I couldn’t believe it. After hearing the story of Sergeant Org’s true identity and how we’d been promised in marriage when I was just a babe in arms, Jack stormed out of the cave and refused to talk to either of us. After one of the most excruciating hours I’ve ever endured, he finally returned. What I expected to hear and what I heard were two different things.
“Sit down, both of you,” he commanded. We did as he bid. He looked directly into Prince Mandrake’s eyes –I could no longer think of him as Sergeant Org-, “Why didn’t you tell me your true identity? You know I would have kept it a secret.”
“I know,” the prince replied. “It’s just that I’d promised Captain Berger never to tell a soul and I honor my promises. Besides, it was safer for you to not know.”
“I suppose,” Jack murmured. “We have a dilemma
We managed the remainder of the trip with no encounters with the enemy and no mishaps. We also shared no words. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts. Drake made a grunt or two when guiding us in this direction or that, but otherwise we moved in silence.My eyes bore a hole in Jack’s back as I seethed over his loathsome behavior, while wondering what he was thinking. I hoped he was thinking about the mistake he’d made and was searching for a way to make it right, but I guessed he was planning my wedding to Drake.We reached the teleportation launch in the early evening. Once again I was exhausted. Jack hadn’t offered to carry me at all, so the pace was far slower and the trip much longer than I could have been had he decided not to be an ass. I groaned and stumbled onto the launch pad, earning looks of concern from Jack and pity from Drake, but nothing more. Drake positioned us for the transfer
To say Aunt Jenny was shocked by my new look was an understatement. Since she’d been privy to my true story longer than I was, I decided to tell her the truth. We walked arm in arm around the clearing of the cabin while I described the horrors of what the Dragos were up to. We spent a few minutes focusing on missing people reported on the news and speculating whether or not they had been unfortunate victims of the Dragos before moving on to the next part of my little adventure.Telling her about Jack rescuing me was both heart breaking and heart soothing. She smiled proudly as she praised him for the attention and care he’d always provided for me through the years. She confided how she didn’t know how she’d have managed to keep me safe and hidden if it wasn’t for him. To my surprise, she confided that there had been several attempts on my life since she’d taken parental responsibility and it was Jack who’d thwa
I didn’t sleep for a week, but I did sleep around the clock. It was evening of the following day when I finally crawled out of bed and headed for the kitchen. I pulled my robe as best I could over my newly acquired figure, hoping it closed in places that it needed to close since the night shirt I found to go to bed in barely covered my crotch and what once were my underpants now resembled G-strings.As I drew closer to the kitchen, I could hear the laughter of a man and a woman. It was a nice sound. I entered the kitchen with a smile on my face only to find Drake sitting alone at the table and my aunt and Jack huddled together near the counter in obvious conversation about something they both found amusing.When they saw me they separated, but it was too late. The damage had been done. My smile was lost.“There she is,” Aunt Jenny cooed as she moved toward me with arms extended.I accepted her hug and kiss while p
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked cautiously.Jack looked at me as if realizing I was still in the room for the first time. He walked over, took the seat next to me, and then took my hand. Drake took the other one. There are no words that would even remotely touch on the impact my body had when those two held my hands. The closest thing to it would be to say it was like a bolt of erotic lightning surged through me.I visibly shuddered. Jack released my hand. Drake did not.“I want you to tell me all about this boy, Mark,” Jack said firmly.“Why don’t you like him?” I asked again.“How did you meet him?” Drake interjected.“He’s always been around for as far back as I can remember. We grew up together,” I replied. “I don’t understand. I told you I was engaged...”
When I awoke I was lying on my bed in my room, the sun was shining, and there was a pile of new clothes on the chair next to me. Aunt Jenny was bustling around the room tidying up what didn’t need to be tidied since I’m an obsessive compulsive neat freak. It was clear she was just looking for something to keep her occupied while she nervously waited for me to rejoin the world.“Good morning,” I yawned.“Good afternoon,” she replied with a smile.“What time is it?” I asked.“Somewhere around three o’clock, I think,” she said as she fidgeted with the tie backs of my draperies.“You went shopping?” I asked.“Without you… I know, but I only picked up a few things. You can get the rest yourself when you’re ready. I just didn’t think you wanted to go shopping when you had nothing to wear shopping,” she chuckled.
