Mystic Illusions - A 100 Baby Challenge: 42

“Ah, Hamilton. So good to see you,” Lady Delling said calmly as the werewolf barged into her office. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?”

“The only pleasure in this visit will be mine when I tear you to shreds,” Hamilton snarled, “unless you remove your infernal curse from me right now!”

Within the space of a heartbeat, Tessa rushed across the room and struck Hamilton full force across the face, rocking him back on his heels.

“Listen here, dog! You work for me. Once you have completed your task, you will be cured. Until then, you shall remain confined to your werewolf form.”

“But it’s ruining my life! My animalistic instincts are taking over more and more every day and I’m losing my sense of reason! I lost my girlfriend and the ability to see my children because of you!”

“Yes, your girlfriend Maia Lee... Now why does that name sound familiar?” Tessa muttered to herself. She shook her head. “No matter. It’s a small price to pay for your enhanced tracking abilities, and I risk losing far more if you cannot locate me a proper vampire heir.”

“And just how I am supposed to manage that?” Hamilton asked in frustration. “It’s not like I haven’t tried; I’ve been going on hunting missions for you for years. I can’t bring you a vampire child if there aren’t any to be found.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I need a vampire child whom I can adopt and raise to be completely loyal to me, one who will become an heir worthy of the gift I can bestow upon them. I cannot bear a child of my own, and it’s not safe for me to leave here and look for one myself.... Do you have any idea how many vampires would drain me dry because they wrongly assume doing so would transfer my immortality upon them? It’s up to you to acquire an heir for me.

“Now begone, and don’t you bother returning until you have succeeded.”

After Hamilton had left, Tessa gazed at her mirrored reflection, admiring the dark veins on her face that marked her as an immortal vampire.

Had she known that, along with her soul, she would be giving up her ability to procreate in exchange for immortality, Tessa would’ve borne children first, even out of wedlock. But as naïve and desperate as she had been, she hadn’t realized what she had given up until it was too late. And all for the love of a faithless man...

From the moment they’d first met, Tessa knew she wanted Marcus Goth as her husband.

But the Delling family was neither wealthy nor powerful enough to entice the Goth family into a marriage alliance.

Tessa was determined to find a way to be accepted by the Goth’s as Marcus’s bride, and the only thing those aristocratic vampires desired more than wealth was immortality, so she sought out a means to achieve it.

Tessa performed a dark ritual to call a powerful being from another dimension, a serpent demon named Kadru, to aid her.

She sacrificed her soul and her ability to create life in exchange for immortality.

It may have seemed too steep a price for some, but who had need of a soul when one could live forever? And everyone knew that a simple procreation elixir could cure any kind of fertility issue, so Tessa hardly gave it a thought. Besides, she believed any sacrifice would be worth it to be married to such a man.

Once Tessa had become an immortal, the Goth’s were only too eager to accept her into their family, and when Tessa and Marcus married, he had taken her surname.

Years passed and Tessa was contented with her life; being married into the founding vampire family of Moonlight Falls gained her the head position on the town council and having such rank suited her ambitions. Only one detail marred her happiness.

No matter how many foul potions she choked down to regain her fertility, the nursery remained empty.

And then it happened.

Tessa became aware Marcus was having an affair with her personal maid, Calais Rousseau.

And Calais had easily accomplished what Tessa could not.

When Tessa confronted him, Marcus had the audacity to tell her that since her immortality had made her barren, she should be grateful he was continuing the family line. He even went so far as to suggest that Tessa should name his child their heir!

Tessa had pretended to agree, but had expressed doubt as to whether the child Calais carried would even be a vampire. The only way to be certain, she told him, was to turn Calais before she gave birth.

But soon after he did, the antagonistic fusion of human and vampire blood in the body of both her and her child killed Calais, as Tessa had known it would. Unfortunately, the infant, a vampire son Marcus called Braeden, survived.

But the boy had been born with Vampire’s Fever, and Tessa used that as an excuse to reject the half-breed abomination as heir.

Tessa had thought the matter settled, but years later Marcus betrayed her yet again with Serafin Dubois, the very witch woman Tessa used to buy her fertility potions from.

It wasn’t long before Serafin also presented Marcus a son, whom he named Alexander.

Tessa was determined to ignore her husband’s latest infidelity, but when Marcus spoke of leaving her for Serafin, Tessa felt compelled to act.

She began spreading rumors that Serafin was an opportunist who was looking to snag herself a wealthy husband. Tessa convinced the rest of the town council that Marcus was under Serafin’s enchantment and had both of them imprisoned; Serafin for her alleged crimes and Marcus for his own safety, of course.

