Finished getting ready for the day, he leaned over me and his sleeping son, giving us each a cool kiss. “We’ll be outside, if you need us.” He grinned, obviously eager to show his daughter the world he secretly, or maybe not so secretly, loved.
He ruffled the fur on Spike’s head as he twisted to leave. “Come on, boy.” Spike thumped his tail and eagerly hopped down, following his master out of the room. Alone with a slightly snoring toddler, I rested my cheek on his head and thought about leaving my family.
I was still thinking about it when I walked downstairs awhile later with Julian in tow. His energy level now matching his boisterous sister’s, he bounded into Alanna’s arms when we met up with her in the kitchen. She laughed merrily and effortlessly picked him up. Sighing at the sight of them, so similar, so perfectly natural together, I thought of my own mother, bad leg and all. Alanna twisted her head to me as she held Julian on her hip. “You alright, dear?”
Her voice was quiet, subdued, like she knew exactly what thoughts were tumbling through my head. And I supposed she did, probably having heard Teren’s and my entire conversation. Lack of privacy was just something you got used to, hanging around vampires.
I shrugged. “Just torn, I guess.” She rustled Julian’s hair then made a bowl of cereal for him, setting it in front of a stool, beside a granite island in the center of the room.
I watched him scramble up to his breakfast as she responded to my vague reply. “Don’t let Teren’s concerns for his father, override your own.”
I looked up at her, surprised that she wouldn’t immediately side with her son. Surely she would want him to stay close? Noticing my startlement, she shrugged again and lightly shook her head. “Jack will be around for several more ranch shifts. Teren has nothing to fear yet.”
She smiled sadly and I wondered for a moment if she really believed that. Forcing a grin back to her features, she rested a cool hand on mine. “We’ve already done so much to you. We won’t ask you to give up your life here.” Her eyes flicked to the scar on my neck. A scar I tried to keep hidden with my hair, but one their super sight could see no matter what I did. The scar of where I’d been bitten, where my life had turned a complete one eighty.
I looked down, troubled that she felt responsible for that in any way. It really hadn’t been anybody’s fault. Well, except for the prick who’d actually done it. Him I blamed wholeheartedly. “Well, we haven’t decided yet either way and…we have time?” I peeked up at her and she nodded slightly.
Releasing me, she went about prepping some food for her mother, tucked away in her darkened bedrooms. I watched the eternally youthful caretaker warm up a container of blood, wondering how she’d get through the torment Halina and Imogen had both suffered. I wished beyond anything that I could spare her that pain.
“Alanna…will you be alright?”
She looked back at me, her timeless eyes momentarily worn. “Of course, Emma.” She turned and leaned her back to the counter, her gaze wandering outside to where I could hear Jack whistling a soft tune while he worked.
The edges of her lips curled into a small smile. “He’s the love of my life. He’s given me so much joy and happiness. He accepted me for what I was, because he loved me. He let go of every friend he’d ever had to be with me. He deals with the gossip of being called a cradle robber, every time we start up somewhere new. He watches me kill. He watches me drink blood. And he watches me stay young…while he ages.”
Her eyes came back to mine, soft pink tears in them. “And he does it all without complaint, because he loves me, and he doesn’t want to be apart from me.” She shook her head, her tears falling. “He is my everything and I will take each day that I have with him, each memory that we make together, and I will cherish him for all eternity, whether he’s beside me or not.”
She smiled sadly while I sniffled. “But I won’t condemn him to Halina’s life, nor does he wish to be condemned.” She shrugged softly. “I will respect his wishes, by letting him die. In the end, that is the best way that I can repay him for the sacrifices that he has made for me over the years.”
I nodded, hating that I understood. A part of me wanted them together forever, like Teren and I would be. But Jack was happy human, and wished to stay that way. Alanna wouldn’t have him changed for her own selfish reasons, and she was right, being with vampires was a sacrifice. I could see that, as I contemplated my own future. Jack had already given her so much, and all he’d asked in return, was a normal, typical death. And while sad and horrible, it was also the cycle we all lived by, even long-lived vampires, eventually.
Walking up to the woman, I engulfed her in a warm hug. “You will never be alone, Alanna. We will never let you be alone.”
I pulled back from her, my cheeks disastrously wet. She smiled, wiping them dry. “I know.” She inhaled deeply, glancing over at an obliviously eating Julian. “My family is what makes it okay for me to let him go.”
The blood warming on the stove filled the air with a warm, refreshing scent, better than cinnamon on a chilly day. Alanna smiled as she poured some into a thermos for Imogen. “And I will let him go…just not today.” She winked at me and then turned to go take care of her mother.
I shook my head at her as I watched her walk away, blown away by yet another woman in Teren’s life.
Back at home a few days later, my mind was still tossing around Alanna’s words. Even though I had an ample amount of time to decide, I was torn over which direction to take my life. Thinking of everything that Jack had sacrificed for Alanna, willingly, without complaint, made it feel a little selfish to me to do anything other than give Teren exactly what he wanted.
