A Few Sips

"Fucking tin can with wings." The large vampire grumbled beside her and Domino chuckled as she looked over at the man. He looked so uncomfortable, even on the overly large, stuffed chair that he sat on. He'd refused to buckle his belt.

"So much for thinking I had a big, bad, vampire. Alexandru, you are going to be just fine." She giggled as he looked at her, his face somewhat green, she thought, as the engines roared and the plane began to make its descent.

"When we crash and burn and die, don't look at me, I said I could get you here." He grumbled as he looked out the small window.

"Hitching a ride on the back of a vampire all the way to Canada was never going to happen." Domino clutched his hand in hers, as scared as he seemed to be about the plane ride, she was just as scared about what would happen when they reached the spa. Would this Mr. Hughes guy really be able to help her? Or would he tell her what everyone else was telling her?

She had told Anya what Alexandru had said about turning her into a vampire, and the brunette had thought about it for a long while before sighing.

"Trading my fertility for immortality." Anya had shook her head, "That would be an impossible choice, one that I would cling to for as long as I could, I think. But there are plenty of ways to become a mother, Domino. I think even Alexandru would tell you that. Wait for what Mr. Hughes can tell you, but don't trade your life away so easily. You're so young."

Domino had nodded, frowning at the woman who was actually only four years older than her. She didn't want to think that she was right, and she knew Anya's thoughts were echoed by the rest of her pack, she could see it in their eyes as they waited for the plane to arrive earlier that day, and then as they waited for dusk to fall for Alexandru to come up from the basement bedroom where they'd put him, the window covered completely to keep the room in darkness.

Saying goodbye to Aidan had been awkward. When she'd returned from the woods with Alexandru, he'd been standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding one of the wolf pups in human form, and his blue eyes had focused on hers intently, desperate to know her thoughts. Domino had clutched tightly to Alexandru's hand and the tension in the room between the two had seemed to only grow until Sergei had entered the room growling, his eyes saying more than he did to the young wolf until Aidan had slipped out of the room with the child. They hadn't seen much of each other until shortly before dusk.

"Domino." He had said quietly, putting a hand around her wrist as she'd been walking out the back door to join the children who were playing in the yard.

"Aidan." She had frowned, not sure it was a good idea for them to talk.

"Please, just give me a moment. I am not going to ask you to stay." He told her sadly, and despite his misery, Domino was glad to know he was finally admitting the truth.

"Aidan, I am sorry for what I did to you. It wasn't fair." She told him as she walked with him to the western side of the yard, where a vegetable garden had been planted.

"I wouldn't change it, Dom. It got you here, it's hopefully going to get you some help." He shrugged his shoulders as he moved his hands into his jeans pockets.

"I love him, Aidan." She felt her eyes fill with tears and she searched his eyes for understanding.

"I know. I knew that the whole time. It's why my pack was so angry that I stayed, they knew what would happen. I knew what would happen. That's on me, not you." He gave her a lopsided grin as he leaned on the fence behind him.

"I don't know where I'd be without you, Aidan, I'm thankful for what you've done for me." Domino told him.

"He would have found you, he may have thought to consult this Hughes guy just like the pack here."

"What will you do when I leave? Will you go back to Burlington?" She asked.

He shrugged again, "I don't know. My pack, well, they're not really my pack anymore. I don't hear them talking like I did before."

Domino frowned, that was terrible, to be ostracized like that from those who you'd considered family.

"So will you stay here?"

He shook his head, looking over to the children playing. "Sergei wants his pack to stay the size it is, though I know he's getting a lot of pressure from nearby packs because of what Anya does to us."

"What does she do?" As of yet, Domino didn't understand how a siren was different than a regular human, Anya looked human, and she didn't seem to have any powers or anything that would mark her otherwise.

"It's hard to explain, but wolves are both evil and good, and Anya intensifies that and yet calms it at the same time. Her scent alone can make us do things that we wouldn't normally do. She's like some special kind of wolf crack." He chuckled, looking across the yard to where the brunette they spoke of was playing jump rope with her daughter, Penny, her blind son was holding the other end of the rope and they were all laughing at how they kept turning it at the wrong time.

