Good Evening,
Next Friday, I will post chapter four for Darling Daughter.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Oxford Not Brogues
Chapter Fifteen
Seras was a little more than a week in of her fifth month. And she swore that she was in utter hell. While the cramping had subsided quite a bit, she got the full 'pleasure' of dealing with other pains and symptoms of being pregnant. Goodie for her. For one thing, her back was always killing her. Another, she got frequent sharp pains in her feet, almost feeling like she was treading on glass all day long. By the end of the day, her feet and ankles would be swollen. Even soaking them in hot water didn't settle the pain or swelling. And on top of all that, she had insomnia. The Draculina lied in the darkness of the bedroom between her two sleeping mates. Seras couldn't say that she wasn't a little jealous that they could so easily sleep. She was dead tired, but each and every time she closed her eyes, she would eventually find herself staring up at the ceiling. For some reason, it was just impossible for her to shut off her damn brain. The little vampire breathed deeply through her nose and released all that air from her mouth.
"Just sleep." She whispered as she once more closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. "Sleep," She murmured below a whisper. It took Seras a second or two to realize that she was again staring up that god awful, fucking ceiling. "Damn it," She hissed and fisted the blanket up in her hands.
Seras was unsure of how much time passed. It felt like she had been lying there for hours, but she couldn't say. She tried not to look at the clock, but she ended up failing. Each time she glanced at the clock she was dismayed to see just how much time had passed since she last looked at it. What was worse was the sound of the clock ticking away. With each second, the tick came as a constant reminder that she wasn't asleep. She had never noticed just how loud that bloody clock was. It was deafening! It absolutely bewildered her that Alucard and Sebastian could both sleep through that atrocious noise! Tick, tick, tick! The sound actually made her want to itch. It was driving her mad! That sharp sound was practically echoing in their enclosed room. Or maybe it was just echoing in her head, reverberating on the inside of her skull! She wasn't sure, but she couldn't tune the sound out any more. Her finger taped against the comforter, going along to the rhythm of the ticking.
The little vampire chewed on her bottom lip anxiously as she stared up at the ceiling that looked so far away. Her eyes were starting to play tricks on her. Was it from exhaustion? Or just from staring at something for so long? Either way, her reality was distorting before her very eyes. The ceiling moved up and down, as if the house was breathing. At first it would be so far away and then the next, she would feel that it was practically on top of her. Was the house alive? And was that annoying sound of the ticking clock actually the sound of the house's beating heart? She was suddenly starting to feel like a character from an Edgar Allen Poe novel. Was she going insane? Her heart jolted when the ceiling moved closer towards her.
Seras had faced her fears of claustrophobia a very long time ago. And for the first time in many years, she was starting to feel highly claustrophobic. There was that ceiling coming down on her, making her feel like she was being shut in a coffin. She would think that Alucard and Sebastian being there, even them being asleep, would bring her some type of comfort. But it unfortunately didn't. They were making the feeling worse. She was trapped between them, unable to escape. Not to mention the twins that was nestled inside of her. They were practically on top of her with how large her belly was now. She felt smothered by them. As if she was trying to escape that feeling, she threw the blankets off of her. Sebastian remained motionless; the man was probably dead for all she knew. But Alucard shifted slightly when the blankets were thrown off of his body. Thankfully, he hadn't fully woken. However, the feeling of claustrophobia was inescapable. Her chest felt tight, like an elephant was sitting on top of her. She struggled to breathe. Her breasts begun to heave up and down, but she tried incredibly hard to fight that feeling back.
Calmly, the girl closed her eyes and tried to block out all of her surroundings. The sound of the ticking was at first so strong. But as she laid there, breathing deeply through her nose and releasing all that air from her mouth, the ticking sound drowned away. Seras forced herself into a calm state. She ignored the walls, the ceiling, and the people that had made her feel trapped. Instead, she just focused on her breathing and the beating of her heart. It had been racing in her chest mere seconds ago, but now her heart was going at slow, steady pace. She continued with her breathing exercises as she mentally clawed her way out of her phobia. It took several minutes, but eventually her room felt normal again. It felt spacious and cool instead of enclosed and exceedingly hot.
