United Against The Vampyren: Dark Vampire Romance

by Seth Eden

  Tess stretched and blinked. She realized she’d forgotten to eat which she’d come down to do hours ago, before getting wrapped in her work again. She checked her watch. It was one in the morning. She winced, feeling a little guilty. Kal had come by to check on her a few hours ago and she’d promised she’d be up. Oops.

  “You never did eat, did you?” It was Kal, chuckling behind her.

  She got to her feet and stretched, casting him a sheepish smile. “I forgot.”

  “C’mon.” He took her hand and led her through to the kitchens. “Let’s get you some food and then you’re going to bed.”

  “Kal—"

  “You worked all day,“ Kal pointed out. “This isn’t a negotiation.” There was a whole steel fridge just for blood packs and he grabbed one for himself before digging a plastic tub full of pasta salad out of the fridge full of human food. Tess found some chicken to pair with it and poured herself some punch and they stood, eating in the kitchen and enjoying each other’s company.

  “What’s this special project you’ve got going with Crystal?” Tess said.

  “It’s a surprise,” Kal said, winking. She smiled, putting on a show of being suspicious but she was really charmed.

  “You Vampyrens love to wink once you pick it up,” Tess said. She kicked his shoe, feeling like some young girl with a crush. She would not have expected it, but now she looked up into Kal’s eyes and thought: I love him.

  She had a strange urge to cry suddenly and swallowed the lump in her throat. She was overcome with love for Kal. She needed the two of them to survive this transitional period. She wanted that future with him. Tess rubbed her stomach. She’d had a suspicion for the last day or so once she’d realized how long it had been since she’d had a period. But she hadn’t taken a test yet. Crystal had some pregnancy tests stashed away in the supply room. Tess found herself a little afraid to find out for sure and uncertain of what she wanted.

  “Winks are so strange,” Kal muttered. “I like them. Also, people are always shocked when I wink at them.” Tess only laughed at that and Kal gave her a long look as he drained the last of his blood. “Hey, Tess?”

  “Yeah?”

  Kal looked almost shy suddenly, and he toed the ground with his boot. “I want to know… If you know, that is, what you picture for us? I mean the two of us? Long-term? When there are no more battles and when it might be safe enough to find a place permanently. Do you want what Crystal and Mark have?”

  “I love you,” Tess blurted out. They’d said it to each other already and yet she flushed when she said it. She was tired. That didn’t help. Kal burst out laughing. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and the tip of her nose when she scrunched up her face in embarrassment. She could smell the blood in his mouth. But she’d become used to that. It just smelled familiar now, and it didn’t bother her now. She had even been thinking lately that she would let him feed on her, mark her if he wanted to. The thought made her wet, if she was honest with herself. “I mean... yes. I do want that. I want a future with you, Kal,” she whispered. “If you want one with me. I want you for good. So don’t go anywhere. And don’t fucking die, alright?”

  She finished her food and washed it down with some overly sweet punch and then she just felt edgy, loitering there with him in the kitchen and pouring her heart out under a flickering fluorescent light. Kal put down his empty blood packet and before she realized what was happening, he was picking her up and setting her down on the counter, stepping in between her knees to kiss her soundly.

  “I’ll try not to,” he whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed lazily like that for a while, until Kal decided it was time for bed and picked her up as she squeaked in protest. He carried her out but she protested, jumping down to collect her laptop and files. He slung an arm around her shoulders and they headed out, back to her dorm, and to the warmth of a good night’s rest together.

  The next morning Tess slept in, having worked so hard the day before. She slept right through the alarm and Kal let her. When she finally stirred, she hummed in delight and pressed back against his warm, muscular body spooning up behind hers. He kissed her shoulders and she allowed herself more time than usual to relax in his embrace, and just enjoy the comfort of a morning in bed with her lover.

  “It could always be like this,” she said softly.

  “It will always be like this,” he said.