In exchange for more wealth and power of their own, the councilmen fabricated their own stories about Serafin and the dark spells she attempted to cast on them, to ensure that she was found guilty at her trial. Serafin was sentenced to be burned to death.

When it came time for Serafin’s sentence to be carried out, Tessa was there to witness it. But it was not to be a normal burning, not if Tessa had her way. She wanted their punishment to be much more poetic.

After Serafin was tied to the stake, Tessa gestured for Marcus to be brought out.

“You have disgraced me for the last time, and I will never forgive you for your betrayals,” Tessa told Marcus. “And since you wanted to share the rest of your life with this witch rather than me, I will see to it that you are together for your remaining hours and you will share the same fate.

“You both will burn this day, but I will not lift a hand against you. Your choices have led to this moment, and those decisions will end in your doom. I would’ve shared my knowledge of immortality with you had you proven yourself loyal, but you have failed. So know that it is your disloyalty that will destroy you, Marcus, and your weakness will also be the cause of your lover’s death.”

Marcus had struggled in the arms of his jailers, but at a gesture from Tessa, one of them struck Marcus on the back of the head and rendered him unconscious.

They then dragged him to the pyre and tossed him at Serafin’s feet.

After that, the jailers left, leaving Tessa alone to witness the deaths of Marcus and Serafin.

As night ended and the sun arose, Marcus began to smolder in the daylight, igniting the pyre and setting Serafin aflame as well. Just as Tessa had promised, Marcus's weakness against sunlight was to be the ultimate cause of his own demise, as well as Serafin's.

And while Serafin and her cheating husband burned, Tessa watched, glittering in the bright sunlight of the glorious new day.

Tessa had Marcus and Serafin’s ashes buried in a secret location, and let the rumors of the scandal fly as they may. The townsfolk would continue to tell their own versions of that day’s events for some time, but very few individuals knew the full truth, and those that did had since passed away.

As for her stepsons, Tessa felt neither one was a suitable heir, nor did she wish to have the children of her traitorous husband benefit from her social standing. She had them sent to boarding school when they were old enough, and once they were grown, she had both of them disinherited and never again allowed them to darken her doorstep.

But she still needed a vampire heir to share her holdings with, preferably a child whom she could raise and mold in her own image; one who would be deserving of the wealth, power and longevity only she could bestow, and be forever grateful to her for these things. Such a child would grow to become her companion, and once she was assured of his or her loyalty, she would bring the young vampire before Kadru and they would share the journey of an immortal life together.

Tessa was confident such a child was out there somewhere. And she knew that Hamilton, now that he was properly motivated, would do everything he could to find it.

“What’s he doing there?” Braeden grumbled to his brother as he saw Hamilton leaving his stepmother’s home.

“I dunno.” Alexander shrugged and dismissed the question. “What did you want to see me for?”

“Well, there’s a slight hitch in the plan,” Braeden answered. “Maia had the baby, but she’s not a vampire.”

“There was always that possibility since she’s a witch,” Alexander pointed out. “Just try again; eventually she’ll breed a vampire.”

“Can’t. Maia’s doing a 100 baby challenge, and I guess the rules are that every pregnancy has to have a different father.”

“Ugh! Why’s she doing a baby challenge anyway?”

“She didn’t say, and I didn’t push the issue. Not that it really matters.”

“Huh. I guess that’s that, then. For what it’s worth, it was a good plan. Knowing there was a vampire child in town would’ve definitely lured Tessa out of seclusion, and then we could’ve gotten our hands on her and made her tell us where our parents are buried. Too bad we’ll never know now... unless you’ve come up with an alternative?”

“Actually, Alex, I have. The alternative is you.”

“How am I an alternative?”

“Well, Maia is doing a 100 baby challenge, so we know she’s looking to have more children. So all we need to do is find another vampire who could get her pregnant...” Braeden looked at Alexander meaningfully.

“And who do you think would be willing to do that?” Alexander paused, his eyes widening. “I just know you don’t mean me! Oh no,” he said. “Hell, no! That is never going to happen. Forget it, Brae. I’m no good when it comes to picking up girls. Find yourself some other vamp stud. I’m not going to do it, and that’s final!”

“Hey, you weren’t exactly my first choice, little brother, but I don’t see any other possibilities right now. Come on, I know you want justice just as much as I do.”

“You suck.” Alexander sighed glumly. “I guess I’m doing this, aren’t I?”