Conversion Book Three: 'Til Death Read online

  We’d gotten the twins’ car seats safely propped up on wooden high chairs, and were all watching them stare at the toys dangling almost in their faces. I was watching Julian’s pale eyes track a black and white ball when I’d felt my husband draw near.

  Knowing that I could not lose control in the middle of the restaurant, I’d begged my sister to start talking about something. Noticing and understanding my condition, she’d started rambling about her schoolwork and how she was inching her way up to the top of her class. I’d struggled to ask intelligent questions, but I’d had to sit on my hands to stop myself from tearing apart the table top.

  Breathing noticeably heavier, my mom had eventually asked me what was wrong. Since I couldn’t talk long enough to explain, and since Mom knew what I was anyway, Ashley started filling her in on my situation. Mom thought it was weird. I agreed.

  I’d whimpered and bit my lip when I felt him in the parking lot. Ashley had held my arm as I sat beside her, looking like she was afraid I was going to blur out of the room to rush to him. Honestly, I’d wanted to, and as I was sitting on the edge of the bench seat, I could have. I can clearly still remember imagining the chaos that would have created, the diners seeing a streak of a person rushing by them. I’d shifted my gaze to my children then, to distract my growing desire. I would not risk them by exposing myself. Not for this. I was stronger than that.

  When I’d finally felt him walk into the café…that’s when things had gotten embarrassing. He’d sped walked over to me and I’d dashed out of my seat to crash into his arms, like we were lovers reuniting in some sappy home-from-the-war movie. Then we’d started ravishing each other right there beside the tables, while shocked patrons surely gawked at our fondling hands and eager mouths. My mom had sputtered reprimands, and my sister had had a serious attack of the giggles, but it was eventually our longtime waitress, Debby, who had pried us apart and threatened to kick us both out of there if we ever did that again.

  Laughing at the memory, I watched him gallantly swing open the door for me right as I approached it. His timing would have seemed miraculous, if anyone had noticed. “Thank you, sir,” I told him huskily, pausing to place a light kiss on him before sweeping past.

  “You’re welcome, my lady,” he laughed back, grasping my hand as he led us to a corner table in the back.

  The memory of our embarrassing encounter fresh in my head, I flushed a little when Debby popped over to say hello. The waitress had probably forgotten the odd greeting, but my vampiric mind held onto stuff like that. Teren tilted his head at the rush of blood in my face, but didn’t say anything. I shoved down the lingering uncomfortable emotion and greeted her warmly. We really had done the best we could with that intense connection.

  Squishing close together in the semi-circle bench seat, I leaned against Teren’s cool side and focused on the feeling of my children approaching me. Teren kissed my head, whispering that he missed me. I clenched his hand, whispering that I missed him too.

  Resting my eyes, I let the sound of the world flow through me. But for low, even, faked breaths, Teren was silent as he rested beside me, but the others around were not. Clangs and curses streamed from the kitchen, laughter and whispered conversations echoed from the customers, and the hostess that had greeted Teren and I at the door, was commenting to her friend about how nicely shaped Teren’s backside was. Teren chuckled at the same time I did, clearly having heard that as well. I lifted my head to smirk at him. He only smiled back at me, shrugging his shoulders.

  Then the conversations shifted to hushed mutterings of, “Oh, wow, look at that,” and, “Ugh, grab a bag, I’m eating.” A low growl rumbled from my chest before Teren jerked my hand, shaking his head. I forcefully stopped the reaction, but I knew who the comments were about and it boiled my blood.

  My sister had just entered the café, and she always garnered a reaction from people. Having been caught in the fire that had destroyed our childhood home, Ashley was horribly scarred, head to foot. The burns had been so bad that she’d had to have several painful surgeries to heal properly. As a result, her body was blanketed with overlapping skin graft lines. She was a patchwork of imperfection, and in a society that placed more emphasis on external beauty than internal beauty, she stood out.

  Of course, not everyone who saw her reacted with vitriol. In fact, most people’s comments were sympathetic or encouraging, commending her for her bravery in the face of adversity. But the negative ones were the ones that I picked up on, since they greatly bothered me. I was tired of my sister being considered different, being noticed just for her appearance. It had bothered me so much at one point that I had asked Teren to change her, just to heal her. I knew how stupid and dangerous that request was now, having gone through a change myself, but at the time, I’d just wanted her to walk down the street without a thousand stares following her.

  But as Teren had told me once, she was happy, and as she bounded to the table, a slight spring in her hobbled walk, I thought she looked happier than usual. Tilting my head as she carefully sat down and scooted around to sit beside me, I asked, “You seem extra chipper, something up?”

  Ashley shook her head, the half of it that could grow hair swishing around her shoulder. “Just had a good day at work. You should see the way this little girl there idolizes me.” Ashley’s eyes teared up as she shook her head again. “I give her hope.”

