“I regret everything,” Lisbeth groaned, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.
“He’ll keep the boy safe,” Arthur said as he tried to comfort her, still standing too far away for it to be effective.
“He’s right, babe. Balthazar is the best choice for the options we have.” I saw Alexander come out of Kitty’s room and stretch his arms above his head.
“What are we doing?” he asked with a yawn. Thirty-five years had done a number on him. Lycans aged slower than humans, but they still aged. He’d already been sixty, in age at least, when Lisbeth met him, and now he actually looked sixty, decades later. His black hair was completely silver, he had wrinkles, and he was already regretting the pain of shifting so much that he was considering stopping.
“Going rogue,” I answered with a smile.
He yawned again. “Cool. Can I eat something first?” I nodded and he disappeared into the kitchen.
While he heated up leftovers, we went to our bedroom to pack a bag of essentials. Mine was mostly clothes, my handheld gaming console, and a few keepsakes. It wasn’t clear if we’d be able to return to our home after this, and I didn’t want to leave anything precious behind. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Lisbeth put her digital book reader into her backpack, along with the small baby keepsakes box she had with the silver rattles and wooden crosses from our children’s christenings. Her most precious possessions. She’d never bring them if she thought we were coming back.
I leaned over to her on the other side of our bed and kissed her forehead, wanting nothing more than to hold her close until this was all over. She gave me a quick smile and went back to putting her small stack of first edition books on top of the box. I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder as she picked up a small pile of clothes and shoved it in before zipping up her backpack and putting it on.
“It was nice, having my own house,” I said quietly, looking around at the custom crown molding and the crisp wallpaper with little birds on it. Lisbeth loved this house. She sniffed, pretending there was dust in the air, wiped her eyes where she thought I couldn’t see, and picked up one last thing to bring: her Bathory necklace. She clasped it behind her neck and flipped the pendant over to show her crest.
“Let’s go.”
When we were all packed and ready, Lisbeth drank deeply from my neck with Arthur’s hand on her shoulder to judge when she should stop. I needed enough blood to still be of some use while my body made more. A noise escaped my lips as she drank, and let’s just say I didn’t like my son hearing me make that sound. When Arthur squeezed her shoulder, she licked my skin clean and moved away from me.
“Ready?” she asked everyone. We nodded, and she kicked open the front door, shattering the wood and destroying any barriers our kinsmen had put in front of it. Two guards were outside the door, and Lisbeth raised her hands at them. “Sleep,” she commanded. They flopped to the ground like gummy worms.
Arthur raced off to our garage and ripped open the locked garage door with his bare hand. I heard the blaring roar of him starting my jeep engine, but his escape from the garage was blocked by more guards. Dozens of them appeared and they were intent on stopping us. Lisbeth raised both hands, focusing so hard I saw veins bulging in her face. Most of the guards fell asleep and we quickly dispatched the rest with blows to the head. I was there to catch Lisbeth when she went limp from the exertion. I threw her arm over my shoulder and carried her to my jeep.
Balthazar drove up in his black sports car that probably costed more than our entire house. He rolled the window down and motioned for Jason to get in. Jason came to where we stood behind my jeep and hugged us tightly. Lisbeth was on the verge of passing out, but she managed to find more than a few tears for him.
I lost count of how many times we all said I love you in that moment. We kissed our wet cheeks, hugged our son so tight we heard bones creak, and wished there was another way. The human world would never understand what we did for them in the shadows.
Lisbeth gasped in a breath and wiped Jason’s cheeks again. “If we make it out, we’ll find you and Kitty. I promise.” Jason nodded and sniffed to hold back more tears. “Go. Go with Balthazar. If I have to say goodbye again, I won’t survive.” Our son nodded and was off to the black car that pulled away with a screech, taking him away from us. My wife slumped against me, her head dipped so low I thought she had lost consciousness.
