Prologue

 “Now Casey, what I want you to take into consideration is the fact that… through no fault of your own… you’ve led a very isolated life,” my grandfather said with a deep chested, and very serious, sigh.  “In a few short months, you were exposed to more danger than any one person should experience in an entire lifetime.  On top of that, you fell in love with two brothers -both of which are vampires-, had your hidden magical heritage brought to the forefront and expounded upon, became a vampire yourself, and conceived a child. I just think it would be prudent to slow down just a little.  Let’s focus on this pregnancy and get you adjusted to your magical powers and… your vampirism… before you make such a serious and permanent decision as selecting which brother to settle down with.  One will undoubtedly be crushed and it will more than likely impact their relationship.  There can be no mistakes in your choosing, my child.”

I knew my grandfather’s words made sense, but it seemed to me that picking Geo over Luthias because of the baby I carried in my womb was the right thing to do. It didn’t matter that I loved them both on a fairly equal basis.  One was the father of my child and one wasn’t.  In my opinion, the choice was clear.  Surprisingly, my grandfather, my grandmother, and Gwendoline, didn’t agree.

“I should be with the father of my child,” I said stubbornly.

“There’s no law stating that,” Gwendoline quickly interjected. “In fact, if ye recall, the boys said your child can inherit the vampire kingdom no matter who the father is.  Your marriage to Charles sealed his inheritance.  I’d say that’s a good thing.”  She paused for a moment before adding, “As for your mother’s mutant domain... that goes to the child by default.”

“It’s not the vampire kingdom or mother’s domain that concerns me. I love Geo and I’m carrying his child,” I explained. “It makes sense that I would choose him.”

“It makes sense if you truly love him,” my grandmother said softly. “Let’s not forget that he’s the first male you kept company with; Luthias being only the second.”

“What about Charles,” I asked with hesitant meekness.

“Ha… we won’t even discuss that beast,” Gwendoline interjected briskly. “That devil isn’t even part of this equation and should be left out of it.” She took my trembling hands in hers and added, “No one is saying ye can’t be with Geo; especially me.  He’s my son, after all.  What we are asking of ye is that ye put deciding between my boys on the back burner for a bit and focus on our grandchild and your magic lessons. I didn’t mention it to ye earlier because I thought I’d have more time to train ye before ye became a vampire, but ‘tis harder for a vampire to wield magic.  I can’t explain the why of it.  It just is.   Now that ye are a vampire, we’ll have to work doubly hard to balance your magic; especially while ye are still adjusting to your new state of being.”

“Who’s going to help me with my adjustment to being a vampire?” I asked.

“I can,” she offered, “or we can get Abigail to come help.”

“No!” I practically screeched.  I cringed at the thought of being in Abigail’s company again. Her lesbian actions on my wedding night still haunted my dreams more often than I cared to admit.  It didn’t matter that she was acting upon Charles’s orders to prepare me for him.  I found the whole experience revolting. That, and the fact that she’d been Luthias’s lover, made her the last female I wanted to keep company with. “I don’t want that she-wolf within ten feet of me.”

“Understood,” Gwendoline said softly.

My reaction made it clear I had no intention of forgiving and forgetting.  She didn’t know the extent of my dealings with Abigail and I wasn’t about to tell her the story of how that vile seductress drugged me before she did Charles’s bidding and prepared me for my marriage bed. Gwendoline just knew we had negative history.  I suspected she thought my angst with Abigail was because she’d been Luthias’s lover for centuries, but I didn’t care. I’d rather she thought that, than admit to the truth.

“You have some time before you deliver,” my grandmother said in earnest. “Can you please take that time to relax and do what’s necessary to assure a healthy birth? After all, it isn’t every day a vampire baby is birthed.  I have no experience with it.  Have you Gwen?”

“Not enough to call myself an expert,” Gwendoline replied.

“What?” I said with concern as I paced Gwendoline’s porch.  “Is there danger for my baby?”

I’d barely managed to hold onto my pregnancy after my life and death battle with my evil, mutant-vampire mother.  Laying in my bed while I waited to see if I was going to miscarriage was as traumatic -if not more so-  than most of what I’d been through up to that point.  I couldn’t even think about any more threats to the innocent little creature that depended upon me for life-support and survival.

“Sit child,” my grandfather said softly, but firmly. “The last thing we want is to upset you. Sit, relax, and listen before you jump to conclusions.”

Gwendoline took my hand and pulled me down onto the top step next to her.  She held my wrist and focused on determining my heart rate.  It was naturally faster than when I was still human. Vampire’s heartbeats weren’t considered fast until they reached a resting rate of one-hundred-thirty beats per minute, but she knew enough to take this into consideration.  When she was certain I’d calmed down, she explained things more clearly.

