Chapter 12 Kal
Tesswasscared. Kal could practically smell it on her and he didn’t like it.
Not that she wasn’t allowed to be scared, but he knew how truly tough and strong she was.
It was a feature he appreciated about human women.
They were so much more physically fragile than Vampyren, male or female.
But it didn’t stop them from being tough and brave.
Tess was especially petite. Her hair had grown but when he met her, she’d had a short little haircut.
She’d looked like a tiny waif. Yet it hadn’t stopped her from doing the incredibly dangerous work of liberating children from his kind.
He admired her immensely for that strength.
He knew the Lucian were truly frightening, but he put Tess’s obvious terror down to those pesky pregnancy hormones.
It was probably a necessary thing after all.
She had to be afraid so she could protect the child inside her.
He knew he felt increasingly possessive on her behalf himself during her pregnancy.
He was pretty sure Vampyren men were just as affected by pregnancies as their better halves.
He had a theory that Vampyren men impregnating breeders became infinitely more dangerous when they chose not to follow up on fatherhood (which was most of the time).
They had all that possessiveness and bloodthirst that was intended to be used protecting their kin, but they had no functional outlet for it.
Instead, it could easily be misdirected.
Well, it wouldn’t be in his case. Anyone who came near Tess in a threatening manner was likely to get their head removed from their body, that much was certain.
Unless he felt like letting them suffer and die slowly. That was always an option too.
“I need a nap,” Tess said, sighing now. She did look tired.
But he wasn’t about to tell her that. He had made the mistake of being a littletoohonest by telling Tess she looked tired or fat or haggard before.
He had never intended those comments as insults.
Vampyren people didn’t really get fat. It just wasn’t possible given their genetics.
Pregnant Vampyren women’s bodies really didn’t change outside of their swelling bellies.
So when Kal had merely been fascinated by how Tess’s face was fuller, her curves softer, he hadn’t meant it at all in a bad way when he mentioned it.
In fact, it had turned him on. But she hadn’t taken it well. Oops.
“You want me to nap with you?” Kal said. He knew she tended to sleep better when they slept together.
“Not if you’re not tired.” But her eyes begged him and he smiled before crawling into their bed. They had pretended for a while that his living quarters would be separate from hers, but they weren’t bothering with that now.
Tess looked almost shy and Kal thought that mildly hilarious given how much they knew and had done together throughout their relationship.
Or maybe she was just embarrassed about needing a nap.
But she climbed into the bed anyway and he cuddled up behind her.
She sighed in his arms and he thought she was going to sleep until she started talking.
“Have women really hit on you?” Tess said. “You can tell me. I’m not going to be mad atyou. Might be pissed at them.”
The sheets and blankets were cool. It was the thick of summer in Chicago and everything was hot and sticky and a little insufferable.
They’d set up what Tess called a “swamp cooler” in their room that helped a bit, but Tess’s body was hot against his, though the sheets were cooling her down a little.
It should have been uncomfortable but the scent of her and her sticky skin under his hands was only turning him on.
Her sense of possessiveness made it worse.
He was getting hard in his jeans now and he shifted under the sheet, grimacing.
“Couple times,” he murmured. “It’s not as if anyone would have a chance against you.”
“No?” Tess said. “With my fat little pregnant body? Driving you crazy? Eating all the time?”
“We weren’t lying,” Kal whispered, and now his erection was getting worse.
His hand crept up under her shirt and he palmed one of her breasts.
She’d taken her bra off right after she’d walked in the door and his cock swelled at the satisfying feel of her swollen breast in his hand.
“It’s sexy. The hunger… for food, forus… ”
Tess hummed and pressed back against him.
His breath was on her neck and he was riled up now as she rocked back into him.
He pinched her nipple and she made that high little whimpering noise that he liked so much.
Soon enough they were both scrambling to take off their pants and then Kal shoved Tess’s panties down around her thighs.
She reached back to clutch his shoulder and pull him closer and he slid neatly into her from behind.
It was a comforting kind of sex; heated but gentle.
He reached down to finger her in slow circles that made her groan and sigh and finally he sank his teeth into her neck.
He’d marked her already. It had been some time since he'd first drawn blood from her and tasted her sweet, buttery blood on his tongue.
Now he could sense where she was and pick up her scent more easily.
Mark had told him it might be a good idea since she was pregnant.
It had also given him a slight thirst for her.
Nothing murderous, of course. He just had an urge to taste her sometimes.
Mercifully, she was aroused by it. Now as he sucked just a little bit of blood from her neck, she came as he rubbed her clit a little faster and thrust into her.
She cried out and he shut his eyes as he met his own orgasm inside her, the two of them riding a shared wave of pleasure together.
“I love you,” Tess said and he kissed away the tear that slid down her cheek. “I love you so much, Kal.”
“I love you too, baby,” Kal said, her blood still on his lips.
* * *
Most of Kal’s days,when he wasn’t with Tess, were spent on whatever the Urbana campus seemed to need from him.
Sometimes the work was in the interest of the Council beyond the campus.
He’d gone out on Loren’s missions several times with Mark, Danton, and Alek to clear roads or resolve skirmishes around town due to some conflict or other.
Sometimes the fight wasn’t even between a Vampyren and a human.
In fact, it was likely to be two humans or two Vampyren.
It was almost like everyone was on equal footing now, especially since the forced feeding tanks had been abolished by Loren.
The Council was instead, offering incentives to humans to donate their blood.
Usually, it was a steady supply of food or security for their housing.
The problem was the economic system, Loren told Mark and Kal.
