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, a study in controlled power. Eyes drifted to Mia. “And your destined Consort? A union to forge a new era.”

Mia leaned into him, her smile a perfect, placid curve. “Our final blood-bond awaits the official ascension of our House. We wish our eternal vow to crown our triumph.”

A muscle twitched in Tom’s jaw. “A trifling delay,” he said, too smoothly. “Our hearts have been pledged for centuries.”

I watched, intrigued. No blood bond?

He had sacrificed our relationship for the power her pure lineage promised. Because this bond was related to the soul power of vampires, and a stable bond could greatly enhance their overall strength. Yet without that bond, a vampire’s strength remained unanchored, volatile. What held him back?

“You.” A fledgling guard, his aura thin and sharp, loomed over the fountain’s edge. “This is consecrated ground. Your, a lower human, does not belong here.”

His lip curled. I’d spent the afternoon on the beach with my son, and my clothes were stained with salt and sand. Standing in the fountain now, my own royal scent was masked and my appearance that of a human caught in the rain.

“My son lost a treasure in the water. I will leave once it is found. If there’s a fee for the disturbance—”

“Treasure?” He sneered. “You reek of mortality. Leave now, or I may remember how long it has been since I fed.”

Whispers unfurled through the crowd. A human… blasphemy the sacred place… how did she even enter?

Tom’s attention snapped toward the disturbance. His gaze met mine, and for a second, he was utterly still. “Rowling?”

The guard glanced between us. “You know this person, my Lord?”

Tom’s eyes frosted over. “A human my house once kept as a pet. No one of consequence.” He turned away, a clear dismissal.

Empowered, the guard seized my arm. “You think some expired favor grants you rights here?”

I shifted, breaking his hold with ease. “I have said I will pay for any inconvenience.”

"Pay for it?" The guard laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "This fountain is a moonstone masterpiece by a Sanguine Artisan. A blood-bag like you couldn't afford the water in it!"

He released a wave of vampiric pressure—a force meant to cripple human will. To me, it was nothing more than a distant hum.

“That’s enough.” Tom’s voice cut through the lobby.

He had returned, his expression carved from ice. “What did you lose? Name its worth. I will compensate you,” he hissed, low and venomous. “Then you will leave. This spectacle does not move me.”

Mia’s fingers tightened on his arm, her eyes bright with cold triumph. “Rowling, we are to be bound for eternity. Know your place. There is dignity in accepting the natural order.”

I gave her a small, genuine smile. “I wish you every happiness, Mia.”

I resumed my search. The tourmaline was here. I could feel it.

“Is it money you want? Status? Protectin?” Tom produced a sleek digital ledger. “Take this. Build a life. Find a mortal who is really suitable for you.”

He reached for my wrist, perhaps to impose a temporary mark. Then he froze, his screen glowing eerily against his pallor.

“Your record… it’s empty.” His voice dropped to a disbelieving whisper. “No master. No active sigil. You are unclaimed. You are like a walking prey.”

Yes, my record was blank. But he overlooked a possibility. He thought my record was blank because I was unclaimed. But actually, it was blank because it was high-level security encryption.

I had been redacted by the High Council. When a higher being decided forever put me under his protection, he didn't just give me a mark. He also erased my mortal existence from the public database to protect me from his political enemies.

That’s why Tom saw my record was blank. He didn't have the right to check my record.

My fingers continued their search through the crystalline water. The mark I bore was not one his devices could perceive.

“I require no protection from you,” I said, my voice quiet but clear.

Tom stared, caught between horror and a macabre curiosity. “Do you understand what unclaimed means here? You are not even a servant. You are… available. Any one of these nobles could take you, and no House would raise a hand in protest.”

Mia glided forward, silk whispering warnings. “See reason, Rowling—you’re human. Your bloodline is common, and your life is a heartbeat in our eternity. Tom offering his mark now is an act of divine mercy. Drop this suicidal pride before it kills you."

The surrounding vampires watched, their amusement a palpable scent in the air.

“A mortal, daring to scorn a Lord…”

“A human who fantasizes that she can win the love of a lord?”

“Look at her pitiful appearance. Over the past few years, she may have been groveling like a stray dog, searching for leftovers.”

“Humans are for sustenance or sport. Nothing more.”

Then—my fingertips met a familiar, smooth contour. The tourmaline.

I lifted it from the water, its inner light soft and steady in my palm. A quiet peace settled over me.

At the same time, the tourmaline glowing with a blinding, rhythmic light that pulses in sync with my heartbeat.

The whispers around became louder, with a hint of greed in their tone.

“Why is the radiance of this tourmaline so similar to that legendary artifact?”

“But isn't that artifact already lost? How could it be in the hands of a human.”

“It must have been stolen by her from the lord! It's normal for some immortal artifacts to be kept in the ancient bloodline.”

“You're right, this must have been stolen.”

Before I could move, an icy hand shackled my wrist, wrenching me upright to face the crowded hall.

