“Felicity! Come eat your breakfast!” Mamaie called from the kitchen.
Felicity sat at the breakfast table, fumbling with her hands in her lap. “But I’m perfectly capable of making my own breakfast.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t. I said, Mr. Enthrall asked me to make sure you got a good breakfast. And that’s what I’ll do.”
“But, Mamaie…”
“Don’t Mamaie me,” Mamaie said, placing the filled plate in front of Felicity. “Now, eat up. You have a busy day ahead of you.”
Felicity knew it was pointless to argue with the stubborn old woman. Once she got something in her head, that was it, nothing could change her mind. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you. But an apple would have been fine.”
Mamaie smiled, inclining her head in a single nod at the girl’s acquiescence. She didn’t believe there was much that could be done to help the young woman, but she was certainly not above trying anything she could think of.
“Mmmm, these eggs are really good! What spices did you use?” Felicity asked, taking another bite.
“They are from the old country. Enjoy, child.” Mamaie set about cleaning the kitchen while she hummed an old Romanian tune to herself. She patted the pocket of her bright red skirt, the packet of herbs resting safely inside. She’d been adding a bit to everything Felicity ate, in an effort to heal her. Hopefully, they’d make at least a little difference.
“How are you feeling today?” Mamaie asked.
“A little better,” Felicity answered. “I’m just so tired all the time. And my chest is sore when I take a deep breath. I think the coughing at night keeps me sore.”
“I’ll make you something for the cough. You will take it, and we will see.”
“Thank you, Mamaie.”
Enthrall walked into the kitchen, papers already in one hand, an empty coffee cup in the other. He looked up from the papers and saw Felicity, “Good morning, Lici!”
Felicity smiled at Enthrall while she finished chewing her food. She swallowed. “Good morning, Enthrall.” She sipped her own coffee, then said, “You should try these eggs. They are wonderful!”
“No! He has his own,” Mamaie snapped.
Felicity’s eyebrows raised at Mamie’s tone, as did Enthrall’s.
Mamaie realized her snapping at them was more sharp than necessary. “You need to eat all you can, so you can build your strength up. Those are yours. I have more for Enthrall.”
“I’ve already eaten. Just a little more coffee will be fine for me,” Enthrall answered Mamaie, looking at her suspiciously.
Enthrall took a seat across from Felicity and gratefully accepted a fresh, hot cup of coffee from Mamaie. He sipped it appreciatively. His tongue slipped out to lick the edge of the cup and take in the extra bit of sweetness from the sugar Mamaie had spilled there when preparing it for him. He closed his eyes for a brief second, savoring the sweetness.
Felicity watched Enthrall, almost choking when his tongue slipped out to just barely touch the edge of his cup. Her desire for this man grew with each moment she was around him.
Enthrall inhaled the deep, rich scent of the coffee, a soft smile on his face. Then suddenly, his nostrils flared, his eyes popped open and he pinned Felicity with a hungry stare. His nostrils flared again as he took in the heady scent of her arousal.
They stared at one another until Mamaie broke the spell. “What will you two be at today?”
Felicity, lost in Enthrall’s gaze, didn’t answer.
Enthrall was almost as lost, but the sound of Mamie’s voice had brought him back from his momentary fantasies.
“I thought we’d go to the shelters in town. Try to get the word out that we are here, ready to help any woman who needs it.” He never once broke eye contact with Felicity while he answered Mamaie. “If that’s alright with you,” he said to Felicity.
He watched the muscles of her throat work as she swallowed before answering him. “That sounds fine with me.”
He nodded. “I’ll get my things, then. We’ll leave whenever you’re ready.”
“Finish your eggs, Felicity. Then you can be off,” Mamaie said.
“I’m not hungry. I’ve had enough.”
“It’s not much more. Make an old lady happy, finish your breakfast, child,” Mamaie said, trying to make Felicity take the rest of the eggs so she’d get all the herbs into her body.
Felicity looked up at Mamaie and considered insisting she’d had enough. But Mamaie had such a grandmotherly way about her that no one questioned her determination to take care of them all. They just went along with it — she was obviously the matriarch of the house.
“Alright. I’ll eat the rest.”
Mamaie smiled and turned her back to them as she went about straightening the kitchen.
Enthrall stood and executed a perfect bow to Felicity before leaving the kitchen to return to Abraham’s study, where he’d set up office, leaving Abraham’s office for Felicity to use at will.
He was surprised when a few moments later Mamaie joined him, pulling the door closed behind her.
“Mamaie?” Enthrall asked, setting down his papers and giving her his undivided attention.
“What do you plan to do?” she asked.
“About what?” Enthrall responded.
“Felicity. What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Surely you do. Can’t you smell the sickness? Are you so taken with her that you’ve lost all your senses?”
Enthrall sat down, a heavy cloud of sadness descending on him. “No, I’ve not lost my senses. I can smell it.”
“You can’t let her die.”
“I don’t plan to, but I don’t know what can be done at the moment.”
“You make her like you! That’s what you do!” Mamaie announced.
