Chapter 65: Chapter Sixty-Five

"No, I don't think you're a liar!" I exclaimed, trying to find a way to escape. He had his body pressed against mine, his blood-red eyes baring down on me, like a creature who'd finally caught its prey. I'd always forgotten that Damien was indeed a creature on the top of the food chain, and that I was only a human. He'd never terrified me like this before, showing me just how much power he held over my life.

"Why did you come here, Bastet?" He snarled, his long white fangs glowing in the otherwise dark night.

"I was coming to ask her why the potion hasn't worn off yet... It's been over twenty-four hours. I was starting to get worried about it." I said quickly, unable to look away from his eyes, despite the fact that I wanted nothing more at that moment.

"I see." He said, his eyes finally reverting to blue, his fangs receding back into their sheathes. He took a step back, then took my hand and led me back to the house, without another word. Even after we got to the house, he continued to pull me upstairs and into the bathroom, where he pulled off my clothes and stepped into the shower with me.

I didn't know what to say, or if there was anything I could say, so I remained quiet. I let him do what he was already doing as he washed us, then wrapped a towel around me while he dried himself off. I could think of nothing but the gruesome scene I'd discovered, and the primal side of Damien I'd actually forgotten existed. To me, Damien was always nice and kind. But to the world he was a ruthless killer, with no respect for a life other than his own. How could I have forgotten what Damien was?

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Bast." Damien suddenly said, pulling my attention out of my thoughts, and back to him.

"I..." I started to say, but bit my lip as I trailed off. I was starting to apologize, but why would I? Did I really have something to apologize for?

"You've nothing to apologize for, kitten. I do. I'm sorry you had to see that, truly." He said as he handed me a small light blue nightgown.

"You... You're sorry I had to see it, but you aren't sorry that you did it?" I blurted out, then immediately gasped and took a few steps back, afraid of his response. I really need to learn to just shut up sometimes.

"I have no reason to apologize for my actions." He said simply, with a soft chuckle as he watched me. I could tell that was a forced laugh, but he was trying to get me to calm down. "Did I, or did I not, tell her that she would be my first kill after I reverted?"

"You did, I just didn't think..."

"You thought me a liar? Or one to make threats I've no intentions on following through with?" He phrased his words as if they were questions, but I knew they were statements. He was testing me, waiting to see how I responded. I felt as if my answers were likely connected directly to my demise, if I answered the wrong way, he'd kill me.

"No, Damien. I didn't think that at all. I never have. I guess I forgot who you really are... What you really are. I've never seen that side of you before."

"I've never allowed you to see that side of me, and I had no intentions on you ever seeing it, my love."

"Wait, did you lie to me?" I exclaimed, taking a few steps forward, too blinded by my own anger to clearly see the danger in my actions and words.

"About?" He asked me, looking down at me with a quizzical look.

I put my hand on his shoulder, and tapped his knee softly with my foot, telling him to bend down, so we were face to face. He did as I requested and got on his knees in front of me, without a second of hesitation, not seeming to mind it in the slightest.

I put my hands on either side of his face and leaned forward, until our noses were less than an inch apart, narrowing my eyes as I glared at him.

"Are you going to harm my child?" I asked him softly, but with no softness in my heart. The only thing on my mind at this moment was my child, and I didn't care if I offended or angered him in any way. Even without knowing with one hundred percent certanty that I was pregnant or not, I still felt a strong urge to protect my unborn child.

He sighed with a shake of his head, closing his eyes. "I told you-"

"Look at me, Damien!" I yelled in his face, then watched as his eyes flew open, meeting my intensive gaze. "Lie to me, if you dare." I hissed out, before asking him again; "Are you going to attempt to harm my child?" I asked again, spitting the word 'attempt' as a poorly veiled threat.

"No, my love. I will not, harm our child." He said, his eyes meeting my gaze with the same intensity, unwavering in his conviction as he spoke. I remained like this for a few moments, searching his eyes for any flicker of deception, but finding none. The only thing I found in his eyes was what I percieved to be what looked like... Respect?

Once I was convinced of his sincerity, I nodded and leaned back, then noticed what he had done.

"Wait, why did you?..."

"You are my queen, I bow to you and you alone." He said, putting his arms around my waist, pulling my body against his, resting his head against my breasts.

I put my arms around his shoulders, resting my head against his as my heart slowly slowed to its normal rhythm, my thoughts still spinning wildly.

"If you bow to me, why do you lie to me?"

"When have I lied to you?" He asked me, the hurt in his voice evident as he pulled back to look at me.

"Not telling me something, is the same as lying to me about it. Lying by omission, is still a lie, Damien."

