The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 52: My Poor Luciel

Helen led Luciel into the house, to the safety of the shade. She hoped that the darker place would allow his body to heal, but instead, she bit the tip of her thumb when she saw that his skin was regenerating slower than it should have.

"Don’t worry, I’m just exhausted..." Luciel breathed heavily, now being able to feel the real torment that his body had been put through.

Out there, when he saw Helen for the first time, so many thoughts went through his head that he never got a chance to think about the agonizing pain.

"Luciel... Look at me..." Helen demanded with a soft voice once her husband turned his head away from her.

"Luciel." She ordered, now with a stern voice.

Letting out a sigh, Luciel finally raised his head when his face finally healed. When Helen looked at him, all she could see were his fake brown ones.

"The real you..." She corrected herself, already starting to inspect her husband, searching for any kind of possible irregularities that might have occurred during the transformation.

It took her a little to settle down her emotions, but without a doubt, she still loved her husband, no matter what he had become.

"I can’t argue with you, can I?"

Seeing how Luciel’s horizontal eyelids retracted, revealing his crimson-red irises with black streaks, adding some depth, Helen gasped in awe.

"They are gorgeous," She whispered, running her hand across his face just like when they were outside.

Helen always thought that her husband had a pretty face, and she didn’t know what happened, but he seemed more attractive than ever right now.

This was her first time seeing a vampire that used to be human, so maybe Luciel’s perfect look had to do something with vampirism, he looked slightly younger as well!

Seeing Luciel’s shocked and confused expression, Helen couldn’t help but giggle a little.

Luciel didn’t say much yet, but the more time she spent interacting with him, the more she could see her old husband.

"Oh please, don’t joke around." Luciel scoffed at the ridiculous comment, thinking how could a human find those eyes of him attractive. If those words came from a vampire, then he would believe them.

"No, I’m serious!" She rose on the tips of her toes, giving him a small smooch on the face. "They are burning with cold, predatory fire, but behind them, I can see a gentle man, a starving one I must add."

"H-how did you know?" Luciel wanted to disappear into thin air as he nervously laughed, feeling embarrassed that his nature was already showing.

"It’s written all over your face and you’ve been staring at my neck." Helen moved her hand towards her shoulder to cover the part that she caught Luciel constantly shifting his attention.

"Sorry..." He looked away, not helping with the awkward atmosphere between the two.

He didn’t eat anything for eight nights, and it was just a matter of time before he would lose control.

Luciel was holding up pretty well when it came to his hunger, the mediation and practicing Qi control helped a lot, but now, with Helen in front of him, he finally started to lose it.

The pulse on her neck kept inviting him to come closer, increasing the need to bite her. The instinct was even stronger than the first time he had a taste of blood.

"No, don’t be sorry, let’s just sit down, all right?" Helen reassured him, taking his hand and dragging towards the sofa, gently pushing him down before going to sit next to him.

Even in a weakened state, Luciel could have easily resisted her when she attempted to move him but decided to let her do it.

He could feel how fragile and weak the human body was, waking up a strong instinct to protect her, the one he would always love.

"Did it hurt...?" Helen was the first to ask once an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"Like hell." The husband remarked, not wanting to remember the horrible pain he had endured that night.

The feeling of his body being torn apart and placed together, the splitting headache, the disquieting sensation of his growing fangs and unexplainable thirst inside his throat.

He could remember losing his mind as everything went blank and once he opened his eyes, he saw himself in front of the woman he saved.

Without a second thought, he stabbed his fangs into her throat and he continued to drink on, enjoying his first taste of blood that reminded him of chocolate syrup.

"Do you... Hate me for what I had done?" The fact that he still didn’t care about his victim troubled him deeply and if needed, he would do it again.

"What do you mean?" Helen tilted her head, raising her eyebrows, trying to figure out what her husband meant by saying those words.

"Didn’t you hear? On the battlefield, I..." Luciel stopped mid-sentence. If it was someone else, he would have no problem saying it, but this was Helen that he was speaking to.

"The hunter incident? I heard, but how do you feel about that? And look at me in the eyes when you are speaking." Helen demanded, seeing how her husband started to look away the moment she asked the question.

Luciel stayed quiet for a moment, trying to decide if he should lie to her for the first time or just tell her the truth, hoping that she would understand. In a way, he wanted to admit how he truly felt about all of this.

The constant pull between two natures was driving him crazy. He wanted to give in.

Trying to keep his human side was getting harder and harder, but he was afraid that if he would finally let go, he might become something he swore to destroy.

"I don’t regret what I did," Luciel admitted out loud for the first time, having a cold expression, showing that this wasn’t a joke.

But Helen stayed unfazed by all of this, Luciel couldn’t hear her heartbeat changing the rhythm even once.

When she saw him for the first time, she felt shocked, slightly terrified, it wasn’t every day that you see your husband fall victim to vampirism, but she still had the courage to face him, to stay close.

Just by looking at him, Helen could tell that he would never hurt her. To her, it felt like being next to the gentle giant.

"Then why did you save the kids?" She asked, having a serious face, "You are starving, but why didn’t you feed on them?"

"If you truly didn’t care, why ask if I hate you?" She added, asking those questions on purpose.

She could have guessed how Luciel felt and wanted to pull him out of his inner turmoil.

"I..." Luciel was at the loss of the words, not having an answer to these questions. It wasn’t like he couldn’t do it, there was nothing stopping him, it’s just that he didn’t want to do it. It was simply wrong.

"Do you think, that maybe, why you can’t give me an answer is because somewhere deep down, you still care..." She asked, speaking slower and slower, more quieter as she reached the end of the sentence.

There were minutes of silence between the two, with Luciel wondering if what she had said was really true, was it possible that there was still a little bit of human heart left in him, but the way he thought about humans was telling him otherwise.

"But I..." Luciel hesitated, clenching his fist.

"Still love you, no matter what..." Helen finished instead of him, giving him words of reassurance that he desperately needed.

"Whatever happens, I’ll be here for you." She stroked his fist that Luciel had clenched.

Feeling how Luciel started to relax his grip, she moved her hand towards his chest, the neck, and later, gently stroked his face, getting her lips closer to his.

"Thank you..." He placed his hand over hers and glanced at her gentle expression.

Seeing Helen so close to him made his heartbeat speed up, sending all of his blood somewhere else.

Luciel opened his mouth and leaned in, gently closing his eyes as he made contact with her soft, warm lips, reminding him of the first time they kissed, inside her lab.

He gently caressed her cheeks while Helen moved her hand behind his back and put the other one on his shoulder, holding him tightly.

When being with her, inside the safety of her protective embrace, Luciel felt calm, like everything would be all right, no matter what happened which path he would choose.

With his free hand, he moved away her white long coat and the shirt, revealing Helen’s tender, smooth shoulder.

Breaking the kiss, they made an eye contact before Luciel came closer to her neck, gifting her some smooches.

She could feel his warm breath against her skin, making her blush, despite knowing his real intentions.

While they were kissing, there was something else that awoke inside Luciel. She was giving off a smell he had yet to sense - a sweet, inviting strawberry scent.

Her gentle strokes calmed down his mind, finally being able to find some peace and quiet.

Helen’s heartbeat served as a reassuring lullaby and then, he finally took the bite.