Chapter 148 Separation

Chapter 148 Separation
[Cedric]

The black smoke dissipated, leaving nothing but empty air where Lana had stood moments before. I reached out instinctively, my fingers grasping at nothing.

"Lana!" I called into the silence of the bedroom. "I know you're still here! You're just invisible, aren't you?"

No response. Not even a flutter of air to indicate her presence.

I stumbled through the apartment, checking every corner, every shadow. The bathroom was empty, the closet undisturbed. I ran my hands along the walls, feeling for any disruption in the air that might betray her invisible form.

"Lana, please," I whispered, my voice cracking. "I know you can hear me."

I closed my eyes, focusing on our mate bond, trying to sense her through the connection we shared. But where her emotions had always been—even when muted—there was now a vast emptiness. The bond felt hollow, as if she had deliberately shut herself off from me.

The first day, I refused to leave the apartment. I sat on the balcony, watching the city below, certain she would return. The sun set, rose, and set again.

The second day, I paced the rooms, constantly sniffing the air for any fresh trace of her scent. I checked the door every few minutes, hoping to catch her returning.

By the third day, I slept in her bed, clutching her pillow to my chest, inhaling her fading scent. Each night before falling into restless sleep, I spoke to the empty room: "I know you can hear me. I'm not giving up on us."

On the fourth morning, I woke to the painful realization that I was surrounded by her—her scent in the sheets, her presence in every corner, memories of her in every inch of the apartment. Yet the continued silence of our bond told me she might truly be gone.

I packed a small bag with my few belongings. Before leaving, I took one last look around the apartment that had witnessed the turbulent beginning of our relationship. On the kitchen counter, I left a note: "I'm going home, but not to forget you. When you're ready to face our future, you know where to find me."

The bus ride back to my city was a blur of landscapes and memories. Every moment with Lana played through my mind—the good and the terrible, the tender and the violent.

My apartment was exactly as I'd left it, a thin layer of dust covering everything. Life had frozen in place during my absence. I called my fire chief, explained that my "family emergency" had been resolved, and asked to return to work.

My first day back at the station, I noticed my colleagues exchanging glances. I caught fragments of whispered conversations: "...different..." "...something happened..." "...eyes look empty..."

I smiled and joked with them, but even I could feel how hollow it all sounded.

[Lana]

I had never left. When Cedric searched the apartment, I stood in the corner, perfectly invisible, watching his desperation with a mixture of pain and longing. I nearly reached out when he called my name, my fingers hovering inches from his shoulder before I pulled back.

When he finally left the apartment, I followed him onto the bus, sitting in the empty seat beside him. I listened to his heartbeat, felt the warmth radiating from his body, and several times almost let my invisibility drop. But I couldn't. I would only hurt him again.

I followed Cedric back to his city, silently slipping into his apartment like a ghost. Night after night, I stood guard by his bedside, watching him toss and turn, barely sleeping. His pain was palpable, and knowing I was the cause of it tore at something inside me that I thought had died centuries ago.

One night, as moonlight spilled across his sleeping form, I lost track of time staring at his face. The hard lines of worry softened in sleep, making him look younger, vulnerable. I didn't notice my invisibility magic fluctuating, my concentration slipping as exhaustion and emotion took their toll.

I couldn't help myself. I reached out, my fingers hovering above his cheek before gently making contact with his warm skin. The touch sent electricity through me, a connection I'd been denying myself.

His eyes snapped open, looking directly at where I stood. "Finally caught you," he said softly, his voice rough with sleep.

I jerked back, suddenly aware that I was partially visible—a translucent ghost at his bedside. Panic surged through me.

Cedric sat up quickly, sheets falling away from his bare chest. "Don't go... I've known you were here all along." He reached for me, his hand passing through my arm as I stepped further back.

I shook my head, feeling tears threatening for the first time in decades. "I can't... I'll hurt you. I always hurt everyone I love. Don't come looking for me, Cedric."

Before he could respond, I gathered what little power I had left and forced my invisibility complete again. I fled his apartment, not stopping until I reached my own luxury penthouse. I slammed the door behind me and slid down against it, my heart pounding wildly, thoughts in chaos.

In that moment, a wave of nausea struck without warning. I barely made it to the toilet before emptying my stomach. As I rinsed my mouth, a terrifying thought occurred to me—a possibility I had never considered.