He watched me closely for a moment, considering what I've said. "You wish for me to tell you everything?"

"Yes." I said with a slight nod, almost immediately regretting it. The things Damien could tell me would likely make my skin crawl, but it was too late. I'm engaged to the vampire king, and will soon become the vampire's bride. At some point, I will need to know about this part of his life, and be active in it as well.

"Now?"

"No, starting in the morning. Let's talk about something else tonight."

"What would you like to talk about? He asked as he stood, carrying me to the bed, laying down next to me. He propped himself up on one arm, waiting patiently for me to respond.

"Our marriage. Let's do it after your birthday."

"My birthday? Kitten, I haven't celebrated that in over 200 years, I see no point in starting now. But I did think you'd want to do it faster, seeing as how you'd begin showing by then."

"Will I?" I asked, rubbing my flat stomach, my heart skipping a beat as I thought about the life slowly growing inside me.

"My birthday is four months from now, and if the hundreds of baby books I've read are correct, you'll start showing at about twelve weeks." He said, his eyes falling to my stomach as he watched me rub it. He leaned forward until his face was only inches away, then kissed my stomach softly. "I know you can't hear me yet, little one. But we can't wait to see you."

I giggled as I watched him, then shook my head. "Hundreds of baby books?"

"Yes." He said, not a flicker of humor on his otherwise solemn expression. "I ordered every book I could get my hands on, and a few that cost a small fortune to obtain. I've been reading them as you slept."

"Seriously?" I gasped out, not sure if I should laugh or cry. I settled on laughing while crying, causing Damien's eyes to go wide in shock, as he didn't know what to do. He quickly pulled me against him, rubbing my back softly, kissing my forehead.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, not at all. I just didn't expect that!" I exclaimed, trying to wipe my tears away, but couldn't as I was laughing too hard. "Did you also read books about teenagers so you knew what to expect with me?" I gasped out once I'd caught my breath well enough to speak.

"Yes..." He responded slowly, his eyes still wide as he struggled to figure out what to do, to help me.

"Oh my..." I started to say, but trailed off as I erupted in laughter again. All I could picture was Damien reading through thousands of books, making notes about teenagers as I aged, thinking that it was as easy as that. Oh, the shock he must have gotten when he realized teenagers weren't as simple as he thought!

"If I've done nothing wrong, why are you crying?"

"Because... You read hundreds of books... Did they help, Damien? Please tell me that you actually learned something you could use?"

"No, teenagers are much more difficult than those worthless books let on." He commented with a slight shake of his head.

"Yeah, I bet!" I exclaimed, holding my stomach as it began aching from the pain of laughing so hard.

"Why are you holding your stomach, kitten?" He asked me as he sat up, his eyes wide in worry. "Do you need to go to the hospital? Are you okay?"

"When you were human, you never laughed so hard your sides hurt?" I asked him after I finally stopped laughing.

"No, I didn't."

"I wish I was surprised by that." I commented with a shake of my head, motioning for him to lay back down. "Okay, so we should get married before I start showing?" I asked him, changing the subject, trying to stop myself from laughing again.

"We can marry when you wish, I just thought you'd want to do it faster."

"Do you know where you want to do it?"

"I always thought you'd like to get married outdoors, as you love the meadow."

"It would be awesome to get married in the meadow. But it might be too cold by then, won't it? It's already august and the flowers won't be in full bloom for much longer."

"If we get married before the weather gets too cold, it will be fine." He said, pulling me against his chest, rubbing my hair again.

"Do you think it would be okay if Valerie came for a little while? She could help me plan everything." I asked him, nuzzling my face into his chest, intertwining my fingers with his.

"Of course, my love. I'll invite her in the morning."

"What about the guests? We don't know who told the police about where I was." I said, looking up at him, noticing a slight gleam in his eye as he watched me. "What?"

"We do, actually. I didn't want you to think of such things while we were enjoying our time together, so I was waiting to tell you."

"Who?" I asked, sitting upright.

"Regina." He said softly, watching me closely to gauge how I reacted.

"I want to be surprised, but I'm not. Fucking bitch." I mumbled, laying back down.

"I wanted your input on what should be done about her, as well as who you still wanted invited to the wedding?"

"As for who, me and Val can go through the list and decide who's trustworthy. But for Gina? I don't care." I said, then flinched when I realized what I'd said. "Wait, what to do with her, as in kill her?"

"If that is what you wish."

"No, please don't kill her. She's a dumb bitch, but she doesn't deserve to die for it."

"Yes, my love. Now please, get some sleep."

"Okay." I mumbled, already fighting myself to stay awake as long as I had.