A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Before someone tries to report me again…

I have recycled one tiny, *tiny* idea that I touched on before in my saga but completely different approach because I wanted to develop something different.

Chapter 41: Rejection

The echo of the Count's voice seemed to reverberate around the manor, never quite dying out.

Everyone in the room was frozen, two of them in complete confusion and two in complete understanding.

Mina and Erin shared a look before in sync looking at the Dracula siblings.

Vlad didn't move, he just closed his eyes. Erin glanced at Ingrid who looked sheepish, she seemed to know exactly what terrified Vlad.

"What is he on about?" Erin asked Ingrid. Ingrid opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. How could she explain this to Erin? It was one aspect of their culture that they'd never thought to change.

"Dad will have no choice…"

"What do you mean 'no choice'?"

The door banged open, flying from its hinges as it impacted with the wall behind. It landed with a bang on the wooden floor. Erin's jaw clenched at the sight, the Count would be fixing that before he left.

The Count's face was expressionless as he made his way across the room. His long robes flowing behind him as he only had eyes for his son. He stopped stiffly in front of Vlad. Vlad didn't look up at him.

"Vladimir?" Erin had never seen him so formal with his son. Erin looked across to her mate before looking up at the Count. Vlad closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds to calm himself before looking up at him.

"Are you a gene fang?" The Count demanded, looking at his son. Vlad didn't think he'd know about gene fangs before researching them. Vlad had heard of them but he never thought a reflection could be taken from a body to turn someone into one.

Vlad looked away, fixing on a spot over Mina's head. Mina decided to interrupt, "I don't think this is good for Vlad…"

"Back off slayer!" The Count snarled at her, his fangs dropping. Erin opened her mouth to protest he couldn't talk to their allies like that. "Are you a gene fang?" He demanded once more from his son.

"Olga took my reflection." Vlad confirmed quietly. "I'm transforming into one." The Count stumbled back slightly, he'd hoped that the message had been wrong.

Erin looked between them, she didn't understand why Vlad was so quiet.

"You know what this means Vladimir?"

Vlad nodded again, he knew his father didn't have a choice. Erin was really growing worried, Vlad would usually contradict his father but he was far too quiet for her tastes.

"You can't!" Ingrid shouted at her father, surprising him in her eager determination to protect her brother. "Vlad didn't do this on purpose!"

"I can and I will." The Count yelled back at his disobedient daughter. "The Law…"

"The Law be fogged!" She snapped, "Since when have you cared about Vampire Law?" She asked, "I forgot it's when Vlad became the Chosen One. It was his power you were interested in wasn't it?"

"You dare to…"

"I dare. At least I knew he couldn't be a puppet, I knew I had to wipe him out to get power." She admitted openly, Vlad flinched at her words. "You know all this time I thought I was the one who was unloved but you don't love Vlad either do you?" Her words were quiet. "He was loved because he was the heir nothing more."

The Count wanted to protest but he wouldn't. He had an image to maintain – the Prince of Darkness didn't love anyone.

"I am your father." The Count told her firmly. "Never challenge me."

"You haven't been my father since the day Vlad was born!" Ingrid yelled at him although she didn't hold resentment towards Vlad anymore.

She couldn't deny science, so that was his defence. "Biologically I am."

Ingrid shook her head, trying to remove the anger that lingered, "You're Vlad's father too." Ingrid gestured to her brother widely.

"He doesn't exist, not now." The Count's voice broke slightly. "Gene fangs…"

"Times have changed!" Ingrid shouted angrily, using one of Vlad's common defences. "Half fangs weren't accepted until Vlad took one as his fiancée!"

"Our kind won't care about that, you know why I'm doing it!" Ingrid's mouth snapped shut, she nodded she did understand and that was the worst part of it.

Vlad spoke quietly. "Dad please, I'm your son… think of the baby, it wasn't my fault…"

"Gene fangs don't have a family." Vlad winced as his father said those words.

The Count looked down at his son, his hands were tied. The law was against him and he was too prideful to challenge it. "You can't be my son." He realised that sounded weak so he altered his tone, becoming stronger. "You're a gene fang therefore you're not my son, you're not a Dracula."

Vlad simply nodded accepting the rejection – it was what he'd expected. Over the years Vlad had done many things before on purpose to get out of being a vampire but he'd never been disowned – until he succeeded by accident.

The Count gave his son an apologetic glance before storming from the room.

Vlad took a shaky indrawn breath before burying his head in his hands.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Erin turned every shade of black that there was. Her jaw setting as she glanced at her broken husband. She could see his jaw quivering beneath his hands as he silently cried.

Erin was sickened by the vampire kind, now she knew that Vlad had a good reason to be terrified of what his father would do to him.

Erin stood sharply her whole body shaking.

