Page 41 of Eleazar

Fuck. He was pregnant.

Andrew would probably keep saying that util he gave birth.

* * * *

Eleazar sat on the edge of his desk as he stared at Dr. Caldart. “Are you sure?”

The doctor nodded. “I found traces of the substance in your blood, but it isn’t a lethal dose. You’ll be sick for a few days, but as long as you get a fresh supply of untainted blood, the poison will work its way out of your system. I would have normally started you on active charcoal if it wasn’t too late, but since you’re not human, fresh blood is what you need.”

“How can you be sure?” Shayde asked. “Have you ever dealt with a vampire who’s been poisoned?”

“Well, no,” Dr. Caldart said, “but I’ve been studying Eleazar’s blood for decades. I’ve run tests in case something like this happened, and I’m pretty confident all he needs is a fresh supply.”

Which Eleazar was getting from Andrew.

“I can’t believe Maximus dosed your blood with strychnine,” Shayde snarled. “What a fucking douche.”

“Luckily he didn’t use a high enough dose,” Dr. Caldart said. “Maybe he didn’t want you to detect it, so he was cautious about how much to put in those blood bags.”

At least Eleazar hadn’t imagined his symptoms. They’d been real. If it hadn’t been for Andrew giving him a fresh supply—though neither of them knew what Andrew was truly doing for him when his mate fed him—Eleazar might be dead by now.

A lot of circumstances had saved Eleazar’s life. If Andrew had never shown up for the interview, if Eleazar hadn’t been overwhelmingly attracted to him and slept with the human, if Maximus hadn’t been shunned by Andrew, and subsequently kidnapped him then revealing what he’d done, the vampire could have gone on poisoning Eleazar undetected.

Eleazar owed Andrew his life.

“Just to be sure, I want to take more samples to make sure the poison is really leaving your system,” Dr. Caldart said. “I want to monitor you until no traces are left behind.”

As the doctor drew his blood, Eleazar asked, “Are you one hundred percent sure of Andrew’s test results?”

“My mind is blown that this can happen,” Dr. Caldart said as he took three vials. “But I ran the test several times, and every time I got the same results.”

The doctor stored Eleazar’s blood in his medical bag.

“You are not to breathe a word of Andrew’s condition to anyone,” Eleazar said with a snarl to the doctor.

“No need to get all vampire-y on me,” Dr. Caldart said with a raised brow. “You pay me an obscene amount of money to take care of you and your coven. I’ve grown accustomed to my lifestyle. Do you think I’d screw that up? I just took my wife on a trip to Italy, and we didn’t have to watch our pennies.”

Money was a strong motivator. “You could make millions if you told the truth of my existence and Andrew’s pregnancy.”

The doctor rolled his eyes. Eleazar noticed a few gray hairs at the man’s temples. “Every once in a while, you remind me of this. Not about Andrew, because he’s a new addition, but about how I could profit off of you. Have I done it yet?”

“No,” Eleazar answered.

“And I’m not going to. One, I don’t want to ever cross you. Two, like I said, the money is too good. Besides, I don’t want to deal with the government. They’re nothing but a bunch of crooks who’ll drown you in red tape. I probably would never see a dime if I turned you in.”

At least the man was honest.

“I’ll start Andrew on prenatal vitamins, and keep a sleeve of crackers and some ginger ale by your bed. That helps with the nausea. I’ll monitor him through his entire pregnancy, as well.”

“Thank you.” Eleazar gave a single nod.

“Just keep supplying yourself with fresh blood,” Dr. Caldart said.

“Can I feed from Andrew now that he’s with child?” Eleazar asked.

“I’m not sure,” Dr. Caldart answered. “It’s probably best if you find another source. The baby is going to require a lot out of Andrew, and I don’t want your feedings to weaken him. You’re my patient, Eleazar, but Andrew and the baby are more important right now.”

The thought of feeding from anyone else didn’t set right with Eleazar, but the doctor was right. Andrew’s health came first.

---