Vail squeezed Victoria’s hand when she shook her head, momentarily worried that she meant there was nothing that could be done. He had seen a few humans with congestion or a cough, but, having never witnessed anyone with a condition as severe as hers, he didn’t know what to do about it. The odor of illness hung thickly in the air now that he was closer to her, but he couldn’t yet detect the foreboding scent of death. It seemed she still had time, but his knowledge of human ailments was limited. He was unsure if there was even a cure for the disease that had taken over her frail body.

Her following words were as foreign to him as if she had begun to speak Chinese. Vaguely, he recalled reading something about the discoveries of sepsis and penicillin, but he hadn’t been interested enough at the time to commit the information to memory. Medicine was about as helpful to vampires as tunnels were to a bird. It was an impressive leap forward in the timeline of human achievements, but his kind was beyond the need for antibiotics. There had been no reason for him to study something he’d thought he would never use. Although now, he was starting to wish he’d paid closer attention to the news article.

“Of course,” he nodded when she asked for water. That was another discrepancy between their species. While vampires did consume food and water like humans, they needed far less to get by in conjunction with the blood they drank. Like many other predators in the animal kingdom, they fed infrequently and then rested to conserve their energy until they needed to hunt again. The occasional meals they ate in between just supplied some nutrients they couldn’t get by drinking blood alone. If Victoria hadn’t requested water, he wouldn’t have thought to bring her any, since it wasn’t a substance he needed to stay hydrated the same way her kind did.

Leaning down, Vail touched a swift kiss to her cheek and then stood up from the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he promised as he headed for the door. Before he left, he took a moment to breathe in the scents in the air, cautious in case his cousins were still loitering outside his bedroom. It seemed like everyone had dispersed while they had been sleeping though. Perhaps the smell of her sickness had discouraged them from trying to secure a bite. Relieved, he headed down to the kitchen to fill a glass of water for the Crest heiress from the tap. He didn’t return to his room right away though.

On his way back, he took a detour to his father’s study, where Peter was furiously writing a letter at his desk. From a distance, Vail couldn’t quite make out the name in the address line, and the clan leader noticed his presence before he could get closer. He turned around in his chair, knitting his brows bemusedly. “How is Lady Crest?” he asked, straight to the point as always.

“Worse,” a hint of concern seeped into Vail’s visage. “She woke up with a fever and her neck looks infected. She thinks she might have sepis.”

“Sepsis,” Peter corrected, drumming his fingers against his thigh. Having obtained a formal education in the field of medicine, he knew about the condition as well as the treatment. However, he wasn’t a certified doctor, so he didn’t have access to the antibiotics Victoria needed. If she was as ill as she believed, her case was beyond him now.

“She needs a human doctor,” Vail insisted, echoing Peter’s thoughts. “Do you know anyone in the city who would be willing to see her? Perhaps someone who has treated the servants?” Unlike other families, they didn’t have their own doctor for obvious reasons, but he knew his father had connections through his continued education. He just hoped the clan leader wouldn’t choose to let her succumb to the disease.

Peter pursed his lips for a drawn out moment before he rose to his feet. “I know one man who might help,” he admitted, pulling his coat over his shoulders. “I’ll go to his house to find out if he’s at home.”

“Thank you,” Vail felt the tension ebb from his shoulders.

Peter said nothing in response as he exited the room. The younger Hygrace took a step after him and then paused, his eyes flitting back to the letter on his father’s desk. Too curious to leave without taking a closer look, he sidled over to the abandoned parchment only to find that it was addressed to Alexander’s widow. It seemed that Peter had been writing to explain to her that they had not kidnapped Victoria but were holding her until she was well enough to return home. He had also added that Diana could visit the Hygrace manor if she desired to see evidence that her daughter was still alive, since he understood that she must have been worried about her safety. It was both formal and sympathetic in nature, an obvious effort to make peace with the Crest family after Vail had run off with the heiress in the night.

When he finished skimming the contents of the letter, he turned and walked the rest of the way back to his room to bring Victoria the glass of water and make sure she was still faring all right.

Meanwhile, all was not as quiet among the other Hygraces as Vail had thought. Most of his cousins had given up on drinking the Lady’s blood after Peter had warned them away, but Caleb was stubborn. Throughout the day, he had passed by the heir’s bedroom a few times, checking the scents through the door in the hopes of catching her alone. When Vail left to fill her request, he saw his chance.

Performing a quick sweep of the hallway to make sure no one else was around—he didn’t want to share her with his siblings—Caleb slipped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him. His feral eyes locked onto Victoria, and he advanced silently toward the bed. Like the others, he could smell the illness inside of her, but the unique aroma of her blood was too enticing to ignore. He licked his lip hungrily and leaned over her when he was close enough. The aged mattress creaked as he pressed one hand next to her head. If she’d been sleeping or otherwise had her eyes closed, she would know he was there now.

A victorious grin spread over his features, and he lifted one finger to his lips, instructing her to be quiet with a breathy ‘shh’ just before he pressed his hand down over her mouth.

With her condition as frail as she was, Vail would do well to research more upon the ailments of humans. And in the risk that Victoria may day, it would do him good to research the ancient vampiric rituals that changed humans into vampires if he didn’t want his time with her cut short. She smiled weakly as he squeezed her hand, she didn’t think the Hygrace heir would have fallen for her like this. Yet he did. And she was grateful. He got her out of an awful situation and saved her from the brink of hypothermia.

He seemed confused when she spoke about her possible diagnosis and the need for medication that could help her fight it off. Sure it would make her feel sick and she may struggle to eat whilst on the medication but it was better than organ failure. As long as she kept in taking lots of water. She knew he would oblige her the request. She hadn’t ever seen him eat or drink anything other than her blood, she wondered if they really needed to.

Her cheeks flushed and she felt her heart skip a beat as he planted a delicate kiss to her pale cheek. She still felt that same level of desire, if not more so than when they had fist touched. He just did something to her that she couldn’t describe and it wasn’t just his pheromones taking their effect on her senses. This was something much deeper, what they called being in love. A chemical concoction of hormones and emotional feelings of the mind.

