Chapter Two
Alexandru stared down at his sleeping wife. His wife. His body still tingled with the aftereffects of consummating their marriage, but she didn't have a single bruise on her beautiful body.
There was a sense of triumph in him, being beside the fragile human that was his mate and knowing he was strong enough to be gentle with her. He had been afraid when orgasm took him that he would accidently break her, but she had expressed only pleasure–the best she'd ever had–before she fell asleep.
The dress she wore to marry him in was hanging on his closet door, next to the tuxedo that Wava insisted he wear, rather than the jeans and sweatshirt he had been planning on. He smiled fondly, remembering his sister's look of horror when he had told her what he planned to wear.
His stomach growled. Even though he had drunk his fill before the wedding and filled his nostrils with a pungent mixture of herbs, her smell still made his mouth water. He scented his own blood in her, having decided the transfusion to strengthen her must come from his own veins. But the human smell was so delicious he forced himself out of bed. Best not tempt fate.
Alexandru threw on some old clothes and slipped out of his suite, locking the door after him for Found's safety. Wava had had so many transfusions over the years that his vampires no longer scented her as human, but this delicious, O-negative beauty could prove too much temptation for some of them. He wasn't going to take that risk.
He went to his private office, where he opened his store of blood. Dozens of blood bank bags hung in the freezer. He selected a particularly succulent O-negative to satisfy his hunger.
"I hear congratulations are in order, brother."
Alexandru tensed as he turned on his heel. His younger half-brother, Vlad, leaned against the windowsill on the other side of the room. The Vampire General felt his hands clenching and tried to relax. Vlad liked nothing better than to provoke him. He had ever since the Empress had declared that Vlad was not worthy to rule humans and gave his lands to Alexandru.
Since then, Vlad had been a wanderer. He went from brother to brother, who felt obligated to take care of him until he annoyed them so much that they kicked him out.
"Congratulations?" Alexandru asked calmly. He made a mental note to track the route Vlad had taken to get here and flog all the guards that had let him past.
"On your marriage, of course." Vlad's nostrils flared. "I don't scent blood on you, so you must have had a successful mating. Interesting…" Another deep inhale. "She smells delicious."
A deep growl rumbled through Alexandru's chest. He advanced on his brother, pulling his head higher and narrowing his eyes. Vlad was quite a bit smaller than he was and never pushed things to a fight for fear that he'd end up without a head. That didn't mean he wasn't damn annoying.
"You stay away from her. She's mine," he commanded, the words sounded good, so Alexandru repeated them. "Mine. My wife, my mate. If you so much as touch her, I will feed your body to the pigs."
Vlad clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Dear, dear brother. Mother would not be pleased to hear you speak to poor little Vlad with such hostility, when all he did was come to congratulate you."
"The Empress knows exactly what you are. That's why you have no lands and no title."
The reminder made Vlad clench his fists and flash his fangs in a snarl. He quickly regained control, however, and laughed.
"Careful, brother. You know what happens to men who fall in love? They lose everything, even their own wills."
Alexandru snorted. "The mortal is my woman. That's all. There is no danger of me falling in love with her."
Vlad's eyes gleamed. "So you say now. I wonder what you will say in a year or two… Assuming you can continue to mate with her and not crush her fragile human bones. Tell me, does plugging your nose really help to avoid the bloodlust? That's my downfall… every time I try to rut with a woman, I end up draining her. It makes my orgasm that much more powerful, but I doubt they much like it."
He laughed and Alexandru had to fight the urge to rip off his head right then. He did not have the authority to kill Vlad and he would be executed himself if he did. "Get out of my home."
"Tut, tut, so touchy."
"Out!" Alexandru roared, advancing, but before he could reach Vlad, his brother had slipped out the window and out of sight.
Alexandru rushed to the window, looking down. There was no sign of Vlad. He scowled. Vlad was like that, the slippery devil. Their brothers had often complained of the same thing. He was able to slip in and out of even the most heavily fortified palace, leaving hardly any trace behind. Some thought he dabbled in witchcraft, or could turn into a bat as some humans believed vampires could.
Both were ridiculous notions, but Vlad did have some sort of skill that the rest of them didn't. Alexandru suspected that was the reason the Empress put up with him.
When I rule the vampires, Alexandru thought, returning to his blood supply, the worm will be locked away in the dungeons until I get every last one of his secrets out of him.
The thought was comforting.
***
Found was alone in bed when she woke. Disappointment coursed through her. She'd hoped they could go for another round of mating, but when she started to move, she changed her mind. She felt like she had run a marathon, uphill, while wearing a backpack of camping gear. Every joint ached and her muscles were stiff. She'd need some time to adjust to this.
It was worth it, though. She grinned widely, thinking of the powerful pleasure that had coursed through her the last night. It was so much better than anything she had felt before.
Wava bustled in shortly after, as if she knew that Found was awake and smiled cheerfully.
