“Yes, I will. Thank you.”

Smiling, the doctor left the room, closing the door behind her.

Pregnant, Elena thought, removing the paper gown. She placed her hands over her stomach. How could she be pregnant? She recalled Katiya telling her that one of the vampires had impregnated a human and that both the mother and child had died. She shook the thought aside. Just because it had happened to someone else didn’t mean it would happen to her.

She dressed quickly and stepped into her shoes. What would Drake think when she told him? Please, she prayed, please let him be as happy as I am.

Drake was pacing the floor of the waiting room when she entered. He went to her immediately, his dark eyes searching her face. “Are you all right?”

She couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“I’ll tell you outside.” Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

Taking her by the hand, he hurried her out the door and around the corner of the building. “All right, what did she say?”

“She said I’m going to have a baby.”

“This is no time for jokes, Elena.”

“I’m not joking. I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her.

Elena’s smile faded. “Say something.”

But he didn’t speak. Instead, he placed his hand over her womb, his expression intense. “It is a girl.”

“What?”

“The baby,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “It is a girl.” He shook his head. “If I hadn’t been so involved with events at the Fortress, I wouldn’t have missed the echo of your heartbeat.”

“You can hear the baby’s heartbeat?”

He nodded.

“How do you know it’s a girl?”

“I know.”

“You don’t look very happy.”

He drew her into his arms. “Of course I am.”

“But?”

“I did not think it was possible. I know it has happened occasionally in the past, but so rarely that I put the thought out of my mind.” His arms tightened around her. “I love you, wife.”

Lowering his head, he kissed her, hoping to avoid any more conversation, at least for the moment. And all the while, in the back of his mind, he was remembering Stefan and how devastated his brother had been when the mortal woman he loved had died in childbirth.

When they returned to the Fortress, Drake sent Elena to their apartment, then called a meeting of the Council. He also bid Andrei and Katiya to attend, as well as his brother Stefan.

“I am leaving the Fortress,” Drake announced when those who had been summoned were seated. “Andrei will be in charge while I am away. His word is to be obeyed as my own. Stefan, you will be second-in-command.”

“Where are you going?” Andrei asked.

“Back to Wolfram with Elena. She is with child. I do not want her here.”

“She is pregnant?” Katiya exclaimed. “Oh, but that is wonderful.”

Drake nodded, aware that Stefan was watching him closely. “Let us hope so.”

Chapter 31

“Leaving?” Elena stared at Drake. “Where are we going?”

“Back to Wolfram.”

“But . . . why?”

“Would you rather stay here?”

She bit down on the corner of her lip. Did she want to stay at the Fortress? She had few friends back home. She loved Wolfram, but she knew she would miss Andrei and Katiya, Northa, Marta, and Elnora. And Stefan. But Wolfram was home, and it would be nice to be alone with Drake.

“No,” she said. “I guess not. Is it all right for you to leave?”

“I am the Master of the Coven,” he said. “I can do whatever I choose. And I choose to leave. Are you ready to go?”

She grinned. Sometimes she forgot that her husband didn’t need mortal transportation, that he could simply will himself wherever he wished to be. “I’m ready,” she said, then frowned. “It won’t hurt the baby?”

“No. Is there anything you want to take with you?”

Elena shook her head. There was really nothing here that belonged to her. Except Drake.

He folded her in his embrace, kissed the top of her head, and once again, she felt herself being carried away through time and space.

When the world righted itself, they were in the living room at Wolfram.

“You look tired,” Drake said, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. “You should go to bed.”

“Only if you come with me.”

He smiled, a real smile for the first time since he had been appointed Master of the Coven.

“Always my pleasure,” he murmured.

“I think I’d like a bath before we go to bed. Which reminds me. Do you think we could install a bathroom upstairs? A real bathroom, with a tub and a shower and a sink and a toilet.”

“Is tomorrow soon enough?”

She made a face at him. “I guess so, if you can’t do it tonight.”

He swatted her on the rump. “Go, take your bath. I will be back soon.”

