Vampire Lineage Ch. 02

"Where do I fit into all this scheming?" Emma asked in growing frustration. It broke her heart to know Ivan was being manipulated, and she was part of it.

Tracey smiled and exchanged glances with Caroline.

"Emma," her mom continued, "please don't think of this as a bad thing. When it's all said and done, Ivan and Luther will be safe. As for you, well... we know your potential is great, but we don't know the extent of your power until you test your influence over the vampires of Gabriel's house. If you can do half of what we think you can do, our order can discover the locations of all the ancient vampires and wipe them off the face of the earth. Young vampires, witches, and humans will be safer after that."

"I... have power?" Emma stammered. "Am I a witch?"

"No, not like us. You have witch lineage and vampire lineage," Caroline added. "The vampire elements in your blood prevent you from becoming a human witch. Most human witches were created while bearing hybrid children. Once the power is awakened, they can bear human children with active magic. That's where we came from. You, on the other hand, are a descendant of a field flower. You're a powerful and tasty vampire hybrid spawned in the early days of Gabriel's breeding experiments. The seductive blood of your ancestors caused a weaker sect of vampires to worship your family.

The Ancient Ones were horrified when they discovered the vampires of Constantinople had built underground temples in your family's honor. Rather provocative things took place between the field flowers and vampires in those luxurious underground dens. The Ancient Ones forced their brother Gabriel to end his breeding experiments after that. He was also ordered to slaughter all the delicious Flowers of the Field. Witches have struggled to hide and preserve your family's remarkable bloodline since the 5th century. It has been an unimaginable fight, but our efforts have been rewarded," she said with a proud smile as she looked at Emma in the rear-view mirror. Her poor niece looked terrified.

"My god," Emma breathed. "How long have you been planning this thing between Ivan and me?"

"I told you, a hundred and thirty years," Tracey said. "Our abduction and planting of the Roselawn twins with Gabriel allowed us to plan your existence. It took some trial and error. Your real uncles, aunts, and parents didn't possess your hypnotic allure. They were killed by vampires as a result," she said sadly.

"Wait one fucking minute," Emma breathed, shaking her head at her mom. "Have witches been offering up my ancestors to vampires? You said what happened between Ivan and me at the cabin was planned. Is that what happened to my parents? You set them up to be eaten by vampires!" she half shrieked.

"No, Emma, it wasn't that sordid. Your relatives volunteered to help us," Caroline said. "Your family has been stalked and killed by vampires for centuries. You were a special occurrence. You were a beautiful young girl, and we could use you to lure the twins into our trap. We encouraged Ivan to discover you. That's why I bought the small farm next to Gabriel's ranch. I knew I could dangle you in front of the vampires when you visited me. We had already tested your blood. We knew you were a genuine field flower.

We released Ivan from his curse and made sure you were the first human he saw that day. You met him five years ago in the pasture behind my house. You don't remember because Luther hypnotized you to forget. You were fourteen at the time. Ivan saw you from his bedroom window and came over to talk to you. You were climbing in that oak tree by the well, trying to fix your tire swing before Kate came over for lunch. Ivan offered to help.

I was watching you both at a safe distance. I wasn't going to let him take you at fourteen. He seemed awestruck by you," she said with a smile, remembering the look on Ivan's handsome face. "You were bossing him around almost immediately. You made him fix the tire swing ropes, and your bicycle chain before Luther strolled over to retrieve his twin. Luther stared at you with his brow furrowed for a long minute before he ordered you to forget talking with Ivan that day. I honestly don't know why he made you forget. Ivan may have told you too much about himself. The poor boy was obviously thrilled to be un-petrified and talking too much in his excitement. I never understood why Luther let him wander over to you alone in the first place. Luther may have marked you as Ivan's first kill at that point."

Emma was trembling as she listened to her aunt's story. It scared her witless. Too much responsibility had been dumped into her lap by her ancestors, and she barely understood what she was supposed to do.

"I... think I'm going to be sick," she mumbled with her stomach churning.

"Poor thing," Tracey sighed as she rummaged through her purse and pulled a small piece of candy out. "Eat this, sweetheart. I made them last week. It will ease your stomach and your nerves."

Emma ate the delicious piece of soft caramel and groaned in delight. It tasted like vanilla and saffron.

