“Good news?” I asked.
“The woman from last night,” Cara said. “My serum didn’t just fix what I tried to make it fix. It also cured her tremors.”
I kissed her. “You’re amazing.”
She kissed me back, but I could see in her eyes that her thoughts were elsewhere. She stared off into nothing for a few seconds before speaking. “I mean, we won’t know if any of these changes are permanent. But looking at her blood could help give me some idea. And there’s still a chance of some unforeseen side effects. So we’ll have to monitor for that.”
“And I’m sure it’s going to be perfect,” I said, taking her hands and trying to calm her nerves.
She let out a shuddering breath, then smiled wider and squealed, fists bunched up and shaking as she danced in her seat. “Yes!”
I laughed. “So, what’s next if this works? Cancer?”
She kissed me, and this time her thoughts didn’t seem to be elsewhere. “Yes,” she said, lips brushing mine as she spoke. “But if you don’t get a little vampire baby in me soon, I may have to put a brief pause on my research to figure out some fertilization techniques.”
“There’s nothing I would like more than to continue trying to get you pregnant.”
“Aww,” Vlad said. “Listen to the little fuck bunnies. He can barely keep his dick in his pants. Remember when we were like that, Ana?”
“I still can’t get you to keep it in your pants. So, yes. I remember very clearly.”
Vlad let out a low growling noise, then nipped at her ear. “The beast gets hungry. Even Vlad can’t contain the beast.”
Cara had her back to the two of them, and she gave me a somewhat frightened but amused look. I smiled back at her, then kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ve been giving some thought to whole human tradition of marriage.”
“Have you?”
I nodded. “I’ve decided the more ways I can say you’re mine, the better. And what better way than to mark you as off-limits for all of humanity with a ring?”
She showed a lopsided smile. “I don’t care about a ring or whether you’ve bitten me or anything else.” Cara searched my face with her wide eyes. “I’m yours. In every way I can be.”
I pulled the ring out of my jacket pocket and held it up for her to see. “So I should just toss this, or—”
She snatched it from me, sliding it on her finger with a wink. “I guess a little tradition wouldn’t hurt.”
-The End