Eighty years after he first met his biological father at the Baby Farm, Alec had never been so furious with Bartholomew before. He could not believe what he had done to Brie. As he closed the door to Brie’s room, he could feel the anger seething out of his skin.
He wanted to do something, but he knew Brie was right. Bartholomew was too strong, and easily could kill Alec if he chose to. Still, Alec wanted to confront Bartholomew but he knew he first had to calm down first. Alec decided to return to the nursery. When he opened the door, he found Emma feeding one of the children. Emma was tired and was hoping it was Brie, who was supposed to relieve Emma of her duties. As she looked up at Alec, she could not hide her disappointment.
“Emma, I’m sorry, but Brie won’t be able to take her shift,” Alec explained.
“But Master Alec, we’re all so tired.”
“Brie won’t be able to work her shift. I didn’t say anything about her remaining staff. Your staff may rest after shift change is over. You, however, will have to stay until Brie is able to work.”
“How long with that be?”
Alec didn’t want to say anything to Emma about Brie’s encounter with Bartholomew, so he gave a very generic explanation. “Brie’s been hurt,” he started. “When she heals, she’ll come and relieve you. I’m not sure how long it’s going to be Emma. I’m sorry.”
“Its okay, Master Alec. Just as long as Brie gets better. I’ll stay as long as she needs me to.”
“You’re so kind, Emma, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, my lord.”
“Now, where do you suppose I might find Boris?”
“Selena has returned. If you go to her room, I would expect you’ll find him there.”
“Thank you, Emma. I’ll come and check on you later.”
Alec walked out of the nursery and made his way to Selena’s room. Alec knocked on the door with a sense of purpose. Selena opened the door moments later. She’s a beautiful woman, and Boris was right to feel the way he did about her, Alec thought as he and Selena made eye contact.
Selena was tall for a woman, and had long, thick, curly, charcoal hair. Everything about her was appealing to most men, but she had very rare, piercingly beautiful lavender eyes.
Selena’s power was seduction. She knew she could have any man she wanted. That’s why she was so selective. The men she chose were powerful, but it didn’t mean they had to have money to be powerful. Over the years, she had had many poor men as well. If the ones without money sexually aroused her, she would always take them into her bed.
She also loved extremely handsome men. It was always a plus if they could please her. When she met Boris, she was instantly overwhelmed with both his sexual prowess, and his extremely good looks. On the heels of their earliest encounter, Selena decided Boris would be her mate when he was ready.
“What can I do for you, my lord?” Selena asked as she answered the door in her robe.
“Sorry to disturb you, Selena. I know you’ve just returned home, but I was wondering if you knew where I might find Boris.”
Selena stepped back from the door and allowed Alec to come in. Once in the room, he saw Boris was lying underneath Selena’s covers. Alec could see the small bite marks on his neck and immediately became upset. ‘How could Boris just bounce from woman to woman with such ease?’ Alec thought. Regardless, there was work to be done so he decided he would talk to Boris about it later.
“Come on, Boris, get up. It’s time for us to get some work done around here,” Alec said as he folded his arms in disgust.
“Alec, can’t this wait until after I take care of business? Selena has been gone for two weeks.”
“No.”
“Alec, I need her.”
Alec wanted to talk to Boris about Brie, but first he had to get him out of Selena’s bed. So Alec decided he would make Selena angry. “No you don’t,” he said as he launched his plan into action. “You were just sucking on Brie’s neck last night.”
Boris immediately looked at Selena, and saw the hurt and anger in her eyes. Selena was not happy, but she didn’t yell. “Boris, get your ass out of my bed,” she said in a calm, understated tone.
“Selena honey, it was nothing. I was only-”
If he had complied with her request, she wouldn’t have raised her voice. Instead, his attempted explanation made her even angrier. “I said get the hell out of my sight!” Selena screamed as she pulled the covers off Boris.
