Chapter 39

HAVEN

My heart felt like it was about to shatter as I watched her head to her grandmother’s. I got why she had to do it, but... I felt so hollow without her.

I drove back home, and the moment I got there, I grabbed a bottle from the kitchen and started drinking. It wasn’t easy for us to get drunk, but after a bottle or two, anyone would be.

Just a few hours ago, she was in bed with me, and I had to go and screw it all up. I was so mad at myself. Of course she was still traumatized. Why couldn’t I control myself?

I was so pissed at myself for messing it up when she was finally starting to feel better. Maybe she was right. Maybe she needed some time away from us. ~Away from me~.

I picked up my phone and dialed Phoenix. She was gone, but she still needed to be safe. Clark was still a threat. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, even if I couldn’t be the one to protect her.

“Yes, Sire?” Phoenix answered.

“Keep an eye on Grace. She’s at her grandmother’s,” I said.

“Are you...drunk? What happened?” he asked.

“She...she left because she needed some space. I...I scared her.” I laughed at myself for being so pathetic.

“I don’t think that’s your fault, Sire. It was a tough moment for her, and I’m sure that she’ll come back. She’s crazy about you.”

“She promised to come back, but...I miss her so much already.”

It hurt to admit this, but what else could I say? I was always a bit emotional when I drank. Phoenix was used to it. I was there for him in those moments too.

“I’ll keep an eye on her. Don’t drink too much, Sire, or you’ll do something stupid,” he said.

“I do what the fuck I want,” I growled.

“Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll keep you posted.”

I hung up and finished the bottle I had in my hands. I wouldn’t do anything stupid. The only thing I wanted to do was run to Grace and hold her close.

Shit. For the first time in my life, I regretted being a vampire.

I was born this way, so it was ridiculous. I couldn’t deny what I was. It brought me the most beautiful thing too: Grace.

She completed me; she was my equal. Only she could share my life; only she mattered.

And I failed her. Again.

I knew better than to take her blood so soon, but I put my own pleasure before hers. I had lived long enough, had enough partners in my life, to know that it wasn’t supposed to work like this.

How could she still love me? Was my mark making her? No. I was being stupid. She loved me, and she just needed time. I could deal with that.

My phone rang again, and I feared it was Phoenix. I picked up without looking at the name on the screen.

“How is she?” I asked, worried.

“Haven,” my mother’s voice answered.

Shit. I didn’t want to talk to my family right now. I had other more pressing problems on my mind.

“What is it, Mother?” I asked.

“You need to come here right away. I want you to tell me everything that happened with your brother. Your father and I are... We need the whole story.”

I knew she would want to know. Silas was her son, and I would do the same thing. If I left now, I would be gone a while. I was glad I asked Phoenix to watch over Grace, even if I felt reluctant to leave. What if she decided to come back and I was gone? I could also see this as an opportunity to give her the space she needed.

“All right, Mother. I’m on my way.” I sighed.

“Don’t sigh, Haven. I know you want to stay with your bride, but we deserve the story.”

“Yes. I’ll be there.”

I hung up, sent a text to Phoenix to inform him of the situation, and left my house. I spread my wings and took off. If I was fast enough, I would be there before the sun rose.

My parents and my sisters were waiting for me once I arrived at my parents’ house. It was an old Victorian mansion, big enough for a family of twenty.

My parents had it designed like a house they owned in England, and the furniture was made of old wood. I liked that everything seemed frozen in time there.

They were all in the living room, waiting for me to tell them everything, sitting on the old purple velvet couch and matching armchairs.

I told them everything that happened between Silas and me, what he did to Grace, and how traumatized she still was.

My sisters looked sad for me, but so did my mom. It was a tragedy to have anyone attack your soulmate. We could all feel it deep in our bodies.

“I understand that you had to think about your bride and lock Silas up. You understand that my heart still cries for my son,” she declared, shedding a tear.

I hated to see my mother like this, but I was right to lock Silas up. He was dangerous, and he would hurt Grace more if I had let him be. I didn’t regret my actions in the slightest. My only regret was to not have done it before he attacked Grace too.

I spent the day with my family, and no one blamed me for what happened. It felt great to be with them, and they were all eager to meet Grace. That helped me feel better about my current situation. I hoped she would be as happy about it as I was.

“She seems to make you very happy, brother,” Isadora said.

She was the second child of my mother. That made her older than Silas and Annabelle the last. Since I was the oldest, they all owed me respect though.

“She’s amazing.” I smiled, thinking about Grace.

“I’m sure she’ll come back to you. Silas can be... We all know how he is, but he can’t break the bond you two have. Being human in our world is difficult, but you don’t have to take it all on yourself. She’s your partner, and she doesn’t need you to protect her from everything. Just being there for her is enough.”

My family didn’t really get me. They didn’t understand the dynamic between Grace and me, but I just nodded along.

I cherished the role of taking care of Grace, and she reveled in the way I did it. Sure, it was a partnership. But she craved domination as much as I craved to dominate.

That was our thing, our shared passion. No one had ever felt so right in my playroom before Grace. I knew I wouldn’t experience that kind of pleasure with anyone else.

“She knows she can always rely on me,” I assured Isadora.

“Then you have nothing to worry about. She’ll return when she’s processed everything that’s happened. I’m sure she’s just confused because she nearly died from Silas’s bite, but...since she was marked, it must have been even more traumatic.”

Isadora was a gynecologist, so she had a good grasp on these things. I would never hold what happened with Silas against Grace.

That would be like blaming a rape victim. She didn’t ask for what happened, and the only one at fault was Silas. He was paying for his actions, even though I would have preferred to see him dead.

I returned home a week later, too scared to face Grace at work. So, I decided to take all my appointments outside the office. Phoenix kept me updated daily, assuring me that she was doing okay.

Every night, I’d spend an hour or two watching her window. It was like when she was a child. She would cry herself to sleep, and it tore me apart to see her so distressed.

A month went by, and one day, Phoenix told me that she wanted to talk. But I was... I was scared of what she might say. I knew I had to face her eventually. So, I agreed to meet her first thing the next morning.

As usual, I was the first one in the office, anxiously waiting for her to arrive. I was a bundle of nerves, worried she would see right through me. Only she had that kind of effect on me.

I sighed at the absurdity of it all. Here I was, an old man, feeling like a love-struck teenager in her presence. So much for being a dominant.

The elevator door opened, and Grace’s familiar scent filled the room. But there was something different about it.

I turned to look at her and she was...radiant. She looked even more stunning than the last time I saw her.

She was dressed in a form-fitting gray dress and black heels. Her golden hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her honey-colored eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at me.

“Grace,” I said, striving to keep my voice steady when all I wanted to do was drop to my knees and beg her to come back home.

“Haven.” She smiled gently. “I need to... I need to tell you something.”

“You can always tell me anything.”

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. My heart pounded in my chest, anxiety mounting. I was terrified of what she might say when she finally spoke.

“I’m pregnant.”

I was stunned. I hadn’t seen that coming.