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What sweet reverie they had! It was so wonderful to be a family again, at last. It had hurt Gwen so, when she felt so isolated from Livia. Whatever the big bad old world had out there, they could certainly face it better as an united front of three. She sighed with supreme contentment and rolled over and returned to sleep. Michael, too, shifted, but woke as he shifted. He was happy they were all three together, now, but he'd learned a couple of lessons. Never again, would he allow himself to go hungry as he'd had. He still might need to purge a 'demon' or two on occasion, but never would he refuse blood. The results of a too-long denied hunger could be disasterous. The primal instincts demanded blood, and if denied too long, they would take over, and he could lose self control entirely. Also, he would lessen any ill effects of the evildoer upon him by rendering him unconscious. He'd always done that before. He wasn't sure why he failed to do that the night of the convention. Perhaps contact with the elder Lucius left him feeling more invulnerable than he was. Having resolved himself to those lessons, he too resumed happy slumber. Soon, the skies grew gentle again, and all three woke refreshed. Michael's hair had even grown out to its usual luxurious length. One of the three was more hungry than the rest. A 'big meal' was definitely essential tonight. Michael used his 'bait and switch' technique that always worked so well. Livia was surprised at how she took it all so nonchallantly. When the prey was down for the count, she and Gwen were gestured to join Michael. Before his head bent low, Micheal smiled and told of a book he'd read in the 1950's, which stressed the importance of the family dining together to promote family closeness, Each heartily agreed, and their heads bent down and mouths found an artery. Livia interrupted her suck to make a pun, ''To 'revamp' a quote of that time, ''The family that PREYS together, STAYS together!'' They all paused for laughter, and Gwen roared, ''Good one, Livia! Let's hear it for family togetherness!'' They each cheered joyfully All three of them returned home in a lighthearted mood. All of the frantic worries which used to plague Livia so were gone. As she lounged on the sofa, with a fancy mug filled with water, she pondered ''why did I ever worry so much? Life is really quite simple. All we really need is a full belly and a place to get out of the sun.'' All were so contented
go to Chapter Eighteen, ''Golden Discovery'' |