“Let’s go before more of them come,” Arthur shouted, just as we heard more of our kind moving towards us. I lifted my wife into the vehicle and jumped up to sit next to her before thumping my hand on the metal side, Arthur accelerating instantly down the road.
One arm around my wife, the other holding onto one of the metal bars on the back of my jeep, I watched our city get further and further away. Our home would be forever lost to us now.
Lisbeth eventually turned and slid into the backseat, tugging on me to do the same. Alexander and Arthur were silent in the front seat, and every so often Arthur would look through the rearview mirror to check on Lisbeth. She sat next to me, her face blank and her body frozen.
A lump came to my throat when I realized she was reminding me of Anastasia. Anastasia who had died inside when she lost one child. Lisbeth had just lost two. Ignoring safety laws, I gently picked her up and put her on my lap to straddle me. Her head lowered to my collarbone and her arms came up around my neck. I stroked her hair, planted kisses on her head, but she didn’t respond. I met Arthur’s eyes in the mirror and a look passed between us, one that spoke more volumes than words, and I’d never felt so close to him before then.
‘Don’t leave me,’ I sent to her.
Her head lifted and she looked into my eyes, with a sorrow so great on her face that I couldn’t bear it. She leaned in for a soft kiss, her lip quivering ever so slightly, and I wanted for all the world to show her with every intimate detail that I was there for her, but we weren’t alone. Her lips were salty when she kissed me one last time and laid her head back on my shoulder. I tried not to notice when the spot of my shirt underneath her head grew more and more wet.
8. General Lancaster
Arthur drove all night, and when we woke up in the back seat, in front of us was the back of the iconic White House.
I yawned and tried not to move too much so Lisbeth could sleep more in my lap. “How long have we been here?”
“Couple hours,” Arthur answered. It was not lost on me how his body was turned in the driver’s seat so he had a clear view of Lisbeth’s sleeping form. I smelled take out and searched around for food. Arthur immediately handed me two wrapped burgers. “They’re both for you.” I smiled because I would’ve definitely set one aside for my wife, and he knew me well enough to know that. I ate the first burger one-handed, my other hand around Lisbeth’s waist. Every few bites, I checked on her to see if I’d disturbed her but she remained in a blissful slumber. When the second burger was in my stomach, Arthur handed me a drink and I sipped it appreciatively. “Wake her up.”
“Dude, do you have a death wish? You never wake this one up when she’s sleeping.”
“Claws and fangs?” Alexander guessed, grinning. I mimicked what waking her up looked like with a very scary face and baring my free hand like I was about to slice him up. He laughed so loud I thought she would wake up from it, but she remained asleep.
“Put your drink down,” Arthur said quietly. I did so, eyebrow raised. “Sorry not sorry.” He banged his hand on the jeep horn, honking loudly enough to wake the dead, which is exactly what it did. Lisbeth shot awake, claws and fangs out, and just barely managed to not cut me in her rage attack. I couldn’t say the same for my jacket. Arthur, the tosser, was laughing his ass off in the front seat, chorused by Alexander chortling so hard he started a coughing fit.
“I will literally FUCKING murder you,” Lisbeth ground out in my face. “Not you, dear.” She kissed me on the cheek. “The wanker in the front seat. Dead.”
He stopped laughing instantly and went back to his nor
mal blankness. “I’m not a wanker.”
“Totally a wanker,” she argued. “Where’s my food?” He handed her a burger and she started biting into it when Arthur got out of the jeep.
“We have an appointment with the President,” he said casually like it was a doctor appointment. “We’ll be late.” Alexander got out as well and they both brought their bags with them. I hopped out the back of the jeep, putting my bag on, while Lisbeth climbed out and put hers on one-handed, the other full of burger.
“How’d you swing that?” she asked, mouth full of food. Arthur didn’t respond, and that usually meant he didn’t want us to know the answer. She licked her fingers and rolled her eyes. “Brick wall. All day, every day.” Her holo-phone buzzed and she motioned for me to take it from her jeans pocket so she could keep eating. I put the phone on my wrist and pressed the button to open a text.