I rushed to a pharmacy, invisible until I was inside, then quickly grabbing a pregnancy test and leaving cash on the counter before anyone could properly see me. Back in my apartment, I stared at the positive result with trembling hands.

Pregnant.

The pregnancy seemed to affect my powers immediately. One moment I felt stronger than ever, dark energy crackling at my fingertips. The next, I was so weak I could barely stand.

Standing before the mirror, I barely recognized myself. My eyes had turned blood-red, my lips cracked and pale white. The pregnancy was already changing me, amplifying my vampire nature's thirst beyond anything I'd experienced before. I yanked open the refrigerator door, finding only empty shelves where my blood bags should have been. I hadn't fed properly since I began following Cedric.

The hunger clawed at my insides like hellfire, every cell screaming for blood. But something had changed in me—I couldn't bring myself to hunt an innocent. This wasn't just about feeding myself anymore; my child needed nourishment too.

When night fell, I donned my black coat and slipped into the city's shadows. In a dimly lit alley, I spotted a drug dealer counting cash, the same man I'd watched selling poison to teenagers earlier that day. Perfect—someone whose absence might actually benefit society.

"Looking for something special tonight?" he asked when he noticed me, his eyes traveling up and down my body with undisguised interest.

I smiled, letting my glamour work its magic. "You have exactly what I need."

He followed me willingly enough, thinking himself the predator rather than prey. Back in my apartment, I wasted no time. As soon as the door closed, I pinned him against the wall, ready to feed.

The moment my fangs grazed his neck, an unprecedented weakness flooded through me. My body suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, my limbs turning to lead. My vision blurred, and I staggered backward.

The dealer, suddenly finding himself free, didn't waste a second. His eyes widened with terror as he scrambled for the door, nearly falling in his haste to escape. He didn't look back, didn't say a word—just fled as fast as his legs could carry him.

I tried to summon my darkness, to regain control, but my power was sluggish, unresponsive. The life growing inside me seemed to be draining my strength, precisely when I needed it most.

I collapsed to my knees, hands clutching my abdomen, feeling chaotic energy swirling within. This child was already changing everything—my powers, my control, my vulnerability. And now someone who had seen me in a weakened state had escaped, potentially putting me in danger.

During one particularly violent energy fluctuation, I collapsed on my apartment floor. When I regained consciousness, the sun was setting. My hands trembled as I reached for my phone, scrolling through contacts.

I couldn't call Raven—he'd immediately tell my fathers. And if Emerson and Gabriel knew, they would rush to find Cedric, convinced our child needed both parents together. They might force a reunion before either of us was ready. I needed time to figure this out on my own terms.

My finger hovered over Cedric's name for a long moment, nearly pressing the call button.

Just as I hesitated, a sharp pain erupted in my neck. My vision blurred as I touched the spot, my fingers coming away wet with blood. A tranquilizer dart. Before I could react, my apartment door burst open, and five hunters rushed in from all entrances.

I tried to summon my darkness, but my power felt sluggish, affected by both the pregnancy and whatever drug was spreading through my system. One of the hunters slapped silver handcuffs on my wrists, sending burning pain up my arms.

The lead hunter roughly dragged me from my apartment. "The famous Dark Queen," he sneered. "Not so powerful now, are you?"

They took me to an abandoned warehouse, crudely outfitted as an interrogation room with blinding lights. There stood Margaret, the black mark on her face twisted into a grotesque expression. "Dark Queen," she said coldly, "welcome to hell."

The hunters strapped me to a metal chair made of silver alloy, burning wherever it touched my skin. Margaret picked up a pair of ordinary pliers, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Let's play a game," she said, voice dripping with malice. "Let's see how long you can go without screaming."

She began removing my fingernails one by one, taking her time, prolonging each moment of agony. Another hunter whipped my back with a silver-tipped lash, each strike cutting through flesh.

Despite the excruciating pain, I clenched my jaw, refusing to make a sound. When Margaret brought a hot iron near my abdomen, I tensed slightly—concerned for my unborn child.

Her eyes narrowed with interest. "You care about this area? Something special there?"

The hunters focused their torture on my midsection, using lighter but more persistent methods. Through it all, I remained silent, thinking of Cedric and our child, using those thoughts to anchor me through the darkness.

Even my supernatural constitution eventually began to fail under the relentless torture. As consciousness started to slip away, I maintained my defiant posture, refusing to give them the satisfaction of breaking me.

My last thought before darkness claimed me was of Cedric's face—and the child we had created, nestled safely inside me despite everything.