Chapter 2

“I reconnected with my family with almost no effort at all.”

They were overjoyed—especially my father.

When he learned that he had a grandson, the stoic Vampire King nearly broke down in tears. He urged me to return to the North immediately, to bring my child home where we belonged.

Just then, my son stirred in his sleep and murmured softly,

“Daddy… you promised me…”

In two days, it would be his fifth birthday.

Even in his dreams, my child was still holding on to the promise his father had made—to celebrate it with him.

I brushed my fingers over his sleeping face, my vision blurring.

Two more days.Just two more days, so that my son wouldn’t leave with regret.

But before dawn broke, violent knocking shattered the quiet.

My son’s dream ended abruptly.

It was Walker, Gabriel’s mother. She had sent people to summon me and my child back to the Brown estate.

I frowned.

Walker had never hidden her disdain for us.

In her eyes, I was nothing more than an Outcast Vampire from some nameless Coven—someone who had stumbled into fortune by chance and ensnared her precious son.

By extension, she disliked my child as well.

To her, only someone like Chloe—a vampire born from a higher-tier bloodline, even if merely a collateral branch—was worthy of being her ideal Blood Queen.

Unlike my unease, my son was visibly excited.

He thought his father was finally coming to take him home.

But when we arrived at Walker’s residence, what greeted us were the sneers and cold gazes of Gabriel’s relatives.

Gabriel, who hadn’t returned all night, stood beside Chloe, supporting her gently, his expression uncharacteristically tender.

Walker ignored my son and me entirely as she announced with delight,

“Chloe is pregnant. As agreed, Gabriel will officially become the Vampire Lord of Blazetooth Coven.”

“And the child she carries will be the heir of the Brown family. Before long, Gabriel and Chloe will also complete the Blood Bond ceremony.”

The room erupted in congratulations as all eyes turned to Chloe.

I stared only at Gabriel.

He rested a hand over Chloe’s abdomen, his voice filled with warmth, as if my son and I didn’t exist at all.

“I’m finally going to be a father.”

Finally？Pain pierced my chest without warning.

My son, standing beside me, tightened his grip on my hand, his face crumpling in confusion.

“Mom…” he whispered. “What is Dad talking about? Aren’t I his child too?”

His small, trembling voice drew everyone’s attention.

Then came the laughter.

“Just a bastard child. How dare he speak in a setting like this?”

“If other bloodlines found out our Vampire Lord had an illegitimate son, what would happen to the Coven’s reputation?”

“That outsider woman wouldn’t be thinking of stealing the inheritance too, would she? I’d never allow it.”

“Absolutely not. This can never be acknowledged.”

Walker let out a cold snort and looked down at us with contempt.

“From now on, we’ll say the child is a stray adopted by the Coven. As for Isabella—she can be introduced as a servant Gabriel hired to care for the boy.”

My fingers closed tightly around my son’s hand.

I had always known Walker despised us. It had been her idea, after all, to have Chloe conceive Gabriel’s child.

“I’m not an orphan,” my son protested quietly, his eyes reddening as he struggled not to cry.

“I have a mom… and a dad…”

“Mother, isn’t this going too far?” someone murmured.

Gabriel finally released Chloe’s hand and took a step toward us.

But I saw it clearly—Chloe caught his arm again.

He hesitated.

Only for a few seconds.

Then he fell silent.

“All right,” Walker said decisively. “That’s settled.”

I stepped forward, pulling my son with me, and faced Gabriel and his mother.

“My child is not an orphan. He does not need to be adopted.”

“From this moment on, he is my son alone. He has nothing to do with Gabriel Brown.”

I knelt before my child, forcing back my tears.

“Sweetheart, don’t call him ‘Dad’ anymore. Do you understand?”

Gabriel froze.

He knew why I had agreed to return to the his Coven.Why I had endured his relationship with Chloe.

It had all been for my son—because Walker had promised him a place, an identity.

And now, I was the one giving it up.

He searched my face, trying to find hesitation, doubt—anything.

I turned away.

He would never have my heart again.

My son was too young to understand the politics of blood and inheritance. He cried until his eyes were swollen.

I was about to take him home, to comfort him, when Chloe stepped in front of us.

“Isabella,” she said calmly, “I heard Gabriel once gave you a ring that symbolized his standing in the Brown family.”

“Now that I am his Blood Queen, and my child will be the heir of this Coven, shouldn’t you return it?”

“If others were to see that ring in your possession, misunderstandings might arise.”

So this was the real reason.

The true purpose behind today’s humiliation.

I looked at Gabriel, my face devoid of emotion.

“Is this what you want too?”

That ring had been given to me the first time we were together.

He had said it represented everything he was—his name, his status—and that by giving it to me, he was choosing me as his Blood Queen.

It was because of that ring that I had abandoned my family, concealed my lineage, and loved him without reservation.

Unable to meet my gaze, Gabriel looked away.

“Isabella… it’s just a ring.”

“Fine.”

I removed it without hesitation.

As Chloe eagerly slipped it onto her finger, I even offered her a smile.

“It suits you better than it ever did me.”

Ignoring Gabriel’s stunned expression, I took my son’s hand and walked away without looking back.

In our vampire world, inheritance is governed by Blood Oath Succession.

Only those acknowledged by the head of the House may inherit.

Since my son was denied recognition by the Brown family—

He would return with me to House Sterling.

And become the future Vampire King.