But I couldn’t really compare the situation. Jack may have had no better option to him than his life with Alanna. Maybe what she deemed a sacrifice, really wasn’t one in his eyes. Mentally, I made a note to sit and talk with Jack. Even though he wasn’t the type to open up with his feelings, he’d surely have some insight for me on life with a vampire spouse.
As time went on, I thought to talk to Teren about it again, but Teren didn’t seem to want to think about it again yet. No, Teren had started to fixate on something else entirely.
“So, what do you want to do?”
I sighed, setting my mammoth bag on the on the couch. Julian and Nika immediately started going through it. Watching Nika grab my cell phone and start to pretend that she was talking to Julian on it, I twisted to Teren. “Why do we have to do anything? Can’t we just have a quiet night in?”
I pouted a little as he smirked and walked up to me. Slinging his arms around my waist, he shook his head. “You only turn thirty once, we should celebrate in style.” He ducked down to meet my eye. “We could get that overnight sitter?”
I smiled at his attempt to get me alone for awhile, then shook my head. “I think, just this once, that I’d rather have a quiet night at home with you and the kids, maybe watching a movie.”
Teren chuckled lightly, then pulled me into his body. “Alright, I guess I should cancel the clowns and pony rides.”
Nika dropped my phone, staring up at us. “A pony?”
Julian peeked up too, but he frowned. “No clowns, Daddy.” Clowns came with balloons, so naturally Julian didn’t like either one. “Can we have a pony?” He brightened instantly and they were both wrapped around our ankles begging for their own horses.
Teren laughed and I poked him in the chest. Some things you just didn’t say around kids…“pony” was one of those things. Looking down at my twins, I sighed. “No, Daddy was teasing, nobody is getting a pony.”
They both groaned in unison, and still chuckling, Teren said, “Sorry, guys, no ponies this year.”
As they groaned again, then twisted to storm off upstairs, Teren tightened his grip on me and whispered in my ear. “I might still get the bouncy house though.” He gave me a devilish smile as he said it and my heart started to beat just a smidge faster.
From upstairs, I heard, “Yeah, bouncy house!” I r
olled my eyes and sighed again. Darn super ears.
Teren laughed again and was about to respond when we both stopped and tilted out heads. A car was crunching to a stop in our half circle drive. Our place was well spaced from our neighbors’ homes, so it was pretty easy to tell when someone was pulling into our drive and not next door’s. Thinking it was my sister, I smacked him in the stomach a final time before disengaging myself.
As I started walking to the door, I heard a voice I knew pretty well, a voice that was not my sister. “Ugh, I hate San Francisco…it stinks of salt.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked over to the door and immediately opened it. In front of me was a blonde, spoiled, princess of a vampire, one that Teren and I tolerated with as much grace as possible, since she had been the one to find us when we’d both needed her the most. Smacking on an annoyingly loud piece of gum, she popped off her bug-like sunglasses as I said hello. “Hi, Starla.”
“Hi-ya,” she said, immediately starting to walk into the house.
Containing a sigh, I was just about to ask her what she was doing all the way up here, when the door on her BMW opened. My jaw dropped open when Gabriel stepped out of the car. It wasn’t that I was shocked he was up here, Gabriel came up a couple of times a month to see Halina and visit with the kids, but seeing him here, in broad daylight, was a little disorienting.
“Good afternoon, Emma.” He walked up to me, imposing, powerful, and extraordinarily beautiful. His emerald eyes caught a fragment of the sunlight and glinted at me; they seemed more like jewels than eyes in that moment.
“Good afternoon, Gabriel,” I stammered back, looking up at the sky.
Gabriel was in Alanna’s generation. He could tolerate small doses of rays, but not hours of it. When he did visit, he always made the long drive at night. Tinted windows, while effective in blocking the harmful effects of the sun for humans, just wasn’t enough for vampiric skin. Some of them preferred the privacy and mystery of dark glass, but really, it was just aesthetics for them.
I felt Teren walk over to me as I heard Starla sigh and plop down on our couch, making herself at home in our home. “You guys have cable?” I heard her call out, but I ignored it, fixated on the ancient mixed vampire in my doorway.
“Gabriel?” Teren asked, extending a hand out to him. “We’re honored to have you, but…how are you here during the day?”
He looked up at the sky too, and Gabriel chuckled at the both of us. Smiling languidly, he indicated our house through the open door. “It is bright out here. May I come in?” he asked politely.
I felt myself flush, irritated for not immediately letting him in. Gabriel wasn’t as self welcoming as Starla. “Of course, please, come inside.”
Both of his feet had barely hit our threshold before he was nearly tackled by two tiny beings.
“Grandpa Gabby!”
Nika and Julian attached to a leg as I softly closed the door behind him. The children had shortened his name earlier on. They spoke well for their age, or so I was told, but Gabriel was a mouthful, even for smarty pants like our little miracles. Gabriel found the nickname charming and never corrected them.
A wide smile on his handsome face, he ran an ageless, lineless hand through their hair. “Teren, Emma…my, how you’ve shrunk.”