"You are totally turned on by her." Domino gasped, her eyes widening as he looked back at her with a frown.

"Domino, it's not like that." He straightened a little, and she grinned, she was totally right.

"You totally are. She's like your step great great grandma and you want to fuck her." Domino yelped when he grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth.

"Ssssh." He whispered, not wanting her to continue talking, he knew that the wolves in the house would be able to hear her and he didn't need their anger right now, he felt ashamed enough as it was.

Domino smiled under his hold and then nodded.

"You better watch yourself. They're very bonded to her." She tilted her head slightly at him and watched as he took a deep breath and moved away from her again.

"I know it. I expect that Sergei will ask me to leave once you are gone. I'd like to stay, but he probably won't allow it." Aidan looked to the back door of the house and could see that Grigory had come to stand just outside of it on the deck, his eye on Aidan, the look intense, no, the pack would not be likely to allow him to bond with them, because bonding meant he would have access to Anya's enticing pussy, and that was off limits.

"Well, I want you to find a pack that will love you, Aidan, you deserve that. And then you can make a bunch of pups of your own and forget all about me." Domino told him, and watched his mouth break wide into a smile.

"Domino, I know I look very young to you, but I'm older than you think, I've given rise to forty-three pups already." His words made her gasp and she listened to him chuckle.

"You have?"

He nodded, "Yes, most of them are grown already, but there are a few in my previous pack that are younger."

"And the pack kicked you out?"

"Pups belong to their mothers, though we fathers are very attentive to them. At least at first, as the years go by, you sort of lose that need for closeness. It's replaced by a pack bond. But if I were to see them, I would be able to sense that they were mine." He shrugged, wolves were not like humans in that way.

"That seems a little sad."

He chuckled, "It's necessary, Domino. Wolves are both evil and good, remember? We have enemies. Not all of my children survived through to adulthood, and several others have died after reaching maturity. It is the way things are for us, in my world."

"Well that's extremely depressing. Will my baby be in danger?" She asked him.

Aidan looked at her wordlessly for a few moments and finally shook his head, "Vampires don't typically get born these days, they are changed. A vampire baby is somewhat of an oddity now. I am sure Alexandru will do everything necessary to ensure the safety of your child."

Domino had nodded and they'd spoken for a few more moments before she'd begged off and gone inside to use the restroom. She noticed that she peed less these days and figured that it was due to feeling dehydrated all the time. No matter how much she drank, it never felt like she had enough.

The wheels of the plane screeched as they met the concrete landing strip and Domino was jerked out of her thoughts. Looking over at Alexandru, she saw that his eyes were closed and he was holding tightly to the armrests of his chair. She grinned at the way he looked so tense and unbuckled her belt and moved into his lap, resting her back against his chest as she moved her face into the curve of his neck. Eventually, his arms wrapped around her and the plane came to a stop. The cockpit door opened and the crew came out and looked their way. One of the two men opened the door and lowered the stairs before they both exited the plane to stand beside it.

Domino moved to stand up and whimpered when Alexandru pulled her more firmly back against him and his mouth moved down to hers and he clung to her lips for several moments before standing up, moving her up with him. She walked ahead of him to the door as he grabbed her suitcase and followed her out of the small plane. They stood on wet concrete for a moment looking around in the darkness. It smelled like it had been raining, and she could see the massive structure of what appeared to be a mansion nearby. Several other buildings surrounded it and she was taken back by the size of the 'spa' that she had been brought to.

"This is where you work?" She asked Alexandru as he spread his fingers through hers on her left hand.

"Where I worked, I'm turning in my resignation tonight, little dove. No more fucking needy subs for me." He muttered darkly in her ear before nipping the top edge of it.

"I seem to be losing all sorts of employees these days." A deep voice said from their right and both Domino and Alexandru turned to see a tall man in a black suit walking towards them.

"Mr. Hughes." Alexandru said, a small frown on his face as the other man stopped a few feet from them.

