Free Mortal Bite (Golden Vampires of Tuscany) by Sharon Hamilton

their
offspring away to a crusher.
    Marcus looked up and wiped his hands on a rag as he addressed his
brother.
    “I didn’t expect you’d be home last night. Rather thought you’d be
enjoying the company of a nubile young mortal.” Marcus’s smile was as wide as
the valley before them.
    “I enjoyed myself. Nearly had myself a foursome. Lovely little green and
silver faeries who worked wonders.” He blushed.
    “That’s a twist, for you.”
    “Things change,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. “The one I wanted
was with another man.”
    “I imagine you could fix that.”
    “I have a plan. Going to call her later.”
    He thought about the card she offered him. She was telling him to find
her. She was interested. He adjusted his tight pants.

 
    After they worked in the vineyard and spoke with two winery field hands,
the brothers went back up to the house. Before returning to Lucius, they drank
stored blood Marcus had delivered to his wine cellar on a regular basis. Anne
had joined Lucius and cook in the kitchen. She was holding Ian, their pink baby
boy, who had been named after Anne’s father. She cooed at the little face, blew
into his eyes and held the pink fist that made a handle of her little finger.
    “He’s so strong,” she said as Marcus came to her side and kissed her
neck. “I think he will be stubborn, too.”
    Marcus nodded. “Going to pay you back, my dear.” He threw a `             glance
to Paolo. “We sure gave our folks hell, didn’t we, brother?”
    “Absolutely,” Paolo agreed. “Ian must learn from his cousin here. Lucius
has learned to get his way without being stubborn or petulant.”
    “Wouldn’t go that far,” cook muttered.
    “Hey, what’s petulant?” Lucius asked.
    “Means you act like a man inside a boy’s body.”
    “No, it means you’re spoiled,” Anne amended. “But then, you’re supposed
to be.”
    Everyone laughed. Lucius remembered something. “Dad, you taking me
trick-or-treating tonight?”
    Paolo had started to say no, but then changed his mind. “Yes, sir. We’ll
go out as soon as the sun sets.”
    Marcus and Paolo shared a look of concern. One of their nephews in
Scotland had recently been abducted and murdered by a black vampire coven
leader. The man had demanded ransom, and then as the family was formulating
plans for the boy’s rescue, his body was discovered. The ransom demand had only
been a stalling tactic to allow the killers to get away.
    Protecting their mortal children was an all-consuming task. The world was
getting more and more dangerous for their kind each day. Fewer children were
being born to their lineage. The elders were contracting diseases previously believed
impossible, and some began to experience aging for the first time in their
history. Tainted blood was showing up in their food supply. And vampire blood
began showing up in human blood banks, causing a string of mental cases and
near zombie-like creatures that had to be eliminated. The balance of power was
shifting, and it was becoming obvious the Goldens were in danger of extinction.
    All the more reason to protect
Lucius tonight. He didn’t want his son to become another statistic.
    “Do you mind if I use the Jett boys?” Paolo asked, referring to the four
brothers of dark vampire lineage who had sworn allegiance to Marcus and his
family, and had protected them for generations.   They dedicated their lives, foregoing their own families, to
remain single and loyal. In exchange for their sacrifice, the Monteleone family
bestowed on them great wealth and property holdings all over the world, which
the brothers used to support their other siblings’ families and their parents.
    Three of the brothers were currently residing in California, now that
Marcus had an heir.
    “I’ll have them drop by. You want them costumed?” Marcus had a twinkle in
his eye. “Perhaps dressed up as green faeries?”
    Paolo shot him a look and mumbled a curse under his