MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 158: Contract binding

The obsidian box emitted an aura of sinister antiquity, its polished surface gleaming like a watchful eye in the dimness of the chamber. Rose eyed it warily as Damien set it upon a low sideboard with a dull thunk.

"You understand, of course, the gravity of what we're about to undertake?" His words were low, resonant, seeming to reverberate from every shadowed corner of the room.

Rose could only nod, her throat constricted as if an invisible vise had tightened around her neck. This ritual, whatever its true nature, would irrevocably seal their fates. She found herself longing for a glimpse of the sun, of the world beyond these oppressive walls.

As if sensing her trepidation, Damien quirked one dark brow in her direction. "Second thoughts, my dear?"

His mocking inquiry broke the spell that had momentarily ensnared her. Rose straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin in a silent rebuke. "Never. Let's proceed."

A serpentine smile curved Damien's lips as he unlatched the box's heavy iron clasp with a flick of his thumb. The lid creaked open with agonizing slowness to reveal a sumptuous interior lined with crimson velvet.

Nestled within that carmine depths lay an ornate silver needle, its wicked point glinting like a feral creature's fang in the dim illumination. Rose's breath hitched in her throat as Damien plucked the archaic implement from its resting place, rolling it contemplatively between his fingertips.

"I must admit, I'm... confused." Rose's brow furrowed as she studied the ceremonial tool cradled in Damien's grasp. "Isn't that needle typically used in the binding of familiars?"

"Very astute, my love." There was a note of approval in Damien's rich baritone, like a professor commending an exemplary student. "Though I would expect nothing less from one as remarkable as yourself."

He began to prowl a slow circle around her, his movements lithe and predatory, like a lion stalking its prey.

"You are correct - this particular artefact is most often utilized in the binding of familiars to their vampiric masters. Those stubborn, eternally contrary creatures." A chuckle, low and rumbly, rumbled up from his chest. "They adhere to very few customs or edicts, save one."

Damien came to a halt behind Rose, so close she could feel the whisper of his cool breath against the back of her neck.

"The sanctity of blood," he murmured, his voice a hushed intimation. "Just as we immortal lords revere that life-giving essence, so too do the familiars regard it as sacrosanct."

Rose tensed as he leaned in closer still, his lips a hairsbreadth from her ear.

"When a blood pact is initiated through an ancient tool such as this..." She could feel the delicate graze of the needle's razor edge against the tender skin of her wrist, like the fleeting caress of a lover. "A bond is forged, one that can only be severed by the death of one of the parties involved."

Despite herself, despite her steely resolve and the unshakable conviction that drove her steps, a tremor of unease skittered down Rose's spine. Such an unbreakable link, bound not by mere words on a page, but by the elemental forces that governed their respective existences?

Could she truly comprehend what she was about to undertake?

As if sensing her abrupt disquiet, Damien's free hand settled upon the curve of her shoulder in a shockingly gentle caress. "Do not fear, love. Once this binding has been completed, your doubts, your apprehensions, even that unfortunate defiance that furrows your brow so... they shall all be swept away like autumn's dead leaves on the wind."

Rose opened her mouth, a scathing retort perched on the tip of her tongue, but Damien pressed the needle's point against her pulse with just enough insistence to draw a droplet of crimson.

"Shall we begin?" His voice was little more than a hushed rumble as he guided her towards the low table where the heavy contract lay in ceremonial display.

"We..." Rose faltered, overcome by a sudden swell of vertigo. What was she doing? Binding herself to this... this monster for all eternity?

But then, like a beacon in the haze of her doubts, she saw the tiny swell of her abdomen, the merest hint of the life blossoming within her womb. She thought of Blake, of the unfathomable sacrifices he had made for her. Of the promise she had sworn to herself in the aftermath of his disappearance.

That promise, that vow to protect her child at all costs, steadied her like an anchor in a storm-tossed sea.

Drawing a fortifying breath, Rose met Damien's obsidian stare without flinching.

"Yes," she said, the single syllable ringing with a conviction that belied the turmoil roiling beneath her serene facade. "Let's begin."

A look of undisguised gratification stole across Damien's harsh features as he extended the needle towards her once more. Rose did not so much as flinch as its razored tip pricked the pad of her index finger, welling a bead of cardinal that glistened like a ruby in the dimness.

Damien mirrored her action, scoring his own flesh to mingle their essences in a crimson macabre. Kneeling before the low table, he clasped Rose's hand in his and began an invocation in a language older than civilization itself.

His words seemed to reverberate through Rose's very marrow, their ancient power shuddering through her like a physical force. A nimbus of uncanny light blossomed around their joined hands, pulsing in time with her hammering pulse.

The air thrummed and vibrated around them, a soundless keening that intensified with each passing heartbeat. Rose squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of eldritch energies swirling through the chamber like a cyclone of preternatural fury.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the maelstrom ceased. Rose's eyes flew open to find the chamber just as it had been, with no sign of the otherworldly phenomenon save for the intricate markings that now scored the backs of her and Damien's hands.

It was done. They were bound, two souls eternally intertwined until the cruel weavers of fate chose to severe the threads that tethered them.

Rose stared at the archaic runes scoring her ivory flesh, unmindful of the trickle of blood that traced crimson rivulets down her wrist. There was no turning back now, no chance for renegotiation or defiance.

She was well and truly Damien's, bound by the most immutable laws of existence itself.

The notion should have inspired stark terror, a bone-deep dread at the subjugation she had so blithely agreed to.

And yet, as she gazed upon the gentle swell of her abdomen, felt the faint fluttering that was the first stirrings of life within her womb... a sense of grim determination washed over her like a balm.

Let Damien believe he had won, that she was now his domesticated prize through which to retain his tenuous grasp on power. He would soon learn that her fangs were as sharp as any immortal's, her resolve unbreakable in the face of even the darkest adversity.

But for now, the first battle was won. She was safe, her child was safe. And in that moment of blood-borne victory, that was enough.

And Damien's lips curl in a serpentine smile of undisguised conquest, one cannot help but wonder just how long Rose's victory will truly last.

But it begged the question, what now?

What now for her?

What now for Blake?

The path ahead was one beset by pitfalls and insidious perils, each one more treacherous than the last. Just how far was Rose's fiery determination carry her when the darkness closes in?

Will her protective instincts be enough to defy the aeons-old curse that now binds her to the enemy she loathes most in this world?

*********

*Author's note*

I have been feeling depressed lately.

Despite my hard work the progress of this book seems to have been dampened somehow.

I guess it kinda pisses y'all off when I beg for support so I'll stop doing that.

I'll try as much as possible to finish this book because I'm in love with the characters and the story.

I hope you enjoy reading.