Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 133: Unstable_Part 1

Belle was never sure how long they held on to each other in that same position, with half his weight resting on top of her. He had withdrawn from inside her, but the firmness of his shaft still grazed her right where they had been joined a while ago. She felt sore in places, but she couldn’t dwell on it, not with the overwhelming sense of rightness that consumed her.

They were both completely naked, with no sheet covering their bodies. Her husband lay atop her, his mouth pressed into the curve of her neck, while her hand moved slowly up and down his spine, tracing her fingers along each of the scars etched into his skin.

The chamber remained dim despite it being day, the heavy drapes tightly drawn to shut out every trace of natural light. Only the warm glow from the fireplace illuminated the space.

When he slowly pulled his head back to look down at her, his face was shadowed and unclear due to the lack of light. Belle impulsively kissed the skin beneath his lower lip, then the corner of his mouth, and finally placed a soft peck on his lips.

He didn’t move to kiss her back, he only stared at her for a moment, and then slipped his arms under her, holding her to him wordlessly, his head returning to the curve of her neck.

He held her with arms that trembled but would not let her go, and she held him back just as tightly. There was something strange and unsettling about his body temperature, it kept shifting from cold to warm, but she thought it must be because they were holding each other so closely, their bodies pressed tightly together.

She rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes, but she did not fall asleep.

One of the logs in the fireplace hissed and sparked as it burned down to glowing coal, and the rising wind outside rattled the French doors of the balcony.

Other than that, all was silent. Rohan’s breathing was even, and his chest pressed firmly against her bare breast.

Belle felt like a fairy-tale princess in this castle, and the knight who’d brought her here was showing her a world she’d never known. She had never known this part of the world he had taken her to awhile ago, one she had feared, but it was more delicious than she had expected.

She’d learned more in the last month and the weeks she’d spent here than she had in the first twenty-four years of her life. She could not vividly recall the woman she was before she was married to him, her life in Aragonia and in the Dawson mansion. He was changing her...

She recalled how terrified she had been on the day of their marriage, and comparing it to how content she felt now, it seemed like the woman who had dreaded her wedding day was a completely different person from the one holding her husband tightly after they had consummated their marriage at last.

She opened her eyes and stroked his hair gently.

Rohan’s body was as solid as the foundations of this old castle. And yet, she sensed his fragility after being one with him a while ago. Something about him had momentarily shifted when he was inside her. She’d felt a softness in him, and a vulnerability he wouldn’t normally show.

He was a man who took amusement in others’ misery and looked like nothing could hurt him, but just a while ago, she’d felt a different aura in him that made her question if she had just imagined it or if it had really happened.

His scars and his past were things she so badly wanted to learn about, but he wasn’t being open with her.

He had so much buried inside him that he did not share, and as much as she would like to know more about him and understand him better, she didn’t want to push him and end up making him avoid her, or worse, anger him. She would wait to learn him at his own pace, or figure things out herself without having to ask.

She suddenly felt his lips nuzzle the curve of her neck where his head rested. He kissed her skin, then ran his tongue over it, and she shuddered in pleasure, tightening her arms around him.

"Are you thirsty?" Belle asked softly, when she felt the graze of his fangs against her skin, making her still for a breathless moment.

"Hmm..." he hummed, the sound low and deep as he continued to lick and caress her neck in a way that sent another kind of heat spiraling through her body. The ache and warmth that had settled in her core began to rise again, melting through her like honey. She was somewhat exhausted, but the returning pleasure veiled the exhaustion.

"You... can have my blood," she whispered breathlessly, stroking his hair gently.

But he stilled, his mouth pausing against her skin. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Not in my current state," he murmured. "I’ll take it next time... when we do this again." He kissed the spot where her pulse beat steadily, then pulled back slightly.

If he dared fall into the temptation of having her blood in his current condition, when he needed more blood than usual after exhausting his strength traveling back and forth to Aragonia, he might end up harming his wife.

It was a surprise he was still sane at this rate with the exhaustion in his body.

He smiled down at her flushed face, then shifted so that she lay atop him, her head resting on his chest.

"Rest a little. We have only a few hours before we leave," he whispered into her ear and began to stroke her spine.