  That made my eyes tear up too. Ashley had finished school, and being in the top of her class, had gotten the dream job she’d wanted in the burn unit ICU at San Francisco General Hospital. She was more than just another nurse there, she was a living, breathing example of what the patients there could be, if they just plowed through the horrible fate that they’d been given. I could not have been any prouder of my sister, and once again, I wished to be just like her when I grew up.

  “That’s amazing, Ash. You’re amazing.” I reached around her body, hugging her to me, and felt Teren wrap an arm around her too. He adored her as well, completely understanding what it was like to feel different.

  Ashley laughed and flushed under my praise. “Yeah, well…” Her brown eyes perked up as she spotted what I’d already felt. “No…they are the amazing ones.”

  I released her and looked over at the two boisterous toddlers clutching my mom’s hands as they came up the aisle. The trio were a happy sight, Nika still in her mismatched outfit, Julian’s mouth covered in some sort of chocolate treat. I shook my head at the spoiling grandmother that my mom had become, then smiled when my children let go of her to get to me.

  “Mommy! Daddy!” they both exclaimed in unison. Teren chuckled as they hopped up on the seat to crash into his side. Nika squirmed over his lap to sit in mine, throwing her arms around me and showering me with kisses. I laughed and kissed her back, loving how kids could make you feel like you’d been away from each for decades, instead of just a few hours.

  “Oh, I missed you guys,” I said, giving them each sloppy kisses. Teren tickled Julian with one hand as he wiped off his mouth with the other; Nika laughed at Julian’s joy. “Any problems today?” I asked my mom as she sat down next to Ashley.

  Smiling broadly, she tucked her chin-length hair behind her ears. “Of course not, those two are perfect.”

  “Perfect little monsters,” Teren chuckled, tickling Julian even more, until he squirmed and tried to get away from him. I elbowed Teren in the ribs for his comment, but everyone at the table laughed, entertained by the fact that technically, in the eyes of most people, they really were monsters.

  Chapter 3

  Forever

  A few days later, we were packing up the kids and their things for a weekend at the ranch. We tried to go out there most weekends, especially when they were in-between busy times and the hired help wasn’t around, so the toddlers could frolic and play uninhibited. There, safe at the ranch, we let the twins play to their full capacity. They loved it, loved the freedom of not having to rein in anything.

  Personally, I loved it too.
It was unbelievably frustrating to have to walk at a normal pace when you were in a hurry to get something. It was so hard to not blur down to the espresso stand on the corner and then blur back. I knew I could do it in the same amount of time it would have taken me to brew a pot in the break room, but I wasn’t going to blow my cover for coffee…even really good coffee.

  Pulling out my daughter’s favorite fuzzy pink blanket and my son’s must-have fire truck, I shoved both coveted items in an overnight bag for them. I followed that up with about six pairs of clothing changes; the kids got remarkably dirty playing out in the countryside.

  Teren slipped his arms around my waist, kissing my neck. I shivered as his cool breath tickled me. “You know, we could always leave them overnight and go on a date.”

  I twisted to look back at him. “An overnight date?”

  He smiled and nodded, holding me tighter. Cocking an eyebrow, he added, “You wouldn’t have to worry about being quiet.”

  I flushed and smacked his chest, then thought about it. We hadn’t spent a night apart from them since they’d been born. Sure, we’d gone on dates - a movie here, dinner there, drinks with Hot Ben and Tracey - but we kept it to a three or four hour maximum. Maybe it was because they were so young, maybe it was because I missed being with them for the bulk of the day while I was at work, or maybe it was just because I was a first time mom, but the thought of them being gone an entire night tightened my stomach.

  I bit my lip and shook my head, tears even stinging my eyes at just the thought of not hearing them say goodnight to each other. Teren cupped my cheek as he watched the emotion flood my face. “Not yet…they’re not ready. They’re still too young.”

  He smiled crookedly, clearly knowing that I meant that I wasn’t ready, but he didn’t call me on it. Instead, he only kissed me softly. Our tender moment was interrupted by a set of giggles at the door. We both twisted to look at the children we both knew were there, watching.

  Nika held her hand over her mouth as she laughed. Julian tilted his head, curious. Smiling at them, I asked, “Are you two ready to go?”

  Julian dashed off to their bedroom, but Nika stayed, pouting. “Can we bring Spike, Mommy?”

  I walked over to her, frowning. Explaining the situation to a toddler was tricky. Halina had a thing for dogs. I really didn’t want to freak out my daughter by telling her that though. She loved Spike. She loved Halina. Just as I was about to tell her that Spike would want to stay home, Teren walked over and squatted in front of her. “Do you really want him to come?” he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  She nodded, cupping her hands together in a prayer position. “Please, Daddy?”

  I glanced over at the big bad vampire literally melting into putty for his daughter. He grinned, ruffling her hair. “I think we can do that.”

  She squealed and flung her arms around him. From down the hall I heard Julian hoot his agreement, exclaiming, “Thank you, Daddy.” Nika repeated the sentiment and dashed off to join her brother, gathering the rest of their treasures.

