The cause of Alanna’s earlier distraction became apparent when maybe ten or fifteen minutes later, my mom showed up in the backyard. I bounded up to greet my mom, as Alanna excused herself to get her something to drink. I also knew that Alanna needed to back inside, away from the bright sun. She could be outside for stretches, but it did eventually get uncomfortable for her.
“Mom, you’re here!” I exclaimed, hugging the plump woman tight. Mom hadn’t been going to show up until tomorrow morning, giving us “kids” a chance to celebrate alone.
She grinned and hugged me back. “Yeah, I ducked out of work early. I know you’re having a bonding friend moment,” she pulled back to look at me, tears in her eyes, “but I wanted my girl.”
I shook my head, tears in my eyes as well. “It’s fine. I’m glad you came.” I felt the tears slide down my cheeks and thought that maybe the vampires weren’t the only emotional ones. “I’m so glad you’re here.” I nearly sobbed that and rolled my own eyes.
Mom only sniffled and then laughed. Pulling apart from me, she swiped her eyes. “You’re a little emotional, aren’t you?” Everyone laughed at that, me included.
Swiping my eyes, I muttered, “Yeah, darn pregnancy.”
Mom patted my stomach, a broad smile on her face. “And that only gets worse.”
I sighed and then hugged her again. A little while later, Tracey and Ash had had enough of the steamy water and scrambled out of the tub and into thick, warm robes. Mom looked around the fairytale like backyard and kept muttering, “It’s so beautiful, Emma.”
I nodded, agreeing with her, and showed her the areas of the house I could, while Tracey and Ash changed back into regular clothes. She was amazed at the glass walled living room that had a spectacular view of Mount Diablo. And she gaped at the stone fireplace, the stones along the flue meticulously positioned in such a way that they resembled a flame. But those reactions were nothing to the reaction I got when I showed her the kitchen.
Alanna’s kitchen was to die for, especially if, like my mom, you loved to cook. She opened every dark mahogany drawer, examined everything in the double fridge (that mainly was holding flowers – no blood, thank goodness) and exclaimed loudly at the walk in freezer (which also thankfully had no blood, any visible blood at least). Alanna joined our tour and pointed out all the intricate details of the kitchen that only a fellow cook would appreciate. I tuned them out as they started going over recipes.
If my mom thought Teren’s step-mother was odd, or a little too identical to not be related to him, you’d never know by her body language. She leaned in close to the woman as they animatedly talked over casserole recipes, and I tensed when Mom touched her shoulder, but then instantly relaxed. Mom was too caught up in the conversation to note Alanna’s “differences”. I sighed, relaxing even more.
Mom didn’t bother with the rest of the tour, content with Alanna in their favorite room. The two of them started preparing a feast for dinner tonight, just as the boys came back from fishing. Tracey mauled Hot Ben and I embraced Teren. Jack gave Alanna a warm hug and handed her the few fish the boys had managed to catch. It wasn’t much, it not exactly being fishing season, but Alanna looked like he’d just handed her a diamond bracelet, and gave him a huge hug, and then Teren.
“Thank you, boys,” she proclaimed brightly, as she and Mom started talking about ways to prepare it.
I smiled and relaxed into Teren’s arms, comfortable that this weekend was going to be fine.
While Alanna and Jack kept Mom occupied in the kitchen, the rest of us slipped into the living room. Tracey and Ben felt the need to make sure Teren and I got started in our marriage the “correct” way. I tried to pat my baby-filled stomach and explain that “we got it”, but Tracey was having way too much fun describing, in detail, every kinky act that she felt we needed to try on our wedding night. My sister blushed horribly and sipped her drink, silent, but listening intently. I blushed, knowing every vampire could hear Tracey, but not knowing how to tell her to shut up in front of my in-laws.
Teren only shook his head and laughed, occasionally looking embarrassed, occasionally giving me sly glances. I wanted to smack him at those eager looks, but resisted, especially when those sly glances started affecting me. Ben laughed at our obvious discomfort, and then interjected a few ideas of his own.