He traveled longer and farther than he’d ever traveled while carrying me in his arms. Instead of stopping abruptly as he had in the past, he gradually slowed, giving my body the opportunity to adjust. As a result, when he finally landed us on top of a majestic Canadian mountain I was able to enjoy stable legs that allowed me to walk about immediately. I stood still, waiting for the purging of my stomach to begin. To my surprise and delight, I felt a little nauseous, but nothing came forth.He took me by the hand and pulled me along behind him. I noticed his breathing was a bit labored. Another fallacy uncovered. Vampires eventually get tired.When we reached a large flat surfaced boulder positioned securely against the mountainside, he pressed on it lightly and it swung open. With my hand in his, he led me down a long underpass until we reached the other side. My breath caught in my throat at the vision of beauty be
It was my intention to never leave Jack’s rooms again. The thought of facing his staff after the show we’d provided them was mortifying. I did, however, put my clothes on. I didn’t want his staff coming in to clear things up and see me lounging around in Jack’s robe like some hired prostitute. Perhaps if they saw me dressed and well-coiffed they’d forget about my wanton display.From the size and number of rooms in his suite, I guessed he occupied the majority of the third floor; if not all of it. Jack had a wonderful array of books in the small library that was part of his rooms. I helped myself to a Jane Austin novel and headed to a light and airy sitting room I’d noticed while exploring. I selected a large floral tapestry overstuffed chair that was positioned next to the floor to ceiling window and settled in for a good read.I was about to start the third chapter of Pride and Prejudice wh
It took several hours before the horns sounded the arrival of a visitor. Drake was led into the great room of the castle with all the fanfare royalty deserved. Jack and I stood at the end of the massive hall. My heart broke as I watched his tortured face rotate emotions as he took in the scene of us standing together as king and queen… host and hostess. It was clear to all with eyes that Jack and I were a bonded couple that would be impossible to separate.When Drake finally stood before us, he looked at me with tortured eyes, but said nothing. He didn’t need to. It was clear I’d made my decision and it was equally clear I’d broken his heart. My guilt over hurting him forced me to look away.“You always were an excellent tracker,” Jack said with a smile as he extended his arms in greeting.“It’s easy to track a sloppy vampire,” Drake teased as he embraced his f
The sun brought in yet another day before Jack, Drake, and a very exhausted army returned to us. They not only managed to infiltrate the castle, but they’d killed the Black King. Those in the Black King’s army who weren’t killed or didn’t escape were given the opportunity to become Jack’s subjects once again. Most of them readily agreed. The few that didn’t were taken to the castle dungeon. Of course, although they were being locked up out of necessity to assure safety for Jack’s kingdom, they were more fortunate than he was when he was their prisoner. Jack didn’t believe in torture.We went to our rooms to see what became of Sara. I had half hoped she’d revived and run away so we wouldn’t have to deal with her.We weren’t that lucky.The power behind my shove was far greater than I’d realized. Sara was still unconscious. Jack seized the opport
The more I listened to Sara’s attempts to convince Jack that she’d done the right thing, the angrier I got. I kept myself connected to Vicki so that I could know their progress in finding Joshua. They found the entrance to the underworld and were heading in there. She warned me that it would be more difficult to keep connection since the surface world dealt with the third dimension and the inner world was ruled more by the second dimension. Crossing dimensions when you’re a novice can be tricky.I explained to Vicki that I was building up a type of rage toward Sara with every passing moment and wanted to snap her neck like I’d done with Mark and his men, even though Joshua was no longer inside me. She said that was the vampire blood taking over. When a new vampire is made, all emotions and senses are heightened to maximum and the energy level is intense. She assured me it would level off as time passed, but warned me
Vicki managed to rustle up a gown that was suitable for a blushing bride to wear on her wedding day. I was barely able to squeeze into it, but it was the best we could do without Dresser’s help, so I shrugged and told her not to worry. Since the ceremony was to be kept hush, hush, only the castle chaplain and our two witnesses were in attendance; the witnesses being Vicki and Drake of course.If I said I’d never fantasized about a big white wedding while growing up, I’d be lying. Even so, the ceremony was so lovely, so touching, and so meaningful that I felt I’d forfeited very little for the sake of my son. Since it was late and we’d all had an incredibly unbelievable few days, we were in unified agreement that the celebration could wait.Vicki and Drake gave their heartfelt congratulations and said their good nights. Jack had a snifter of brandy to help ease him into a restful sleep while I partook in the tea Marig