Domino's eyes widened, she wasn't sure what she expected Mr. Hughes to look like, but she'd expected wings, for one thing. This man had no wings that she could see, and his suit made him look like some sort of gentleman. He had short, buzzed hair, and he was attractive, masculine, and she knew that he hid a finely sculpted body under that suit. But he had no wings. Wasn't he supposed to be an angel? There was something about the way he looked at them, the way he held himself so erect, as if he forced it. He had a slight darkness under his eyes as if he'd had trouble sleeping lately, and there was a twitch to the corner of his jaw that she figured was stress. At them? He hadn't even met her yet.

"Alexandru," The man nodded at her lover and turned those menacing gray eyes to her, "I assume you are Domino. I'm Mr. Hughes, this is my spa."

"It's-it's nice to meet you." She saw him raise his hand and she shook it firmly, though she knew she was shaking. The man had a quiet intensity to him that she couldn't quite understand, it was like he saw through her, saw everything about her. It was strange, overwhelming, and she felt herself move closer against Alexandru's side as they fell into step beside him to enter the spa.

They were led through a large dining room and then out to a front foyer, which dwarfed even Anya's, with its crown molding and expensive paintings. The staircases were both wide, and the tables were littered with vases full of fresh cut flowers. In the back right corner of the foyer was a room, into which they were led, and Mr. Hughes sat behind a large oak desk as Alexandru led her to one of the two leather chairs on the side nearer the door. He sat beside her, his wings folding down along the back of his chair as he waited to see what his now former employer would be able to tell them.

"I am sure there are still those of your kind out there who don't give a damn if they impregnate a human girl here and there, but I didn't expect this from you, Alexandru." He started and she could feel the heat rise off of Alexandru.

"It was not purposeful, Arc. I gave her the pills that would rid her of it, and they didn't work." Alexandru's voice sounded frustrated.

"I see." Those gray eyes moved back to her, "You did take them, then?"

Domino nodded quickly, "I did exactly what he told me to."

Mr. Hughes frowned as he looked at the two of them, "Did you tell her that you could change her?"

"He-he said it would kill the baby." Domino said quickly before Alexandru could tell him just that. Yes, he had offered, she was not accepting unless she absolutely had to.

"You want to have this baby?" Mr. Hughes looked at her with a bit of surprise in his gaze.

"It's a baby-it's...our baby." She looked at the man beside her, though he wasn't really a man, was he? He sat there with a bare chest and low riding dark pants, but his feet were bare and he had wings, huge wings, solidly connected to his back.

"Has it ever been done before, Arc? Is this possible? Can she survive it?"

"What you're asking for is against nature, Ms. Ashburn. Do you understand that? Vampire children are no longer common for a reason. Their creation is a great disaster. Something that has long since been abolished for this very reason. Humans should not be considered disposable." His voice was filled with a despair that she could not understand and Domino heard Alexandru growl at her side, sliding her hand into his as he sat up straighter in his chair.

"It's already done, Archimendes. She is already pregnant. What is there to do now? Is there any way to save them both?"

"He just called our baby a disaster, Alex." Domino's statement came out as somewhat of a whimper and she looked at the man seated behind the desk. He had moved his elbows to the table top and his hands were cupped against his forehead. His mouth had turned up in an odd grin, he was acting like a man in pain, what was wrong with him? And was he taking it out on them.

"If we do not intervene, the fetus will eventually drain its host of all her blood supply. Then, if he is born alive, he will be hungry, dangerously so. If you live, you will have to feed him quite often, and it will not be just milk your body must create to do so efficiently. It's not just keeping you alive through this pregnancy and the birth, it's about just how much you can handle for far longer than that." Mr. Hughes explained, not mincing words, not needing to.

"Has it been done before? Has a human girl survived this before?" Alexandra knew the answer was yes, he knew it was.

Mr. Hughes sat back at his desk and sighed, looking them both over for several moments before a knock sounded at the door. Shi opened it slowly and came in with a small red cooler. She walked over to Mr. Hughes after nodding in greeting at the three of them and set the cooler down in front of the man at the desk.

"Ms. Domino Ashburn, this is Shi, she works for me here at the spa. She will be tending to both you and Alexandru during your stay here." Mr. Hughes stood and turned to a cabinet behind him. When he pulled out what looked like clear, plastic tubing and other medical equipment, she tensed, what was he going to do?

