She turned away from me before walking out of the room. The door softly closed behind her as I was left to examine myself in my candlelit room. I only hoped to be pretty enough for him. I needed to be able to fit in at this party. I’d chosen a life with him, and now it was time to live it.

  A soft knock sounded at the door before Albert entered. He wore the traditional Victorian Windsor outfit. His brown curls were tamed in a manner that allowed me a clear view of his dark eyes. Albert looked like he belonged in a fairytale. We both did. I allowed myself to look into the depths of his deep, mahogany soul. Albert’s eyes collided with mine as he walked to me and placed his hand against my cheek.

  “You are absolutely gorgeous,” he whispered.

  I looked up at him as he gently placed a kiss against my lips. He smelled like cherries and chocolate. The scent of sugar was everywhere. His hands were hard and cold as stone. Simply touching him was enough to make the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

  “We’d better go,” I replied.

  He smiled before taking my hand to lead me from the room. This was going to be the biggest party of my life. For a few hours, I’d fall into a world of magic, beauty, and dream-like dresses.

  ~*~

  For the first time in my life, I stuffed my skirts into a horse-drawn carriage. Hazel had ordered carriages for all her guests. Ours was pulled by two beautiful and majestic grey Irish draught horses. If I hadn’t been so distracted by Albert, I would have stopped to admire them.

  The ride wasn’t too long. What felt like minutes later, Albert was helping me out into the night. The moonlight shone down upon our pale skin as we made our way up the path. At the end of the lane was a large Renaissance-style house surrounded by a garden of roses. Vampires of all ages, dressed in Victorian apparel, made their way into the mansion. As we walked, several of them glanced at us. Women’s eyes were upon me as I held onto his arm. Soon, every vampire in the world would know who Albert Jefferson was with. And most likely, they’d be shocked.

  When we entered the house, we stepped into a grand foyer. The carpet was cream colored and soft beneath my heels. Light emulated from the crystal chandelier above us. Albert held my hand as he led me down the hallway.

  As soon as we turned the corner, I glimpsed the largest ballroom I’d ever seen. There were more candles than I could count, dresses swirling in gentle waves, and laughter rising to the ceiling. I felt as if I’d stepped into a fairytale. Albert wasn’t paying attention to the scene, though. He was watching me. And moments later, so was everyone in the ballroom.

  I held onto Albert’s arm with incredible strength as we made our way through the crowd of gawking spectators. He had one of his characteristic smirks displayed on his face the whole time. Many of the guests looked at me with amazement, while others seemed to overflow with envy. A few of the women glared deeply with intense jealousy. It sent shivers through my body. They were practically bursting with anger. I’d have to get used to it. Many women all over the vampire world wanted Albert. For some bizarre reason, he’d chosen me. They would hate me for it.

  I could feel every part of my body tense with the electricity that came from anxiety. The tight corset around my form, necklace upon my throat, and tiara on my head all seemed to catch my attention. I was aware of every piece of cloth on my body. My senses were on fire. I could feel everything. My fingertips were alive with energy as I held Albert’s arm. I wanted to hide my fear, but it was difficult.

  The sound of heavy breathing was everywhere. People shuffled to get out of our way as we moved through the path they’d created for us. After what felt like a very long journey, we finally reached Hazel. My anxiety certainly didn’t flee at the sight of her. In fact, my chest grew stiff and heavy.

  If I was Cinderella, she was Maleficent. The deep blue color of my dress was a stark contrast to her black gown. While I wore white gloves, she wore black. My lips were red, and hers were a dark purple. My chest was decorated with white roses, while hers was framed with lace. Her red hair was pulled into a layered updo with a Romanov-style tiara on the top of her head. She looked outlandishly beautiful. Hazel was gorgeous in the traditional gothic style. It was dark and mysterious. Others might say it was Dracula-like. Standing there across from each other, I was a daydream, and she was the picture of a sickeningly sweet nightmare. Only then did I realize that her hair was almost the shade of blood.