Enthrall’s eyes widened, surprise taking his face. “She has to choose this life for herself. I can’t take that choice from her. She’d resent me forever.”
“Of course you can! Just grab her up and bite her!” Mamaie said, her hands miming grabbing someone in her small wrinkled fists and biting them.
Enthrall was taken aback. “Mamaie, what I am, this existence — it’s not glamour and happiness. It’s a drastic change. It’s brutal at times, for your very existence you must at times be brutal. You give up so much life. It’s punishing, living not quite in one existence, yet not fully in the other. It is not something I’d wish on anyone I cared for.”
“And you care for her?”
“Deeply.”
“So, you'd prefer to lose her?”
He jumped to his feet. “I will not lose her.”
“Then you’d better make a decision. She doesn’t have long. I’ve been adding medicines to her food, but it will only do so much.”
Enthrall regarded Mamaie. “Does she know that she is ill?”
Mamaie shrugged her frail shoulders, “If she does, she hides it well. I suspect she believes it is only a mild illness.” She watched Enthrall for a moment before saying, “She will be glad to have a chance at life. You should just make the choice for her — it removes all fear.”
“She will hate me for it. I speak from experience when I tell you, having your humanity ripped away without your choosing makes it all the worse. When she realizes the limitations of her new life, the atrocities she must endure for her very existence, it will be hard enough. Add to that the fact you were forced into that new life and the bitterness could drive you mad.”
Mamaie scoffed at Enthrall, “Do not fool yourself into believing your brooding self is the way of all vampires. Any life is better than none. And in the arms of the male who adores your every breath, it matters not what label you wear.”
“Even if that male is the one who stole your life from you, made you what you are without giving you a choice? And what will she think when she learns she must drink the lifeblood of other people. Lure them into trust and take their blood, in order to survive?”
�
��If she is changed in love, for her own good, then the male saved her life — otherwise, nature left to take its course, she’d be in the ground. Besides, you are healthy are you not, for one of your kind I presume?”
Enthrall nodded slightly, not sure where she was going with her question.
“Why then would she have to take sustenance from others? Could she not just feed from you?”
Enthrall’s mouth opened, his brow wrinkling. He’d not though of that. Of course, he’d be feeding her. He’d not allow her to feed from another. Vampires only needed blood from time to time, most usually eating food like all others daily. His mind swirled; it was a very sensual thing to feed your Mate. He didn’t plan on her feeding from anyone, ever, except himself. But he still wanted her to choose. “I need her to understand the changes that will take place, the things she’ll be giving up. I can’t make her into something she’s not asked for. I need time to win her trust. Make her believe in me before I tell her what I am. I want to show her there are so many other aspects to this world than she ever thought possible. I need to make her understand that I am hers and that she’ll never be alone. Then I’ll give her the choice, when she’s ready.”
“And if she refuses you? You will leave her to die?” Mamaie said, outrage in her voice.
“No! I will never leave her! No matter her choice, she will not be alone! I will remain at her side in any choice she makes.”
Mamaie shook her head, and with a wry look in her eyes, baited him. “And here I took you for a smart male. Perhaps you are no better than the humans you resemble.”
“I was once human. There is nothing wrong with being human.”
Mamaie grinned at Enthrall, her point well made. Though he was changed from the person he was born as, he was not so changed that he was no longer himself. “Here’s a secret — you still are human. You’re just a little elevated.” Mamaie winked at Enthrall and turned, opening the door behind her and leaving the study. She didn’t stop walking, but she called over her shoulder, “Don’t think on it too long. You’ll find yourself alone and heartbroken. Your magnanimous attitude will make you a widower before you’re a husband. And do not tarry here all morning waiting for her. Bring yourself to the kitchen. I have an idea to try for our Lici, and it requires your involvement.”
Enthrall watched Mamaie as she marched down the hall toward the kitchen at the back of the house. The old woman was infuriating, though not completely wrong, he begrudgingly admitted. He gathered up all the papers he’d worked on all morning. He’d painstakingly written and rewritten his message.
CLARA’S HOUSE
A shelter for women and children in need.
184 Schuylkill Way
Fairmount Park
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
He placed the stack of neatly written pages into his briefcase and made his way to the kitchen as Mamaie had requested. He was surprised when he entered the kitchen and found her standing beside the table with a large knife in hand and a large ceramic bowl on the table at the place he usually sat.
“What am I helping with Mamaie?”
“You’re going to help me make a tea for Lici.”
He raised his eyebrows and waited for further instruction.
“Have a seat, Mr. Enthrall. It is time to bleed for your love.”
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Enthrall sat in the front sitting room of the house, waiting for Felicity to join him. He looked through his briefcase once more to ensure he had all he needed, all his tediously prepared advertisements safely stored inside. He planned to leave one page with each shelter and police station they could find.
He closed the briefcase, and looked expectantly up, Felicity’s footsteps announcing her arrival long before she entered the room.