"Erin…" Ingrid warned, "Don't be an idiot." Erin didn't understand why this had to happen, she didn't know about this disgraceful aspect of their culture.

Erin's head snapped to face Ingrid, no emotion in her voice. "I'm not going to be an idiot."

Ingrid tried again, "Think of the baby." Ingrid was afraid she'd get worked up, harming herself and the baby. She grabbed her wrist but Erin yanked it away sharply.

"I am thinking of the baby, that's why I'm doing this."

With that she stormed from the room on a mission to confront her father in law before anyone could stop her.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Erin was beyond angry, she'd crossed that line when he'd rejected his own son. Vlad had done everything for him but he clearly didn't want to even try saving his own son.

She caught up with the Count as he sauntered across the foyer. Erin didn't think she simply unleashed a fireball as a warning towards the Count. It got his attention, which she hoped and he spun around to face his Queen.

"How dare you treat your son that way?" Erin shouted at him.

"He *was* my son!" The Count roared angrily at her. "Don't assume I wanted to do that!"

"Vlad has saved you more than once, he didn't stand by when the law got in the way before and you were about to be executed!"

The Count ignored her. "You'll harm the baby getting angry half fang."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say as her anger spiked higher, accompanied by the shaking of the entire room.

"The baby will be your grandchild and as far as I'm concerned you're no better than my parents Count."

He looked down at Erin's stomach. "I don't have a grandchild because I can't have a son." Erin noticed the way he said 'can't', he didn't say 'don't'. 'Don't' would mean complete denial, 'can't' meant his hands were ties. However it still wasn't enough to pacify her.

Erin's eyes turned black, "I want you out of my home." Erin snapped at her father in law. If he wasn't willing to appeal against the law then he wasn't welcome in their home.

"You can't…"

"If Vlad isn't your son, he's not a member of your clan which means he doesn't have Dracula at the end of his name. I don't either as I took his name when we mated but I revert back to my maiden name, that means I still have respect." She couldn't believe that in their culture having a clan name meant that they deserved respect. "Respect that your son doesn't have because you've just taken it from him." She was angry, hot tears burned down her face. She didn't care that she was showing signs of weakness in front of him

"Half fangs don't have respect…"

"Everyone deserves respect. Your son gave up the life he loved to save you all. I wish he hadn't now I know how much you truly care about him." Erin felt sick looking at him. "Ingrid's right isn't she? You loved him because he was an heir." Erin knew he'd rejected Vlad when he was twelve and threatened to do so more than once.

The Count looked away. "I *do* love him." There was nothing that could change that but he needed to protect the rest of his family, it was a hard thing to do but he had to do it.

"Then why reject him?" Erin couldn't understand his actions, if he loved Vlad then why was he rejecting him.

The Count stood tall, this was his culture she was daring to challenge. It had been this way for three thousand years. Vlad couldn't change everything that made them vampires within three years of his reign. "Because its our way! Gene fangs are cowards. They bring shame on their family." Erin scoffed turning away, if she truly cared about shame then she would still be a slayer.

"Vlad is *not* a coward and he's not a gene fang yet. We still have time to get his reflection back inside him." They still had time, Erin wouldn't give up on that at all.

The Count shook his head, the mirrors had been smashed, the reflection along with it. "He doesn't have his reflection!"

"You know that Vlad faced his reflection three times! Once when he transformed, once when he was thrown in the mirror and once when he merged completely. Vlad is not a coward! Gene fangs are cowards!"

The Count repeated his belief, "Vlad is a gene fang and nothing can change that…"

Erin shook her head, "Vlad hasn't even got his fangs yet! How can he be a gene fang?"

"His reflection is lost. I don't have a choice but to disown him, save what's left of the family. I'm thinking of Ingrid and Wolfie." He told her. Their reputations were on the line with their brother becoming a gene fang.

"Vlad reflection isn't gone. I know its still out there because you grandchild is still growing in me."

"You're grasping at thin air." The Count snapped at her.

"I know Vlad and I know his reflection. They won't give up without a fight."

The Count shook his head, Erin would despise Vlad's reflection for the treachery he'd shown towards them all. "You know nothing of his reflection." How could Erin know? She knew nothing of the evil he held inside him.

Erin hadn't told any of them about her encounters with his reflection only Zoltan knew. "I know more about his reflection than anyone except Vlad." She could see through them both. "I love it just as much as I love Vlad and they both love me. They are both the father of my child and I'm not going to rest until he's complete again."

The Count snorted, half fangs could never quite let go of optimism could they? "His reflection couldn't survive the mirror being smashed and even if it had there's no way it could be reabsorbed by him, he's too weak now."

Erin turned her back on the Count, walking away but not before tossing one last remark over her shoulder. "At least I have faith in your son."

And she always would have.

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading.