Copyright © 2010, Susan M. Sailors
Published by Whiskey Creek Press LLC

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Sample Chapter For BLOOD OF THE MOON by Susan M. Sailors

Gerard listened to Chris and Rebecca arguing. They weren’t really having a fight, but they were getting there. They sat in the corner playing a card game and had kept their voices down for the most part. Bella was playing on the floor with her daughter Mary, and Gerard’s wife Aria had her head in his lap. They were both reading a new mystery series, and she was one book ahead of him.
The scene looked very normal. No one looking in would have thought Chris and Rebecca were vampires, Bella and Mary were werewolves, or Gerard and Aria were both. Gerard wanted to laugh, but instead he tried to keep reading. Rebecca had been pushing Chris for several days about something, but Gerard wasn’t sure what.
Before they’d all met, Chris had been a vampire hunter and Rebecca had been a dominatrix living in the apartment above his. Certainly not normal or average, but much less complicated. Both had been turned into vampires by Morgaine, the queen of the vampires. She’d been dead for over a month, but that hadn’t made their lives simpler. Gerard still blamed himself. Chris had gotten involved with him and his adopted werewolf family to try to help them fight Morgaine, who had been intrigued by Gerard from the moment he made one rash decision.
Gerard was “of the blood,” a human descendant of Morgaine and her husband Drake, the first vampires. Despite what books and movies said, only humans in this bloodline could be turned into vampires. The bite of a vampire was fatal to anyone else because the magic in a vampire’s blood attacked the human body the way a virus would. The bite of a werewolf was the same to any human without vampiric blood. A human born “of the blood” and turned was infertile, so most of them were encouraged to have several children before accepting “the dark kiss,” as vampires called it. Morgaine, however, had given birth to true vampires because she and Drake were different; they were the first and the magic in their blood was pure. The children those children had with humans could be turned, and Morgaine had soon discovered this and used it to breed her own army. It made Gerard’s stomach turn. Morgaine’s youngest son, Roland, had tried to fight his mother after his father committed suicide for bringing what he saw as a curse on his family. Morgaine and Drake’s oldest son had died when Drake tried to reverse the effects. Roland tried to master his father’s magic, to use diluted vampire blood to create his own mutation, and werewolves were the result. However, instead of gaining an army to fight Morgaine, Roland had only repeated his father’s mistake, cursing an entire bloodline. Morgaine hunted them until they had no choice but to go into hiding. Now the world was filled with thousands of vampires, but only about a hundred werewolves dotted the globe.
When Gerard ran away from his family, refusing to be turned into a true vampire, he’d thought becoming a werewolf was the solution. Though they had only recently learned the truth about what Roland had done and how vampires and werewolves were connected, both species had always known a vampire could survive a werewolf’s bite, unlike a human. So Gerard had purposely tainted himself, thinking the vampire clans would leave him alone. His choice had awoken the queen of the vampires and resulted in the deaths of his twin sister, Erika, and Lucas, the werewolf who had turned him. Gerard had been adopted by Lucas’ family and welcomed into their home. He and his wife Aria, who had sought to escape the vampires for the same reason he had, now lived with Lucas’ father Simon, who ran his mansion as a murder mystery dinner club with his daughter, Bella, and her husband Quentin. They’d all thought he was meant to fulfill a prophecy about a vampire becoming a werewolf and bringing peace to the world. They were wrong. Before Morgaine’s death, they had discovered the “prophecy” was a lie made up by Roland to hide what he had done. He’d sought to hide the connection between vampires and werewolves, making up the story to give the werewolves something else to focus on and hope for. It had fooled them for centuries, given them false hope, and in the end it had meant nothing. It had not protected them the way he’d wanted.
Gerard sighed. That news had been a relief, even if he hated to admit it. He hadn’t liked being told that the werewolves had a destiny for him just as he’d escaped the one the vampires had planned. His choice had done one positive thing. Most of the time, vampires left them all alone. They didn’t want him back, and they hated werewolves so much most of them didn’t even want to get close enough to kill them. Morgaine had been the one who wanted him. She had been the one to threaten those who had taken him in. With her gone, he’d hoped things would calm down and settle to as close to normal as they could all get. Gerard and Aria were of the blood. Morgaine had tricked him into drinking her blood after he became a werewolf, making him both fully vampire and werewolf. When he turned Aria to give her immortality and protect her from Morgaine, her blood carried the same duality. Despite the news of the prophecy being meaningless, this still made them leaders in the eyes of all werewolves. Chris and Rebecca had other problems.
