Chapter Four

When they had come through to their Realm, they had been greeted by Phillip, a trusted guard of Athien`s and Lorena was told she had been summoned to bring her presence before her Lord as her friends were led away. Now, Lord Athien sat watching her without saying anything. The silence was cold and uncomfortable. His eyes were so ebony black it was difficult to distinguish iris from pupil. His hair was just as dark, framing his well chiseled features, and strong jaw. Elegant robes framed his body, lean with hard muscles gained from years of hard labor. He was a great warrior and the second oldest vampire alive, his biological father, Draco, being the oldest. He was the king of this Coven. The Livett Coven was the largest vampire coven, so large; it had its own city. Athien was the only man Lorena would bow to, he was her Maker, her Creator, the one who turned her immortal and everyday forces her to remember every bad memory of the hell that was her human life. Athien met Lorena`s stunningly brilliant ice blue eyes with his ebony ones. His eyes were swirling with anger and disappointment.

"I have learned that you defied a direct order of mine. You went into the Realm of Mortals to feed. That large of a group is too noticeable, it's dangerous. The Humans may have Witches walking amongst them and if the Witches ever found at that there is a weak spot in The Wall between realms, they would close it, and we would be unable to feed and the race of Immortals would die. We have Seekers who obtain enough blood to sustain our population as is their job. Only they are allowed to cross into the other realm. If you are going to continue to hunt on your own, then do so by yourself. Do not bring anyone with you. I know who joined you and they will be punished suitably. You and only you, outside the Seekers, have my permission to hunt in the other realm as long as you are careful. I have heard of your various hunting techniques and I find it very...amusing. My only condition is that you remain hidden when you go and cover your tracks, leave no evidence of your presence behind. If the Elders find out about this, they would have my head. Heed my warning child. You are dismissed."

Athien rose from his throne and Lorena stood from her bow. The doors to the throne room opened and Lady Crystal walked into the room. Her snow white hair flowed behind her and her silver eyes looked furiously at Athien. She was the polar opposite of Athien, gentle where he was cruel. She was beloved by all her people whereas Athien was feared. Athien laughed.

"My darling what upsets you so?"

Lorena bowed to her queen, who gave her a nod of recognition.

"If you will excuse me My Lord and Lady..."

They both nodded their consent of her departure and Lorena hastily made her way out.

Crystal crossed her arms over her chest and intently stared at her husband of many centuries.

"Were you ever going to tell me that you experimented on that girl?" Crystal gestured to the door Lorena had just retreated from. " Were you ever going to tell me that you experimented on her friend as well? Do they even know? Does the Council know? Do the Elders? Was your father involved? What was the experiment? Why did you have to do it behind my back? Was Dr. Walker a part of this?"

Athien chuckled to himself which earned him a glare from Crystal. He wrapped his arms around her but she shrugged him off and backed away from him.

"Athien, please, tell me."She pleaded

Athien shook his head. "I should have known you would find out about it eventually. It's been over two centuries since I Turned them, I figured it was forgotten about by now. When I attacked them that night, I hadn't counted on the men being there. I had followed Lorena for years, watching her. She had a fire within her, something that I desperately wanted to touch but never could. It was the same fire I saw in you the day we first met. She was meant for this life. The others were bonuses. After I bite them, but before my venom could kill them completely, I injected Siree and Lorena with a special serum I had created. It was meant to block the venom from killing off their reproductive systems. I had never expected it to work so well."

" Why did you do that? Maybe the Angels took our capability to bear children for a reason."

Athien shook his head and gave her a dark look. His voice was barely a whisper when he spoke to her, his voice seemed far away,

"Before you knew what I was, you had told me that you wanted to one day have children. At that moment I knew I couldn't bring you into this life, no matter how much I loved you and wanted you by my side for all eternity. I knew you were too pure, too innocent...I couldn't rob you of your life. I regret what I did to you, and I will for as long as I shall live. That day you saved me from the werewolves, I should have made you forget about me, you should have left me there to die! You shouldn't have fed me your blood! If you had let me die, the day I accidentally attacked you, the day I lost control and turned you ,would never had happened. You would never have fallen in love with such a demon, with such a monster then you wouldn't be what you are. I will punish myself for all eternity for robbing you of the happy life you could have had. The day you confessed your love for me and forsaken all other men who could have given you a good life for whatever good you saw in me, I knew I couldn't leave you. Since that day I attacked you and Turned you and you still said you loved me, I have been looking for a way to give you the children you so yearned for as a human. I think I have come up with something. I wanted to test it out on Lorena and Siree so I knew it was safe. I had to be sure it was, I didn't want to risk losing you. Now, we just have to wait and see. If it works, then I will give you the life you should have had."

Athien was shocked to see blood red tears streaming down Crystal`s cheeks.

"You really have tried since the day you Turned me? Oh Athien!" She ran and collapsed in Athien`s arms.

He was shocked by her display of emotion but caught her easily and led her to the floor and stroked her gently.