Lucy
A soft spring wind blows the muslin into a balloon of white through the open windows, open to allow the sunshine in.
Dominik sits in shadow, cradling our son, Damek. The baby gurgles at him, a gummy smile on his face as Dominik tickles him gently on his stomach.
Not that I had any doubts but my big, bad vamp loves our boy as passionately as he loves me. And not just in a play with the baby way. He’s got stuck into every aspect, from changing and bathing to feeding and all the sleepless nights.
Well, when you have a vampire as a partner, why shouldn’t he do the nightshift?
It’s a good thing too, given how terrible I’ve been feeling recently.
“I’m just going to…” I roll out of bed and head to the bathroom where I throw up noisily.
“My dove?” Dominik says from the doorway.
“Must have been something I ate. My stomach is delicate at the moment.”
“You are not eating nearly enough.” Dominik crouches down next to me as I rest my forehead on the cool marble.
“It’s all brand new, being a mother. I guess I’m just caught up in the moment,” I say. “I haven’t felt like this since…”
I stare up at Dominik. He gazes down at me, Damek waving his pudgy arms around and laughing at the echoes in the bathroom.
“Since when?” Dominik asks.
“It can’t be possible.” I feel my eyes fill with tears. “Vampires are…dead.”
“We’re in a state of stasis more like. Or rather that’s what vampire scholars have postulated. Our mortal forms insulated from time. It’s sort of like being dead.”
“But you can’t…have children?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried,” Dominik says with a shrug which Damek finds hilarious.
“What do you mean you’ve never tried.”
“Like the venom in my bite or the ability I have to turn a human into a vampire, my body is under my control.”
“So, I could, technically, get pregnant?”
Dominik chuckles. “No.”
“But what if I could. What if you weren’t…being careful?”
“I can assure you, I would know if it was possible,” Dominik says in his usual high and mighty fashion.
“Fine.” I struggle up from the floor. “How about we test that hypothesis?”
An hour later, we’re looking at five pregnancy tests laid out on the bed. Each and every one is positive.
“So, tell me again about vampires and pregnancy?” I look at him. “And why we should have perhaps taken more care?”
Dominik wraps an arm around me, shoves his nose into the crook of my neck, and inhales deeply.
“I wouldn’t have taken care even if I thought this was possible, my dove. I loved you being filled with child, I love our son, and I cannot wait to see you filled once again.”
He makes me heat up, as always. Most likely the reason I’m yet again in this situation. It shouldn’t be possible on so many levels, but the tests can’t possibly lie.
“But how will it work?” My voice is hoarse.
“Our child will be human but with the ability to be vampire if he or she wishes,” Dominik says.
“You know far too much about this for there to be any sort of accident,” I respond.
“I googled it,” Dominik replies, nibbling on my neck before withdrawing and gazing into my eyes.
“I didn’t expect this to be possible, Lucy.
It was always something speculated about in ancient dusty tomes but seemed like something beyond even the realms of vampire myth.
If I’d known, I’d have asked if it was what you wanted. ”
“You didn’t need to,” I respond, firmly. “Because I would have always wanted this, Dominik. I want a family more than anything. And I want it with you.”
“That’s good, my sweet.” He goes back to nibbling on my neck. “Because now I know it’s possible, I will be ensuring we have many, many children.”
He sinks his fangs into my neck, sending a flood of ecstasy through me as he takes one long, deep pull, making my core pulse and my mind go blank.
I will always be his, and he will always be mine.
And I think we’re going to need a bigger nest.