Chapter 97

"Never! That night, I had already told him to stop. It was just a few kisses and..." I yelled, feeling my eyes burn with fury, holding her tighter. She gasped and grabbed me. "I just wanted to get back at you! He said he was in the room with Kassandra, that you two had been trying to have a child for over a century. I almost went crazy with jealousy! And I wasn’t going anywhere with him. I only said that because I thought you had chosen everything else and not me."

"Never do that again, Lio. I'm here. I'm yours, and I want you to be mine, only mine."

"I am. Forever."

I held her head and kissed her, passionately, hungrily, finding my answers in that mouth. It was all I wanted, all I needed.

She kissed me back the same way, until our bodies became aroused, the desire threatening to take over everything. I forced myself to keep a distance and held her hand, both of us silent as the castle appeared before us.

It was already late at night, and the village in the distance was quiet. The gatekeeper was surprised to see us but smiled happily at Lio. We greeted him and entered.

I was once again struck by the warmth of the welcoming atmosphere, the smells of food still lingering in the air, mixed with scents of home. Flowers, the leather of books, the wood of furniture, the ember in the fireplace. And laughter coming from the living room.

Lio’s face lit up, and she pulled me in that direction. A feminine voice reached us:

"Mom and Dad already told you to go to bed! It's late. Could you please stop chatting and let me study?"

Salomé, with glasses perched on the tip of her nose, was sitting in an armchair with a book on her lap, scolding her pajama-wearing sisters who seemed to be dancing in front of her.

The three of them widened their eyes when they saw us, surprised. Lio laughed and ran to them.

"I can't believe it!" One of the twins grabbed her, celebrating. The other joined in. Salomé stood up, looking at me, then went to hug her.

"But... what do you mean? You just showed up out of nowhere?" she began questioning.

I turned when I heard hurried footsteps coming from the stairs and down the corridor. In seconds, Riuk burst into the room, tense, alert, certainly having sensed our smell or presence. Behind him came his wife, tying her robe. And the youngest, running with curiosity.

"Lio!" He ran and practically jumped into his older sister’s lap, being grabbed and kissed.

The love was evident, with that family feeling. But there was also a heavier atmosphere, as it became clear that the couple noticed something was off.

"Dad, Mom..."

Lio's eyes filled with tears, and she didn't give them a chance to ask what was going on. She hugged them, being squeezed and caressed by both.

Riuk stared at me over his daughter's head, his eyes turning a golden hue of rage, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed. I braced myself for a confrontation, ready to give explanations, unsure if I'd be welcomed or if my presence would cause discord. The tension was even more palpable.

"A lot has happened!" Lio started, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, very focused, making her stop when she realized how he was acting. "Dad, I..."

"You’re different," he almost grunted, sniffing again near her and scanning her from top to bottom. He looked at his wife, who nodded silently as if she understood.

I stayed still, curious and a little nervous. Everyone else was silent, not joining in on the father-and-mother understanding. Not even Lio.

"Shit..." Riuk seemed to struggle to keep control, his furious eyes turning to me. "You marked her."

I furrowed my brows, unsure if he was referring to the bites the wolves gave during sex or the sex itself. Maybe he had just realized his daughter was no longer a virgin.

"No, Dad." Lio held his arms. "I don't have a mark. Balthazar does, but..."

"You may not have the mark on your skin, but his scent is on you. And he's got your scent. A vampire's bite is not like a wolf’s. But it worked the same way."

She widened her eyes in surprise. Riuk continued to keep me in his sights, livid.

What he said was also new to me. No one really knew what it would be like between us. Both for me and for her.

Teodora stepped closer to both of them, her voice soft but concerned:

"Now you’re connected forever."

"That's why the telepathy!" Lio stared at me, stunned.

"What one feels, the other feels too. Everything that happens to you will be mutual," her mother continued.

"Until death. If it weren’t for this, Balthazar, you would already be dead."

The Alpha growled, furious, protective of his firstborn. I braced myself for a physical confrontation, alert.

Teodora placed her arm around his waist, tenderly:

"Balthazar is here, Riuk. He didn’t abandon her."

"I left my clan," I stated, in case he thought I had used his daughter and left her there to go back to my life. "And the engagement. To be with Lio."

Finally, his expression softened, though I could still feel his heavy, angry energy. He looked at his wife and murmured:

"There’s more."

"I know," her eyes filled with tears.

"More what? Balthazar can’t go back to his family. The two of us will stay together. Forever." Lio took a step back. She would’ve come to me, but her father grabbed her arm.

When he looked at her, his expression softened. Tenderly, he stroked her hair.