Morgaine had rediscovered the secrets of her husband’s magic, turning Chris into a vampire the way she had been turned, using a spell instead of biting him. She’d planned to use him to have more children and build herself a new empire because only a man made into a vampire in this way could get her pregnant. She did the same to Rebecca in an effort to bend Chris to her will. Luckily, she’d failed, and Chris had beheaded and burned her. Despite that victory, their lives hadn’t gotten easier. They were the only ones of their kind, turned into vampires by the original magic instead of the transforming infection of the dark kiss. Some vampires wanted them as leaders, others wanted to kill them. Rebecca had been watched over all her life by Galen, the leader of the vampire clan Gerard had been born into. Galen had supposedly been in love with Rebecca’s grandmother, but was kept away from her by the clans because he was destined to be the next clan leader. She was a normal human, thus only good for food or sex in the eyes of vampires. Galen wanted Chris and Rebecca to claim Morgaine’s place and change the vampire clans forever. He’d even offered to step down and let them lead his clan. He was annoyingly optimistic and insistent. They all liked him, and Rebecca loved him like a father, but Chris wanted nothing to do with vampires. Both his parents had been killed by Galen’s son Magnus. First his mother had died when he was very young, and his policeman father had become a vampire hunter when he unwittingly learned the truth. Chris had followed in his father’s footsteps in that respect, whereas his brother Craig had chosen the safer route and became a police detective. This path had led Chris to Gerard and the werewolves two months ago and changed his life forever.
Gerard’s worried thoughts were interrupted when Chris stood up and left. Rebecca sighed and looked at Gerard.
“ It’s gonna take time, I know,” she said.
Gerard wasn’t so sure. “It may take more than time.” The thoughts he’d been having the past few minutes didn’t help. All of them had been through so much they could never get anyone else to understand. He looked at Mary rolling a blue ball back and forth with her mother. What kind of a world was this for the beautiful little girl with golden curls and bright green eyes? He touched Aria’s hand. She was pregnant, but only he knew that. She was roughly one or two months along, and he only knew because his psychic powers were greater than hers. What kind of life was this for their child?
“ I know,” Rebecca said. “But I think Galen has some good points. I want me and Chris to make our own decision, but he doesn’t want to budge an inch.”
Bella sighed. “Galen’s son killed his parents. No matter what he thinks of Galen, he’s still going to have reservations. He wants nothing to do with vampires.”
Gerard looked at Mary again, who was listening to her mother. Bella was also a very powerful psychic and they had both recently discovered Mary was as well. He wondered how much she understood. He nudged her with his mind, and she looked up and smiled.
Can’t get me. You’re my hero.
Gerard smiled, still amazed how articulate she was in her mind. She would be three later in the year, but she rarely said more than one word out loud. She always looked like she was thinking about something, focusing on something in her mind, but she had little interest in talking, which had made her mother suspect her psychic abilities. Simon had told her bedtime stories since she was born, and the prophecy had been one of them. He’d told her that her uncle Gerard was the man who would save them. He had to admit he didn’t mind the role when she saw him that way.
Vampires can’t get you?
Nope.
You’re right. No one bad will ever get you. Not with me here.
Rebecca groaned loudly and brought Gerard back to the adult conversation.
Aria shifted in Gerard’s lap to face Rebecca. “Even without prophecies, we all have a fate. I think Chris will find his. None of us could help him even if we tried.”
Gerard loved how positive his wife always was, but sometimes her point of view was too touchy-feely for him. “It hasn’t been that long since you two were turned. He still has so much to think about and work through. When he’s wrapped his own head around it, I’m sure he’ll be more willing to talk. Galen’s excited because he sees the potential for change in the clans. Morgaine’s death seems to have mattered very little to most vampires. None of them have retaliated against any of us. They might be ready for change. Some of them, at least. The world could become a safer place for us and for humans.”
“ That’s my point!” Rebecca said.
“ But he doesn’t believe he can do that.”
“ He doesn’t want to.”
“ He’s as freaked out as I was when I was told I was going to save werewolves from the big, bad vampires.”
“ But this is every day, common sense type stuff. This is, when you get down to it, politics. That prophecy was superstitious mumbo jumbo.”
“ He still needs your understanding though.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes and stood up. “I need a drink. I am so glad alcohol still works the same.”
They all watched her walk out of the room. Bella picked Mary up.
“ Say good night,” she prompted.
“’ Night.”
Aria smiled. “Good night, Mary. Sweet dreams.”
Gerard touched Mary’s mind again.
Dreams, dreams, dreams. The word rolled over and over again in her mind.
“ Good night, Mary.”
She smiled and waved at him as her mother took her out of the room.
Aria sighed and snuggled closer to Gerard. “Are you worried about them?”
“ Chris and Rebecca? A little. There’s not much we can do.”
“ I know. It seems that’s the way it always is around here.”
“ I know.” He stroked her hair. She was right. So many things were out of their hands. That wasn’t going to stop him from striving every day to make the world a safer and better place for Mary and his own child.