Alec quickly walked out of the room and waited for Boris in the hallway. Alec couldn’t help but crack a small smile while he watched Boris clumsily gather his clothes as he tried to reason with Selena. “I’ll be back when I can,” he said to Selena as he zipped up his pants.
Selena pushed Boris into the hallway. “No you won’t!” she screamed right before she slammed her door shut.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” Boris yelled as he turned his attention to Alec.
“No time, we have to talk,” Alec said as they started to walk down the hallway.
“I haven’t had her in two weeks. You know how I feel about her. Why did you just mess that up?”
“I’ve already told you, we need to talk. Come on let’s go to my room so we won’t be disturbed.”
“You said we had to go to work.”
“Must you always fight me on everything? Come on, Boris. I have to talk to you about something that’s very important and I don’t wish to hear your complaining.”
As they entered Alec’s room, Boris slammed the door, hoping to express his frustration. “Now, what in the hell is so important that you had to interrupt me? Her sex was singing a sweet song, and my dick was listening.”
Alec’s face held a deadpan expression for a moment. “Boris, you’re such a pig!”
“What do you mean?” Boris asked with a grin. “I only said I was getting ready to make love to my woman.”
“That’s not what you said at all. Whatever, I don’t have time to argue with you about it. I wanted to ask you about Master Bartholomew.”
“What about him?”
“Have you noticed any changes in him? I mean in his abilities.”
“No, why?”
“Well, you as a Daywalker, you have the ability to stay awake for at least four days correct?”
“Yes, but what does this have to do with Bartholomew?”
“I think that somehow he’s changing into one of you.”
“One of me? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Clean out your ears, Boris. I think he’s somehow changing into a Daywalker.”
“Wait. Alec, are you saying you’ve seen this?”
“No. I have no proof this actually is happening to him. However, I’ll tell you what happened while we slept. Please, have a seat.”
Alec went on to tell Boris everything that happened to Brie. Boris now was equally upset.
“Well what do you want to do?” Boris asked. “He’s very strong, and if he’s changing into a Daywalker as you suspect, he’ll only be stronger after his transformation.”
Alec sighed and said, “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”
“What are you planning on doing, Alec? I hope you don’t think you would even have a chance of winning. Remember, he’s a made vampire. You’re half human, and even though you’re technically a vampire, you’re much weaker than any made vampire.”
“There has to be a way to kill him,” Alec thought aloud all but ignoring Boris and his warning.
“I’ll not listen to this,” Boris said as he stood up. “You’re trying to get us all killed.”
“Come on Boris, what’s the matter? You’re a made vampire yourself. Are you telling me you’re afraid of him?”
“Of course not.”
Alec smiled and said, “Now, you lie.”
Boris couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay, maybe a little. However, we can’t do this. If we go against him, we’ll be struck down.”
“Do you know what Bartholomew’s weakness is?”
“He has none,” Boris replied without hesitation.
“You’ve got to be kidding. He must have one, and someone around here knows what it is. So, if I plan a coup, will you join me?”
Boris could not believe what he was hearing. “No,” he said as he turned his back to Alec.
“Come on, Boris. I know you would love to be free of him just like I would.”
As the words left Alec’s mouth, Boris couldn’t help but think back to the day Alec arrived at the farm. He remembered Bartholomew slapped him hard. He remembered how much it hurt, and Boris wasn’t easily hurt. He also remembered the many times he had to share his beloved Selena, and couldn’t do anything about it. If Alec were brave enough to challenge the master, then he would certainly follow him he decided.
“Fine. I’ll join you, but only if you can guarantee the four of us won’t get hurt,” Boris said as he turned back to face Alec.
“The four of us?”
“Me, you, Brie, and Selena.”
“I’ll work on it. Thank you, my friend,” Alec said as he placed his hand on Boris’s shoulder. “Now, back to clan business. I heard screams as I was on the way up to Selena’s room from the nursery. I’ll need to be there to witness the birth, and you, well, you know what you do.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Oh no, you’re not going to try and weasel your way back into Selena’s bed. There’s no time,” Alec said with a smile as he playfully pushed Boris out the door.