“It’s a text from Olivier,” I told her. “It says, ‘Heard your ass was arrested and then you broke out of jail. Ha ha ha, ha ha ha, laughing so hard I cried emoji. Also p.s. Your Jimmy Choos are mine. Hashtag no regrets.’” Lisbeth laughed, coughing up some food in the process. The holo-phone buzzed again and another text from Olivier came up. “She also says, ‘Agree with the plan. Tell us where to meet you.’”
“I’ll answer,” Arthur offered, and pulled his holo-phone up to text her back. Lisbeth finished her food just as we reached the back fence. Secret Service agents stood at attention and gave us a once over before approaching Arthur. He leveled them with an authoritative look. “We’re here to see the President. General Arthur Lancaster reporting in.”
General?
The SS agents stepped away to call it in and authenticate our arrival, so I leaned into Arthur. “General?” I hissed, holding in a laugh. “Nice swing. Did you get that title just for this?”
Arthur side-eyed me with a frown. “No. I’m actually a General. For reals,” he added sarcastically.
Lisbeth made a noise like she was trying not to giggle. “I definitely don’t pay you enough, General Lancaster.”
“Okay, calm down,” Arthur ground out, elbowing her in the side. “They needed a last name, and I gave them one. Don’t be a child. Plus may I point out, you also have a last name.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and he stared at it, probably contemplating biting it to shut her up. “Yes, because my human grandmother acknowledged her illegitimate vampire child. That’s never happened before.”
The SS agents came back and gave us the okay to come inside the fence. We followed one of them up to the back door where more security stood, and he opened it to let us in. Lisbeth eyed all the guns we were seeing with a wary glance.
“Right this way, General Lancaster,” the agent said. He walked us past bag checks and the metal detector, down a small hallway and into The Green Room. The freaking Green Room.
Lisbeth groaned to herself, looking around at the décor. “And here I thought I’d never have to be in a green drawing room again. God hates me.”
Alexander also looked around and made a face. “They definitely have vampiric taste. No offense.”
Arthur and Lisbeth echoed, “None taken.” I found a striped couch that looked older than me and laid on top of it.
Lisbeth hissed at me with wide eyes. “That’s really old, stop lying on it like it’s a damn futon!” My retort was cut short because the President entered the room. He was about as old as Alexander looked, and he had on a dark blue suit. I’d always gotten a nice Grandpa vibe from him when I saw him on television. In person, I still felt that.
“General Lancaster,” he said with a smile to Arthur. “How nice to see you again. When you called asking for a meeting, I admit I was a bit anxious, especially considering the epidemic going on out there. You only hear from General Lancaster when there’s an emergency.”
How right he was.
“Mr. President, we have something very serious to discuss with you,” Arthur told him. “It requires absolute privacy.” He motioned to the SS agents standing at the door. The one standing closest to the President opened his mouth to say something like, ‘No fucking way,’ but the President held up his hand to silence everyone.
“Gentlemen, give us a few minutes.” And like that, the room emptied of all but the five of us. “Sit. Let’s talk.” He motioned to a table with several chairs, and we pulled up more from around the room for everyone to have a place.
For the first time in my life, I watched vampires and Lycans tell a human what we were. Sure, we told companions and human mates what we were, but we gradually introduced the idea until it wasn’t a shock. This time it was completely cold turkey and all on the table at once.
The President took it in stride, leading me to guess maybe aliens were real and he’d encountered humanoid beings before. When we finished, he stood up and walked over to one of the large windows, as if the sunlight would help wash away what he’d just learned.
“I’ll admit,” he said finally. “I’ve had my suspicions about General Lancaster for many years.” Oh fuck. That could either be very good, or very very bad. “When I first met him, he introduced himself as the grandson of the man that fought beside my grandfather in World War I. My grandfather described a man that made it out of every battle with nary a scratch on him when the other men were torn to pieces. He made other claims, such as his friend would pick the battlefield for dying soldiers so he could do something odd to their neck. I was willing to let my grandfather’s fantastical tales remain just that until I myself served with General Lancaster. Though I cannot boast such remarkable findings as him sucking a man’s blood, through the years he’s remained remarkably well preserved, among other things.”