"Thanks. That helped a lot," she sighed and took a deep breath. "Okay, what in hell am I supposed to do in a den of vampires?"

"Earn their trust," Caroline said very seriously. "You have a natural ability to command their attention and their hearts. That's why field flowers of your bloodline are so dangerous. I'm sure Gabriel is fully aware of what you might be, and rumor has it, he hates the Ancient Ones for ordering the destruction of his remarkable creation. I bet my life he's thinking about tasting you right now."

"Shit," Emma whimpered. "This is way too much responsibility for me."

"I'm sorry we couldn't tell you about this sooner," Tracey said guiltily. "You needed to seem normal and innocent. They could have compelled answers out of you before you learned how to see your inner light. You have done that, right?"

Emma blushed and nodded. She found and used her inner light on Ivan without even realizing what she was doing.

"Good. How powerful is it? Can you use it whenever you want?"

"It's very powerful when I can make it work, but I can't always make it work."

"I see. That's not surprising. You'll need to practice using it. It's good to hear it's powerful. How did you discover it?" Tracey asked with a smirk.

"I'd rather not explain that part to you, mom," she said with blush burning in her cheeks. "What is the light exactly? Is it witch magic?"

"No, it's vampire magic," Caroline said. "You're mostly human, Emma, but you have powerful vampire genes tangled in with your humanity. Your taste and inner light is a hybrid trait. I assume Ivan knows what you can do, does he?"

"He knows and loves it. He can sense when I'm using it. It excites him... a lot," she said in embarrassment. "He thinks Gabriel would kill me if he knew what I can do."

"I doubt that," Caroline sighed. "Like I said, Gabriel is probably thinking about you right now. Ivan bonded with you, and that keeps you safe for a while. Ivan will protect you with his life, and so will Luther. Luther is interested in protecting his brother, and right now, protecting you is the best way to do that. The younger vampires have good character in spite of Gabriel's influence, but nothing about this is safe. We're sorry for dropping this on you, Emma, but you could save countless lives by helping us get close to Gabriel."

Emma sighed and nodded. She was already neck-deep in their scheme. There was no backing out, and deep down, she didn't want to. She wanted to be close to Ivan.

"I don't get something. How did you two escape Luther's compulsion when he came over pretending to be Ivan?"

"We're witches, darling. We have more than one trick up our sleeves," Caroline said with a wicked smile.

Once Emma and her stuff were dropped off at Gabriel's mansion, Tracey and Caroline said their goodbyes and made a hasty exit. They had no intention of stepping inside an ancient vampire's home. Unlike Emma, they had no protection from the other vampires. Emma felt scared as she watched Aunt Caroline's SUV disappear down the long driveway. Ivan stepped over and pulled her into his arms. His touch instantly eased her fears. She embraced him and kissed his neck. He also smelled good enough to eat. Her body reacted to his touch with warmth and arousal.

"Hmm," he hummed as he caressed her back and ran his nose through her hair. "I could get used to this. Would you like to retreat to my room and fuck more before dinner?" he whispered.

She chuckled at his request. It made her tingle between her legs.

"That sounds wonderful, but I'm actually really hungry. All I ate today was a cupcake," she sighed.

"Oh, right. Go raid the kitchen while I take your stuff upstairs. Head down the big hall on the right. You can't miss it. I'll join you in a few minutes," he said as he opened the door for her and waved her in.

Emma strolled down the hall and into the fancy kitchen. It was three times larger and way fancier than her mom's. Big windows lined the southern wall, flooding the kitchen with warm sunlight. The horse pastures were in full view outside. Emma smiled to see Zaid and Gabriel out in the field with two beautiful black stallions. They were making the horses run around barrels and jump over hay bales. The old vampires seemed like normal, handsome young men from afar. Suddenly, Emma was distracted when she heard a muffled groan from across the room. It was coming from the pantry. She crept closer to the door and listened. Two people were definitely in there, and they were panting. Her curiosity got the best of her at that point.