As Vail left to say he would return shortly, she knew he would keep his promise as he had done thus far. So she had nothing to fear and fell back into a light slumber until he returned. She thought she heard the door open and close quietly, she assumed it was Vail returning to her with some water so didn’t need to wake straight away. Her eyelids were too heavy to open, she fought to open them. As she felt the pillow beside her head lower due to pressure, she assumed Vail was peaking over her to check if she were awake. She smiled as she slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

However, it wasn’t Vail. As soon as she focused on Caleb, her body flinched as she gasped. His eyes were feral like Vail’s had been the first time he hunted her down. He indicated her to be quiet as he pressed his hand over her mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed at him to show she didn’t appreciate him leering over her. She was surprised he was so bold to want her sickly blood. Her iron count wasn’t at its highest. With his hand pressed down, she still screamed at the top of her lungs, although muffled. She hadn’t the strength to push him full away, but adrenaline surged through her to kick in the flight or fight response. Her arms both grasped his arm to pull it from her mouth, however futile against his superior strength in her fragile state.

Vail was only a few yards away from his bedroom when he heard Victoria’s scream. The sound of it was muffled, but that just led him to know immediately that she was in danger. Belatedly, he realized Caleb’s scent was stronger than his other cousins, who had all left the hallway hours ago, and he swore under his breath. It seemed like there was still one member of the Hygrace clan who hadn’t given up on drinking her piquant blood. He should have known better than to assume she was safe just because the threat of his relatives was no longer as obvious as it had been when they were clawing at his door.

Covering the rest of the distance in a few long strides, he hurried into the room only to find that Caleb was already leaning over the Lady with his nose and tongue to her neck as he hunted for a warm spot to sink his fangs. Her efforts to push him away were about as effective as a mouse trying to move a tree. His cousin was unfazed, keeping one hand positioned firmly over her mouth while a nefarious smile played on his lips. He didn’t even seem to care that there was a third person with them now. His attention was fixated solely on his meal.

“Caleb!” Vail barked just as the other Hygrace stretched his jaw to bite her. His cousin paused, elongated canines hovering just above Victoria’s fair skin. When Vail raised his voice, he sounded similar enough to Peter that Caleb was briefly unsure if he had been caught by the leader or the heir. However, the scent of his uncle’s son was distinct, so his confusion was short lived. It was enough to give Vail time to intervene though.

Setting the water glass down on a stand by the door, he crossed to his cousin’s side and hauled him off the woman in his bed, twisting one arm behind his back. The gesture was done in part to keep Caleb away from Lady Crest, but it was also his way of taking out his frustration with the other predator for trying to feed on her while he was gone. “Halfwit,” he hissed, his annoyance bleeding into his tone. “Are you really going to disregard my father’s orders? He said this human is not to be touched.”

“I was just going to have a little taste,” Caleb lifted his free hand in a shrug. “There’s no harm.”

“She’s ill,” Vail narrowed his eyes. “A ‘little taste’ might have killed her.” Dragging his cousin by the collar—he might not have been as strong as his father, but he still held superior strength over his relatives when matched against them individually—he shoved the other vampire out of the room. “Do yourself a favor and go hunting tonight,” he growled, closing the door roughly between them.

With the danger taken care of, he let out his breath in a long exhale and retrieved the glass he’d left at the front of the room. “Sorry,” he murmured to Victoria as he stepped over to her side again. “I didn’t think he would be bold enough to try again.” Gently, he slipped one hand behind her shoulders to help her sit up straight before he offered her the water to drink.

As expected, the Lady’s efforts to fight Caleb off were of no use. Her heart pounded and she panted rapidly as Caleb’s fangs drew nearer to her neck. He could feel his hot breath upon her skin just as the door opened and Vail barked at him. It startled her and caused her body to jump in reaction at the sudden noise. But also, she was filled with immense relief at the same time. As soon as Caleb’s hand was away from her mouth, she began her own onslaught. She may have physical weakness, but her mind was still sharp.

“Don’t you dare come near me again!” She shouted at Caleb as Vail shoved him out the door. Victoria was shaking, she hated feeling so weak and helpless. Tears fell from her eyes, she was so frightened. She thought Caleb was going to drain what was left of her blood and finish her off. She wiped away her tears quickly before Vail returned to her side. She didn’t want to seem pathetic and weak to him. She wanted him to see she was still strong spirited.

Thank God that Vail had returned just in time to stop his cousin. She was trembling when he placed his hand around her back an helped her sit up. She pushed herself up, however her arms were so weak from the burst of adrenaline without much energy in the first place. Humans could be resilient sometimes but only for so long. She quickly took the glass and gulped some water to help calm her down. She gasped for air and looked up at Vail. “Thank you…you keep rescuing me lately. I’m just a burden to you like this.” She sighed and closed her eyes before coughing into her hand.

Her throat was irritated every time she spoke. She then took a long breath. “Don’t apologise for him…” She coughed. “You were like him the first time….” She coughed again. “…You bit me. Remember?” She could understand why Caleb did what he did, even with her sickly blood, it was still alluring to their sense of smell. It wouldn’t have tasted nearly as good, nor invigorated them half as much. He had that same feral look in his eye. “You defied your father too…he told you…to stay away from me…” She coughed a bit more. “But you didn’t.” She tried to chuckle, but it ended in more coughing.

Vail observed Victoria in quiet contemplation as she took the glass from his hand. Even though she tried to be strong, he could tell that she was rattled. No matter how well she covered her tears and put on a brave face, she couldn’t hide her fear pheromones from his sharp nose. He perched on the edge of the bed, listening to her raspy voice and cough with a frown. Had he been human, he would have brought her honey and lemon from the kitchen to soothe the ache in her throat, but as it was, he knew nothing of the common remedy. Instead, he rested his hand on her leg, offering her the comfort of his touch since he was unable to do anything else.

“That’s only one way to look at it,” he shrugged when she called herself a burden. “I think you’re the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to me.” There was no denying that his life had gotten harder since he had involved himself with her. However, he wouldn’t trade the challenges for the mundane existence he’d endured before their meeting. Although his father had been wrong about his feelings toward her, his assumption that the heir had been bored was spot on. It had taken until the moment she had looked at him with pity when he’d told her about himself weeks ago, but he finally realized that for over two hundred years, his life had lacked passion. His purpose had solely been self-preservation, feeding and hiding and repeating the process to survive. Now, he was stepping out of his comfort zone to invite Lady Crest in, and he liked it.

Victoria then proceeded to surprise him by defending the Hygrace who had tried to attack her. “I suppose so,” he mused, idly stroking her thigh over the blanket. Objectively, he understood that Caleb was struggling with the same lust for her blood that had plagued him not so long ago, but his possessiveness of her prevented him from being sympathetic. Just watching his cousin hover over her neck had irked him. He wanted her all to himself, so no other vampire—and, if he was honest, no other man—could have her.