When she felt that she was in a better state of mind, she opened her eyes. The ceiling was back where it should be; not too far and not too close, but just right. It didn't breathe or show any other indication that the house was alive. Good, stay that way. Seras sighed in relief and quickly glanced away from the ceiling just in case it did start to move again. She didn't want to get sucked back into that mild panic attack. She didn't need that right now, especially when she was struggling to sleep. With a deep sigh, the little vampire glanced over to her right. Peeking over the demon's shoulder she looked at the clock. It was almost nine o'clock in the morning. They had went to bed roughly at four, meaning that she had been staring at this damn ceiling and listening to this damn clock for almost five hours straight.
Seras gave another sigh as she repositioned her head on the pillow to get comfortable. One of her hands snaked up to rest on top of her swollen, round stomach. She lightly drummed her fingers over her tummy as she absentmindedly stared up at that nightmare of a ceiling. Her lower back was paining and even though how badly she wanted to change positions, she already knew that it would be pointless. She wouldn't be able to get comfortable. If she shifted now, yeah, it would take the pressure off of her back, but then something else would start to hurt. Like her side. Besides, what was the point in getting comfortable anyway? It wasn't like she would be able to fall asleep. But why lie here in misery? Her brain and spine practically groaned at her.
Seras frowned and softly moaned her discomfort. She knew for a fact that if she moved now to look for a comfortable position she won't be able to find one. But she'll be so determined that she'll keep tossing and turning, which will end in her most definitely waking up her mates. She didn't want to accidentally wake up Alucard and Sebastian. That wouldn't be very fair for them when they had been sleeping soundly and, maybe, dreaming good things. Tick, tick, tick. The Draculina glanced back at the clock. It was officially nine o'clock. Seras clicked her tongue in frustration before tearing her gaze away. This is when the twins started to act up. The little vampire groaned in misery when Chloe and Daniel kicked up a storm. Instantly she knew what they wanted. Her troublemakers were craving blood. Admittedly, she was starving too. Then again, when wasn't she when she was eating for three? Should she just throw in the towel? It was clear to her that she wasn't going to get any sleep. Maybe if she did something, moved around a little, maybe gets something to eat; she just might start to feel sleepy. It wouldn't hurt to try.
Seras glanced from Alucard to Sebastian. The elder vampire's back was to her while the demon lied facing her. She wasn't able to say that Sebastian looked peaceful while he slept. The man lied there like a corpse. He didn't breathe, he didn't snore, and he didn't even twitch. Seras was fully aware that a demon's sleep behavior is very different from a human's or a vampire's. When demons sleep, they tended to fully shut off their brains and stay in a deep state of unconsciousness. They only had one stage of sleep and most of the time they didn't even dream, which Seras found unbelievably sad. While she stared at Sebastian she wondered how often he dreamed. What did he dream about? Did he ever dream of her? Of Alucard? Of their kids? She yearned to get a glimpse in her mates' dreams, but never had the guts to pry while they were unconscious. Seras got another strong kick from one of her twins. She winced and rubbed over her stomach to try and soothe the baby.
"Okay," The mother yielded. Once more, she glanced from Alucard to Sebastian, wanting to be absolutely sure that she won't wake them. She knew she had no chance of crawling out of the bed without disturbing them, especially since she would literally have to climb over one of them just to do it. So, instead, the girl simply faded from the bed and materialized outside of their bedroom in the corridor. It was nice to stretch her legs and have that pressure off of her back. While the lower part of her spine was still a little sore, it was a lot better than what it was. For the first time in all of her life, Seras was starting to feel her age. She was no longer that spry eighty-three year old in a nineteen year old's body. No, she was pregnant, uncomfortable, and purely miserable with achy body parts. She felt like she moved like an old person too. With one hand on her stomach and one on her lower back, she moved slowly through the corridor. She didn't want to provoke the pain in her feet. Right now, the pain was being kind and only staying at a dull roar.
To keep her mind off of her misery, she looked at all the different paintings that were hung so perfectly on the walls. Even though she was quite familiar with every piece from having gaze at them on multiple occasions, she always looked at them like she was seeing them for the first time. The old oil paintings relaxed her a great deal. Personally, she felt like she had her own mini museum. Only, her museum wasn't so strict. She was allowed to touch them all she wanted. Such a childish thought came and went. Not that she ever did touch them. It was mostly because she was afraid that the oil on her hands would somehow ruin the beautiful paintings. Seras' head turned from side to side, looking at all the different paintings that she slowly passed by.
