My Most Precious Human

Throughout my life, I had always tried to run away from danger, not step right into the middle of it. I felt the best thing I could do was to hide. I had never deliberately faced my fears. I was more than aware I couldn't win against my father and his pack, but that was when I was fighting alone.

It all changed the moment Sariel stood by my side. I relied on his strength and influence, but I had changed as well. I became stronger and more fierce. When I fought with the wolf from the northern pack, it was something more than a desperate fight for survival. I fought because I had the right to be free.

Even though I thought of Sariel's decision to take me to the noble gathering as something absolutely reckless, I knew I would be safe by his side. I didn't know exactly when I started trusting him so much, but deep down I was convinced that he wouldn't let anyone harm me.

As soon as Leo finished his lecture and left, Martha knocked on my door. She brought me lunch... or more like a four-course dinner with a medical tonic in the form of afternoon tea.

"What's with all this?" I looked awkwardly at the pile of food she brought.

"You need to eat more from now on," she stated joyfully.

"I could be a little anemic, but I'm not pregnant, Martha. I don't need to eat for two, you know?" I chuckled nervously.

"Doctor's orders," she swore, placing her hand on her chest.

I reluctantly glanced at the spinach salad with walnuts, wholewheat pasta with broccoli, hummus, and tofu soup. It all screamed, "Iron!"

"Fine... I'll try to eat it," I muttered, stabbing spinach with a fork.

Martha sat in front of me, placing her elbows on the table and supporting her head with her hands. She gaped at me with a huge grin on her face, almost making me choke on the food. I put the fork down for my sake and stared at her with a question mark painted all over my face.

"So? How was it?" Martha popped out, agitatedly.

"How was what?" I asked nervously.

"Duke's bite, of course!" She burst out.

"Um..." All the images from last night flashed before my eyes, reminding my senses exactly how it all felt. "It was painful..." I mumbled.

"Painful?!" Martha called out, clearly disappointed.

"B-but the second time felt better..." I smiled awkwardly.

"The second time?" Martha smirked wickedly.

I blushed, recalling what the second bite exactly felt like and then what had happened afterwards.

"Judging from your expression, it was way better than just "better"." She chuckled.

"Not the bite itself..." I shyly avoided her stare, "But everything else... felt amazing."

She burst out laughing. "I knew it!"

"Now, can you please stop? You are really making me feel embarrassed," I said, and couldn't help but smile.

"So, what now? Are you going to be the Duchess?" Martha asked, expecting me to confirm.

If I imagined myself floating on air until that moment, Martha's words would surely make me fall hard to the ground. My lips formed a bitter smile as every word I heard from Leo came together in a pitiful conclusion.

"No... I cannot become the Duchess, Martha." I tried to say it calmly, yet the sound of my own words pierced my heart painfully. "I can only become a temporary mistress."

"Why? Duke cares for you," she claimed naively.

"The Duke needed my blood, and I was grateful for his protection. Our relationship is more like a contract." I tried to convince her as much as I was telling myself that to myself.

My statement wiped off a smile from Martha's face. I wished I could confirm her romantic assumptions, but I knew that as soon as Sariel took over the throne, I would become nothing more than a mistress that he used to feed on. Suddenly, I started to wonder what would happen to me once Sariel married the Princess.

"Martha... Can the mark disappear in time?" I asked with a saddened expression.

"I've never heard of anything like that," she exclaimed, "and I believe the mark can only be overwritten by someone else."

It didn't sound too comforting, but at the very least, this overwriting thing gave me the option of leaving Sariel when I began to develop feelings for him. I had to be prepared to protect my inexperienced heart. "So... if I get bitten by some other vampire, I will become his instead of Sariel's?" I inquired curiously.

"Of course not!" Martha laughed out loud. "The mark can be overwritten only by someone who is stronger than the one who marked you."

A hysteric laugh left my mouth as I acknowledged that my blood had possibly just made Sariel the most powerful vampire in the world.

"I wonder how you become heartless..." I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that?" Martha asked, leaning over me.

"No... nothing." I painted a smile on my face, pretending that I was fine.

I knew I had to become tougher. I had to stop deluding myself that Sariel would ever need me for me instead of needing my blood. By the time I finished my food, I realized something that put my mind more at ease. Sariel wouldn't need my blood every day. In two days, the blood supplies would be refilled, and he would start using blood bags if he needed to drink. I knew that he gave me this whole "Mistress of the House" title as a sign of gratitude, nothing else. He wouldn't have had a reason to come to me unless the blood from the blood bank was insufficient.

