If only it had been a dream. When Antoine went to get Iris, she was dozing off on his bed with his clove orange in her hands. He gently removed the orange from her hands and placed it on a side table. He gently touched her shoulders and called her name. She woke up quickly. Iris had not dreamed. She was barely asleep long until he woke her up for food. She followed him back downstairs to the kitchen. There was a nice plate with pork ribs covered in a red barbecue sauce that faintly smelled of blood. A glass of wine was on the side.
"You know that I shouldn't drink wine while pregnant, right?!"
"It's not wine. It's my mother's famous red tea. Try it."
Iris took a sip then spit it out.
"I am sorry. I can't swallow it. My stomach won't let me."
Antoine was a little shocked that his mother's miracle blood tea was not enough for the baby bloodsucker. He wasn't going to give up. "Try the ribs instead. I put some special sauce on it."
Iris took two bites then threw it up back on the plate. Unlike her character, she suddenly tossed the ribs across the room. She then grabbed the plate and smashed it on the marble counter. Her eyes glowed yellow and she looked like a force to reckon with.
Antoine immediately called Alex and Marcus for backup. They sped across the city and were inside Antoine's house in seconds.
"She seems dangerous right now but I don't think she's aware," Antoine informed. "Please restrain her carefully. If the baby dies or Iris gets hurt, then you two will pay. Alex, go grab an O Neg blood barrel from the cellar. Marcus, please help me watch her in the meantime."
Alex obeyed orders and brought up the largest O Neg barrel in the cellar. He poured some in a fresh glass and gave it to Antoine. Iris had been just staring off into space while the last few changes had been made.
Antoine walked over and handed the glass to Iris. She downed the glass with blood stained upper lip and teeth now showing. She walked to the barrel and sat down on the floor under the barrel's spout and poured the blood into her mouth like an unsophisticated college sorority girl. She drank and drank while some blood poured down her blue silk top staining it.
Alex and Marcus gaped like they were children seeing something they shouldn't see. Antoine stood calmly behind the barrel with his arms crossed. Truthfully, Antoine was anything but calm. He was nervous. No other vampires had gotten a human pregnant in over a hundred years but everything he was seeing with her just didn't seem normal. The baby had taken over his mother's form and thrown a fit for blood. The baby was only seven weeks! His mother's warning was ringing in his ears. He didn't want Iris to die but she would need make it several more months and survive the birth. Antoine was drawn back out of his thoughts when he suddenly looked and saw Iris puking more. This time the blood vomit landed straight on his hardwood floor. Lovely, just lovely.
Iris had now collapsed on the floor and her eyes were back to her normal color. She fell back asleep as if she had never awoken the first time. Her clothes were stained and she reeked. Antoine had sent Martha home so he didn't think he could get Iris cleaned up right now. The best he could do would be to carry her back to his bed to sleep. He lifted her into his arms and took her upstairs. He placed a sweet kiss on her forehead after tucking her in. He felt sorry for the pain and trouble she was now dealing with. Pregnancy sucks.
When Antoine came back downstairs, Alex and Marcus were almost done cleaning up.
Alex said, "Sorry, dude. This is pretty bad. What will we need to compel her to forget in the morning? So much for your date!"
Antoine shrugged and replied, "Let us just wait and see what happens in the morning. I don't think I can sleep a wink."
"Do you want us to stay with you?"
"No. Go home and rest up. I will message you if I need anything."
With that last word Alex and Marcus left. Antoine sat downstairs on a couch. He was worried that Martinique would find out pretty soon what was going on. He knew his mom would not have told his father but if tonight was any proof he knew he couldn't keep things under wraps long. Iris would need to be monitored much more closely. It would be deadly if the baby ever took control while she was around other humans. The secret of the Dallas Vampires could be at risk. Through his worries, Antoine had stressed himself to sleep. Suddenly it was morning and he was woken up by loud screaming coming from none other than Iris. She was awake.