Maybe it was time to get a couple of new paintings. She would love to widen the collection a little and get some paintings in that were of her tastes…or even of Alucard and/or Sebastian's tastes. All of these paintings that were currently hanging up were of Integra and her family's collection. It was hard saying just how old some of those paintings were. Though, Seras was aware that a few of them were relatively new; ones that Integra had collected a few years before her death. Admittedly, the little vampire didn't have the heart to take down a single painting that once belonged to the late Hellsing. Even the ones she hated, which there were only two of, she couldn't ever replace them and stuff them away somewhere in some old, dusty room. She felt as if that would be greatly disrespectful towards Integra and her ancestors. A thought then crossed Seras. Maybe she should hire someone to do a portrait of Sir Integra. That could be one of the new pieces she could hang up in the many corridors. She was positive that there were several photos of Sir Integra lying around there somewhere. She just needed to find them and then search for a prominent, professional portrait artist.
The Draculina passed the final painting as the hall opened up, bringing her to the balcony. She didn't bother stopping. Already knowing exactly where she was going, Seras made her way down the stairs to the large foyer. Natural lighting poured through the windows, making everything so bright and cheerful looking. It was so different from their bedroom which was as dark as a crypt. Thick curtains kept all source of light out, leaving the nocturnal monsters in total darkness while they slept; just the way they liked it. Walking through the foyer and entering the kitchen, Seras paused to take a quick look around. Per usual, the kitchen was absolutely spotless, no doubt thanks to Sebastian and him being so anal over every little thing. The little vampire chuckled to herself. She had to wonder where this need to be a clean freak stemmed from. Was it from being a butler for an X amount of years? Or was he like that way before he stepped foot in the human world?
"Sebastian," Seras whispered with a small smile. The mother got another kick from her children, being reminded that they were hungry. She clicked her tongue while stroking her tummy. "Calm down, will you?" She snickered. "I'm hungry too." Seras then sighed and looked across the room at the giant freezer door. "Alright, let's get something to eat and then go back to bed. I am beyond tired." The Draculina crossed the kitchen to the walk-in freezer. It took a little more of her strength than normal, but she pulled the heavy door open. Automatically, a light went on overhead in the freezer as an icy fog drifted out. Desensitized to the cold, Seras walked right in and started searching through the packs for her favorite type of blood. She flicked through the packs, acting as if she was merely flicking through a box of index cards. Her swollen stomach grazed over the bars of the shelves as she stood on her tip toes to see a bit better. Unlike her, her children didn't seem to like the cold very much. A foot that had been digging into her stomach finally shifted to escape the cold shelf that was pressed against her.
"Hmn," Seras hummed negatively when she didn't find the blood type she was looking for. She turned towards another shelf and hastily started searching through those bags. "Come on," She mumbled impatiently. Her little darlings shifted inside of her, nestling into her warmth the longer she stayed in the freezer. "Ooh!" Seras exclaimed when she found a bag of AB blood type. She snatched it up, tucked it under her arm, and continued her search for other bags. "Come on. Give me something good, something good." The small blonde mumbled under her breath. Thankfully, she found two bags of A positive on the same shelf. "Ha!" The girl laughed in glee. "Gotcha!" Her eyes then flickered around her at the other shelves full of blood bags.
"Why the hell is the freezer full of type B and O blood?" When her twins shifted inside of her it suddenly occurred to her why. "Oh, right." She murmured and glanced down at her stomach. "Because I'm constantly starving and probably drank all the good types of blood." Walking out of the freezer with her three blood bags, she proceeded talking to her babies. "I'm starting to feel guilty for not leaving any of the good ones for your father." She pushed the freezer door closed behind her, but didn't even bother to see if it was closed properly or not. Seras threw her three bags of blood down on the island before taking a seat on one of the three high stools. It was, at first, a little difficult to get up on it, but she eventually did it. The mother, exhausted from the lack of sleep and the bit of exercise of getting up on a chair, groaned and slumped forward. She rested her forehead on top of the cool surface of the island and let her arms hang down freely. "No offense, Chloe and Daniel, but I cannot wait until this whole pregnancy thing is over. As soon as you're both out, I'm going to stir up so much trouble and kick all kinds of vampire ass. Just like the good old days." She said with a nostalgic smile. "That is, if your fathers don't get in my way, which they most definitely will."
