Forbidden Blood

by R. L. Kenderson

  Their next stop was an exam room. Tina seated herself in front of a computer, and Naya sat in one of the other chairs. The nurse took her temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. Tina made a few noncommittal noises, but she didn’t fill Naya in on what the results indicated.

  Vampire blood pressure and temperature fluctuated with the feeding cycle. Right after feeding, a vampire’s blood pressure and temp would be at its highest, and the closer the vampire neared to the next feeding, the lower the blood pressure and temp dropped.

  Would human blood affect vampire blood pressure and temp?

  Next, the nurse asked Naya some standard medical questions, including her current symptoms. She told Tina how she had been frequently tired and had lacked an appetite yet still had gained weight. She also described how she’d felt dizzy and almost queasy all the time, but she wouldn’t throw up. Tina asked her about the last four times she’d fed.

  When the nurse asked Naya whom she had fed from, Naya hesitated. Tina made Naya feel uncomfortable, and she’d rather take her chances with the doctor.

  “I understand why you need to ask that question, but I would prefer to wait and discuss it with the doctor,” Naya insisted.

  The nurse pursed her lips as she stood. “Fine. Dr. Montgomery will be in to see you shortly. You need to slip out of your pants, sit on the exam table, and cover up with the sheet,” she directed before exiting the room.

  After Naya changed and arranged herself on the exam table, she checked her phone for messages, and she cleaned out everything she no longer needed. She hadn’t responded to several texts from Kenzie, which made her feel bad. Maybe it was a good thing her parents had forced her to come to the doctor. She sent Kenzie a message to tell her she was finally getting checked out by a doctor, and she would send an update as soon as she knew anything. She hit Send as the door opened, and the doctor walked in. Naya shoved her phone in her purse and tossed it on the chair.

  The doctor immediately gave Naya a kind smile, making her feel more relaxed. “Hello, Princess Anaya. I’m Dr. Montgomery.”

  She smiled back. “Hello. Just Naya, please.”

  “Okay, Naya. Tina gave me a little background information. She said you wanted to discuss a few things with me before we begin the exam.”

  Naya cleared her throat. “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what brought you here?” Dr. Montgomery suggested.

  Naya told her about meeting a human and how she’d accidentally drunk from him. Dr. Montgomery raised her eyebrows when Naya described the third time. The doctor probably wondered how many times it could happen before it was no longer an accident, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Naya, I know this next question is embarrassing, but did you have sex with the human during any of these incidents?”

  Naya blushed. “The first and third time. The second time, we, uh…just kissed.”

  The doctor patted her arm in reassurance. “I’m going to have you lie back, so I can feel your abdomen and do a quick pelvic exam, okay?”

  Naya nodded.

  “You haven’t fed from anyone else since this human, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “Right now, if you think about feeding from anyone besides this person, how do you feel?”

  “Nauseous.”

  “And when you think about feeding from this person?”

  Deliciousness. “Good.”

  The doctor nodded as if this was the answer she’d suspected. Continuing on with the exam, she felt all over Naya’s belly, and when she got to her lower stomach, Naya saw the doctor’s brow furrow. Naya had noticed it had become firmer lately and thought it was odd. With her weight gain, she’d assumed it should be flabbier. Next, the doctor completed the pelvic exam.

  When finished, she told Naya, “Okay, you can sit up.” The doctor went to wash her hands. With her back to Naya, she said, “I have one more question, which might seem odd. Can you please tell me the name of this human you fed from?”

  The question was unusual, but Naya answered anyway. “His name is Vaughn Llewelyn.” She thought she saw the doctor pause while drying her hands, but it happened so quickly that Naya couldn’t be sure.

  Dr. Montgomery turned back around. “We’ll run one last test. I would like to take you to imaging and get a pelvic ultrasound?” You can put your pants back on, and I’ll meet you outside the door.”

  Once dressed, Naya followed the doctor down the hall to imaging. A woman was waiting in the room when they entered.

