Hell's Consort

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Vampire King Apollyon

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As he gently placed Luna's delicate feet down, only the tip of her small toes touched the floorboards.  "The floorboards are squeaky clean, so I might as well walk barefoot for now."

"Are you looking down on me again?" Apollyon scowled at the shoes she borrowed from Lady Clarence. "It's not like your husband isn't a King of the Vampire Realm. I can buy you anything you want."

She let out a husky moan, her feet swinging under the table in an adorable temper tantrum, "I want to walk barefoot, Apollyon."

Apollyon sighed at how strange his wife was acting.

He knew the lady in front of him was the real Luna, alright, because she still had this strange charm that made him lose control, sending his heart into overdrive.

There was no question about that, but she had changed.

Mayhap, it was the pregnancy that triggered her hot and cold demeanour.

How effortless she pushed his buttons!

"You can be barefoot, wife, but I wouldn't let you walk." His gaze shifted to the floorboards Luna had talked about, and he let his forefinger touch them, rubbing it against his thumb. Indeed, his wife had told the truth. The servants must have cleaned them so well there was no trace of dust. "Just tell me where you want to go, and I will use my teleportation abilities."

"But I want to walk around and see the view." Luna protested.

"I'll carry you behind my back." Satisfied, Apollyon fixed the table cloth and straightened his spine, dragging his stool closer to the table. He grinned.  "Easy."

"I want to talk to other females, husband, that's why I borrowed Lady Clarence's clothes for Ostara as an excuse!"

"Are you saying you are tired of talking to me and seeing my face?"

"No. I want to talk to a female with regards to pregnancy." Luna leaned both of her forearms on the table and stared at him straight in the eye. "I don't know how to keep the baby safe."

"You don't have to know how to keep the baby safe, wife. I will kill anyone who might harm you and the baby." Apollyon had picked up a fork and spun it playfully in his hand, stabbing it unto the strawberry on top of the cake. "You don't have to worry because I will always be by your side, and I wouldn't leave you alone."

Apollyon also feared having to share with their future child in his wife's heart.

He constantly reassured himself that everything would be fine.

It's not like he would run out of love with Luna.

His child will learn how to love him once Leo came out of the womb.

Apollyon would give Leo unconditional love until his heiress's cup would overflow, and she would give her love in return.

Luna sighed, looking away from him, watching seagulls take flight above the river instead of the cake he had destroyed.

"You are so sweet, husband, but I'm not used to this side of you." She frowned in disapproval.

Was it because Apollyon had wasted faerie food, or she hated him for being sweet?  "Anyway, Lady Clarence was happy to lend me her outfits since Prince Aspen couldn't bring her to the celebrations on the Spring Courts either. The Royal Family had frowned on their relationship, but they let Prince Aspen do whatever he wanted."

Apollyon had stared at the gentle currents of the river and how the gondolas swayed against the wind.

The clear, turquoise waves glittered like diamonds under the afternoon sun.

Apollyon couldn't continue this dead conversation with his wife regarding Lady Clarence.

What did he know about pregnancy when he hadn't made some female pregnant because his sperm was dead once it was out from his body?

Not unless Apollyon drank The High Priest's potion.

He couldn't talk about Luna having extreme mood swings, blood cravings at random hours and places and her sudden exhaustion after being energized on the previous days.

Being with his wife was a roller-coaster ride—one that he was unsure of.

He had experienced highs and lows with her and ups and downs, not knowing what to do and which way to go.

He always prioritized his unpredictable, pregnant wife because she had to be comfortable above all else.

He will jump through hoops like a performing entertainer in case she needed something.

They would do everything at her own pace.

Apollyon would tell her every day that he loved her no matter what she looked like, and there was nothing to be insecure about as her stomach grew bigger, carrying their child.

He wouldn't leave her side.

He would assure her that everything will be alright.

"Wife." Apollyon returned his gaze on his wife's beautiful face.

He tapped the back of her hand, catching her attention, "Tell me what's on your mind."

Luna's posture went rigid as her gaze flew to his face, startled, "There was no need to tell you. You can read my mind and my emotions because we are mates."

"I should tell you that I wouldn't even bother."

Luna took a deep breath, "You used to do that so freely before because I can sense you when you tried to."

"I don't want you to be angry at me for invading your privacy." He scowled. "Your mind is your mind."

"Hmm." The scent of the warm wind and the river surrounded them, fresh and wild.

"I can still feel you skirting the edges of my consciousness right now. Were you looking for something in particular?"  She inhaled and exhaled. Nostrils flaring, Luna recognized her husband's scent enveloping her. "Scanning my memories in Hell, for example?"

It had been three weeks since Luna came back from Hell.

She still hadn't given him enough fodder to verify his assumptions, making his imagination was run wild.

Gritting his teeth, Apollyon promised not to break down his wife's mental barricades, but as the weeks went by, he became more tempted to do it, but he couldn't find a way to destroy Luna's Archdemon Magic with one of his own.

Did Luna participate in some Archdemon Orgy that she wished to keep as a secret?