Sitting up right, the Draculina automatically grabbed one of the three blood bags. "You see," She proceeded talking to her babies as she fiddled with the bag in her hand. "They believe that just because the Hellsing Organization has been shut down that I shouldn't continue its business by hunting and killing vampires." The girl then scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. "But I'm sorry, that's just what I do; it's what I believe in. There are so many bad people in this world, not just vampires, but humans too. As a human, I did what I could to lock away the bad humans. But as a vampire, I want to protect the good humans that can't defend themselves against the bad vampires; the ones that slaughter humans just for fun and don't even give a damn how old the person may be." Staring off into the distance, Seras brought the bag close to her face. The cold plastic brushed over her lips, but she barely paid it any mind. "I don't care if the Hellsing Organization is gone. I'm still here."
The little vampire sunk her fangs deep into the bag. Cold blood rushed over her tongue and smoothly slid down her throat. The gross taste of plastic lingered a little on her taste buds, but she was able to ignore it after years of experience. Instead, all she truly focused on was the tolerable blood. It wasn't exactly delicious, but out of all the types of blood, this was her most favorite. She could only imagine what the hot taste of this blood type would be like on her tongue. She wanted to feel the sensation of it filling her empty stomach and spreading warmth through her body. Lately, her craving for hot blood has skyrocketed. Seras was dying to sink her teeth into someone, but, thankfully, she always came to her senses before doing anything rash. She didn't even tell Alucard or Sebastian about these cravings. She was scared that they would encourage her to have her fill of fresh, hot blood. She didn't want to get addicted, as strange as that sounded. She didn't want to get hooked on human blood and depend on humans to keep her alive. While she was technically counting on humans to keep her alive with these blood bags, she was content knowing that it was all willingly donated.
After a minute, the bag had been completely sucked dry, leaving not a single drop of blood behind. Seras dropped the empty bag onto the counter in front of her. Her eyes were already drilling into the other two bags that she deeply wanted. Though, she wasn't jumping to satisfy her hunger or cravings. She mindlessly drummed her fingers on top of the counter as she just sat there and stared at the blood. "Everything has gone to hell since the Organization closed." Seras whispered to her unborn children. She knew perfectly well that her children didn't understand a word she was saying, but she was quite used to talking to them. Seras talked to her babies day and night, mostly because she believed it was good for a baby to listen to its mother's voice and partly because she did it a lot without even thinking about it. "Vampires have been partying, acting recklessly and slaughtering more than ever. It had been at an all-time low when Sir Integra was alive. But…that's because everyone feared the Hellsing name. Everyone feared the great Alucard." The small blonde frowned.
"And me? I was nothing to scoff at. Vampires had feared my name. But…as soon as those doors closed and the Organization was no more, it was like every vampire had suddenly forgotten about us. They had forgotten all about their fear, like we had died along with Integra. Do they believe that just because the Organization is gone that we will stop hunting and killing them?" Seras slowly shook her head. "No," She whispered. "They will learn to fear us again; to respect us and stay in line. No more pain and suffering. No more raping and murdering humans or treating them like cattle. It has to stop." The girl then sighed heavily. "I just have to persuade your fathers to join me." The mother grabbed another bag and lifted it to her face. "But I don't think that they will ever understand."
Hours ticked by slowly. It wasn't until the sun started sinking behind the horizon when Alucard stirred from his sleep. He cracked open his eyes a little and waited a second for his vision to adjust. The somewhat blurry room came into focus as his brain started up. He was lying on his stomach with half of his face buried away in the plush pillow. His hair was messy, more than usual, from tossing and turning in his sleep. For a brief moment, he lied there and stared at the wardrobe that was across the room. No thoughts occurred to him and no emotions were felt. All he was capable of doing was just lie there while he waited patiently for motivation to help him out of bed. Admittedly, Alucard hated getting up, but what he hated even more was being woken up. It was most definitely an old habit of his. After years of suffering, of living in this hellish world where he couldn't die, sleep was the only thing that took him away from all of that. Of course, he did have the occasional, realistic nightmare that so kindly reminded him of his past and choices. But he could deal with those.