Marigold had the staff hustling and bustling about as they made Jack’s room more suitable for mother and baby. She fussed about the fact that the castle had over one-thousand rooms, yet I was being cramped into his quarters with him. We heard all about how it was done in the old days with mild amusement. Marigold’s outrageous ranting were just the ticket to take our minds off what we’d just been through. For Vicki and me, it was the trauma of giving blood and losing blood and then birthing a vampire child and, for Jack, it was being drained of blood and then almost killing me by drinking my blood and then joining Drake in a difficult battle followed by discovering my situation and what followed.All this within a twenty-four-hour period!Drake stuck to me like glue, refusing to leave even with all of Marigold’s scolding and carrying on. She finally settled for him sitting at the far side of the room with his b
“I’m sorry it’s come to this Jess. I know you were given no choice but it’s the only thing I know to save you. I knew the minute I set eyes on you that we would be lifelong friends. I can’t bear the thought of losing you either,” Vicki explained while I sucked greedily on her arm.I could feel the power of her blood flow through my veins. My baby responded immediately. Once again I felt the surge of adrenaline and energy fill my body. Although she said nothing, I could see that I was very close to taking more blood than was safe for Vicki. I forced myself to stop. It had to be one of the hardest things I’d ever done.Vicki stepped away and stumbled a little. I reached out to steady her.“Now look who’s caring for whom,” she said weekly.“I took too much,” I said with concern. “Why didn’t you stop me?”“You’
When Vicki returned to a more normal looking vampire, she shoved a gag in the man’s mouth and bound his wrists and ankle in a way that made it impossible for him to even fidget, let alone move. She tossed his big bulk over her petite shoulder with surprising ease, held her finger to her lips to let me know I needed to keep quiet, and tip toed out of the door Sara passed through not long ago.I was amazingly light footed as I hurried behind Vicki. We made our way to the dungeon below. We slipped into alcoves and behind doors to avoid meeting up with an occasional vampire. Fortunately, the majority of the black king’s subjects eagerly left to join in on the ambush, leaving us with only a skeleton group to deal with.At one point, Vicki stopped to take more nourishment from the bundle over her shoulder. I watched the robust color I knew to be her natural state finally return. That last feeding brought a resurgence of power to her
I managed to get the location of the black vampires, something they’d been able to keep secret since the black king’s return. Drake and Jeremiah were meticulous about recording everything I told them. When I’d said all I could and was so exhausted I couldn’t hold the connection with Jack anymore, they made ready for their rescue mission.Not long after that I was nestled in Jack’s bed with Marigold administering some of her wonderful tea to help me rest. I didn’t think I needed it. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep until Drake returned with Jack, but I took the tea anyway, since she claimed it also had healing properties to keep the baby well and happy.Vicki volunteered to sit with me and a guard was posted outside. We chatted about fashion and giggled about men and sex until the tea took hold and I drifted off to sleep. It seemed as if I’d just settled into a deep state of relaxation when I hea
When afternoon came around and there was still no sign of Jack, the entire castle was in an uproar. Since I was the last to see him, the sergeant at arms interviewed me extensively. Unfortunately, I was of little help.As the day wore on, I heard whispers from a few disgruntled residents blaming me for Jack’s disappearance. They pointed out that I’d only been there a few days and already they’d had more upheaval than they’d had in the last century. I felt horrible.Drake heard the whispering as well and decided to stick to me like he was stuck with glue. Short of going to the toilet, I was not allowed to be alone. He sat in a chair while I napped and offered me his arm when I went downstairs to dinner. I could have stayed in my room to eat my meal. I think a few of my dinner companions would have preferred it, but I wanted to be there to hear any news of Jack, should it come in.Light conversation
We lay in each other’s arms for several hours while Jack grabbed some much needed sleep. I was wide awake, but had no desire to leave his bed. His slow rhythmic breathing stabilized and comforted my nerves. I felt safe, secure, and at peace.“Marigold’s a witch doctor?” I asked with concern when he finally showed signs of rousing.“Is that a problem?” he asked sleepily.“I thought she was a regular doctor,” I explained.“Trust me. You want a witch doctor in a situation like this,” he assured me. “I’ve heard vampire pregnancies require magic as well as regular care.”“Why?” I asked suspiciously.He shrugged his shoulders with genuine innocence, “It’s a girl thing, I’m sure.”A soft knock on the door roused my lover. He pulled on his robe and sauntered to the door. He looked so sexy with his hair muss