The Vampire Who Lost His Wife and Child

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I nestled in the arms of my vampire husband, Alaric, and offered my neck to his lingering kisses. My breath caught as my hand fumbled in my pocket for the pregnancy test crystal. It glowed faintly, showing a clear positive result. I planned to reveal my pregnancy as my final surprise for the night: we were going to have a half-vampire child of our own. Alaric's confidant, Roman, grinned suggestively and asked in the Old Tongue of the Kindred: ""Your Highness, and what of your childhood friend, the beautiful pureblood Elise? Does she satisfy you?"" Alaric's mocking laughter rumbled against my chest, sending a chill down my spine. He replied in the same Old Tongue: ""Like fire, wild and intensely hot. The harder you bite, the sweeter she yields."" His fingertip was still tracing the bite marks on my neck, but his gaze was far away. ""Just be sure to keep this quiet. I'd be ruined if my dear wife found out."" The clansmen chuckled, raising their blood-filled goblets to pledge their secrecy. The warmth in my blood ran to ice. They had forgotten. Born of a noble human line that had intermarried with the Kindred for generations, I was fluent in their Old Tongue. I forced myself to remain calm, keeping the perfect hostess's smile plastered on my face, but the hand gripping my glass began to tremble. Alaric probably thought that if I found out, I would cry and demand to know why he treated me this way, just as I had before. But what he didn't know was that this time, everything was different. The marriage contract was void. I sent a message to my father: ""Father, I've lost the bet. I am coming home to inherit the family estate.""