Raised by Vampires

DEMETRIUS

I couldn’t understand. Rose had always been extreme and daring, especially during those long periods when women submitted to their husbands. Rose had always been strong and unafraid.

She’d narrowly escaped death so many times. I’d never seen compassion or sadness in her eyes when she fed on humans. She was a ruthless pureblood vampire. She felt nothing.

So, where did this sudden love come from? Love for such a small and insignificant human. I couldn’t comprehend. What folly was hers?

After staring at the flames in the main chamber’s fireplace and listening to Jude and Eloise discuss Spanish fans, I got up and left the room.

No one called me back. I didn’t want them to. I didn’t want to speak or see anyone.

I marched up the stairs and entered the main hall. I paused, staring at the fireplace. Rose was still there alone, leaning over her new human daughter. I watched her.

Even after so many years, I was still blown away by her beauty: her velvet-soft milky white skin, her small nose, and full pink lips.

She tossed her head slightly. Her long thick wavy bright light blonde hair fell in front of her face, blocking my view. I clenched my jaw and moved quickly to the doors on the other side of the hall.

I only looked in time for my gaze to meet her large sapphire-blue eyes, then I was outside in the freezing wind and the knee-deep snow.

I looked around warily. In front of me lay only a small white valley, a few bent-over trees and all-around high mountains disappearing into the night sky.

I stared up at the moon. It seemed too bright. I turned away then slowly made my way around the cathedral.

Behind it was a large stable, about half the size of the cathedral and made of thick granite. It was plain on the outside, just a long, round-topped building with two wooden double doors.

They were closed, locked maybe. I didn’t notice when I tugged one open.

The stables spread out in front of me. The floor was made of marble and covered in bits of straw and melting snow. The arched roof was decorated with paintings of flowers and horses.

There were forty stalls, all lined up on both sides of the stable. They were made of dark oak, decorated with gold spikes.

At the end of the stable was a staircase leading underground, like the one in the cathedral. It led to a big chamber full of all the feed and hay they would need for the next five months of winter.

Mother had organized the stalls by the horses’ breeds. As I walked through the stable, I counted them, identifying the species immediately.

There were seven pureblood Arabian horses, six pureblood brumbies, six pureblood thoroughbreds, seven pureblood Russian trotters, and seven mustangs.

At the very end of the stable were the seven mixed-breed horses that Mother had bred out of pure curiosity and boredom.

The stable had five different heaters keeping the horses toasty warm on cold winter days. They kept the horses from dying before Mother got bored with them and decided to have a big dinner.

Mother had always liked horses; breeding them was one of her passions. Drinking them was also one of her passions.

The stable’s strong tang and dim light calmed my thoughts. I leaned against the far wall next to the staircase, letting my head drop into my hands.

I felt like I had been put through a blender. Nothing made sense. I closed my eyes and sniffed the air. I could hear the wind slapping against the side of the barn.

I could hear every horse’s heart beating in rhythm, their blood rushing through their veins. But their blood didn’t smell nearly as sweet as that of a human, especially that baby.

I could smell her, sleeping, her breathing calm, her heart beating. I could kill her so easily. Then all this folly would be over.

Rose would be angry, but eventually, she’d understand and probably feel pretty stupid.

I pressed my lips together and glanced around the stable. On the walls were Mother’s favorite paintings.

I’d seen them so often before, they didn’t mean much to me, but one, the closest to me, caught my eye.

It was a painting of Rose and our children. I could clearly remember that night in Italy when Mother hired a famous artist at midnight to paint their portrait. The artist never left the mansion.

Rose was sitting on a big red armchair. Kneeling in front of her was Aric, sixty years old, still little, his light hair falling in his eyes and a wide happy grin on his face.

Rose was also smiling. She had her arms around two bundles on her lap. The twins were only five, still babies.

Their identical moss-green eyes were wide, and they smiled, not even bothering to hide their baby fangs. They were healthy, chubby, and perfect.

Rose was thin, sheet white, paler than usual, paler than healthy. The fact she’d survived the twins' birth was miraculous. It was unheard of in all pureblood history to have live, healthy twins.

But for the twenty years that followed, they were breastfeeding, and they drained her of strength, power, and, most of all, blood.

They were monsters, like all vampire children, but as I stared at the painting, I could see Rose was overjoyed. Her face was glowing, her smile sincere, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling.

She’d never been happier than when she’d had the children.

