Alanna gave me a brilliant smile, her exact same shade of blue eyes as Teren, catching a shaft of morning light and sparkling in the rays. The sun didn’t bother her, too much. She could be in it for short periods of time with no adverse consequences, unlike the other women. Teren’s grandmother could tolerate being in a hazy with light room, but, although she wouldn’t die from direct exposure, sunlight certainly hurt her. Halina, on the other hand, would fry to a crisp. She couldn’t even be in a room with rays of light and stayed holed up in her underground lair until sundown. One of the downsides of vampirism. And one that faded with each mixed generation. It made me obscenely happy that our children would get to play in the park in the afternoons, just like all the other kids. I wanted to give them as normal a life as possible. I understood Teren’s need to be like everyone else, so much better now.
Alanna swished over to her son’s side, locking her arm around his. Her long, black hair was free down her back except for two long strands in front that were pulled back from her face. Her black as night hair also perfectly matched her son’s and as Teren smiled down at her, I could sense the deep connection they had. It was more than just a close mother/son bond. It was a species bond as well. Alanna completely understood her son, because she was exactly like him. She knew what it felt like to changeover. She understood his thirst. She shared his desire to keep their secret hidden. She saw the world in the same amazing way he did.
Their bond was so tight, I suppose it would make an ordinary wife-to-be jealous. I suppose I wasn’t ordinary though. For me, it lightened my heart. I knew I wouldn’t be a part of Teren’s life forever, not with how long he could potentially live, and I wanted him to have strong bonds with other people, especially other people with an equally long lifespan. I didn’t want him to be alone…ever.
Which meant I also had to be peacekeeper sometimes. For, as close as they were, Alanna and Teren were also a lot alike, and that meant they occasionally butted heads. Usually, it was because Alanna was trying to protect him, and he didn’t feel like he needed to be. I tended to agree with Alanna; Teren could be a stubborn ass sometimes.
Looking up at him, Alanna spoke a phrase in another language. All the vampires could speak Russian, something Halina had taught them. She’d been born and raised there, having moved out here as a little girl. I guess it had pleased her to keep her native tongue alive, and she’d taught her daughter who had taught Alanna, who in turn taught Teren. Jack had told me he could pick out certain words and phrases, but foreign languages weren’t as easy for him to grasp as it was for the vampires, and he’d never really felt the need to learn it. “Let them have their secret language,” he’d jokingly told me once.
Not liking secrets, I was determined to be fluent in the complicated sounding language. I’d been picking up words and phrases as well, and from what I could tell, Alanna had just told her son “good morning” and then something that included the word “blood”. I’d picked up that one early on, as they talked about blood a lot, for obvious reasons. He nodded at her and I figured she was just being a mom and letting him know there was food in the fridge, if he wanted some. Some things never change, regardless of species.
Turning back to my plate, suddenly ravenous, I picked up my fork and started, in a very unladylike way, shoving forkfuls of pancake into my mouth. Teren behind me chuckled and bent down to kiss my chipmunk-like full cheek. “You’re hungry now, I see,” he whispered in my ear.
I choked on my food, knowing his mom had just heard that…and knew exactly what he meant by it. I shot him a glare, my still full cheeks feeling hot. He gave me an innocent expression and I heard Alanna lightly laugh as she walked over to give Jack a kiss. Jack looked up at her laughter, but not understanding it, went back to reading his paper. I took the opportunity to smack Teren in the thigh.
He swiftly kissed my cheek again. “I’m going to get a little snack.” He gave me a not so innocent look. “I find myself completely drained this morning.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head as he laughed again and turned to walk into the adjoining kitchen. I watched him leave, his body as lean, muscular and appealing in his worn-in jeans and long sleeve t-shirt, as it had been completely bare, and thought about him drinking in there. It didn’t bother me like it used to. Obviously, since I let him do it from me, but, I did worry about him getting enough to eat when we went back home. I knew he’d never hurt anyone, his will power had been tested to the extremes a few weeks ago and he’d proven without a shadow of a doubt that he had an extraordinary level of control, but, I didn’t want him to go hungry. I was a mom now too. Well, almost. But those instincts were there and I didn’t want him to suffer. It’s not like we’d be living on a ranch with plenty of opportunities for him to feed. He’d pretty much have to rely on buying small livestock at farmer’s markets. He’d be eating a lot of chickens.
I focused back on my plate and tried not to worry about it. He could always run out here if he got really hungry. The ranch was about an hour from our home - in a car. On foot, Teren could probably make it in fifteen.
Teren was still in the kitchen, and I was halfway though my massive stack of cakes, when something weird happened to me. My stomach started to churn. I set my fork down and pressed a hand on my belly. A horrible, familiar sensation swept through me and I stood up. My head started to swim as well and I started to panic a little bit.
I knew the sensation rising in my stomach and throat – every person over the age of four recognises it. My stomach was calling a halt to the act of eating, and was now going to “evacuate the pool”, so to speak. I looked around, my hand coming up to my mouth to clasp it shut. My mind could only comprehend ‘I don’t feel good’, and I couldn’t think past that, to where the damn bathroom was in this massive home. Suddenly getting scared that I’d lose it on the expensive looking dining room table, I started backing up…and lightly crying.