  She felt him hard behind her and pressed in a little more. When he growled in her ear, she giggled. But when he reached around and slipped his big, rough hand inside her panties to lazily finger her, she gasped and they rocked together. His erection was blatant through their thin nightclothes as he fingered her. She came first, crying out, and reaching behind her to run her fingers through his hair as he nibbled at her neck. Her orgasm set him off, and he came in his pajama pants. She rolled over and kissed his neck before crawling out of bed. He groaned and reached out for her and she laughed, smacking his arm.

  “I got work to do!” She said. “God knows when this battle or whatever is going to happen or when the Lucian may strike. I have to finish as much as I can as fast as I can.”

  “Not tonight though,” he said gravely, wagging his finger. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking at her sleepily. Kal, Tess had discovered, was not a morning person. She didn’t think she got up terribly early, but she was always up long before him. She thought he was cute to see him as he was forcing himself out of bed in the morning. He was like a grumpy puppy and it was a far cry from the typical portrait of a Vampyren. “You have to stop working at…” He bit his lip and thought for a moment. “Six. At six you’re done. I have plans for you.”

  “Oh, do you?” Tess smiled widely. She had planned to work long past that time but she couldn’t help how giddy she felt at the idea of Kal making plans on her behalf and wanting to surprise her. “What are these mysterious plans?”

  He stood up from the bed and she stared up at him, attempting to look determined. She pursed her lips, but he only leaned down and kissed her gently, before heading off to the bathroom. “Not telling but if you’re not done with work by six, I’ll be carrying you away from it whether you like it or not.”

  “Is that a promise?” She called after him.

  Tess dallied a little and once he was gone, she cleaned up and got dressed. She eyed her laptop longingly. But there was one thing she wanted to do before she began work. She just wanted to do it out of Kal’s sight. In case it was nothing, she didn’t want to get his hopes up. She had a strong suspicion, he would.

  Tess ran out the back of the dorm and came around the side, heading off to the inventory shed where Crystal stocked miscellaneous supplies that came in handy. It functioned like a kind of general store but since most people didn’t have actual money they traded and if their need was great and they had nothing to trade, they did some work for the item. They had a full-time staffer working a counter at the shed and Tess took a deep breath. The guy was Vampyren and his name was Jaquil. Tess had only talked to him a couple of times. He wasn’t quite as assimilated into human life as Kal but he wasn’t like your average Vampyren soldier either.

  “Good morning,” Tess said, feeling stupidly nervous.

  Jaquil nodded. He wore a casual style of Vampyren clothing; a leather vest and the thick, tight-fitting pants that Mark sometimes wore. His long braid was neat and tidy. He was not smiling, but he was leaning on the counter, a detailed spreadsheet on a clipboard in front of him.

  “I need… something,” Tess muttered.

  Jaquil waited for her to continue, glaring at her. Finally, when she didn’t say anything further, he said, “What? What do you need?”

  “A preg… a pregnancy test,” she said. She felt as if she were choking on the words. She still wasn’t completely sure what result she wanted. “Please.”

  “Oh,” Jaquil said flatly. He didn’t react even a little and immediately turned on his heel to find a test among the supplies pack into the shelves from flo
or to ceiling of the big shed. Finally he came back with a small pink box and Tess swallowed. She hadn’t bought anything to trade.

  “I could… work for it,” she said, still feeling somewhat mortified.

  Jaquil actually laughed at that and he didn’t look like the sort of person who laughed very often. “What, running Free the Children isn’t enough? Free. For you. But besides that, it’s on a list of supplies Crystal doesn’t require payment or trade for.”

  “Oh.” Tess nodded, taking the box with some trepidation. “Thank you.”

  Jaquil only grunted in response and Tess tucked the box under her sweater, not wanting anyone else to see it. The campus was terrible with gossip. If one person saw her with it, it would soon be all over that she was definitely pregnant, the concept of a test immediately forgotten. She ran all the way back to her dorm, drank a lot of water, and then went to work while she waited for nature to take its course.

