don’t need any of your nonsense, Andrew.”

  Roman’s mind was elsewhere. His eyes moved to the empty seats at the table. “Where is Ursula?”

  Nathaniel looked down at his plate. “I think she went to visit Noah.”

  “Do you want us to find her, and bring her in here, Uncle?” Drew asked.

  Roman leaned across the table, and caught Drew by the collar of his shirt. “If you ever lay a hand on Ursula, I will slice you up and bury the pieces out by the creek,” he hissed. “Am I making myself clear?”

  A timid nod was Drew’s only reply.

  “Where is Buffy when you need her?” Hannah grumbled under her breath.

  Justin snorted.

  “Is this Buffy a friend of yours, Hannah?” Roman asked. “Perhaps once you are more settled she can come for a visit.”

  Justin snorted again. Obviously, he was the only one who had ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

  Nathaniel looked confused, which was no real surprise since he rarely understood her sense of humor.

  “She would have a lot of fun here,” Hannah said sweetly.

  Roman's attention shifted back to Nathaniel. “Why isn’t your brother here?”

  Hannah felt her stomach tighten when Roman mentioned Noah.

  “Noah doesn’t eat meat.” Drew chimed in.

  This seemed to irritate Roman. “Foolish boy,” he groused.

  Something caught Roman’s eye, and he smiled warmly.

  “Stop your grumbling,” Ursula chastised as she sat down at Roman’s side. “You will frighten Hannah again.”

  Drew seemed incapable of remaining silent. “Why aren’t you eating, Isaiah? You look more sickly than Hannah?”

  Isaiah stared at his napkin, which he was twisting between his hands. “I’m not hungry,” he mumbled weakly. “Can I please just go back to bed, Justin?”

  Justin hesitated, and then shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “He could go lie down in my room,” Drew offered with another smug grin. “I’ve been told that you can really rest in peace there.” He sopped up the blood on his plate with a dinner roll, and sucked on it.

  In an instant Justin had one foot on his chair, the other on the table, and he leaped across the table tackling Drew to the ground. “You son of a bitch! You were there!” he shouted. “I’m going to kill you!” He had Drew’s throat in one hand, and a steak knife in the other.

  Sure enough, it seemed to make a good weapon.

  Drew’s fist slammed into Justin’s temple knocking him off balance. When Drew was free of Justin’s grasp, he stood and kicked Justin in the wrist, sending the steak knife flying. Justin stood too and used his other hand to punch Drew in the jaw.

  The sound of clapping distracted both men, and they stepped back from each other. Hannah turned, and saw Noah’s boyish grin. He was leaning casually against the door frame, dressed in faded jeans and a grey t-shirt with, what looked like, paint stains on it.

  “If I’d known there was going to be live entertainment, I’d have been on time for dinner,” Noah said directly to Roman. “The food may not keep my interest, but the floor show will.” He motioned to Drew. “Go ahead, Justin, finish killing him.”

  Roman glared at Drew and Justin. “Both of you will sit down, now. I will deal with you later.”

  They followed his order with their heads bowed.

  Noah moved to th
e empty chair, turned it around, and straddled it. He leaned his chin on his hands which rested on the back of the chair.

  Nathaniel was livid. Finally, he leaned closer. “Why are you dressed like that? Why do you have to goad him tonight, of all nights?” he whispered.

  If Noah’s clothing or actions bothered Roman, he gave no indication. “How have you been, Noah?”

  Noah smiled. “Just fine.”

  “I was pleased to hear that you’ll be moving back to the main house,” Roman continued. “You shouldn’t live in that little hovel.”

  The rest of their conversation was strange, but pleasant. Roman seemed more concerned with Noah than Hannah’s parents were with her. He ignored any defiance from Noah. Finally, Hannah realized what Noah was trying to do. He was trying to help her with her fear of Roman.

  Noah reached down to his ankle, and then grinned at Hannah. “Wanna see something really cool?”

  Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think about it, Noah,” he warned quietly.