Just when I’d had enough of their outlandish, and in some instances, painful sounding, suggestions, a cool voice sounded over our shoulders.
“No, that position is better if her legs are held higher.”
I tensed, but every head shifted to look at the newcomer. Halina sauntered into our midst, the sun having set while we were talking. The entrance to her lair was actually in the living room with us, hidden as a closet, but no one had noticed her opening the door, too engrossed in Tracey’s latest suggestion. They all gaped at her, both at her sudden appearance, and her startling similarity to Alanna…and Teren. And her outfit probably didn’t hurt either, at least for Ben’s stares. She was wearing a form fitting, long-sleeved dress that stopped just below her ass. It was horribly provocative and nothing appropriate for ranch wear…and completely Halina.
Hot Ben’s eyes drifted down to her long, snow-white exposed legs and I thought that he’d get smacked if Tracey was paying more attention. She wasn’t though. Her eyes were drifting between Halina and Teren, trying to figure out the familial connection.
Teren stood and gave her a swift hug, happy to see his great-grandmother, but needing to look as if he was only greeting his step-mother’s younger sister. Ah, the never-ending charade.
“Guys, this is Alanna’s little sister, Halina.” Teren grinned widely, barely suppressing a laugh, and I could instantly see why. Behind his back, where only I could see it, Halina pinched his thigh, hard. On a human, it probably would have incapacitated him. The oldest woman in the house apparently did not like being referred to as the “little” sister.
Hot Ben instantly stood and extended a hand to her. That got Tracey’s attention, and her eyes pulled away from Halina to glare at him. As he had a stupid ‘wow, you’re hot’ look on his face, I thought they may have more than one uncomfortable conversation this weekend.
Halina smiled at him crookedly, obviously enjoying his reaction to her. And I suppose it would be even more apparent to her. Since she was one hundred percent vampire, she had the most acute senses of all of them. And she enjoyed men. She enjoyed their attentions, just as much as she enjoyed terrifying them. As she listened to his…blood flow increasing, while shaking his hand and purring his name back to him, I could only imagine how satisfied she was with that.
“A pleasure,” she drawled out, her eyes dragging over his body.
Tracey immediately stepped between them, breaking their contact, and waved at Halina, not wanting to touch her. Tracey looked a bit afraid under the mask of bravado she had on, and I thought that maybe some part of her was sensing what I’d sensed the first time I’d met Halina, that she was dangerous. It was a nearly primal feeling to not want to be in her presence. Of course, Tracey wouldn’t understand why, so she’d brush it off as jealousy or something, but it was so much more than that.
“Hey…Tracey. Ben’s other half,” she added with a slight smile.
Ben made some sort of noise behind her and Tracey nonchalantly elbowed him. Yeah, definitely a conversation later. I cringed when I realized that Halina would hear it…and love them arguing about her. Then Halina’s eyes drifted to my sister. Her entire demeanor changed. The cold, calculating vixen that had just mentally undressed Hot Ben, was suddenly a nineteen year old girl, embracing her long lost best friend. She swept Ashley into a warm hug, both of them giggling like they were finally reuniting at summer camp. I shook my head as I watched them.
They’d bonded when Ashley had visited. In a surprising way, Halina had taken to my sister, and she had nearly the same protective instinct towards her that Teren did. Halina hadn’t chosen this life, and had lost a lot when it had been forced upon her, n
amely her beloved husband. But also, the normalcy of working hard on their farm during the day and watching the sun set every night, the potential to fill that farm with children. Although she hid it well, the absence of that life crushed her daily. My sister had also had a fate not wanted thrust upon her. Her horrific scarring and the death of our father had set her on a path that most people wouldn’t wish on anyone.
The two brutal fates had bonded the women, almost tighter than blood could have.
Tracey was openly glaring at Hot Ben while my sister and Halina caught up. I laughed and started to go over to tell her not to fret too much about it, Halina just had that affect on men (thank god, Teren was related), but the last vampire finally made her appearance before I could take a step.