At her following poke about his disobedience, Vail smiled amusedly. “I didn’t, did I?” His eyes flicked up to meet hers. He had obeyed Peter’s orders all his life, but when it came to the woman sitting in front of him, thoughts of pleasing his father were pushed to the back of his mind. It was far more satisfying to put her first, the human who had won him over with both her blood and her affection.

Spurred by the realization, he got up from where he had been sitting and climbed over her lap to lay down on her other side, near the middle of the bed. “My father isn’t here right now,” he informed her, tugging a pillow behind his head with one hand and stretching his legs comfortably. “He went into the city to find a proper doctor for you.” He knew the clan leader would be furious if he caught him cozying up to Victoria, but now that she was ill, he didn’t want to stay away. After all, if the sepsis took her life, he would have regretted spending her final moments at arm’s length. Even if it vexed his father, he intended to make the most of the time he knew he still had with her.

The soothing touch from Vail on her leg did prove to be of some comfort to her. Although she wished he was allowed to be closer to her in his own house and bedroom. He seemed to take her point of view on board about her being a burden but he didn’t see her as that. He saw her as the opposite and interesting. In fact, the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to him. She couldn’t help but chuckle at him as he said this. She could say the same about him. She’d never met anyone quite like him before.

Had his life been that mundane before having met this human woman? Or was it the possessiveness over her blood that kept him so interested? Also love did make people become and act crazy. Vail did say she worth the challenges. Even at the cost of fighting with his family it seemed.

She liked that rebellious side of Vail. It only allured her to the vampire even more. She wasn’t going to give up easily on him either. No matter what his father said or did. Even if Vail was forced to marry another vampire. She wouldn’t let that happen now. As far as she was concerned, Vail was also hers just as he claimed her to be his.

As he got up and climbed over, she knew he was immediately disobeying his father again. He was already on thin ice with Peter as it was. She looked at him knowingly but a grin still crept on her lips as he cosied himself up to her side and made himself comfortable. As weak as she was, it didn’t stop her hand finding his and gripping onto it as tightly as she could.

When he informed her that his father wasn’t in fact here and ventured out to find her a proper doctor, she raised an eyebrow. “He…did?” She didn’t expect him to care if she lived or died or bother himself with her condition. She rested her head delicately against his shoulder as she sought affection and warmth from Vail. Even if these were her final moments, she was glad to be sharing them with him.

There was no hesitation when Vail accepted Victoria’s hand in his. Whether or not Peter approved of his affinity for her, he was tired of letting the clan leader dictate every detail of his life. He was supposed to be the next head of the Hygraces, after all. Peter may have disagreed with some of his decisions, but he was still capable of making them on his own. If he was never allowed the chance to see where those choices led, how would he learn to get better? He knew his parents were cautious because he was their only heir. However, he couldn’t exist inside their protective bubble forever. Even though it was dangerous to fall for a human, he was firm in his resolution to find out where this path took him.

When Victoria reacted to his announcement with surprise, Vail nodded. “He said he knows a man who could be of some help,” he explained. Guessing she was taken aback by his father’s sudden change of heart, he added: “When I went to his study, I saw that he was writing a letter to your mother assuring your eventual return. I think he’s decided to keep you alive because he doesn’t want to risk invoking the Order’s wrath against our family.”

If she succumbed to her illness in their care, it was almost guaranteed that the hunters would make it their mission to “avenge” her. He wanted to roll his eyes at the thought. Since the Saints had allied themselves with the Wynters, it was their fault that she was in such a miserable condition to begin with. But, of course, the righteous men always believed they were doing God’s work, no matter how questionable their actions had become. It seemed to be beyond their capabilities to realize the world was more complex than they thought it was. To them, humans were a gift to the earth, and vampires were a demonic scourge. There was no in-between to even consider.

Rolling onto his side, Vail draped his arm over Lady Crest’s midriff. After learning about everything that had happened in his absence, he didn’t want to send her back to her own manor at all. The Wynters were a ruthless clan. He shuddered to think what Lord Spencer would do the next time he got his hands on her. Compulsively, he cradled her a little closer to himself, disliking any amount of space between them. It felt like a lose-lose situation. If she lost the battle against sepsis, he would lose her. If she survived, she would be tossed right back into the nightmare from whence she’d come. He wished she could stay with his family, far from danger instead.

“What will you do if my father sends you away?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled against her thick hair. Uneasy with the direction of his own conjectures, he wanted to know what she was thinking about her own situation.

She could understand the reason his parents were so cautious. He was their only child. She wondered how vampires had children – was it the same way as humans? And why in all their long years, only have one child to carry their bloodline? Humans often had several children so at least one of them survived from various disease. She thought they’d have at least another in case Vail was murdered.

Victoria was just grateful that this vampire stood by her, despite her being a liability to him and his safety. He was her protector now. She listened to him explain that his father knew a man who could help. That was at least something but the faster she was healed, the faster she would be turfed out on her arse by Peter. If she ever were to get married, she hoped to have a father in law that liked her, respected her, loved her like a daughter. But she would never get that from Peter Hygrace. She was even more surprised to learn he sent a letter to her mother to explain her eventual return. Covering his tracks more like.

Lady Crest almost guffawed at that. All the Hygrace clan leader cared was about surviving this mess his son had brought into the family and making sure The Order or the Wynters come for Victoria. She smiled as he turned to his side and brought an arm over her waist. He seemed to become protective of her. Whatever his thoughts, she assumed they were of her returning to Lord Spencer and her manor because his neck question, although muffled against her thick hair, was what her plans were once she left the Hygrace manor. Or sent away rather.

“I will fight.” She was sure about that. They may have broken her body, but they hadn’t broken her spirit. “I will pack a bag and get far away as possible. Mother has a sister that lives in Scotland. They haven’t spoken in years but…I know my aunt will take me in.” She sighed, it meant going far away from Vail but if it kept her safe, she had no choice. “Perhaps Ray can help me escape. I feel like I can trust him.” She revealed to Vail, hoping he wouldn’t feel too jealous of the Saint. Although he had nothing to worry about, Ray was married with a wife called Elle, they had a daughter called Summer. He told her all about his family while she was bedridden. His family sounded lovely, she said she couldn’t wait to meet them.

Knowing the Wynters, they would follow her wherever she went. She needed to keep on the move or get so sick they wouldn’t touch her blood. If sepsis didn’t repulse them, she wasn’t sure what illness would. Something that drained her iron reserves. Or an injury so severe, that would make her need a blood transfusion of someone else’s blood…

She held his hand even tighter. "I..don't want to leave you.." She shed a tear of sadness at the thought of having to leave him behind. Would he follow her? Would he risk his father's wrath even more?