  She smiled at Albert. “You came.”

  He kissed her hand. “You know I couldn’t have stayed away.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t appreciate your neglect. It’s been six months since you last visited.”

  He grinned. “You could always come to the States.”

  She shot him a deathly glare. “I’ve never been to America. Believe me, I don’t intend on crossing the Atlantic.”

  “It’s not as bad as you think, Hazel. You’d enjoy Georgia,” he replied.

  She smirked. “Perhaps.”

  A man with dark brown skin and a large smile approached to put his arm around her waist. Albert raised his eyebrows. He’d clearly never seen the man before. Hazel must have met him recently.

  “Albert, this is Fredrick,” she said.

  Albert shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Fredrick nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, as well.”

  Suddenly, the music rose in volume. Albert placed his hand on my back and swept me away before I had a chance to greet Hazel’s boyfriend. Though in a setting like this, the very terms “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” seemed odd. They didn’t fit the time period. As the crowd of onlookers went back to their previous occupations, Albert began to pull me into a gentle waltz. I was glad that most of the vampires were no longer staring at me. The attention had been stressful. All I really wanted was to fall into Albert’s arms. He held me against him, so I didn’t have to look at anything other than his shoulder. It was a relief.

  “What do you think of my sister’s ball?” Albert asked.

  “It’s a little larger than I expected,” I replied.

  He laughed. “Hazel doesn’t do anything halfheartedly.”

  I had no doubt about that. Everything was extravagant. She must have spent so many hours planning this. I wouldn’t have had the patience for it. Perhaps living for over a hundred years gave someone a heightened sense of concentration. Albert certainly had persistence.

  A waiter came up from behind me and offered me a glass of blood. Without paying much attention, I took it from him. Moments later, I smelled it. There was a slight scent of Champaign but also the unmistakable odor of human blood. I froze.

  Albert leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Hazel doesn’t follow our diet. About half the vampires here do, but she isn’t like them. She refuses to try.”

  My jaw dropped. I was unable to reply. She seemed so sophisticated. I had never guessed that she drank human blood. Albert didn’t seem bothered, though.

  “She doesn’t hurt people,” he replied.

  I nodded in acknowledgment. The blood was from a donor. No human had died at her hands. That was what I cared about. Still, I wouldn’t drink it. It didn’t feel right. The last time I’d sipped human blood had been when I’d changed James. I wasn’t in the mood to relive that experience.

  I placed the glass back on the tray. The waiter gave me a strange look but shrugged. Albert selected a different glass and handed it to me. Before I’d even brought it to my nose, I knew it wasn’t human. Lamb’s blood had a unique taste. I took a sip from the glass. Until the blood hit my lips, I didn’t realize how hungry I had been. It felt good to relieve the strain in my throat. Moments later, I finished the glass. Albert kissed me before taking it from my hand and placing it back on the tray. The waiter, seemingly satisfied that he’d convinced me to drink something, walked away.

  Moments later, I jerked to attention. The music had grown quiet again. Everyone was looking to the center of the room. Albert didn’t seem to know what was happening either. He took my hand and pulled me further into the crowd.

  We both froze at the same time. I’d never expected to see the scene before me. It was horrifying. Though no word had been spoken, I knew exactly what they were intending to do. I felt sick. The whole concept was disgusting. Nausea lifted in my stomach as if I had witnessed a grotesque accident. There was a rage burning in my heart that I knew I couldn’t control.

  Hazel stood in front of us with a baby, maybe five months old, in her arms. The little girl had blonde hair that looked like cornsilk and blue eyes that looked like mine. She was swaddled in a pink blanket. I could tell she was too overwhelmed to cry. She was in a state of shock.

  Hazel laughed. “It’s Fredrick’s birthday, and I have a gift for him.”

  A few gasps went up around me. Some of the vampires stood in silence while others chucked or smirked. Albert seemed to be stunned. I grabbed his arm in an effort to get his attention. He looked back at me in understanding. We were both so stiff we could have been statues. This was a moment that truly felt like a horrific hallucination.