Thankfully, the world was a little more tolerable to live in. As sappy as it sounded, he was in a better state of mind now with Seras by his side. She's his little piece of heaven in this hell. She healed him and she didn't even know it. He was eternally grateful for her existence. Alucard pushed against the mattress to sit up a little. His chest was bare and he was in nothing but black khakis. He hated pajamas, but also hated wearing his full attire to bed. He either slept in the nude or in just his pants. His tousled hair brushed over the tops of his shoulders to hang in his face. But even through that mess of hair, he saw that the spot beside him in bed was empty. The elder vampire shifted his head and narrowed his eyes on the center of the mattress where his bride usually lied. Where was she? His eyes flickered a little further to see that the demon was still sleeping soundly. He was resting on his back and unaware that a certain person was missing from the room. Or should he say people considering that the twins were always with her?
Alucard's gaze flickered back to the empty spot beside him. Curiously, he placed a hand down on the sheet and found that it was cold. So, she's been gone for a while. He deduced. Just how early did she get up? Pushing himself back into a sitting position, the elder vampire reached forward and roughly nudged the demon's shoulder. Sebastian's face scrunched up to show his annoyance before he cracked open his eyes. Slowly, the demon glanced at Alucard from the corner of his eye while giving him a look of disdain. The No Life King grinned in amusement when seeing that the Prince of Hell wasn't much of a 'morning' person either. He knew for a fact that Sebastian loved to be pampered. So he could only imagine just how pampered he was before setting foot into this world. He probably snoozed the day away and did as he pleased, fucked whoever he wanted, and had his fill of souls. The demon was more of a Princess of Hell. Alucard laughed at the thought.
"What is it that you want?" Sebastian said with a scowl. He groggily looked about the room as he combed his fingers through his hair. He glanced over at the clock and was dismayed to see that it was a little past six.
"You're not very pleasant." Alucard snickered. "And here I thought we were working on our intimacy and were finally starting to get along."
"Pardon what I'm about to say. I normally don't encourage foul language, but piss off. I just woke up and I'm not in the mood to deal with you quite yet." Sebastian responded as he rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.
"Does it not concern you at all that Seras is missing from the room?" The elder vampire questioned with a lazy wave of his hand. The demon cracked open his eyes. He then slowly turned his head to stare at the center of the bed.
"And just how long do you think she's been missing for?" Sebastian muttered nonchalantly; not looking too bothered that she disappeared on them once again.
"Who's to say?" Alucard responded softly.
"Do you think she's somewhere wreaking havoc?" The demon asked before his gaze lifted to look back at the No Life King.
"You think she's out tormenting the humans and other vampires?" The elder vampire chuckled in amusement. Sebastian merely frowned in response. It was clear that he didn't want to say what he was thinking; how he was thinking the worst of his mate. Alucard cackled then and lightly shook his head. "No," He answered. There was a subtle grin on the vampire's lips as he stared back at the demon. "She's here, somewhere in the manor." His eyes then flickered around, almost as if he was expecting to see eyes watching them. "I can sense her." The demon sighed heavily and placed a hand over his eyes.
"She's up awfully early." Sebastian grumbled in vexation. "Her entire sleep schedule has been messed up for the past few weeks."
"She's up when we're asleep; she's asleep when we're up." Alucard added before he lazily lied back down to stare up at the ceiling. "It's like living with a human."
"Do you know that I found her asleep in the garden yesterday?" The demon mentioned. His hand slipped away from his eyes so he could look back at the vampire. "She was curled up on the stone bench, perfectly content and sound asleep."
"I'll say that it doesn't sound completely comfortable, but I hope you didn't disturb her." The elder vampire replied while frowning.
"It was raining, Alucard." Sebastian further explained. "Of course I woke her up and brought her inside."
"This pregnancy is taking a toll on her." Alucard murmured.
