Prologue

The light of the candles flickered dimly, barely illuminating Victor's scarred face as he anxiously paced back and forth. The agonizing screams of his pregnant beloved tore at him, tearing his heart into pieces. For once in his life, he could do nothing to help her, his dear mother in law had barred him from entering when he had dared to even try. For if looks could kill then her piercing gaze would have stop him dead in his tracks.

Victor could only but wait and worry about his wife and child. They were entwined for the moment. There was no-one coming this far out of the city if anything were to go pear shaped, their lives were in the hands of his mother in law and sister-in law. Magic could only do so much.

"Magic" He scoffed frustrated at the mere concept. Victor often had questioned what kept him from leaving his magically blessed wife but he knew in that in the depths of his heart of hearts that he could never make such a life changing decision to end the marriage and simply just walk away. Maria was his life, his love and his world. She had opened his eyes to what went bump in the night in the fair city that he had long since dared to call home.

Maria had tried to hide the reality of the world that they lived in, wanted to let him continue to naively believe that normalcy was getting up in the morning, going about your daily routine without threat of any form of supernatural intervention. She had tried to hide her ancestral right, the magic that flowed freely through her veins. Guilt had in the end won out when he had tried to propose on that dusky moon drenched night three years back.

Victor shook his head, remembering his reaction all too well, it hadn't been his finest moment to say the least. In the end, he returned with his head hung, tail between his legs in shame of his actions, his harsh biting words spoken in the heat of the moment. Spoken without understanding the reason behind the half truths. Hurt, thoughts of betrayal had overtaken the pure intoxicating love that he felt for Maria. It was all encompassing, that always brought him back to her door.

After they talked through the elephant in the room, Maria had explained everything. Victor could never deny that it was an intense amount of information to process. Vampires, Werewolves and Witches. There was no denying that at the time, he had felt as if his brain was going to explode at the very notion that these monsters that graced the silver screen and fiction existed, that they lived and breathed in one sense of the word.

The earth shattering screams that his wife let out rattled him to the core, it had been hours and there was no sign of them slowly down.

He shook his head chasing away the thoughts, raising his hand placing it gently upon the scar that overtook the left side of his face. If it had been an inch closer then his vision in that eye would have been was his reminder of how real what went bump in the night really was. His first and only encounter where blood, his blood had been spilt but he was man enough to admit that it had been his fault. He had tried to get between the rather frustrated vampire and his close to exploding pocket rocket of a wife in the midst of a rather heated debate.

His fingers brushed lightly, barely making contact with the rough edges of the once torn flesh. He had learnt a harsh lesson that day, one he wouldn't soon forget. His life had been spared but at a cost. One that he could not fulfil but his wife could, with the magic at her fingertips.

This was the world that his child would grow up in, one of tension and oppression. One of fear and vulnerability. For the vampires reigned pushing his wife and her sister witches into the ground, preventing them from being who they were. Magic was shackled to the will of the one who sat upon the throne of New Orleans.

In this moment, he almost dared to wish of ignorance once more to rule his life. To never had learnt the truth but that wouldn't be fair of his beloved Maria. For he wished for there to come a day when she would be free to flourish and live as she was meant to. The future of his child would soon be restrained, held tightly in the grips of a man who he only knew who reputation.

Marcel Gerard, The Self proclaimed King of the French Quarter

Maria had wanted to leave the quarter to ensure that their child would be born healthy aided by magic so leaving the quarter, the city had been the best option. For the safety of both of mother and child. Victor sighed once more, worry increasing with every passing moment without news of the impending birth. His feet were restless, pacing back and forth from wall to wall and if it carried on then he was almost certain that he'd leave a mark in the carpet.

The sound of a hurried pair of approach footsteps stopped Victor in his tracks. His head snapped up as the red, sweaty smiling face of his sister in law came in sight. This had to a sign of good news.

"Oh Victor" Lea proclaimed happily, her arms throw outwardly exhausted from the long hours contained within the small box shaped birthing room."It's a girl" She continued on, before she threw hers around his waist hugging him tight in excitement.

Maria smiled softly down at the babe in arms, she was worn out from bring a new bright life into this world but it was all worth it for the chance to hold her little baby girl. The light of her life. It was hard not notice the lines tightly wrapped her wrists. They were a mere few inches thick, deep red and black intermingled, curling around one another.

This normally would be a sign for celebration, that her darling had a soulmate out in the world waiting for her. It was appearance of the black thread, this was most concerning. Black was the color of the death. Did this mean that they were both living and dead at the same time? That could only mean one thing, that her new daughter's other half was a vampire.

Maria shook her head slightly, disgusted by the very concept. It was against nature itself but it were there staring back up at her. "Oh Ren, how could fate deal you such a hand" She questioned, running a finger down the sleep face of the baby lost in sweet dream. For this moment, Maria would not act but in time, she would have to consult her sisters within the coven.

There had to be a way around this!