Gabriel's breaths were ragged, his body trembling beneath her hand. His eyes glowed faintly in the dim lamplight, crimson bleeding into the familiar storm-gray irises.
Selene's throat tightened. The blood has awakened.
"Gabriel," she said firmly, steadying her voice though her chest ached. "Listen to me. You must hold on—"
"I can't." His words came out half-growl, half-plea. His shoulders hunched forward, muscles straining as though every bone inside him was shifting. "It hurts… Mother, it hurts."
The sound cut through her like a blade.
She might be the business titan the world and even the elders feared, but here, in the silence of this room, she was only Selene—the guardian who could not bear to watch him suffer.
Her resolve cracked.
She slipped her fingers beneath his chin, lifting his face to hers. His lips trembled, parted, revealing the faintest glimmer of lengthening fangs. Her pulse fluttered.
So soon… so strong.
"Look at me, Gabriel," she whispered.
His eyes locked onto hers. His hunger was a storm raging inside him, threatening to pull her under. And in the storm's heart, she saw her reflection—steady, unflinching, though her heart beat hard enough to betray her.
Selene's hand moved slowly to the side of her neck.
The air between them changed.
Gabriel stiffened, his body trembling harder, as if every ounce of will left in him was fighting the instinct that screamed for him to lunge forward.
"Mother…" His voice was hoarse, his lips barely forming the word.
Selene hesitated, her throat dry. The moment hung suspended, delicate as glass. Once shattered, there would be no return.
But she had already chosen.
"If you must," she said softly, tilting her head, baring the pale skin of her throat. "Then only from me."
Gabriel's breath hitched.
The pulse at her neck called to him, louder than anything he had ever heard in his life. His mouth watered, his fangs ached, his body screamed for release. But his mind reeled.
'No. I can't. She's my mother. I can't—'
But the hunger was merciless.
One step forward, and his lips brushed her skin.
Selene's hand rose, pressing the back of his head gently against her. Her voice was steady, though her body quivered with emotions she dared not name. "Do it, Gabriel. Better me than anyone else."
Her words broke the last of his resistance.
He bit.
The fangs slid in effortlessly, piercing skin that was warm and fragrant. The taste of her blood burst over his tongue, and the world shattered.
It was heat and lightning, a rush that seared through his veins like fire and honey. His throat no longer burned with emptiness—it sang with fullness, with pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain. He moaned against her skin, clutching her waist, his body arching closer as if he might drown in her and gladly sink deeper.
Selene gasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Her knees weakened, but she held firm. The sting was nothing compared to the wave of sensation that surged through her. His feeding was more than survival—it was intimacy, a binding force she had dreaded and craved in equal measure.
'This is madness', she thought, but her body betrayed her. Her breath came short, her lips parted, her pulse quickened beneath his mouth.
"Enough," she whispered, though her voice shook.
Gabriel didn't stop. His hunger was too deep, his need too consuming. Every drop of her blood was ecstasy. He could hear her heartbeat hammering in his ears, feel her warmth pouring into him. He groaned low, pressing her tighter against him.
Selene's eyes fluttered shut. She clenched her jaw, trying to hold on, trying to remember this was supposed to be discipline, not indulgence.
Her hand tightened in his hair. "Gabriel. That's enough."
Her voice cracked though infused with command and at last, the word pierced through the haze.
Gabriel froze.
Shame slammed into him. He wrenched himself back, stumbling away, blood staining his lips. His chest rose and fell in harsh, ragged breaths. His hands shook violently.
Selene touched her neck. The wound was already knitting closed, but the phantom of his lips lingered like a secret fire.
For a moment, the room was silent except for their breathing.
Then Gabriel whispered, brokenly, "What… what have I done?"
Her heart clenched at the raw guilt in his voice.
"You survived," she said quietly.
He shook his head. "I—bit you. I hurt you. I wanted more. I—" He choked, covering his mouth with a trembling hand. The taste of her was still there, intoxicating, addictive. The hunger was sated, but a different craving had awakened, one that terrified him.
Selene forced herself to her feet, straightening her robe, regaining the composure that had momentarily slipped. Her expression hardened, though her heart was still racing.
"This was inevitable," she told him. "It has begun. Your nature will not be denied."
Gabriel lifted his eyes to her, wide and desperate. "What am I?"
The question cut deep.
She wanted to tell him everything—to tell him of his lineage, of the night his parents entrusted him to her, of the fate waiting for him - for them both. But not yet. He wasn't ready. The truth would only crush him further in this fragile state.
So she placed her hand gently against his cheek, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You are my son," she said firmly, her words a mixture of truth and lie. "And you are strong. Stronger than you know. This is only the beginning."
He leaned into her touch, eyes closing, a single tear sliding down his cheek.
Selene's chest ached. For all her strength, she wanted nothing more than to hold him, to soothe him like when he was a child plagued by nightmares. But this nightmare was real, and it had only just begun.
She pulled away before her resolve faltered again.
"Sleep now," she ordered, her voice firm once more. "Tomorrow, I will start teach you how to endure this hunger."
Gabriel swallowed hard, nodding, though his eyes still burned with questions. He climbed back onto the bed, curling into the sheets like a boy much younger than fifteen.
Selene watched him for a long moment, her hand pressed over the faint wound at her throat.
Then she turned and walked into the hallway, closing the door softly behind her.
Only once she was alone did she let her composure crack. Her back pressed against the wall, her knees nearly buckling.
She lifted trembling fingers to her lips.
And whispered to the empty corridor, "Forgive me."