Chapter 7

And Then There Were Two

"Mommy? Are you there?" I watched Alexander's eyes widen and look up at me. I wanted to cry all over again. I didn't want him to hate me. "Mommy?" came my daughter's voice.

"Yeah, Sweetie, I'm here. Sorry about that. How are you all doing over there?" I asked. Alexander watched the phone in silence with his lips parted in shock. … So much for waiting, I thought.

"Mommy, Alexander won't let me pick any movies, he say's they're all boring and girly!" she whined. Hearing his name made his head jerk up to look at me. I couldn't stop the tears from falling, but I tried to get a hold of myself and force my voice to stay calm.

"Put your brother on the phone, I'll talk to him." We listened to the shuffling of the phone and faint noises in the background, while I wiped my tears.

"Mom?" a little boy's voice came through the phone. I missed my kids.

"Alex, why won't you let your sister pick a movie?" I asked.

"But, mom, Lexy keeps picking princess movies. I wanted to watch something else, so I told her she could pick if it wasn't about princesses and all that girlie stuff. Then she started breaking my colored pencils and running to Aunt Lily." He explained.

"Sweetie, you should compromise with Lexy. If she has to watch what you want to watch, shouldn't you be fair and do the same?"

"I guess." He said reluctantly.

"I'll talk to your sister about breaking things, but right now I gotta go. I'll call you guys before coffin time."

"Okay. I love you, mom."

"Love you too," I said before I ended the call. I took a deep breath and let it out. Alexander stared at me as if looking at me for the first time. "I gotta go pick up some stuff at the store," I sniffed and swiped at my face to stop the tears. "If you want to talk about…" our kids, "then my cell number hasn't changed, and you know where I am." I turned away and headed toward my black Nissan when I felt Alexander rush up behind me. I didn't stop. Instead I sped to the car and put the key in to open it. I want to run away, cry, and hit something expensive.

"Raven, wait!" he said gently as he closed my door once I had got it to open. "You can't just leave after that. You have to explain this to me. Please. I need to know, and to hear from you." He grabbed my sides and turned me around to face him, then rested his hands on the car door on each side of me. Here it goes.

"The last night you and I made love in your coffin." I said. "I was feeling sick once I stopped drinking from you, but I didn't officially know until the night your parents left." I took another deep breath before continuing. "I wanted to tell you right away when I found out, but you wouldn't talk to me. So, I figured I'd just go out and say it first thing in the evening at breakfast… but you were gone. I called your phone but you wouldn't pick up, so I left hundreds of messages. You obviously didn't check them, since I got no response and your totally clueless right now. Nobody would help me talk to you, and you apparently wouldn't let them to. So, I decided not to tell them either. My mom helped me throughout the pregnancy and I stayed away from everyone else. They're 7 years old. Alex is two minutes older. Lexy likes to ignore that detail." I added with a small laugh. Alexander smiled a little, still taking it all in. "I didn't know I was having more than one until they came out because I originally decided to name the baby after you. So, when I held them in my hands, it just made sense to keep the names similar. Alexander Vladimir Sterling II, and Alexandria Baccara Sterling." I waited for him to say something, anything.

"Where are they now? They don't live with you?" he asked.

"No, they do live with me, but right now they're being schooled on the weekends by my Aunt Lily in Hipsterville. I'm going to pick them up tomorrow with…" I didn't want to bring up Luke, but it just slipped.

"Do they know about me?" he asked. He must have thought Luke was taking his place in the kid's lives. I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Are you kidding?" I asked incredulously. If he only knew where he stood with those two. "Ever since they were born, I would tell them stories about you before they went to their coffins. Alex can't get enough of the adventure stories. Lexy is in love with love, so she soaks up all the romance stories, kiddy version." He brightened up at the thought of the kids knowing about him. "Remember those tiny pictures you painted for me, of us?" he nodded. "Well they each have one taped to the inside of their coffin lids. I had to have them laminated so they wouldn't ruin it. You have always been a hero to them even if you haven't met them." I turned serious when I asked him the most important question I've held onto. "Do you want to meet them?"

He wasted no time jumping at the chance. "Of course! I'll even go with you to get them, if that's okay I mean," he added. Damn this was getting harder to avoid.

"I don't think that'll work." Before he could ask I added, "Only because Luke can't take all of us at once, it would be awkward, and you guys aren't exactly friends."

"I'll take you. I remember where your Aunt lives. I can drive you."

"It takes too long to drive there and back, even for a Lamborghini. We…" what the hell, "we fly there."

That made him confused and annoyed. I didn't want to ruin the way things were with him not being angry with me. "I thought he wasn't a vampire."

"He's not. But he's not human either. It's a really long story, nobody else knows about him and Shadow but me, Billy, and the kids. I'm sure they won't mind if I tell you, but. Damn, Alexander! Don't you think you've had enough surprises for one night?" I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to bail out again after all that's happened.

"No, I want to know Raven, now. Think of it as a band-aid: the sooner you rip through, the sooner it's over. Tell me. What is he, a fairy?"

"No… Fine! Jeez! He's a vrekener. There, I said it. Just don't tell the other's they don't need to know unless he wants them to. I'd prefer that they'd stay clueless as payback for leaving me in the dark about you anyways." The last part I said to myself.

