Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

A faint frown creased Rav's face as he turned his head toward her. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, his voice calm, unwilling to risk stepping closer to see for himself for the sake of his own peace of mind, not truly believing anything concerning could be wrong with Angel.

"Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to come here and see for yourself?" Evenly demanded, her voice sharp with urgency as her worry grew over the baby's shaking little body in her arms.

She knew he did not like children, and she did not mind if he acted the part of a pretend father or not, for she did not need him. But still, he would not have his life, nor would she, if anything were to happen to the vampire Duke's son right under their watch.

Rav finally left the window and moved forward to see what was wrong. When he noticed the paleness on Angel's face and the way his eyes were shifting, he immediately knew what was wrong. "He's hungry," he announced, recalling how his master shook and turned pale when exhausted and hungry. His son, it seemed, was the same.

Rav had served Rohan for many years and knew the signs of his hunger well. It became even more apparent when the baby opened his mouth to cry and his tiny fangs emerged from his gums.

"Hungry? He was fed blood just before we arrived at the mansion," Evenly said in concern, recalling how she had fed him the bottle of blood Rohan had handed her along with the baby. It wasn't up to an hour ago when she had given him the blood.

Rav looked hesitant as he explained, "His kind are like that. But since he is still a baby, master may not have thought his exhaustion would make him hungrier, or he would have given us more blood to feed him. When they get exhausted, they require more blood, or else... lose control." He was not certain he should be telling her this, for it gave away secrets about his master as well, but he had no choice.

Evenly had never known of another kind of vampire like the Duke, but she did not ask questions now. She was more worried about the baby, who had begun to cry so loudly she grimaced as the sound was deafening.

Worried and unsettled, Evenly was about to ask how they would find blood for him right now when suddenly the baby jumped. He literally leapt out of her arms, and before she knew what was happening, his small head jerked and his fangs sank into her neck. He began to drink deeply from her body, his claw-like nails digging into her arms as if to keep her from moving away.

At first, she had impulsively tried to push him back out of fear, but when she realized he was only taking her blood, she froze. Quickly, she waved at Rav, who had moved to pull the baby away, to leave him be.

"Let him drink..." she whispered softly, then began to pat his quivering little body as he took her blood. She saw Rav, who had bent close, pull back slowly and straighten, his eyes fixed on the hungry child.

"I never thought it was possible for one vampire to feed on another. He must be starving," she remarked, biting back the cry of pain that rose to her throat when his little fangs sank into another part of her flesh.

Even as a human, Evenly had never experienced vampire fangs piercing her skin, and she had never imagined it would hurt this much. She could feel the relentless pull of her blood being drawn from her veins, it was hot and so painful her eyes involuntarily burned. She bit down hard on her lower lip, holding herself still for the child clinging to her neck.

Rav was uncertain whether to pull Angel back. He knew too well what could happen when creatures like his master grew hungry from exhaustion. His master could feed on dozens of people and still not have his thirst quenched. Though Angel was still small, he might unknowingly feed on the lady until he killed her.

Rav's worry grew when he noticed the lady becoming pale, while the baby still did not look satisfied.

"My lady..." he called, and she looked at him with a small, assuring smile.

"I am fine. He's just a baby. He can't take all my blood."

If only she knew the truth, that the baby was far more than what she believed. Demon blood ran in his veins, and he was far too young to control it. Unable to stand by and do nothing while the baby drained her slowly without even knowing it, Rav moved forward and sat beside her on the bed. He touched the baby, who growled at him in warning, but he did not move his hand back.

"Angel, that's enough. You are hurting her." He had seen Rohan talk to his son many times and the baby listened. He wasn't certain if Angel would listen to him now, but he hoped he would, for the lady was already going weak from the way the baby kept biting, changing spots on her skin, and drinking her blood.

"Rav..." Evenly wanted to tell him to leave the baby alone, but she could feel he was already taking too much from her. She was becoming lightheaded and weak all of a sudden.

"Let her go, Angel. You don't want to hurt Lady Evenly, do you?" Rav coaxed as he patted the baby's back, despite his reluctance to touch the boy. He continued speaking softly until finally, Angel let go. The baby fell back limply, weakened from soothing his hunger, blood trailing from the side of his lips which he licked before his eyes, dark and heavy, slowly closed. Like he was drugged, he drifted into sleep in Rav's arms with a faint smile on his lips.

Rav quickly laid him down on the bed and then turned to find Lady Evenly shaking her head as if trying to clear the dizziness from her vision. She grabbed her head with both hands and muttered, "That was unexpected... I think he took too much."

Rav saw her try to steady her vision, completely unaware of the blood trailing from her neck down to her collarbone and even lower, a path he dared not allow his eyes to follow as it lead to a part he wouldn't let his gaze fall on. He quickly retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against her bleeding neck. She jumped at his touch, as though she hadn't expected it, but she did not move away, or perhaps she was too weak to.

"Whenever you see his eyes shifting like that, my lady, the baby is exhaustingly hungry. You should either get him blood immediately or keep your distance," he warned as he reached his other hand to tie the handkerchief around her neck. To do so, he had to bring his arm around her, but before he could finish, she suddenly slumped forward, collapsing limply into his arms. Her head rested against his chest, and one of her hands slid down onto his lap.

Rav froze, stiff. The unexpected weight of her feminine body pressed against him making him go rigid. His hand hovered awkwardly midair at the sides of her body.

She had fallen unconscious. Rav realized this with a muttered curse under his breath at the inappropriate position of her hand and her head resting so closely against him.

Without wasting time, he moved back and carefully lowered her onto the mattress. As he stood, he noticed the uncomfortable position she lay in, her legs still hanging over the floor. Cursing his bad luck, he reluctantly carried her in his arms and laid her down fully onto the mattress next to Angel.

Then, almost automatically, as though it were instinct, he removed her shoes from her feet and pulled the sheets over her and the baby. He did not allow himself to think about how wrong it was, or how much he should not be touching a lady who was neither his wife nor his kin.