SYLAQ'S POV

I opened my eyes to see Ariella beside me. I'm happy to see her here, then I noticed my parents, Nathan, Aunt Astrid, Uncle Adrian,  Tyler, Dorothy, and my eyes widened when I saw Jade.

"Dear, it's good to see that you're up," mom muttered.
"How are you feeling now?" Dad asked with pure concern.

"Sylaq, why are you quiet? Don't tell me that you have lost your memory or something. Tyler joked making me smile.

"Do you feel any pain in any part of your body??" Ariella asked with concern. After what I said to her, she was here beside me. I must apologize for what I said, I did not even mean it.

I stretched my arms forward and gazed into her beautiful hazel green eyes and a smile naturally plastered on my face. "I'm better."

"Thank the gods for saving you. I really thought that I was going to lose you and there'll be no one to protect me from Bella," Nathan heaved a sigh of relief.
"That won't ever happen," I told him.

"Jade, you're here?" I finally asked.

Dad had banished Aunt Jade cause of a dumb reason. I was really sad about that cause Jade is more of my best friend than my aunty. It's why I don't refer to her as aunt Jade

"Well, Jade was needed to save you from the bite," Aunt Astrid explained to me.  Of course, Jade had always come to my rescue.

Jade inhaled, "I'm glad to see that you're awake now. You should thank Ariella 'cause it's only because of her blood that you're alive."

Really? Ariella saved me, this was definitely pleasing to hear. "MRS. Steel, thank you," I grinned with excitement.

She just stared at me with an unreadable expression.

Our relationship was messy because I was hiding a lot from her,  I had this feeling that I'd lose her but there was no way that I'd give up on getting her to love me.  I wouldn't lose her again even if I had to fight destiny for us to be together. I sure would fight the entire universe to be with her.

"Seeing as my job is done here, I will be going now," Jade said while clasping her hands.

What the fuck? She should not leave at all.

"Please stay," I practically begged but she said, "this is no longer my town. You know where to find me."

Dam it! Jade was very stubborn just like her brother, my dad.

Everyone looked at my father so that he could say something but this stubborn King just said, "I need to go and kill Zac Tyger myself."

Yeah, right. I almost forgot that I'm only here cause of that bastard, Zac Tyger.

"Release him. I do not want him dead yet," I firmly stated.

"No, he must pay for what he did," mom contradicted me.

"Mom, we both have unfinished business," I shrugged. Father opened the door and then turned back to say, "Jade, thank you", before exiting the room.

ARIELLA'S POV

TWO DAYS LATER
THE ROYAL DINING ROOM

Jade actually left and the King didn't forgive her for what I still don't know. Zac was also released and sylaq has totally recovered from Zac's bite. Right now, the entire family is present in the Royal dining room having breakfast. The huge round dining table is loaded with dishes like stake, lasagna, French Onion soup, grilled turkeys, fruit salads, fish cakes, chicken cakes, Italian shrimp pasta, and desserts like vanilla cream-filled donuts, scones, brownies, flan, cream puffs and more than you can imagine. The butler AKA Bella's mate also served whine, grapes smoothies, and blood. I don't understand why they need to make so many dishes when they only need blood to survive. Whatever, I'll just enjoy it all except the blood. I was glad when Sylaq told me that the meals weren't actually made from magic.

I carefully ate my donuts embracing every delicious bite.

"This blood is shit. I need to drink from a human," Bella said, giving me a disgusting look.

"Ariella's blood tastes great. Maybe I..." her sentence was cut short by Sylaq.

"You dare touch her and I'll offer you to the gods in a heartbeat," from the look on his flawless face, he wasn't joking at all.

"Relax bro. I was just saying my mind", Bella smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes.

"No one gives a fuck about your mind so shut the fuck up! Bella, don't test me," Sylaq growled.

"Easy bro, you're talking like you haven't fed from millions of humans," Bella said, making me drop my donut.

"Oh! I see you're not aware of Sylaq's title,"!Bella smirked at me.

"Shut the hell up," Sylaq warned.

The King and Queen were surprisingly not interfering in their argument while Nathan seemed to be enjoying his lasagna. As for Dorothy and Tyler, they were just enjoying every bite of the stake. Astrid was drinking blood slowly while Adrian was admiring his wife drinking blood. No one seemed bothered about Sylaq's and Bella's fight. Perhaps, they are used to it. I was used to it too but This time, I wanted to know what Bella was talking about.