  It was too late, Noah’s hand came up with a knife in it He stood and he threw it directly at Roman’s head. Ursula reached out and snatched the knife out of the air, then calmly laid it by her plate and continued to eat.

  “Holy shit!” Hannah nearly shrieked. She had never seen anyone move as fast as Ursula had. She was terrified for Noah, who was grinning like an idiot as he returned to his seat.

  Roman let out a long-suffering sigh, and then mumbled something about bringing a crossbow to the dinner table. Finally, he spoke. “It seems that I need to go over the rules of etiquette for the dinner table, yet again. Hannah, we do not use profanity, especially profanity involving feces at the dinner table. Justin, we do not put our feet on the dinner table or try to kill anyone at meal time. Andrew, we do not pick fights at the dinner table. I am also adding a new rule, just for you. We do not hum at the dinner table. Finally, Noah, and I cannot believe I am saying this again, we do not throw knives at the dinner table. Are there any questions?”

  Noah raised his hand, still grinning like an idiot.

  “No, you may not have your knife back,” Roman replied calmly.

  “I really want to go now,” Isaiah said out of the blue.

  “Why don’t I go ask one of the servants to fix you a drink?” Justin offered.

  “How about a Bloody Mary?” Drew asked.

  “Eat something,” Nathaniel said, holding a fork with a large piece of meat in front of Hannah’s lips. “It’ll make you feel better.”

  The smell of undercooked meat was too much for Hannah to handle, and as she watched the blood drip from the meat down onto the white tablecloth, she knew she couldn’t control her nausea for another moment. She sprang up from the table, covering her mouth with her hand, and ran for the nearest bathroom.

  Noah held her hair back as she heaved into the toilet. When her stomach was empty she leaned back against the wall. Noah brought her a glass of water and a washcloth to wipe her face.

  “Thank you,” she said after she caught her breath.

  He smiled uneasily. “Are you okay now?”

  “I guess so. All of that meat was making me sick.”

  “That’s odd, but I guess every pregnancy is different.” He helped her to her feet.

  “What’s so odd about it?”

  “Our kind craves meat, especially extremely rare meat, when they’re pregnant,” he explained. “You liked your meat pretty rare before you were pregnant, so it’s odd that you don’t like it now.”

  There was a quiet tap on the door before Nathaniel peaked his head in. “Are you feeling better?”

  She nodded, and walked toward him when he came into the room. What she wanted was to stay with Noah but that went against the plan, so she slipped her arms around Nathaniel’s waist and buried her head in his chest. “Would it upset your father if I went to bed? I’m just not feeling very well.”

  His arms wrapped tightly around her, and his lips brushed the top of her head. “Of course it won’t upset him. You need your rest.”

  “I’m going to head back to my place to finish packing up my stuff.” Noah said as he walked by them.

  Nathaniel caught his arm. “Would you mind walking Hannah back to her room?”

  Noah shrugged. “Sure, I can take her to her room.”

  “Will you be up later?” Hannah asked. They couldn’t go back to celibacy without arousing suspicions, but she had no idea how she could be with him.

  “No,” Nathaniel said, sounding a little relieved. “Ursula said I need to keep my hands to myself until the baby comes.”

  Hannah tried hard to hide her relief. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Nathaniel hesitated at the door. “Hannah,” he started, and paused as he considered his words. “I’m sorry about Lydia. I should have seen what was happening with Dominic.”

  Hannah nodded, unable to speak.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Hannah woke up early on her third day of confinement. Her morning sickness made it easy to avoid everyone, except Noah. He didn’t seem to mind holding her hair back while she puked, or just holding her while she cried. She was still trying to figure out why they called it morning sickness when it lasted all day.

  Lydia was out of ICU, but she still had a long road to recovery. According to Noah, Justin was still overseeing her care to some extent. He had informed Noah that Lydia’s next of kin was moving her soon, and they expected her to recover completely. It had surprised Hannah to hear that Lydia’s mother was having her moved to a different hospital, but she was guessing that she wanted her close enough to visit. Noah admitted that they had never attempted anything like this before so they weren’t sure how long the recovery would take. They only knew that all of her organs were now fully functional.