Vail was unsurprised when Victoria answered his question with the declaration that she would fight back if she had to return to her family’s manor. He had known her long enough now to be familiar with her stubborn spirit. Part of him was relieved to hear that she hadn’t been broken by her trials yet, but another part of him was worried that her efforts wouldn’t be enough to stop Spencer. After all, vampires were the species at the top of the food chain. Hunting down and feeding on humans was what they were built to do. The Order had been founded to fight back against them, and they were arguably successful, but Lady Crest wasn’t a formal member of their ranks. She didn’t have the tricks or the training it took to fend off one of his kind.

As she explained that ‘fight’ really meant ‘flee to Scotland,’ he pulled back from her just enough to meet her gaze with a contemplative expression. Her mention of the Saint named Ray meant little to him. He was possessive, but he wasn’t completely controlling. The Wynters had been unapologetically pursuing her blood, but he didn’t think every man she encountered was someone he should be concerned about. Unless he suspected her new friend was after her too, he wouldn’t fret over her involvement with him. Instead, it was the detail of her leave from England that captured his attention.

Objectively, it sounded like the best decision. Her home was no longer safe, and his father would never allow her to continue seeking refuge in the Hygrace once she was healthy again. However, he was well beyond the point of objectivity. If she went away, he didn’t know what he would do. The thought of losing her was painful, but his family was planted in London. Even though he was going against Peter’s wishes by choosing to be with her, voluntarily separating himself from the rest of the Hygrace clan was practically unthinkable. He felt like he was being torn in two, tugged one way by his fledgling feelings for Victoria and another by his bond with his family. He wished there was a way for him to have both, so he wouldn’t have to give up either.

For a long moment, Vail said nothing. The wheels of his mind spun in fruitless circles as he tried to think of a way to hold onto everything that was important to him. It seemed impossible. If he left the city to be with a human, he was certain his father would disown him. In the same manner, he couldn’t keep her here because his family would never support his decision to involve himself romantically with a woman of a lesser species. He buried his face into her neck, letting out a frustrated exhale. The common denominator in both cases was that she was a human. If she had been a member of the Macey clan or even the Goddings or the Jewels, Peter would have been far less combative—

Suddenly, he furrowed his brows as another thought came to him. He hadn’t dredged up the memory in decades, but when he was still alive, Reginald had told him that their ancestors had originally populated Europe by transforming humans into vampires. The concept seemed outlandish to the Hygrace heir, but supposedly it was factual. Perhaps, if the ritual was still doable today, there was a way to keep Victoria from fleeing England after all. His kind didn’t drink the blood of their own, so the Wynters would lose interest in hunting her down, and his father couldn’t protest their budding relationship if she became a vampire.

With an ember of hope burning in his chest, Lord Hygrace regarded Victoria with new resolution. “What if you didn’t have to leave?” he asked slowly, studying her blue eyes in the bright afternoon light. “If there was a way for you to stay here… with me… what lengths would you go to do it?”

Victoria could tell Vail wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of her fleeing to Scotland. He was incredibly silent, she assumed he was working it out in his head. She knew he would be torn between her and his family and as such would never ask him to choose between them. When he buried his face into her neck, she felt relief that he wasn’t searching for a spot to bite, he was simply holding her close. It felt wonderful to be this close with another person. Vampire or no, she hadn’t been this close to anyone before. What she felt for him was increasing love and devotion. She could really see herself wanting to marry him. Become “Lady Griffiths” for real. Only with his actual last name, not a fake one under the pretence to get a room at the inn without anyone knowing.

She heard his audible and frustrated sigh. She clung onto him tighter, his love made her feel stronger. Like she could take on anything the world threw at her right now. Vail’s love sheltered her from the horrors that awaited her back at Crest Manor. Yet, there was one thing his love could not fix. And that was her eventual death. It was surely on his mind since they had both become involved. And it was evident it was on his mind now because when he pulled back slightly from her to regard her face, he had a pensive expression.

What he asked her next, was perplexing. What an odd question, she thought. She blinked a couple of times as she stared into his hazel eyes. Those same eyes she stared into many times whilst they slowly connected their lips or fangs to flesh. If there was indeed a way to stay with him, she’d not hesitate to do it. “I would do anything to stay with you, Vail. You make me happy and I don’t want to be pulled apart from you.” She grasped her arms around his waist as tightly as she could, which wasn’t very strong in her condition. His eyes were burning with resolve. Those same eyes she held when she was determined to track down her father’s killer. “Vail…what are you trying to say-?”

The sound of the mansion front doors echoed through the halls and Victoria looked toward the door. “Your father is home…” She sighed, she knew he wouldn’t be long away. He would soon check up on the pair to make sure Vail wasn’t touching her or feeding on her. He wouldn’t be happy to see the lad cosied up with the human in his bed. Even if she were a vampire, they weren’t married and it was still frowned upon in society. They had quite simply given in to their passion for one another.

Vail held his breath as he awaited Victoria’s answer. Even if the solution he had come up with turned out to be a feasible option, it would amount to nothing if she didn’t agree to go through with it. He knew that asking her to completely change her genetic makeup for him was a lot. She was a human being through and through, equipped with every blessing and curse that came with the species. Transforming into a vampire, if possible, wouldn’t just give her a set of fangs. She would have to learn how to live the way he and the rest of his kind did, coping with insatiable bloodlust in exchange for immortality. He couldn’t predict if she would adapt well to the change or loathe him forever for condemning her to such a fate. However, it was her body that would be put through the rigors of mutation, so he would leave the decision in her hands.

Even when she confirmed that she would do anything for him, he was tentative. It was easy to agree to something when one didn’t know the consequences. There was still a chance that she would change her mind when he explained what he was asking of her. He parted his lips to answer her question, but before he could speak a word, the sound of the front door caught his attention followed closely by the scent of his father. Their time alone was quickly coming to an end. “That, he is,” he sighed with audible disappointment. “I’ll tell you later…”

Glancing at the door, he considered their current position. If it was only Peter who would be coming upstairs to check on them, he might have stayed put by Victoria’s side. Unfortunately, there was an unfamiliar cologne in the air, which meant the clan leader wasn’t alone. He didn’t want to cause a scene by clinging to Lady Crest’s side while the physician treated her so, reluctantly, he pulled away from her feeble grasp and climbed down from the bed. There was no hiding the faint traces of his scent that lingered on the sheets where he had been laying, but at least the human visitor wouldn’t be privy to their unorthodox behavior.

