“Ares?”

There he was in the flesh, sitting right before her on the edge of the bathtub. With his long legs clad in tight black slacks, stretched in front of his V shaped torso, his impassive emerald gaze burning holes through her soul, his jet black hair framing his pale face in a bewitching manner. His skin looked more porcelain than the smooth surface he was gingerly tracing with his fingers. He looked like a life-size doll.

She had almost forgotten how breathtaking he had always looked.

She hadn’t seen him in the past two months. She was well aware of the fact that he came to visit her every night in their room when he was sure that she had fallen asleep. Sometimes he just watched her from a distance and sometimes, he’d come close to place a hand on her rapidly swelling belly. He didn’t make any more contact with her other than this.

She had tried communicating with him through these interactions but every time she made an effort to peer her eyes open, he’d be gone before her eyes could even adjust to the darkness in the room.

She had lost almost all hope of meeting him, until now.

“Huh?”

She was staring dumbfounded at him when all of a sudden he got up from his seat and started strolling leisurely in her direction. His fingers slightly stroked her hands as he took the robe from her hold. His touch didn’t feel as cold it used to be.

‘What is he doing?’

With furrowed brows, her gaze kept trailing after his looming built, silently observing his actions.

Slowly, his slender fingers moved her wet hair away from her shoulders making a shiver pass down her spine. He had moved to stand behind her and was carefully guiding her hands through the sleeves of the robe. After a small moment, his hands came from behind her and wrapped themselves around her bulging belly. It almost looked like he was hugging her but in reality he was only fastening the knot of the bathrobe.

His touch was driving her insane with need.

“Ares…”

His lips remained unmoving in response as his fingers moved away from her torso to trail down her arm. Reaching her hand, he clasped their hands together, taking her to sit in the small chair in front of the vanity mirror.

Her eyebrows raised as she found him take a small towel out of a drawer and start patting her hair dry with it.

“Why are you doing this now?”

Instead of pacifying her heart, his odd behavior was scaring her. He was doing everything with so much dedication, it seemed like it was his last time tending to her.

“Say something.”

Without answering her calls, the vampire king disappeared from behind her, appearing back in the blink of an eye, this time with a floor length floral dress and a set of undergarments in his hands.

She didn’t protest or let out another word as he slowly untied the knot of her robe, delicately pulling both halves apart to let it fall down till her waist. Her tender, low hanging breasts were left exposed to his view. Her nipples, now bigger and darker than before, were poking out. She didn’t know whether the cold was responsible for it or his unwavering stare.

After a second or two had passed, the man slowly kneeled down behind her, placing a gentle hand under her arms, motioning her to lift them up a bit. He was leaning over to pull the straps of a soft cotton bra up her arms as his minty breath tingled the bare skin on her neck making her arch her back. His movements resembled that of a snake’s. His fingers seemed to be gliding on her flesh. The moment he clasped her bra, the urge to pull his head up and make him kiss her parched lips became all too strong.

Although the vampire seemed to be aware of the effect he had on her, he made no move to acknowledge it. He continued dressing her up, lightly grasping the side of her thighs to make her stand as he pulled a stretchable underwear up her legs. Even on his knees, the king’s large built was coming up to her chest, making her gulp impulsively.

She watched with bated breath as he paused for a moment after he was finished putting her underwear on her. His eyes seemed to be fixated on her round belly. It appeared as if he wanted to touch it, as if he wanted to kiss it.

‘I can’t let him run away from me anymore.’

His hand were resting on her hips, making it easier for her to grasp them in her soft hold and guide them towards the place their child was resting.

For a fleeting moment, she watched his emotionless façade fall as a bewildered look filled his eyes. His hands had started roaming around her belly, stroking it lovingly as he gulped visibly before slowly whispering his first words to her in two months,

“I hear their heartbeat.”

She had felt her baby moving around a lot whenever she read or talked to it but the movements had always been moderate in nature. They were never as strong as the one she sensed when Ares finally spoke to them.