  “I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve heard it’s ravishing,” Hazel said. She traced a thin line across the baby’s neck. “Honestly, I envy him.”

  I had to resist the urge to throw Hazel across the room and shove a stake through her heart. She wasn’t intending to become a mother to this baby. No, she was planning something truly terrible. There was no way to describe it other than evil.

  Fredrick stepped forward with hunger in his eyes. I felt as if I would collapse. Albert’s hand was the only thing steadying me. I knew he wouldn’t let it happen. Fredrick’s fangs slipped from his lips. Terror flooded my heart. I was inwardly screaming.

  Every nerve inside my body was burning. I wanted to wrap the girl in my arms and run. She deserved so much better. There was no way I could allow her to die. No, I would save her. Albert and I would bring her home.

  Before Frederick had a chance to take the baby from Hazel’s arms, Albert stepped toward them. “What do you think you’re doing, Hazel?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so emotional. You’re overreacting. Clearly, your diet has made you too sensitive.”

  A few chuckles sounded throughout the room, but Albert ignored them. “No, Hazel. Don’t make this choice.”

  Hazel pursed her lips. “No one wanted it. The parents abandoned it on the side of the road. I didn’t steal it from anyone.”

  Albert took a step forward. “It’s not right, Hazel. Don’t give up your humanity. She’s a baby. You have no right to hurt her.”

  Hazel pulled the baby closer to her chest. “It was going to die either way.”

  Fredrick stepped closer to Albert with his fangs protruding from his mouth. “Give it to me.”

  A look of dominance crossed Albert’s face. “I’m not going to let you hurt the baby.”

  Hazel looked just a little frightened. “Why are you being so dramatic about this?”

  Albert extended his arms. “Give her to me now, or I will take her from you.”

  Fredrick attempted to step between them, but Albert shoved him away. Hazel looked terrified. Everyone in the room was too shocked at the unfolding scene to move. We all stood frozen with wide eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Hazel handed him the baby.

  With inhuman speed, Albert was beside me again. I had just resumed breathing when he laid the baby in my arms and placed his hand on my back. I didn’t bother saying anything. This was still too stunning for me to process.

  “We’re leaving,” Albert whispered.

  I wasn’t aware of much of anything as I pressed the baby to my chest. She was soft against me. I had to be careful not to hurt her. Before I knew what was happening, Albert was lifting us up into the carriage.

  The little girl was wrapped tightly in my shawl. Her soft heart gave little beats as she nestled within my arms. I could barely believe any of it was real. Even in my crazy world, I’d never dreamed of this.

  Moments later, Albert was situated beside us as he told the driver to go. My mind was still spinning. I had intended to go to a ball with my boyfriend and his sister. The whole thing was supposed to have been a fun, relaxing evening. Instead, I had been struck with terror as I witnessed a room full of vampires drooling while relishing the concept of devouring a baby girl. Albert had saved her, and now we were on our way home with an infant.

  As soon as we arrived at the townhouse, Albert ushered us inside. He firmly bolted the door behind us and sighed in relief. For a few moments, we stood there in silence. Our eyes drifted to the third person in the room. The tiny baby in my arms had fallen asleep. There was a peace about her that I never wanted to let go of. What were we going to do?

  Without saying a word, Albert placed a hand on my back and led me up to the second floor. I sat on one of the couches with my skirts flaring out around me. Albert immediately picked up his phone and began talking to someone.

  “Tom, there are a few things I need,” he said. I heard a low mumble on the other end before Albert spoke again. “Diapers, formula, all the normal baby stuff. Don’t ask questions. Please just have them here within the hour.”

  He set his phone on the table and sat down beside me. His eyes were focused on her. Mine were, too. We were both mesmerized. It was the first time I’d held a baby since I’d become a vampire. Her soft skin and little fingers were beautiful. I wanted to kiss her small head and never let her go. She was precious. This baby girl had been abandoned, and I resented her parents. They’d thrown away a precious gift. As an immortal, I could never have a baby. I envied the human girls who could. This child was a miracle, and she deserved love.

