Chapter 14

If someone had breathed too hard on Holly, she would have fallen on her face. She hadn't known what to expect when she accepted the fact that she was putting her future in Aiden's hands, but what she saw was the last thing her imagination could conjure up.

They had pulled up to the base of a mountain that opened up like something out of a Batman movie. Then they got out of the car and went up into the elevator where they stepped into a large room with hardwood floors, a couple of worn leather couches, and floor to ceiling windows. The couches were facing the windows, and it was apparent that the whole purpose of the room was to enjoy the view of the forest below and the mountain on the other side. Just as the beauty of it was registering, a large metal slab that almost looked like a garage door came down over the windows. Dawn must be upon them.

They were greeted by a human female, two vampire kids, and a redheaded male who wasn’t vampire, but he didn’t smell human either. One of the vampire children, a beautiful boy about ten years old with dark hair and the same chocolate skin as Aiden, yelled “Dad!” as the elevator doors opened, and threw his arms around Aiden. Aiden met the boy with the same intensity, catching him in mid-air and giving him a huge bear hug despite the blood and the bandages. As Holly watched in abject fascination at the love passing between the boy and Aiden, a blonde female approached her, her arm around the other child. He looked the same age as Aiden's son, and Holly could tell immediately he was related to the tall blonde female simply because they both had the same bright green eyes. Holly accepted the blonde woman's hug as the boy scampered off to say hi to Thaddeus.

"I'm Emily," the blonde female said.

"Holly," she said, and let herself be led down a hall.

“You can take your time and get cleaned up in here,” Emily said as she led Holly down the hall and into a bedroom. Holly noted that the house was actually built into the mountain, and she wondered how many thousands of tons were over her head.

Usually not one for being led around, as she was the one who did the leading, Holly found comfort in someone telling her what to do. It was simple. Go in the room. Shower. Try to relax. Come out when she was ready for food.

Holly looked around the dark blue bedroom with gray accents. The bed threw out an invitation of luxury and comfort. The dark blue silk bedspread engulfed the gray sheets, and huge gray pillows consumed half the bed. She thought of her chair she had slept in for most of the past few days, and cringed. She longed to stretch out on the huge bed that would swallow her up in a cocoon of silk and softness.

“Thank you,” she said softly, squeezing Emily’s hand and looking up at her. What a surprise. Another woman who was taller than her.

“May I ask you a question?” Holly inquired.

“Of course,” the female said, squeezing Holly’s hand again.

“Are you the human with a vampire female?”

A serene smile came over Emily’s face. “Yes. Yes I am. Thaddeus is my mate.” There was a beat of silence. “So, you're safe here. I’m looking forward to hearing how you came to know Aiden, and what you think of all this vampire stuff. It can be jarring at first, believe me, I know!”

It was obvious that Emily thought Holly was human. And why shouldn't she? No one had laid eyes on a female vampire in many, many years. There were even those of the Vampire Nation that were certain that female vampires no longer existed.

Holly looked at the big bed and asked if they could sit down for a moment. For some reason she couldn't place, she had a strong urge to spill her secret to Emily. Perhaps it was because Emily carried a female vampire.

“So I'm safe here, Emily?” Holly asked.

Emily nodded, looking confused.

"I am a vampire, Emily. And frankly, the last place I would ever expect to be is in the . . . " what should she call this place? " . . . in the fortress of The Council's Dark Forces."

Emily’s eyes widened, a look of shock overtook her face. There was a moment of silence. When she regained her composure, she said, “Of course the protection applies to you, Holly,” she said softly. “I don’t know what Aiden has told you, but Thaddeus is in charge now. There isn’t a stupid breeding plan. There isn’t any reason for you to be afraid any longer.”

Another moment of silence as the women sized each other up. Holly was comforted by the soft tone of Emily’s voice, as well as her words. It was one thing for Aiden to say these things to her, but it was a whole different thing for her to hear it from a human woman who was carrying a female vampire. Her fear ebbed a little.

“Does Thaddeus know?” Emily asked softly.

Holly shrugged her shoulders and looked at the door. “My guess is yes. He was giving me some strange looks in the car. I'm sure he isn’t one hundred percent certain, simply because he hasn’t seen a female vampire in a long time. But he has his suspicions.”

Emily nodded. Her gaze never leaving Holly’s face. “Okay. You tell him when you’re ready. He won’t hear it from me.”

Holly looked back at the human female and had a feeling they could be great friends.

When she was alone, she looked around the room again. She thought about the greeting they had received when they arrived. What she had seen of the house, it was beautiful. Not beautiful in an uptight way, but she could tell everything was top of the line from the lush carpet that lined the hallway, to the leather couches she had seen, and then there was this room. It was beautiful in a comfortable way.

This was not what the Dark Forces were about. She didn't know what she expected, but this wasn't it. If she had given it any thought before coming here, she would have guessed they lived in a cave like a bunch of animals or something, not in understated beauty with pregnant mates and children running around.

Wow. No, she never would have expected this.