"It is nice to meet you, Domino. Alexandru." Shi smiled softly at them as they watched what Mr. Hughes was doing.

"What is this?" Alexandru waved a hand at the items on the table.

"For centuries, people have tried to find a way to allow vampires to procreate safely. They tried early induction of labor, cesarean birth, having the pregnant woman drink blood, having blood injected into her body, all with absolutely no success. A human girl pregnant with a vampire baby always ended with maternal demise." Mr. Hughes organized the items on his desk.

"I know all of this." Alexandru frowned.

"The advent of better scientific research led to blood typing, which seemed, at first, to help women survive, at least long enough for the baby to reach viability, but still, the woman died."

"Alexandru, stop squeezing my hand so hard." Domino said gently, her eyes going back and forth between the two men.

"Human science only gets us so far. Infusion is the only option, but it didn't work right. Not right enough. Then, a non-human scientist, of which there are regrettably few of, found something."

"Why are there so few of them?" Domino asked.

"Non-humans generally don't need to work. If they do so, it's because they enjoy their trade."

"Like Grigory, who works construction?" She watched as Mr. Hughes' face seemed to tighten a little and then he slowly nodded.

"Yes, like him. There is a scientist who started looking into it. He found that there is a protein in the blood of a vampire that is rejected by a protein on the outside of the red blood cell of a human. But then he found that not all humans had the protein, and he further developed a way to inactivate it in the blood that did. He was able to save the life of a human that way, but the treatment has to begin early, before the fetus has depleted too much of the mother's supply. You would need to get started immediately, Ms. Ashburn, you are already dehydrated somewhat." He opened the cooler and took out a medical bag of bright red blood and Alexandru hissed as Domino gasped at the sight.

"This still may not work, Alexandru. It is very tricky, the amount of fluid to infuse. When the scientist tried again, he wasn't successful the second time." Mr. Hughes explained, his eyes searching the vampire's face for a sign that he wanted to go through with this.

"If this is the only way, Alex." Domino stood and wrapped her hand around his big arm, making him move his molten red eyes down to look at her.

"The blood in the cooler. It's from Anya, isn't it?" Alexandru's question surprised Domino and she widened her eyes as she looked at the cooler on the desk.

"Yes, I requested that she send some, I thought it might make this work a little better, her blood affected you differently, perhaps it will affect your child. It's also a perfect crossmatch to Ms. Ashburn." Mr. Hughes' face seemed to darken as he spoke about the woman, and for the first time, Domino was pretty sure that the anguish that he kept slightly below the surface was directed at the brunette who'd given and sent this blood.

"We have to do this. We don't have a choice." Domino said to Mr. Hughes and felt Alexandru turn to her and wrap his arm around her to make her face him.

"I would like some time alone with her before we start this."

"We need to start now."

"An hour, I want only an hour, once she has Anya's blood in her, I may have to stay away. It would be too dangerous for her to have two vampires intent on feeding from her."

"No, Alexandru, I don't want you to leave again." Domino shook, tears fell from her eyes again as she clutched at him.

"An hour, Alexandru." Mr. Hughes shrugged, putting the blood back in the cooler as the big, angry vampire stomped out of the room and began climbing stairs until they were in a gray stone-walled room with a huge four poster bed on one side, and an open pane-free window to the left.

"I need to fuck you, Domino." He said gutturally as he squatted in front of her and began pulling her clothes from her body.

"You always need to fuck me, Alex." Domino bit her lip to keep from smiling down at him.

"I love the way your pussy smells." He moaned as he ran a finger over her clit, making her jump a little, her hands dropping to his shoulders.

"I love the way you heat up when you want me."

"Then I must be on fire." He looked up at her with his beautiful thickly-lashed eyes, his needy desire blatant on his face.

Domino smiled and ran her hands through his hair.

"I love the way your pussy tastes." He murmured, his eyes dropping to the mound of her, his thumb pressed harder against her clit and he slid a finger roughly into her fold.

"Oh God," Domino gasped, "I love the feel of your tongue when you lick me down there."