“He brought a doctor with him,” he notified Victoria as he returned to the armchair by the window. Less than a minute passed before there was a knock on the door, and the two men entered. Peter looked between Vail and Victoria with an unreadable expression, but the Hygrace heir knew he was suspicious of what they had been doing in his absence. In contrast, the physician had a cordial look on his face as he approached the bed, oblivious to the tension between father and son.

“Ah, Lady Victoria, I presume?” he stepped up to her and smiled warmly. Though his field could be grim at times, he had a perfected bedside manner to keep his patients from dreading his visits. “My name is James Walton,” he went on. “Lord Clark told me you’re feeling ill, so I’m here to help you get back on your feet.”

Subtly, Vail glanced at Peter. Like he had done at her birthday party, his father was also keen to use an alias when he interacted with humans. It was safer, since it was difficult for the Order to figure out who they were connected to, and it took almost no effort to let the fake personas disappear when their eternally youthful faces outlived the name that had been attached.

James took notice of him in the next instant. “And you must be Peter’s brother,” he assessed. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.” He studied the vampire with interest. “Let me guess: Fraternal twins?”

“Five minutes apart,” Vail shrugged, playing along with the charade. He propped his elbow on the arm of his seat, resting his cheek against his fist in an apathetic manner. Since he and his father looked so close in age, it wasn’t the first time they had pretended to be twins to explain away their appearances. The lie had become second nature to both of them as they continued to use it for almost two centuries.

“Fascinating,” Doctor Walton mused before turning back to his assigned patient. “Lord Clark told me you may be septic, but I’m going to perform an exam to find out for myself. Do you mind if I take a look at you, My Lady?”

Vail seemed perturbed by his father’s return by how he responded with a disappointed sigh. She wondered what he had to tell her more later. He seemed hesitant to move from her side but eventually did so. She reluctantly let go of his hand as he moved off the bed before the doctor and his father came through the door. He soon informed her that Peter wasn’t alone. His sense of smell was incredibly powerful. She didn’t even hear a second pair of footsteps with Peter.

As expected, the doctor was none the wiser at Vail just being on the bed next to his Lady. But his father knew no doubt, even though he didn’t express his displeasure on his face. The doctor was unaware of the familial tension. She nodded when he asked her if she was the Lady Victoria. Though she blinked when he referred to Peter as Lord Clark. Like father like son. Especially when it came to aliases.

“Hello doctor.” She responded to him weakly. “Thanks…that would be lovely…” She added to his statement that he was here to help her feel better. Victoria almost chuckled when the doctor presumed Vail was Peter’s brother. Another lie the Hygraces liked to play along with. She tried to conceal her smile of amusement at the situation. It was fascinating to get an inside peek at how vampires operated. She looked over at Vail as he further added to the tall tale that they were born five minutes apart. As if he rehearsed it from a script. Victoria noticed the doctor’s fascination. She hoped he didn’t want to further study them…

As the doctor turned to Victoria and asked if he minded if he took a look at her, she nodded and pushed herself up a bit to sit up properly. She did so but weakly with an audible groan. The doctor immediately took his case of instruments out and set it on the table and pulled out the stethoscope first. He perched himself on the edge of the bed and examined her lung function. When he instructed to do so she breathed in and then out slowly a few times. “Hmm..” He then took her wrist and counted her pulse with a stopwatch.

He then took her temperature. Then he finally had to examine the wound. He slowly removed the bandage and saw the fang bites of a vampire. He looked at her with a slight gulp. “Did you….get bitten, my dear?” He knew of them, but he didn’t know the Hygrace’s (or Clarks) were vampires. Victoria nodded slowly. “Lord Spencer. He’s one of them.” She had no problem throwing him under the bus. The doctor frowned. “It does look infected, indeed. He’s certainly taken a lot of blood. Your immune system is very low right now. It cannot fight bacterial infections as a healthy person would.” He then dived into his bag and fetched a bottle of pills out. “These are antibiotics. Strong ones. So they will make you sick but you must try to eat bland foods to get energy, and plenty of water. At least three litres a day to allow faster absorption into the bone marrow that produces the blood cells.” He explained fully to her. She nodded as she understood.

“Your father came to me with a lot of these injuries…he was a great Saint.” He knew her father, her eyes lit up somewhat as he spoke of Alex. “Also, keep the wound clean and dry. Take those pills for two weeks, three times a day.” He packed up his instruments into his bag. “I’ll send the bill to Crest Manor?” Victoria nodded, she didn’t want the ‘Clarks’ being billed for her health. “Thank you, doctor…”

“I’ll check on you tomorrow, you need close monitoring.” He tilted his bowler hat to her. “Good Day M’Lady. Please get plenty of rest.” He instructed as he looked to Peter to lead him out of his mansion.

Vail observed Walton from a distance as the doctor began his examination. He was protective of Victoria, but he was also genuinely curious to see how humans treated other humans. It wasn’t something he had ever had reason to watch before, since he had never grown close enough to another human to bear witness to any medical issues. Idly, he wondered what each of the man’s instruments did. James only pulled two from his briefcase, but the Hygrace heir could see more inside. He could tell the first tool that the physician used was designed to check the lady’s breathing, since he’d instructed her to breathe on his command, but the second test was more mysterious. Subtly, he touched his own wrist as he studied the interaction, trying to figure it out on his own. He couldn’t ask his question out loud, in case the procedure was common. It would come across as strange if he accidentally confessed he’d never seen a doctor in his life.

Upon pressing down lightly with his fingers, he discovered he could feel his own pulse just beneath his fair skin—a pulse many humans didn’t believe vampires had. The thought brought an amused half-smile to his lip. He knew the myths that had been spread about his kind, that they were undead demons who had clawed their way up from their graves to fill their bodies with blood they no longer had. Their skin was supposed to be clammy from death, and the sun would turn them to dust.

His hazel eyes roved to the window, through which the afternoon light warmed his chair. The legends were fantastical at best, but he couldn’t complain. The more misled the Order was, the easier it was for his kind to remain hidden. Vampires had cooler temperatures than humans, but they weren’t icy, so they could explain away the abnormality by claiming to have poor circulation. Similarly, their skin was pale enough to burn with prolonged exposure to the sun, but they didn’t turn to dust, so they could tell keen observers that they spent most of their time indoors. All of their excuses were plausible enough to put most nervous humans’ worries to rest.

