By morning, the dream had all but left my consciousness. I was feeling healthier with blood coursing through my body, delivering nutrients to every part of my body. I didn't feel happier because of it, but I felt healthier. It felt like I was on a cleansing diet, but I hated it. I hoped that if my father was serious about making me take in blood, then he would attach a blood bag while I was asleep.

I ran a comb through my hair as I stared out at the dark clouds hanging above the town. Another rainy day. Cars were one by one driving out of the cul-de-sac by other teenagers. Not one part of me felt longing to go with them; the school I had been going to back in Europe was an all vampire school. Here? My uncle had explained that it was a school that allowed everyone. I let out a sigh and put my brush down, staring at the mirror. Only my black night gown showing up in the reflection.

A part of me wanted to go to the Wolfs house and apologize for last night. After my hair was tangle free and in its usual pigtails, I was in my closet selecting clothes to wear. A black and pink Victorian styled outfit, with black stockings and bat earrings. High-heels and a parasol completed the look.

I attempted my makeup before heading downstairs. The smell of eggs wafted out and I pushed the kitchen door open. My father sat drinking coffee and looking extremely grumpy. Half of me wanted to go and give him a kiss on the cheek and the other part of me wanted to run away. I couldn't tell if he was grumpy because I had woken him up last night or the fact that he had to get up at normal time because of Samantha. Still, I walked over and kissed his cheek. He grunted, but muttered some words in Romanian.

Samantha looked over at him, a confused look on her face but then returned her gaze to the food in front of her.

I walked to the kitchen and pulled out some fruit. I was in the mood for something sweet after last night. Strawberries, elderberries, blueberries, and apricots. Normally, I would blend them all together with some spinach or something to make sure I got enough iron in the morning, but I was sure that I had enough already in my body.

"Laura!" Samantha scolded, "I was making you breakfast! Your father told me you had a nightmare last night," she brushed my bangs out of my hair as if she were my mother. I tensed slightly and glanced at my father; he shrugged and took a sip of coffee. He told me she meant well in Romanian before pulling a face at the coffee.

"I'm a vegan," I said, glancing at the eggs with a slight disturbed look. I did eat eggs, but a vegan normie didn't eat any animal by-products, while a vegan vampire didn't eat anything that contained blood. So no meats for me. However, living with Samantha would be a problem. She was the only normie in a house full of vampires, and she didn't even realize it.

"Since when?" she asked, looking a little offended.

"I don't like the thought of poor animals being tortured, and I especially don't like it when poor chickens get their young stolen before they are fertilized," I started off telling a story, but staring at the eggs I felt my heart pull at the thought of that truly happen. The poor eggs. Samantha looked down at the eggs with slight sadness. My father sighed and waved towards the door, dismissing me. I quickly headed out of the kitchen and into the living room with my fruit. My ears picked up Samantha ranting in the kitchen about how ungrateful I was. I assumed she thought I just didn't want to eat her food. She would get along with my father's brides; they all had something in common. They hated me.

I barely tasted the fruit as I ate my breakfast. I didn't want to go into the kitchen, fearing that I would irritate Samantha just by my presence. My teeth dug into my lip as I debated on it, risk it or leave the dish outside the kitchen and leave? Either one would probably irritate her, but at least the first one wouldn't make her think I was a lazy slob. With that, I had made up my mind and ventured back into the kitchen. Samantha was sharing the breakfast she had made for me with my father. I placed the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Thank you for thinking to make me breakfast," I added, giving Samantha a smile. "I shouldn't have been so rude before…my nightmare has gotten to me."

Samantha looked startled, and cleared her throat, "Well, you're welcome."

"I need to talk to you later," my father informed me; he didn't betray whether that was a good or bad thing. However, I didn't fail to notice Samantha hiding a smirk as she lifted her coffee cup up to take a drink. He wouldn't talk to me about appearing more human, because there are vegan humans out there, or talk to me about not eating the food she prepared. I wondered if it was going to be something I would really regret hearing.

"Okay, Daddy. I'm going to go over to the Wolfe house to apologize for what happened yesterday. Should I bake them something? Ooo," I laced my fingers together, "What about a shortcake? Should I make a vegan one? No, they aren't vegan…or maybe I should?"

I was about to continue when my father rubbed his face, "I don't know how to make cake, go speak to your uncle."

"I thought your brother works during the night. She shouldn't bother him if he is sleeping, I'll help her make a cake," Samantha insisted, standing up. I smiled at her.

"Thanks! I'll just go and change into something more suitable to wear then."

My father had never once gotten my opinion about who he dates or marries. Which, unfortunately, meant that I had to live with people who didn't quite see eye to eye with me. I prayed that if the talk my father wanted me to have with him was about Samantha it would either be about her leaving or him asking what I thought about all this.

As I climbed the stairs, my uncle stepped out of his room, fully clothed and looking well fed. He nodded at me before taking a step towards the stairs, but paused. I stopped and stared up at him as he frowned. "Draculaura, I think you should really consider talking to your father about things. More importantly about how you feel about all this, he needs a slap in the face."

