vampires of san francisco 07 - suckers lost and found (16 page)

Rage fills me again as I consider how they’ve turned a being of sunshine into a rabid killer. 

“Let’s get a couple of beds in here. I want to get back to Manda,” Aidan says. I sigh as Sebastian makes his way to the master bedroom. 

“This is the master. I know Lily has always wanted a huge four poster.”

“Then she shall have one.” I wave my hand and a beautiful carved French antique bed appears. Complete with white linens. Lily will love it. “How’s this?” I asks.

“It’s perfect. I don’t want to know how you always know what she’ll love.”

I chuckle despite my melancholy. 

“I think Manda and I will take the room just across the hall. I want to be sure you both can hear me if I need you.”

“I think that’s a good idea. Let’s go put a bed in there and see how your fiancée is doing.”

I put my hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and transmanifest us back to the manse, too eager to take the time to walk. Lily is still holding Manda, still under my spell.

“You can wake her now,” Julian says. “Be prepared, she won’t be herself.”

“Okay, let me trade places, Lilith. Thank you for watching over her,” I say.

“Always. She will be like a sister to me before too long. Now is when we love her unconditionally and take care of her.”

“Wake up Sleeping Beauty,” I whisper before I touch Manda’s forehead.

In a split second she is across the room and hissing. Her nails are poised to claw someone and her fangs are bared. 

“Not yet, love,” I say using considerable strength to hold on to her. “We’ll be able to go out and about before you know it. Manda, love, do you know where you are?”

“Huunngry…” she moans and pulls at her hair. I quickly grab her hands to prevent her from hurting herself.

“Manda, we are going to get someone for you to feed on but you must not kill them. We’ll be here to stop you from taking too much. Remember we love you. We won’t let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?” Julian asks.

Manda hisses and her fangs are still out but her eyes are a bit clearer. She tilts her head as if she understands part of what Julian said. 

“Aidan, why don’t we trade places again and you can get a donor. It will be faster and she isn’t up to hunting yet,” Lily tells me. She slowly approaches Manda and Manda starts to writhe as if she is in pain. She can probably scent her vampire blood. While it wouldn’t be enough for her nutritionally, all she is reacting to is the scent of blood.

Lily grabs her arms and in a flash she has replaced me. 

“Shh… darling girl. We will take care of you. Try to relax until your food comes. We’re going to work extra hard not to hurt the food, okay Manda?” Lily says in a gentle voice. Manda is so easily triggered at the moment.

“Okkkaaay. Sooo hungry. Need food noooow,” Manda groans.

“Here he is, Manda. Aidan is back with some food.” Manda starts to thrash about trying to get to the young man I have brought for her. “Manda, we’re going to do this together. You may not tear his throat out. You will bite gently and feed. Understand me?” Lily asks.

“Yesss. Now!”

“Here we go, Manda.” Lily moves them a little closer to the man. Close enough that Manda can reach him if she stretches her neck. She bites in a flash. It’s a clean bite. We just have to pull her away before she drains him.

Manda is moaning and sucking hard. Sebastian moves in to help Lily and me with pulling Manda back. She growls at us.

“Manda, sweetheart. I know you can hear me in there. You don’t want to kill this innocent man. It’s time to let him go. We’ll get you another one if you want,” Lily coaxes.

Slowly, Manda lets go. It’s so much better if she does this on her own than if we have to pull her off. She’ll gain control over herself faster this way. For some reason she seems to be responding quite well to Lily. It means extra work for Lily but we may have a good chance at reclaiming the real Manda.

“I’ll get you another, love,” I say and run the back of my knuckles down her face. She doesn’t snap at me, a good sign.

I’m gone and back in a matter of a minute. Lily is caressing Manda’s arms and hair. Speaking to her in dulcet tones. Manda seems to visibly relax.

With a new donor in front of her she relaxes even more, starting to trust that what we tell her is the truth and that we will take care of her. She bites the second man almost gently but not quite. She eats like she is starving and he is a T-bone. When she’s taken enough, Lily starts to whisper to her again. Eventually she lets go and Lily asks me for a wet cloth to wipe Manda’s face off. While I take Manda’s dinner home, Lily gingerly washes around Manda’s face, mouth and neck until she is clean.

