The week had flown by and it was now Friday evening.
“Brianna, what’s on your mind? Do you want to talk about what is
bothering you?” Hudson asked, sitting in the middle of my bed with her
legs crossed and looking at me concerned.
“Just thinking about everything that has happened over the past
month,” I replied, and looked up at her.
“How is everything going between you and Nate? When we last saw
you, you both seemed on edge about something.”
“Hudson, I’m hiding your pregnancy from Nate and he knows that
I’m hiding something. I’m surprised he hasn’t seen through my lies and
demanded that I tell him the truth about this.”
“We have decided that we are going to start telling people after the
basketball game. I’m further along than I thought and I will be showing
very soon so we won’t be able to keep it a secret much longer,” Hudson
said and placed her hand on her stomach.
“How far along are you?”
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“Two and a half months.”
“Are you then going to come to Nate’s celebration get together he is
having in a few hours? I’m pretty sure that there will be alcohol there.”
“Yeah, I will be there. It is only going to be the four of us right?”
I nodded. “The rest of his family are heading off to Melbourne for
the weekend. That is why Amylia isn’t here with us.”
“And no doubt they will be spending that much money; they would
be able to keep the retail sector alive in one hit.”
My bedroom door opened, revealing Nathaniel with a gift bag in his
hand. I rolled my eyes, making Hudson look over at him.
“What have you got in that expensive looking bag?” Hudson asked.
“Brianna’s birthday present for later on in the month,” he replied,
earning a glare off me.
“When is your birthday?” she asked, looking at me.
“Fifteenth of March,” I replied.
“That’s not even three weeks away.”
I nodded before looking at my vampire. “Why have you brought me
something now? Mum usually waits until two days before my birthday
to get me something and she never can find me something that I will
like.”
“Baby, I haven’t even finished getting your birthday presents yet. I
still need to visit four more shops before I am finished,” he said and sat
on my bed.
“Do you have a death wish?” I asked, appalled.
“Who would want to harm me because I’m spoiling the love of my
life?”
“The rest of my family that you have never met.”
“Okay, I’m sensing a fight, so I’m gonna go before it starts,” Hudson
said, getting off my bed and grabbing her jacket.
“You look like you have put on a kilo or two Hudson. Has Brandon
been force feeding you?” Nathaniel asked Hudson, making my eyes go
wide.
I quickly glanced down at her stomach, seeing it had started to stick
out a little more than normal, but that was to be expected since Hudson
was about the same weight as I was and she would show much more
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quickly because of that. Suddenly, I started to imagine myself with a
baby bump and Nathaniel giving it nothing but attention constantly as it
grew every month for nine months.
Hudson pulled me out of my thoughts. “He wishes Nate. I have just
changed my diet back to the bad foods I use to enjoy before my weight
loss.”
She walked out of the room, and I looked at Nathaniel. “What does
she mean by she lost weight?”
“When Hudson and Brandon became a couple two years ago, she
was fifteen kilos heavier than now. Brandon loved the fact she had
curves, but Hudson wasn’t happy with the way she looked. Once Augus-
ta found out they were a couple, she made Hudson’s life a living hell.
She said something about her weight that made her snap and Hudson
went on a strict diet, shedding all the weight she had, making Brandon
loathe Augusta.”
“So what will happen now if Hudson is gaining weight again?” I
asked.
“Augusta will try and use that as an advantage to take Brandon away
from her and make her life a living hell until she gets the weight back
off,” he replied, glancing down at me.
There was a high chance that Hudson was going to gain the weight
back in her pregnancy and maybe a bit more. I was only hoping that her
life wouldn’t be turned upside down by a certain witch.
“What do you have planned for tonight?” I asked, changing the sub-
ject.
“Jack has given me a couple of bottles of his wine from the cellar
that we all will be drinking tonight. Bethany has made a whole bunch of
pizzas and then we will all crash in the living room and watch movies or
something like that. Beth and Jack don’t want the house trashed so I am
on good behaviour,” he said.
“So it will be like a sleep over, but with expensive wine and home-
made food?”
“Exactly; so what were you and Hudson talking about before I came
into the room?” he asked, sounding interested.
“Girl things,” I replied.
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“You seem tense.”
“Just some things that Hudson told me I’m still trying to digest.”
“Do you want to tell me?”
“I think Brandon will tell you everything when Hudson gives him the
right to do so.”
“It sounds like they have created a sin of some sorts.”
“It is in a way.”
Nathaniel frowned but didn’t say anything. Mum walked into my
room, making me look over to her. She smiled and placed my folded
washing on my bed next to me.
“I could have done that,” I said and moved off my bed.
“Brianna, I don’t mind doing these things for you,” mum replied.
“Marie, I was just thinking for Brianna’s birthday that we could have
it at a guest house. That way, your parents will have accommodation so
they can stay overnight,” Nathaniel said.