  “This is Margaret. She’s the ultrasound tech. She’s going to perform the exam while I watch, okay?” Dr. Montgomery said.

  “Okay,” Naya said.

  She became increasingly worried. What could they be looking for? First, Naya noticed her lower stomach was hard, and now, they were going to perform an ultrasound. Could I possibly have a tumor? They were rare in vampires, but vampires weren’t immortal, and they could die from diseases. Naya even considered the possibility of pregnancy, but she immediately dismissed it since that would be nearly impossible, especially with a human.

  “You can get on the table, Ms. Kensington,” Margaret told her.

  “You can call me Naya.”

  “Okay, Naya.” Margaret smiled at her. “I’ll need you to lie on the bed, unbutton your pants, and push your jeans down until they are off your hips.”

  After tucking a towel around the top of her pants, Margaret explained what she was going to do while the doctor stood behind her to watch the screen. The ultrasound was easy. Margaret moved the probe around and took pictures. Naya heard the machine beep every time Margaret paused. Naya tried to read their faces, but they weren’t giving anything away.

  It wasn’t long before Margaret said, “Okay, Naya, we’re finished.”

  “Naya, why don’t you get cleaned up, and we’ll talk after? I just need to get the rest of your results, and I will be back,” Dr. Montgomery said.

  After Margaret and the doctor both left, Naya sat and waited for fifteen minutes. She started to get anxious, and she wondered if they’d forgotten her.

  Finally, Tina came in the room. “You can come with me.”

  Naya followed her and assumed they would go back to the exam room where the doctor would explain everything. Instead, the nurse led Naya toward the waiting room where her father was pacing, and her mother was crying as the doctor spoke to them. When Dr. Montgomery saw Naya, she excused herself and left without another word. Naya looked to Arianna to see if she would reveal anything, but Arianna just shook her head and held up her hands.

  “Anaya, it’s time to go,” her mother said, noticing her presence.

  At this point, Naya felt completely frustrated. The doctor had bypassed her and gone straight to her parents. Naya hadn’t been happy about the clinic not giving out her test results, but now, knowing they had given them to her parents instead, really upset her. However, she knew the clinic wasn’t the place to start an argument.

  They left the clinic, and her father turned onto I-494, heading west, the opposite direction from home. They drove for an hour in restless silence. It was about eleven at night when they pulled into a long driveway. At first, Naya couldn’t see the house due to the tall trees surrounding the land. When the house came into view, it was large and beautiful. Naya had no idea where they were, but she did notice they’d left St. Paul and passed through Minneapolis, so they were on the west side of the cities. They were no longer in vampire territory.

  The night was getting stranger by the second.

  After pulling up to the house, her father parked, and her parents told Naya and Arianna to follow them before they exited the car. Her father had barely knocked on the door when it swung open. On the other side stood an imposing man who looked vaguely familiar with dark hair and blue eyes, but Naya was pretty sure she’d never met the man before.

  “Marek,” he said in an agitated tone to her father.

  “Vance,” her father replied, just as tense.

  “Wha
t are you doing on my property?”

  “I need to speak with you and your son.”

  Vance stared at her father.

  “It’s important.”

  “It’d better be.”

  Vance stepped back and let them enter. Naya walked past him, and she thought she’d heard him sniffing her.

  “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. After he closed the door behind the four of them, he led them into what appeared to be a living room. “You can wait here. I’ll be back.”

  Once Vance was out of earshot, Naya asked, “Mother, Father, will you please tell me what is going on?”

  Neither responded. Seconds later, Vance came back, followed by a pretty woman with dark blonde hair. Naya’s parents both stiffly greeted her, calling her Lilith, and Naya assumed she was Vance’s wife. Along with them was a young woman, who Naya guessed was their daughter. She looked too much like her father for her not to be related.

  “He was out back. He’s on his way now,” Vance told her father. Then, Vance turned to the young woman. “Payton, you don’t need to be here.”

