Chapter 1

ELENA'S POV

My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

I stared down at the crystal glass in my trembling fingers, watching the thick red liquid swirl inside it. Blood. Fresh blood. Still warm.

"What are you waiting for, human? Pour it already before it gets cold. You know I hate cold blood."

Lucian Aion’'s voice cut through the silence like a blade. Cold. Sharp. Commanding.

I swallowed hard and stepped forward, my bare feet silent against the marble floor of his penthouse office. The city lights of New York glittered behind him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making him look like some dark king ruling over his empire.

And I? I was nothing. Just his blood servant. His slave.

"I'm sorry, Master Lucian," I whispered, approaching his massive desk.

He didn't even look up from the documents he was signing. His dark hair fell perfectly over his forehead, and even in the dim light, I could see how devastatingly handsome he was. Sharp jawline. Pale flawless skin. Those eyes, when he actually bothered to look at me, were the coldest shade of silver I'd ever seen.

I poured the blood into his favorite glass, trying desperately to keep my hands steady. I couldn't afford to spill. Not again. Last time I spilled even a drop, he'd made me clean the entire penthouse on my hands and knees without food for two days.

"Pathetic," he muttered, still not looking at me.

"Two years and you still shake like a frightened rabbit. How did I get stuck with such a useless servant?"

The words stabbed into me, but I kept my face blank. I'd learned not to cry in front of him anymore. It only made things worse.

"I'm sorry, Master," I said again, because that's all I ever said. All I was allowed to say.

He finally looked up, and those silver eyes pinned me in place. There was no warmth in them. No humanity. Just a cold assessment, like I was a piece of furniture that had disappointed him.

"Leave it and get out. And tell Logan to send up Isabelle when she arrives. At least she knows how to properly serve a vampire."

My chest tightened. Isabelle. The beautiful vampire woman who visited three times a week. I knew exactly what "serve" meant when it came to her.

"Yes, Master Lucian."

I turned to leave, my thin nightgown, the only thing he allowed me to wear while serving him in his private quarters, barely covering my body. I felt his eyes on me, but not with desire.

With disgust.

"And Elena?"

I froze at the door. He so rarely used my actual name.

"Yes, Master?"

"You're getting too thin. Eat something. I don't want a skeleton serving me. It's unpleasant to look at."

I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood. "Yes, Master."

I slipped out of his office and closed the door behind me, finally allowing myself to breathe.

My legs were weak as I walked down the long corridor toward the servant quarters.

The penthouse was massive, taking up the entire top floor of AionTower, the tallest building in Manhattan. Lucian owned half of New York, maybe more. Hotels, clubs, corporations. He was one of the most powerful vampire billionaires in the world.

And I was his blood servant, bought and paid for.

I made my way down to the kitchen, my stomach growling. When was the last time I'd eaten? Yesterday morning? The day before?

"Elena!"

I turned to see Maria rushing toward me. She was the only friend I had in this hell. Another blood servant, but she served Lucian's business partner, so she had it slightly better than me.

"Maria, what are you doing here?" I asked as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the empty kitchen.

"I snuck over to check on you. Girl, you look terrible. When did you last eat?"

"I'm fine—"

"Don't lie to me." She shoved a sandwich into my hands. "Eat. Now."

I wanted to cry from gratitude, but I'd used up all my tears months ago. I took a bite, and my body nearly wept with relief.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Maria watched me with worried eyes. She was older than me, maybe thirty, with kind brown eyes and graying hair. "Elena, you can't keep going like this. You're wasting away."

"I just need to survive six more months," I said, forcing myself to chew slowly even though I wanted to devour the entire sandwich in seconds. "Then my contract ends. Then I'm free."

"If you live that long," Maria muttered. She glanced around nervously and lowered her voice. "I heard the vampire council is meeting here tonight. Something big is happening.

Just... stay out of sight, okay? When the ancient ones gather, humans like us need to be invisible."

A chill ran down my spine. The vampire council.

The oldest, most powerful vampires in existence. They rarely gathered unless something serious was happening.

"I'll stay in my room," I promised.

Maria hugged me quickly. "I have to go before Master Vincent notices I'm gone. Be safe, Elena. And please, eat more."

She disappeared, leaving me alone in the kitchen with half a sandwich and a hollow ache in my chest that food couldn't fill.

I finished eating and made my way to my room, a tiny space barely bigger than a closet, with just a thin mattress on the floor and a small dresser. This was my life. This was all I had.

I changed out of the nightgown and into my only other outfit, a simple gray dress that hung off my too-thin frame. Maria was right. I was wasting away. But what choice did I have?

I lay down on the mattress and stared at the ceiling, trying not to think about Isabelle in Lucian's bed right now. Trying not to think about how he looked at her with something almost like warmth, while he looked at me like I was trash.

Why did it hurt? Why did I care?

He was a monster. A cruel, heartless vampire who saw humans as nothing but food and servants. I should hate him.

But somewhere deep inside, in a part of me I tried to bury, I remembered the night two months ago. The Blood Moon Ritual.

