Vampire Nightlife

The aftermath of the situation was strange to say the least. It was hard to say goodbyes, but as Lukas approached Lily who was still fast asleep–he bent on one knee and held her hand.

It was still warm to the touch, exactly the same way that Lily had been when Lukas had first encountered her.

Initially stuck in a situation that was out of his control, Lukas did not end up with the Hunter Guild or Daddy Jones' Bar out of fear of the danger that both proposed when he first visited both places.

On the contrary, walking up to the city council and meeting Lily at the front desk had changed his life. Lukas had been afraid that maybe each and every single one of the Vampires had been selfish and self-serving–but Lily had proved him wrong.

She had proven that there was warmth and kindness, love and generosity that seemed to not match hand in hand with what Lukas knew about Vampires.

Lily was… everything that represented the good in their kind.

"And that's why please stay strong and healthy until then." Lukas whispered quietly. "Keep fighting whatever it is that you're facing and wait for my return. I'll be back before you even know it and we'll be happy again."

A somber smile broke on Lukas' face.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to be the proper boyfriend that you wanted me to be. I should have stayed by your side the entire time and yet–"

Yet.

Lukas was someone once human but he embodied everything that he feared from the Vampires. The same amount of self-serving and selfish desires had led him to be distracted by what was surrounding him and he failed to see what was right in front of him.

He took a deep breath.

"Please wait for me," he said.

Lukas slowly got up on his knees and soon met face to face with Chaerin. She had been standing there behind him all this time and had only given enough space and berth so that Lukas and Lily could have some privacy.

Chaerin was another symbol of what a Vampire could aspire to be.

It was true that Chaerin had stalked him, hurt Lily and pretended to be someone who she wasn't just for the sake of getting with someone she had barely known–but Chaerin was also capable of change.

Chaerin was not as warm as Lily to everyone, but when it came to people that mattered to her? Whether it was Lukas himself or her sister Chelsea? She was capable of proving herself as loving as any person was possible.

Perhaps even more.

Lukas and Chaerin met each other gazes and shared a rueful smile with each other, until Lukas spread his arms and Chaerin slowly walked forward and was then within his arms.

He was sure that there were looks tossed in their direction–whether it was from the upset Guildmaster, the slightly frustrated and disbelieving Councilman to even the unreadable gaze of Serena Weisse.

But it didn't matter.

As long as Lukas knew that his feelings of affection for both Lily and Chaerin were true and genuine–the rest didn't matter as much anymore.

They'd be able to handle the rest of it.

"We should head back home, Chaerin." Lukas whispered quietly to Chaerin as he rested his arm across her shoulder and motioned her forward.

There were still a lot of things that were left to do.

Theodore who moved forward and intercepted their path seemed to have those ideas in mind. He narrowed his gaze slightly at Lukas, ignoring Chaerin completely as he cleared his throat.

"We should start discussing what our plans are with that Vardoken," Theodore said.

Both of them looked to the side to see Stacy standing by herself, a bit of an unsure look on her face especially with the older Vampires treatment of her but when she met Lukas' gaze, it became steady and she dipped her head in his direction.

It was firm and solid.

Unwavering, even.

Lukas took a deep breath and then glanced back in Theodore's direction. He looked calmly at the Vampire's red eyes, noticed the frustration set in between them and considered his words carefully.

If Lukas spoke about him and Chaerin needing to go home to be together–with Lukas departing to the wilderness in search of the blood gourd–then he wouldn't actually be lying about it.

That was simply but the basic truth of the matter.

However, that wouldn't work with Theodore and Lukas could already imagine the look of indignation and ire on the young assassin's face if that was what Lukas went with. Fortunately for the both of them, Lukas also noticed the weariness on the assassin's face.

Besides the urgency of the situation with Lily, there was also the exhaustion seeping in the young Vampire's features.

"Theodore… you also need to rest first." Lukas said.

"Rest?" Theodore said a bit hysterically. "You want me to rest right after what happened to Lily? Are you kidding me? Rest? Seriously–?!"

"Theodore." Lukas spoke again.

This time, there was an inflection of authority and power in Lukas' voice that even the belligerent Theodore couldn't help but redirect back his attention to the man. Pay heed and listen to the man's words.

It would have been impossible from the set go, but the way that Lukas said it made even Stacy, who was closest to them, and Serena, who was paying attention from a distance, lift their heads up and blink.

Those who had come from a purer bloodline, untouched by the dilution of their kind's powers tended to have far more connection with their old powers, but in that moment–Lukas seemed to have a spark of it.

Lukas took a deep breath and looked as kindly as he could at Theodore.

"I know that this is killing you–you love Lily, she's your cousin… but you also need to rest and take care of yourself. I'm sure that Lily would hurt to see you like this, Theodore. So let's talk in the morning, okay?"