"It would be a good thing, Lilith," I reasoned, "the less intimacy, the less likely you will fall for him."

My resolution was firm, or so I wanted it to be. I decided to rest and regenerate after all the recent events. I went for a walk around the castle to clear my head. As soon as I stepped onto the patio, I saw the devastating view of the destroyed eastern wing. A huge pile of bricks and ashes was all that was left of it. I started to wonder, would I have been dead as well if I had been at the castle two nights before? It was frightening to know that the attackers managed to carry out such a dreadful attack despite Sariel's people tightly guarding the place.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" One of the security guards, standing at the side of the patio, approached me.

I could see him smiling hesitantly at me, probably wondering if it was all right to talk to the newly appointed Mistress of the House. I had no problem with that. I would rather talk with everyone casually than have them avoid me out of some weird type of respect.

"Yes... It looks horrifying." I sighed heavily. "Were you there on the night of the attack?" I looked at the tall, brown-haired man in the guard's uniform.

"Yeah, but my shift was in the west wing, so I got to the spot later. Those were suicide attackers. They all carried a few meters of range explosives and detonated them as they arrived at the planned location. They were all vampires, highly skilled. Their whole attack lasted no more than fifteen minutes. Basically, most of them were dead by the time we came, and they took many lives along with them." He enragedly clenched his fists.

I could feel his frustration making his blood boil within him. They were facing the opponent who came to the castle to die, and they had one thing on their mind: to carry on the attack as planned. Once they found themselves on the right wing, there was no stopping them.

"Do you know how they got into the castle?" I asked.

His lips formed a cold smile while his eyes burned.

"It was one of the eastern wing's guards who turned off the shield and alarms on one side of the castle. I caught this traitor myself. Too bad it didn't do any good." He gritted his teeth.

"Then, where is this traitor now?" I inquired.

"That fucker is dead..." He popped out and immediately bit his tongue. "I mean... He is dead. Pardon my language, Madame."

I snorted. "I'm not a fragile little girl, and you have every right to show your emotions when you speak."

"Thank you, Madame." He bowed.

"So... how did this traitor die?" I bet that since all the attackers died, the traitor would be crucial to find the mastermind behind it.

"He died from silver poisoning, and it looked like he wasn't even aware that he was poisoned. I guess those who hired him did everything they could to leave no loose ends. The bastard died surprised as hell." A mean chuckle left his mouth.

The traitor might have gotten what he deserved, but I could already imagine Leo's fury when he realized that the only person who could reveal the perpetrator died before being questioned. I could now understand why Sariel thought of bringing me to the gathering. They were left without any clues, and the first logical idea to find the one behind the attacks was to provoke him to make one false move.

The walk I took to clear my thoughts only made me ponder more intensively about the attacks and my kidnapping. I was unable to focus on anything else until midnight. Taking a long, hot bath didn't help either. Finally, I managed to close my eyes after reading nearly fifty articles on the current financial markets.

I tossed and turned in my new, way too big for myself, bed until I suddenly felt comfortable and cozy. I inhaled and felt a familiar scent, which immediately sent a wave of shivers down my spine. I opened my eyes and gasped, finding my head lying on Sariel's perfectly sculptured chest. His arms were hugging me tightly, making me melt in his embrace.

"Calm down your heart, unless you don't want to sleep tonight," he muttered in his low, alluring voice.

"It doesn't help when you say it like this..." I pouted, placing a hand on my chest as if it could help silence my heart.

He chuckled and pulled me even closer, letting me feel every muscle in his body. I gulped. There was no way I could stop myself from becoming aroused.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Lilith?" he whispered to my ear.

"You say it like I was doing it on purpose." I pushed him away and then turned my back on him.

A soft laugh left his mouth. He brushed my hair from my neck and leaned over me. I shut my eyes, expecting a bite, but he simply touched my skin with his lips. Then he used the tip of his tongue to tease my ticklish spots, increasing my arousal.

"I want you, Lilith," he murmured, sliding off the arm strip of my shoulder.

I wasn't going to push him away. I couldn't tell him to stop. I surrendered to him the moment my name left his lips...