“That’s not where I was going. I was going to check on Brie.”
“Well, you’re not going to try and weasel your way into her bed either.”
Boris still felt bad about what Alec had witnessed the night before. He was determined to make Alec believe him. “Alec, look, I told you the truth last night. I only needed to feed, and she let me because I was in a bad way,” Boris began to explain. “I know you love her, and for whatever reason, she loves you. She’s only my friend, and that’s all.”
“I already told you I didn’t want to hear your lies.”
“It’s the truth,” Boris said as he now put his hand on Alec’s shoulder.
Alec looked at Boris and saw the sincerity in his eyes. “Alright Boris, I believe your story, but we don’t have time to talk about it any further. You can go see Brie, but don’t be long. You know how the smell of human blood makes me sick.”
Boris smiled, slapped Alec on the back and said, “Even after all this time you haven’t gotten used to it, huh?”
“You saw me last night. It’s just disgusting,” Alec replied as Boris laughed aloud. “Well we better hurry if we’re going to birth yet another baby. I’ll see you in the birthing wing in a bit.”
Following the birth of the latest baby, Alec did his usual duty of delivering the baby to the nursery. To his surprise, Lady Isabella was there.
“Lady Isabella, I didn’t expect to see you,” Alec said as he held the baby. “Where’s Emma?”
“She’s in her office, Master Alec. She told me a new baby was being born, and was expecting you. She said it would be okay for me to feed this one.”
“Certainly,” Alec said as he handed the baby over to Isabella, who already was sitting and waiting with a bottle.
“Master Alec. Truth be told, the reason I’m really here is I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what, my lady?”
“Brie. Is she okay?”
“You know about Brie?”
“Whenever Bartholomew is not in our bed, I know he’s with another. I really don’t mind. I can barely keep up with him anymore.”
“So, it’s true then?” Alec inquired.
“This news has also reached your ears,” Isabella said as she looked up at Alec.
“Yes.”
“Yes, it’s true. And I promise it’s not my lack of ability, so don’t start that rumor. Bartholomew has just become...different.”
“What can you tell me?”
“Nothing. If I said something and he found out, he would exile me. Or worse, he may kill me.”
Isabella wanted to say more, but she was afraid. Alec could see this in her face. He didn’t want to push the issue any further so he decided to change the subject.
“Selena has returned,” Alec suddenly said in an upbeat tone.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Isabella said as she rocked the newborn in her arms. “Now Boris will have to behave again. You know he only acts like an ass when she’s not around.”
“Yes, my lady, I have noticed it. Why is that?”
“I programmed him that way. I rather enjoy him going around tormenting everyone with his bad temper. It gives me great entertainment.”
“You made him like that?”
“Of course I did. I thought you knew Boris once belonged to me.”
Alec was confused. “My lady, do you mean he was once your servant?”
“Yes, of course. When Bartholomew was getting things going here, he needed some help. Hannibal asked all of the clan leaders to send someone to help him. At the time, I was the mate of a clan leader. When he found out what I had done to Boris, he sent him away from me.”
“Why did he do that?”
“He feared Boris and I would become lovers.”
“So, you loved him?”
“No. Boris was a toy to me. Of all of the dreams I’ve invaded, I’d never seen anything like his. Oh yes, he dreamt of me. In his dreams, we were sometimes human, sometimes vampire, but always making love. Therefore, I decided to alter his dreams a bit. After I did what I did, it made him a little, how do you say, off. I would purposely leave home for days on end just to see how he would act when I wasn’t around him. The ones closest to him would tell me of the horrible things he said and did upon my return. The result is what you see when Selena isn’t around.”
“So, Boris was in love with you?”
“Yes.”
“Now he loves another, and still acts that way. I don’t understand.”