"What title?" I was curious to know.

"I see. Of course, he hid it from you," Bella smiled wickedly.

"Shut the fucking hell up," Sylaq seemed intimidated by what Bella had to say which made me more intrigued.

"Hid what? Tell me," I was feeling nervous.

"That he's labeled as the vampire beast," Bella said.

"W-what?" I gasped.

"I was one but not anymore," Sylaq said in his defense.

"Even we lost count of the cities he attacked so Sylaq doesn't act like you're a saint cause you're so far from it," Bella raised her brow.

"I wasn't claiming to be one!!" He shouted.

"Don't forget that the annual blood wrestling is coming up in a few days," the King announced as if he wasn't paying attention to everything that's been going on here.

I know that Sylaq is a vampire but I thought that he was nice. I really thought that he was different Bella but I was wrong. To think, I was learning to trust him. I should have known that the word NICE can't be used to describe a vampire. He could kill me in the future but for now, I would just eat some brownies and face Sylaq Steel later.

"Ariella," Sylaq called out but I just ignored him.

Bella stood up to leave but an idea popped into my head. Bella was walking away but when she reached my side, I intentionally let the glass bowl of hot soup slip from the table making sure that it dropped on the right person.

"Arg!" Bella groaned.

"Oops!" Dorothy murmured.

"Ugh, my hands get clumsy at times," I smirked.

She obviously healed very quickly but at least, she felt the hot soup on her skin.

"HOW. DARE. YOU,"  Bella was gonna attack me but Sylaq was fast to grab her by her neck. Without delay, he flung her to the huge standing tower vase which was located at the left-side corner of the Royal dining room.

"Dammit! I've had enough of the two of you constantly attacking each other," Queen Catherine banged the dining table with her hands, and just like that the whole table crumbled to the ground. I was fast to have gotten up but a few glasses pierced into my right leg causing me to bleed. It was my first seeing the Queen lose her temper. I couldn't even blame her. Holy shit, this family is damaged and it saddened my heart to know that I was a part of this family.

Sylaq immediately rushed to my side and tried to touch me but I shifted away. The rest of the members healed quickly. Of course, they are all supernatural beings and I'm the only human here.

"Your leg is bleeding so much," Sylaq pointed out, his deep green eyes were in agony, or at least, they looked like they were.

"Don't you dare touch me!" I shouted but Sylaq carried me away from the royal dining room.

"Let go of me!" I barked at him while hitting his chest but he was obviously way too strong for me and before I knew it I was placed on our bed in our room.

Sylaq placed his right arm on my leg and instantly the bleeding stopped immediately. The pain went away too.

"I'm sorry about Bella, my mom's outburst and I'm also sorry for everything," Sylaq said, kneeling close to my right leg.

"I thought you were a good vampire. But I see now that there are no good vampires", I said raising my head.

"I am a changed person cause of you," he lied. We hadn't known each other that long for me to change him. My parents had been married for over two decades and still, my mom couldn't change my dad's behavior. How much more, mine and Sylaq's two months relationship.

"Really? We have only been married for two months now so stop lying about me changing you," I said, giving him a deadly glare.

"Ariella, you know nothing," he got up and sat on the bed almost close to me.

"I knew nothing before but now I know everything. You're just a heartless vampire that will use a human to get his mate back," the words dropped from my mouth faster than I expected.

"Fuck it. You're me....", he stopped.

"Your what? Your human toy? Just leave me alone. I hate you," my temper flared.

"Don't you dare say that again," his voice sounded harsh but desperate at the same time. He climbed up on me and tried to kiss me.

"Sylaq, don't," I told him to stop but his soft lips found mine and my body betrayed me when I kiss him back harder. I hated him but I craved him sexually. 

He trailed kisses down my neck making me moan with pleasure.

This is so wrong yet so right. Sylaq could be using me and I don't want to be anyone's toy plus I'm not comfortable with the things Bella said.

"Sylaq Steel,  stop," I pushed him away.

"You can't deny that we burn for each other," he touched his heart which was beating very fast and gazed into my eyes with pure passion.

"Sylaq Steel, you're not what I signed up for!" I reminded him.

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