The pantry door had an adjustable ventilation shutter in it, so she reached up and slowly tilted it open enough to see in. She gasped at what she saw. Luther was standing against the back wall. He was facing the pantry door. A young maid was sitting on a wine barrel with her legs spread wide for Luther. Luther had his hands matted in her beautiful dark hair as he pounded inside her. Emma felt hot all over and wet between her legs as she watched the ecstasy on Luther's face. She could have assumed it was Ivan. They were perfectly identical. Luther groaned and pulled the maid's hair, forcing her to expose her neck. Then he started fucking her faster. She gasped and whimpered as he pounded her to orgasm. She cried out in ecstasy and clutched at his arms as he sank his fangs into her neck. Luther let out a carnal groan as he tensed and shuddered. He was cumming as he tasted her. Emma knew what it felt like, thanks to Ivan. It made her weak and tingly to remember it.

She shuddered with arousal as she watched Luther drink from the maid's neck as pleasure pricked every nerve in his body. It was sensual and wild, and Emma felt glued to the erotic scene. Luther let out a satisfied groan as he opened his bright gray eyes and looked at Emma. He knew she was watching. Emma felt like gasping at being caught, but she was stunned by Luther's piercing gaze. It was ten times more powerful than Ivan's gaze. He winked at her as he took one last draw of blood from the maid's neck. Then he slowly licked the wound to heal her. She had fainted against him. Emma was struggling to get a hold of her senses as Luther held her in his gaze. She tried to find her inner light, but she could do nothing to summon it at that point. She didn't know how.

"I enjoyed you watching me, Emma," Luther said in a velvety voice as he beckoned her forward with his index finger.

She felt a powerful tug in her chest from that simple gesture. She had to obey it, or she would go mad. She didn't feel in control of herself as she grasped the doorknob and stepped into the pantry, closing the door behind her. She found the strength to stop just inside the door, but Luther beckoned her again with more concentration about his eyes, and she couldn't resist. She shuddered as she stepped closer to him and the sleeping maid. His gaze was stabbing at that point, penetrating her mind and chipping away at her resistance.

"Your mind is incredibly strong," he chuckled in amazement. "And you smell delicious," he purred as he looked her over. She was still dressed in her tight white skirt and revealing blouse. "I don't think Ivan would mind if I have a little taste. Hold your finger out for me, Emma," he whispered as he reached out his hand.

She gulped and placed her hand in his. She felt strange as she watched him pull her index finger to his lips and kiss it. Then he used his right fang to puncture it. She gasped from the sudden stab. He quickly put her finger in his mouth and sucked on the wound. The pain eased on contact with his saliva. Emma shuddered with tingles and arousal as he drank from her. Luther groaned as he drew more blood in his excitement. She was arousing him too. He was tempted to bite her again. She tasted divine, but he knew he was pushing his luck at that point. He gave the wound a good healing lick before he released her hand and pushed it away. He took a deep breath and forced his fangs to retract.

"Mmm, thanks for a taste of ecstasy," he breathed as he looked at her again. "I'm glad my brother found you," he said with a smirk. "Go about your business and say nothing about this to anyone. Forget that it happened. Good day, Emma," he whispered and shooed her from the pantry.

Emma nodded and hurried out the door again. She looked around the kitchen in confusion for a moment. She didn't remember crossing the room after she came in earlier. She shrugged and stepped over to the massive refrigerator to look for a snack. She found tons of leftovers from Gabriel's Halloween party. There were rare filet steak skewers with blue cheese and sliced avocado, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini bagels, a colorful assortment of sushi, miniature cups of savory southern casseroles, mini chicken salad croissants, rare lamb chops with mashed potatoes, shawarma wraps, and a massive variety of layered desserts in fancy little appetizer cups.

"Oh my god! It's like a Caesars Palace buffet in here! I'm glad they don't live off of blood alone," she said with a huge grin as she began taking food out of the fridge and placing it on the breakfast island.

"Ah, I see you found the leftovers," Ivan announced as he entered the kitchen and kissed Emma on the cheek.

"Yep! Oh boy, Yum Yum Rolls!" she said happily as she read the label on the sushi container.

At that point, the pantry door opened, and out stepped the dark-haired maid carrying a big container of salt. Emma looked at her in surprise as she looked at Ivan in surprise.

"Oh, Master Ivan. I wasn't expecting you here so early. You're usually the last one to arrive for supper," she said with a beautiful smile.

"Things have changed for me recently, Sarah, but old habits die hard. I would like for you to meet my friend Emma. She is... hard to explain," he said as he turned his admiring gaze on her. "Emma, this is Sarah. Our best housemaid and Luther's favorite subjugate," he said with a grin.