  Ursula remained a mystery. She claimed that she was merely a servant, but even Roman took orders from her. The woman fascinated Hannah. Ursula was like a mother to everyone. She had been Nathaniel and Noah’s nanny, and mentioned caring for Roman and all of his brothers. Whenever Hannah asked for any specific details about her past, Ursula changed the subject. Noah had no idea how she had become one of them.

  Roman still frightened her, despite Noah’s assurances that he would not hurt her. He was forever complaining to Nathaniel about her. She didn’t eat enough. She should rest more. She was too timid. He even complained that her undergarments looked too tight. After that he’d sent a pouty Drew to Victoria’s Secret to buy bras in every size, and style. Drew was so annoyed by the errand that he hadn’t even teased her about it.

  Hannah stared down at her breakfast tray which was exactly what she had wanted, French toast with strawberries. This was the first time she had actually been hungry in the last three days. Still she nibbled tentatively at her food, worried that she might not hold it down.

  The note on the tray was an added bonus, Nathaniel would be unable to join her for breakfast or lunch, but hoped to return in time for dinner. He mentioned that Roman had left that morning, and would not be back until the wedding.

  After she finished her breakfast, Hannah stared out the window. It was raining. The drops of water slid from the leaves on the vines outside her window. She watched them travel down, and that is when she noticed Isaiah standing out front, wrapped in a blanket. She felt sorry for him. He just looked so lost.

  Hannah jerked around when the door opened. Most people knocked before coming in, even Nathaniel.

  Justin stood in her doorway with a black leather bag over his shoulder. He looked just as exhausted as he had the night of their family dinner. He closed the door without a word, and laid the bag on the bed.

  Hannah stood up, and placed her hands on her hips. “Do you want something or do you just go skulking around the house, entering people’s bedrooms unannounced for fun?”

  “I’m here to examine you,” he explained.

  Her mouth opened slightly, and she let out a little huff.

  His eyes moved from her to the
leather bag. He unzipped the bag and it folded open like a suitcase, revealing several compartments. It was the most impressive medical bag she’d ever seen. He removed a Doppler. “Like it or not, you will get treated by the family doctor, me. We don’t want blood work done by outsiders.” There was a definite edge to his voice. He was more irritable than she was, but not by much.

  “Ursula said she would deliver the baby so I don’t need you,” she snapped.

  “Fine by me,’ he said. “I don’t have any interest in delivering this baby, but I will monitor your condition closely.” With his head, he motioned her toward the bed. “Nathaniel wants me to examine you today.”

  She shook her head, and crossed her arms. “I’m not letting you touch me. Get out of my room.”

  He moved across the room toward her with such intensity that she took a step back. “I don’t give a damn how we do this. You can lie down on that bed and cooperate, or I can have Drew come in here and we can tie you to the bed. Believe me; Drew would prefer the second option, because it would give him an opportunity to grope you.”

  Hannah suddenly felt very uneasy, and turned away from him so that he wouldn’t see this weakness. “Nathaniel would never allow that.”

  “Hannah,” his voice suddenly seemed weary and sad, “he will do whatever it takes to keep the baby safe. I really don’t want to fight with you. I need to take care of my brother, so please let me do my job.”

  She felt a twinge of guilt. He was just following orders. Still she muttered, “Caitlin is right, you are a total prick.”

  That earned her a laugh, and she suspected Justin had not laughed much lately, if ever. “She is certainly going to make my life interesting.”

  Hannah felt panic set in. “You’re going to trap Caitlin, just like this?”

  He cocked his head to the side, and thought for a moment. “I hadn’t really considered the details. She’s too young now. I guess I’ll come up with a plan after she finishes her residency.” He eyed her suspiciously. “I thought you were feeling all warm and fuzzy about things now.”