“No, why is that funny?” Ashby asked confused.
“It’s just that the Arkadions and vampires have a rocky past. I think it’s ironic that our prince would end
up mated to someone who is bonded to the Alpha Mother and will be godfather to the next heir. Life has a
funny way of turning out sometimes.” Baptista said, grinning.
“Well as Rebecca would say, ‘That’s OK, because we’re all friends now.’” Ashby smiled at the vampires
in front of him.
“She sounds pretty cool,” Daniel said.
“She is. She accepts people for who and what they are. She likes everyone,” Ashby said, smiling.
“We can’t wait to meet her. Now, what would you like for lunch?” David asked, standing and going to
the cabinets.
“Hey guys, do you, um, eat food?” Ashby asked, blushing. David and Daniel looked at each other and
started laughing.
“Not that much anymore. In fact, you may want to make your own lunch, it’s been a while for us,”
David said. Ashby nodded.
“I can do that.” Ashby hopped down and began to rummage through the cabinets and refrigerator. “I
love sandwiches,” Ashby said, putting all the fixings on the table.
Ashby grabbed two pieces of freshly sliced bread and slathered on the mayo. Next, he drizzled the bread
with red wine vinegar and oregano. Then he added some lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. Finally he
stacked thick layers of meat and cheese on the bread and flattened it with his hand. David and Daniel were
licking their lips.
“I don’t remember food smelling that good,” Daniel said.
“Me either,” David replied. Ashby smiled before cutting the sandwich in half and offered each half to
the twins. He looked to Baptista.
“Would you like to try?” he asked and Baptista shook his head.
“Not hungry at the moment, but I would like to try one of those if you make them again,” he said,
pointing to the sandwich. Moans filled the kitchen.
“It’s so freaking good!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Food was never this good before we were turned,” David said. Ashby made a second sandwich and sat
down and ate with them. Both twins mourned the end of their lunch.
“Just think, now I get to introduce you to all the foods you’ve been missing all these years,” Ashby said,
smiling.
“Food when we were alive was dry stuff with bugs in it. Blood was so much better that we never went
back and tried anything,” David said, patting his stomach while Daniel licked his fingers, both having
inhaled their halves.
“I can’t wait for you guys to try pizza or ice cream,” Ashby said, smiling.
“Maybe we can try chocolate too,” Daniel asked.
“Let’s go ask Roman to order some chocolate,” David said bouncing off the barstool.
“Yeah!” Daniel said and they both took off.
“Wait you two! He’s in a meeting with Prince Gabriel!” Baptista said and took off after the two smaller
men. Ashby giggled at his new friends. They weren’t trouble, just impetuous. He carefully put all the
ingredients away and looked around the kitchen. He spotted a huge walk-in freezer. He wondered if they
had any ice cream in there that he would share with the twins. It probably wasn’t the same as the gourmet
stuff he had at his shop, but it would be a start. He struggled to open the thick metal door. When he finally
got the door open he stepped inside. The door closed behind him and he turned the light on. He was fairly
impressed with the freezer. It looked like someone really organized it well. There were shelves on all four
walls and a standing shelving unit in the middle of the room. It took him a few minutes to find a gallon of
chocolate ice cream. Grinning at his find he went to open the door and it wouldn’t budge. He turned the
handle and threw his weight into the metal surface and nothing happened. He tried again and again to shove
the door open, but it wouldn’t move.
What kind of idiot locks himself in the freezer? Oh yeah that’s right, me! Well they should be back
soon. I’ll just wait for someone to come into the kitchen and let me out. Yeah, I’ll just wait. Ashby decided
sitting on anything would just mean getting colder faster so he walked back and forth to keep his blood
moving.
Any minute now.
* * * *
“What do you mean you can’t find him?” Gabriel asked in a deadly quiet voice. He hadn’t felt any pain
or panic through their bond.
“Sir, Daniel, David and I left the kitchen for just a couple minutes and when we went back he was gone.
There was no sign of intruders in the club and no foreign scents,” Baptista said, hanging his head low.