Ambrosia (Nectar Trilogy, Book 2)

by Prince, DD

  Kyla frowned.

  Adrian spoke up, “I’ve devoted my life to science. Science that often helps our kind. Some that has even helped your kind. I’ve sired a number of vamps in my life but I’ve also fathered a number of children as part of my work, which has included many efforts in a various medical trials. Some children have survived. Some haven’t. Some of the women survived birth, some haven’t. Your grandmother survived giving birth to your mother. We’ve been interested in seeing how things would pan out with you, particularly since you’ll be the first among some very specific experiments to reach the age of 25, next week, in fact. If you’d roll up your sleeve…” He stood and reached into a drawer and removed a syringe.

  Kyla felt panic rise, “Um…”

  And her birthday wasn’t the following week. Her birthday wasn’t for a few months.

  “Roll up your sleeve, Kyla,” Adrian repeated, staring right in her eyes.

  She remained frozen but glanced at Tristan.

  Tristan straightened up, “A minute, Adrian.”

  Adrian smiled and nodded and then left the room, closing the door behind himself.

  “What the…?” Kyla whispered, wide-eyed.

  He put a hand on her arm reassuringly, “Right, so I told you my visit was enlightening. Sam had the blood taken from the lab I was using. It was rerouted and sent here. Adrian examined it but he wants to examine your blood now, after the bonding, as well as mine, after having had your blood for this amount of time as well as because of the nectar I consumed.”

  She gave her head a shake and thrust her fingers into her hair, “Excuse me, um, I’m a little…stunned over here. Do ya think just maybe… it might’ve been good to drop that, all that, in advance for me?”

  “I’ve been weighing the right way to handle this, Kyla. I planned to talk to you yesterday but with what you went through I decided to wait until we got here. You can ask questions this way. Adrian watched your mother grow up from a distance and she didn’t know she was half vamp until everything went down. Your parents, due to having specific highly coveted blood types, with vamp DNA, were matched to meet up. They were mesmerized into meeting and mating. They had you. You were taken. Adrian eventually found you and you’ve been watched ever since. As you were approaching your 25th birthday, they arranged for you to be delivered to me so that they could see if---”

  “Taken? Watched? Wait a minute. I’m an experiment? We, you and me… this relationship, it’s an experiment!” Kyla jumped to her feet.

  Tristan nodded and reached for her hand, “Sit.”

  “Our relationship is an experiment. You didn’t know about this?”

  “No.”

  “We can’t trust him. Can we?”

  Tristan gave her a look, “Of course we can.”

  But she read something else in his eyes. She was about to push it and Tristan gave her a look that froze her in her tracks. If Tristan didn’t trust Adrian, he obviously didn’t want Adrian to know and he had already warned they could be under surveillance. She took a big breath.

  He squeezed her hand, shaking his head, “Let’s give him a sample and then we’ve got more to talk about. Ask him questions, if you want.”

  She nodded slowly and sat back down. Her heart was beating so loud. She felt faint.

  What on earth was going on here?

  Tristan stepped out into the hall and then returned with Adrian.

  Kyla slowly rolled up her sleeve and Adrian approached her.

  Tristan stopped him, “I’ll do it.”

  Adrian gave a knowing smile and passed the syringe.

  “I understand. I’m the same. Very protective of my special pets.”

  Kyla looked up at him, this man who was a relative. How bizarre it was to stare up at a man who looked not much older than she was but who was her grandfather.

  “Your eyes. I have your eyes,” Kyla blurted as it dawned on her. Hers weren’t luminescent but if they were, they’d be exactly the same. The same cat’s eye shape, the same shade of green.

  He smiled, “You do. Your mother does, as well. All females from my line do.”

  My line? Not my family. My line. Wow.

  Adrian sat on the corner of his desk in front of Kyla, watching Tristan seal the spot with a kiss. Tristan licked his lips and then winked at her.

