CURSE OF THE BLOOD MOON
Chapter 41- THE MEANING OF FAMILY

Stephan comfortably balanced his son on one arm as he went about the room greeting everyone. When he finally got to Scarlet he pulled her into his side and wrapped his free hand around her petite body.

“Wow, a few months ago I couldn’t do this.” He said in a gasp

“Do what?”

“Hold you with one arm. There was too much of you.”

Scarlet took a step back her mouth gaping open. “I can’t believe you said that. Besides, it wasn’t entirely me. A little someone was taking up residence inside me.” She stroked her son’s cheek.

“Your arms are a lot cozier than Mommy’s or Aunt Kayla’s. They are a lot like Uncle Solara’s.”

“That’s because I have smaller hands.” Scarlet tiptoed and pecked his cheeks and made him giggle.

“When I was coming to the house, I heard a lot of noise. What was going on?” Stephan asked.

“Well,” Kayla began, before tickling SJ, “Someone was on the roof and was attempting to test the laws of gravity.”

“Who?” as far as he knew, none of them could fly, all they could do was jump high.

As Kayla began to answer, SJ cut her off.

“I’m hungry.”

Scarlet laughed at her son’s successful attempt to derail the conversation. With his father around she knew he would be easier to handle.

“Come on.” Kayla held out her arms to the boy, and he went to her willingly.

Stephan was reluctant to let him go, but he knew that he had to eat. He gathered Scarlet in his arms to fill the void his son had left.

“By the way, it was him on the roof. He was trying to fly.” Scarlet informed him as they followed Kayla and their son to the kitchen.

“Good for him. He’s daring and brave I like that.” Stephan was proud that at an early stage his son had begun taking risks.

“You can’t be serious. Anyway two days ago he knocked down a tree and when he started walking he went through the wall.” Scarlet thought she should inform him of what other daring stunts their son had been doing.

“He went through a wall. I bet you were fretting.” Stephan chuckled.

“I missed that one. I woke up exactly two days ago.” Although she had been unconscious Scarlet still felt guilty about missing her son’s big moments in life. His birth, his first step, first word, and first sentence. She vowed never to miss anything else.

“I’m sorry. I missed a couple of those too.” He watched his son chew down a pizza and wash it down with a red liquid he assumed was juice.

Stephan moved closer to him and the familiar smell made his nostrils flare. He looked up at Solara in shock and signaled him to follow him outside.

SJ stood from his high chair. His mouth was full so he didn’t speak, instead, he stretched out his hand to his father a questioning look on his face.

Stephan reassured him he was coming back. It took a lot of convincing before he sat down again to eat his food.

“You are giving him human blood?”

“It’s diluted with animal blood. When he was born it was the only thing he would take. It took us a while before we could mix it and start him on solids.”

“What about Scarlet?” Stephan could still hear the odd heartbeat he heard the day his son was born. Scarlet wasn’t human, he could feel that when he held her in his arms. Her body felt firmer and stronger, and her skin thicker.

“She’s been eating human food, but we are just waiting for the thirst to set in. But she’s fighting it. I see the mental battles she has every second since she woke up.”

Solara had always been concerned about but he never brought it up. Scarlet being a vampire was always a delicate issue with her. Kayla had promised to talk to her about it but never got around to it.

“Does she know what will happen if she continues to starve herself?” he was now certain that she could only be a vampire and he knew the repercussions of not feeding.

“No marks have appeared on her skin, so I don’t think the same rules apply to her.” Solara had spent this whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did.

“I’ll talk to her about that, but for now we have another problem.”

Stephan knew what his reaction would be to the news but he had to tell him. He needed someone to share that madness with, and ever since he walked into the garage, Solara had always been that person. Like Scarlet, Solara was his Kayla.

“I’m getting the vibe that this isn’t good news so I suggest we move into the forest.”

It only took them, ten minutes to move more than a mile away from the house. They weren’t going to risk anyone hearing it.

“I don’t want to start a panic.”

“I’m about to panic Stephan. What is it?”

“I have to go back at the end of seven days.”

Solara was wide-eyed, he blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of the absurdity Stephan had just said.

“Excuse me. Do you mind running that past me again?”

“I arranged with the Council. A week with my family in exchange for training and leading their warriors.”

“What?”

“I know how it sounds especially since Xavier and his men have done so much to help us. But I had to do it, I had to see Scarlet and my son.”

Solara exhaled, how could he hold it against him. He didn’t have a son, but he had Kayla. He knew he would sell his nonexistent soul t have her in his arms.

“When are you planning on breaking this to Scarlet?”

“Not until the end of my seven days. I just want to spend this time with nothing hanging over our heads. I want to take this time with me when I go back to that hell hole.”

“Your funeral, she has a mean fist now. Don’t ask me to keep this from Kayla because I can’t. Nowadays it’s become impossible to have thoughts of my own.”

“That’s fine, but she can’t tell Scarlet.” They started towards the house when a thought crossed his mind, “What do you mean by a mean fist?”

Solara explained to him what happened that day, he didn’t leave out any details.

Scarlet knew something was up, the second Stephan asked Solara to step out with him. They had done it so many times, it had become obvious to her and Kayla. She knew Kayla would soon know whether Solara wanted to tell her or not.

Scarlet watched her son, slurp down the contents in his Sippy cup. She knew what it was, the smell of it was embedded in her memory. And the flare in her throat reminded her of it.

She wouldn’t drink it, she wasn’t going to allow herself to, not after what happened with Archie and the old lady. Till this day she didn’t know her name. She was always going to be the woman in apartment one-o-two, her first victim. The woman she cold-heartedly killed.

She took a step back and stood near the big open window. The windows served a greater purpose besides letting in the sunlight in the house. They provided her with the fresh air she needed when her son was eating. Scarlet had convinced herself that she was going to survive with human food. As far as she knew she was part beast, and she didn’t need human blood or any kind of blood to sustain that part of her.

“Scarlet, how long are you going to fight it?”

She knew that Kayla had listened in on her thoughts. “For as long as I can.”

“You won’t be able to last, that long.” She was concerned that her friend’s stubbornness would kill her.

“I lasted four months, and I plan to last many more.” She was adamant, nothing was going to change her mind. For her blood and the murder of those two innocent people went hand in hand. “Plus I don’t think I’m a vampire. I sleep.”

“It’s a good thing Stephan’s back maybe he’ll be able to talk some sense into you.”

“Not even for him.” she thought that Stephan would understand but she knew he wouldn’t support her.

“What about for him?” Kayla indicated towards her son.

SJ had climbed out of his high chair and onto the tabletop counter. His face was smudged with pizza remnants and blood. His shirt was no longer white but a mix of orange and red. He was struggling to pull his shirt over his head, and almost toppled overdoing it.

Scarlet was by his side in a flash. She wasn’t used to how fast she could move, because she never used that ability. But it was always handy in times like these.

She held her son up, as he was still battling with the cotton shirt. Once he had it off he shook his head and tossed it to the side. His little hands rubbed over his little stomach that now stuck out, showing how full he was.