* * * *

Luna stroked her husband’s cock slowly. “Michael?”
He opened his eyes. “Yes?”
“ You said I could have him this week if I pleased you. Don’t I please you?”
She was kneeling on her knees beside him on the bed. He slid his fingers under her ass and fingered her pussy.
“ Yes, you do. I’m not so sure I want that…thing in my house though.”
Michael hated werewolves, but Luna had always been intrigued by them. She’d fucked several because they’d seen her “favor” as a way to protect those they loved. She loved rough sex, and they were certainly good at delivering it. Gerard was the one she wanted though.
“ He was born into my clan. He’s a vampire by blood.”
Michael slid his finger into her, bending her over his body to give himself better access. “You’re starting to make me jealous.”
She smiled. “Punish me then.”
He pulled his finger out of her and slapped her ass. “I think I will.” He moved behind her and she knew what he wanted.
She hated anal sex, but at least it didn’t hurt the way it had when she was still human. Michael’s cock was big, eight inches long and very thick. She was used to it now. She wasn’t going to protest because she had to convince him to let her have Gerard. Thoughts of him were driving her crazy.
“ He’s an animal,” Michael began as he fingered her asshole, getting her ready for him.
“ So are you.”
He slid his finger in a couple of inches. “It’s not the same. I’m not sure I want you fucking him.”
She tensed at that, and he laughed, wriggling his finger around in her ass.
“ So why did you promise I could have him? You know it’s the only reason I’m still here.”
“ The only reason?” He pushed his finger deeper into her ass, and then he slid his cock into her pussy.
She gasped. His cock did feel good every time. She endured the other things she didn’t enjoy because he knew how to fuck her the way she liked.
“ I can be generous, if I want to be.” He thrust hard several times. “But things are happening.”
“ The other two?” She gasped as he went deeper.
“ Yes. They’re trouble. Galen is making it worse by encouraging them.”
“ Why should we care?” She pushed against him, needing to come.
He pulled out of her and reclined on the bed.
She groaned with frustration. “Why can’t I have him? You aren’t jealous.”
He looked at her, and she felt very stupid. She had no idea how he did that, but she knew he was using his psychic powers somehow. He made fun of her lack of mental abilities every chance he got.
“ Your dear grandfather gave you to me to protect those abominations. Galen thought you’d go after Gerard again. He was right.” He scowled. “What makes that boy so fascinating, I’ll never know.”
Luna smiled, but tried to hide it. Michael, like her father Magnus, resented the fact that Morgaine had been so interested in Gerard. “So what’s your point?”
He pulled her on top of him, and she lowered herself onto his cock. She sighed as he filled her.
“ My point is taking him will attract attention to us. I don’t want a vampire hunter with our powers and the ability to walk in the day coming here. I’m the only vampire here powerful enough to rise during the day. He could kill my entire household.” He thrust into her several times.
She groaned as her orgasm built. Just a few more thrusts and she’d explode with pleasure.
He always knew when she was about to come. He pushed her off of him roughly, and pinned her on her stomach. “At least now I’m well…oiled. Maybe you’ll only scream a little.”
He held her shoulders down, but propped her ass up with a pillow. He began pushing his cock into her ass. “Mmmm. You feel so good when you’re angry with me.”
She struggled beneath him, but he only pushed deeper. He bent and bit her shoulder. It only hurt for a moment. The pleasure was just enough to remind her how close she’d been to coming, but not enough to send her over the edge. He pumped into her roughly.
“ Convince me you like it when I fuck you like this, and I’ll consider changing my mind.”
She remained silent as he thrust into her.
He laughed. “That’s my stubborn little bitch.” He thrust once more and came inside her, groaning. He moved off of her and flipped her. He buried his face between her legs, lapping at her pussy hungrily.
She was always disgusted when he came in her ass, but still she arched off the bed as he massaged her clit with his tongue. He brought his fingers to her pussy and pushed three of them into her. She was so wet they slid in quickly. She hated how much he aroused her, but if she was stuck with him, for now, she was going to take as much pleasure from him as she could. He knew how to drive a woman mad with desire, and as long as she played his games he satisfied in the end. He stroked her inside as he nibbled gently on her clit. She bucked off the mattress, ready to come. He licked her clit and made her squirm and push against him. She wanted his cock so badly, but she knew her orgasm would still take her breath away. He moved his mouth to her thigh and bit down hard, sucking her blood as his other hand kept pushing into her and working her clit.
Her orgasm broke, and she cried out. He sat back and smiled as she writhed with pleasure. He brought his fingers to his mouth and licked them suggestively. His cock was hard again, and she knew he wasn’t going to leave her anytime soon.
She finally sat up, waves of pleasure still moving all over her body. “So what do you want from me?”
“ I’ll have to think about it.” He stretched across the pillows. “Put my cock in that defiant little mouth. Your punishment isn’t over.”
She moved forward and took his cock into her mouth, sucking and licking the way he liked. She tried to ignore his groans as she imagined doing this to Gerard.

