The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 343: I’ll have the baby.

Aira had barely stepped through the door with Zyren following closely behind her when she began to speak. There was a slightly worried expression on her face as she watched him reach back and close the door, the soft click echoing faintly through the room.

"You’re fine with them getting married?" she asked, her gaze fixed firmly on his face as if searching for his exact reaction.

She hesitated for only a moment before continuing, feeling the need to remind him of what he already knew.

"Rymora is a werewolf," she pointed out carefully, just in case. Not that she truly believed he could forget something like that.

Zyren moved closer, stopping near the bed before answering.

"Yes, I’m aware," he said calmly.

As he spoke, he began to remove his clothes, one piece after the other, his movements unhurried and deliberate. It was clear he intended to spend the night. Something that had become far more frequent lately—very different from before, when he only entered her chambers to talk and left immediately afterward.

"Are you..." Aira began, then paused, her breath catching slightly. "...are you aware that she’s pregnant?"

She braced herself for his reaction, watching him closely.

He froze.

A frown creased his face, brief but unmistakable, before a blank expression settled over his features once more.

"That’s impossible," he said finally.

Aira slowly nodded her head. "He had her swallow something," she explained. "I’m sure he thought she was human."

Zyren didn’t respond immediately.

He knew Drehk was powerful enough to recognize Rymora’s nature. The only reason he would have mistaken her was because her wolf was so weak—so non-existent—that she would have seemed like nothing more than a rut.

"It’s unheard of," Zyren said at last, his voice colder now. "...It’s already bad enough that both of them got married."

He turned away briefly, his jaw tightening before he spoke again.

"The werewolves will come for her."

That was the heart of it. The true danger.

"It would be best if they got rid of the baby," he concluded flatly.

Aira was already shaking her head as she walked closer to him.

"It should be their choice," she said firmly, lifting her gaze to meet his.

Zyren’s expression hardened, more severe than it usually was as he returned her stare without flinching.

"Like it’s ours?" he asked, frowning as he pointed out what had been hanging unspoken between them. They still hadn’t decided what to do about their situation.

Aira inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly before she spoke.

"I get more say," she said quietly, "and for now, I want to keep it."

She shifted her gaze around the room, unable to look directly at him, though she didn’t need to. She could feel his displeasure in the way he moved toward her.

He stopped right in front of her.

"I thought you hated me," he said, confusion threading through his tone—along with something else. Something dangerously close to delight.

"You want to carry my child?" he continued, as if he needed her to understand the weight of what she was saying.

Then, more softly but no less sharply, he added, "...I killed your father and your brother."

A reminder. A warning. Ensuring this wasn’t a temporary lapse in judgment—one he would have to pay for later.

Aira squinted in displeasure, her lips pressing together as she listened. She let out a soft sigh before reaching forward and taking his hands in hers, a faint smile appearing despite everything.

She raised her gaze to meet his red eyes.

"I’ll give you one last chance," she said, her voice soft as feathers. Her grip tightened unconsciously around his hands, harder than she intended.

It hurt—hurt enough that tears pricked at her eyes.

She remembered the night vividly. The way she had watched the man standing before her issue orders without hesitation. The screams. The blood. Her family slaughtered in cold silence.

It should have been unforgivable.

But he had done better since then. She could see it. Despite his callous nature, he cared for her.

He loves me, she told herself.

Wasn’t love all that mattered?

She met his gaze again, tears shimmering as she struggled to keep them from falling.

"I guess having a family with you isn’t such a bad idea," she said, her voice low but steady—certain Zyren heard every word.

His gaze heated as he looked at her, silent now.

Aira continued, her heart laid bare, knowing nothing would ever break her more than discovering that all his previous words had been lies.

"I want to keep the baby," she said, a wide smile spreading across her face.

The thought of it—of a child that looked like Zyren—made her heart flutter uncontrollably. Dark hair. Red eyes. A blend of both of them.

Zyren couldn’t hide the flicker of surprise that crossed his face.

Slowly, he nodded, though the smile that crept onto his lips never reached his eyes.

"You want to keep the baby?" he asked again.

Aira nodded eagerly, excitement lighting her expression.

Zyren felt nothing but dread.

If the child is anything like me...

Stabilizing his bloodline alone would require extensive experimentation—experiments no infant could survive.

The only reason he had lived was because his werewolf bloodline had lain dormant for years, only to be violently awakened by his father when he was older.

This child wouldn’t be that lucky.

He nodded once more. "Okay," he told her.

Even as he spoke, he knew the truth.

The baby won’t live.

It was better that it was never born than for Aira to give birth to a monster like him. Someone she would only come to hate.

His mind flashed with memories of blood-soaked halls and torn bodies—of the destruction he had unleashed when both bloodlines inside him rioted for control.

And for the first time in a long while, Zyren wondered if agreeing had been the cruelest decision of all.

Still he smiled and pulled her into a hug satisfied that she had agreed to be with him. Even though in his mind it wasn’t like she had a choice.