  Payton snickered. “Hey, I’m not missing this for anything.”

  Vance sighed but didn’t argue with her. “Fine, but stay out of the way, and keep your opinions to yourself.”

  Payton smiled in delight. “Deal.”

  When she heard footsteps, Naya’s attention left the girl. Naya swung around to face the doorway, and to say she was shocked at what she saw would be an understatement.

  Eyes wide and mouth agape, Vaughn stood there, taking in the scene, as they all stared at him. Vaughn was obviously as surprised as Naya was. Not only did his expression give him away, but she could feel his shock running through her body.

  Holy shit. She was so stressed out she hadn’t even felt he was close.

  “Naya?” Vaughn asked.

  She had to fight her desire to run to him and throw herself in his arms.

  Naya opened her mouth to respond, but Vance spoke first, “This is my son. Now that we’re all here, what do you want?”

  Naya looked at Vaughn’s father, and it was no wonder why Vance had looked familiar.

  Naya’s father poked his finger toward Vaughn but spoke to Vance, “As if you don’t already recognize what is going on. I know you can smell the life growing in her. Your shifter son is the reason my vampire daughter is with child.”

  From the corner of his eyes, Vance looked at his son. “Goddammit.”

  “Now, she needs to feed from him until she delivers. What are we going to do?” her mother snapped.

  Naya noticed Vaughn was standing off to the side rather than over by his family. He might have been trying to get her attention, but her gaze kept darting back and forth between their parents.

  “She’s an unmated vampire princess. She is not supposed to have some half-shifter, half-vampire spawn. He took advantage of her!” her father yelled.

  “What about our son? I could say the same thing. Last time I checked, it took two to get pregnant,” Vance said.

  Soon, Naya could no longer understand what they were saying to each other because they were all yelling at the same time. Everything started to sink in, and the shock was wearing off as Naya’s head flooded with information. Her legs no longer supported her, and her head drained of blood. She collapsed on the nearby couch and put her head between her knees.

  Her father had just said she was pregnant.

  Pregnant! That was the last thing she’d considered could be wrong with her. She hadn’t even thought vampires and humans could have babies together, which is why she’d dismissed the idea earlier. What am I going to do?

  Wait. Her head snapped up. Her father had said something else.

  Shifter. He said shifter. Vaughn is a shifter? How in the hell did I not know there are shifters? And Vaughn is one?

  Oh God. She had to put her head back down before she threw up.

  Are there any more bombshells I don’t know about?

  Tears threatened to burst from her eyes as a hand touched her back. She recognized the scent of spiced cloves, and her body immediately calmed. She peeked around her arm and through her hair to see Vaughn. She sat up to look at him better as she pushed her long hair off her face.

  “Shifter?”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Guilty.” He eyed her face and frowned. He put his thumb under her eye and wiped away a tear. “Please don’t cry, baby.”

  She gave him a humorless laugh and wiped her other eye. “So, you’re like a werewolf?”

  His eyebrows drew together. “Hell no. First of all, I’m a cat-shifter, as in big cats. Second, we don’t do that moon thing. We can shift whenever we want. There are wolf-shifters, but they’re not the same as werewolves. Werewolves don’t exist.”

  She’d obviously hit a nerve. “Sorry. So, you’re like a lion or something?”

  He smiled again. “We’re not lions or tigers or anything you can find in the wild. We’re just us. We’re all different colors, and our coats don’t match any animal in particular.”

  “So, Sawyer, Saxon, your dad and mom, everyone…”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  She released a big breath. “That’s a lot of information to process. Did you know I was a vampire?”

  “Yes, even though I haven’t had a lot of involvement with vampires. My only real experience with them was when I was about eight. I remember an extra sweet smell, like yours, which only vampires have. However, you never brought it up, so I figured that you didn’t want to discuss being a vampire, and I wasn’t going to pressure you about it. I assumed you’d bring it up when you were ready, but then…”

  But then she’d told him that they couldn’t see each other anymore.