Teren and Halina both looked over a few seconds before she entered the room, but no one noticed their seeming precognition. Halina slung an arm around my sister and turned to watch her daughter enter the room. Imogen walked straight up to me and swept me into a hug. In her exuberance she actually lifted me a good foot in the air. It looked a little odd, considering the woman was no bigger than I was, but my friends were too busy staring at her appearance to notice. She set me down and I pulled back in her arms to look at her. She had on the long skirt and proper blouse that she preferred to wear, her hair neatly pulled back into a braided up-do, but the face, that perfectly ageless, vampire face, was yet another copy of the family genes.
Teren walked up and gave her a polite hug, again downplaying their closeness, and introduced her to the group, “This is Alanna’s twin sister, Imogen.” I startled at that, before smoothing my features. I hadn’t known the story involved the mother/daughter being twins, I imagined the two of them loved that, they were very close. I bit my lip, a little irritated at myself for not knowing all the lies I’d have to tell, and then a little irritated at how many lies I had to memorize. Oh well, it was the life I’d signed up for.
Teren pointed out Ben and Tracey, who greeted Imogen with friendly waves. Imogen was attractive, they all were, but she exuded an older vibe, like the grandmother she was, and not the raw sex appeal that just seemed to effortlessly drift off Halina, so Hot Ben’s eyes didn’t stay focused on Imogen for very long. After his greeting, he was back to ogling Halina, who played with a strand of her wildly free hair and gave him a look that clearly said, ‘I have chains in my room, wanna see?’
Under my breath, I muttered, “Stop it right now, Halina. Tracey is my best friend. If you try and sleep with him…I won’t let you come to the wedding.” No human in the room heard me, but Imogen cracked a smile and Teren chuckled beside me.
Halina openly pouted. Then she fixed her face into a wry smile and adjusted her super-short dress. Raising an eyebrow at me, she muttered, “There is no ‘try’ about it, but…fine.” She glanced briefly at him and then sighed softly before turning to leave. Ben and Tracey looked really confused by her seemingly random statement, but Ash looked over at me and cracked a smile, guessing what I’d said to her.
She got to the doorframe and paused, putting a hand on the wall and seductively leaning into it. Ben openly watched her and Tracey finally smacked his chest, bringing his attention back to her. Halina smirked at the exchange and looked over at me. “Plenty of other fish anyway,” she muttered. Shifting her gaze to Imogen and then Teren she brightly said, “I’m going out to eat. Have fun at…dinner.” She smiled oddly at that and then left the room.
My face went pale white, and I clenched Teren’s hand. I didn’t like the thought of her “going out to eat”. That usually meant exactly what it sounded like, and I didn’t want her anywhere near my hometown, hungry. “Teren,” I whispered, stress in my voice.
He leaned over to kiss my cheek, whispering in my ear as he did, “She won’t kill. I made her promise.” He pulled back and gave me a serious expression. I swallowed, but nodded.
She won’t kill. I knew that stipulation was only a temporary one. Halina enjoyed what she did, and even though she only took the lives of people she deemed dead already, i.e., child molesters, rapists, general scum bags, it was still taking a life and it still knotted my stomach. I knew Teren had somehow coached a promise out of her to please me this weekend, and I also knew that the “promise” wouldn’t extend as long as I’d like it to.
Imogen gave me a soft smile and shrugged her shoulders. Imogen had deep regrets over her own few kills and wouldn’t do it again, but they each sort of took an ‘it’s your choice’ stance on the matter. Especially when it came to Halina. But then again, as Teren had told me once before, “Have you ever tried to stop a full vampire from doing something they want to do?”
As I relaxed a bit, accepting that tonight some poor schlub was going to lose a pint or so, but at least not his life, walking away from the encounter in a forced state of forgetfulness from her mind control, the second part of Halina’s last statement started to worry me. Dinner. I’d completely forgotten about dinner. As Alanna and my mom came back into the room and announced that it was ready, I remembered it. Crap. Three non-eating vampires, faking eating dinner, around three not-in-the-loop humans. I had no idea what they were going to do.