Walton’s voice drew him abruptly from his musings when he inquired about Victoria’s bite. Vail turned back to the bed, concealing his concern with a mask of calm. He trusted that Lady Crest wouldn’t tell the man who had bitten her, but he felt a little guilty that he was the one who had caused her condition to worsen so drastically. Even if she had offered her neck to him, it had been foolish to take any of her remaining blood when she had been too weak to walk from her manor to her summer house. He had given in to his inner predator when he should have stepped back and let logic guide his actions.

While penitence seeped into the heir’s eyes, his father grew tense. Not knowing Victoria like Vail did, Peter didn’t trust her to keep their secret. He watched her with a hardened gaze, as if silently warning her not to confess that it was his son who had sunk his fangs into her flesh. The Hygraces had agreed not to kill the humans they fed on, but they didn’t abstain from taking lives because they believed it was a sin. If Lord James discovered them, he would not hesitate to drain the physician to death to keep him from spreading word.

When she blamed Lord Spencer, both Hygraces relaxed. Vail studied the bottle of antibiotics doctor Walton presented with interest. It fascinated him how much effort humans put into maintaining their health. There seemed to be something about mortality that gave them the determination to create and invent and make life better for themselves and for the generations to follow. In his two centuries on Earth, he had seen countless examples of human ingenuity, the most recent being the telephone. He was sure the new invention would become widespread once all the lines were set up, since mortals liked to improve the speed of things like traveling and communicating. He supposed medical advancements were highly valued as well.

When the physician finished his work, Peter casted one more look at Vail and Victoria before he stepped over to the door. “I’ll return in a minute,” he forewarned them as he escorted Lord Walton out of the room.

The Hygrace heir knew what that meant. He avoided his father’s gaze until the clan leader closed the door behind him. When Peter returned, he was sure there was going to be a berating over his rebelliousness. His father wouldn’t let him off when it was obvious that he hadn’t kept his distance from Lady Crest. He sighed, sinking down in his plush armchair. At least Peter had found someone to tend to her.

Victoria kept glancing over to Vail and noted his curious eyes. The same eyes she had when learning something from her father or teachers. Eyes full of fascination and wonder. Of course, Vail had no knowledge of human physiology. Just as she had no knowledge of vampire physiology. She wondered if he took more of an interest because she was a human and she was more vulnerable than he was. She knew vampires were impervious to human disease, but they weren’t without their weaknesses.

It hadn’t escaped her notice that both Peter and Vail grew visibly nervous when Walton asked her if that was a bite mark on her neck. Naturally she would never drop Vail in it. She loved him. There was no way she’d endanger him or his family. Even if his father didn’t like her and tried to split them up. Peter didn’t know her, but did he really think that little of her to suspect she would tell the doctor that Vail had bit her? She also needed to keep the doctor safe by protecting him from the fact he was in a room with two vampires. It wasn’t a big lie, Spencer DID drain her of so much blood it nearly killed her.

When the doctor left, she reached for the penicillin bottle and it rattled in her shaky hands. She wasn’t strong enough to open the lid. She didn’t wish to disturb Vail from his comfy chair and make him come over and incur the wrath of his father upon his return to the room. She sighed and rested her hands over her lap and the bottle fell from her palm and rolled down the duvet as the pills rattled around inside. They were rather large tablets inside, she wondered how she’d even swallow them. But she had to take them. “Do you think he is mad at us?” She asked Vail as he appeared to look sheepish when Peter spoke to him. If Vail could smell the doctor coming up the stairs, then Peter could smell Vail’s scent on the Victoria, surely.

The rattling of the pills in the bottle Doctor Walton had left behind drew Vail’s attention back to the bed. He frowned, noticing Victoria’s inability to open the container on her own. Spared from the suffering of physical weakness because of what he was, he had never been so infirm that he couldn’t even take a lid off a bottle. It looked frustrating, but she didn’t ask for help. Instead, he took it upon himself to get up and approach her, sitting on the edge of the bed by her side. His father already knew he hadn’t followed the rule that had been set earlier, so there was no point in trying to pretend like they’d kept their distance now. His scent clung to the sheets where he had been laying before.

“I would be shocked if he wasn’t,” he answered her question as he picked up the pill bottle and opened it for her. The medicine had a slightly bitter odor to it, and he was glad he didn’t need to take anything like it. “My father isn’t used to being disobeyed,” he went on, looking up from the container to meet her gaze. “As the leader of our clan, he is supposed to be our absolute authority. Whatever he says, goes. But,” he drawled the last word while he tilted the bottle. One of the pills fell into his hand, and he pressed it into her palm, letting his fingers brush against hers during the exchange. Her skin still felt cold to him from the combined illness and lack of blood, and he wondered briefly how furious Peter would be if he climbed under the duvet to help her keep warm.

“In this case, I think he’s wrong,” he stated simply. Glancing from the medicine back up to her face, he took on a puzzled expression. “So, do you just ingest it as it is?” Now that Lord James was gone, he was less reserved with his bewilderment. Victoria already knew he was a vampire, and he needed to learn more about human medical practices now that she was part of his life. Maybe not for long, he reminded himself silently, recalling the possibility that he could turn her. If she was willing to give up her humanity for him, she would never have to take pills again. However, he didn’t want to bring the subject back up when Peter would be returning at any second, and there was no guarantee that she would even agree to do it. For now, he would just have to take care of her in her sickly condition and hope for the best.

Victoria was silently appreciative as Vail approached her bed and sat on the edge. She looked up at him when he responded that he’d be shocked if his father wasn’t angry with them. She hoped his father didn’t deem her as some harlot who seduced his song with the lure of her blood and her body. She did lure him with the premise of her blood but it wasn’t to get him into bed, it was for his cooperation in killing Spencer. She couldn’t deny it was a little fun to tease Vail though. Knowing she could make him do her bidding for even just a drop of her blood. But it would be cruel to tease him. Like dangling a yummy sausage in front of a dog.

She smiled as he opened the bottle for her. She liked having him take care of her. She hadn’t had anyone look after her in the way a husband would do for his wife. It was a warm and nice fuzzy feeling that she felt spread throughout her soul. It was if it felt right somehow. She listened to him tentatively as he fetched a pill from the bottle. “I can imagine he is used to being the leader.”

As he brushed his fingers against hers, it sent a tingle down her spine as his closeness still excited her. His fingers felt warmer than usual, probably due to lack of circulation within her hands. As if by reflex, she brushed her fingers along his as he gave her the tablet to take. She smiled at him as he insisted he thought his father was wrong. It was amusing seeing him be openly defiant like a rebellious teenager. As he asked her if she ingested the pill as it was, she nodded. “Yes but it tastes disgusting!” She pulled a face and popped it in her mouth. She took a large gulp of water and swallowed it whole. “Be glad you don’t have to take it..guh..” She coughed a bit and licked her lips and drank more water.