  He stared at her for a minute. “By all your questions, I’m guessing that you didn’t know about shifters?”

  She closed her eyes, feeling embarrassed. “No. My parents aren’t exactly forthcoming with information. I was just at the doctor, and no one would even tell me what was wrong with me. Then, my father just blurted it out in front of everyone. I can’t believe I didn’t know I was pregnant.” She sat up straight and looked at her belly as she covered it with her hands.

  “Yeah, it sounds like we’re going to be parents,” he said.

  She looked at Vaughn. He was staring at her belly with a soft smile on his face.

  “Are you okay with that?” she asked him. “I told you we could never see each other again, and then I show up at your doorstep…pregnant.”

  He met her eyes. “Yes, I am.”

  His answer made her smile, and he grinned back.

  “So, I take it you’re not going to mate with the other guy?” Vaughn asked.

  She gave a small snort. She’d gotten her wish. Now, there would be no betrothal with Emerson or any other vampire her parents might have picked for her. “Definitely not.”

  Vaughn cupped her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. His eyes were full of intensity. “Good. Now, you’re all mine.”

  He dropped his hand, and she felt her cheeks heat.

  It probably shouldn’t have, but his possessive words comforted her and turned her on at the same time. How can I think of sex at a time like this?

  He inhaled and smiled as if he knew.

  She chastised herself. Of course he knew. He was part animal.

  “Would you like to leave?” he asked. He lost his smile and gestured toward their parents, who were still arguing with each other. “They seem to be more concerned about how this will affect them at the moment. Have your parents even asked if you’re okay?”

  Naya glanced at her parents, and she was almost filled with revulsion. She knew they loved her, but they never treated her like an adult. Here they were, still arguing with Vaughn’s parents. Neither of them had asked how she was feeling or how she was taking the news. They hadn’t even told her that she was pregnant until they were in front of strangers, and they hadn’t bothered to tell her what would happen now.

/>   But what would they say if she just left them here?

  “Naya, I know you don’t want to disappoint them by leaving without telling them. I’m sure they demand respect from you. But don’t you think you deserve some in return? It’s okay for you to think about yourself once in a while.”

  He had very good points.

  When the arguing stopped and they went home, what would happen then? Would they tell her anything? And how would they treat her? They were obviously not happy about this pregnancy. It was probably best to get away from them for a while.

  Naya looked back at Vaughn. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  He held her face in both hands and kissed her. “Don’t worry too much. I’m here. We’ll figure this out together.” He placed another quick kiss on her lips before he stood and offered his hand to help her up.

  Naya saw Arianna standing behind everyone, looking as confused as Naya felt. She waved her hand until Arianna looked at her. She then pointed to herself and Vaughn and then the exit to say they were leaving.

  Arianna shook her head.

  Naya mouthed back, Sorry. She felt bad for leaving Arianna with her parents, but she needed some time away.

  So, she followed Vaughn out the door and away from them all.

  VAUGHN LED NAYA out of his parents’ house and headed for his car. He helped Naya into the passenger seat before getting behind the wheel. He looked her over and took a deep breath. Now, he understood why he’d noticed the change in her scent the last time they were together.

  Her sweet vampire aroma remained strong, which was why he hadn’t recognized her condition before, but today, it was apparent she was with child. Not only had her hormones changed, signifying the pregnancy, but since the baby was part shifter, it had also changed her vampire scent. The difference made it obvious that the father was not a vampire.

  This made his cat extremely satisfied.

  And once he got her alone, he planned to make sure every inch of her skin smelled like him, too, so everyone would know she was his.

  Turning the engine over, he was amazed at how much his life had changed in the last thirty minutes. He had gone from thinking he’d never see Naya again and he might never settle down to Naya showing up at his parents’ house, telling him they were going to be a family. He couldn’t help but smile as he pulled away from the house.