"I don't want to slap my father-" I started, but he cut me off and waved me up the stairs. I obeyed and he walked me towards my room. Keeping his voice hushed, in case Samantha walked out of the kitchen.

"Not literally, figuratively. This is my home, of course, I welcomed his decision to move here...but I thought it would just be you and him. Not this human. I do not like hiding the fact that we are vampires. I also know that you need to get things off your chest," he gave me a pointed look. Of all my father's siblings, there was no one who was like my Uncle Vlad. He was so different in his behaviours, I wondered if he was truly a Dracula or if he had just been around for so long that they more or less adopted him into the family.

"Nice to have you around the house, kid," he added before heading towards the stairs.

My eyes stared after him before I headed into my room again and sat down on the lid of my coffin. My uncle was right. Samantha would be better off dating a normie and my father would be better off dating someone who was a monster. They were totally not good for each other. I hoped that my father would see the light, and get rid of Samantha.

Er…well I hoped he would dump Samantha. My father's version of 'get rid of' was more along the lines of a criminal offense.

My phone vibrated and I tugged it out. Valentine again. If I did the conversion rate, it would be around 6-7 there right now. I smiled and texted him for around an hour before he was going to hang out with Bram. After I tossed my phone to the side, my father waltzed into my room and closed the door.

I had totally forgotten about baking something for the Wolfe's…oh no. Was he going to be mad? Why hadn't Samantha come up to say anything? I sat up and stared at him as he stood by my door.

"Draculaura-"

"Before you talk, Daddy, I want to speak," I interrupted folding my hands on my lap and staring at him seriously. Might as well distract him if he was mad about me not keeping my promise to bake something with Samantha. I didn't want him to take me as a child right now, like he probably would especially after the dream I had. He nodded his head and closed his mouth. Allowing me to speak. "I want to talk about this," I waved my arms around the room, he frowned and went to open his mouth but I continued, "I mean moving not my room."

"It was for the best," he repeated the words that he said every time I questioned him about things he did that I didn't like. My mouth pressed into a tight line before proceeding.

"Was it really? We have survived in Romania for the last thousand and a half plus years, you alone have lived in Romania for all of your life," I explained, standing up and crossing my arms, "Why move now? Why leave your brides? Why take up a normie lifestyle in your brother's home?"

"We moved because it is best for you, there is more for you here than in Romania. Less political business-"

"That means you'll have to fly back and forth between Romania and here," I said, frowning. I bit my bottom lip, before I said it I hadn't thought of that. He would have many business trips that he would have to do, and that could take him away for weeks or months at a time. My father was always there for me, ever since I was born. There wasn't a time when he had left me alone, either taking me with him if he had to leave, or leaving me with someone he trusted. Like Bram, Gory, or Valentine.

"Which is why I moved here, where your uncle and other monsters can protect you," he moved closer and placed his hands on my shoulders, "Werewolves, Gorgons, Pharaohs. All of them brought here because they can protect each other and most importantly protect you. My wives have been growing irritated at the fact that they barely hold a candle to you in my heart, and I fear that they will hurt you if I leave you alone in Europe. At least here you have people who can help you, there I can count the number of people I trust with one hand and still have fingers left over."

"That doesn't answer my other questions," I said, skipping over the topic of other monsters in the area. That was something that I could deal with later; I have met other monsters before. Most of them harmless however. Ghosts mostly. "Also, you say that you know about your wives' hatred of me, and yet you let them stay so close?"

"Draculaura, you were in no danger while I was near. If they harmed you they wouldn't be spared, you are blood. That is stronger than mere tolerance of the females I call my wives," he murmured pulling me into a tight hug. I stayed still as he hugged me, then wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. I knew we both needed this. He pulled away after a while, holding onto my shoulders, "Any more questions before I say what I was about to say?"

"Why did you start dating Samantha?" I whispered, looking down at my feet instead of him. There was no change in his posture from what I could see. After a while, he turned and walked to my window and stared out. It was silent. Deafening almost. The type of silence where you could hear everything and everything was too loud. From the sound of our slow almost dead breaths, to the sound of Samantha moving about on the lower floor and my uncle moving about in the kitchen. I knew from the length of the pause that he didn't know why. "Don't do this to her, even if I don't like her, you shouldn't play with her heart."

"What do you except me to do?" he asked turning to look at her, "I flirted with her, wooed her, waiting until she was relaxed enough that I could drink from her and she would willingly become a donor. Except before I could get that far, she wanted to meet you. I knew that the moment you saw her, if I didn't bring her around again you would know I killed her. You would hate me. It is a lie that I have woven myself too far in. If I drained her now too many people would know it was me, and I would be hunted. You would be hunted. As long as we keep what we are quiet, the Van Helsings promised not to harm us," he paused and ran a hand through his hair.

"Dump her," I blurted out, rather bluntly too, "I mean, do it nicely. Apologize, say that you two are too different, and that you wish it could be different but-"

"I can't, Draculaura, I asked her to marry me."