  “Ask anything you’d like to ask,” Adrian said to Kyla but was looking to Tristan, his eyes on Tristan as Tristan put the two vials of blood into his own pocket.

  “I’ll be supervising your testing,” Tristan told him.

  Adrian gave him a smile but Kyla was fairly certain the smile was fake.

  “Refreshments?” Adrian asked, standing up and rounding his desk.

  “Kyla could use some food. She hasn’t eaten much today.”

  “I’ve arranged to have lunch sent to your room shortly.” He picked up his phone, “Fritz, some fresh orange juice and coffee to my office, please.” He hung up.

  “Questions?” Adrian probed.

  “Uh..”

  Kyla didn’t even know where to start! She found her voice eventually.

  “So, beyond what’s happening to Tristan from drinking my blood, you know about what happens with my period. Is that something that’s normal?”

  Adrian nodded, “There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to nectar and royal pets. We guard the information carefully to protect those who have the most to lose and to manage those who would be nuisances if they knew. You were, in essence, created to feed and breed for vampires. Generations ago, this was common. Covens would keep small human populations of carefully selected people with vampire DNA for feeding purposes and breeding also happened, either to produce feeders or for turning. Nowadays, the breeding is a necessity, I’m afraid. But we are extremely cautious about it. Responsibility is important and most vampires are careful about reproduction. We don’t turn just anyone and we don’t breed with just anyone.

  Female vamps rarely conceive so we have no choice but to look to suitable human females for selective breeding. Then suitable offspring can be turned at the appropriate time. This is what came about with Tristan. Both of Tristan’s parents were full vampires and from highly powerful family lines. This makes him vampire royalty. Your line has powerful royal vampire blood on one side, that would be me. And less powerful but still vamp, nonetheless, on the other side. This, with your blood type, makes you very suitable for feeding and also for breeding.

  As far as the nectar goes, the fact that you didn’t become pregnant after bonding is, essentially, a sign of infertility, so a vampire would innately turn on a pet who he’d bonded with as a matter of that human being unable to breed.

  Before you died, he’d be fortified with nectar from the menstrual blood to sustain him until he found another suitable mate.”

  “Isn’t it dead, though? Isn’t that kind of strange that a vampire wouldn’t want live blood? If that’s the right term for it.”

  “That blood is filled with nutrients. It’s what sustains a fertilized egg in the beginning stage of life. It’s shed when there’s no fertilized egg to benefit from it. Investigate witchcraft lore and you’ll see that menstrual blood is considered very magical. It is often used in witchcraft, used ceremonially throughout history, in offerings, also used in fertilizing plants, etcetera. We would not want a witch to get their hands on your menstrual blood. That could be catastrophic. Iron in this blood is particularly nutrient-rich for vampires and there’s significant iron in menstrual blood, enough iron to fortify a vamp who has to seek out a more suitable, fertile pet. A royal pet’s blood composition is even more special than an average feeder. You’re not likely infertile. I suspect you are, in fact, quite fertile based on the fact that you are beginning to ovulate now, despite birth control.

  Your being on birth control skewed the results of what would be a natural test in our world. One of two things happens in an enchanted pet scenario, either the female becomes pregnant, or the male kills her when she starts menstruating an
d he’s then fortified until he finds another. Generations ago other males in a coven would fight over an infertile enchanted pet, all wanting the advantage, the significant advantage as the fortification could be enough to change the pecking order. When that pet has got a high amount of vampire DNA, that’s something that brings forth an extremely powerful vampire nectar. We try to keep things quiet regarding these matters as it can cause a bit of hysteria among vamps who aren’t well-equipped to handle it. Case in point: Liam.”

  “So the next time I get my period?”

  “We will know when it plays out. Tristan might not have killed you. We aren’t certain but it’s quite possible that he’d have fed on nectar until you completed that cycle but allowed you to live.”

  “Are all women in danger during their period?”