“I was happy to have it in a pub in Colac, but just as long as my par-
ents can get a lift there and back to Forrest. I don’t really want them
driving in the dark on an open road like that,” mum said.
“That can be arranged. I’m sure Beth and Jack will take them without
no complaints.”
“Do I get a say in this?” I asked.
“We all know what you will say Brianna,” Nathaniel said.
“Fine, but don’t expect me to enjoy myself like everyone else will,” I
said, and walked out of the room.
Opening the front door, I ran down the steps and straight for the
ranges, needing to get away from everything and think. This was the
time of year when I didn’t want to celebrate anything, and that included
my birthday. Why couldn’t people understand that? Was it a sin not to
celebrate getting older? I stopped running when I was out of seeing
range and fell to the ground, wanting to scream or break something
with my bare hands.
The fact Amylia and Nathaniel had guilt tripped me into doing some-
thing for my birthday made my stomach churn violently. It usually was
just my family and I gathered around a homemade chocolate cake with
one candle stuck on the top of it. That was enough for me to handle
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every year. I didn’t want or need a big celebration that I knew Nathaniel
and Amylia wanted to give me.
“Why can’t it be something I want?” I asked.
A tree branch snapped behind where I was sitting, making me look
over my shoulder to see Chase standing there, looking straight at me.
“Brianna, what are you doing out here all alone? Where is Na-
thaniel?” Chase asked, approaching me.
“I think he is still at my house. He was when I left. Knowing him, he’d
be looking for me about now,” I said, my tone flat.
“Has something happened?”
“What makes you think something has happened?” I asked, looking
up at him.
“The tone of your voice for one and your body language is another
giveaway,” he said and sat next to me.
“Amylia and Nate have taken it in their stride to plan my birthday
this year, but they don’t understand the pain that day brings for me. I
just want to forget about it for a change and just spend it like a normal
day.”
“What day did your father leave your mother?”
“I’m not sure on the day, but it wasn’t long before my second birth-
day. I just don’t want to celebrate a day when everything fell apart of
my mother without her realising it.”
“Why have they taken it upon themselves to plan you something?”
“Because they are the most stubborn vampires I have ever met. I just
don’t want anything happening on my birthday that will ruin it and
knowing my luck, something will happen that no one will be expecting.”
“I’ll talk to them and see if I can get this idea out of their heads this
year around. I’ve heard that Saul is around Colac and he might be lurk-
ing around on your birthday just to see what you have planned. It
wouldn’t take him long to realise that we are with you. He could take it
among himself to gate crash it to see what we are like and start throw-
ing around orders like all fathers would do when their daughter starts a
relationship with a boy.”
“That is my greatest fear. Mum and I...we don’t like showing weak-
ness and that is a given, but if he were to show up, our weakness would
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be shown and there is the high chance that my grandfather would end
up killing my father if he did show up on my birthday. I don’t really want
a murder to remember as well. ”
“Does Nate know about this?”
“I’m hoping that mum will inform Nate more about my father than I
have told him,” I admitted.
“I will still talk to him before I go with Amylia tonight. The whole
family has been kicked out of the house tonight, so we have decided to
take advantage of late night shopping in Melbourne and see if we can
put a dint in our bank accounts for once in our vampiric lifestyle,” Chase
said and rubbed his hands together in gleam.
“Well, I am sure that you will have fun trying to do that,” I replied.
“I better go, and I think you should do the same as well. Nathaniel is
back at home so if you go straight there now, we will be gone by the
time you arrive. Nathaniel wants you to himself until Hudson and Bran-
don arrive and we don’t really want you staying out in the cold for too
long. It brings back some memories that we would rather forget about
from our human life.”
I nodded and got up from where I was sitting. I went to thank Chase,
but he had vanished into thin air before I got the chance. I made my
way out of the ranges and walked to Nathaniel’s, seeing that Chase was
right about them being gone when I arrived.
Nathaniel was pacing out the front and looked up when I walked
along the path to the front door.
“I had Marie pack an overnight bag for you,” he said when I stopped
in front of him.
“That’s fine,” I replied. “How long do we have before Hudson and
Brandon arrives?”
“About two hours.”
Nathaniel opened the front door and gestured for me to go inside. I
walked into the lounge room and sat on the couch, waiting for him to
come into the room.
“Hudson looked different when she was at your place before,” Na-
thaniel said when he walked into the room.
“I didn’t notice anything different about her,” I said, hoping that he
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wouldn’t catch the shaking in my voice.
“She has this glow about her that I have never seen before. I have to
ask Brandon what is going on with her,” he said, sitting next to me.
My heart stopped beating before breaking into a sprint. He would
find out that I was hiding Hudson’s pregnancy from him and I didn’t
know how his temper would come out into play.