People were starting to use money again but its value was all over the place.
There was nothing fixed. Taking an old dollar from someone and assuming you might be able to use it to buy something else was almost an act of faith.
But people were doing it more and more. The problem was that the Council didn’t actually have money.
They’d need to fix the economic system soon.
It was all Loren talked about. Still, some humans were happy to donate their blood if they could stay fed and not be abused in the process.
It wasn’t a perfect system yet, but they were getting there.
Now Kal tossed his brother a blood pack as they walked out to the SUV that evening.
Loren wanted to meet with them, but he couldn’t get away from the Council HQ.
He’d wanted Tess to come too but she’d given Kal a lecture about having too much work to do with the kids’ home and besides that, there were several other creches now liberated that were having problems transitioning to the new, more humane homeanda number of human kids who needed to be reunited with their parents.
What did Loren want from her anyway always demanding her presence?
Kal had kissed her on the forehead and promised her he’d make her excuses to Loren instead. She worked too hard, and he knew it.
The drive up to Chicago was calming somehow.
Kal liked to drive. It had been fun to learn, although he was pretty sure he was breaking all kinds of tedious traffic laws even if they weren’t enforced anymore.
Now his tires squealed as he turned a corner too fast and Mark gripped the dashboard, giving him a disbelieving look.
“What?” Kal said, shrugging. “I like speed.”
Mark just laughed at him and then fiddled with the radio.
There were a couple of small stations that had recently started around Chicago.
They played music and talked about the goings-on around town and how different things were since the Council had changed leadership.
When the radio towers were actually functioning, the stations could be a good source of information.
They advertised traders and announced locations of doctors and food stands.
So far, it was a lot more reliable than the paltry internet left after the near apocalypse, or at least that’s what all the humans said.
“Good evening, suckers and sources of blood!” The DJ said when Mark found one of the stations coming through clearly.
“It’s a hot one in the windy city tonight, kids!
Stay in with the swamp cooler, hold your Vamp close but not too close because things…
are sticky! But if you pop on down to the Magnificent Mile, you can catch the Farmer’s Market this weekend!
That’s right, folks! This evening and tomorrow starting around noon, Chicago’s small farmers are bringing you the best in absolutely organic produce and other homemade treats and for humans and vamps alike.
All the delicious blood packs you can suck!
Kettle corn! Honey sticks! And a giant trampoline for the kiddies!
So c’mon down! Security provided by the regional leadership Council.
Now, let’s keep thingssultrywith some good ole’ Dusty Springfield! ”
The music kicked in. Kal had never heard it before but he found himself bobbing his head in time, vaguely wondering if Tess would say he had any sense of rhythm. She claimed all Vampyrens were hopeless at staying on beat.
Mark clicked his tongue as they pulled over on the street in front of the Council HQ. “A farmer’s market,” Mark muttered. “Can you believe that? We were raping and killing them mercilesslynotthat long ago. Now they’re selling blood packs next to the certified organic kale out by the river.”
“It’s something,” Kal said. He found himself smiling at the thought. “This is how humans progress, I suppose? By selling things? I find it confusing.”
“Apparently, they call that capitalism,” Mark said. “Crystal has explained it all to me. Manytimes. She’s a big fan.”
“Hi there.” The human woman came out of nowhere.
She was selling snow-cones on the sidewalk in front of HQ and she was barely wearing any clothes.
She batted her eyes and jumped in front of Kal as he walked toward the entrance with his brother.
“You lookhot. Would you like a snow-cone? Only a dollar?”
She bit her lip and cocked her head, batting her eyes at Kal. Beside him, Mark snorted and clapped a hand to his mouth. He could hardly contain his laughter.
“Ah, no thank you!” Kal said.
“What aboutme?” She licked her lips and reached out to stroke his arm. Kal smiled tightly and took a noticeable step back. “I could keep you relaxed on this hot, sticky day. I love a big, strong Vampyren.”
For a dizzying moment, Kal thought maybe he was using pheromones and hadn’t realized it.
But he wassurehe wasn’t. It was just what he’d been talking about with Tess, that was all.
Human women wanted to lock down a relationship with Vampyren men who might provide protection in case things got hairy.
Hell, even the radio DJ seemed aware of it.
“No, thanks,” he said again.
The girl immediately turned to Mark and crossed her arms, squeezing her breasts together so her cleavage poked out beneath her tank top. “What about you, baby?”
The amused expression disappeared from Mark’s face and he backed away, raising his hands. “No thanks!” Kal threw an arm around Mark’s shoulders and shrugged, walking them to the Council HQ entrance.
“We’re family men!” Kal said. “We’ve got human women already!”
“I’m better in bed!” The girl called after them.
“No, you’re not!” They both said, as two guards opened the doors to let them inside.
“Pushy one, isn’t she?” One of the guards said. Kal had gotten to know them both. They were young and both seemed relieved by the new government Loren was running these days. “She bothers us all the time.”
“I’m gonna tell Tess,” Mark said, smirking at his brother as they headed down the corridor.
“ Don’t!” Kal said. “She’ll come back here and murder the girl.”
They both laughed at the idea and it echoed down the corridor.
They found Loren’s office up the stairs on the second floor.
He’d taken a big corner office for himself and he had piles of papers scattered around and a beaten up looking computer in front of him.
He waved them over and they sat in two rickety chairs in front of the desk.
Loren looked tired, but that wasn’t unusual.
“We’re going to Los Angeles,” Loren said. He folded his hands and smiled at them. “Pack your bags.”