"You smell like him and something new. Everything has changed. Your wolf too."

She nodded, confessing:

"I don’t know what’s happening. I transformed, and she was different, seemed bigger, stronger, almost the size of your wolf, Dad. And she had his black fur mixed with mine. The smells are stronger, the senses more acute, and..."

"Shit..." He ran his fingers through his dark hair, shaking his head. "This isn’t possible. It’s never happened. But I feel it’s true."

"What?" Salomé approached, curious. "Did the genetics get affected?"

The silence expanded in the room. I couldn’t quite grasp where he was going with this. Lio hadn’t told me anything about her wolf. Anyway, Riuk was an Alpha Supreme, had powers beyond the others. And she was his daughter.

"We’ll have to do some tests, but everything points to the fact that maturity, the act of completing your femininity with sex, awakened a more powerful wolf in you, Lio. You’re the first Alpha wolf we’ve heard of."

"What?" She smiled, a little shocked. "But that’s not possible! Only males are alphas!"

"Anything is possible with a supreme heir. We’ve slowly been discovering the differences, the powers." He seemed proud, pulling her into a hug. "You’ve always had all the traits, daughter. Strength, determination, leadership, a protective spirit. I should’ve expected something like this."

"I’m not the only alpha! Yay!" Ares celebrated, coming to hug them, all happy.

"But then..." Salomé pushed her glasses up. "Could all of us be alphas one day? Or not?"

"We don’t know yet, daughter," Teo said.

While they were surprised, debating, I admired them. For their unity and support. But especially Lio, who had always been strong, self-assured, decisive. She was even more spectacular than I had thought.

She laughed again, still not believing it. Then, she ran to me, hugging me tightly. I embraced her in my arms, kissed her hair, and murmured:

"Should I be worried?"

"Why?"

"You were already fierce before. Now, as an alpha..."

She laughed again, and I squeezed her tighter. Then, I became a bit embarrassed because everyone was watching us. Me, a pure vampire, in love and proud in front of everyone.

Her father remained serious, a little accusatory. But I didn’t let her go.

"It’s been a lot of news today! Lio was marked by a vampire and marked him back!" One of the twins seemed excited. The other added:

"And she became an alpha!"

"Just like me!" Ares was still celebrating. "And everyone will be, you’ll see!"

"I don’t know. I hate fighting, I wear glasses..." Salomé scratched her head. "I need to discuss this with my genetics professors!"

"The news isn’t over," Riuk said, and the others fell silent. He looked at me. "You’re here for her? Aren’t you going back to your clan?"

"I’ll only leave if you expel me. But I’m not leaving her side." I said it firmly.

That didn’t offend him. He nodded.

"What news, Dad?" Lio squeezed me, trying to understand. "So much has happened, so many things I still don’t understand."

He and Teodora exchanged a look, embracing. Her eyes filled with tears again, suggesting she knew what he was talking about.

"When your mother got pregnant with you, I knew right away. I didn’t need weeks or months. I felt it in the first few days. Now I know too."

I felt my heart stop, then race much faster than a vampire was used to. Lio didn’t move, processing what had been said.

Teodora murmured:

"I felt it too. Your smell is the same, mixed with the scent of a stronger wolf, Balthazar’s, and the little one you carry in your belly."

"But I don’t... I’m not pregnant..." She looked at me, to confirm.

I shook my head.

"You're not. I need to command my body for reproduction. And it takes decades, even centuries, to conceive a child."

"With a vampire. Not with my daughter. I'm sure of it."

It may not have been conscious, but her body acted on its own then.

Riuk’s determination left no room for doubt.

The twins squealed. Salomé stammered:

"Am I going to be an aunt?"

Emotions swept through me from head to toe, as I seemed to be in shock, unsure if I believed it, looking for flaws. Then I looked at Lio, and her eyes were teary. I'd never seen her cry, but that night, she did it several times.

"A child..." she murmured.

Right then, I knew, when my heart filled with the purest love, with a hope I never thought I could experience.

Everything else was lost. What I left behind, what might still come. I pulled her up, lifting her off the ground, holding her so tightly I almost fused her into me.

Lio clung to me, kissing my whole face, laughing.

"Our child..." I whispered, cupping her head in my hands, gazing into her beautiful blue eyes.

Then we kissed, passionately.

It all started with that goal, a child between a pure vampire and a supreme wolf. And it completed itself right there, when we least expected it.

"Enough of this... Let go of my daughter, damn it..."

Riuk growled, Teodora told him to calm down, the twins continued celebrating, Ares was all happy, Salomé too.

I did what hadn't been too frequent in my life. I laughed and kissed her again.

My wolf. The mother of my child.