Vail nodded his confirmation when Victoria questioned him in surprise. He had been just as unprepared when Peter had told him that vampires and humans could reproduce together a few days ago. It was something he wished they had known earlier, especially when they had already slept together twice without any thought of the possibility that their actions could bring a new life into the world. He didn’t regret taking the plunge from predator and prey to lovers, but as one who preferred to have all the information he needed to make an informed decision before acting, it had been shocking to find out belatedly that they might face an unexpected consequence because of what they had done.

It was also true that it was too late to tell her when she may have already become pregnant. The thought made him feel woozy. He didn’t know if human women experienced pregnancy the same way his kind did, but he was aware that it took time before symptoms appeared in both of their species. The prospect of having children of his own had never crossed his mind since he hadn’t planned to take a wife until he took over as the next head of the Hygraces and needed to name a successor. Even when he had been young and experimental, it hadn’t been difficult to avoid the narrow window of time in which a vampire could be impregnated. If he and a female immortal had wanted to be intimate, they could tell by the strength of her pheromones if she was fertile or not. According to his father, though, mortal women were fecund far more often than their undying counterparts.

When Victoria asked if the risk changed anything for him, Vail remained quiet. There was a lot to consider. First and foremost, she was right that his father would never approve if they conceived a child together. He hadn’t heard of another instance in which a human and a vampire had offspring—it was why he had assumed it was impossible—but now, he wondered if there were none because the clans refused to accept half breeds among their ranks. As long as the Order was hunting them down so viciously, it was nearly impossible for a vampire to survive without the protection of their family too. Any children they had would be cast aside as anathemas, and if he chose to side with them, it was likely that he would be exiled as well. It wasn’t exactly an appealing future.

And then there was the matter of what would happen to Lady Crest. Even if she wanted nothing to do with Lord Spencer, the fact remained that she was still engaged to marry him. If word got out that she was pregnant with another man’s child—and a Wynters’ rival, no less—he couldn’t imagine that the other vampire would just stand by without taking out his anger on her. They would have to flee London to protect her from his wrath. Going it alone would be their only option. No matter how he looked at it, their already difficult lives would just become even more dangerous if they had a child now.

“That’s… hard to answer,” he finally spoke as he mulled over the dilemma in his head. “If you became pregnant, I can’t think of a way it would end well for us. As you said, my father would never approve of any children we may have. I would probably have to forfeit my inheritance, and we would have to be on our own…” He sighed. “But, I still want to be with you, and this is a risk that isn’t going to disappear by itself. I may not be as sexually driven as a human man, but I still love you.” He wrapped his arms around her to close the distance she had formed when she’d pulled away. “I don’t to spend whatever time we have left keeping you at an arm’s length because of something that [i]might[/i] happen. I understand if this is a fire you don’t want to play with, but if you still want to be with me, then I’m willing to move forward… We’ll just have to be a little more careful from now on.” He offered her a half smile. “No matter what, I’m not going to leave you, Victoria. I’ll do whatever I can to be there for you because you’re mine.”