Page 28 of Valley of the Shadow
The huge smile she gave him made his heart beat. “Do you want to taste one?”
Please no. “We need to save them for Christmas, don’t we?”
“Okay.” She crawled down from his arms and onto a chair, reaching for the most sprinkled cookie. “But I’m going to tell everyone to save this one for you.”
“Thank you… so much.” He ruffled Jake’s still-gloopy hair and asked, “Has anyone seen Uncle Lucien?”
“I think he’s still in his cabin,” Matt said. “You’re the only vampire awake so far.”
“Mom says Dad is an early riser,” Sarah said. “Early andoften.”
Baojia coughed and Matt snorted a laugh.
“I bet she does say that,” Matt said.
“Shut up,” Baojia muttered. “Do you know if Lucien broughtsupplies?”
Matt frowned. “What?”
Baojia lowered his voice. “I had cattle blood when I woke up tonight. Do you know if Lucien broughtsupplies?”
“Oh, you mean…” Matt’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“Tonight was the first night I needed blood since we’ve been here,” Baojia said quietly. “I just thought of it too.”
“Unless Lucien planned ahead and brought some of the genuine article…”
“We could have a serious problem.”
Cattle blood was not going to cut it for a newborn vampire. Not even close. If Lucien didn’t have the blood issue covered, Natalie’s turning could mean a very unhappy New Year.
Chapter Eight
“Don’t overreact.” Lucien tried to calm his pacing friend. “We have blood, and we have time. We can get more.”
Giovanni spoke from the doorway. “I’ll have the pilot fly to Santiago immediately. We have connections at a blood bank there. Baojia, we’ll get enough stores for her.”
“See?” Lucien nodded. “We’ll take care of her.”
Baojia wasn’t satisfied. He paced Lucien’s cabin like a caged cat. “But what will we do in the long term? In the first week alone, she could easily drink the equivalent of four human beings. We all know how newborns eat. If she slipped up even once, she’d be devastated.”
It hadn’t even occurred to Lucien that their hosts would be animal drinkers, that Carwyn’s austere diet would extend to his family. It wasn’t just the initial week, it was every week after. They could get reserves for a while, but eventually Natalie would need regular, fresh donors.
“Would the humans in the valley be willing to donate blood?” Lucien asked Giovanni.
He shrugged. “I’ve never asked.”
“Beatrice—”
“We hunted in the nearby villages. We went into town. We had stores here.”
“Ernesto sent regular shipments,” Baojia said. “I remember that.”
“And we were exchanging blood,” Giovanni added. “Which—I don’t want to presume—but it’s possible you and Natalie will also choose to do.”
Baojia frowned. “That makes a difference?”
Lucien nodded. “A huge one.” He thought of how quickly Makeda had started to control her power and her appetites once she began taking his vein. In addition to control, it was an intensely pleasurable and intimate experience to exchange blood with one’s mate.
