The sound of the machines was slow and steady; the room smelled of cheap disinfectant.
There, sitting on a bed too big for her frail body, was her mother, Carmila Ricci, who turned 43 this year; the disease had robbed her of her strength, but not her grace. Her skin was still smooth, her brown hair fell like a river over her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled with the same intensity as before.
Despite her illness, her beauty remained intact; as he remembered, she hadn't changed at all.
Lucien recalled that in the past, before she fell ill, she was quite popular among politicians, businesspeople, and even celebrities, and she had memories of how luxury cars would park in front of the house.
He never understood why his mother chose his father: a drug addict and alcoholic who made their lives hell. What the hell did she see in that piece of trash?
He sighed, no longer thinking about his father, and approached his mother's bed hesitantly.
"Son... Isn't it a little late to come visit me?" she said with a small cough and then continued, "Hmm... how strange, are you really my son or are you a failed product of a super soldier experiment?" She looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean, a failed product?" Lucien raised an eyebrow and smiled amusedly as he sat down. "You wouldn't say that about someone who became an extremely handsome model."
"Even though I'm your mother, I'm not going to lie to you." She snorted and smiled mischievously. "What kind of model suffers from chronic anemia and is still a virgin these days?"
"But at least I'm still handsome." He smiled happily, as if his good looks took away his virginity.
"Umu, of course you're handsome, you take after me." Carmila lifted her chest proudly and looked at Selene. "Can you tell me who that beauty accompanying you is?" she asked curiously, her eyes scanning Selene from head to toe.
"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you." Lucien points at her and smiles. "This is my wife, Selene Kalt."
"Hello, mother-in-law~" Selene smiled with that mixture of sweetness and "sink into the ground."
Carmila looked at Selene... then at Lucien... then at Selene again, repeating the process as if she were comparing before and after photos of cosmetic surgery. Finally, she snapped her fingers. "Aha. Your change is because of her, right?"
"Hmm... Yes," he confirmed, because it's true, if it weren't for Selene, he wouldn't have become a vampire, so yes, his change is due to her.
"Oh, my God!" Carmila put her hands to her mouth as if she had just seen Brad Pitt walk into the room. "You finally lost your virginity! This calls for a celebration! Kyaa! We have to buy a cake! Some candles! Non-alcoholic champagne for me!" She got so excited that she started coughing. "Cough, cough. I wish your father were here to hear this news! Our son finally tasted the forbidden fruit!"
"Ma, don't push yourself too hard." He looked worried, and then his expression turned serious. "And don't mention that bastard." His eyes threatened to glow blood red, but he held back.
She gave a sad smile, not wanting to bring up the subject. "Now you're going to tell me what really happened to you. Don't give me that puberty crap," she asked seriously, looking him in the green eyes.
"..." Lucien fell silent, not knowing what to say. Lie to her? No, she wouldn't believe that. Or tell her, "Mom, I became a vampire..." No, that would only worry her, and her health is very delicate. 'Damn it, what do I tell her? I can't just drop that bomb on her like it's nothing.' His mind was a mess.
'Screw it, no, I'm not going to think about this anymore,' he made a decision and looked at his mother with a serious expression: "I'll tell you everything when the time is right."
Carmila nodded and, with a mischievous smile, looked at Selene: "What do you think, dear? Sit down, I want to hear in great detail how you met my son."
"We met online," Selene replied, taking a seat next to Lucien. "I thought he was nice... although his sense of humor was rather questionable."
"Umu, yes, that thing you didn't know about him when he was little." Carmila laughed as she remembered. "Once he came crying because he said his 'member' wasn't growing. Imagine that! Hahaha~"
Lucien almost choked. "Mom! Why do you always tell that story!?"
"It was really funny," she insisted, as if not telling him would be sacrilegious. "I think he had seen a cartoon of a boy wearing a straw hat that stretched like rubber... and he thought it was rubber too. He tried to stretch it. Spoiler alert: it didn't work. Hahaha~ cough, cough."
Selene let out a mischievous giggle and looked at him as if she had found pure gold. "He~. Looks like I opened Pandora's box. Tell me, mother-in-law, what other mischief did my husband get up to when he was little?"
Lucien glared at her with all the dignity he had left. "Please, Mom... at least let my wife respect me a little."
Contrary to what he expected, Carmila smiled even more. "Well... when he was four years old, a teacher kissed him on the cheek and he swore he was going to marry her. He even made her a ring out of chewed gum."
"Oh~, so you were going to marry your teacher." Selene suddenly looked at him for a moment, standing indecisively, not knowing what to do; her eyes flashed dangerously, but that light faded away; she was in internal conflict.
Lucien, far from being frightened, smiled broadly. At that moment, she seemed incredibly beautiful to him, and he looked at his mother. "Mother, you can stop talking about my dark past."
"Impossible!" she replied immediately.
He could only put his hand to his forehead, resigned, but he was happy; it had been a long time since he had seen his mother so cheerful.
"Where was I...? Ah? Yes, the first day he started school..."
"Mom!!!"
She burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha~!"
...
"Your mother is very funny," Selene commented, holding Lucien's arm.
He smiled and nodded. "She was always like that, even after she fell ill," he said and looked at the moon. It had been a long time since he had seen his mother laugh like that. "It really was a great idea to bring you with me," he said honestly.
"!!!" Selene's smile widened and she trembled like in those manga comics, but suddenly her eyes lost their sparkle: "Why did you want to marry your teacher?" she asks him, with a slight bloody pressure.
Anyone else would have panicked in this situation, but he was a person... mistake, a vampire who had read many romantic manga, so he made a masterful move.
He pulls her to his chest and looks her straight in the eyes for two seconds, and before she can react, he kisses her.
"Hmm," Selene resisted at first, but then she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the kiss.
Lucien pulled away and cupped her face. "That was in the past. Now I'm all yours," he whispered playfully in her ear.
Selene pushes him, blushing and her eyes shining with desire, her fangs already visible. "Gasp... gasp... Why didn't you tell your mother that I turned you into a vampire?" She tried to change the subject, but her voice was a mess, as was her breathing.
She wanted to rip off his shirt and suck his blood, but they were on the street, and she wasn't a pervert!
He flashed a mischievous smile when he saw her in that state and replied, "I didn't tell you because I don't know much about this world and the dangers that exist." What he said was true; it had only been one day since he became a vampire.
He knows almost nothing about the vampire world; he doesn't even know what his powers really are, so telling his mother Carmila would only make her worry, and that's the last thing he wants.
First, he wants to learn more about this world and its dangers, find a way to turn his mother into a vampire, and, most importantly, become stronger. Without that, neither of those things could be achieved.
"Hah, it would have been nice to capture one of those hunters..." he sighed regretfully, but it was useless now, because what was done was done.
"What are you thinking about, darling?" asked Selene, gently resting her head on his shoulder.
Lucien sighed slowly. "The many things I have to do from now on." He looked up at the moon, as if contemplating a unique jewel, and then, out of the corner of his eye, gave it a mischievous smile. "Hey... I almost forgot. When exactly did I start writing to you online?"
Selene opened her eyes wide in surprise, then quickly looked away with a snort. "It was the first thing that came to mind. I wasn't going to tell your mother that we met yesterday and got married... that sounded too absurd."
Lucien let out a soft laugh. "Hahaha~ how clever."
Selene puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be angry, as she crossed her arms like an angry little squirrel. "Don't laugh! I'm serious!"
He looked at her sideways, with unabashed tenderness, and simply said:
"Even when you're angry, you're adorable."