  “Let me hold her,” Albert whispered.

  I gently set her in his arms. He cradled her like the most precious being on earth. Albert’s eyes had never been so focused. In all the time I’d known him, I had never seen him so mesmerized. She slept peacefully in his arms. Like a little angel, the baby girl breathed softly with her lips parted in a tiny smile.

  He brushed her blonde hair. “You’re so pretty, Penny.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Penny? How do you know her name?”

  “I don’t,” he replied.

  “Then why are you calling her that?” I asked.

  “Well, what do you propose we call her, ‘lunch’?” Albert asked in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

  I pursed my lips. “That’s not even funny.”

  He grinned. “It was kind of funny.”

  “Albert, this is serious!” I urged.

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m aware of that.”

  Panic coursed through my voice. “What are we supposed to do with her?”

  He looked at me in a matter-of-fact manner. “Well, Anne, we have two options. Option number one is that we move back to Savannah and dedicate the next eighteen years of our lives to this small human.” He paused for a moment before a small grin crept onto his face. “Option number two is that we call the police and say, ‘Officer, I need you to come to pick up this abandoned baby that my deranged, vampire sister was planning on feeding to her boyfriend, who obviously has emotional issues, for his birthday at a Victorian ball full of hundreds of similarly psychotic lunatics.’”

  Though I tried my best, I couldn’t help but laugh. He grinned at me as I smiled back. This was a ridiculous situation. How were two vampires supposed to take care of a baby? Still, we were probably better suited for the job than some human parents.

  “What will we do about our ages? Not our real ones, but how we look. To any human, I look like a seventeen-year-old girl, and you look like you just got out of college. What will they think?” I asked.

  He smirked. “That we need our own reality TV show.”

  At that, we both burst out laughing. The stress was too much. This was by far one of the most bizarre situations I’d ever gotten myself into. Albert and I, two vampires, had somehow found ourselves responsible for a baby girl. In about twenty minutes, we’d become parents.

  Juli entered the room with a bottle in hand. She smiled in amazement as she gently placed the bottle in Albert’s grasp. This baby girl had gone to sleep an orphan but would wake up as the daughter of one of the most powerful vampires in the world.

  Albert smiled at me. “You should change. I’m sure that corset is killing you.”

  I groaned. “It’s horrible.”

  He chuckled. “Go find something more comfortable, Momma. We’ll be here when you get back.”

  My heart fluttered a little as I looked at the man I loved holding our daughter. It took me a moment to process the concept. Of course, I wouldn’t fully grasp the situation for a while. But at the moment, all I could think about was that I had a baby girl.

  Before I left the room, Albert spoke. “By the way, Penelope was my mom’s name. That’s what her first name will be, but we can call her ‘Penny.’ We still need to pick a middle name. I’m not sure what it should be,” Albert said.

  I smiled. “Joy. That’s what her middle name will be.”

  Albert looked down at her. “Penelope Joy Jefferson, do you know that you have the most beautiful momma in the world?”

  Chapter Eleven — Home

  After I’d relieved myself of the corset, taken my hair down, and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, I returned to the second floor. Albert still wore his Windsor uniform. They looked like a perfect picture. He held Penny, still swaddled in a blanket, in his arms. It was a father-daughter moment I didn’t want to interrupt. He smiled at her with eyes filled with pure joy. She was curiously aware as she drank her bottle, glancing up at him occasionally.

  “Would you take her for a minute?” Albert asked. “I’d like to change.”

  It was such a mundane statement. How odd for a vampire to be holding a baby. People saw us as creatures of darkness, and there was some truth to it. But this, the fact that we’d just openly accepted a baby girl as our daughter, proved that we were more than blood-sucking monsters. Part of us remained human. I wanted my humanity to determine my actions. Even though I was destined to live my life as a child of the night, I wanted my heart to be filled with light.

 

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