  Waiting for the result was the most insufferable part. It was even worse than obtaining a pregnancy test from a stone-faced vamp. Tess looked at the clock and paced around and tried to work and couldn’t. When ten minutes had finally and painstakingly passed, she rushed to the bathroom to read the little white stick that would potentially determine her entire future.

  Positive.

  Positive.

  Tess had not known how she would feel and now she felt a slow smile spreading across her face as tears welled up in her eyes. She told herself, time and time again, that if she didn’t want the baby, there were still people to go to. But now she found the idea of bearing Kal’s child to be fantastic.

  “Okay,” she whispered. She got to her feet and rubbed her belly, smiling softly to herself. Whatever surprise awaited her tonight, apparently it would not involve alcohol but it would involve some big news.

  Six in the evening came before she knew it. She managed to eat lunch but had missed breakfast and put off dinner. She’d opted to work offline in her room most of the day and she was about to head down and steal some food when Kal came barging in. Tess’s mouth dropped open. Kal looked good. He was wearing his hair up in a loose bun again. She liked that looked on him. He was wearing skinny black pants and a clingy gray t-shirt and a leather jacket. She wanted to eat him alive but now he looked at her expectantly and tapped his foot.

  “Get dressed,” he said, nodding at her. “Ten minutes.”

  Tess frowned down at her coffee-stained baggy t-shirt she’d worn two days in a row and the baggy jeans she found in the pile of secondhand campus clothes. “I’m dressed,” she said, feeling a little defensive.”

  Kal just shook his head and rooted through the giant pile of clothes she picked outfits from in the corner. She waited, arms crossed, feeling good-naturedly amused as he muttered to himself and sorted through garments, occasionally sighing. Finally, he tossed her some clothes and made his way back to the door.

  “Ten minutes,” he said. “Cafeteria. Be there.”

  With that, he shut the door behind him and she snorted. She laid out the clothes and found herself more than a little surprised at how well he’d chosen the outfit given how little there was to work with. He’d put together a tight, black knit skirt, a white cami (that was probably meant for pajamas) and a moto jacket. She’d have to shave her legs with his razor and some gritty soap, which would definitely take more than ten minutes. But it would do. They had found, in one of the storage rooms on campus, an old boombox and some CDs and batteries. Tess put on the Salt-N-Pepa CD from the pile she’d lugged upstairs with the boombox and found herself enjoying getting ready for a boy for the first time in a few years. It felt good to shave her legs and fuss with her hair (it had grown out a little but she played with styling her bangs in a cute little wave that fell over her eye). She had a tiny stash of makeup. It was a pastime among the breeders and other women who lived on campus to trade makeup they had found. Tess put on dark vampy lipstick and some eyeliner and mascara and dabbed some glitter on her eyelids for fun. Her boots looked cute with the skirt, she decided, and she finally jogged downstairs and headed to the cafeteria.

  Everyone was heading to the cafeteria, she discovered as she made her way there. For a moment, she felt a thrill of fear in her fingertips and her breath quicken. Surely, something had happened? But then she noticed that everyone looked cheerful and there was an air of fun about. There were also candles sitting on stones along the curved walkway that led to the cafeteria. They appeared to be purely decorative. She finally noticed that everyone was made up and dressed to go out on the town too, even if their clothes, like hers, were clearly worn and grabbed from some miscellaneous pile. People were hooting and laughing and walking with their arms around each other. Crystal and Keira came running up to her looking happy, followed by Mindy and Cassie. Tess hadn’t had much chance to get to know Mindy and Cassie much but she noticed Cassie looked more relaxed than usual and Mindy looked absolutely exuberant.

  “You ready to party?” Crystal said, throwing her arm around Tess’s neck and hugging her. “Woohoo!”

  “Party?” Tess said. She had not known what to expect, perhaps some special dinner (although how a Vampyren would know how to cook she couldn’t guess) but even the word “party” seemed somehow alien now, which was sad. “What party?”