When she entered, he couldn’t help himself, his glance up and down her body was not to be stopped, a soft rumble sounding in his chest as he looked at her appreciatively.
Felicity blushed and looked away from him.
“You look beautiful, but, then, it’s no surprise — you always do.”
“Thank you, Enthrall.”
“You’re very welcome. Shall we go?” he asked, holding his arm out for her to take.
Chapter 2
“I don’t know where he is, I didn’t move him!” Destroy exclaimed, eyes once again scanning the patch of land between his and Enthrall’s homes.
“Maybe he was eaten,” Lore said, nonchalantly, his feet propped up on the porch railing as he reclined in his favorite of Enthrall’s rockers.
“Who other than you would have eaten him?”
“If I’d eaten him, he’d still be here, though only a husk of his former self.”
Destroy strode down the steps to walk to the corner of the house and look down toward its backyard again. “All I know is I didn’t move him. And now, it’s supposed to be my problem?”
“Welcome to leadership, dear boy.”
Destroy snarled. “Now I have to go find him. Why can’t people just do what they’re supposed to do?”
Lore’s rich laughter filled the morning air. “I’m sure the same has been said of you on more than one occasion, my fearless leader.”
Destroy spent the morning making the rounds of Whispers. He’d visited almost all the inhabitants and was just about convinced that the Windigo had awoken during the night and left of his own accord. He mumbled about ungrateful former creatures turned human, who could have at least said thank you and goodbye before traipsing off on their own. He stomped down the path — the very neatly kept path — and came to a stop in a small intentionally planted swath of heather just as the path opened up onto an only slightly larger clearing. There was a little girl playing in the yard in front of a very well kept cottage. The smells wafting from the open door and windows of the cottage were mouthwatering. The girl looked up at him and smiled, “Hello, Mr. Destroy.”
“Hello, Deaumanique’, is your mom home?”
“Yes, she’s inside. I’ll get her.” Deaumanique’ jumped up to run inside to get her mom, but a sultry voice said from the doorway, “I’m here. No need to come for me.”
Destroy’s eyes left Deaumanique’ and met those of her mother. “Aubreigne,” Destroy greeted her.
“Destroy,” she countered in a gentle tone.
“How are you? I’ve not seen you in a little while. Is there anything you need?”
Aubreigne shook her head. “No, thank you. As you can see, we are well.”
Destroy nodded, feeling bad that he’d not visited the woman to make sure she was alright. But in truth, she unnerved him. She was a sinfully gorgeous woman. Long, black, silky hair that fell shimmering to her hips. Her eyes were dark with a sparkle in them that resembled the beginning spark of a flame. Her skin was smooth and pale, unless she was angry or stubbornly standing her ground, then it would flush in a rosy glow. Which, was how it looked now. But he’d not challenged her or said anything to make her angry. He knew from experience, if he managed to truly irritate her, her skin would take on a deep red hue, giving her the appearance of a very sexy, yet mean as hell Demon.
“What can I do for you this morning?” Aubreigne asked.
“I’m visiting all our people to ensure all is well.”
“As you can see it is,” she said, waving her hand to indicate her front yard and her daughter playing there.
And there was that voice that unnerved him every time he heard it. Aubreigne was a half-breed. Part Demon, part Siren. Her mother, a Siren, had fallen in love with a Demon and pursued him relentlessly. The result was Aubreigne. She couldn’t help that her voice lured men as it did, and she hated it. It was why she didn’t speak much and kept a hushed tone to it when she did.
Destroy nodded. A gentle breeze blew bringing him another tempting scent of whatever she was cooking. “Smells wonderful! I’ve not even sampled it and can tell you are surely a talented cook.”
Aubreigne smiled, relaxing a little, her voice didn’t have the effect on mat
ed males that it did on others, so she no longer had reason to hush it with Destroy. They’d still feel the pull, but not as strongly. “I am.” Then she said, “I understand congratulations are in order.”
“They are! I am a mated male!” Destroy couldn’t help but puff his chest out at the comment.
“I’m happy for you, Destroy. I’m very glad your female came back to you.”
“Thank you, Aubreigne. I hope that all our people can find such happiness.”
Aubreigne smiled and nodded, remembering the male he once was that had caused her to ponder murder more than once or twice in the past. She was glad he’d found his woman, and that he was happy now. She smiled, but offered nothing further to the conversation.
Destroy fidgeted, feeling awkward at the pause in conversation. “I won’t keep you from your morning any longer,” he said before turning to continue on his way.
“Good day, Destroy.”
“Good day, Aubreigne. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.”
“I will let you know if I do.”
Destroy took a few steps then hesitated. “Aubreigne, I’m looking for a male. He went missing overnight, and as I'm assisting Enthrall, it’s up to me to locate him.”
Aubreigne didn't say anything. She stood in the doorway, drying her hands on her apron. She looked at Destroy, but said not one word.
Deaumanique’ said, “We have…”
Aubreigne cut her off, with a sharp look and a, “Hush, child.” Then she raised her eyes to Destroy’s once more. “Why?”
Enthrall Page 2