  “Bonded females only. When a super vamp, also known as a true vamp, one who is inherently vampire, keeps an enchanted blooded slash royal pet and feeds from her consecutively for several feedings, that’s when the bonding happens and that’s when it becomes an extremely symbiotic relationship. You need him as much as he needs you, probably even more.”

  “You’ve said feed and breed. Does that mean I wouldn’t die if I gave birth?”

  “We won’t know until that plays out. If that plays out.” He glanced at Tristan, looking contrite, then continued, “Royal pets have a better shot of survival than those who have no vampire DNA. Many pets that are chosen to breed only do so once, often because they don’t survive. Occasionally we’ve had more than one successful birth. We’ve had pets breed and survive and not survive. You have a decent chance of survival considering your amount of vampire DNA. And I’m very interested in assessments based on your blood’s composition should Tristan impregnate you. We’ve already discovered some very intriguing things from the blood sample we’ve tested.”

  Kyla looked to Tristan. He was looking at Adrian, who continued,

  “Human blood types go beyond alphabetical letters. Beyond A, O, etc. Tristan, as a royal vamp, would feel dissatisfied after feedings unless being fed by a pet with at least some vamp DNA.

  Royal pets have a higher survival rate for childbirth. More than 9 out of 10 women impregnated by a vampire die during childbirth and in more than 9 out of 10 of the cases where there’s survival, the woman has vampire DNA. Tristan has the most royal bloodline that I’ve come across. You are the perfect feeder and breeder based on your blood type and bloodline. Tristan’s bloodline and his bloodlust, together, made you a perfect mate. Innately he knew this. That’s why he was attracted to you. That’s why feeding from you sates him. You were bred specifically for him. It’s also surprising that he didn’t kill you after you being tainted by the touch of another vamp. That’s also a testament to Tristan’s power.”

  “Why am I not mesmerized by him if he’s so powerful?”

  “Your not being entranced is something I need to investigate. That was a surprise. I suspect it’s due to the amount of vampire in your blood. It’s extremely rare. You, Kyla, are extremely rare. I know of no other royal pet with a bloodline as unique as yours. I’ve come across no other royal vamp with a bloodline and strengths as powerful as Tristan’s. I’ve been anxiously awaiting my opportunity to see the results of this union.”

  “If I were turned?”

  “We believe you’d become an extremely powerful female vamp,” Adrian answered without hesitation, “Your DNA and blood type, if you were turned, because of my bloodline, you’d be considered vampire royalty as well.”

  Oh

  My

  God.

  Tristan shuffled uneasily.

  “So Tristan could’ve been a royal pet but he was chosen to become a royal vampire by being turned?”

  “Not exactly. His bloodline is full of leaders, powerful and strong vamps. Full vamp on both sides. The only way he’d be a royal pet is if we didn’t know of his bloodline. Someone royal could’ve found out about his bloodline and fed on him and kept him in secret, never turning him, due to the potential competition his blood would bring. But that didn’t happen. His grandfather was very involved in preparing for Tristan to come of age. In a royal hierarchy he’s much higher than you would be, were you turned. But based on your bloodline and what I’ve seen so far in your lab results, you’d be a suitable queen, were you turned.”

  Her blood ran cold a moment. She jerked her chin at him, “Would our offspring be like me or like him?”

  “Your offspring could be extremely powerful vampires. We don’t know yet just how powerful.”

  Tristan looked to her, “But you could die in childbirth.”

  “Or you might survive,” Adrian put in, “particularly if we took special measures.”

  “What measures?”

  “Let us revisit that if and when it becomes an option,” Adrian smiled.

  Kyla looked to Tristan, “I could die if I don’t get pregnant now because you could destroy me because if I start my period I’m not your perfect pet.”

  Tristan’s expression was hard, guarded.

  “Here we can do a controlled experiment.” Adrian interjected, “We have options to do a variety of controlled experiments.”

  “How?”

  “I can keep you safe,” Adrian said, “I have an experimental medicine that showed promise with Samuel Jasper. We could offer you protection as well, due to another tool I’ve developed. Medication can be used to help keep Tristan even when you menstruate. But Tristan needs to make some decisions before any experiments can be carried out.”