"It's hitting her hard." Sebastian agreed softly. The males lied there in silence for a moment or two and stared up the ceiling. Michaelis couldn't help but wonder where he'll find his bride sleeping next. So far he's found her asleep in the garden, asleep at Sir Integra's desk, asleep near Integra's grave, asleep in her little spot in the woods, and asleep in the walk-in freezer. Honestly, that woman kept them on their toes. Whenever they couldn't immediately find her they would go into panic mode. But, as it turned out, she was always just asleep somewhere. So, the question was, where were they going to find her this time around? The demon closed his eyes as he sighed deeply. He knew that women napped a lot when pregnant because it took a lot out of them, but should Seras be sleeping this much? The doctor did say that a person pregnant with twins was a rough pregnancy. It probably took up all of her energy, the poor dear.
"Alright," Sebastian spoke a second later. Opening his eyes, he sat up straight in bed. "Let's go find the little troublemaker and our twins." Without even looking back to see if Alucard would follow him, the demon climbed out of bed. "She's probably sleeping in another exotic place."
"I don't think so." The elder vampire spoke up. Glancing over his shoulder, Sebastian found Alucard lounging lazily in the bed. His eyes were closed while he used one of his arms to support the back of his head. "I believe she's in the lounge or the rec room."
"Why do you say that?" The demon asked with a quirked brow.
"Because they're the only rooms with a television," Alucard answered, keeping his eyes closed. "Listen," He muttered then. Sebastian's gaze lowered while he focused solely on his hearing. It took him barely a second to realize that he was hearing faint voices in the distance. Listening to a conversation playout before hearing gunfire, he was able to confirm that Alucard was right. It was a television they were hearing; meaning Seras had to be in the manor and was watching it. The demon clicked his tongue in disappointment and hung his head.
"I'll go check on her then." Sebastian muttered and then turned to leave the room.
"Bring her back to bed." The elder vampire responded. "I wouldn't mind getting a few more hours of sleep, and I'm sure you wouldn't mind doing the same either."
"It does sound nice." The demon whispered with a small smirk as he exited the room. His gaze lifted so he could mind his surroundings while he walked down the corridor. Now being fully awake, he could hear the television so clearly. Honestly, it amazed him that it hadn't bothered him earlier while he and Alucard were trying to sleep. Usually, he stayed alerted, even in his deep sleep. But, he supposed that exhaustion had finally caught up to him, which why he slept like a rock this morning. These last few months has been taking a toll on all of them, especially after that small scare where they thought Seras was having a miscarriage. And, not to mention, the constant heart attack she gives them whenever she starts suffering from a new pain or suddenly goes missing, which she has been doing quite often recently. There was also her newest thing: falling. The men were about ready to confine that girl to a bed or a wheelchair until she gives birth.
Sebastian turned down a connected corridor, getting closer to the rec room; the source of where the noise was coming from. As he approached the room, he found the door partially closed. Peeking through the gap, he saw light bouncing off the wall from the glow of the television and nothing more. The demon pressed his fingertips against the cool wood of the door and gingerly pushed it open. The door gave a small squeak sound as it revealed the dark room where soldiers used to hang about and relax on their days off. Now, all that was left of this once popular room was a small, but pregnant blonde lying on the couch. His eyes scanned the room before he took his first step in. He barely paid any mind on what was displayed on the television while he made his way over to the couch. All he could truly say, after taking a quick, but uninterested glance at it, was that it was some sort of an action movie.
Perhaps Die Hard. He knew that was an action movie Seras highly praised and often recommended that he should watch. Alucard, surprisingly, had already seen it. Sebastian, on the other hand, hasn't had the pleasure yet. But that was only because the Draculina and the elder vampire constantly fought over the 'appropriate' time they should watch the movie. Seras believed it to be a Christmas movie and Alucard disagreed. And with that endless argument, Sebastian hasn't been able to view the movie his mate constantly raved about. The demon, now frowning, curiously glanced back at the television just to confirm if this movie was Die Hard or not. He didn't know much about the film or the actors, but from what was going on and being familiar with how much Seras has told him about the main plot, he was able to conclude that it was that particular movie.
