Chapter 10
The sunlight filtering through the thick security shutters didn’t touch me, but I felt the burn of the afternoon in my bones. Daylight was always a weight, even behind blackout glass and layered stone. My kind weren’t meant for it.
I snapped upright, a sharp breath cutting through my lungs. My body moved slower than it would after nightfall, but something was wrong.
“Layla?” I call, but I know before I even call her that Layla wasn’t next to me.
The sheets beside me were still warm, the imprint of her body faint, but her scent had already begun to dissipate into the heavy air. I reached for the bond instinctively, and there it was, a sliver of her anxiety, like glass under the skin.
She was close, but not inside. She wasn’t in the fucking house.
A growl rumbled in my chest, low and threatening.
The fury stirred immediately, an instinctive rage that came with knowing my mate was vulnerable.
I tore the blankets off and was already moving, naked, toward the closet.
My limbs felt heavy, daylight anchoring me down, but adrenaline and fury pushed through the weight.
My hands flew over buttons as I dressed, then I burst out of the bedroom, my voice echoing through the mansion.
"Where is she? Get me Gideon. Now."
Two guards appeared at the far end of the hall, both already alert. They didn’t ask questions.
Gideon met me in the front atrium within seconds, dressed in black combat gear, his dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck, a long scar cutting across his jawline. He was six-foot-four and built like a war god. His amber eyes were always steady, always watching.
He dropped to one knee in front of me, head bowed. "Master."
"Layla is outside, I want you to find her and bring her to me. Now Gideon…She’s anxious, something's wrong." My voice was clipped, the anger coursing through my body.
Gideon rose to his feet with a curt nod. "It will be done. "
He was a changeling, not a vampire, not a human but something in between.
My kind could not make more of us with a bite, that was fairytales told to gullible humans.
We could bite our mates and prolong their lives, binding them to us so that they didn’t age.
But they would never become like us. Not fully, not truly.
Only changelings were born of us. And that power was reserved for the First Sons, the purebloods, the original line. It was a sacred, dangerous rite. To create one was to gamble the human’s soul.
A ritual of blood and shadow, it required more than just strength.
It required will, both from the vampire and from the human.
The vampire had to draw their claws across the chest of the chosen, slashing deep enough to graze the heart, but not destroy it.
The wound was ritualized with blood, invocation, and intent.
If the humans will faltered, they died. If they fought through the agony and survived the transformation, they became something else entirely.
Those who endured the ritual were faster than any mortal, stronger, their reflexes inhuman.
Their minds sharpened, senses honed. They could feel vampires in a room before one even entered.
They could walk in the sun, breathe mortal air, but they were marked by darkness.
Still human, yes, but no longer fragile and no longer breakable.
It wasn’t just the ritual that changed them, it was the bond. A changeling was forever loyal to the one who made them. They didn’t follow orders, they obeyed instinct. A changeling would throw themselves into fire before letting harm touch the hand of their maker.
Only the worthy were chosen, and Gideon was the first I ever made.
He had been a soldier once, in another world, in another time.
A man broken by war and rebuilt in fire.
When I found him, he was dying in a trench, he never begged, instead he looked death in the eye and spat.
I saw his strength, saw the fire still left in his bones, and I offered him more.
He didn’t hesitate, and I knew he would survive.
For nearly one hundred and ninety years, he had served at my side.
He watched over my empire. Slaughtered those who came for my crown and hunted enemies in the day while I slept beneath marble and steel.
When my hands were tied, his were bloodied.
When my enemies smiled in sunlight, he erased them in shadow .
Now I had a few such soldiers. Soldiers that protected my family, protected my empire and most importantly kept guard in the daylight, but Gideon was still number one and he reigned over the other soldiers while I was asleep.
He had been my sword in the daylight when I could not rise, and today, once again, he would be the blade I sent to bring back what was mine. He would get Layla back or I know he would not return.
Before Gideon could move, one of the guards came rushing up the hallway.
"Sir. There’s a situation. A woman’s at the gates and she’s causing a scene."
I stilled. "Who?"
"She said her name is Rosemary, that she is your mate’s sister."
Fury scorched through me. The fucking sister. I bared my teeth. "She’s why Layla is out there. I knew something was wrong."
Layla’s anxiety spiked through the bond again, sharp as glass in my veins. It took every ounce of my will not to rip the mansion doors from their hinges and run headfirst into daylight; consequences be damned .
One of the soldiers stepped closer, his voice low but steady. "Sir... there's something else. One of the perimeter guards picked up a faint trace of sulphur and ash. Demon residue. It was weak, but fresh. It was coming from the girl…Rosemary."
I froze, every nerve in my body tightened. "Say that again."
"It was faint, but there. A trace of demon, not enough to be full possession, but... something's not right."
The last two weeks flashed through my mind in brutal clarity. Since the warehouse attack, nothing had been the same. The southern post was burned to ash and two of our men had been drained dry, their blood blackened and corrupted. Not by a blade but by a force, something ancient and ravenous.
We'd tracked demon movement further north, closer to the city. There were bolder attacks, bolder targets. The bastards were feeding more aggressively, skipping the humans and going straight for vampire bloodlines. Our essence gave them more power, longevity, and kept the insanity at bay .
And now... Layla’s sister shows up at my gates, unannounced, drawing Layla outside? When I can’t even defend her myself? Rage rose up inside me like a tidal wave.
"Get her back inside," I snapped at Gideon, my voice a cold blade cutting through the heavy air. "Now, Gideon. Before I burn this fucking place to ash."
He didn’t speak, he didn’t need to. He vanished into the corridors like smoke, silent and lethal.