"Good morning! Let me open these windows for you. It's a beautiful day outside."
Found blinked in the bright light, shielding her eyes and pulling the blankets up to her chin, having just realized she was naked.
"I've brought you breakfast as well as a new wardrobe. I'm afraid I haven't had time to do all the alterations I'd like, but you need some clothes for while you're here." Wava put a silver platter on Found's knee and hung a silk robe on the post beside her head.
"Thank you," Found said.
"You eat and get dressed in that while I run you a bath. Oh, it's so exciting to have a woman around here! Well, I mean a woman I can dote on. We have plenty of servants, but they all dote on me. Dear Sandru. As much as I love him, I'm afraid he can be a little stodgy at times."
Found nearly choked. She hadn't thought much about it when Wava referred to 'Sandru' the previous day, but there was definite affection in her voice. A wave of jealousy crashed over Found. What was this woman to her husband?
"You mean Alexandru?"
"Yes, I—Oh!" Wava's eyes widened as Found's narrowed. "He's my brother. I'm sorry, I thought you knew."
Found relaxed. "Oh. He didn't tell me he had a sister. So you're a daughter of the Empress?"
"No."
Found's brow furrowed. "But he's one of her sons."
"It's a little complicated… you see, after a certain time taking vampire seed into your womb, the transfer of blood will change your body and you'll become infertile."
Found gasped. She hadn't known that.
"Don't worry, it'll be a hundred or so years, far more than the average human lifespan." Wava smiled brightly at her. "But when the Empress reached that age, her husband took other mortal women to give him children. Sandru and I were both born out of one of those unions. Our mother raised us, but Sandru is still considered a son of the Empress because he is the Emperor's son."
"Oh," Found muttered. Her brow furrowed as Wava talked. The other woman had slightly elongated canines, but not fangs. Perhaps, like with many species, men simply had more sizable weapons.
Her stomach rumbled and she started on her breakfast while Wava bustled to the bathroom. The sound of running water made Found smile. She loved baths, but rarely had a chance to indulge herself in one.
The bath helped with her aches tremendously. Found lounged in the water for hours, until it was too cold to stand anymore and she got out. It was noon by then and her stomach rumbled again. Wava was still in the room, putting away clothing and answered the door when there was a knock.
A man handed Wava a silver tray. No, not a man. Found saw fangs flash when he spoke to Wava.
Suddenly the vampire stiffened. His head whipped around and his black eyes delved into hers. Fear flooded her and she stumbled backwards, unable to break eye contact with the vampire. He stepped forward.
Then a deep, threatening growl reverberated from the hallway. The vampire jumped, backing away from the door. He looked fearfully over his shoulder and in a moment Alexandru strode into view. The other vampire dropped to his knees, exposing the back of his neck. Something silver flashed in Alexandru's hand and blood spurted into the air.
Found gasped. Wava wrapped her arms around her, comforting her. "Shhh. He's not going to hurt you now."
"But he'll die!" Found's voice rose. She'd never seen a person die before.
The vampire sent her a puzzled glance, but a growl from Alexandru made him look at the floor again.
"He'll heal. I'm afraid young Ivan here has not had many interactions with humans before. He lost his head a moment." Wava's voice was perfectly calm. "Alexandru is re-establishing dominance. Bloodletting is necessary. Vampire blood is very potent, more potent than human. By washing himself in it, he's erasing your scent. Sandru won't let him up until it's completely safe for you."
Found's heart beat hard in her chest. It seemed to take forever, but eventually Alexandru pulled Ivan to his feet and whispered into his ear. The other vampire was ashen, but nodded and stumbled away.
Alexandru stepped into the room and shut the door. He stared at Found for a long time, nostrils flaring. For a wild moment she thought he was angry at her, but eventually his shoulders relaxed.
"I apologize. Your scent is very powerful. It's difficult to resist."
Found nodded, her heart rate returning to normal. She knew Alexandru wasn't going to hurt her.
"Wava, you must not leave Found's side," Alexandru said, eyes not moving from Found's face. "She carries my child and will be irresistible to the inexperienced young ones."
Found gasped. "What do you mean, I carry your child? I surely cannot be pregnant already!"
Wava squeezed her shoulders. "Congratulations!" she trilled.
Alexandru nodded stiffly. "I… am very pleased."
Found nodded, finding that there was a bubble of joy blossoming in her as she pressed her hands to her stomach. "So am I... I think."
"Good."
Found glanced at Alexandru. He didn't look happy.
"Sandru, your wife and you have just shared some wonderful news. The least you can do is kiss her," Wava urged him on.
Alexandru held his breath as he moved to Found's side, pressing a kiss to her cheek before retreating. "It will take time for me to adjust to your scent."
Found nodded, not knowing how to reply.
"I'll start on the baby's wardrobe right away," Wava clapped. "What luck, you getting pregnant so soon."