It turned out that what they were going to do, was sit down at the table with everyone else. I looked at Teren seated beside me and squeezed his hand nervously, but he only looked back with perfectly calm eyes. Whatever they had planned, it was something they were all in on, and all comfortable with. As I looked from him to Imogen, sitting across from us, next to Ashley, to Alanna, setting the table with my mother, I saw no tension in the vampire faces, only a calm peace.
I shifted my eyes to Jack, the one human who knew that something was up, and he looked peaceful sitting back in his chair and making polite conversation with Hot Ben on his left. I watched the middle-aged man, the graying hair and the warm brown eyes, but didn’t see any stress in his features. Not until Alanna came up and put a hand on his shoulder as she set down his glass of water.
When she did that, he looked up at her, and a brief look passed between them. The look in his eye worried me some. It wasn’t the nervous tension that I was feeling; no fear was in his face that they’d somehow be discovered. No, the look in his eye was one of deep sympathy. Like he knew she was about to do something that was going to be unpleasant for her, and he felt badly about it. She briefly smiled at him, leaning down to kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear.
Imogen and Teren looked at her, Teren taking a deep, calming breath, and I felt tears sting my eyes. Whatever they were going to do, was not going to be fun for them, and they were all still resigned to do it anyway. For me.
I wanted to stand up and beg them not to. I wanted to tell Alanna to bring out the carafe. I wanted them to feel comfortable in their own home. And I again debated moving this entire event somewhere else. I didn’t want them hurting themselves for me.
As my hormonal eyes started to spill over, Teren turned my face to his and began kissing me. The humans at the table whistled encouragement, but I still felt like sobbing. His fingers discretely wiped away my tears as he whispered in-between our lips. “Don’t stress. We do this for you willingly. We love you.” He pulled back, his fingers once again sweeping dry my face. As Tracey hollered her approval, he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “We will be fine. Just enjoy your evening.”
I gave him pleading eyes, wanting to know exactly what they were willingly doing for me, but I couldn’t speak. He sighed at the look on my face and leaned over to kiss the other side, whispering in my other ear, “Please, make what we’re about to do…worth it.”
He pulled back, giving me a pointed look and raising an eyebrow. I swallowed and nodded, looking at him and then Imogen and finally Alanna, as she and Mom finally finished setting the table. I suddenly realized why Halina was really skipping this meal. She didn’t want to partake in whatever they were about to do.
My mom chuckled as she sat down beside me and I slapped on a bright, fake smile. She patted my knee and looked over me to Teren. “Just c
an’t keep your hands off each other, can you?” She sighed a little dreamily. “It was like that for me and your father before our wedding too.”
Imogen perked up and gave my mom a sympathetic glance. She didn’t mention her own husband’s death, her “character” never having been married, but encouraged my mom to talk about her long lost husband, maybe living vicariously through her grief. Mom did, and the entire table shifted to follow the conversation.
My eyes drifted around everyone at this mammoth, elaborate table, the platters of steaks, freshly caught fish, mashed potatoes and green beans, slightly separating everyone. And then, during a pause in the story, Alanna began dishing up plates of food, brushing aside my mom’s attempts to continue helping her.
My mouth dropped open as every vampire in the room was given a plate of food…human food. I couldn’t even conceal my astonishment as I watched them in horror. They were all given a steak, a spoonful of potatoes, a small helping of the fish Ben and Teren had caught earlier, and a forkful of beans. Once they were all served and Alanna had seated herself at the other end of the table, they all began cutting their food. My eyes were as wide as saucers as Teren grabbed a fork loaded with a hunk of meat and held it in front of his lips. His eyes looking nervous, but his voice steady, he told me, “Eat up, Emma.” He popped the food in his mouth and gave me a quavering smile. “It’s delicious.”
Conversion Book Two: Bloodlines Page 11