Greater Vampires

by Trudie Collins

  Sarah and JD looked at each other and Sarah nodded. It was time to tell everyone.

  “She’s not fat,” JD said. “She’s pregnant.”

  Everyone started talking at once. “Quiet,” Doc shouted out and they all fell silent.

  “Both Sarah and the baby seem to be fine,” JD said. “We told Doc a few weeks ago and have had him keeping a close eye on her. The pregnancy is progressing normally and she’s not even suffering from morning sickness this time.”

  “Yet,” Sarah said.

  “Why is she still hunting?” Jonathon asked, grinning widely.

  “Because we may want to have more children and she has threatened to cut off my balls if I try to stop her.”

  That wasn’t how Sarah remembered the conversation, but she opted not to contradict him.

  “She will, however, have to stop soon,” JD added.

  Everyone congratulated them, slapping JD on the back and kissing Sarah.

  “When can I tell our parents?” Jonathon asked.

  “You can’t. This stays just between us for now.” JD wasn’t smiling. It was an order, not a request.

  “On a serious note,” Katie said, “how do you feel Sarah?”

  “I’m fine. Honestly. JD has already stopped the intensity of my one-on-one sessions with him and, as you may have noticed, I am not training with any of you, except for the morning sessions.”

  “Which she will keep attending,” JD said, “for as long as possible. When she can no longer take part, she will observe only.” He wasn’t going to take the risk of leaving her alone again. If she was going to lose this baby, having someone with her the whole time wouldn’t make any difference, but he was going to make sure she was never alone anyway.

  “You should let Anna know,” Craig said. “She can keep a secret.”

  Sarah agreed and the next morning she took her boss aside to give her the news.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “I have some interesting information,” Anna said to Luke when they were cuddled up on the sofa later that night. “Sarah’s pregnant.”

  Luke sat up. “She’s what?”

  “Pregnant,” Anna repeated. “But she is keeping it quiet for now so please don’t tell Gabriel.”

  “Who’s the father?” Luke asked.

  “JD of course. I didn’t realise vampires could father children.”

  “Nor did I. I know that greater vampires can’t, probably because we don’t age. I hadn’t even thought about whether lesser vampires could. Can I speak to Gavin about this? He may know more.”

  Anna agreed and they went in search of Gavin, finding him in his office.

  Nobody had mentioned to him about knowing JD was a vampire, so they told him everything, including the fact that Sarah wasn’t letting many people know she was pregnant so the information could not leave Gavin’s office.

  “I’ve never heard of a vampire having a child,” Gavin said when Luke and Anna had finished speaking. “I wonder what it will turn out like. Maybe you should invite them over here. I would like to meet them.”

  “Do you really want another human and a lesser vampire knowing about us?” Luke asked.

  “Good point. Just keep me informed as to what happens.”

  They promised they would and left Gavin alone.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  A few weeks later, Anna got a call from her brother. He sounded distraught.

  “I’ve left her. I can’t take it any longer. I’ve packed my bags and walked out.”

  “Come over here,” she said. “I’ll speak to Luke and Gavin. I’m sure they won’t mind you staying here for a few days while you work out what you want to do.”

  As soon as she hung up, Luke took her hand and they went in search of Gavin. Luke had overheard the entire conversation and didn’t think any of the resident vampires would object to Paul staying over for a little while.

  Gavin agreed and as soon as Paul arrived, he was shown to a spare room and told to make himself at home.

  While Paul unpacked, Anna looked for Helen. She and Paul spent a lot of time together whenever he visited, but they had been behaving themselves. Though this was probably due to Luke’s claim on Paul preventing Helen from touching him.

  “This isn’t my fault,” Helen said as soon as Anna told her why Paul was staying over.

  “I’m here to ask a favour, not accuse you,” Anna said. “Please can you stay away from him. Give him a chance to come to terms with his decision.”

  “I don’t really have a choice,” Helen said. “You know I get a shock every time I touch him.”

  “I didn’t mean physically. Don’t talk to him about Danielle. Don’t tell him he is doing the right thing. Do and say nothing that I would class as making a move on him. I’ve seen the way you look at him. You like him. A lot.”

  “Why don’t you like me?” Helen asked.

  Anna smiled. “I do. Nothing would make me happier than you and Paul getting together. But now is not the time. I don’t know if he has left Danielle for you and I don’t want to know. What I do know is that things won’t work out if he moves on too soon. Give him a few weeks to sort himself out, to work out what he really wants. Don’t be just a rebound. You deserve better than that.”

  Anna’s words surprised Helen. “If you feel like that, why did you keep us apart?”

  “Because he was in a relationship and he needed to break it off for himself, not for another girl.”

  Helen impulsively embraced Anna, making sure their skin didn’t touch.

  When Anna returned to Paul’s room, she found Luke giving him a lecture about staying in his own bed.

  ‘Great minds think alike,’ she thought.

  To take Paul’s mind off things, Martin put a racing game on one of the games consoles and invited Luke and Gabriel to join them. The four men spent the next few hours crashing into each other and running each other off the track while Anna took the opportunity to finish the book she was reading.