Elena nodded. He was going out to feed. She would have to get used to that, now that there were no sheep to satisfy his hunger.

Elena had bathed and changed into her nightgown by the time Drake returned. She tried not to think of where he had been, or wonder who he had fed on, or what it tasted like, but the questions flooded her mind. She would always be curious about that part of his life, always wonder what it was like.

“You could come with me next time,” he remarked, sitting beside her on the sofa.

“I don’t think so. Hey! I thought you weren’t going to read my mind anymore.”

“Sometimes I cannot help it.”

“Hmm.” She canted her head to the side. “Is feeding on a stranger different than drinking from me?”

“Very much so.”

“Why? Blood is blood.”

“With you, it is more than easing my hunger. Though I do not expect you to understand, it is a way of making love.”

“Do vampires drink from each other?”

He nodded. “It is a pleasurable experience.”

“Better than drinking from humans?”

“It depends on who is drinking from whom.” He trailed his fingertips along the side of her neck. “Nothing equals what I feel when I taste you.”

“Are you hinting for a taste now?”

“Would you mind?”

“No. I like it when you do it.”

Smiling, he took her by the hand. “I think we should continue this conversation in bed.”

Excitement fluttered in the pit of Elena’s stomach as they walked up the stairs. There had been times in their relationship when she had been afraid that Drake was lost to her, that she would have to spend the rest of her life without him. But those days were behind them now. They were back in Wolfram where they belonged, with a baby on the way.

She put all thoughts of the past behind her when Drake drew her gently into his arms. Whispering that he loved her, he kissed her as he backed her toward the bed, then slowly lowered her onto the mattress.

They undressed each other with impatient hands.

She closed her eyes and gave herself into his keeping, sighing as he rained kisses on her cheeks, her brow, the length of her neck. She moaned when his fangs pricked her skin, sighed as their bodies came together, fell asleep with the sound of his voice whispering that he loved her more than life itself.

The next day, Elena couldn’t think of anything but the baby. A girl, Drake had said. After breakfast, she went down the hall to the bedroom next to their own. This would be the nursery. Standing in the middle of the floor, she imagined how she would decorate it. Yellow for the walls, she thought. White furniture. The crib near the window where her daughter would be able to see the sun and the sky. A rocking chair in that corner. New carpeting for the floor, new curtains for the windows. Perhaps a mural on one wall. Maybe a country scene, with baby animals frolicking in a green pasture, or perhaps scenes depicting the Disney princesses. After all, her daughter lived in a castle and would be viewed as a princess in her own right by those in the Fortress.

They would definitely need a bathroom now, Elena thought as she returned to her own bedroom. There was no way she was going to bathe a new baby in that wooden tub!

Anxious to begin remodeling the nursery, she dressed quickly in a sweater and a pair of jeans, grabbed the keys to the Porsche, and drove into the city.

She wandered through the furniture store, looking at cribs and high chairs and bassinets. There were so many styles to choose from, how was she ever to decide?

She had better luck in the paint store. She found exactly the shade of yellow she wanted, bought two gallons of Summer Sunlight paint, a quart of white for the door, brushes, masking tape, paint thinner and a roller, and headed for home.

Drake was waiting for her in the main hall when she arrived.

She smiled when she saw him. “Hi, I’ve been—”

“I know where you have been.”

She frowned, puzzled by his harsh tone. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

He crossed the room, his movement so quick it was little more than a blur. “Elena, you must be careful.”

The warning in his tone made her heart skip a beat. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“No.” His hand smoothed her hair. “Forgive me. I am overreacting.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, confused by his attitude. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but why are you so upset?”

He smiled at her. “Worrying too much,” he said lightly. “I have never been this close to being a father before. I cannot help feeling anxious when you are away. So, what did you buy in the city?”

“Paint, for the nursery. I left it in the car.”

“I will get it later.” He ran his hands up and down her arms, as if to assure himself that she was all right. “I spoke to a contractor on the phone today. He and his men will be here tomorrow to install the bathroom.”