He was barely holding back. If they had nowhere to go, he would have taken her all over again until they were both completely spent, and then slept in her bed until he regained his full strength and mental capacity, which he could feel himself losing slowly now, to his dismay. He didn’t want to lose it. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Falling into such a state had never been a good thing for him. His head felt heavy, like a weight had been dropped onto it, and his ears had become hypersensitive, so much so that even the slightest noise could unsettle him and push him into a state most would call madness.

But at this moment, his wife’s steady heartbeat against him kept him grounded. It calmed the chaos building inside.

Though vampires didn’t need sleep as frequently as humans, they still required rest. Those who couldn’t afford to sleep regularly would eventually take a few days off to retreat into deep, undisturbed slumber. But Rohan’s case was different. It had always been different.

He could go an entire year without sleeping, as long as he didn’t do anything that drained him too deeply. But once he pushed beyond his limits, his recovery was no longer simple.

Using his wings had always taken a significant toll on his strength, especially when used for extended periods. Just like how humans become irritable and drained when sleep-deprived, Rohan’s own sleeplessness could spiral into something far worse.

For him, it wasn’t just mood swings, it could mean losing control of his mind entirely.

He just hoped the hunt wouldn’t last beyond tomorrow, he thought with a quiet sigh.

Belle, already exhausted beyond what she thought her body could endure, closed her eyes. Sleep claimed her the moment her lashes touched her cheeks.

But it wasn’t deep. Or perhaps time passed faster than she realized. It felt like she had only just closed her eyes before a knock came at the door, jolting her awake.

She raised her head from her husband’s chest in alarm. She and Rohan were both naked down to their socks. Their clothes were scattered over the floor, and she doubted if the door was locked. She was making an attempt to sit up when she felt his arm tighten around her.

"Calm down. It’s Rav, he knows better than to barge in." He assured her and then communicated with Rav through their mind link.

"What’s the matter?" he demanded.

"My Lord, it’s almost time for your departure and the lady has not eaten anything since morning, so I thought to check up on you," Rav said, making sure he did not go anywhere close to opening the door.

He had been worried since he saw Rohan return in a state of exhaustion with pale skin when he normally had honey-colored skin. His lordship had ignored him when he asked what was wrong and had made his way to his wife’s chamber.

After what happened the last time he opened the door at the wrong time, he had warned the maids who usually prepared the lady’s bath not to disturb her unless they were called. It was evening now and neither of the two had come down to eat or seemed to prepare for the hunt like every other noble household must be doing.

This season was one that everyone took seriously. He couldn’t help but worry that his master planned not to join when it was an order for him and his wife to take part.

"Prepare our meal and send her bath in a few minutes. We will be down soon," Rohan replied to Rav. Then, after a moment of silence, he added, "Rav, I will need the dark concoction tonight. Mix it for me in the study. I’ll take it before we leave."

Rav froze mid-step outside the door when he heard those words. Rohan only ever requested the dark concoction, the one given to him during his time in the asylum, when he was beginning to fall under the spell of his mental affliction. Rav never used the word "madness." He refused to believe it was madness.

Rohan despised the dark concoction and had not taken it since the day he was freed from the asylum. He usually only took the milder one meant for headaches, carefully avoiding the one intended for the mad vampires kept in the asylums. But now, he was asking for it.

"Are you certain, my Lord?" Rav asked, needing to confirm whether Rohan truly meant the dark mixture and not the usual headache remedy.

"I did not stutter when I spoke, Rav. Prepare the concoction. I will take it before we leave."

Rav was quiet for a moment. "Yes, my Lord. It will be in the study by the time you are out," he said at last, bowing slightly toward the closed door, even though Rohan could not see him.

He had a faint idea of what might have transpired the previous night. The lady had gone missing, and Rohan had returned with her unconscious body. Then he’d left again at midnight. Rav suspected his master had gone and exhausted himself during that second trip.

This could be dangerous for everyone if not handled properly.

Rohan had not been placed in the asylum without cause, he had once shown signs that led those around him to believe he was unstable. Rav could only hope that the dark concoction would help restore his strength and steady his mind, like it usually did in the asylum when he began to misbehave and was forced to drink it.

With a grim expression and a sense of urgency in his steps, Rav left to carry out his orders.