  “It was Kal’s idea!” Keira said, coming beside her. “Thought it would boost morale before we have to go fighting the entire Vampyren military or whatever.” The five of them naturally formed a group; Tess, Crystal, Keira, Mindy, and Cassie. Tess had a warm feeling in her chest and she smiled to herself both at the idea that Kal had organized a party to surprise her and that when she was around these women, she felt like they were good friends even though she hadn’t known them long.

  Mindy announced, “My goal for the night is to get Alek drunk! He’s adorable when he’s drunk!”

  “I think that should be all of our goals,” Crystal said. “Team Get the Vampyren Boyfriends Drunk. Go, team!”

  “Here here!” Cassie said, laughing.

  As they made their way down the candlelit path and the thumping bass of blasting music neared, Tess felt like maybe these women could be a home for her as much as Kal was. The thought was a comforting one.

  They walked into the cafeteria and Tess cried out in surprise, her eyes big as she took it all in. The place was completely transformed. Crystal had scrounged up some lights, and they flashed around and strobed, giving the place a real club atmosphere. Most of the tables had been removed and the ones remaining were pushed to the side with some chairs to create more space for milling around and dancing.

  The girls scattered to find their guys and Tess found herself a punch, tasting it first to make sure it wasn’t alcoholic. She bobbed her head to the music, which wasn’t exactly contemporary (if there was such a thing as contemporary music anymore) but was familiar and brought her back to her younger days before the invasion.

  “Hey.” Kal soft growl of a voice in her ear made Tess smile, and she set her punch on the refreshments table, turning around in the circle of Kal’s arms to look at him. She had to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground to kiss her. “Do you like your surprise?”

  “Yes,” she said, grinning. “It was a good idea. I think everyone really needed this but it never occurred to me.”

  “I think we all deserve it,” Kal said.

  “Come dance with me!” Tess said, tugging him in the direction of the dance floor.

  Kal threw his head back, laughing even as he squeezed her right. “I can’t dance. Vampyrens don’t dance.”

  “You do now, Vampyren,” Tess said brightly. “C’mon!”

  Tess wasn’t the only human woman dragging her boyfriend out to the dance floor. She saw Mindy and Cassie doing the same, all but shoving their men into the crowd of grooving humans and egging them on. Once they were out there, a few of the other Vampyrens joined in and it became a kind of game to try to teach them to mimic human dance moves and get them
to find some kind of rhythm which Tess discovered, they had no sense of at all.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard as she took Kal’s hands and tried to get him to move and sway along with her. She was overcome with giddiness and kissed his neck and then the two of them were just making out, under the flashing lights and in the comforting thud of the bass as everyone else danced around them.

  “Do you want a drink?” Kal said in her ear, speaking loudly over the music. “It’s a party after all! I’m told human parties involve a lot of drinking!”

  “Oh!” Tess licked her lips. She wanted to be able to tell him the big news when they were alone; definitely after the party but before what battles were yet to come. “No thanks! I don’t want to drink tonight!” Kal gave her a disbelieving look as if she were somehow breaking an important oath and she said, “I’m starving though! I want some of those nachos I saw on the table!”

  The taco pop-ups that had sprung up around the city sold tortilla chips and guacamole among other things. Crystal had gone all out and stocked up on fresh guacamole, salsa, chips, and a myriad of tacos. Tess’s mouth watered and she loaded up a plate. She was used to not eating much as a side effect of always being on-the-run was living like a monk. But now she felt the appetite of pregnancy kicking in and allowed herself to be gluttonous. Kal seemed amused and delighted by the whole thing and kept scooping more things onto her plate; beans, pico de gallo, slices of lemon, roasted peppers. They sat down at one of the long tables with Crystal and Mark who were just coming back from the dance floor and Crystal immediately frowned at the sight of Tess’s non-boozy punch as she dug into her feast.

  “What the hell is that?” Crystal said. “That better be spiked with vodka! We’ve got plenty of vodka.”

  “Oh… I don’t feel like drinking tonight,” Tess said, trying to sound normal and not at all like she had just gotten a positive result on a pregnancy test.

  She failed. The guys seemed completely clueless but Crystal’s eyes got big. “Tess—"