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah," Emma said as she shook the beautiful woman's hand. She had thick dark hair pinned neatly under her white and black maid cap. She had big dark eyes and luscious olive skin.

"Oh my, you're a pretty thing," Sarah said as she admired Emma's blond curls and bright blue eyes.

"Sarah, have you seen Luther? I wanted to ask him something," Ivan said as he took a seat at the breakfast island.

"I haven't seen him all day. He might be in the east pasture working with Neptune. He loves that horse, but Gabriel is dead set on selling him," she sighed.

"Figures, send him my way if you see him," he requested before Sarah left the room with some freshly topped-off salt shakers for the formal dining table.

As Emma sat down across from Ivan to enjoy leftover steak and shawarma, Luther stepped out of the pantry wearing a devilish grin. Emma looked at him in surprise. His white dress shirt was open, revealing his lean abs. He was knocking a dusting of flour off his black slacks. Ivan looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"Luther... were you screwing Sarah in there again?" Ivan groaned.

"No, I was just working on a biscuit recipe," he said with a shrug as he sat next to Emma and scooted close to her. His thigh was nestled tight against hers, and their shoulders were touching. He was extremely warm and smelled just as good as Ivan. He was making Emma's heart overreact.

"Mmm, you smell really good, Emma," he purred close to her ear. His hot breath on her neck sent a shudder up her spine.

"Thank you. You smell good too. Do you mind giving me some personal space, Luther?" she asked with a gulp, not daring to look at his eyes. She didn't understand that impulse, but she felt she would be in trouble if she looked in his eyes.

"Oh, my bad," he said with an innocent shrug and nudged away from her a little.

Ivan sighed and rolled his eyes at his brother. He was used to his antics.

"Luther," he began, "did Gabriel say anything else about Emma after you guys left the cabin last night?"

"He didn't say anything," he said very seriously.

"Shit," Ivan groaned.

"Is that bad?" Emma asked in confusion.

"Gabriel gets real quiet when he's thinking about something serious," Luther said as he swiped a piece of filet off Emma's plate and popped it in his mouth.

"It's never a good sign. We should be really nice to him for a while," Ivan said as he searched Emma's eyes.

She gulped and nodded as she turned her attention back to her plate. Luther had stolen most of her filet by that point.

"Hey," she grumbled as she looked at him in annoyance.

He gave her a breathtaking smile. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Luther, please retrieve more steak to replace what you stole," she ordered as she turned her attention to her mashed potatoes.

"Your wish is my command, sweet Emma," he sighed dramatically as he hopped up to retrieve more steak.

Suddenly, the back door opened, and in stepped Gabriel and Zaid. They tossed their gear and jackets on a wrack in the corner before stepping into the kitchen.

"Ah, are we having an early supper of leftovers?" Zaid announced as he approached the sink to wash his hands.

Gabriel's eyes had settled on Emma as he stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to Zaid. She could feel his gaze digging into her.

"We are. Would you like to join us?" Luther asked as he carried more food over to the island.

"Sure, I'm starving," Zaid said as he dried his hands and sat next to Ivan across from Emma. He exchanged a warm smile with her. She still thought he looked like a dashing Arabian prince.

"I suppose I will join you as well," Gabriel sighed as he washed his hands.

Emma's heart jumped into her throat when he sat down next to her. He smelled exceptionally good, and it was different from Ivan and Luther. Gabriel smelled like a fine wine. She didn't know how else to describe it. It wasn't cologne. It was coming from his skin. It was a heady, savory tartness that made her mouth wet. It aroused her senses and relaxed her anxiety.

Emma timidly turned her gaze on him for a moment, wanting to see the ancient vampire up close. He was beautiful. His skin was pale and flawless. His dark blond hair was shiny and fell in careless strands around his brooding eyes. His eyes were a bright blue like hers. He noticed her staring and turned his curious gaze on her. Her heart sputtered in her chest. The weight of his gaze was overwhelming. She was staring into eyes that had seen the passing of two millennia. He lived through the birth of Christ, he witnessed the Crusades, he saw the fall of the Roman Empire, he saw the birth of the New World and the rise of the information age, and he was about to eat a Yum Yum Roll. Emma suddenly laughed in his face when she realized how absurd the situation was.