MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Blake's mind raced, his heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread. He stared at Marlowe, trying to decipher the elder vampire's enigmatic expression. "What exactly are you asking of us, Marlowe?"

The elder vampire's lips curled into a cold smile. "It's quite simple, really. I want you to help me prevent a grave mistake that could doom our kind."

Marlowe rose from his chair, his movements fluid yet filled with barely contained tension. "The Human Council has voted to send a delegation to human leaders. They aim to discuss a potential truce, to reveal our existence to the world at large." His voice dripped with disdain. "They believe this will allow us to step out of the shadows, to no longer live in hiding."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. This was unprecedented - vampires had maintained their secrecy for millennia.

Marlowe's eyes flashed with an inner fire. "I opposed this foolish notion vehemently. Damien, the former leader of the Durello house, was right all along. If only he was here, but he's long disappeared and it seems I'm the only one left behind with a common sense!!" Marlowe said with gritted teeth.

The mention of the name Damien caused Blake to also grit his teeth. Damien disappeared alright, out of the surface of the earth, and he was responsible for that. He owned it, no remorse whatsoever. But did Marlowe know this? No.

"We are superior beings, creatures of immense power. We shouldn't seek common ground with weaker, insignificant beings like humans."

Marlowe began to pace, his agitation palpable. "The Dhampir attack on our city only proves my point. It was this same misguided notion of cooperation that gave them the audacity to conspire with Dravena and strike at us. Our perceived weakness invited aggression."

Blake exchanged worried glances with his companions. This was not what they had expected when they came seeking Marlowe's help.

Marlowe fixed them with an intense stare. "I want you to infiltrate the Peace Council and sabotage their plans. Prevent this delegation from ever reaching human leaders. Our secrecy is our strength, our superiority our birthright. We cannot allow misguided idealists to jeopardize everything we've built."

"You can't be serious," Randal sputtered. "That treaty is the only thing preventing an all-out war between our species!!!"

Marlowe's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm perfectly serious. The old ways are being forgotten. We are predators, not pets to be domesticated by human laws and sensibilities."

Blake felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him. "But... why? Why would you want to destroy years of progress?"

"Progress?" Marlowe scoffed. "Is that what you call it? We've become weak, dependent. It's time we reclaimed our rightful place at the top of the food chain."

The room fell silent as the weight of Marlowe's words sank in. Blake looked at his companions, seeing his own shock and disbelief mirrored in their faces.

"And if I refuse?" Blake asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Marlowe shrugged, his nonchalance chilling. "Then you leave empty-handed, and your precious Rose dies. It's your choice, Blake. Your wife's life or the lives of countless humans and vampires who will die in the war to come. What's it going to be?"

"You are going to let someone from your own family die?!!" Reggie retorted, surprised by Marlowe's conclusion.

"I won't be responsible," Marlowe said with a casual shrug.

"Gladys has incessantly telling me to banish Rose from the Shelly house, a measure I have postponed until now because there has been no reason to do as Gladys says. Besides, letting her perish might finally unite our fractured family under my leadership," Marlowe said with a sinister smile, relishing the thought of seizing control through manipulation and sacrifice.

"With Rose out of the picture, Gladys might finally come to my side. Her influence over half of the remaining Shelly Household would then be mine to command."

"I... I can't," Blake said, his voice breaking. "I won't be responsible for starting a war."

Marlowe's face hardened. "Then you've made your choice. Leave my castle, and do not return."

"No!" Reggie shouted, stepping forward. "There has to be another way. We've come too far to give up now!"

Dumphries placed a restraining hand on Reggie's shoulder. "Calm yourself, my friend. Perhaps we can negotiate-"

"There is nothing to negotiate," Marlowe cut in coldly. "My terms are final."

Blake felt a surge of anger rising within him. All the frustration, fear, and desperation of the past weeks came boiling to the surface. "You heartless bastard," he growled. "You'd let an innocent woman die to satisfy your lust for power?"

Marlowe's eyes narrowed. "Watch your tone, boy. You forget who you're speaking to."

"I know exactly who I'm speaking to," Blake shot back. "A relic of the past, too scared of change to see the benefits of peace."

The vampire lord's face contorted with rage. "How dare you-"

But Blake wasn't finished. "You talk about strength, about being predators. But true strength isn't about domination. It's about adaptation, about finding ways to coexist. The world is changing, Marlowe. Change with it, or be left behind."

The room crackled with tension. Marlowe's hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, his power radiating off him in waves. For a moment, it seemed he might strike Blake down where he stood.

Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. It was a cold, mirthless sound that sent chills down Blake's spine.

"You have fire, I'll give you that," Marlowe said. "But passion alone won't save your wife. Perhaps we can come to... a different arrangement."

Blake's heart leapt. "What do you mean?"

Marlowe's eyes glittered with malice. "A test. If you pass, you get my blood. If you fail... well, let's just say failure isn't an option."

"What kind of test?" Randal asked warily.

"A trial by combat," Marlowe replied. "Against my champion."

He clapped his hands, and a hidden door in the wall slid open. From the darkness emerged a figure that made Blake's blood run cold.

The vampire that stepped into the room was massive, easily seven feet tall and built like a mountain. His skin was pale as death, crisscrossed with scars that spoke of countless battles. But it was his eyes that truly terrified Blake - they were completely black, devoid of any hint of humanity or mercy.

"Meet Korax," Marlowe said, a note of pride in his voice. "My personal guard and the deadliest knight in ten generations of the shelly household,"

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