“Manda, let Aidan get you a night gown. We must sleep in about fifteen minutes.” Manda gives us a stiff nod.

“Manda, love, I’m back,” I whisper softly to her, approaching her like the wounded animal she is. Manda backs further into Lily. I stop and pull the next donor forward. I can’t hide the pain on my face as Manda pulls back.

“Here you go, Manda. Just like before. Bite gently and I’ll let you eat until you start to take too much. Now, honey,” Lily says.

Manda strikes and groans in pleasure as she drinks deeply. Before too long, Lily pulls her away. Manda hisses but Lily runs her hand over Manda’s hair again and again until she quiets down.

“Aidan can you change Manda into a nightgown? We’ve got about five minutes until it’s time to sleep. Maybe we should head over to the other house?”

Lily gratefully gives Manda to me and collapses into Sebastian’s arms. Manda tenses at first but with Lily’s encouragement she goes with me. We all make our way to the house. I take Manda to bed and Lily collapses on hers. She’s too tired to change. She shouldn’t be tired. 

I hear her talking to Sebastian through the walls.

“Bast, I think we better get a pregnancy test tomorrow. Can you do that while I’m sleeping? I want to know if that’s why I’m so tired.”

I grin widely. Maybe it’s her condition, which I know without the pink plus sign result, will shine some joy in our lives right now. She’s pregnant.

THIRTEEN / LILITH

The next morning Andrew and Liam had barely had time to comprehend what had happened the night before when Andrew storms through the new house. Andrew is all in a dither, still in pajamas. Julian must have told him about our wedding present. Yikes! He and Liam had been out the night before.

      “Miss Lily! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to be in two houses at once?” he says as he bursts into my bedroom.

      “Andrew, I don’t expect you to be in two houses at once. You live there, therefore you butler there. I will just have to do without your wonderful services. Somehow I will survive. I’m not sure how, but I will.”

      “We’ll see,” he huffs.

      Aidan peeks in the room too. Thank goodness Sebastian put me in something decent last night after I fell asleep.

      “Manda is still asleep. Is that normal?” he asks with a frown on his perfect face.

      “Yes, every vampire is different. We’ll keep a close eye on her until she wakes up. Then she will need to feed again,” Sebastian explains. “Lily sleeps six hours and yet Hannah sleeps eight. Age makes no difference. It’s entirely random.”

      “Okay, I’ll leave you two to your other concerns.” He winks at us and pops out.

      “He heard us last night. The little fire spirit is sneaky,” I say. Sebastian chuckles. 

      “What are you guys talking about?” Andrew asks.

      “Nothing. Can you and Liam go get dressed now while I take a shower?” I say not unkindly.

      “Oh, ah, we were just going,” Liam says. He’d be blushing if he could. He looks mortified. I laugh on the inside and then go to him and kiss his cheek, Andrew’s too.

      They exit, leaving the tension to build between Bast and me. He smiles at me and picks up a small paper bag, rattling it.

“Bast, you can come in now.”

He walks into the bathroom. I am sitting at the vanity staring at a white plastic stick.

“We have to wait a few minutes. There should be a plus sign if I am pregnant,” I explain.

Sebastian takes the other seat and we hold hands and watch as a pink plus sign slowly appears.

I jump into Bast’s arms and bury my head in his shoulder. Sobs wrack my body and Bast is stunned. He snaps out of it enough to start comforting me. I hold him tightly, afraid if I let go it won’t be true.

I lean back and look at him with the biggest smile I think I have ever had. I’m squeezing his hands so hard. 

“Oh, Bast. Oh my Goddess, Aidan, thank you. We have to call everyone.”

“In a minute. Let’s just be together a little while before we get everyone over here. That way we can have Aidan bring Hannah and Diel too.”

I lead him into the bedroom and he lifts me on the bed. He curls up around me and I rest my head on his chest. We lay with our entwined hands over my belly and just be for a moment.

“What kind of doctor do we use? Oh, I never even thought about this. Maybe Dr. Hildebrand can help?” I ask. He was Hannah’s doctor. He’s a Demon and the top OB/GYN in Hell.

“I hadn’t thought about it either. We’ll call him and see what he suggests. I think he will be the most likely candidate.”

“I’ll have to give birth in Hell. Not something I ever wanted to do,” I say considering.