His expressionless mask had once again slipped back into place. He looked impassive spare for his stare that had betrayed his emotions. The wonder she held in her eyes, it was being mirrored in Ares’ gaze as well.

“Vampire senses. They recognize me as their father.”

She couldn’t control the strong wave of emotions washing over her after hearing the word ‘father’ through his sinful lips. Gingerly, she grabbed his hand that was resting on her belly, tugging on his thumb with a silent longing before going on to interlink their fingers.

“Why can’t you believe me?”

The surprise shining in his eyes extinguished as her question diverted his attention away from their child resting inside her womb.

“Henry collected evidence in your favor. Since you came back he has been busy connecting dots of your story to prove your credibility.”

The words continued rolling off his tongue as he got up with a sudden move, making his raven locks sway while his gaze remained firm and rigid.

“And?”

“He sounds convincing.”

Her view of him was interrupted by a curtain of a floral garment as he lifted the dress up in front of her, motioning for her to put her head through the neckline. Despite their height difference, the dress slide down her body without much effort.

A sudden feeling of insecurity crawled over her as she saw herself in the mirror, much smaller and rounder than the chiseled Greek god standing next to her.

“You look beautiful, Faith.”

Even though she was a hybrid, her heartrate sky-rocketed the second she heard him utter those words. His compliment had come out of nowhere.

She could feel her eyes turn blood red as she whirled around to face him completely.

“W-What?”

“You look heavenly.”

He spoke those words so effortlessly with a completely deadpan face.

“Your face expresses a lot. Even now standing next to me, you’re comparing us when there is nothing to be compared in the first place. Comparison is never established with someone who’s standing at the same side of line as you.”

He had once again caught onto her petty human emotions perfectly.

“I had never once wished to have someone else by my side. Although we do not share that trusted bond anymore, I cannot remain mum seeing my pregnant wife feeling bad about going through one of the most beautiful phases of a woman’s life.”

His words were tugging onto the strings of her heart.

“Ares-”

“It’s your child too, even though you consider the life growing inside you a monster, a nuisance-”

“Please, Ares.”

“Do you not?”

“I don’t!”

Her breathing had started getting labored,

“I had never thought about being a mother before, maybe because I was so fixated on finding my own mother that the idea of becoming a mother myself never crossed my mind. I was not ready; I was shocked beyond words when I found this out through you and then…”

She could feel her baby starting to make a lot of movement inside her womb. It was getting restless sensing her misery. In a small attempt to calm her unborn child, she paused for a small moment, taking a deep breath, her hand had finding its way to her belly,

“Then… one of the most beautiful night of my life got ruined by an ambush by some centuries old bastards. I understand that you suffered, you suffered a great deal but I did too. Gabriel died in vain, because I was unable to protect Eva —my mother. I was made to choose between my husband and my unborn child. I lost my family; I lost your trust but most of all, I lost my humanity.”

To put emphasis on her statement, she made sure to turn around and let him see her extended canines glinting in the dim light of the restroom.

She had expected some kind of response from him, but to her dismay, she only found his impassive gaze staring back at her.

“Blood.”

“Blood?”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she repeated the word after him.

“You need my blood. You haven’t learned to control your animal yet. Your eyes keep switching their color back and forth.”

“Go to hell!”

Her hormones had finally gotten to her head.

Her bold remark was once again greeted by utter silence.

She didn’t know what else she was anticipating, maybe a reassurance from his side that he too understood her situation.

‘Please don’t go for real.’

She was silently praying for him to handle her tantrum well, to not leave her like she had been abandoned for the past two months. The pleading look in her eyes was completely betraying her inner thoughts but he didn’t stay long enough to watch it. Without giving a reply to her statement the vampire, using his inhuman speed, disappeared from her view making her clench her fists with helplessness.

“You’re killing me, Ares.”

The mumbled the sentence under her breath as she scurried out of the bathroom to get out of the castle as quickly as possible.

