MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Reggie found his brothers out in the dusty courtyard, looking up at his approach with questions in their eyes.

"It's time for us to go," Reggie stated, his tone resolute and brisk. "There's nothing more for us here."

Without another word, the three headed out of the manor. On their way out, they walked into Damien.

"Thank you for taking care of Rose. I'm afraid we must take our leave now...but we'll be sure to come visit from time to time" Reggie concluded.

"Sure, that's not a problem. You're always welcome to visit your lord". Damien remarked with a wry smile.

The trio began the journey back to the safehouse at a slower pace than they came. They left Damien and the looming peak of Brimstone Ridge behind without a backwards glance.

As he watched their dwindling forms through the cracked window, Damien's lips curved into a cruel smile. "You'll never be able to set your eyes on Rose or the child," he murmured with twisted satisfaction.

At that moment, a figure approached him from behind – Dr. Martina, cradling a squirming bundle in her arms. The infant's high wails cut through the air.

"You requested to see the child?" she asked tentatively when Damien turned towards her.

"Ah yes, give her to me," Damien commanded, holding out his arms abruptly. "Let me hold her."

Dr. Martina frowned uneasily, shifting the babe into a more secure hold. "Since her birth, you've never once cared to hold or even see her before. Why do you want to now?"

Damien fixed the doctor with a chilling look, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. "Are you questioning me, Dr. Martina?" he asked in a soft, menacing tone.

She quickly averted her gaze, shaking her head in mute denial. With great reluctance, the doctor carefully transferred the screaming newborn into Damien's arms. Then she swiftly retreated, fleeing the crackling tension in the air.

Now alone with the child, Damien stared down at her scrunched crimson face and flailing limbs with an inscrutable expression. One large hand cupped her tiny skull with surprising gentleness, stilling her angry cries for a moment. He cocked his head slighty, considering her intently.

After a long pause studying the screaming infant, Damien finally spoke in a solemn murmur.

"So this is the product of that ill-fated dalliance." His deep voice was a low rumble, devoid of any tenderness as he assessed the babe. "You are a most plication."

The child seemed to sense the disdain in his tone, renewing her earsplitting wails as if in protest. Damien's mouth curved in a condescending sneer.

"Quiet, you pitiful thing. You'll get no sympathy from me with those histrionics."

He adjusted his hold, capturing her wildly flailing limbs with one hand. The newborn's cries took on a panicked, breathless edge as Damien's iron grip tightened.

"Did you truly believe I would allow your existence to jeopardize my plans?" His words were little more than a silken hiss, at harsh odds with the grotesque act he was committing.

Meanwhile, several miles away, the three vampire knights drove in grim silence. Reggie maintained the pace he was driving, his expression distant and pensive beneath the hood shading his features.

At last, Gunther could bear the tension no longer. He fought to bring his snorting stallion abreast of Reggie's.

"This is madness!" he shouted over the thundering sounds of the car's engine, glaring accusingly at his brothers. "How can you be so calm? Did you not see the state Rose is in?"

Reggie didn't so much as glance his way, keeping his hooded gaze locked on the path ahead.

Gunther turned to Randall with a vicious yank. "Well? Do you have nothing to say?"

Randall's hood fell back, finally revealing the turmoil in his haggard features and the fury blazing in his eyes.

"Let me be Gunther," he ground out in a tone of deadly calm that gave Gunther pause. When the burly knight hesitated, Randall's composure shattered in an explosion of rage.

"Do not test me, Gunther, unless you wish to be put down like the ill-tempered cur you're behaving as!"

Gunther could only gape at him in stunned shock, too stunned to respond. He'd never witnessed Randall in such a terrifying state before.

Reggie had remained silent all the while, listening and watching the confrontation with wide, wary eyes.

When neither of them spoke, Reggie sat back and spoke hard.

"Listen well, you two," Reggie bit out in a rough growl. "I understand your distress over Rose's plight better than either of you can comprehend. What we saw in that chamber wasn't a sight to behold at all. And that's why we need to figure out what to do to make things better,"

"However," Reggie continued, his voice taking on a steely edge, "Rose mentioned something to me..."

Gunther and Randall could only gape at him, utterly dumbfounded by this proclamation. Reggie allowed their stunned silence to hang heavily for a moment before continuing in a voice edged with tightly leashed tone.

"Before I left her side, Rose managed to impart a few words..."

Gunther and Randall exchanged puzzled glances, unable to fathom how Rose could have been conscious when they all witnessed her lying still and apparently unconscious.

"Didn't Damien say that Rose had been out? I mean...we all saw it for ourselves, right?" Gunther queried, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Reggie smirked, a glint of pride shining in his eyes. "It seems Rose knew all along," he declared cryptically.

His brothers, still bewildered, pressed for clarification. "Knew what?" Gunther demanded, his frustration mounting.

Reggie tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with tension. "Rose is smart," he explained with a note of admiration. "She must have known there was a conspiracy against her. That's why she...she did what she had to do,"

Gunther and Randall exchanged a stunned look, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to fall into place. Rose's cunning and foresight had once again shown just what they all knew her to be. It now all made sense. Rose was a war general, scheming and executing a front like this was a skill she had in her arsenal!