The Vampires #1: Alaric and Faina

Epilogue (Alaric): I Guarded What We Had

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

Contrary to all evidence presented, I was not a marshmallow.

No, I was a vampire in love with his wife, which made me an obsessed, fierce creature filled with intense feelings.

A vampire with a beloved wife and two precious, little girls is even more fierce. The need to protect and provide for them a driving force for my human nature first above anything; for my vampire nature, for the Hunger, they are second only to our need for blood.

But, if my wife was to be believed, a vampire with a beloved wife and two precious, little girls was also a marshmallow.

Faina cocked her eyebrow at me when I argued the accuracy of that noun being applied to me.

"I'm not a marshmallow, Faina. Not even close."

"Prove it, then."

I walked closer to my wife, my hands going to her waist, tugging her close, my eyes alternating between Faina and our little girls running around in the backyard around the enormous playset we'd built for them right next to their little five-room playhouse. "And how shall I prove it to you, my heart?"

Her hands slid up my chest, and she should have been able to feel right then that I was not a soft and squishy marshmallow.

"Simple," she in her sultry voice, clearly challenging me. "Tell them no the very next time they ask you for something." She lifted her wrist so she could see the sparkly watch I'd bought her last week because it reminded me of how I loved to spend all my time with her. "Which should be in the next five minutes, if the past is anything to go by."

"I don't need to tell them no to prove I'm not a marshmallow."

Her smile was triumphant. "You can't even entertain the mere thought of telling the girls no." With a shrug and a graceful wave of her hand, she concluded, "Ergo, a marshmallow."

Her claim wasn't true. I could tell the girls no. If needed. It just hadn't been necessary in the four years since they'd been born. Like their mother, Amirah and Farryn were pure perfection, their dark hair and golden eyes full of excitement and joy. And they looked so much like their mother -- and I admittedly could never tell Faina no -- that I was carrying that habit forward with me where our twins were concerned.

That night at dinner, I had a chance to prove myself. I was one of the strongest vampires in our community. I ran a billion-dollar business. People feared me. I could tell my precious little girls no. Just once.

"Papa," Farryn's sweet little voice drew my attention as I was dishing Amirah some carrots.

"Yes, my little star?"

"Amirah and I need a puppy."

"Here we go," Faina said under her breath, smiling at me. Had it been anyone else, I would have described the smile on her face as a shit-eating grin, but I would never apply that particular crude phrase to my genteel wife.

"You need a puppy?" I clarified. This changed the conversation completely. I could justify a need as opposed to a want. I just wasn't sure Faina could be trusted to understand that important difference.

"Yes, Papa. We do."

"Please, Papa," Amirah added in her adorable voice. "We really need a puppy."

Two pairs of pathetic, golden eyes were pleading with me; one larger pair of golden eyes was watching with wicked amusement to see how I'd handle this. I cleared my throat, remembering I was strong and fierce.