Zach grinned. “No, I suppose you didn’t. Were you even in the caves at all?”
“No, we have a little village nearby where we all lived,” she said. “I think they are only using the caves now because of the current danger. I always knew they were here, though.”
“Yeah, I suppose that does make sense,” he agreed.
Vivian’s stretched and glanced over her shoulder. “What happened to Donovan?”
“I suppose he went on a nature call,” Zach teased.
“Either that or he went to find a roomier bed.”
“Well, I suppose we might as well get up and find my brother,” said Zach with a heavy sigh. “We still have no idea what took them so long to get here, and I’m pretty sure he will have the answer.”
Fully dressed, the two of them stepped out of the bedroom. They found Alex and Donovan in the middle of a heated battle on a gaming system in the living area. Smirking at one another, the pair went and sat down on the loveseat to enjoy the show.
“So, Alex, what took you guys so long?” Zach asked once they’d finished their round.
“Oh, you know, traffic, daylight, crazed vengeful vampires bent on destruction—the usual,” he replied.
“Any casualties?”
“One, unfortunately,” he explained. “One of the Carpathians took a bite out of Seth, and I know you were hoping to turn him, but I was forced to do it myself. That’s what took us so long to get here. We had to stop off and save his ass.”
“So he must be sleeping right now?”
“Yes,” Alex told him. “I carried him to the servants’ cave myself.”
“And the task did not leave you feeling a bit drained as well?” Zach asked, looking him over for signs of fatigue.
“No more than should be expected,” Alex replied. “I’ll be fine. But have you spoken with Will since you arrived?”
“I’ve only just awakened for the night,” Zach excused himself. “But I’m certain that Samantha would have been informed if anything was wrong with Will or any members of his household, and she did not seem concerned about them when we arrived. We’re meant to dine with her tonight and discuss the current situation with the Carpathians in much greater detail.”
“If you would like me to, I could go and inquire about those plans,” Donovan offered. “I am the one who knows the way.”
“Donnie, you really enjoy being helpful, don’t you?” asked Zach, chuckling. “Go ahead, this time. But you need to start learning how to ask for others’ help as well. As our third, you are going to be in a position of command. I know it’ll seem strange at first, but just remember that it’s an important role. You’ll still be helping, but it will be in a much greater capacity.”
“Yes, my lord,” he said, bowing playfully as he got to his feet.
“I’m not just talking about helping in the bedroom,” Zach grumbled, seeing the twinkle in his eyes. “With the Carpathian threat at hand, I’m going to need you to be razor sharp and ready to command troops, too. As soon as we’ve finished discussing the issue, we’re going to need to think about how best to handle it. If you’ve never trained for combat, I’ll definitely need to teach you. There are a few things you could learn before your bite, but most of the work will begin shortly after.”
“Understood,” he said, nodding. “I’ll be back soon.”
The two men clasped hands and gave a little squeeze. Then, Donovan reached over and ruffled Vivian’s hair on his way to the door. She chuckled and shook her head.
“So, is that his way of saying he cares?” she smirked.
“Must be,” said Zach, giving her a wink.
“Aw, brother, I care too,” Alex cooed, grasping his hand and squeezing it too.
“Knock it off, Alex,” Zach complained. “You’ll understand better someday.”
“Brother, if I was intent on finding a mate, I think I would have done it sometime in the last seventy-eight years, don’t you? Of course I don’t understand. Not about Vivian, and especially not about Donovan. It’s doubtful that I ever will.”
Smirking himself now, Zach said, “You really don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I take it last night’s festivities must have went well?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Definitely!” Vivian said at about the same time. Her exuberance made both of the brothers laugh, and Zach tugged her into his arms and gave her a kiss.
“Either of you two want to see if you can defeat me?” Alex asked then as he brandished the video game control. “I’ve been reigning supreme for over an hour now.”
“Don can’t battle worth a crap, that’s why,” Vivian said. “Show me how to work the controls, and then I’ll trounce you into yesterday’s news.”
“You think you can beat me, rookie?” he scoffed. “Let’s boogie!”
*****
The Knight brothers and their households were all arranged around a long, thin table made of mahogany wood, with each of the trios to either side and Alex seated at the far end. Vivian was sitting between Zach, who was nearest to her mother, and Donovan, and because they were on a bench and each eating with their right hands, Donovan surreptitiously slid his left hand along her inner thigh, jangling her nerves deliciously. She didn’t want to leave Zach out of the equation though, so her own left hand snuck into his lap as well.
“Unlike my father, James, I have never believed that the mere fact that one is a female should completely rule out the idea of helping with our defense, Samantha,” Zach told her. “You do not have a force of only two hundred; it is more like eight hundred if you count all the women. I do not say that all of them are prepared to duel in open combat, but are there not other ways they could help? We could employ them as archers, or they could use throwing weapons and such. After all, their lives are just as much at stake as the other warriors’.”