* * * *

When Rebecca went into the bathroom without saying anything, Chris got out of bed and went downstairs. His plans for the evening had been ruined. He and Rebecca were supposed to be out in the garden. He was supposed to be telling her he was in love with her. Instead, she’d had several glasses of whiskey and would probably take a very long bath.
Everything had been perfect until she’d casually mentioned she was going to meet Galen’s wife and granddaughter the next evening. Rebecca saw it as the first step into “their” new world. However, he wanted nothing to do with it. It was her new world, not his. Maybe she was intrigued by vampires, but Galen’s son had killed both his parents. He wasn’t ready for peace talks just yet.
Rebecca loved Galen like a father, and that was fine. Chris had no problem with Galen. Maybe his wife was okay too. Chris had his suspicions about the granddaughter though. Having more than once encountered Luna, one of Galen’s other grandchildren, the idea of meeting her turned him off.
Chris went outside and sat down on the bench next to the gas grill. He looked at the ground, at Mary’s scattered toys. Instead of worrying about vampire politics and ancient blood feuds, he ought to have been worrying about buying a ring for Rebecca and figuring out how to propose to her. Becoming entangled in the world of vampires and werewolves had brought them together, but now it was pushing them apart just as quickly.
Rebecca was independent and feisty. He loved those things about her, but he was used to doing things his way. No one had told him what to do in a long time. He tried, but he couldn’t see things the way she did. He didn’t have her optimism, or her confidence.
Gerard tried to see it from both their points of view. He didn’t commit to a side though. That was best, but Chris needed Gerard’s help. Gerard had been raised by the vampires, even though he’d made every effort to distance himself from that. He’d been dealing with these kinds of problems far longer than Chris had. Simon was always such a stoic, so detached Chris never got much out of their discussions. Simon, it seemed, was respected by some older vampires. He’d been acquainted with Morgaine since he was young, and she’d never done anything to harm him until he came between her and Gerard. Simon had an opinion, Chris was sure of that, but he obviously wasn’t going to share it. Simon seemed to share Rebecca’s optimism, but at the same time he was a big advocate of waiting to see what fate had planned.
Chris kicked the basketball in front of him out into the yard. He and Gerard had been playing earlier that day. Gerard had been talkative and enthusiastic when Chris had told him about his plans for that evening. However, he’d suddenly become tired and quiet when Chris tried to talk about the vampire situation. He didn’t know what to do. He had no intention of stopping Rebecca from meeting Galen’s family. It wasn’t a victory he wanted because it would make no difference in their problem but a big one in their relationship. Even if she defied him and went anyway, she’d always resent him daring to tell her she couldn’t make her own decisions. He knew Rebecca loved him as much as he loved her. Having worked in the sex industry for years though, she was as cautious about showing emotion as he was. She never let him get too close, except when they were making love. In those moments he could feel her longing to say the words, but once the moment was gone, she was teasing and playful again. It left him feeling so mixed up emotionally. He didn’t care how many men she’d fucked when she was a dominatrix, and she didn’t blame him for what Morgaine had done to her. They’d discussed awkward, deeply personal topics like that very openly and honestly. Why couldn’t they look at each other and say I love you?