The twins giggled and looked up at him. “No, it’s us, Grandpa Gabby.”
He squatted down to their level, a genuine happiness on his face. He may be scientifically curious about our children, but he did care for them. “Well, so it is. Nika and Julian. You look so much like your parents, I didn’t recognize you.”
I heard Starla on the couch sigh as she started flipping though television stations. She wasn’t much for coming up here, since the drive was a pretty long one. She also had a decidedly snobbish view of her home town, and saw just about everywhere else as being below it, although, she did like our home in San Francisco much better than the dirt-filled ranch.
Ignoring Starla’s barely contained displeasure, I watched Gabriel scoop up a child in each arm, eyeing them closely, like he was mentally tallying their weight, height, and general health.
Looking outside at the bright, early evening sunshine, I again wondered how he’d managed to come up all this way. As our group walked into the living room, Teren asked him that very thing. “How did you make it all the way up here, Gabriel?” He shook his head as they each took a seat on the couch, Gabriel plopping down with his arms still loaded down with giggling toddlers. “Aren’t you in pain?” Teren asked softly, not wanting the question to bother the kids too much.
Gabriel smiled at Nika bouncing on his knee and answered Teren’s question to her. “Well, I discovered something…neat, and I decided to test it out.” Nika giggled at the word and Starla tore her eyes from the mindless program she’d found to raise an eyebrow at him. Gabriel was well over a half century old and some words just sounded really strange coming from his mouth.
Teren and I looked at each other as Julian repeated, “Neat.” Curious, I asked, “You discovered something?”
Gabriel looked over to me, running a hand back through his light, sandy-brown hair. Smiling, he nodded. “Yes, a compound that blocks the affects of the sun.” He shifted the children to his side and leaned over his knees, going into teacher mode. His face animated, he started going over the specifics of what his brilliant mind had conjured up.
Splaying his hands out over his knees, he said, “I’ve been working on a way for early generation mixed to enjoy a more normal life.” His lips twisted into a sad smile. “None of us should have to hide from the sun.” Gabriel shrugged, and for a moment, all of his vast years were apparent on his face. He’d had to do a great deal of hiding throughout his life.
He leaned forward and the kids, no longer the center of his attention, started climbing over Starla. She groaned, but did nothing to stop them from snuggling in her lap.
Before I could ask him just what he’d created, he told me. “I made a breakthrough in a compound that I’ve been struggling with. I bonded it with glass and had it installed in Starla’s car.” He smiled as he glanced out our window. “The sun would normally have me needing a break from it after several minutes,” he looked back at us, “but I was in it for hours, protected under the coated glass, and I didn’t feel any hint of the pain that I would generally feel.”
He smiled satisfactorily, obviously pleased with himself, and leaned back on the couch. Nika abandoned Starla to nestle in his side and he smiled down on her, a hand running over her tiny shoulders.
Teren next to me shook his head. “Wow, that’s amazing, Gabriel. Can you do the same thing for full vampires?” I saw a gleam of hope in his eyes that maybe his great-grandmother could finally get to see what she’d longed to for so long.
Gabriel’s smile faded as he looked over Teren’s eager face. Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Teren. Believe me, I would like to give that gift to them too.” He smiled with one side of his mouth. “I’ve recently had a certain…personal desire to see that happen.” Sighing, he shook his head. “But a full vampire’s physiology is so different and complex. I just haven’t been able to successfully create a coating strong enough for purebloods.” He sighed again then shrugged and smiled. “It is on my to-do list though.”
I laughed lightly. His to-do list probably involved things that most humans wouldn’t ever accomplish in their lifetime, even the most brilliant humans on earth. And aside from the fact that Gabriel was a genius and wouldn’t ever naturally die, so time wasn’t really a factor, I was pretty sure that he’d have completed everything on that list anyway. He was just determined like that.
Gabriel watched my face for a second, then shifted his emerald eyes to Teren. “I’ve created enough to have your parents’ home refitted with the new glass, so your family will feel more at ease there.” He smiled widely. “Especially your grandmother. Imogen shouldn’t have to hide in just a few tiny bedrooms. People should feel comfortable in their own homes.”
Ter
en’s mouth opened wide and I swear his eyes watered. My jaw dropped a little too and for a split-second, I wondered if Gabriel had done that out of compassion for the first-generation mixed, or if some part of him looked at Imogen as some sort of step-daughter.
Shaking his head, Teren reached out and clasped his arm. “Thank you. I…my family…” He looked over at me, then back to Gabriel. “We just can’t thank you enough for what you’ve given us.”
Starla snorted and popped her gum, but Gabriel beside her ignored it, focusing on the two of us instead. As Julian gave up on Starla as well, preferring to snuggle with Grandpa Gabriel, he looked down on our twins. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to repay me,” he said, very, very quietly.
The inquisitive look in his eyes was unsettling, but I pushed back the pang of fear in my belly. Gabriel would never hurt our children and even though he may be monitoring them visually, he would never test them without our permission. Halina would have his head if he did.
Conversion Book Three: 'Til Death Page 10