“But would Brandon tell you though?” I asked.
“Lately he has been walking with an extra spring in his step, so I want
to know why he is so happy for. I know for fact that they aren’t engaged
as Hudson doesn’t have a ring on her finger, but there is something.”
“Well good luck in getting him to tell you what is going on,” I said,
kicking off my shoes.
“Brandon trusts me a lot Brianna so he will tell me everything in a
heartbeat.”
This wasn’t going to plan. I would need to pull Hudson aside some-
time during the night and tell her what Nathaniel had planned. I needed
to see her reaction. If Brandon has decided to go around and start tell-
ing some people about the pregnancy, that wouldn’t go down well with
Hudson.
Nathaniel moved closer to me and started kissing my neck. He
wrapped his arms around my frame, pulling me in closer. I was in shock
from this sudden mood change from Nathaniel. He had never shown me
this type of attention before.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Just giving you some attention,” he murmured against my neck
before lavishing it with attention again.
“Why though?” I asked, closing my eyes when I felt his teeth graze
my neck.
“Because I love you and want to do something with you,” he replied,
lightly biting the area.
That told me exactly what he wanted to do with me. He wanted to
drink my blood again. And the crazy thing was; I was going to allow him
to drink from me.
“If you want my blood Nate, just take it and be done with it before
Hudson and Brandon get here,” I said, moving my hair out of the way so
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I wouldn’t get any blood on it.
Nathaniel bit down lightly, making me gasp from pleasure. I lightly
moaned from the sensation of the blood leaving my body as it felt so
strange. It would take a while to get use to that if he wanted to do it all
the time.
“Do you want some of mine?” he asked after he pulled away, my
blood around his mouth.
“No, I will be fine. I don’t think blood will go down well on an empty
stomach,” I said, making his eyes narrow at my choice of words.
“Haven’t you eaten anything today?” he asked.
“I had an apple for breakfast this morning, but that was about it. My
stomach has been feeling funny all day and I don’t really want to risk
eating anything for that reason,” I admitted to him.
“Then you will not be drinking anything tonight. I do not want you
being sick on an empty stomach.”
“Yes father,” I said, making him roll his eyes.
Nathaniel looked down at the couch, not saying anything. That was
a dead giveaway that something was bothering him, but I didn’t ask
him. I didn’t want to push him. I knew he would tell me in time.
“I would do anything to become a father,” he whispered after a
while.
“Nate, you will become a father one day. What is the rush, anyway?
We haven’t even been together two months yet and there is no way I
am ready to bring a baby into this world when I haven’t even finished
school,” I said.
“Baby, there are couples out there that have a baby straight away
without even really knowing each other,” he pointed out.
“We aren’t one to those couples.”
“Anyway, we were talking about you not eating anything for most of
the day. I don’t really want you to develop an eating disorder on me. I
don’t think I would be able to handle something like that.”
“Well, let me just make sure my neck isn’t dripping blood and I will
make myself something to eat. You will just need to show me where
everything is,” I said, getting up from where I was sitting.
“Your neck isn’t bleeding at all. You will still have vampire blood in
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your system, which will help heal injuries,” Nathaniel said, leading me
into the kitchen.
He pointed to everything in the kitchen that I would be able to use
and then left the room. I didn’t even want this sandwich, but I knew Na-
thaniel would worry about me if I didn’t eat anything. I didn’t need him
breathing down my neck any more than usual.
I walked back into the living room, food in hand and saw Brandon
standing in the living room with an overnight back.
“Here already?” I asked, making him look over his shoulder at me.
“Yeah we are. Nate is helping Hudson get some things out of the car
for tonight,” he replied.
“Cool,” I said, sitting on the couch.
“Are you drinking tonight Hudson?” Nathaniel asked from in the
hallway.
“No, I don’t think so. I thought I would stay sober just in case some-
thing happened and I needed to drive,” she replied.
Nathaniel nodded and walked down the hallway, Brandon following
him. Hudson walked over to me and smiled before sitting down next to
me.
“Beth left the homemade pizzas in the fridge so we can put them on
when we get hungry,” Nathaniel said when he walked into the room,
looking straight at me.
“Just don’t force the food down my throat. I don’t think I will be
able to handle much,” I said, making Hudson look at me.
“Nate, come show me this blood supply you have been raving on
about for the past two years and leave the girls alone to talk,” Brandon
said, placing his hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder.
“Of course,” he replied, leading Brandon out of the room.
I smiled and watched them walk out of the room.
“Haven’t you been able to eat much?” Hudson asked, making me
look at her.
“I don’t eat much anyway. You know that mum and I can’t afford
much as it is.”
“That explains why you have only taken two bites out of your sand-
wich,” she said, looking down at it.
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“Do you want it?” I asked, offering it to her.