* * * *

Aria pulled Gerard over to her side of the bed. “Are you okay?”
Gerard smiled. “I think we need a vacation.”
She smiled back. It had been a little over a month since Morgaine’s death, yet nothing had changed. Her husband still worried day and night, and her new friends were still in danger. She tried to be optimistic, but she was still afraid of the vampires. Some of them were completely insane. They would see Chris and Rebecca the same way they saw werewolves: abominations. Or worse, threats. She never let Rebecca leave the house alone. She knew Rebecca would be better in any fight, but it made her feel safer to be with her. She’d never told Gerard how afraid she was of someone killing Chris and Rebecca. Aria’s father had been the one who took care of those kinds of things for her clan, so she knew more about it than she’d ever revealed to her husband. Even if one of the clans didn’t decide to send out a personal assassin, she knew there were plenty of vamps who’d enjoy it simply for the sport of it.
“ Where did you have in mind?”
“ Some place with no vampires.”
She snuggled closer and put her head against his heart. “Impossible,” she whispered.
“ Aria?”
“ Yes?”
“ I’ve been keeping something from you.”
She sat up quickly. “What? What is it? Please tell me.”
He smiled and kissed her cheek. “It’s something wonderful. I can’t go another day without you knowing.”
He looked happy and excited. She had no idea what it could be.
He stroked her cheek. “You seem sad tonight. I want to tell you.”
“ Tell me what?”
He took her hand and put it on her stomach. “You’re pregnant.”
She stared at him. She knew she couldn’t have heard him right. He didn’t want children. He was scared to death of having children. How could he be happy? She knew she’d misunderstood.
“ What did you say?”
He laughed. “I’m not playing a trick. You’re pregnant. It’s tiny, but it’s been there at least four weeks. Haven’t you noticed? You’ve been really horny, and you’ve had so many headaches. I sensed the change in you about a month ago. Isn’t your period late?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t had one since you turned me. I can’t use that to go by anymore.” She realized suddenly he was dead serious. She bolted off the bed into the bathroom.
“ What are you doing?” he called.
“ Pregnancy test. Doctor Davidson said he doesn’t know if it will still work or not, but I still keep one on hand. He says I’m healthy even though my periods stopped, but he knows nothing about vampires, so he still thinks my chance of getting pregnant is fifty-fifty. Werewolf females are exactly like human ones, so my situation is completely new to him.” She pulled the cap off the wand and peed on the little strip. She’d done this three or four times before, but she still felt incredibly silly. In one minute, the tiny screen would say either “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” She’d paid the extra four dollars to avoid the whole confusion over one line or two lines, a blue line or a pink line.
She heard Gerard get up. He walked to the door, but he didn’t push it open. “Baby, I know you’re pregnant. There’s another consciousness inside you.”
“ What? It’s just a bunch of cells. It’s not sitting in there wondering what we’re gonna be like and listening to our conversations.”
Gerard laughed. “It’s a little more vague than that. I feel a duality in you. I can also sense the change in your body, okay? I’m not making an argument about when life begins. I’m telling you I sense two beings when I focus on you.”
She kept staring at the screen. “Are you happy?”
“ Don’t I seem happy?”
“ Yes. It’s a bit unexpected. I didn’t expect you to be happy or to think of this as good news.”
“ I’m sure it is unexpected. I wanted to avoid having children, but now that we have a child, I want it. Is that so hard to believe?”
“ I don’t know. I’ve heard people say that before, but that’s them. It’s different when it’s you.” She hoped that wouldn’t hurt his feelings, but she truly never knew what to expect from him at times.
He hesitated. “Don’t you still want this? You did the last time we talked about it, even after I expressed my concerns.”
She sighed. “Yes. But the past month, with everything that has happened, I’d stopped hoping. It scared me. I worry about Mary all the time. Worrying about my own child might have me climbing the walls.”
“ I thought you’d be happy.”
He sounded disappointed and worried. She didn’t want him to feel that way, but she didn’t know what to say yet. She didn’t want him thinking she wouldn’t love the baby or that she’d want to terminate her pregnancy. Then the word Pregnant flashed on the tiny oval screen.
“ I am. I’m just scared.” She opened the door. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m not as powerful as you. That stuff confuses me.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She saw no reason to hide them from him.
Gerard wiped away the ones that fell down her cheeks. “Baby, what’s wrong? We’re lucky we can have a child. The combination of vampire and werewolf could have gone either way, especially since werewolves have so much trouble conceiving.” He stroked her face. “I want you to go see Doctor Davidson tomorrow. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’m just scared, Gerard.”
He looked incredibly sad. “I told you to cheer you up. Now look what I’ve done.”
She looked up into his eyes and kissed him. “Don’t you dare feel bad. I wanted this. I wanted us to have a baby. I’m just worried.”
He kissed her forehead and stroked her stomach. “I’ll protect you both. No matter what I have to do.”
“ That scares me more than anything,” she whispered.
Tears were forming in his eyes too. “I know, baby. We’ll tell the others when you’re ready. We’ll all be here for you.”
She laughed. “I’m not that fragile.”
“ I want you to feel safe.”
She pulled him closer. “I do.” She took a deep breath. Gerard being pleased about her pregnancy meant so much to her, but she couldn’t shake the fear scratching at her heart.

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