And I stood there, fists clenched, body thrumming with helpless fury. The midday haze pressed against my skin like chains. Daylight might keep me caged, but nothing, not time, not blood, not fear would keep me from protecting her.
If a demon had touched her sister, if that darkness had gotten anywhere near Layla, I would tear it from this world with my bare hands. And I would start with whoever let it in.
I paced. Barefoot. I hadn’t even put on shoes when I left our room.
The cold stone beneath my feet grounded me, but only barely.
My muscles coiled tighter with every step, like a predator forced to watch the prey circle just beyond reach.
The bond between us pulsed like a frayed nerve.
I could feel her, but she was too far, too exposed, too anxious.
I kept seeing her face in my mind, her wide green eyes, her soft mouth. I ran a hand through my hair, dragging my fingers through it again and again until it stuck out in all directions. My fangs had dropped and ached. My jaw was clenched so hard it felt like my teeth would snap.
Seconds crawled, minutes bled like hours. Where the fuck was Gideon? My vision blurred at the edges, red threatening to cloud it. I wanted to smash something. No, I wanted to kill. Whoever had lured her outside, whoever brought this taint near her, they would pay.
Then, finally, I heard it. There were footsteps, two sets and they were approaching the front doors.
I turned, my whole body stilling and then the door opened and there she was. Layla. Her eyes found mine instantly, as if the bond had snapped tight between us. She looked fine, maybe a little shaken, her cheeks were flushed, but she was whole .
I didn’t breathe; I didn’t even speak. I moved. One stride, then two, and she was in my arms. I didn’t give her a choice as I crushed her to my chest, burying my face in her hair, inhaling her like I’d been suffocating without her.
"Why the fuck did you leave when I can't be with you?" I growled against her skin, my voice hoarse with the storm I hadn’t been able to release. "You were in danger. Fuck, Layla. You don’t get to scare me like that."
She wrapped her arms around me slowly, her hands trembling against my back. "I didn’t mean to... I had cramps and was getting up when Rosemary... she called and insisted on seeing me. Said she had something important to tell me, but it had to be in person."
My body stiffened even more. "Cramps? What do you mean cramps?"
Layla looked up at me, cheeks colouring. "I think I’m getting my period. I usually get cramps before it starts."
Every muscle in my body froze, a cold wave passed through me. And then I was moving again, fast. I scooped her into my arms before she could blink .
"Roman! Put me down! I need to go talk to Rosemary."
"No. You’re not going anywhere."
“Roman!” she argues, “Put me down, what are you doing? I just came in as not to worry you.”
I was already halfway up the stairs, swearing under my breath as I moved. "If you're getting your period, you’re not stepping outside this house. Not now, not until it’s over."
"You’re overreacting!"
"No, I’m not," I snapped. "You don’t understand what that means. For vampires, your period is like blood-drenched bait waved in front of starving wolves. You think it’s safe for you to be around any male vampire like that?
They’ll scent you, they’ll want to taste you.
Even the most disciplined of us struggle when blood is fresh and pure. And yours..."
I growled low, my fangs aching. "Yours is mine, all of you is. And if any male even senses that part of you, there’ll be bloodshed."
She gaped at me. "Wait, are you saying you still want sex even when I’m on my period? "
I let out a dark, rumbling laugh. "Layla, I’m a vampire. Blood is my thing. That time? That’s when you’re most fertile to us. That’s when the bond between us screams the loudest, and even if I wanted to, I won’t be able to help myself, and neither will you."
Her breath hitched, a surprised look on her face.
"Your body will crave me," I whispered, eyes locked on hers. "Desperately. Hungrier than ever. And I will give you everything you need, again and again, until you can't think of anything but me."
She was silent, but her heartbeat... it was already racing.
"I should at least go tell Rosemary I’ll talk to her later," Layla said, voice hesitant. "Maybe just see what she wanted, as I hadn’t got to the gate before your man brought me back."
I stopped in my tracks and looked down at her, my arms tightening. "No. You can call her later. When this is over, because you’re not going anywhere now."
She huffed, crossing her arms, but I didn’t loosen my hold. Her expression shifted from defiant to resigned as we reached our room. I set her down gently on the bed, watching her with wary eyes. She pulled her phone from the nightstand and sat on the edge of the mattress, dialling quickly.
"Rosemary?" she said once the line picked up. "Look, I can’t talk right now. Sorry, I’ll call you later, okay?"
I could hear her sister’s voice on the other end, fast and high-pitched, already arguing.
"I said later," Layla insisted, voice firmer now. "No, not now. I have things going on, I’ll talk to you another time, I promise...Just stop."
She ended the call with a sigh, placing the phone back on the stand. "Happy?" she muttered.
"No. But satisfied enough. For now."
What I didn’t tell her was that Rosemary’s visit had stirred more than irritation. The faint demon trace near her had been enough to wake me from my sleep, and I wasn’t taking any more chances.
"Gideon will stay with you during the day if you are not with me," I said as I pulled her gently into bed beside me. "And if I’m called away at night, two of my best will be stationed at your door. "
She looked at me, her lips parting in surprise. "Roman... you really think that’s necessary?"
"I know it is," I said, brushing my fingers down her arm. "But right now, I need you here. Next to me."
I pulled her into my arms, cocooning her with my body, shielding her with my presence.
"Sleep with me," I murmured into her hair. "Just for a little while. I won’t rest unless you’re close."
She didn’t argue this time. Her body curled into mine, and I held her as my rage dulled, and the weight of the day finally began to settle. Whatever storm was coming, whatever threats were waiting beyond the shadows, for now, she was safe.
And I wasn’t letting her go, because someone had tried to pull her out of my world. And now I would destroy theirs until there was nothing left.