  Paul slept well that night and the next morning he told Anna what he wanted to do.

  The house he shared with Danielle had been their parents’ house and was left to both him and Anna in the will. Despite living there for nearly a year, Danielle had no claim on it. He wanted to go on living there, on his own, but felt bad about making Danielle move out without any notice.

  He decided to give her four weeks to find somewhere else to live and asked permission to stay at vamp central, as he still liked to call it.

  Nobody objected and Helen couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

  “I’ll go and tell her today. I’ll get more of my things while I am at it.” He didn’t sound happy about the prospect.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Anna asked.

  “No. But I wouldn’t mind Luke and Gabriel accompanying me, if they are free. I have a feeling Danielle’s parents will be there and they will cause as much trouble as they can.”

  “No problem,” Gabriel said. Anna didn’t like the smile on his face.

  “Keep an eye on him,” Anna said to Luke, who wasn’t sure if she was talking about Paul or Gabriel.

  Paul’s prediction was right. Danielle’s parents were both at the house when they arrived and her father immediately started laying into Paul, accusing him of cheating on his daughter.

  When he went to hit Paul, Gabriel grabbed him by the throat, pushed him against a wall and bit his neck. He put a little venom into him without taking any blood, then ordered him not to move.

  Seeing that there was now no choice, Luke bit Danielle’s mother and took control of her mind. Danielle was about to scream when Gabriel grabbed her.

  Within seconds of Gabriel moving toward Danielle’s father, the two cousins had the three humans under their command. They told them that Paul had entered the house alone, told Danielle that she had four weeks to move out, collected more of his things
, then left.

  “You will not cause any trouble for Paul,” Gabriel said, addressing Danielle’s father. “You will support your daughter and you will help her find somewhere else to live. You will help her move out, taking only what is hers. Everything that is Paul’s will stay in the house, undamaged. Understand?”

  The man nodded. Gabriel turned his attention to Danielle. “You will not take anything from the house that is not yours. You will not damage anything. You will not spread lies about Paul. You will not try to contact him in any way. You will move on and find someone else to be happy with.”

  While Gabriel was dealing with Danielle, Luke was giving similar instructions to her mother.

  “You two are handy to have around,” Paul said when they had finished.

  “Get your things,” Luke said. “We’ll be waiting in the car for you. Don’t be too long.”

  It didn’t take Paul much time to pack the personal items he wanted to take with him.

  “Goodbye Danielle,” he said before he left. “I’ll ask Anna to come round every few days to collect my mail until you move out. Look after yourself. I hope you find someone to be happy with, I really do.”

  When he shut the front door, he felt like he was closing the door on one stage of his life and beginning another. He couldn’t help smiling.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  A few weeks later, Luke was sent away with work. He would be gone for a couple of weeks and neither he nor Anna were looking forward to the separation. Anna requested permission to go with him, but her project was at a crucial point and she couldn’t risk going away.

  They talked on the phone for hours each night. Gabriel had promised to look after her and was doing a good job. He was driving her to and from work, making sure she was eating properly and even kept her entertained in the evenings.

  The first couple of days went well, but for Anna and Luke the time dragged.

  It was on the third morning that Gabriel tensed up when Anna walked past.

  “Oh shit,” he said, loud enough for everyone close by to hear.

  “What’s wrong?” Anna asked, concerned that he seemed to be reacting to her.

  “Luke’s claim is wearing off.”

  “How can you tell?” Cassy asked. “I can’t detect anything.”

  “I’m a blood relative. His claim has less effect on me.” He saw Anna’s raised eyebrow and continued. “It means that I can take your blood a few days before any other vampire. The fact that I can detect the weakening of Luke’s claim means that everyone else in the house will be able to soon.”

  “So what do we do?” Anna asked.

  “Good question. There are a number of options. You can let the claim wear off. I’m sure you’ll still be safe here, but there are other vampires around that you will no longer have protection from.”

  “What are my other options?” Anna asked.

  “You can have Gavin claim you,” Gabriel said. “He will then be the only one who could take your blood and he has more self-control than any vampire I have ever met.”

  “But?” Anna said. There had to be a catch.

  “But it would mean that Luke wouldn’t be able to touch you when he got back. Not until Gavin’s claim wore off.”

  “Not an option. What other alternative is there?”

  Gabriel hesitated before answering. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to put forward the only other option.

  “I can claim you. Luke will be able to touch you a few days sooner if I claim you compared to if anyone else does.”

  Anna wasn’t sure what to do. “I need to discuss this with Luke,” she said and moved toward the stairs. This was one conversation she wanted to have in private.

  “What about Paul?” Helen called to her. “Will his claim be wearing off as well?”

  Anna stopped and turned around. “Yes it will. Can I trust you to not take advantage of him?” she asked.

  “Of course you can.”

  “Then I won’t object to you claiming him, if that is what he wants.”

  Beaming, Helen took her phone from her pocket and called Paul.