I wondered if that human had made her feel as happy as her own children. Did it make her feel all warm inside?

How could she compare a human child to our pureblood vampire children, descendants of an ancient bloodline? What was she seeing in that blood bag?

I moved out of the stable, even more confused. As I opened the heavy doors, the horses whinnied in protest at the cold air that rushed in.

I hissed at them then slammed the door behind me.

When I went back into the cathedral, Rose and the human weren’t in front of the fire anymore.

But I could smell it downstairs, still asleep, so ignorant to the dangers surrounding it. I leaned against the side of the fireplace, rubbing my forehead that had started to ache.

I heard the movement of the snow outside the cathedral doors and smelled the familiar scent of my son as he entered. Aric paused, closing the door behind him.

I didn’t look up, but I could smell the blood on him. Human blood. He must have gone into town.

In a split second, he was facing me, his arms crossed over his chest.

“You’re angry with her.” It wasn’t a question.

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“Neither do I. That doesn’t mean I’m angry.” His tone was harsh. I raised my head and hissed at him, my nose wrinkling. Aric stayed calm.

“Go away,” I growled at him. Aric arched his brows, then nodded once.

“Yes, Father, sorry.” He gave me a small smile and pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. “I’m following in your footsteps. I’m an engineer, again.”

I stared at the piece of paper, remembering how happy Rose had first been when he’d first become an engineer over two hundred years ago.

“Congratulations,” I growled, looking back to the flames. I heard Aric fold his paper and stuff it back into his pocket.

“Nice to see you too,” he muttered before disappearing downstairs. I lifted my head just in time to see his blond head vanish downstairs.

I kicked the side of the fireplace, controlling my strength so that I didn’t shatter it. Not satisfied, I moved away, heading downstairs.

As I walked through the tunnel toward our family room, I smelled the human’s blood getting stronger and fresher by the second.

I barely paid attention to Aric’s breathing in his room and the twins’ slurping in their room. I was drawn to mine.

I stopped in front of the door. The child was in there, in my room, infecting it with its sweet smell.

Grinding my teeth together, I shoved the door open. I was surprised to see the crib resting at the foot of our bed, just like it had with Aric in it, four hundred or so years ago.

The child was in it, asleep and alone. I could hear, smell, and almost see Rose in our bathroom splashing around in the porcelain bath. She’d left the child vulnerable.

Either she was having second thoughts, or she trusted me.

I stared at the sleeping creature and drew my lips back over my fangs. I let her scent fill my nostrils as my hunter’s side started to take over. I leaned forward, slowly keeping my eyes on the human.

The second before I touched its skin, Rose appeared naked and soaking, gripping my wrist. Her long hair was dripping on the wooden floor. Her eyes were narrowing in on my face, her mouth twitching.

I stared at her, caught up in her naked beauty as my thoughts of killing the human slipped from my mind.

Rose stepped forward, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her body against mine, soaking my clothes. I breathed out a long sigh and rested my head on top of hers.

She always brought me back down to earth, could always calm me down. Right now, her serene presence moved my bloodlust toward the love I felt for her.

Her grip tightened around my body. She lifted her head to gaze deeply into my eyes.

“I love you, Demetrius,” she breathed, so softly I knew I was the only one to hear her. I closed my eyes and listened to her calm breathing.

“I love you more than I could ever explain,” I replied. I heard her small chuckle. She drew back and walked slowly toward the crib. I watched, narrowing my eyes.

She leaned over the crib and smiled at the sleeping human.

“I know you don’t understand, my love, but neither do I,” she whispered, staring at the child. She turned her head to me, and a small sad smile appeared on her perfect face.

“Rose, I can’t decide how I feel about this,” I told her, rubbing my middle fingers into my temples.

“I could give you some suggestions,” she told me, flashing me a wide, stunning smile. It slid off her face just as fast as it had appeared. “But I’m not sure you’ll like them.”

“No matter how you feel about this human, you are not its mother. She died, Rose, in an avalanche. You don’t even know how old it is or what its real name is,” I said.

Rose shrugged innocently. “It’s the twenty-sixth of December. We will celebrate her birthday today. And her name is Eleanor.”

“We’re going to celebrate its birthday?” I arched one brow doubtfully. Rose smiled and nodded.

“Of course. That’s what humans do,” I stared at her, my brows pulling together.

“But we’re not humans,” I reminded her, marching toward her and sitting down on our bed next to her.