She then regarded him for a moment. “One day you will be the leader and they’ll all have to listen to you. Do you think you would have the same rules if it were one of your children and a human lover?” She blushed slightly, referring to herself as his lover made her overcome with some coyness. She wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with him in front of a cosy warm fireplace under a blanket and fall asleep on his chest.

Vail nodded in understanding when Victoria answered his question. He had guessed that the pill didn’t taste good based on its acrid smell. He was also glad that he didn’t have to take anything like it, both because of the apparent unpleasantness of medicine and because taking it was a sign of sickness. While he couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be ill, it didn’t look like something he was missing out on. He reached for her hand again, this time to hold as she swallowed the pill, appreciative of his species’ superior biology.

At her following question, he remained silent for a long moment, considering how to respond. Since he had met her, his perspective about many things had changed. It wasn’t that long ago that he would have agreed with his father about everything they were quarreling about now. Additionally, the thought of becoming the next head of the clan wasn’t any less daunting to him today than it had been before. The responsibilities the title brought were a heavy burden to bear. He didn’t envy Peter in the slightest for all the duties he’d had to take up since Reginald’s death over a century ago.

“If you had asked me that even a few weeks ago, I think I would,” he admitted, idly tracing his thumb over the back of her hand. “It isn’t something we try to understand. Humans are supposed to be our prey, not our lovers. If I hadn’t broken that rule, myself, I wouldn’t have even humored the possibility.” He paused, studying her face as he reflected again on how far his paradigm had shifted since their night together at The Shire. “But now, I don’t know. I’d like to think that I would at least hear him out.”

The faint sound of footsteps in the hallway caught Vail’s attention, and he turned to the door just before his father stepped inside. The older Hygrace met his gaze with narrowed eyes. “I’m beginning to think you enjoy testing my patience, Vail.”

“I know you disapprove, father, but I’ve made up my mind,” the heir asserted, remaining planted beside Victoria on the bed. He didn’t bother arguing the point any further, since he knew there was nothing he could say to convince Peter that he wasn’t making a mistake. If he was honest, he wasn’t entirely certain that he wasn’t making a mistake either. Taking Lady Crest as a lover could still lead to his death. The only difference was that he no longer cared how their involvement changed his fate. He had meant every word when he’d told her that he wanted to be with her.

“Our traditions are what have kept us alive,” his father growled, folding his arms over his chest. “If you’re willing to abandon them so quickly for a girl you barely know, I can always send her away, so you can get your priorities in order.”

“Actually, I don’t think you can,” Vail rebutted thoughtfully. “She’s in no condition to be moved, and the Saints know she’s with us. They saw me carry her through the front door. If you cast her out now and she dies in the cold, they’ll blame you for her death. She has to stay here until she recovers.”

Peter pursed his lips, pondering the situation for a moment before he asked in a low voice, “Even if I allowed this to continue, where do you think it’s going to go?”

The Hygrace heir looked away from him, perplexed by the question. Truthfully, he had no answer. He was considering turning her into a vampire, but he didn’t know if the ritual could still be done or if she would even agree to go through with it. There were too many unknowns for him to confidently say that he knew what the future had in store for them if he stayed with her.

Peter noticed his hesitation and tilted his chin up, believing that he was finally getting through to his son. “And you,” he turned to the Crest heiress. “If you really cared about Vail, then you would stop taking advantage of his fascination with your blood. I know he was the one who caused those bite marks on your neck. I’m not sure what you think you’re going to gain from keeping him on your hook, but if you don’t stop, you’re going to be the death of him. Then you’ll have made enemies with the rest of the Hygraces, and we don’t take vengeance lightly.”

Victoria felt soothed by Vail’s hand holding. With him by her side, she felt stronger and she could take on any illness and anything. The way he traced his thumb over the back of her hand made her feel loved and cared for. She felt a warm tingly sensation in her chest. She smiled hearing that his own perception of humans had changed from prey to potential mates. You’d never hear of a wolf taking a sheep as a mate in the natural world. But humans and vampires were a similar species. She was sure there had been cases of attraction between both sides many times in the past.

She regarded his eyes as they studied her face. “You are more open minded than your father and that will make you a good clan leader one day. “ She smiled and brought a weak free hand up to caress his cheek softly. The sounds of Peter’s footsteps outside caught her attention and she looked toward the door. She could tell he wasn’t happy before he even opened his mouth to scowl at his son. She sighed softly but then Vail jumped to his own defence.

Vail had indeed made up his mind. He refused to let his father push him around anymore. She felt worth more than a million diamonds as the vampire heir thought she was fighting for. Even against his own father. She couldn’t imagine going against her own father’s orders since she was so loyal and devoted to him when he was alive. She had hoped for a father in law she could feel that way about. But Peter obviously wasn’t approving of her. At the mere mention he could send her away, she flinched slightly. Would he really be so cruel to do that to her in this fragile state?

As Vail defended her and used logic against Peter, she sighed with relief. She could see Peter had been stumped by his own son by threatening The Order’s motives against him. Or reminding him of their mission in pursuing Victoria for her blood to offer the Wynter clan to satiate them. Then Peter countered him with his own question, something Victoria had already thought about and warned Vail about herself. If they continued down this path, it would not end happily ever after like in the fairy tales. She saw the hesitance behind Vail’s eyes and his body language.

Victoria had never even thought it possible she could be turned into a vampire, otherwise she would have suggested it as a fall-back plan. She thought vampires were born that way, not turned. She’d never heard of a human being changed before, their prey was always bled dry. The way Peter addressed her, made her heart beat faster with fear. She was scared of what he was saying, that she could be the death of him. The fact he thought of her as some harlet was tolerable but to think of her as taking advantage of Vail by using her blood as bait to keep him hooked on her? That was the last draw she would take from the Lord.

