[kiasusam]

Just then, Jordan came back to the room with another vampire, also appearing to be in his 20's. I figured he was a mixed then too. Jordan looked between Jacen and Starla, his dark eyes disapproving. “Do you two ever stop acting like children?”

As one, they both turned to him and stuck their tongues out. The new vampire cleared his throat authoritatively and they both immediately stopped goofing off. As Teren grabbed my hand again, Starla skipped over to the new arrival.

“Hello, Father,” she said, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. “I brought back the vampire causing all the problems. Seems he tried to turn his human.”

Her father smiled down at her. His face was smooth and lineless and intrinsically beautiful. He had completely green eyes and sandy brown hair, but looking at him gazing at his daughter, I thought I could see the resemblance. “I’m glad you’ve returned safely, Starla.” He glanced up at her bodyguard and briefly nodded. The big, silent man nodded back and left the room. I exhaled with relief when he did.

Looking over at the two of us, the man slung his arm around his daughter, kissing her head. While never removing his eyes from us, he said, “It’s Teren, isn’t it?”

Still holding my hand, Teren extended his other to the man. “Yes, sir.”

The man smiled with one side of his mouth. “Please, call me Gabriel. And this one here is your mate?” Gabriel smiled warmly at me, extending his hand in my direction.

I took it, noting the coolness of undead skin, and gave him my greeting. At the same time, Teren answered with, “She’s my wife, Emma.” He emphasized the word wife. To Teren, that word carried greater weight.

Gabriel took in my achingly obvious condition and frowned slightly. None of them seemed to realise what Teren wanted with the mixed. None of them seemed to have expected a pregnant girl in their midst. Turning his head to Teren, he raised his eyebrows at him. “You tried to turn her? While pregnant? I can see your dilemma now. That was very foolish and quite a risk. Why would you do that, to someone you obviously care about?”

Teren took that as his opening. “She was dying, another vampire bit her. I tried to save her. Can you help her? Do you know what I’ve done to her? Do you know if she’ll convert? Can you save the children before she does?”

Gabriel laughed, releasing Starla and gripping Teren’s shoulder. “Are you always this anxious?” Extending an arm down a hallway, he calmly said. “You and I have some things to discuss, don’t we? Come, first I have something to show you.”

Teren sighed at that, frustrated to not have his questions immediately answered, then nodded, and stepped where Gabriel indicated.

To Be Continued on Next Chapter ... ... ...