Chapter 131 - Changing His Ways

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Vampire King Apollyon

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Something had changed with his wife, and he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

Apollyon didn't bother telling her about the changes. 

She seemed more distant and detached from him that he feared he had lost her to someone else, to that Archdemon of Gluttony. 

Her mismatched eyes had turned as bright as gold, covered with intricate markings and demonic runes all over her body. 

He felt shivers ran down his spine every time his skin came in contact with her them. 

Luna didn't talk much about what happened in the two weeks that she was unconscious. 

He wasn't used to her deafening silence.

It spoke volumes to him compared to their arguments, proving who was more stubborn. 

All he can do was hug her, not for her sake, but it was for him to make him feel good, that the Empress was lying in bed with him and not anyone else. 

He inhaled her hair deeply, catching a whiff of her heavily floral scent and feminine musk, which made his cock stir in inconvenience, ready for action. 

Moving his lower body downward so that Luna wouldn't realize how he truly missed her, he curbed his sexual desire by landing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

He also couldn't stop the small smile from surfacing on his lips, deeply contented that his wife fell into his embrace without any resistance, which she had done before. 

Had she fully accepted him then?

Did she grant him pardon without asking for forgiveness? 

He swallowed audibly.

That didn't sit well with him. 

He should have apologized the moment she woke up, not claiming her right away, saying 'You're Mine!' like a fucking caveman.

Almost groaning in regret, Apollyon listened to her soft breaths carefully, making him more aware of how much it tickled his chest.

He leaned back so that he could peer on her porcelain face, which made Luna appear ghastly.

Her brows were knitted together despite having her eyes closed. 

His precious Empress was pretending she was asleep. 

His large hands paused from caressing her back, lifting it to stroke at her heart-shaped face like his fingers were made of feathers. 

Shaking his head, Apollyon fought the urge to beat himself up, for his gaze had strayed at the soft mounds of her breasts, tempting him to have a little taste. 

A day without blood and sex was a long time for him, and he had suffered for two weeks without spilling his seed into his wife. 

Of course, he wouldn't force it if Luna didn't ask him to fulfill his husband duties. 

He promised herself that he was a changed man, not some bloody pig, to which he had previously acted towards his wife.

A shudder vibrated through his body, and he almost purred.

This wasn't the time to be thinking about sexual congress again. 

Apollyon winced as he regretted his past mistakes, following his male ancestor's footsteps treating their wives as sex objects. 

This never-ending guilt had clawed his heart like wolves feasting on their kill.

He pushed her hair back from her face so that he could see her heart-shaped face clearly, keeping his touch as innocent as possible. 

He noticed three tense lines on Luna's forehead—a sure indication that something was wrong.

"Are you asleep, wife?" He murmured as he bent his head to look at her. 

She didn't answer.

"Wife." His lips curved as he purred, catching her attention. "Wife. Wife. Wife."

When she finally opened her lids, there were yellow electric sparks in her eyes, glittering into its depths.  "Apollyon, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Are you asleep?" Apollyon murmured huskily as his  hand traveled to her thigh, his fingers brushing the side of her stomach. 

A pause.

"Do you think I can still answer you that I'm sleeping if I am, indeed, asleep?" Luna's whisper was a deadly warning, and Apollyon was ecstatic that his wife's infamous temper was back.

Apollyon leaned in, caging her in his arms, "Are you angry at me?"

"I am now." She glared at him, playfully hitting his chest. "You are so annoying."

He shook his head, and his mouth was a hairbreadth from hers. "So, you can't sleep?"

"I am trying." The Empress wrapped an arm around his torso as if seeking comfort and protection while the other one was pressed against his chest.

"I—I—" Luna stuttered, trailing off, "Apollyon, I don't think I can sleep."

Something dark crawled into her face.

"You have slept for two weeks without waking up." It was a flat declaration.

He rubbed his index finger to her pink, moist lips so that she, at least, would feel safe and familiar with his touch, soothing her.