“I’ll pay to have a temporary private portal into the house so he can come and go as he needs to. We’ll do a home delivery, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sebastian, thank you. You will be the best dad ever. You are already taking care of all us – me and our child. I can’t wait to share this little life with you. We’ll be a family.”

“We were already a family, my love. Now there will be more of us to love.”

I don’t reply, instead I snuggle back onto his chest and sigh with contentment.

“You are the sweetest thing to ever happen to me in my long, long life.”

I grin up at him and he kisses the hand that was resting on my belly and replaces it.

“Do you want a girl or a boy,” Bast asks.

“I don’t know, what about you?”

“I want healthy. But it would be nice to have a little girl. I can just imagine her being daddy’s girl and you could definitely dress her. I think you will put me in the poor house with all the shopping I see in your future.”

“And you will love everything I buy. Oh, we need to plan which room will be the nursery.”

“I think the room across the hall from us. It’s close and has a beautiful view for rocking a baby in front of.”

“I wonder how long I will be pregnant for. Aidan said nine months but I don’t know if that’s accurate or not. I guess we’ll have to ask him and the doctor.”

“Can we call the doctor now? I’m anxious to have him see you.”

“Of course as long as he promises to keep it a secret for a couple of hours.”

“I think he has to,” he says as he reaches for his phone on the nightstand. He still has Dr. Hildebrand’s number since we all had it when Hannah was pregnant, just in case.

      “Congratulations,” Aidan yells from the other room.

      “Thank you, my dear friend,” Sebastian yells back.

      “You guys did the, umm, hard work.” He laughs loudly at his own joke. Sebastian chuckles too. He nuzzles my neck.

“I love you so much,” Sebastian says in a hoarse voice. The emotion in his eyes is my undoing. A single tear escapes my eye. How is this possible? Both Sebastian and I are in awe.

      “Do you think it’s from the pregnancy already?” I say.

      “I don’t know but we can ask Dr. Hildebrand when we call him. All I know is that it is amazing and you are so beautiful.” Sebastian kisses my cheek where the tear has fallen. “Let’s take a shower before Manda wakes up and then call the doctor. Come ma petite maman.”

      He helps me step into the shower and the steaming jets of water wash off the weariness of yesterday and all that had happened. Sebastian gently washes me and then himself. He washes our hair and then lets his tongue run across my shoulder before nipping it and sending a shot of fire straight to my groin. Soon his hand follows to where I burn. Before I can reach my release he thrusts into me. Again and again, keeping a steady languorous rhythm until I come apart. He soon follows and bends down to kiss me thoroughly. I am totally relaxed and full of joy as I step out of our shower. I’m going to be a mom.

FOURTEEN / SEBASTIAN

Lily is all dressed and looking adorable as only she can.

“Let’s call Dr. Hildebrand. I think he is the best choice for us, in fact the only choice. Is that okay, ma petite maman?”

      “I think you’re right. Let’s call him. I want to talk to him before Manda wakes up.”

“Dr. Hildebrand, please. Please tell him it’s Sebastian St. John.” I put it on speaker so Lily can hear too.

“Sebastian, how are you? What can I do for you? Is Hannah all right?”

“Yes, she and the twins are fine. I’m calling on a private matter.”

“Oh?” We can hear the shock in his voice. I chuckle. He’s going to be writing about this in a medical journal somewhere.

“Our friend, Aidan, the Djinn, gave us a present for our wedding. He made it possible for Lily to get pregnant. We just took a test and confirmed it.”

“Oh my, this is a miracle. What a fascinating thing. I should see her right away to confirm the pregnancy of course and to set up prenatal care. That is if you want me to be her doctor.”

“Yes, we do. Lily doesn’t want to deliver in Hell so I was going to get a temporary private portal installed at the house. Would you make house visits? Do you think a home delivery is possible?”

“Yes and I don’t know. I can easily visit you in your home if you make the other end of the portal at my office. I’m not sure about a home delivery.” Lily’s mouth turns down in a frown. “It’s quite possible but I won’t know for sure until I examine her and we see how the pregnancy progresses.”

Lily brightens up.

“Thank you, Dr. Hildebrand. I will have Diel get the portal installed today. When can you see her?”