“First and foremost, I want to make it perfectly clear that ye and my grandchild are not in any danger with this pregnancy.  I also want to make sure ye understand that ye are free to choose whichever son of mine ye so desire.  I know both of them would move mountains for ye and either one would make a fine husband and father for that babe in your womb. What ye need to remember is that, now that you’re a vampire, conceiving again won’t be as easy.  In fact, the odds of ye conceiving again are extremely low.  That makes this grandchild all the more special to Millie, Arthur, and me; as I’m sure does for ye.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the baby. It was created out of the love I shared with Geo.  Of course, I wanted it.  It’s just that I’d only just learned I was pregnant. Most girls my age were focusing on their education, careers, or whether or not to join Bartholomew’s army and help protect the populous against the threat of the human mutants. Having a baby was something that required permission and monitoring by the New World Order. The mixing and matching of the right and perfect genetics were of the utmost priority in order to repopulate the planet with healthy human specimens after the nuclear devastation that took place.  The girl was also married before she conceived.  This was law.  Surprise pregnancies for unwed mothers just didn’t happen.  To add to the stress of it all was the fact that the gestation period for a vampire baby was just a little over half that of a human.  It barely gave me time to adjust to the fact that I was going to be a mother, let alone worry about whether I could do it again.

Ending up as an unwed mother wasn’t a concern for me.  Both Geo and Luthias declared their undying love repeatedly.  In that I was secure. I simply needed to make a choice and I’d be a wife forever.  Even if I decided not to wed, it really didn’t matter anymore.  I’d left the world of humans who lived under the watchful, rigid eye of the New World Order forever. There was also the fact that, technically, I was a widow.  As far as I was concerned, I no longer needed the protection of a spouse. I was now a vampire queen of two kingdoms with the hereditary talents of a powerful witch being developed and unleashed.  It didn’t matter that it would be more difficult for me to develop them to their fullest potential now that I was a vampire.  I trusted my mentor and dear friend, Gwendoline, to come up with a way to work around this obstacle.

I have to admit that remaining single was becoming more and more appealing as I listened to my grandparents and Gwendoline repeat the same concept that the evil mutant-vampire who posed as my mother tossed at me before I had the satisfaction of killing her. ‘You don’t know what love is,’ were the words she said as she sold me -body and soul- in marriage to the wicked vampire king, Prince Charles Vogel, for her own personal gain.  In their own way, my loving guardians and mentor were saying the same thing.  Was it true?  Was Sybil right?

I occasionally thought of Sybil.   When I did, a myriad of emotions surfaced.  I didn’t regret killing her.  As far as I was concerned, the mutant-vampire that occupied the body of my once beautiful, once kind and loving mother wasn’t her at all.  Other than by appearance, she barely resembled the woman who once cradled me with motherly love and devotion.  Even so, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that a wave of sadness swept over me whenever I thought of how it might have been had she not transformed into such a vile and evil creature. Having lost her during the massacre by Bartholomew’s army when I was just a young girl, only to discover she was still alive, should have been a joyous occasion. Sadly, instead of being reunited with the strong, loving arms of the warm and caring woman I remembered, I was confronted with selfish wickedness.  Only a hint of the woman she once was remained.  It was an evil creature who died at my hands during our battle to the death.  My true mother was slaughtered by Bartholomew’s gun brigade a decade ago.

Even though I knew my mother really wasn’t my mother, the fact that she was alive and hadn’t seen fit to contact me all of those years still stung deep.  It didn’t matter that she’d become a mutant-vampire and buried her humanity; if not lost it.  I just couldn’t accept the fact that a mother -no matter what her state of being- could abandon her own child the way my mother abandoned me.  It mattered little that she’d made certain I was cared for by my competent and loving grandparents in the event something happened to her. It didn’t even matter that she’d tried to see me on more than one occasion and my grandparents turned her away.  If she was truly my mother and truly loved me, she should have tried harder.  I promised my unborn child that, no matter what happened, I would never abandon him.  I say ‘him’ because something deep inside me told me I was carrying a boy.  At the risk of sounding sexist, I felt the strength and energy that a boy would emit.  Gwendoline offered to do a test for the gender, but I declined.  I may have suspected that I carried a boy, but I wanted to be surprised when all was said and done.  Besides, the sex didn’t really matter as much as my baby -who was possibly the only baby I’d ever have- being healthy did.

“My baby deserves all I can give him.  If that means staying away from Geo and Luthias to assure a healthy birth, then so be it,” I said firmly, “I want to do the responsible thing.”