"I.. don't... know.." Luc had tears in his eyes.
"That's what I thought." Alexandre said harshly.
"Lex, listen.. I.."
"No, I don't want your excuses." Alexandre snapped.
"Brother please!" Luc cried. Alexandre turned to leave. "I was just so angry." Luc whispered. "I couldn't see that I wasn't just angry at you, but I was angry at myself." A tear ran from Luc's eye.
"I was sick and I wouldn't admit it. Gen probably had the disease before you came in the house that night." Luc turned his head. "She was probably going to die anyway, but I didn't know then that you probably could have satisfied yourself with a few mouthfuls of blood. So I've spent all these years wondering if I could have saved her if I hadn't interfered, or if she was destined to die all along." Luc's tears ran faster. "And the fire-God the fire." He closed his eyes.
"She wasn't." Alexandre said from the doorway.
"She wasn't?" Luc questioned.
"Gen wasn't sick." Alexandre turned back to face Luc, arms crossed. "Out of all of you, she was probably the only one who was still healthy. If you had let me feed, I could have left and she would have most likely survived." Alexandre's face and voice were devoid of emotion. Luc however broke down into harsh sobs. He brought his weak arms to his face. Perhaps it was the motherly instincts in me but I moved to his side and smoothed his lank hair. Alexandre's expression hardened, and I shot him an exasperated look. Then I held out a hand to him. He stared grumpily at me for a minute, but walked over and took my hand.
"The thing is, you both made mistakes, you both have regrets about the past that you've carried with you for all these years." I told them softly, squeezing Alexandre's hand and laying my hand on Luc's forehead. "Maybe knowing you both feel partially responsible for Gen's death will help you find common ground towards moving forward." Alexandre stiffened and opened his mouth to protest, and I felt Luc flinch under my hand.
"It doesn't have to be today you stubborn assholes, but it's something to think about going forward." I swatted them both. "Now-I think you said you were hungry?" I asked Luc and he nodded weakly. I sliced my wrist with my nails and extended it towards Luc's mouth, but Alexandre growled and grabbed my arm, stopping me.
"That didn't work out so well the last time." Alexandre warned.
"Oh for Heaven's sake-look at the man Alexandre! Here-tie his arms back down if it'll make you comfortable! I'm sure he'll even let you hold his head in place." I griped. Luc nodded and laid his arms back alongside his body expectantly. Alexandre strapped him back into the restraints. I rolled my eyes.
"It's ok Carys-I'd do the same if the situation were reversed." Luc whispered. Alexandre growled, then came to stand by Luc's head and nodded at me once. I rolled my eyes again and sliced a second wound into my arm before offering it to Luc. He accepted it against his lips, allowing the blood to flow in, rather than drawing it into himself.
"If you don't draw on the wound, it'll close." I warned him.
"This is fine." He sighed, letting the blood continue to trickle.
"God damn it-both of you stubborn assholes are the same!" I complained loudly, then shoved my wrist further into his mouth and slammed a hand against his bottom jaw, driving his teeth into my wrist. He let out a pained yelp at the same time I muffled a screech. The blood flowed freely though, and Luc was forced to swallow quickly to keep up. I grinned in triumph while Alexandre growled at me. I ignored him, watching Luc intently to make sure he didn't accidentally choke on the blood. Luc's face was a mix of pleasure and panic and when he started to struggle to get free, Alexandre finally snapped.
"That's enough!" He barked at me, snatching my wrist free from Luc's mouth. Luc didn't try to stop him and neither did I.
"Why Alexandre-I can't tell who you're protecting, your brother or me." I taunted and Alexandre growled, suddenly latching onto my still bleeding wrist himself. I jolted, shocked.
"Are you .. jealous?" I asked. Alexandre snarled and drew powerfully from the wound. I felt my knees go weak and moaned. He caught me before I fell and continued to feast on me until the wound closed, kissing and licking at my wrist in an embarrassing display in front of Luc. Then he opened his own shirt collar and brought my mouth to the crook of his neck.
"You're MINE." He growled as he drove my teeth into his flesh. I attacked him hungrily, nearly climbing him to get my fill. I was just as shameless as he had been, but couldn't control myself until my hunger was sated. I released him, letting go of the wound with a final kiss and then punched him in the face.
"You jerk." I said and turned on my heel and stomped out.
"That wife of yours.. she's something else." I heard Luc remark behind me.
"Yeah, but she's not entirely wrong, about any of it." Alexandre sighed.
I was sitting in the library with Mina in my arms when Alexandre came to apologize.
"Save it." I said, holding up a hand. "I knew you were possessive pretty early on. I was kind of flattered at the time at how desperately you wanted me to be yours and yours alone."
"And now?" Alexandre asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Now, I'm afraid it's inhibiting your own personal growth." I replied bluntly. He chuckled.
"When did you get so wise?" He responded wryly.
"I've been living with these really old vampires lately. I fell in love with one of them who always seemed to have such a cool head. Learned a lot. You should meet him." I sassed. Alexandre chuckled again.
"Yeah. Sounds like I might need to." Alexandre sighed, running his hand through his hair again.
"I miss him." I sighed quietly, looking at the book on my lap. Alexandre lifted my chin and kissed me softly.
"Me too." He replied, placing his forehead against mine. Mina fussed gently and Alexandre offered to take her. Her green eyes blinked open and found his face.
"Might as well-she's definitely yours, and now that she's awake, I don't think I'll get away with not handing her over." I rolled my eyes. "Blasted incubus." Alexandre chuckled.
"Are you jealous now?" Alexandre teased lightly.
"Absolutely." I griped handing Mina over. Alexandre sat down in his place on the other side of the table and reached out a hand absently to grip mine. He rubbed the back of my fingers with his thumb thoughtfully while watching Mina with a small smile on his face. She wiggled and gurgled, staring back at him.
"I talked to Luc for a while after you left." Alexandre informed me quietly. I closed my book and set it back on my lap.
"And?" I asked.
"I agree that in his current state, I don't think him much of a physical threat, especially not with four adult vampires present. I am still not certain how comfortable I am with bringing Mina that close to him, however. I just can't trust him." His hand momentarily tightened on mine, then he sighed.
"But I do have to admit I see what you and Cornelius see in him as well. His attitude is changing. I could scarcely provoke him, even though I tried my hardest. Although he did say he still blamed me in part for our family's deaths, I can't really blame him for that. I blame us both too." Alexandre took a deep breath. "I am a bit worried about his mind though. From what I could gather, he honestly believes Mina is Genevieve returned to us once more.. like she's some.. some.."
"Reincarnation?" I offered. Alexandre's head snapped around.
"Exactly! And he's gotten the two girls so thoroughly mixed up in his mind that he can't seem to separate them." Alexandre gritted his teeth.