Chapter 14: Seeing my daughter again.

Aelia and Sophia had wrapped themselves tightly from head to toe in that thin, worn quilt, shrinking into two small, slightly trembling bundles.

At the edge of the quilt, a few strands of golden hair and a few strands of black hair peeked out.

They were scared. Hearing the noise outside the door, they didn’t dare make a sound. They could only huddle even closer together, using the thin rag that couldn’t block anything at all to futilely try to hide themselves.

Sylvia’s eyes instantly grew wet.

She turned on the magic lamp inside the house.

“Buzz… crack…”

The bulb flickered several times, emitting an unstable hum, before finally casting a dim, intermittent yellow light that gradually illuminated the narrow, dilapidated room.

Then, Sylvia tried her best to make her voice sound calm and gentle, as if nothing had happened, as if her body had not been bitten, toyed with, and permanently branded with marks that could never be erased.

“Mom is back.”

There was a slight tremble in Sylvia’s voice, along with a trace of crying that she was desperately trying to suppress.

But in this small room filled with fear and waiting, it sounded like the warmest voice in the world.

Inside the quilt, the two small bundles stopped trembling. After a brief silence,

The golden head moved first.

Aelia cautiously poked half her head out from the edge of the quilt. One large emerald-green eye, widened by fear and tension, nervously scanned the room through the dim, flickering light.

When her gaze landed on the familiar figure standing by the table—disheveled and battered, yet still forcing a smile—

“Mom!!”

Aelia’s scream nearly lifted the roof off the house.

The next second, the small golden figure shot out from under the quilt. Barefoot and wearing only thin, worn pajamas, she rushed straight toward Sylvia.

Forgetting Sophia’s warning, Aelia slammed hard into Sylvia’s arms. Her thin arms wrapped tightly around her mother’s waist as she rubbed her face desperately against Sylvia’s, her whole body trembling slightly.

“Mom, Mom, Mom… you’re finally back… I was so scared… those bad people took you away… Big Sister said we couldn’t go out to look for you… it would cause trouble… but I was so scared… I was so scared you wouldn’t come back…”

Aelia could no longer hold back. She burst into loud sobs. Her small body was burning hot—whether from a fever or simply from clinging too tightly to her mother, Sylvia couldn’t tell.

Sylvia’s heart nearly broke.

She reached out, wanting to stroke Aelia’s golden hair as usual and pull her tightly into her arms, telling her everything was okay, that Mom was back and would never leave again.

But the moment she raised her hand, it froze in mid-air.

Because she saw another small figure.

Sophia.

She had moved a step slower than Aelia, but she had also crawled out from under the quilt.

She didn’t rush over like her younger sister. She simply stood quietly beside Sylvia.

Then, Sophia reached out and gently took Sylvia’s hand with her own small, ice-cold hands.

Sophia looked up, staring unblinkingly at Sylvia. Her gaze held worry, heartache, relief at having survived, and a restraint that didn’t belong to her age.

Sophia didn’t speak, but she gripped Sylvia’s hand very tightly. She also longed for her mother’s embrace, but she held herself back, letting her younger sister enjoy it first.

Sylvia could no longer hold back. She opened her arms and pulled both small bodies into her embrace.

The three of them hugged each other tightly.

Aelia buried her face in Sylvia’s shoulder, her tears soaking the torn collar of her clothes.

Sophia leaned quietly against her other side, her small hand still gripping Sylvia’s tightly.

Sylvia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of home mixed with dust and dry grass.

So happy.

So warm.

So content.

So…

So fragrant?

An unfamiliar sensation rose from deep within her nasal cavity.

Where was that scent coming from? Sylvia followed the aroma with her eyes.

The scent was coming from the two small, warm, living bodies in her arms.

It came from the thin skin on their necks, beneath which flowed warm, fresh, living blood.

So fragrant.

She wanted so badly…

She wanted so badly to bite down.

Sylvia was terrified by her own thought!

Aelia and Sophia in her arms were still in that trusting, defenseless posture, exposing their most vulnerable parts—necks, collarbones, wrists—right in front of her. They had always done so.

And she, their mother, was now thinking about…

Drinking blood. Drinking her daughters’ blood.

No!

No, no, no, no!

Sylvia’s maternal instinct to protect her children made her push the two children away with all her strength!

“Mom… Mommy?”

Aelia and Sophia stumbled from the push and fell to the floor. After steadying herself, Aelia looked at Sylvia with grievance. Her large emerald-green eyes were full of confusion and hurt.

Sophia didn’t speak. She simply stared worriedly at Sylvia’s face.

After pushing the children away, Sylvia collapsed onto the ground, her whole body shaking violently from fear.

She was terrified of the terrible desire that had just awakened deep inside her.

She remembered Rose’s casual warning before she left:

“You are now a half-vampire. Be careful~”

Sylvia suddenly covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were filled with horror and self-loathing.

It was over. She had become a blood clan.

And Sylvia knew very well that once blood clan were involved with blood or sex, they became extremely violent, extremely prone to losing control, and extremely difficult to suppress their instincts.

Sylvia felt a wave of fear. She had only just become a blood clan, yet her reaction to blood was already so strong. Combined with the rough way she had just pushed her children away, it was clear she was already being affected by her blood clan nature.

A surge of lingering terror washed over her. If she hadn’t reacted in time just now, if she had been even one second slower in pushing her daughters away, if her fangs had already extended—what would have happened?

Sylvia didn’t dare to think any further.

“Mommy?”

Aelia’s voice rang out again, carrying a sob, grievance, and an incomprehension mixed with fear.

She then cautiously took a step closer to Sylvia and reached out her small hand, wanting to touch and comfort her.

“Don’t come over!!!”

Sylvia shouted. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had just snapped at Aelia. She had never once raised her voice at Aelia before. Aelia had always been so good and obedient. Now, just because she wanted to come closer and comfort her, she had been scolded.

This was clearly another piece of evidence that she was being influenced by her blood clan instincts.

Aelia was so frightened that she immediately pulled her hand back. Looking at her trembling mother, her tears began to fall uncontrollably.