Chapter 13: The Child Rejects the Blood

Five days.

It had been five long days since Caveen left.

Lysandra sat alone in the sun-drenched garden of the Landon Estate, her fingers resting lightly over her still-flat stomach. The roses bloomed around her, but they gave no comfort. Even the gentle wind that brushed through her white gown carried no warmth.

He hadn't come.

Not a letter. Not a word.

Just silence.

And now… something was wrong.

Very wrong.

It started as a dull ache in her spine. Then came the nausea. The cold sweat. The racing pulse that didn't match her breathing. Her throat itched, her skin burned from the inside, and most terrifying of all—

She rejected the blood.

The crimson liquid in the syringe, crafted carefully to sustain both her and the growing hybrid, now sent violent shudders through her body. The moment the needle entered her vein, her entire being convulsed.

The baby—the child inside her—was refusing the sustenance.

Maika stood over her in the private medical chamber, brows furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. Carl paced like a storm contained in a man's body.

"She's not responding," the healer whispered, wiping sweat from Lysandra's brow. "Her vitals are erratic. The baby's aura is fluctuating, destabilizing her internal balance."

Carl growled low, "How is that even possible? This formula was prepared by the best vampire medics in Santossa."

"It was working before," Maika murmured, eyes never leaving Lysandra's trembling form. "Until Caveen left."

That silence wrapped the room like a noose.

Lysandra's breathing hitched as she gritted her teeth. "It's… him," she gasped. "The baby… is connected to him. I—I don't know how, but… it hurts when he's gone. I feel it."

Carl turned sharply. "That sounds like soul-binding—"

"No," Maika cut in. "Not soul-binding. Resonance. The child carries part of his soul. The farther Caveen is, the weaker the bond between the magic within the baby and the external stabilizers—like the blood formula. The child doesn't just need blood. It needs its father's aura."

A heavy silence followed.

Maika's expression darkened with realization.

"This baby is evolving. Fast. It's no longer just part-vampire, part-witch, part-lycan. It's… something else. Something we've never seen. And it's trying to find balance. Lysandra's magic alone can't support it now."

Carl slammed a fist against the wall. "Then get Caveen back."

"I already sent the message," Maika said coolly. "But he hasn't answered."

Lysandra's eyes fluttered open. Her lips quivered. "He doesn't want to see me…"

Maika knelt beside her, her tone softer than ever before. "This isn't about feelings anymore. This is about survival—yours and the child's. He will come. Even if I have to drag him here myself."

---

Meanwhile…

Caveen sat in the dim-lit on-call room at the hospital. The walls around him were cold, but it was nothing compared to the ice forming in his chest. His phone buzzed for the third time.

Maika. Again.

He ignored it.

The pain of that newborn's cry still echoed in his chest.

He wasn't ready. He wasn't meant to be a father—not like this. Not with lies and confusion and a future soaked in bloodlines and council laws.

But when his phone buzzed again and a single line from Maika appeared…

> "She's rejecting the blood. Her body's failing. The child needs you. Now."

He dropped the phone.

And ran.

---

Back at the Estate…

Lysandra screamed as another wave of pain racked her body. Her skin was growing paler, almost translucent, her veins glowing faintly with silver light.

"The magic is spiking again!" the healer cried.

Carl held her down, heart racing. "Where the hell is my son—"

And then—

The door burst open.

Wind rushed in like a storm breaking free.

Caveen stood in the doorway, eyes wild, breath heaving, aura pulsing dangerously.

"Move."

Everyone stepped aside without question.

He was at Lysandra's side in an instant, falling to his knees, taking her icy hand into his.

Her eyes barely opened—but the moment she saw him, her lips moved.

"…Caveen?…"

Caveen pressed her hand to his cheek. "I'm here. I'm not leaving."

And then—

The child's aura pulsed. A soft golden hue spread across Lysandra's belly like a glowing halo.

Her heartbeat steadied.

Her body stopped shaking.

The baby... calmed. Lysandra sleep

Maika inhaled sharply. "It's him. His presence is what keeps the child alive."

Caveen stared at the light, trembling slightly. "What…hapenning?"

Maika's voice was soft and solemn.

"The child clungs on your aura."

Caveen tightened his hold on Lysandra's hand, eyes burning with a fire he hadn't felt in years.

After that.

Lysandra did not wake.

For days, she lay still beneath layers of silk sheets and enchanted wards, her breath shallow, her skin cold yet faintly glowing with the faintest traces of silver and crimson. Her body, though no longer rejecting the blood formula, had not regained consciousness.

Maika watched over her like a silent sentinel. By the third night, even the healers stopped trying to understand the bond that tethered mother and child to Caveen's aura.

But Maika… she had her own ideas.

That night, when even Carl had stepped out for a breath of air and Caveen slumped in a chair near the edge of the bed, half-asleep in the shadows, Maika moved with quiet precision.

She approached her son, who had dark circles under his eyes and a crease of exhaustion carved deep in his brow.

Without a word, she brushed his dark curls aside and gently took his arm. Her magic hummed, and a sterile needle shimmered in her grasp. She whispered an incantation, and the vein in Caveen's wrist swelled ever so slightly.

The blood of a Vellaria. Of a Nexus. Of the child's father.

She drew two vials, careful not to wake him.

Then she turned to Lysandra, still and beautiful in her sleep, her lips barely parted. Her skin was nearly porcelain now. The glow in her belly—a soft golden hue—was flickering.

Fading.

"Forgive me," Maika murmured as she slid the needle into the vein of Lysandra's arm.

Father and child's blood, reunited inside her.

The reaction was instant but invisible. A soft shimmer ran along Lysandra's arm. Her heart thudded once—heavier, fuller.

Maika exhaled in relief.

"She'll come back now."