War-Bloodied Claws

Chapter 37: Of Large Bats and Mischievous Cats

Hadrian only slept for a couple of hours at best; though being a vampire made such actions less detrimental to him, and so he rose early only about two hours later without disturbing his newest courtesan. He quickly bathed himself lightly, dressed in casual clothes for the day, and downed a glass of blood-wine that he had ordered from one of the elves he had summoned late last night and told them this house was now their new workspace to care for.

Once all of that was done, he wrote Calistro a short note; in case he woke up after he left and did not wish the Were-Leopard to think he had just up and left him.

Then he went back to the Hall of the Clans; to check on his mate and to see that Tom was fine. The guards from Fenrir's wolves told him that all had been peaceful and quiet in his absence. His mate hadn't had any breakdowns during the night, and Tapan was doing very well in keeping his mate safe, calm, and entertained while he was preoccupied with his other tasks and his new courtesan.

Though, one of the guards did mention that he noticed the rather picky way Tom was eating. Hadrian had smiled and told them he already knew of it; that he was aware of his pregnant mate being rather...choosy with his food. He wasn't at a place yet to be concerned, so to not worry over it.

Surprisingly, Tapan and Tom were both already awake when he arrived...so Hadrian had a moment to enjoy with them as he ensured his mate ate well during his breakfast. It became clear, about half-way through the meal, that something was in the food that Tom's body didn't appreciate. Hadrian moved him onto his lap and soothed him when the food started to cause him to be nauseous, but made sure that Tom had eaten enough.

The food didn't smell as if it was tampered with and dangerous; like poisons or something to cause his mate to abort the child. So, Hadrian figured one of the ingredients simply did not agree with Tom's pregnant body, as the smell of it also seemed to bother him. Hadrian, however, ensured Tapan was paying attention to what foods were making Tom feel ill; so as not to order them again too close together.

That was so they could figure out why something made him feel ill, or what it was that was inside the food that caused it.

Once Tom refused to eat anymore; Hadrian had sighed with slight discomfort to the actions, but he just let it go for now. He really did not wish for his mate to become sick. He spent some moments with him in their room; holding him as he leaned Tom to his body while Tapan had left momentarily to go and ask about some things regarding the dishes made that morning.

But Tom didn't fuss too much when Tapan came back and Hadrian passed him back to the Naga so he could gather Calistro's clothes and adornments. He ensured they were all still finely made and not needing any touch-ups before he shrunk them to his pocket and left.

But not before kissing his mate and the Naga gently.

~~

Hadrian made a short stop to get a specific gift for his newest royal concubine and courtesan; one he enchanted to last for longer than it normally would. If Calistro wanted them to never die; he could change the enchantments later. It was a beautiful bouquet of white, yellow, purple, and the rarer 'Apricot Desire' Dahlia flowers.