Lisbeth was giving Arthur some wicked side-eye during the President’s speech. Boy had slipped up, and judging by his intense study of the crown molding, he knew it.
“You suspected General Lancaster of something, and stayed silent?” she asked the President, still glaring at Arthur.
“Accusing a decorated soldier of sucking blood and turning into a bat wouldn’t be very beneficial to anyone,” he chuckled.
“We don’t turn into bats,” Arthur muttered with a frown.
“My apologies. Still. I knew General Lancaster’s character, and no man who fought as bravely as he would willingly harm us. Whatever he was, I knew I could trust him. I had no idea I would ever get an answer for my suspicions, but I am very glad that if there are other species on earth, they are willing to work with us to help save as many humans as possible.” He turned back to us. “The press conference you requested is about to begin. I assume you will fully reveal yourselves to the public?” He tapped a finger to his tooth in example. We nodded. “Good. Once the conference is over, we will begin working on an alliance. No public feeding, signed consent, so on and so on. We can worry about the technicalities later, once your people elect delegates.”
He led us out of the room and through more hallways, down some stairs, and over to the press briefing room. It was crowded with reporters and cameras, eager to get the scoop on the biggest story ever.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” someone said into the microphone on the stage. “The President of the United States.” Everyone clapped as we all stepped onto the stage behind the Big Man. He waved and smiled at everyone like it was a normal day with normal news. Flashbulbs went off left and right, and the camera in the center aisle moved closer to film us for live tv.
The President leaned into the microphone and stared straight at the camera in the middle aisle. “My fellow Americans.” Oh god, why. It’s 2053, think up a new opener, people. “In light of recent events involving the epidemic plaguing not just our nation but all around the globe, we have discovered some new information that will help eradicate this disease.”
Something in the room was making me sweat. Was it hot in here? Someone, probably an intern judging by his outfit, was passing out water bottles to the press. Maybe the air conditioning had broken.
The President continued
. “What I’m about to reveal to you might be a tad frightening, but I can assure you, the people on stage with me will not harm you.” He motioned to Lisbeth and whispered into her ear when she approached. “Please introduce yourself.”
Lisbeth took his place at the podium. “My name is Erzsébet Bathory. Yes, like the serial killer. I was born in 1603, I’m four hundred and fifty years old. I’m married, or bonded as we call it in my culture. I have two children, Kitty and Jason.” The reporters were silent, most likely from confusion. Who was this crazy chick telling us she was four hundred and fifty years old? Lisbeth looked over at the President for instructions on what to do next, and he caught my eye to motion me forward.
I gave Lisbeth a kiss on the temple when I stood next to her at the podium. “My name is Jason Knight Trimble. I was born in 1842, I’m two hundred and eleven years old. I fought in the Civil War. This is my wife, Lisbeth. We were married thirty-five years ago. Best choice I ever made. That, and not buying an 8-track in the sixties, amirite?” The crowd remained confused, but a few took more pictures.
Alexander was next, and he squeezed in beside me. “My name is Alexander Locklear. I was born in 1955, I am ninety-eight years old. I have three children, ten grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. They’re still babies.”
Lastly, Arthur came up to Lisbeth’s other side, sliding his hand into hers to steady her. “My name is General Arthur Lancaster. I earned my rank serving in both World Wars. I was born in 1770, I’m two hundred and eighty-three years old.” The President whispered in his ear and Arthur leaned into the microphone. “I’m a vampire.”
“Umm, same,” Lisbeth said, chewing her lip.
“I’m a werewolf,” I added. My pits were becoming bogs from the heat. Okay, someone had definitely turned on the heater. This was ridiculous.
The Born Vampire series: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Complete Series, NSFW Edition) Page 63