“Rowling,” Tom’s voice boomed, resonant with condemnation. “You threw away my shelter for pride. Now you stand alone, claimed by no one, and still hold an artifact that you stole from somewhere unknown. This is the fate you chose!”

“Let me go, Tom.”

“Go? To what death?” His grip turned crushing. “I am offering you a final kindness. Kneel. Swear fealty. And present the artifact with both hands. I may yet grant you a place within my walls—as a servant. It is more than you deserve.”

I studied his face—the arrogance, the hollow certainty. The man I knew was gone. “I told you. I am not unprotected and the artifact is not stolen by me, it is given to my son by someone else.”

“By whom?!” he thundered. The full, crushing weight of his lineage’s power erupted, slamming into the room. Guards collapsed. Mia cried out, stumbling back.

“Who else could possibly want you? A discarded, mortal woman! Who can give an artifact to a non -pure- blood child? Who else would shield you from this world but me?”

The pressure broke against me, dissolving into nothing. From the depths of my being, an older, deeper power stirred—not a shield, but a presence, vast and silent and waiting.

“Because,” I said, meeting his furious, bewildered gaze, “my bond is already spoken for. I have a blood-bond mate. He is also the one who provides artifacts.”

Tom’s hand fell away as if scalded. Silence, absolute and deep, swallowed the grand lobby, while the older, more powerful vampires in the room start to look paler because they thought of a rare possibility.

“You are human,” he breathed, the words tinged with a dawning, terrifying awe. “A human cannot be a true mate. It is forbidden by ancient law… Who would dare?”

The murmurs in the hall grew louder, whispers spreading through the air like smoke.

“A human actually has a blood-bound partner?”

“Absurd.”

“She’s lying. Humans lie when they’re desperate.”

“Trying to provoke Lord Tom. What a desperate gamble.”

Tom’s gaze was fixed on me, cold and disbelieving.

“Rowling,” he said slowly, as if savoring a bitter name. “Do you really think fabricating a fantasy will sway me?”

His gaze swept over me with undisguised contempt.

“You are human, an ordinary person, you have no family crest, no bloodline mark. No vampire of any standing would acknowledge you.” A cruel smile played on his lips. “Or are you saying you’ve latched onto some lowly blood slave and dare to call that a blood bond?”

I didn’t answer.

My fingers tightened around the tourmaline. My son was waiting for me. The seal was already beginning to waver. Every second wasted here was a risk I couldn’t afford.

My silence amused them.

Lady Mia—an older noblewoman in a crimson velvet gown, her fangs visible when she smiled—tilted her head thoughtfully.

“If she’s so eager for recognition,” Mia said softly, “why not let her continue… to be of some use?”

She turned elegantly to the assembled nobles.

“Tonight’s summit brings together the lords and Elders from half of the vampire families. The finest wines and delicacies have been prepared. A human can certainly handle such trivial tasks.”

Her gaze returned to me, sharp and glittering.

“Serve us, Rowling. Perhaps you’ll earn a favorable glance. Or better yet—seduce a lord who finds you novel and interesting.”

A burst of laughter erupted.

“How generous.”

“At least she won’t starve.”

“A fitting role for a discarded human.”

I laughed—short, sharp, and full of anger. "Let me go."

My voice cut through the mockery, but this only made Mia's expression even more grim.

"How ungrateful," she said coldly. "I gave you dignity, and you trampled on it."

Tom's patience finally ran out.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "Money? Power? Or is this your last attempt to get back to me?" His voice lowered, laced with venom.

"My consort must be of pure blood. You can never stand by my side. Accept that fact."

Footsteps echoed clearly on the polished marble floor.

Guards in uniform, bearing the emblem of the High Council of Vampires, immediately approached.

"It's her," a young guard pointed at me, "She defiled the sacred spring and refuses to leave."

The captain's face turned stern.

"There is a distinguished guest at the Blood Covenant today," he announced, "His Majesty the Sovereign of the Midnight Court, along with his consort and heir, are in attendance. Their arrival marks the first time the Court has appeared outside the Inner Domain."

A ripple of unease spread through the hall.

"No one is allowed to cause a disturbance," the captain continued coldly. His gaze was fixed on me. "Especially a human. Your very existence is almost blasphemous."

Two guards stepped forward and grabbed my arms.

Just then—

"Wait."

Tom's voice rang out.

The guards hesitated.

Tom was staring at the tourmaline in my hand.

Not with contempt.

But with an almost disgusted look.

His breathing was ragged, his fingers trembling slightly at his side.

"Rowling," he said hoarsely, his gaze never leaving the gem, "Do you really think I would covet a trinket taken from the weak?"

I finally looked at him.

"You're mistaken," I said calmly, "This is something you can neither give nor take away."

The tourmaline pulsed, slow and deep, like a heartbeat that wasn't my own.

And far beyond the hall, an ancient power was awakening.