  Luke answered his phone on the first ring. “We have a problem,” Anna said, then told him the situation and the options that Gabriel gave her.

  “Do you trust him?” Luke asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Anna surprised herself by saying.

  “So do I. Let me talk to him.”

  Anna found Gabriel in the hallway, waiting for her. She gave him her phone, but had no idea what was said as the only contribution Gabriel made to the conversation was the occasional ‘yes’ and ‘okay’.

  When he hung up, he handed Anna her phone, took her hand and pulled her toward the stairs. He took her to his room, pushed her down on his bed, then began to remove his shirt.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Relax. I don’t want to get blood on this, that’s all.”

  Anna couldn’t help admiring Gabriel’s body as he placed his shirt over the back of a chair, took a t-shirt out of a drawer and put it on.

  He then climbed onto the bed next to her. “Isn’t there somewhere else we could do this?” she asked. She hadn’t lied when she said she trusted Gabriel, but she was suddenly feeling a little nervous.

  “We could go to your room, but somehow I don’t think you would want that.” He was right. “Come here,” he said. He slipped one arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

  Then he kissed her, his tongue probing her lips, which she refused to part.

  She manoeuvred her hands onto his chest and pushed him away. “Gabriel!”

  “Oh for God’s sake Anna. I’m not making a move on you. I thought you said you trusted me.”

  “I didn’t expect you to try to stick your tongue down my throat.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. “What does Luke do to you before he bites you?”

  “Well he.....Oh.”

  “Yes ‘oh’. And why do you think he does that? Other than the fact he can’t keep his hands off you, that is?” Anna didn’t answer. “He gets you so turned on you don’t even feel his fangs piercing your skin. It would hurt if he didn’t.”

  Anna remained silent, so Gabriel took his phone out of his pocket and dialled his cousin’s number.

  “That was quick,” he said as he answered.

  “Please talk to your girlfriend. She’s being a pain in the neck, if you will forgive the pun.”

  He passed his phone to Anna and heard Luke saying, “What’s the problem?”

  Anna explained and Luke patiently told her that Gabriel was telling her the truth. He went on to say that he understood if she didn’t want to have Gabriel’s hands all over her, but he didn’t want her to be in pain.

  “Please try,” he said. “For me. I can’t bear to think of him hurting you if there’s a way to avoid it.”

  Anna said she would then hung up. The look she gave Gabriel told him she wasn’t at all happy with the situation.

  “Close your eyes,” he said, “and imagine you’re with Luke.” Then he gave her a cheeky smile. “Just don’t get carried away. I’m only supposed to be claiming you, remember.”

  The comment was supposed to put her at ease. It didn’t work.

  As he pulled her down beside him, she closed her eyes. This time when he kissed her, she didn’t resist. She didn’t join in either though.

  “You have to relax and let yourself enjoy this,” he whispered in her ear. “The longer you resist me, the longer it’s going to take.”

  She shut her mind to what she was doing and thought about Luke. She pictured him in her mind and remembered how it felt when he touched her. “I love you Luke,” she whispered then let herself go.

  Gabriel was good. Very good. She could not believe she was lying on the bed with the most gorgeous man she had ever met, passionately kissing him, and all she could think about was someone else. When had her life got so complicated?

>   She found herself crying out Luke’s name as Gabriel flicked his tongue down her neck. He was turning her on more than she would ever admit, even to herself.

  She didn’t feel him biting her and was surprised when he pulled away. “It’s done,” he said.

  “Already?” She then blushed. She hadn’t meant that to sound like she wanted more. “You’re damn good,” she said.

  He grinned at her. “I know. I would say play your cards right and you’ll find out just how good I can be, but we both know that is never going to happen.”

  He moved to the edge of the bed. “You’d better call Luke. If I know him, he’s in his hotel bedroom, pacing the floor.”

  “Thank you for doing this.”

  “My pleasure. And yours by the sound of things.”

  She picked up a pillow and threw it at him.

  Gabriel looked at his watch. “Make the call, then we had better get going or we’re going to be late for work.”

  He left the room so Anna could speak to Luke in peace.

  Don’t even think about it

  When Luke returned, the first thing he did was reach out his hand and tentatively touch Anna. He had been expecting to receive a shock, but didn’t. He turned to Gabriel, his surprise written clearly on his face.

  “Looks like I got the dose just right,” Gabriel said. “I put in just enough venom to claim her until you returned, no longer.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said, though his words did not express the gratitude he felt. No words could. He had been dreading returning home, knowing that his cousin could touch Anna yet he couldn’t.

  “My claim is still strong enough to keep the others away from her for a couple more days,” Gabriel continued, “but you should be able to reclaim her today, tomorrow at the latest.”

  “Screw claiming her. That can wait till the morning. There are other things I want to do right now.”

  Anna couldn’t keep the smile off her face as Luke picked her up and carried her to their room.

  Neither of them saw the look of envy that Gabriel gave them.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  One Saturday night, the hunters from 14 were watching a film when JD’s phone rang. Seeing that it was Patrick from Sanctuary 7, he left the room and took the call.