“I agree with what you are saying, in theory,” Samantha sighed. “The trouble is, there are many men here who adhere to the old ways. Though they may wish to fight, if their mates forbid them, a female’s hands become completely tied. She will have no way to disobey the order. It is the men you are going to have to convince, if you want things to change.”
“Then how is it that you are in control here?” asked Zach curiously.
“That’s easy,” she chuckled. “I convinced Joseph to let me try.”
“That must have been quite the triumph for you,” Will said, chuckling. “It’s seldom easy to convince the Arimathean of anything once he’s made up his mind.”
“Oh, I have my ways, I can assure you,” she said with a sly smile.
“I’m sure we don’t need to discuss them in any great detail, though,” said Vivian, blushing. “Just because I have recently become an adult doesn’t mean I want all of my naivety blown away by my own mother. Considering how much time she’s had to become jaded, I can’t begin to imagine what she’d say.”
“Well, it’s high time we stopped chatting and began to discuss the business at hand anyway,” Samantha replied, smirking. “So you say that you believe incorporating the women into the battle may just be our saving grace. Perhaps it would be best to have you tell the men this opinion yourself. It might even be taken better if it comes from you.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Zach agreed. “How soon could you have them assembled?”
“We hold a meeting every Friday,” she said. “You could tell them of your idea tomorrow night.”
“I believe it will be very important to assess each woman for her strengths and weaknesses, in the same way that we do with the men,” Zach added decisively. “Once we know their traits, we will have a much clearer idea of our overall assets and liabilities.”
“Do you really believe all of this is necessary?” Samantha wanted to know. “Won’t it be easier to simply keep them from entering our caves?”
“You should be training for the day that they do,” Zach insisted. “Because there is no chance that we will be able to keep them out f
orever. Fate always has a way of finding you.”
Vivian smiled, and a swirl of heat cascaded down her belly at his words. She knew he was right. She thought about everything that had conspired to bring together their trio. Even to the fact that her father regained his throne this year, causing James to perish so she could mate Zach instead, and the fact that it was Donovan who had always been entrusted with her care, ever since she was ten and he was fifteen. And now, she would soon bite him and officially make him their third.
She couldn’t help thinking that the Carpathians played some role in their fate too. She just hadn’t quite worked out what it was.
*
It had been difficult to convince the men to allow their mates to get involved in training for and participating in a possible war, but in the end, the women won the day. Training commenced within just two days, and Zach was pleased to find his new recruits were much more skillful than he had first supposed.
Of course, he incorporated the help of both of his brothers and even Vivian and Irene as well. Both women went to see the doctor together and learned their pregnancies were only about a month apart.
“This is so exciting,” said Irene. “Not only do I get to become a sister, but we even get to have babies together!”
“Aren’t you worried about bringing another life into the world though?” asked Vivian nervously. “It’s going to be a big change, taking on the responsibilities of feeding and clothing and nurturing another person, and teaching them everything they will need to know to become responsible adults. I’m almost frightened by that in a way.”
“That fear is reasonable,” Irene told her. “But all it will do in the end is make you an even better parent because it proves how much you care.”
Vivian smiled. “Yes, I guess you’re right,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t help me feel any more confident knowing that.”
“Me neither,” Irene admitted.
“What are you two talking about over here?” asked Charles with a smirk. “Seems like a really intense topic from where I’m standing.”
The two women grinned.
“Well, I suppose it is,” said Vivian.
“Pregnancy stuff,” Irene explained.
Charles nodded. “I can see that,” he chuckled. “What else would two pregnant women be talking about?”
Vivian suggested, “Religion? Politics? The weather?”
The three of them burst out laughing, which, of course, caught the attention of the two women’s mates.
Zach said, “I can see that you are having a lot of fun over here, but now it’s time to get to work.”
“Yes sir,” they agreed in tandem.
This was about the fifth day of actual training, and they were beginning to establish a routine. The women, of which there were roughly a hundred and twenty, were divided into early evening and late evening groups, and some divided again to train under age of the vampires. Once Donovan was turned, he would also begin training with the group as well since he had not yet acquired any vampiric skills.
Training seemed to be going well, with many of the women capable of acquiring melee skills as well as long range training. Also, some of the young male vampires in need of training were allowed to participate in class. All in all, it made for a very busy time.
So busy, in fact, that Vivian and her men had little time to work on furthering their budding romance With her pregnancy coming on strong, this was not something that she was pleased with. Her body was aching with the need for some alone time again.
Going through the exercise drills only helps so much; she really needed a totally different kind of work out. If this was how she would feel to route her pregnancy, Zach and Donovan were really in for some trouble.
“Vivian, what’s that little smirk I see forming on your lips?” Zach teased. “I’ll bet I could guess just what you are thinking about.”
“What do you expect?” she grumbled. “It’s been four nights. We’ve really got to make some time for ourselves in the middle of all this mayhem.”
“Well, I’m sure the Carpathians will understand if we call time-out for sex,” he chuckled. “They are vampires, after all.”
“Don’t be mean,” she said. “I’m serious. I’m so hormonal I can’t stand myself here!”
