Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

our family.
    “Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked here. Your father states that he remembers going back home shortly after being turned, confused and angry. He didn’t realize what he was doing at the time, or at least that is his story. He ended up attacking your mother, saw what he had done, and left. He states that he left her alive, and as far as he knows, did not change her. He knew the law would be after him, so he took off and hid for the next several years. Eventually, he came to terms with what he is, and proceeded to live his life. He is currently residing in Atlanta.
    “Now, put all of that together, and I have a definite theory on you. I told you a while ago I found it interesting that you are so comfortable around vampires, and then your dreaming abilities just piqued my interests. The theory I have is that you do indeed have a little bit of vampirism running through you. If your father’s blood, which was already changed, came in contact with your mother’s when he attacked, and mind you it probably was a very tiny amount, that blood conceivably could have gone straight to the fetus, bypassing her completely. It wouldn’t have been enough to change you, but that is where I believe your dreaming abilities are coming from.”
    “Wow! Is that even possible?” Kevin inquired. “Could she really have a trace of vampire blood running through her?”
    “I don’t see why not. No one would have believed a vampire could have shapeshifter abilities until you came along, Kevin,” Charles replied.
    Kevin glanced down to Erica with a grin. “Well that explains why she can fight me off trying to force a state of calmness over her,” he stated while shaking his head. “And here I thought I had just managed to find an extraordinarily stubborn woman!”
    This was a tremendous amount being thrown at Erica in a short time. She sat in silence for a couple of minutes trying to wrap her head around everything. She finally asked in confirmation, “You actually spoke to my father?”
    “Yes, when he found out who I was, he seemed to know about our society. That fact didn’t surprise me. Many vampires from around the world know about our society. There are several other societies set up in many different cities around the U.S., all of which took their ideas straight off of our charter. They’ve each made a few minor changes of their own, but ours works so well, most just copy what we have here.
    “I believe he thought I was hunting him down to demand justice for his crime so many years ago. I ended up granting him amnesty, which was no big thing. Our judicial system wouldn’t have touched him no matter what, due to the time passed since the crime.”
    “So, he knows about me?” Erica confirmed. She had often wondered if either of her parents had ever given a second look back.
    “Yes. He knew your mother was pregnant when he attacked her, but he wasn’t about to go to jail. I can’t blame him on that one, human jails are no place for a vampire.”
    “Did he ask about me?” Erica inquired.
    “I told him you were part of our family now. He did ask if you were human or vampire, and I told him you were human, and that you were engaged to my son. He asked me when the wedding was, and I gave him the date.” Charles stopped to look over at Erica with concern in his eyes. “I hope I didn’t step over the line here, Erica. I don’t know whether he will try to contact you or not. I left the ball in his court.”
    Erica stood up from her seat, and walked over to hug this man who was more of a father to her than anyone else she had ever known. “Thank you, Charles. Thank you for investigating this and uncovering the information. And no, you didn’t step over any lines.” She smiled down at his face. “At least I have some answers. I guess we’ll just wait and see what happens.”
    As she started heading out the door, Charles said, “Hang on a minute, Erica. There is a way of proving my theory, or at least part of it. If you’d be willing to give me a small blood sample, I should be able to find out if you truly have any vampire blood in your system. Even if it is only a trace, it should show up.”
    She hesitated for only a few seconds. She had spent the last few years since reaching adulthood trying to find out something about her past. And now, after she had all but given up and decided it wasn’t that important, the answer was sitting right in front of her. Her soon-to-be father-in-law was truly an