  As Teren stood, I put my hands on my hips, a playful smirk on my face. He looked over my expression and shrugged. “She did the hand thing. How am I supposed to say no to that?”

  I shook my head at him, slinging my arms around his waist. “You are the biggest softy.”

  He leaned down and kissed me, grinning against my lips. “Quiet, you’ll ruin my reputation.”

  I pulled back and cocked an eyebrow at him. He actually did have a reputation in the vampire community, one that, if it weren’t for Gabriel and his influence, may have been an issue for us. He’d provoked and even…interrogated several nests of local vamps.

  That sort of thing had repercussions. We’d even been approached by a pissed off vampire once. Luckily Halina had been with us at the time. She’d flung the vamp into a wall, warning him to get over himself. Not really wanting a fight, the man had run off and we hadn’t heard from him again. I had the distinct feeling that Halina had gone to her boyfriend afterwards and the two of them had “taken care of it.” I’m not sure how. I don’t ask about stuff like that.

  After that moment, no other vamps bothered us. Gabriel had only said that at Halina’s request, he’d put the word out that we were untouchable. The word gave me pause. Untouchable? It made him seem like some vampiric crime lord. But, regardless, he was a good person, so I tried to ignore the power he held. And his power stuck; we hadn’t been bothered again.

  Shaking my head, I changed the channel of my thoughts. “Are you sure about bringing Spike? What about Halina?” I whispered that, even though the kids could hear me anyway.

  He looked down the hall towards their room, but they were busy laughing and picking out way more toys than we had room for in their bags. Looking back to me, he whispered, “She won’t do anything that would make those two cry. She won’t touch Spike.”

  I smirked, not able to help the thought that Spike was also…untouchable.

  Sighing, I shrugged and tossed my arms around him. “You’re right.”

  He kissed my nose. “Aren’t I always?”

  I laughed genuinely at his comment and he frowned; I laughed harder. He pulled away from me when the tears started stinging my eyes. “It wasn’t that funny.”

  The giggles overtook me at the look on his face. I couldn’t help it. There were so many times when he had been so incredibly wrong…it was just funny to me now. Holding my stomach, I watched him cross his arms over his chest, his face looking not amused in the slightest.

  I tried to control my giddiness, but I’d entered into that everything-is-funny stage and his expression was only making it worse. As his hands went to his waist and he actually started tapping his foot, I had to double over, the reaction was so strong. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I was quickly joined by two tiny, laughing faces looking up at me. They laughed right along with me, not really understanding what was so funny, and Teren sighed exasperatedly.

  Knowing that I was pushing the limits of even his tolerance, I scooped up the kids in each arm. “Let’s go get Spike.” I told their excited faces.

  We hurried out of the room, Teren shaking his head with his lips pursed when I looked back at him. Still chuckling softly as I walked down the stairs, I tossed a “sorry” over my shoulder.

  The only sound that answered me was something similar to, “uh-huh.” I smiled and shook my head. I could make it up to him another time.

  Later, as the car made its way around the last turn in the Adams’ super-long driveway, I inhaled a deep breath. The midmorning sun glinted off of the red Spanish tile, a visual reminder of the one thing that coming here afforded a family of vampires. Blood. Very, very fresh blood. And practically as much as we wanted, since they kept the “open-air” pantry pretty full.

  The kids squealed upon seeing the house, announcing our arrival verbally, since our approach had already been felt. I laughed and leaned my head back on the seat, enjoying the way my enhanced eyes saw the beauty of this ranch.

  The sharp points of the white stucco walls were easily apparent to me. The seamless wall of flat river rocks encrusted into that stucco finish along the bottom of the home, seemed even more impressive. My eyes could see the mortar holding each stone in place, could see the way they lined up perfectly. I could even see faint cracks in the rocks that I’d never noticed before.

  And that was from the parking lot-sized driveway.

  The rest of the home was no less impressive. Flat, clean glass windows shifted colors in the sunlight, showing me the rainbow gleam of freshly applied cleaner. The ancient logs, both structural and decorative, released a scent in the air that reminded me of summer camp, even through the confines of the car.

  As Teren opened the door to get out, the other smell that was abundant at this place hit me. Cattle. Lots of cattle. Even to human noses that smell wasn’t always a welcome one, but as I opened my door and stood up, I inhaled, savoring it. Somewhere in all that mess of animal was the tang of a wound
ed one. It smelled incredible.

  Looking over at Teren as I opened Julian’s door, I noticed his brows furrowing as he scanned the fields of long, waving tan grass. He smelled it too.

  “Everything alright?” I asked, unbuckling Julian from his restraints.

  Teren glanced down at me, then moved to open Nika’s door. He nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, probably. That’s just a weird place for the smell of blood to come from, and there’s a lot of it.” He shook his head. “We’ve had cougar attacks down there before.” Tilting his head, he indicated a stream running between two low hills.

  Unbuckling Nika’s seat, he pulled her out, her tiny arms closing around his neck. “There may have been an attack last night. I should let my dad know.” He shook his head and frowned.