Adriel withdrew his hands, bowed respectfully, then returned to his spot. Margaret eventually took her seat at the head of the table and glanced down at all three of us. Her eyes were red, but not the bright red of a healthy vampire. Instead they were muddied, like rust.
“I have come to a decision,” Margaret said simply.
My brothers and I sat at the edge of our seats, completely silent and waiting on her next words.
“I am not well,” she continued. “For my final stage in this life, I need the help of my sons.”
Theo and I exchanged glances, while Adriel watched with a furrowed, concerned expression. None of us dared to speak.
Suddenly, Margaret closed her eyes. As vampires, we didn’t blink the way humans normally did. We could close our eyes, certainly, but it was always a forced action. In our case, unless we blinked to mimic humans, closing our eyes was a dramatic expression.
“The first of you to produce an heir,” Margaret said, opening her eyes and studying each one of us, “will become the new head of the coven.”
The words stunned me. “What?”
She didn’t comment on the fact that I’d spoken out of turn. She must have been too tired, and too invested in what she was saying. “I hope to live long enough to see the heir for myself.”
“Anheir?” Theo said. “Is that even... possible?”
“Perhaps she means a spiritual heir,” Adriel suggested. “As in, going out to turn a human into another vampire.”
“No,” Margaret declared. “I mean a biological heir.”
This time, Adriel looked as startled as the rest of us.
“But Margaret,” Adriel said gently, like he thought his mother was finally losing her mind. “Vampires cannot have children.”
Margaret snapped her glare on him. “I know what I said, Adriel, and you’d be wise to listen!”
Adriel shrunk back, stunned and confused, and wary of speaking again.
Not wanting to see my brother yelled at again, I took the burden on myself. “Margaret, I’m sorry, I simply don’t understand. I was under the impression that vampires were infertile and could not conceive.”
Margaret sighed in exasperation. “That is what many believe. It doesn’t make it true.”
Theo piped up. “But any time a vampire has mated with a human female - ”
“That is the problem!” Margaret nearly shrieked. “Human females cannot carry a half-blood child.”
The gears turned in Adriel’s head as he straightened up in his seat. “Then, the only other solution is… a male human omega.”
Margaret nodded slowly. “Yes. A male human omega filled with an alpha vampire’s seed will produce a dhampir.”
“A what?” Theo asked.
“A dhampir,” Adriel replied for him. “Half human, half vampire. I’d heard of them, but I never imagined they were real.”
“But…” I paused, still not understanding. “Why, Margaret? What is the purpose of the union?”
Margaret’s eyes narrowed into slits, almost as if she was angry that I was asking questions. “A dhampir produces thefognaturally, manipulating the minds of humans.”
Theodore gasped. “Really? But isn’t that what you do, mother?”
Margaret’s voice was gentler as she addressed Theo. “Yes, my child. But as you can see, I am not long for this earth.” She turned to Adriel and I more severely. “That is why you need to mate as soon as possible. There isn’t much time.”
I ran through the consequences in my mind. If none of us found a mate and produced a dhampir child soon enough, Margaret would die - and if she passed, then we would have no way of feeding safely.
And if we couldn’t feed, then…