I'd been ordered to assist with the ceremony, to offer my blood for the ritual. I remembered Lucian's eyes on me, different somehow.

Glowing not silver, but gold. I remembered the way he'd pulled me close, his fangs sinking into my neck, and something had felt... different.

Electric. Like lightning in my veins.

Then everything went black.

When I woke up the next morning, I was back in my room, and Lucian acted like nothing had happened. Like I was the same worthless servant I'd always been.

Maybe I imagined it. Maybe the blood loss made me hallucinate.

I pressed my hand to my stomach, feeling the familiar nausea rise. I'd been feeling sick for weeks now. Dizzy. Exhausted more than usual.

My period was late too, over a month late.

But that was probably just stress and malnutrition, right?

Right?

A terrible thought crept into my mind. A thought I'd been pushing away for days.

No. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

Vampires couldn't have children with humans.

Everyone knew that. It was biologically impossible.

But the nausea. The dizziness. The missed period.

My heart started racing.

I sat up, panic clawing at my chest. I needed to know. I needed to be sure.

I thought about the pharmacy ten blocks away.

I had a little money saved, coins I'd found over the years, tips from guests who sometimes took pity on me. Maybe enough for a pregnancy test.

It was almost midnight. Lucian would be... occupied with Isabelle for hours. The council meeting wouldn't start until 2 AM. I could sneak out and be back before anyone noticed.

I had to know.

I grabbed my worn coat and slipped out of my room, moving silently through the servant corridors. My heart pounded as I reached the service elevator and pressed the button.

The ride down felt like an eternity. Every floor that passed, I expected someone to stop me, to drag me back, to punish me for leaving without permission.

But the elevator doors opened to the empty lobby, and I ran.

The cold New York air hit me like a slap as I burst onto the street. I pulled my coat tighter and hurried toward the pharmacy, my breath coming out in white clouds.

Ten blocks. Just ten blocks.

I made it to the pharmacy and bought the cheapest pregnancy test they had, using almost all my saved money. The cashier gave me a pitying look that made me want to disappear.

I clutched the small box to my chest and ran back to Aion Tower, my mind spinning.

It would be negative. It had to be negative. This was just stress. Just my body breaking down from malnutrition and exhaustion.

Back in my tiny room, I locked the door and opened the box with shaking hands.

Three minutes. The instructions said to wait three minutes.

I did what I needed to do and set the test on the edge of my dresser, then sat on my mattress and stared at it.

One minute passed. Two minutes. Three.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.

Slowly, on trembling legs, I stood and picked up the test.

Two pink lines. Positive.

The test slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor.

I was pregnant.

I was pregnant with a vampire's child.

With Lucian Aion's child.

But that was impossible. Impossible.

Unless…

Unless I wasn't fully human.

The room spun. I grabbed the dresser to keep from falling.

What was I? What was this baby?

And what would Lucian do when he found out?

A sound outside my door made me freeze.

Footsteps. Heavy footsteps.

Someone was coming.

I quickly kicked the pregnancy test under my mattress and tried to calm my racing heart.

A knock on my door. Hard. Demanding.

"Elena! Master Lucian wants you in the council chamber. Now."

My blood turned to ice.

The council chamber. Where the ancient vampires were gathering.

Why would they want me?

"I'm coming," I called out, my voice barely steady.

I opened the door to find Logan, Lucian's head of security, a massive vampire with scars across his face.

"Move," he growled.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me down the corridor. I stumbled to keep up, my mind reeling.

They couldn't know. There's no way they could know about the baby. I just found out myself.

Logan pulled me into the elevator and we rode up to the top floor, past Lucian's penthouse, to a level I'd never been to before.

The doors opened to reveal a massive chamber with a long table surrounded by the most terrifying creatures I'd ever seen.

Ancient vampires. Their power radiated through the room like a physical force, making it hard to breathe.

And at the head of the table sat Lucian, his silver eyes finding mine immediately.

But he wasn't alone.

Next to him sat the most beautiful vampire woman I'd ever seen. Pale skin, long black hair, blood-red lips, and eyes that glowed like rubies.

She wore a dress that probably cost more than I'd earn in ten lifetimes.

She smiled at me, and it was the smile of a predator.

"So this is your little blood servant, Lucian darling," she purred. "How... quaint."

Lucian's expression was unreadable. "Viviana. I didn't know you were coming."

"Surprise," she said, standing and gliding toward him. She placed a possessive hand on his shoulder. "Did you really think I'd stay away when I have such important news?"

My stomach dropped.

She turned to face the council, her hand still on Lucian, her smile growing wider.

"My lords and ladies of the council," she announced, her voice ringing through the chamber. "I came here tonight to share wonderful news. Lucian and I are engaged to be married."

The world tilted.

"And," she continued, her ruby eyes flickering to me with triumph, "I'm pregnant with his child.

The first pureblood heir to the Aion bloodline in three centuries."

The pregnancy test hidden under my mattress flashed through my mind.

I looked at Lucian, waiting for him to deny it, to say something.

But he just sat there, his face cold and emotionless.

And Viviana smiled at me like she'd already won.