"What the hell is a vrekener?" Shit, double dog shit.

"He's an immortal. Kind of like a dark-angel-demon-thingy. I don't know how to explain all that I know about it. But, he's not from here. Here, as in this plane or dimension. He came in through a portal and I found him in the woods. But he has huge wings like an angel that come out of his back, only they're black. When he's angry, his eyes turn black and four horns come out of his head." I used my fingers to show the horns coming from my temples. "I've only seen him angry once since he's usually really mellow." Why am I lingering on the subject? "Don't give me that look! You asked and I answered." I crossed my arms like a brat and stared at his chest.

Alexander didn't say anything. He just stood straight and wrapped his arms around me protectively. "I'm sorry, my love. I think I can understand now how hard it's been for you since I left. I will never leave you… and our children again. I can't believe I'm a father now. I can't believe I've been a father all these years and never knew it. Don't worry anymore, Raven. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Shit, dammit, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, and a bowl of dead puppies!

"Alexander, don't do this, this is exactly what I didn't want." He pulled away, but I circled my arms around him to keep him close. "No! Not that! Listen, if you want to be a part of the kids' lives, then I'm encouraging you all the way. It's what I've wanted and hoped for so long. But, us? I want you to be with me because you want me, not because we have kids. I want you to forgive me for my mistakes, and love me again because it's real. I don't want to tie you down or keep you from being happy. If we can never get past this… then at least the kids would have their father back. I still want you, Alexander. I still love you. I can drop everything and take you up on that offer only if you felt the same for me. Just don't force it if you're not ready. Neither of us will be happy about it, and I wouldn't want the kids to be raised around lies."

"Okay."

"Huh?" I asked. I barely heard him but I think he just said-

"Okay. I won't force it. You're right. Knowing I have kids now… I could never turn my back on them. I want to be with them, to know them, and for them to be with me. But you're right about us. I came here thinking I could finally be home with my bride after missing and needing you for so long. When I came here my love for you was so unbearable, I wanted to throttle you, taste you, make love to you, and pick up where we left off, making up for my absence. But instead my heart was ripped from my chest when I saw you tonight. I wanted to throttle you for different reasons, and tear him apart… which I still might. Raven," he lifted my chin so I could look at him, "you will forever be mine. My bride, for all eternity. And as much as it pains me, I will love you until the moment I die." I gasped from hearing the words I've longed to hear. But he wasn't done, "And yet, I can't forgive you for this, it hurts too much. I hope that the time will come when I do. I'm sorry, Raven. But right now… I don't, I feel like I never would. Only time will tell, and we have forever."

I watched a tear fall from the corner of his eyes, and I felt my heart drop. "I understand." I reached up and gently wiped the tear from his cheek and waited in silence as we stood there in the parking lot. "We'll talk more about the kids after you've met them. I know you'll love them; they're such good kids, Alexander. I can't teach them to fly, since I don't know how, so you can have something to start with."

"I'll teach you both." He said without hesitation. "I'm still your maker. I'm responsible for your survival. I know I'm eight years late, but there's still a lot you need to learn about being a vampire."

"Thank you." I still had to get to the store, though. It was open 24/7, but I need to be in my coffin before dawn. So does Alexander. "I have to pick up some things at the convenient store for when the kids get here. We should be back here by 10 o'clock for lunch. When do you want to meet?" I asked him. Now that my chances are known, and Alexander knows about most of what he's missed, it was going to be all about the kids between us. I'm okay with that.

"Bring them over to the Mansion and we'll get acquainted. Jameson will have a ball preparing for them. I'll tell my parents, they'll be excited too." There was no way in hell that I'd tell him that his mom already knew. She was the one who pointed it out to me. It would make Alexander even more furious and betrayed than he already was. I wouldn't do that to him. All he has is his family and friends. It's one thing for his friends to not know at all, but his family, well his mom, knew and didn't tell him. My lips shall be sealed on that part.

"Sounds like a plan then. I'll see you with the kids tomorrow at 10:30ish." He nodded and was turning to leave when I remembered a crucial detail. "Alexander wait! They never stopped asking about you; where you were."

He turned back to face me. "What were they told?"

"I told them, that you were a royal vampire, and that you were at the castle and had to take care of business with the royal families in Romania. That's where Lexy get's her fascinations for princesses, and ball gowns. I told them that when you returned, you'd come bearing gifts. Oh, and once a week, I'd take them to the mansion and hide little presents for them. Alex thinks it's your grandmother's ghost doing it, and Lexy thinks that the house is alive, and sometimes they think it's you. So don't be too surprised if they start running around and looking everywhere."

"Thank you." He whispered. "You kept my presence alive for them and even my granny's. I have no doubt that you have been a great mother. I'll be looking forward to tomorrow bearing gifts fit for vampire royalty." He was genuinely excited and I felt relief from the weight of the secret lifting off my shoulders.

Then he kissed my lips and went to his car. I watched him drive away, before getting into my car. Mentally I added Ben & Jerry's and Kleenex to my shopping list and drove off to the store. It's been a long night. I had three hours to finish my shopping, call up my babies, and wash off a really big spoon.