Sebastian couldn't say that he wasn't a little disappointed with Seras. After spending months arguing with Alucard about when it was the right time to watch this movie, she just ends up watching it without him. Well, The demon glanced back down at his mate to find her fast asleep. Almost watched it without him. Quietly and carefully, he slipped the remote from Seras' loose grasp. He successfully didn't wake her and was able to turn off the television without any further spoilers. Placing the remote on the coffee table, he noticed all the empty bags of blood. His brows furrowed and he frowned in displeasure. Just how long has Seras been awake? The demon glanced back at his mate. The girl was out cold on the couch, but she didn't look very peaceful. She looked so unbelievably stressed. Clear bags could be seen just under her eyes. Her hair was a little messy and her face was pale. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he wasn't there for her during the day. Why was she so determined not to bother them? He wanted her to 'bother' him. He wanted to help her every chance he gets to make this pregnancy as easy for her as possible. But still, his mate remained stubborn and kept from bothering him and Alucard. It irked him.
Sebastian sighed before he knelt beside the couch to come face to face with his darling. She snored ever so softly, sounding more like she was purring than anything. But from that distressed look on her face, he knew she wasn't purring. His frown deepened as he raised his hand to cup her forehead, like he was trying to take her temperature. Her bangs gave way, allowing his hand to brush over her warm, smooth skin. The demon's eyes flickered away from her face to look at her stomach. Automatically, his other hand shot up to press against her swollen tummy. He felt the twins shift inside of her before settling down. He could sense how tired they were after being well nourished. Sebastian wasn't able to hold back a smile when thinking about how sleepy his children were from those full bellies.
"My little troublemakers," The demon whispered as he leaned in to kiss her stomach. Afterwards, he scooped Seras up into his arms and lifted her from the couch. The Draculina shifted in his arms as he ascended to his full height.
"Sebastian?" His mate mumbled into his chest. Lazily, the girl wrapped an arm around his neck.
"Sorry," Sebastian whispered with a tender smile. "I didn't want to wake you. I was just taking you to bed, Seras."
"Put me down." His sleepy mate demanded. Her eyes remained shut while she kept half of her face buried in his chest. His warmth wrapped around her, comforting her and lulled her back to sleep for a split second.
"Why?" The demon chuckled as he carried her out of the room and down the corridor.
"I'm pregnant." She answered groggily.
"I'm not going to drop you." Sebastian promised her and he placed a kiss in her hair.
"I'm heavy." She corrected him.
"Never an issue; I have super strength." He whispered. "You weigh nothing to me."
"I disagree." She murmured. The demon chuckled at that response and lightly shook his head at her.
"You can't disagree." Sebastian replied.
"Sebastian?" Seras whispered.
"Yes, darling?" He answered in a soft tone.
"I'm so tired." His mate curled up tighter in his arms, burying more of her face in his chest.
"I know. I'm sorry I woke you." Sebastian frowned once more.
"I'm sorry." She said below a whisper.
"Why are you apologizing?" The demon questioned and he arched a brow.
"Will you be mad at me if I went back to sleep?" She asked him.
"No, of course not, darling." Sebastian answered and shook his head. He carried his bride into the bedroom. Alucard was still lying on his back in the bed, using one of his arms as a pillow. The elder vampire opened his eyes to curiously glance at the two as the demon approached the bed. "Alucard and I will go back to bed with you." He whispered as he laid his bride down beside Alucard in the middle of the bed. Almost immediately, the little vampire latched onto the pillow to reposition it under head. She stretched out her legs and got as comfortable as she could before trying to fall back to sleep.
"Are you alright, Seras?" Alucard asked while he turned over to lie on his side. He placed a hand on his bride's hip and stared at her, even though she wasn't facing him.
"Fine, just tired." His mate barely opened her mouth to respond. The demon slid his way into bed beside her.
"You can sleep now." Sebastian whispered. He brushed his fingers over her soft cheek before tangling his fingers in her hair.
"What time is it?" She asked softly.
"It doesn't matter. Just sleep." The demon whispered to her.
"You and Alucard will sleep with me?" Their mate asked half-asleep.
"Yes," Alucard promised her. He naturally buried his nose in her hair and comfortably closed his eyes to welcome sleep once more. Fully at ease knowing that her mates were going to fall back asleep with her, she let sleep take her completely.
"Good girl," Sebastian muttered and finally closed his eyes.
End of Chapter Fifteen
I hope you guys enjoyed.
Oxford Not Brogues