“Like I said, I programmed him. It doesn’t matter who he loves, he will remain this way for all time.”
“Pardon me for saying so, my lady, but that’s a bit cruel, don’t you think?”
“I never meant to be nice. That’s what got me exiled from my clan. They sent me far away, and locked me up. Because I was at least a hundred miles away from anyone, living or dead, I couldn’t invade their dreams. It was a very lonely existence.
“But I was fortunate Hannibal didn’t forget about me,” she continued as she got up to place the baby in a crib. “Not long before you came to us, Bartholomew mentioned to Hannibal that he was ready for a mate.”
“Hannibal freed you, only to put you in another prison.”
“He freed me, but I’m not in prison,” Isabella said with a sense of anger in her voice. “Make no mistake, Master Alec. I’m still a formidable woman. Never forget it. I still have the same powers I’ve always had, and even you fear me. Now, I know when to use my powers, and when not to.”
Alec didn’t know what to say so he just continued to listen. Isabella felt that she’d already said too much, so she quickly changed the subject.
“Well, I must thank you, Master Alec, for allowing me to bend your ear. Usually I talk to Brie about such things, but since she was the victim this time, as you’re aware, I can’t talk to her. Get back to your duties, and I’ll talk to you another day.”
Isabella left Alec standing in the middle of the nursery quite surprised and confused. He didn’t know what to make of what Isabella told him. Did Boris know what she had done to him? Should he tell him? He suddenly found himself with more knowledge about the people around him than he cared to know.
Alec gathered his thoughts and went into the office to check on Emma. “How are you holding up Emma?”
“I’m fine, Master Alec. Thank you.”
“Good. I believe we have three more births tonight, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Well, I better get back to work.”
“Master Alec, have you heard any news about Brie?”
“No. Boris should be in supervising the clean up. He went to see her. I’ll ask him if you like.”
“Yes, please.”
“When I bring in the next child, I’ll also bring you news of Brie’s welfare.”
“I would appreciate it. Thank you, my lord.”
“You’re most welcome, Emma.”
Alec left the nursery and went back to the birthing room where Boris was supervising the clean up of the dead mother. When he walked in the door, he saw Boris was quietly standing in the corner watching as the crew put the woman’s body in a black bag.
“Boris, how is she?” Alec asked as he approached Boris.
“Still sleeping.”
“Has she stopped bleeding?”
“Some of her wounds have, but most haven’t. I called for the medics to attend to her.”
“Thank you. When we’re off duty, I’m going to have a chat with Master Bartholomew.”
“Alec, you can’t.”
“I will and I am. Why are you so worried? This will give you plenty of time to try to make up with Selena,” Alec said with a smile. “And besides that, if he does decide to kill me, you can have your old job back. Now please, finish with this, and go sit with Brie. It will be a while before you’re needed again.”
By the time the next birthing was over, everyone was exhausted. Emma was on her last legs, and Alec was becoming worried. He decided to excuse her. He knew she needed to get some sleep. He reasoned the children would be fine alone for a few hours.
As Emma left the nursery, Alec looked outside, and then at his watch. There still were a few hours of darkness left. ‘Just enough time to talk to Bartholomew,’ he figured.
Alec marched to Bartholomew’s chamber. When he arrived, he took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door.
“Come in,” Bartholomew commanded from behind the closed door. Alec opened the door, and entered Bartholomew’s chamber.
“What do you want, Alec?” Bartholomew asked.
As the door shut behind him, Alec suddenly feared for his life. Despite his fear, he had to know what happened to Brie. He took a deep breath and quietly asked, “My lord, how did Brie end up in such a state?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because she was not able to take over for Emma at shift change. As a result, Emma has been awake for two days.”
“You were always concerned about the help,” Bartholomew said with an arrogant laugh. “Your first day here, you changed things. As it turned out, your idea was a good one. I now have happy, healthy vampires in my employ.”