“I know you are, baby,” he said in her ear. “We’ll knock off a bit early tonight, okay?”
“Yes, please,” she agreed.
“Besides, I think we should be able to bite Donnie tonight if you want to,” he added. “I’d rather have another vampire in training than make use of him as a ghoul. He’s going to need some time to transform, and I’d rather he did it sooner than later.”
“Well, I’m ready and willing if he is,” she replied.
“This is a discussion for after we finish with the last class, I think,” he said, giving her arm a little squeeze. “Our audience is growing restless.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But believe me, I will be counting the hours.”
*****
A few hours later, Vivian, Zach, and Donovan returned to their cave at last. With a heavy sigh, Vivian realized that she ached all over, and Zach didn’t look like he was faring much better.
“I know that you wished to do the ritual tonight, Zach, but could we not take care of it when we wake?” she asked tiredly. “I’m aching in muscles I didn’t even know were there. Plus, didn’t you say that I should be well fed before we begin?”
“Well, you could always just drain him and feed him, and leave the sex thing for when he wakes transformed,” Zach suggested.
“Where’s the fun in that?” she chuckled. “I thought you wanted to have all three of us play again?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be during the biting, love,” he pointed out. “We’ll have plenty of time to indulge once Donovan wakes up.”
“Hey, don’t I get any say in this discussion?” Donovan grumbled. “Viv, don’t you see? Having strong vampires who are ready to fight is much more important than whether or not we get to enjoy ourselves. You need to start the process. The sooner I am changed, the sooner I can start training and become the resource that Zach hopes for me to be. I feel very ready for it, okay? I know that Daniel’s blood no longer taints my veins. Right now, I’m a human, and that’s about the least useful thing I could be. So yeah, I’d really like the sexy parts too, but hey, there’s always another day for that. And if I manage to help defeat the Carpathian plague, there will be many, many more.”
“Tell you what, Viv, why don’t we send for Seth and get you something to eat?” Zach suggested. “Maybe once you’ve fed, you might be feeling a little better. You had quite the work-out today, and may be depleted more than you know.”
“Sure, Zach,” she agreed. “We could try. But if this keeps up, I may need to talk to the doctor again. It doesn’t seem like I should be getting so weak all the time. I may need to rethink my diet or something.”
“Sure, babe, we can talk to him during Donovan’s transformation,” Zach agreed. “He should be out for two or three days anyway.”
“Gee, I feel so loved here,” Donovan teased.
“You’re tolerated at best, and you know it,” Zach grumbled, punching him in the arm. Donovan chuckled and punched him back, and the two began play fighting, then wound up laughing and thumping each other on their backs. Then, Zach said, “You can sleep with us tonight either way, if you’d like. It’s always nice to remain close to your maker during the slumber, when it’s an occasion such as this.”
“What’s it like for the vampire and his or her child if they are not to be mates?” Vivian asked curiously.
“Well, it is a feeling like you have for a brother or sister, I suppose,” said Zach. “Certainly, I have no desire to make love to Finn or Vinnie, and I had occasion to make both of them. They are fine warriors, best in the whole battalion during the war, but obviously we never had an interest in becoming lovers. I simply needed warriors, and I created them. They are not the same
to me as Will or Alex, but we do share an affection of sorts.”
“But you never thought, perhaps, that could be the way of it between me and Donovan?” she asked curiously.
“No, sweetheart,” he chuckled. “The two of you were already much too close. The desire was clearly there already, or else things would not have gone nearly as well when we—tried it out the other night.”
“I’ve missed being with you two since then,” Donovan admitted. “Is that normal too?”
“Those feelings you have already will become much stronger after the biting,” Zach replied. “Even our own bond will undergo a change, too. Maybe I’ll even start to like you.”
Donovan chuckled. “Yeah, well, maybe I’ll start to tolerate you.”
“Hey, is that any way to talk to your lord?”
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t know that I could,” he replied, grinning broadly.
“Well, I suppose I can let you get away with it tonight,” Zach conceded. “You’re only embraced once in your life.”
“Shall I go and find Seth?” asked Donovan then.
“No, this is your party; you stay right here,” Zach insisted. “I’ll just call him with my mind.”
CHAPTER 16
Vivian’s need for blood was soon sated, leaving her feeling much better and even a bit frisky as she thought about the plans for the later part of their evening. Her breasts were tingling with anticipation, not just for Zach’s touch, but also for Donovan’s. This was never something that had been discussed much while she’d grown up among the virgins, but now that she knew about the sexual side of things, she was rather glad to have discovered what being part of a trio could be like.
“You look more than ready to devour us both now, baby,” Zach teased, capturing both her hands and bringing them to his lips. “I think we should head in to bed now.”
Zach let go of one of Vivian’s hands and grasped one of Donovan’s instead, tugging both of them toward the bedroom door. They were all smiling until they heard a voice behind them.
Keep It In The Blood: A Vampire Romance For Adults Page 10