She smiled at me, pulled her wet hair over her shoulder, and wrung it out onto the wooden floor.

“I know that, Demetrius. We’re pureblood vampires. I do know that.”

I blinked at her, then reached one hand out to stroke her cheek. The moment my fingers touched her skin, she pressed her face into my hand. Her smoldering eyes met mine.

“You’ve never felt compassion toward humans before,” I breathed. “And that’s normal, it’s good, and it proves you’re strong. Where does this compassion come from?” I asked her in a whisper.

“It’s not compassion, my love. It’s love.” She leaned against me, pressing her face into the side of my neck. I felt her cold breath tickling the side of my neck.

“I hate not understanding,” I muttered.

“I know.”

“I can’t stand it, Rose. You don’t expect me to sleep in the same room as it, do you?” Rose drew back slowly. I watched her stand up and walk back into the bathroom.

Seconds later, she was back, fully dressed in a long white gown. Her wet hair was pulled up into a loose bun. She regarded me cautiously, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Eighteen years, one more, maybe one less. It’s not going to kill you. Consider it a test of your self-control. Demetrius, you’re a thousand years old. Eighteen years isn’t going to make any difference whatsoever.”

“Maybe I should leave while you raise it. I’ll go to France, and I’ll be back when she leaves.” Rose stared at me, scowling. I scowled back.

“Please don’t leave me,” she murmured.

I hadn’t realized she was so close to tears, but I saw the redness of her tears tainting the beautiful color of her eyes.

“Just while it’s here. You won’t even have time to miss me,” I insisted, making my voice gentle. I reached out and grabbed her hand.

She came to me willingly and sat on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her body.

“Eleanor survived out on her own, in an avalanche when her parents died. She is not afraid. I’ve never seen a human look at me without fear.

“Demetrius, I really don’t expect you to understand, but I’ve been living this life for so long now, and it’s the same thing every night.”

She paused, moving around in my arms and pressing her soft, cold lips to my forehead.

“Eleanor is young and innocent. She’s pure. She’s human. Everything goes by so slow for a human. Every day will be different. She’ll be changing so damn fast.

“I don’t know where my feeling for this child came from, but I know that I want to protect her, and I want to see her grow up.

“She has a light in her, a warmth that I’ve never felt before, and right now, it’s completing me so much more than her blood would.”

She stopped talking to move her gaze toward the crib. The baby stirred but stayed asleep.

“I won’t be able to do it alone, Demetrius,” she continued. “I’m not asking you to be her father or to even talk to her, but be here for me, be on my side when everyone else turns their backs.”

I stared into her eyes. They looked young, like those of a scared little child. I realized that she was afraid, afraid of losing me, of losing the human baby, and of losing her family.

She was afraid of what this human would do to her, mentally. She was afraid she’d never feel warmth. She was so afraid and felt so alone.

I closed my eyes, listening to the baby’s heartbeat, to my children’s breathing in their rooms, and to Rose’s breathing.

When I opened my eyes again, Rose was staring at me, her own eyes wide, afraid. I’d never seen her afraid.

“I’ll stay,” I murmured, almost smiling at the wide grin that broke out on my wife’s face. She buried her face into my chest, hugging me tightly.

“Thank you, Demetrius,” she breathed.

“But I’m not its father, and if it annoys me, don’t expect me to fight fair. I’m not going to raise it with you, Rose. Remember that. You want it, you raise it.

Rose smiled at me. “She’s a she Demetrius, not an ~it~,” she pointed out.

“I’m going hunting before I eat your new daughter,” I murmured, shifting under her. I moved to the door, then swung it open and faced her. “Do you want anything? Have you fed since you found her?”

Rose nodded. “The twins brought me back some moose. It was enough,” she replied simply. I nodded once.

I left the room in a daze and rushed upstairs and out of the cathedral. I welcomed the freezing wind around me.

I took a few deep breaths, then switched my head off and focused on my hunt, letting my body take control.

My throat burst with thirst, my muscles tensed, and suddenly I was flying across the valley, following my nose.

I could smell the faint scent of blood. An animal, still alive and moving swiftly across the frozen land.

I easily caught up with the moose. I braced myself, then launched myself after it, grabbing onto its back and sinking my teeth deep into its flesh while snapping its neck with my arms.

The moose shuddered under me, collapsing on the snow. I knelt on it, lapping at the warm blood that poured out of its wound.