“It might,” Vail admitted, though his uncaring tone revealed how little the potential issue bothered him. Like the rest of the clan, his father had been through a lot during the last week, so he tried to tread lightly around him. The leader of the Hygraces had been broken deeply after Mikael had massacred more than half of the vampires who had survived the first attack a century ago. Not wanting to wound him anymore than he already had been, the heir had been careful not to upset him too much, but he wasn’t going to pretend like Peter was made of glass. His feelings toward Victoria hadn’t changed, so his father was just going to have to accept that he’d chosen to be with her whether he liked it or not.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how the rest of his family would react either, but none of them had the authority to discourage him from being with her. He hoped they would be more accepting of her now that she’d been turned into a fledgling, but he couldn’t predict what they would think since she was born from human roots. Turning humans into vampires was an ancient and taboo ritual that seemed to have been abandoned by most modern clans, after all. He wouldn’t have been surprised if none of the Hygraces approved of the way he’d saved her life or the fact that they were still intending to be together.

As she squeezed his hand, he felt a swell of fondness for her and nodded, pleased that she was just as eager to confront his family as he was. “I would appreciate that,” he said earnestly. Now that she was awake, he was going to have to start investing more of his time into helping the other members of his clan get back on their feet. Normally that task would have fallen on his father’s shoulders, but since Peter was practically in a vegetative state, it was now his responsibility to take over. He’d never stepped up to be a leader before, so having her support would give him the encouragement he needed to do the job.

Noticing the brightness in her eyes, he looked her over curiously as he wondered how much of her strength had come back to her since she’d first regained a heartbeat. “How are you feeling now?” he asked. “Do you think you need to lie down a while longer, or would you like to try getting up?”