I aided Adriel in restraining Margaret. Even though she was a powerful Elder vampire, right now she was too sick and wild to control her strength. The two of us were easily enough to hold her back.
To my surprise, someone else joined us - Benji.
“Margaret, enough of this!” he cried. “You can’t hurt my brother - he’s the baby’s uncle, for crying out loud! Don’t you care?”
Margaret’s eyes went wide, her pupils turning to pinpoints. She hesitated under our grip and some of the fight left her.
“Yes… Yes, that’s right,” she murmured. Her muscles loosened and her hands - which had become claws - turned back to normal. “You’re right, Benji.”
Benji looked surprised to see her agree with him, but he nodded.
We let go of Margaret, although remained on edge in case she tried anything else. Thankfully, all she did was skulk away with one last longing glance at Benji.
I shut my eyes and sighed. “Well, that wasn’t quite how I imagined this evening would go.”
Unable to control his terror and confusion any longer, Caleb burst out, “What the fuck just happened?”
17
Benji
Huddled away in the lounge, Caleb sat in shock on the couch with a blanket over his shoulders and a cup of cocoa. I sat next to him in hopes that my presence was comforting.
“So,” Caleb said, his voice low and unsure. “Vampires, huh?”
I could tell he was trying - badly - to joke around, so I smiled. “Yeah. Vampires.”
After the incident with Margaret, and after Caleb had some time to decompress, we explained the truth to him - that everybody in this house except for him and I were vampires.
“I just can’t wrap my head around this,” he muttered. “I mean, they look so… human.”
“I guess,” I said.
“But sexier and scarier.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
He managed the slightest smile before it fell away. “So what does that mean about your baby?”
I touched Caleb’s shoulder firmly. “It means my baby is a dhampir. A - “
“A half human, half vampire,” Caleb finished. He sighed. “I mean, I read about them all the time. Instories.Stories I love. But to find out they’re real? And that my brother is sleeping with one?”
“Ew,” I said. “Please don’t say that again.”
“Sorry. But it’s the truth.” He stared down into his cocoa as steam billowed from it. “Anyway, this is all just a lot to take in.”
“I understand,” I said. “Trust me, it was a huge slap in the face when I first arrived here. I thought you’d at least take it a bit easier since you love vampire books and all.”
He quirked a brow at me. “Just because I love vampire novels doesn’t mean I’m not freaked the fuck out by the reality of this.” He slumped back in his seat. “So, you’re really having a half-vampire baby, huh?”
“Yup.”
Caleb sat up suddenly. “Do you want to drink any blood yet?”
I paled. I briefly wondered why he knew about that, but then remembered he must have picked up a lot of knowledge from Adriel’s books. “Not yet. But I will soon.”
“Are you gonna do it?” Caleb asked hesitantly.