"Do you want to talk about it to me?" Apollyon saw her flick her tongue as she stared at his lower lip, and it made his hands clench on her hips. "I wouldn't force you if you keep certain information from me. From now on, I will give high importance to your privacy."

She froze as if the cold temperature had dropped.

"I wasn't sleeping for the past two weeks." A deep breath made her breasts push up to full advantage and Apollyon's gaze strayed once again. "My astral soul had traveled to—"

He brought his gaze back into her golden eyes. "I assume you went to Hell and back."

"Yes." The single word was resolute. 

"Have you seen the Archdemon?"

"I have seen things I didn't want to see, Apollyon." Tears shimmered in her gold eyes as she clutched her stomach, feeling sick. 

She continued, shaking the memory. "Human sacrifices..."

Those scary images must have burned in her mind. 

She heaved and wretched, but nothing came out, thank god, or the bed he had decorated for Luna would be a mess. "I'm sorry it was so vile I wanted to puke."

That made the Archdemon a monster beyond comprehension. 

"Don't think about it." His eyes met Luna, and at that moment, he believed her and the horror she had witnessed.

Not wanting her to relive the memory over and over, he continued, "Don't bother telling me if it would invoke this kind of reaction from you."

She nodded, eyes wide, "I am glad I arrived back in the Vampire Realm safely."

"I have heard that some Astral Travellers get trapped in between worlds and couldn't go back to their own body, floating in an unknown dimension, like specters and ghosts." He felt his eyes narrow, thinking about the consequences if that happened to his wife, "Their soul will not die because they were aware, but it wouldn't be long before their physical body started to rot. Being trapped in those places must be similar to death."

"I came back so easily because of you. Not so easily—I mean, but I did manage to possess my body the moment you called my name." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I guess our blood bond was too strong and had helped me in the process." 

A flash of fury overpowered his lust.

A tendril of jealousy snaked its way up to his body, and he crushed it before it could even pester him like poison. 

Apollyon could feel his heart ricochet around her chest as she cupped her breast.

He swore not to act so possessively like his male ancestors or else he would lose the woman he loved, but he couldn't help but ask in smooth cruelty, "Is that a predator marking his territory?"

His wife followed his gaze, staring down at the tattoos on her ivory skin with narrowed eyes. "I don't know how to remove them. No matter how beautiful it appeared on my body like I was an ancient tribal warrior fighting for a goddess' honor, I felt dirty every time I see them, reminding me of something I hate."

Apollyon leaned in, grazing that beautiful throat with his fangs but not enough to draw blood.

Giving a last one regretful lick, he pushed her away and raised his head to glance at her. "You said you couldn't sleep, right?"

"I told you it's not because I had slept for two weeks. It was because of the nightmares flashing on my mind the moment I shut my eyes." Luna fought to draw in the air. "It's haunting me, Apollyon, and I don't think I could deal with this." 

"I can knock you out completely unconscious without any dreams, but I am afraid that if I put a sleeping spell on you, the Archdemon might take you away from me again if he caught you in the Dream Realm and bring you back to his Kingdom."

"Apollyon." She said through a haze of terror only she could witness. "Not the sleeping spells, please. I don't want to return to Ravin."

"So do I." He gripped her bottom with one hand, driving the vee of her thighs closer to the hard ridge of his reaction. "I don't want you to return either."

"Help me forget Apollyon." Luna gripped his forearms. "I don't know what to do to get rid of it from my mind."

"Do you want me to wipe your memory?"

Apollyon's hands slid down, his thumbs running along the inner crease of her thigh.

"That's a good option, but wiping my memory will make me forget my rage and hatred against that obnoxious Archdemon. He might set more traps for me again. I would be vulnerable to his lies if I didn't have that particular memory."

His thumbs continued to move, touching the very edge of exquisitely sensitive flesh that ached for a harder, deeper caress. "Do you want to have sexual congress with me, then?"