In no time, she was out, standing bare-feet on the ground. Wet grass was tickling the thick pads of her feet as she slowed down her pace visibly, reducing it to a mere stroll. The night was as black as the raven curtain of hair framing her face, no sign of the moon in the dark skies, no light to guide her.

Not much time had passed before she found herself standing in front of the iron gates at the entrance of the property. She hadn’t seen these bars in a while. There it was, her freedom just a step away from her yet she was unable to cross that boundary.

‘Where else will I go?’

She didn’t trust herself alone with other humans.

Her eyes were still looking longingly at the gates when she suddenly realized something. Her surroundings were eerily quiet, something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Being a part vampire came with its own downfalls, one of the most difficult one was the constant ringing of multiple sounds in her ears yet at that moment, she was unable to hear anything, no chirping of crickets, no rustling of leaves, not even the sound of her own breathing.

‘There’s no guard here either.’

“Credința…”

She whirled around abruptly as a snake-like voice crawled into her ears.

“Credința…”

Immediately, she wrapped her arms around her belly in a protective stance while trying to locate the source of the voice.

“Ares?!”

“F-Faith-h!”

Her eyes almost bulged out of their socket as she whipped her head and saw the girl behind the gates crying out her name.

“April?”

Someone was standing behind her, their arm snaking around her neck in a chokehold. Even from the distance, she could see April’s face turning blue rapidly. Her eyes were popping out, her tongue halfway out of her mouth.

“Hey, stop!”

Faith was gripping the bars by now. She had no idea when her feet took off to run forward.

“So the queen finally decides to acknowledge me.”

The person lurking in shadows finally spoke, his voice sounding unfamiliar to her ears.

“Who are you? Leave her right this instant!”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten my manners. Allow me to introduce myself, princess. I am the second prince of the vampire kingdom, Prince Felix De Cyrus King.”

‘Felix?’

“Now, now, my lady… Traditions demand that I bow down to greet my lovely queen but as you see the situation doesn’t allow it.”

“Ares!”

In a flash, he was standing right in front of her, just an iron gate separating them.

“Nuh uh!”

His proximity had shocked her, urging her to step back while tightening the hold on her stomach.

“There’s no point in calling for your vampire king. He can’t hear you due to spell I’ve casted on these borders, one of the perks of being a part witch.”

The hood covering his face was unable to hide the crazed smile that overtook his lips following that statement.

“Now be a good girl and listen to me before I snap your little friend’s neck in half.”

Faith’s brows furrowed further as she looked down at the limp girl in Felix’s arms. April had lost consciousness.

“April…”

“Alive, but not for long.”

Felix was tossing April’s body from one arm to the other as if she were a rag doll.

“Come on, come on. You know what I want.”

His nails digging into April’s soft neck had started drawing out blood.

“Step out, princess.”

He was saying it in a sing-song way aggravating her even further.

‘Maybe if I run inside…’

“Don’t even think about it. Her neck will be thrown far away from her body before you’re even able to take a step away from me.”

She knew that already. He was much older and stronger than her in comparison. A pureblood.

“Three… Two…”

His fingers were about to jab into April’s carotid.

‘She’s the reason I was able to meet Ares.’

Her heart was hammering in her chest. April’s lovely smile was playing like a reel in front of her eyes. She couldn’t let it out of her sight. She couldn’t let April die.

“On-”

“Stop!”

Parting the iron gates hastily, she stepped outside just in time to catch April’s falling body before it hit the ground. Thankfully, he had let April go without killing her.

“Time to go home, princess.”

Before she could lift her eyes up to take a good look at his face, her assaulter covered her mouth with his large hand, trapping her scream in her throat. She was pushing against his hand, scratching at his arm, trying to grip the ground beneath her. Nothing helped. No one was coming to her rescue. A blurred vision of the medieval castle was the last thing she saw that night until a scarlet liquid brimmed in her eyes, distorting her vision.

That was the second day she cried tears of blood.