Enigma

Chapter 25

Amanda was a breath of fresh air. Lillian knew why Harvey was smitten with her. The woman was pure sunshine with a mischievous streak that popped out regularly.

They met the twins halfway to Lillian's cabin. The two little hellions separated from a group of pups and dashed toward Lillian. She braced for the impact.

"Hey, boys," Lillian patted their heads. Their arms wrapped around Lillian's legs, and they looked up at a smiling Amanda with wide eyes.

"Mommy, she smells weird."

That was Elijah. Amanda laughed out loud while Lillian groaned. "Baby, you don't go around telling people they smell weird."

"But she does!" Elijah said.

"She doesn't smell like us," Ezra added more thoughtfully, his nostrils flaring. "And she doesn't smell like aunt Anna, or like you."

Amanda crouched down to their level. "That's because I'm not a wolf. I'm a vampire."

The twins perked up.

"Really!"

"Miss Liv told us about vampires!"

"Do you really drink blood?"

"Can we see your fangs?"

Amanda laughed. "Aren't you adorable?"

She grinned, and the twins watched mesmerized as Amanda's canines elongated to thin, long fangs. Lillian remembered seeing the same sleek fangs the night before under far less friendly circumstances.

"Oooh!" Elijah and Ezra stepped closer to Amanda.

"I have another trick," Amanda said, then the blue of her eyes turned into a bright red. The twins gasped.

"That's so cool!"

"Mommy, her eyes turned red!"

"I can see that, sweetie," Lillian said. "Your eyes change color too."

"Yes, but they don't turn red!" Elijah replied, watching Amanda's eyes with a reverent expression. "Red is cool..."

Amanda chuckled, ruffling the twins' heads. The rest of the way to the cabin was an assault of questions from the twins.

The sun was setting, and Lillian's living room was mottled with shadows of tree branches and the orange glow of sunset.

"You're so lucky," Amanda said with a deep sigh. Her warm eyes followed the twins' roughhousing on the floor. They had shifted into their fur a few minutes after they got in, rubbed their lengths against Lillian and licked her face when she bent down to pet them.

Lillian put the mug of coffee on the island in front of Amanda with a smile, nodding her agreement. She really was lucky. A question played in her head. "Can vampires have kids?"

Amanda sipped on her coffee and crossed her legs. Clad in an elegant beige chiffon shirt and casual dress pants, her feet in a pair of dusty pink moccasin, Lillian wondered how in the world the vampire managed to keep her clothes spotless when she had run through the woods.

"We can't," she finally replied. Her hair glinted golden when she shifted her head to watch the twins again. Her smile was sad. "Vampires can't reproduce. Nature's way of ensuring we don't ravage the planet, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Lillian asked, sitting on the stool next to her.

Amanda faced Lillian. "You know that humans live much shorter lives than immortals."

Lillian nodded.

"With their short lifespan comes a high reproduction rate. Witches and fae come in second place after humans. Then shapeshifters.