Essence (Nectar 3)

“In a scenario such as yours with a person that you’ve bonded with who has extremely rare blood, when you feed that mate your own blood, you bind that mate to yourself. That’s what you’ve done. If any other vampire had turned her, she’d have just turned and with that, it could’ve destroyed the bond you had. Because you’d bonded and because of how royal she is, you’ve bound her to you and this bond is only breakable by death. If one of you dies, the other will wither. This relationship takes a serious commitment, vampires mate for life. It’s just that very few know this.”

Wow.

Sergey sipped his drink and smiled.

“You benefit because her blood becomes yours only. Other vampires won’t be attracted to it, which I’m sure is a relief to you. If another vampire does try to consume it, they’ll become very ill and she’ll most likely murder them for their efforts. You’ll also have a better chance of successful procreation. It’s not guaranteed; bound couples can still have trouble conceiving, but if she does, she doesn’t face the typical human risk of dying during giving birth to a vampire infant. Your children probably won’t need to be turned. I was born vampire. I didn’t need to be turned. I grew, as a normal child, but stopped aging after reaching full maturity.”

Tristan’s hand squeezed hers. She wanted to cry out with joy. But she held it together.

“You’ll share a strong bond, be able to read one another, be able to feel one another. Feeding one another will deepen your bond and make you both stronger.” He stopped and sipped his beer.

It all sounded like good news. It all sounded like great freaking news. No one chasing them to steal her away or drain her? The chance of a baby together without Kyla dying? A life that long? Together?

“This is great!” Kyla couldn’t help but blurt.

Tristan looked at her with apprehension and then looked back to Sergey. His heart was beating faster. It was making hers palpitate.

“There are some side effects.” Sergey went on.

“And those are?” Tristan asked.

“Women turned in this way can be a little bit unruly. Not like she’d be if she were turned by someone else but still a bit unruly.”

“Hah!” Burst out of Kyla.

Tristan looked at her narrow-eyed. The blue was coming back into his eyes.

Sam and Sasha both looked amused.

“She’s a bit like a baby vamp in her temperament. Thankfully it should be short-lived.”

“How short?” Tristan asked.

“Hey,” Kyla whispered, “I haven’t been that bad.”

Tristan rolled his eyes. Sasha giggled.

“It’s not easy to say. That’s individual. And she will be desperate to procreate. If it doesn’t work out, it could get….” Sergey winced, “Hairy. That temper can be directly tied to ovulation, menstruation even after she adjusts to her new status.”

“How hairy?” Tristan asked.

“Tantrums, irrational behavior, depression. It could go a variety of ways, depending on her personality and how strong she is. Most female vampires today don’t realize it’s difficult to conceive because they’re not bound to a strong and compatible male and that’s a big reason why many are as unruly as they are. Vampires were meant to mate for life. This is a marriage and the female relies 100% on her mate and he relies on her as well, although not in the same way. It’s believed that she doesn’t have fangs because it could make her very dangerous if she becomes unruly and because her mate provides for her needs, she doesn’t need them. You can feed elsewhere, it won’t be as nourishing, but you can, if you need to or if you desire. She cannot. Another vampire’s blood would make her violently ill.”

Kyla’s eyes rolled. Clearly vampires were unevolved in terms of feminism.

“I was diagnosed as infertile in my early 20’s and when I was turned I was a nightmare,” Sasha pointed out, “Until Kyle.”

Sergey nodded, “We need to circle back to that, Sasha. Hang tight. And Tristan, your mother, who I am very familiar with, was turned when she was post-menopausal and while she experienced reverse aging, it was too late for her to conceive again. The inability to conceive added to her poor disposition. Being royal with that poor disposition was a recipe for… well, Taryn, to be blunt. We royals innately want to procreate. Turned vamps, too, but royals in particular. Males and females alike. Beyond drinking blood, that’s what we are motivated to do. The dilution of the bloodline has made that difficult. Males find their enchanted human females and want to feed from them. If they don’t become pregnant, many go into a rage and kill them without even realizing they’re weeding them out so that they can move on. Not until it’s too late. But the nature of our world today, that’s not widely known and there aren’t that many suitable females available, not that many suitable males either. The bloodline dilution has taken a toll, has affected our natural urges.”