The Blood Contract
Chapter 45: Only a sperm donor

Chapter 45: Only a sperm donor

"Boss," the guy called, his voice dropping to a hushed urgency before leaning in to whisper something into Lucian’s ear. When he was done, Lucian’s face darkened, the shadows deepening around his eyes as he fixed his piercing gaze on Modi.

"Why are there armed council guards around my property, Modi?" Lucian asked, his voice dangerously calm yet carrying an undercurrent of steel.

"Because your wife was attacked today by members of a dangerous cult," Modi responded, with a measured tone, the faintest tension in his jaw. "She is an asset to the council and we cannot afford anything happening to her. The guards are here to ensure her safety."

Lucian couldn’t believe his ears, his fingers twitching slightly at his sides.

"Does this place look under protected to you?" he asked, the words sharp as knives, and before Modi could respond, he continued, his voice rising slightly, "She was attacked at an event hosted by you, where you did not provide adequate security, not at my house."

"We were not expecting the attack," Modi pointed out, his voice still calm.

"Who attacked her and why?" Lucian asked, each word clipped and precise.

"We don’t know yet. Investigations are still ongoing," Modi said, and Lucian lifted his brows, the movement slow and deliberate.

"You just said she was attacked by a dangerous cult. Now you are saying you don’t know yet. Which one am I supposed to go with?" he countered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We know it was a cult because we recognize the carvings on the dagger, the particular type of poison, and the markings on the body of the dead attackers. But we don’t know why they attacked her yet. We are still investigating, and the answer to that question will be passed across to you as soon as we get it," Modi responded, a hint of frustration creeping into his normally composed voice.

One side of Lucian’s lips curled up in a smirk when he heard Modi’s response, the expression not quite reaching his cold eyes. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at their stupidity for thinking they were fooling him, the muscles in his jaw working as he clenched his teeth.

"I don’t need your security. Get them away from my house," Lucian concluded, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"They aren’t just here for your house alone. Like I said before—" Modi began, but Lucian cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"I don’t care what you said before, Modi," Lucian snapped, his patience clearly wearing thin. "I don’t appreciate the council meddling in my affairs and making decisions on my behalf, especially decisions that affect me directly. The fact that I accepted the matching without giving you much trouble does not mean I’m going to keep doing that. If you feel something will be good for me or for my wife, discuss it with us first, and if we give our consent, you can go ahead with it. Anything other than that is unacceptable. Get your guards off my property, or else I will consider them trespassers and I’ll order my men to open fire."

After saying this, Lucian headed up the stairs, his movements controlled but radiating anger, leaving them standing there in his wake. But he changed his mind halfway, his steps faltering before he turned and went back down, this time striding purposefully toward the lab instead.

"Mr. Draven," Marlowe called out his name when he entered the lab, her voice echoing slightly in the sterile space.

"Any progress?" he asked, and the woman nodded her head, her fingers pausing over the papers she was working with.

"I still need some time to get all the information out. It should be complete by morning."

"I hope you’re not planning to work all night," Lucian asked her, his eyes scanning the cluttered workbench.

"Not at all. I’ll get some rest in a few hours. What do you have there?" Marlowe probed, her eyes settling on the bottle in Lucian’s hand which was the reason he approached the lab in the first place, her curiosity evident in the tilt of her head.

"Council members just brought it here. They say it’s an antidote for the poison on the dagger that was used to cut Serena. I don’t trust them. I need you to check it to be sure it is what they say it is." He stretched the bottle to her and she accepted it but with a look that suggested she was confused about something, her brows drawing together slightly.

"The dagger was poisoned?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Mmm... That’s what they said."

"All right, I’ll work on this immediately," she said, referring to the bottle of antidote she had just collected, getting up from her chair with a determined set to her shoulders.

"How long will it take?"

"Thirty minutes tops."

Lucian walked away from the lab, giving her the privacy she needed to concentrate on her work. By the time he arrived at the living room, his visitors were nowhere to be found, which brought him some relief. He headed to his room but changed his mind and went towards Serena’s room instead.

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside to find that she was already asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily in the dim light. A small smile graced his lips as he set his gaze on her sleeping face, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. He already suspected she wasn’t the poisoned one, having seen her cut healing fine already. But just to be doubly sure, he carefully unwrapped the bandage on her hand so as not to wake her up, his touch surprisingly gentle for someone with such a rough attitude.

Just as he suspected, her wound was fine. The poisoned dagger was used on him, not her, and that brought him a level of relief that had him questioning himself about the reason he felt that way, his expression turning thoughtful as he watched her sleep.

***

"He’s one stubborn bastard," Salvador seethed as soon as they drove away from Lucian’s house, his fingers drumming impatiently against the car door.

"Exactly the reason he survived the curse. He’s a tough one," Modi agreed, his face devoid of emotions but his heart was calculating, his eyes fixed on the laptop on his thighs.

"You told me they hated each other, Modi. That wasn’t what I witnessed in there. He sounded very much like a man in love," Salvador pointed out, disappointment evident in his tone as he slumped back in his seat.

"They do hate each other," Modi responded with confidence. "Lucian is playing on our intelligence. He doesn’t do love, neither does he care about anything other than himself and his business. He knows that love is a weakness for someone like him and is trying to get rid of the girl by pretending to love her. Either it’s that or he’s just doing all he can to annoy us."

"And he did one hell of a good job because I was pretty annoyed," Salvador said, reaching out to grab a rectangular paper lying beside his seat. He flipped it over to reveal a picture of Serena, one that was taken earlier that night the moment she stepped out of the car and was about to walk the red carpet with Lucian, her dress shimmering under the lights.

A soft sigh escaped Salvador as he looked with admiration at the picture, his thumb tracing the edge of the photo. "She looks exactly like Leah. I really wanted to see her tonight."

"We can return in the morning if you want," Modi suggested, and Salvador shook his head, his expression turning resolute.

"We would look desperate if we do that. I will see her eventually. I have a lot of time on my hands, so I can wait." Salvador placed a light kiss on the picture before returning it to its initial position, his movements almost reverent. "I would have suggested we get rid of him and find another bearer, but it’s too late for that."

"Extremely late, even," Modi agreed, his jaw tightening slightly. "It’s not easy to find a bearer strong enough to survive the curse. Out of eight of them injected with it, only Lucian survived. If we start all over again, it would take years to find one, and there’s a possibility that we may not succeed. So we have to work with what we have."

"Then let’s hasten the process, shall we? If they have not done the deed, let’s give them some motivation," Salvador said, picking up Serena’s picture once more. This time, his eyes narrowed while he studied the picture, a calculating gleam entering his gaze. "And once she takes in, get rid of him."

"Get rid of him?" Modi asked, a barely noticeable frown appearing on his face, his posture stiffening slightly in his seat. "Why do we need to do that?"

"Because he’s too much trouble and I can’t have him bonding with my child," Salvador responded, his gaze not leaving the picture, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"It’s technically his child," Modi reminded, a slight look of irritation crossing his features for a fraction of a second before disappearing.

This time, Salvador shifted his gaze fully to Modi, his eyes cold and unyielding. "No, it’s not his child. He’s only a sperm donor. He dies as soon as she gets pregnant," he said, leaving no room for argument, the finality in his tone making the air in the car grow heavy.