The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 347: A kind of ‘I love you’

"One would think he would treat family better, but he didn’t! His sons took after him, and his wife was the same!" Zyren said in a way that made Aira frown, a question forming on her lips even before she spoke.

"His wife? Isn’t she your mother?" she asked, confusion clear on her face, even as Zyren slowly shook his head while standing in front of Aria.

She continued to sit on the table, the sleeves of her gown having slipped down her arms and fallen to the sides, revealing more of her breasts than propriety demanded. It was something she wasn’t in a hurry to fix, not when her attention was pulled entirely toward Zyren.

Her thoughts were momentarily distracted as Zyren responded, his head shaking again, slower this time, as though the weight of the truth demanded care.

"No! My mother was one of his mistresses!" he said with a sigh, the sound heavy with old resentment. Aira nodded her head, already putting pieces together.

"She’s dead," she said, stating it as a fact rather than a question, and Zyren nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah! She died giving birth to me... which is doubtful!" he added, his tone edged with bitterness. Aira frowned, a questioning gaze settling on his face. Mothers died in childbirth sometimes. She knew that. Everyone did.

Including vampires, since for some reason they bled more and were often too weak for their bodies to recover without new blood. It wasn’t unheard of, she reminded herself.

"She was a werewolf! Werewolves don’t die in childbirth!" Zyren said outright, ripping the bandage off the truth so it wouldn’t drag on any longer than necessary.

Aira was beyond stunned. She stared at him, her expression almost demanding that he confirm what he’d just said, to reassure her that she hadn’t misunderstood him.

"I’m sure! Why do you think that artifact didn’t completely work on me?" he pointed out. Aira slowly processed the information, her mind racing through implications, histories, and dangers. She was acutely aware that Zyren was sharing secrets—deep ones—and doing so without fear.

"You’re not worried I’ll still try and kill you?" she asked, half curious, half testing him.

He leaned in before she could say anything else, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that stole her breath. His mouth brushed against her ear as he whispered in a slightly desperate tone, "I’m more worried about whether or not I can continue."

He pushed his hips forward, his now hardened member settling back between her legs, right at her core and center. Her heart skipped several beats as realization hit her—he was serious.

She met the intensity of his gaze, her pulse racing. His arms tightened, gripping the sides of the table on either side of her, caging her in as though daring her to pull away. His eyes searched her face, almost asking if there was anything more she needed to know. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"You’re part werewolf... part vampire?" she whispered, her voice low, as if the walls themselves might be listening.

Zyren nodded instantly.

But Aria couldn’t help the deeper frown that followed. She pushed him away, needing space, needing clarity. I can’t let myself get swept away right now, she told herself, grounding her thoughts. She needed to be sober for the rest of this conversation.

Zyren clearly wasn’t pleased. He refused to be pushed aside, catching her hand where it pressed against his chest and lifting it to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly.

"Your body is fine? You have no problems?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.

Zyren chuckled, amused despite himself, and began listing everything he had done to stabilize his blood after his father forcefully awakened his werewolf side. It had always been his father’s intention—to gain more power.

An experiment. One he believed he could recreate within himself by introducing werewolf cells into his own body in a controlled medium, allowing them to merge rather than clash.

"It only made him go mad, though! You start to hallucinate, see things that aren’t there," Zyren commented, a smile tugging at his lips. "But it did make him a bit stronger than usual!"

He relished the look on Aira’s face, even though he knew she couldn’t see it herself. She was worried and concerned all at once, emotions warring behind her eyes, and he found the sight strangely satisfying.

"I’m okay," he finished before Aria could ask the obvious question. It was written all over her face anyway.

"With the bond and a couple of rituals, I feel fine," he told her. Yet instead of easing her unease, his words only seemed to deepen it.

"That’s why you were worried about the baby? You think it would affect it?" she asked, realization dawning. Anxiety tightened her chest before easing almost immediately.

"I’m human! With the both of us, the baby would be fine!" she said, a soft smile spreading across her face. Confidence bloomed within her, warm and certain.

"...with my abilities, I don’t think anything would go wrong," she assured him, her voice steady.

Zyren nodded slowly, absorbing her words.

"You don’t need to worry," she added gently.

Zyren almost chuckled. Worry about the baby had been the last thing on his mind. If anything, he didn’t want her to go through childbirth at all. Healing abilities or not, she was still human, and he knew too well how fragile that made her.

"Okay! I won’t!" he said, eyes crinkling in a way Aria found unexpectedly endearing.

She moved closer and hugged him, tighter than usual, holding on as though anchoring herself. He leaned down, speaking softly into her ear.

"Can we continue now?" he asked, clearly eager now that the subject of his family was done.

Aira pushed him away again, shaking her head. She placed her feet firmly on the ground, no longer letting them dangle, signaling that this was over—for now.

"Are you going to find him?" she asked, backing away toward the door.

"Of course!" Zyren replied, leaning back against the table, watching her retreat. "And kill him," he added calmly, as if it were simply the natural conclusion to Vander’s actions.

"...and also the ones that let him out!" His tone turned a bit colder when he said it, since it was clear that the ones he was most annoyed at were the ones who had let him out.