“Listen here Lord Hygrace. I know you don’t like me. I don’t much care for you either right now. Please understand that I care very deeply about your son…I struck a bargain with him at first, that much is true. But it was for mutual benefit in helping me rid us all of the likes of Spencer. I broke our business deal off so that he wouldn’t get hurt in this mess my family are in with the Wynters. Through no fault of our own – I might add. I cannot help that I was born with this condition that drives your species mad like cats for catnip. But I tried to warn Vail away. And yet he still stuck by me…not for my blood either…” She looked slowly up at Vail and smiled warmly. “But because he said he wanted to be with me.” She turned her gaze back to Peter after squeezing Vail’s hand. “I know I am only human, and I am not as strong as you all. But as long as there is breath in me, I won’t let anyone or anything hurt Vail. Even if…the best thing for him….is to stay away….I’d do it…but I can’t bear to hurt him emotionally either.” She confessed. She daren’t say she loved Vail to his father of all people, she wanted to tell him first, alone. “But I cannot control him anymore than you can. Even with my blood. He’s stubborn.” She gave Vail a small cheeky grin as she jested.

Vail bristled when Peter went so far as to threaten Victoria with retribution from the clan. He wished he could beat it into his father’s thick skull that he wasn’t just with her because he was addicted to her blood. Sure, it had started out that way, but they were well beyond that now. If he had been solely hooked on the feed, he wouldn’t have even considered turning her, since he couldn’t drink the blood of another vampire. Of course, he couldn’t tell this to the clan leader about his plan though. Given how adamantly against their relationship Peter was, Vail didn’t want to risk facing any more push back if he admitted the idea out loud. So, he kept it to himself and instead parted his lips to repeat the vaguer point that he cared about Lady Crest more than his father was willing to believe.

Before he had a chance to speak a word, however, he was surprised to hear Victoria respond first with a fierceness that he hadn’t witnessed in her since the day he had inadvertently insulted her at the Black Bull tavern. He turned his head to eye her with interest, unsure if he thought she was being bold or rash. No one spoke to Peter Hygrace like that. Even when they’d had their disputes, he had always kept a respectful tone or backed down quickly if he started to raise his voice. As the combined leader and protector of the clan, his father had earned that much. But the Crest heiress owed him nothing.

Despite himself, Vail felt a hint of a smile tug at his lip. No matter how Peter reacted to her blunt declaration, he was pleased that she had been fearless enough to say everything that he could not. It also warmed him to know that she was just as determined to make their odd situation work as he was. After all, it wasn’t any less dangerous for her to be with a vampire than it was for him to choose a human. She had nearly lost her life once already. Now that he had resolved to stay by her side, he didn’t intend to let that happen again, but there was no denying that it was still a risk, especially while the Wynters were determined to get her back. Neither one of them had an easy path ahead of them, but they had both decided the reward outweighed the danger. That was enough.

At her final teasing poke, his small smile turned into a toothy grin. Every time she looked at him with mischief in her eyes, he felt his heart skip a beat. Her spunk was endearing, and it was reassuring to see that her spirit was far from broken even after all she had endured. Human or not, he was proud that she was the one he had chosen to be with. Unfortunately, he father wasn’t remotely as pleased with her speech.

“I’m beginning to grow tired of your arrogance, Crest,” Peter growled, visibly stiff with irritation. He was accustomed to humans submitting to him, not fighting back as fervently as she was now. It wasn’t a change he desired to get used to. Narrowing his eyes, he asserted his oppressive pheromones over her. “That you think you can protect a vampire is evidence of your delusion,” he went on harshly. “My son may be disappointed for a time when you leave, but he will move on. To him, your romance was just the blink of an eye. He will be happy that he didn’t lose everything over an infatuation, when—”

“Father, enough,” Vail interrupted suddenly. Although the clan leader couldn’t affect him with the tactic, his senses were powerful enough to detect the change in the air. He rested his free hand on Victoria’s forearm in a comforting gesture and met Peter’s gaze warily. “Don’t forget that she’s unwell. If you don’t reign it in, you may hurt her.”

Peter scowled at the heir. It would have been easier if he could simply uproot Vail from the bedroom and send him somewhere else until Victoria left the manor, but the rest of the Hygraces were too unruly to be trusted. None of them could be left alone with her, and he was far too busy to babysit a human girl all day. As much as it pained him to admit it, his son was the only one who could watch over her and make sure the rest of their family didn’t feed on what was left of her blood before she was returned to the Crests.

Reluctantly, he dialed back the predatory pheromones he had been releasing and rolled his shoulders. “I will send a servant to bring her dinner soon,” he grumbled, despising how little he could do because of her involvement with the Order. Eyes flicking to the heiress once more, he tilted his chin, “You ought to consider the consequences of your actions more thoroughly.” Having said his piece, he turned his back to the couple and exited the room, leaving them alone once more.

Victoria glared at Peter as he said he tired of her arrogance. She felt her anger rising, her blood beginning to boil. Her cheeks reddened with increased blood flow into them from her quickening pulse. How dare he think of their feelings as just something fleeting and temporary. It stung her to hear Peter tell her the truth – that Vail will be one day sad when she was gone and realise that she would only be just the blink of an eye in his life time. It hurt to think of him moving on with someone else. She wanted to get up from the bed and fight for Vail. But her condition prevented her from doing so. She then felt dizzy from his increasing pheromones over her. She had little defence in her weakened state in the first place, she could not fight it. A small pool of water collected at the bottom of her eyelids. Welling up with tears at the vile poison Peter spouted. It was clear he would never approve of her. Vail would really choose her over his family? She couldn’t let him, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would lose everything, then eventually lose her. It was not a happy ending.

Victoria trembled, she tried to stop her crying by sniffling back a gasp of air. Luckily Vail jumped to her defence and told his father to stop before he let his anger do more damage to the human fragile girl trying to recover from a horrible ordeal. She felt great comfort in his hand resting on her forearm protectively. She just wanted to hide behind Vail right now. She didn’t feel strong physically or emotionally to cope right now. It seemed to work as Peter backed off in his verbal insults. He declared that a servant would bring her dinner soon, reluctantly before warning her again of her actions and the consequences of them. Victoria’s bottom lip quivered as he left her and Vail alone. She started to breath heavily and wiped her eyes dry with a small sniff. Peter was right. This mess was all her fault. It would have been better if Spencer had killed her, then Vail could get over her more quickly and resume his normal life.

She kept her eyes down sadly at the bed covers contemplating her choices. She knew Vail wouldn’t let her go without a fight, even if she told him not to pursue her. He was stubborn after all. But she was still trembling. She was in dire need of sustenance, nutrients to get her body stronger. She was amazed she still survived the blood drain and on the road to recovery. However, recovering her was problematic. The Crest heiress could not wait to be out of Peter’s hair. She sighed and shook her head lightly. “Your father…he’s right. We’re from two different worlds and I cannot ask you to give up yours.” She looked up at Vail sadly. “I don’t know what the future holds for us but…I’m glad you defended me to him…” She leaned against his chest for comfort and affection.