“Save one, my lord”
Bartholomew could sense Alec was there to challenge him. He didn’t want to have to kill his own son, but he was perfectly willing to rough him up if he disrespected him.
“Brie will be fine,” Bartholomew said in a rather nonchalant tone. “I haven’t had her in a while, and I guess I missed her. She’s absolutely a beautiful woman.”
“Yes, my lord, she is.”
“Is there something else you wanted to discuss?”
Alec was still afraid, but he didn’t want to show it. “How long were you with her, my lord?”
“All night.”
“Master, you do realize she hasn’t healed yet,” Alec said as the anger festered inside his body. “If the medics can’t stop the bleeding, she’ll die. Then what will you do?”
“Emma is perfectly capable of taking over for Brie if something should happen to her. What do you care anyway? She’s only a caregiver. She’s easily replaced.”
Alec then made a grave mistake. He let his thoughts invade his mouth. “She’s not so easily replaced!” he yelled out. Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground, rubbing his face.
Bartholomew always took a lot from Alec, but this time, he crossed the line. “You arrogant little bastard! You’ll not ever talk to me like that again!” Bartholomew screamed as he stood over a trembling Alec. “If you do, I’ll send Isabella into your head, and I know you don’t want her to do that!”
“No, my lord, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
Bartholomew stood over Alec for another moment before offering him a hand to help him up from the floor.
“Alec, don’t worry about Brie. She’ll be fine. She just needs to finish her rest.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“So, why the sudden interest in her? I’ve been with her before and you’ve never said anything.”
Alec looked away from his master and didn’t say a word. But from his silence, Bartholomew suddenly realized why Alec was acting the way he was. “You love her, don’t you Alec?”
Alec looked at Bartholomew but still didn’t answer.
“Yes, that’s it,” Bartholomew said with a sense of gloating. “You love her, and you don’t want me to have her anymore. Well is that it?”
“Yes, my lord. I do love her,” Alec said as he stared at the floor.
“That’s touching. However, since you’re not the lord and master of this clan, what you say or feel doesn’t matter. I’ll have anyone in the clan I choose. If I decide to have you, I will. You’re not here to tell me what to do, Alec. You only supervise my staff. As far as I’m concerned, you’re no better than the rabble who works for you. Now get out of my sight, and get back to work. Forget about Brie. She’s one of your workers, just like Boris.”
“Yes, my lord,” Alec whispered as he rushed out of his master’s room. It was in this moment he knew he was going to have to get rid of Bartholomew. He didn’t have any idea on how he was going to do it, but he had to for the welfare of all he loved.
Alec left Bartholomew’s chamber and immediately went to check on Brie. When he opened the door to Brie’s room, Boris and Selena were watching the medics take care of her.
“So, how did it go?” Boris asked.
“Not well. If we don’t do something, he’s going to hurt someone else like this,” Alec said, his eyes fixated on Brie.
“Understood.”
“So, how is she?”
“It took the medics forever to figure out why she hadn’t stopped bleeding yet. They found an anti-coagulant in her body. If she were a made vampire, she would have been fine hours ago. But since she’s half human, the anti-coagulant worked on her human DNA as expected. This is why she hasn’t healed as fast as she normally would.”
“Why would Bartholomew do this to her?” Selena asked.
“He doesn’t even know. He’s on some sort of power trip right now,” Alec explained. “He told me that he would have anyone that he wanted. None of us are safe.”
Alec stayed with Brie after the medics finished working on her. “Boris, go supervise the shift change for me,” Alec said as he stood over Brie. “Afterwards you’re free to do whatever you want. I’m going to stay with her.”
As Boris and Selena walked out of the room, Alec sat down in the chair next to Brie’s bed. He looked at his beautiful Brie for a long time before getting into the bed with her.
As he held Brie’s waist, he prayed she would be okay. Not long after that, Alec fell asleep holding the woman he loved.
~~~