The Unclaimed Consort

It was our sixth wedding anniversary.

Lord Tom didn't pledge his vows to me, but instead gave me his family's crest—a dim, unstable mark, the mark of a blood slave.

That very night, while solemn hymns echoed through the hall, he performed a blood oath ceremony with his pure-blood first love, Lady Mia.

I refused the mark.

He let out a cold, humorless laugh.

"Love is a luxury only immortals can afford, Rowling," he said. "My union with Mia is a political necessity—to maintain the purity of the bloodline."

His gaze turned icy.

"You are a mortal. You should be content with my protection. Few receive such a blessing."

I didn't speak.I left before dawn.

Six years later, we met again at a banquet hosted by the Vampire High Council.

Tom walked in with Mia, her silk dress shimmering silver in the moonlight. Under his rule, his family was about to gain a seat in the Senate.

His gaze found me.

I stood in the hotel's decorative fountain, the water up to my ankles, soaking wet, sand clinging to my dress.

A familiar look of contempt flickered across his face.

"Rowling," he said coldly. "You refused my protection, mocked my generosity. Now you're rummaging through a public fountain like a beggar."

The corners of his mouth curled slightly.

"Do you really think any vampire would take in a mortal without a protector?"

I didn't look up.

I was searching for my son's tourmaline that had fallen into the water.

But to my son, it was a seal—an ancient restraint, suppressing a power that shouldn't awaken so early.

I could already feel it weakening. If the seal cannot be repaired in time, the power erupting within him will destroy the entire building.

Six years ago, in order to marry a purebred vampire named Mia, Tom regarded me as a lowly servant.

“Low-born human.” At that time, that's how he called me. The word left his lips, sounded coldly and contemptuously.

Six years had passed, and he was still so arrogant.

When he noticed me, his head was held high, as if he had smelled something completely unbearable. He didn't even want to look at me directly, as if a glance at me would dirty his eyes.

I found it funny for him to treat me like a mortal enemy or the poor person who prayed for his help. He saw me as a stain on his life, believing that if I encounter him, I would definitely use all means to plead for his love or protection.

Yet he didn't know that I have become an existence that he completely cannot understand or interact with.

He moved through the lobby, Mia a graceful shadow at his side. Vampires stirred—a current of predatory admiration. They recognized the Lord who had resurrected a dying bloodline.

“Lord Tom! To think we’d witness the rise of a new Major House in our lifetime.”

“You seek audience with the King himself, don't you?”

Tom inclined his head,