For Love of a Vampire

Chapter 30

Duncan resembled a waxed doll when they laid him on the cot in the back of Rosalie's enormous tent. I searched for signs of life. His chest showed signs of shallow breaths being taken. Shallow breaths meant he still had life. I'd take that for now.

He needed to feed immediately and it had to be human blood. Knowing how he felt about drinking the blood of humans, I asked if there was another way to save him. There wasn't.

This was my fault. If I hadn't come back into the past, Duncan would be safe in the future, as would Isabelle. My foolish, thoughtless actions caused the death of a dear friend, and possibly the death of the one true love of my life. It didn't matter that he was no longer in love with me. Through him, I'd experienced a love I never thought possible and I would always remember that.

I took a deep breath and looked around. Rosalie had put the word out for volunteers to feed Duncan. A few had arrived, but knowing him the way I did, I doubted he'd be pleased to discover their blood in him. They looked less than desirable. It was interesting to see that even in this realm there were still vagabonds about.

"We must do something soon," Isabelle moaned, "or my friend will be no more. Vampires do not join us in this dimension when they die. They are soul-less. Soul-less creatures simply cease to be."

I spotted a small blade next to an apple on the teacart Rosalie had served us from when we first arrived. Without a moment's hesitation, I grabbed it, slit my wrist, and shoved it up against Duncan's pale, wax-like lips. Within seconds he was sucking with a fury I'd never imagined possible.

Isabelle gasped when she saw what I'd done, as did Helen.

"Heavens above," Helen roared, "what are you doing? Do you not know the risk you take?" Helen howled.

"He will not be able to stop," Isabelle said worriedly. "You are still weak from your loss of blood. That was a foolish move."

"I owe him this much," I puffed as I struggled for breath. I could feel the life draining from me as it poured into Duncan. "I owe him so much more than this."

The world began to spin as Duncan reached up and with a vice grip secured my arm against his mouth so there was no chance of my pulling it away. The last thing I remember before the world went black was telling him I how much I loved him and how sorry I was that I'd hurt him.

It was morning when I was roused by the smell of bacon and biscuits being passed beneath my nose. My eyes worked hard to open. The world was blurry and I struggled to focus. Things finally got clear enough for me to see that it was Duncan who was holding the plate so tantalizingly close.

He looked a very healthy Duncan, at that.

I smiled with satisfaction as I murmured, "You're alive."

"As are you," he replied. "Such a foolish thing to risk your life to save mine."

"Not so foolish," I replied. "When you love someone, you do what you can for them."

"You love me?" he asked softly.

I looked into his sea foam eyes, searching for... I don't know what.

"With all my heart," I said softly.

"Good," he huffed and then stood and walked away.

The way that vampire kept walking away from me was damned frustrating.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

He picked up the jacket he'd been wearing earlier and pulled a small box from the inner pocket.

"To get this," he said.

My mouth fell open as he fell to his knees by the cot and presented me with the most gorgeous ruby and diamond ring I'd ever seen, while asking me to be his wife. Wow... I hadn't seen that coming at all.

Tears of happiness and confusion rolled down my cheeks while I held my hand out for him to slip the ring on my finger. Of course I'd marry him. Of course I'd be his wife... Of course! Of course! Of course!

We spent the day together walking the encampment and enjoying the many sights and smells of the marketplace. I'd marveled at how good I felt, but I didn't dare ask why. Admitting that I knew I should be weak as a kitten because I'd forfeited my blood to Duncan made me fearful of changing the wonderful mood of our day. Later that night, when we were in the privacy of our assigned tent and all was quiet and Duncan and I had finished making love for the third time, I got the courage to broach the subject.

"I gave you my blood," he replied matter-of-factly.

I gasped in surprise as I said, "So, I'm vampire now? Is that why you asked me to marry you?"

His chuckle was low and soft as he said, "I asked you to marry me because I love you and it is time to make it clear that you are not on the market."

I knew what he was referring to, but I didn't want to break the mood by discussing it, so I stayed on the topic of his blood being in my body.

"What will your blood do to me?" I asked.

"It will make you feel good for a few weeks," he said with curious hesitation.

"There's something more," I persisted, "please tell me all."

"You have to understand that we had no choice. I was so close to expiration that by the time I'd revived enough to realize I was drinking from you I'd extracted a dangerous amount of blood from your body. A few drops more and your heart would have stopped pumping," he said as he climbed out of bed and paced the floor, mindless of his nakedness. "Rosalie and Isabelle managed to get through to me in time to stop me from killing you." The regret in his eyes when he looked at me was almost overwhelming. "The only way to save you was to give you my blood."

"How much did you give me?" I asked hesitantly.

I didn't know what he was trying to say, but whatever it was, it didn't seem like it was something I'd be happy about.

"Quite a bit," he replied.

"How does that work? I mean... I give you my blood and you give it right back? Wouldn't that make both of us blood deficient?" I wondered aloud.

"That would be a logical conclusion. Fortunately, when I drink blood, I reproduce it almost immediately. By the time they stopped me from draining you, I'd replenished my body nicely," he explained.

"Then, why would you hesitate on telling me whatever you are hesitating about telling me?" I asked firmly.

He took a deep breath and blurted out, "It will take almost a month for my blood to completely leave your body. If you die before it's gone, you'll become a vampire."

I stared at him for some time before calmly asking, "Is that it?"

Shocked, he nodded his head, but said nothing.

I don't know what I expected to hear, but hearing that I could become a vampire if I died wasn't the worst thing I could have heard. After all, I was in love with a vampire. It made sense for me to be a vampire right alongside him; especially since we planned on marrying. I was sure there were worse things he could have said.

We completed the night in each other's arms, alternating between making love and talking about our future together. Vampires had an amazing appetite for sex and it could often times be quite rigorous, but Duncan was considerate of my recent health experience and was incredibly considerate. I couldn't help but compare his treatment of me with the treatment I'd received from Rufus. There was no comparison. In fact, the comparison plagued me in the back of my mind until the following day when the subject was finally addressed.