  “What decisions?”

  “Tristan?” Adrian pressed.

  “Go ahead,” Tristan said quietly.

  Adrian leaned back in his chair and smiled, “He needs to decide whether to get you pregnant and see if you’ll survive or let you go into a nectar cycle and I and my team watch his reactions under that formula and ensure we stop him before any harm comes to you. Each time he consumes your nectar he increases his abilities so it could be advantageous to see what results come of testing him after another cycle. It could be that he opts to feed repeatedly to see how powerful he can get.

  It could be that he opts to get you pregnant and if you survive, do so repeatedly so that he can populate the world with as many perfect future vampires as your body allows.

  Alternately, he could opt to harvest your eggs so that we can do in-vitro with surrogates and have someone else give birth to these perfect vampire children in your absence or in an effort to protect you from the risks of childbirth as well as keep the nectar flowing. He could put you on tap for repeated nectar cycles in a controlled environment so that you’re safe from him and he can opt to use that nectar in a variety of ways. He can also later turn you and attempt to conceive with you after you’re turned. You could be powerful enough to do that very successfully and by my research, there’s a good probability that children you have after you’re turned might not even need to be turned to be at their full potential. That’s something we’re very interested in researching. Tristan has a lot of options to weigh out.”

  Kyla tilted her head at him. Regardless of biology, this man wasn’t family. He didn’t care a lick about Kyla, his biological granddaughter. This was a mad scientist who was also a cold and callous vampire and Kyla was just an instrument in a bevy of possible experiments.

  “These are his decisions to make. He could even order a hysterectomy, protecting you from birth and from nectar cycles. But he’s got the potential to sire powerful vampires, he has the potential to change our world for the better with your blood. Heal sick vampires. Stem cell research from embryos could also produce a great many things before and after you’re turned. Many great things can come out of this. You’re looking at me like you’re about to suffer a death sentence but that’s absolutely untrue.”

  Kyla looked to Tristan. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking off into space. She looked back to Adrian. She ignored the chilling in her blood at the man’s words, the man’s demeanour.

  “Thi
s was all part of the long term plans. Tristan’s grandfather and I planned this almost twenty-seven years ago when we first planned for your parents to meet.”

  “Why does he smell and taste like dessert?” It was a stupid question to ask right now after all that’d been revealed but the track her brain was on, she needed to get off it. Badly. Talk about information overload!

  “Endorphins. You two are a perfect match. You both appeal to one another. Are you a dessert person?”

  “Uh huh.”

  His scent… it was of things she wanted but rarely had as an underprivileged foster child so the one thing she indulged in as an adult was dessert.

  “That’s why he smells like dessert to you. If you were a flower person, he’d probably smell like flowers. It’s all chemical. A natural mating call. You’re meant for him. You smell and taste the way he wants. He smells like what you want. He generates a chemical reaction in you that makes you open to mating with him, a little like being entranced but you’re evidently keeping your faculties, which is astonishing.”

  She was quiet, reflective for a moment.

  “What happened to my parents?”

  “Your parents were a means to an end. This end.”

  “They were killed on purpose?”

  Tristan answered, “They aren’t dead.”

  Kyla’s body spun to face Tristan.

  “They’re alive. They were brought in, underwent some testing. They were later turned. You were supposed to be brought in with them but you vanished.”

  Kyla’s palm flew to her chest. She could hardly breathe.

  Adrian said, “They couldn’t tell me what happened to you. They said you were kidnapped from your bed during the night. We were making plans to bring the three of you in due to outside dangers but we were too late. The only reason you weren’t raised here in this compound until you were to be given to Tristan was because traitors sought to keep you from us. You were hidden. It took eighteen years to find you. We found you in Ottawa. For the past few years, you’ve been watched. Then you were given to Tristan. It was serendipitous that you moved to his city.”