She took it off me and bit into it before looking at my neck and rais-
ing her eyebrows at what she was seeing. I knew she would be looking
at the bite mark Nathaniel inflicted on me just before they arrived.
“I see that Nathaniel has been drinking from you,” she said.
“Has Brandon done that to you?” I asked.
“He stopped for the time being,” she said, placing her hand on her
growing stomach.
“Don’t you worry about the lack of iron after a while? I don’t really
want to become anaemic due to Nathaniel drinking my blood.”
“It’s a risk that you have to take to make your vampire happy. Now
that you have let Nathaniel have your blood willingly, he will want it
more frequently. It will become a craving to him as you are his mate and
he will want to keep the bond you have both made with drinking each
other’s blood as strong as possible.”
“I have no plans on letting Nathaniel feed off me,” I said, looking at
her.
“No one ever does. It just happens without anyone realising about it
until you have lost so much blood, you almost die.”
“Has this happened to you?”
“No it hasn’t happened to me, but I have been in contact with a lot
of vampires throughout my relationship with Brandon and they have a
lot of stories that you wouldn’t believe.”
Nathaniel and Brandon came back into the room before I could say
anymore. By looking at them, I could tell that they were freshly fed with
blood. Grabbing the plate off Hudson, I got up and walked into the
kitchen, brushing up against Nathaniel.
Placing the plate in the sink, I turned around and was face to face
with my vampire. Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he
crushed his lips to mine, his other hand trailing down my back and stop-
ping at my tailbone.
He deepened the kiss while pulling me closer to his cold, hard body.
I placed my hands on his chest before gripping his long sleeved top.
“What was that about?” I asked after he pulled away and tried to
catch my breath.
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“I have natural urges like any other guy Brianna,” he said, looking
me up and down, his eyes darkening.
“Okay, I hate to break up the sexual tension in here, but Hudson and
I are starting to get hungry and I am starting to get a craving for expen-
sive wine,” Brandon said, walking into the kitchen and looking at both of
us with a glint in his eyes.
“Alright,” Nathaniel said, pulling away from me and walking over to
the fridge
I went to stand in the corner, making sure that I was out of the way
of Nathaniel and his food handling.
“Brianna, do you think you can handle this while I go and get the
wine?” Nathaniel asked, pulling the pizzas out of the fridge and placing
them on the bench.
“Sure,” I replied and grabbed them.
Nathaniel left the room, leaving Brandon and I alone. I placed the
pizzas in the oven and turned around so I could look at Brandon.
“It will be good practice for when you and Nathaniel get your own
house and settle down,” Brandon said, smirking at me.
“I know how to look after a house and prepare meals. My grand-
mother taught me when I was only child. I was always helping her in the
kitchen,” I said, looking Brandon in the eye.
“Then I happen to think that you will make a good wife if you and
Nathaniel ever get married.”
“Well, I think that I am a bit too young for marriage. Have you asked
Hudson to marry you?” I asked.
“Not yet, but I am working up the courage to asking Hudson,” he
said just as Nathaniel walked back into the room.
“You’re going to ask Hudson to marry you?” Nathaniel asked, plac-
ing the two bottles of wine on the bench.
“Why do you find it that hard to believe?” Brandon asked, grabbing
one of the bottles of wine from the bench.
“You have never shown any desire to get married before. What has
changed?” Nathaniel asked.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow when Brianna and Hudson are shopping,”
Brandon said.
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“Why are Brianna and I going shopping tomorrow?” Hudson asked,
walking into the room.
“Because I want to talk to Nathaniel about something,” Brandon
said, looking at her and raised his eyebrows.
I knew he was going to tell Nathaniel about the pregnancy and I was
only hoping that he would be in a descent mood when we got back. I
knew Nathaniel would be firing a whole bunch of questions at me and
demanding answers about why I knew more about the pregnancy than
Hudson’s own mother did.
“Why can’t you just tell me now?” Nathaniel asked.
“It will be better without us around, so it can wait until tomorrow.
Now, how long do we have to wait before we can eat? I am very, very
hungry at the moment,” Hudson said, crossing her arms.
“In about half an hour; how about I pour each of us a glass of wine
and we can relax in the lounge room?” Nathaniel suggested.
“I will just have one glass and that’s it,” Hudson said, making me
look at her.
“Do you want to risk drinking Brianna after what you told me be-
fore?” Nathaniel asked, looking at me.
“Just pour me a glass and be done with it,” I said, crossing my arms.
Two hours after eating, Nathaniel and Brandon had wiped them-
selves out on the two bottles of wine and were passed out on the two
mattresses on the living room floor. I swirled around my half full third
glass of wine and shaking my head.
“I can’t believe they wiped themselves out. Brandon is going to be-
come a father is seven months’ time. He can’t keep on acting like this
with Nath