Chapter 160: This Is Not Normal
"Are you bleeding?" He asked for the second time, his troubled eyes clouding with concern as he met her own. At this point, Samantha could only gaze at him in startlement, but when her delicate hands reflexively clutched her lower abdomen like it would suppress the pain, she averted her gaze elsewhere, unable to meet his penetrating eyes. She had been hoping he wouldn’t sense it, she had tried hard to keep her cool when she walked in, but unfortunately, this month’s cramp was beginning to take a real toll than the previous ones she had silently tolerated. She had gone to see Lucy in the hopes that she had other remedies to share with her, but Lucy wasn’t in her chamber.
"I... it’s nothing.. it’s just.. cramps.. a monthly occurrence for women." She stammered on her words, her cheeks blushing profusely as she dared to meet his troubled eyes again. When it became obvious he wasn’t going to let the matter drop until she explained it in detail to him, especially when he gave her that ’don’t lie to me’ kind of look, Samantha subconsciously bit her lower lip as she stared down at her toes. "Actually it’s.... It’s nothing but I.... You don’t need to worry about anything as it is a discomfort that shall soon pass. I’m... I’m fine." She reassured him, another fake smile blossoming her face, but when she tried to walk past Ivan as she could not keep up with her pretense for too long, he stopped her from going anywhere, and when she looked at him questioningly, his gaze softened into genuine concern.
"Little Lamb, you’re bleeding and you expect me to not get worried? I am worried about you, your health, and I won’t stop worrying until you explain to me what’s going on." Samantha didn’t fail to catch the slight panic that contoured his expression, his troubled eyes now scanning her up and down as he grabbed her shoulders firmly. What made him more distressed was when her emerald green eyes glistened with tears, and he knew for a fact that what he perceived had to be his little lamb’s blood. He couldn’t mistake it.
"Talk to me. Are you hurt by any chance? Did something happen to you?"
Although Samantha was silently suffering from the pain that brought tears to eyes, it didn’t stop her from blinking in surprise at Ivan’s sudden outburst. Through the previous months, she had been doing a great job in hiding her scent whenever it got to that specific time of the month. She had done everything and even went to Lucy for some advice, but today, she was having one of those awful heavy flows that even Ivan was starting to detect. If she doesn’t do something soon about it, then every vampire in the Chevalier Palace would get a whiff of her blood, and then what? Becoming a temptation to the eyes of every vampire within the vicinity was an absolute NO! But how can she change if Ivan was standing in her way?
"Can I–"
"When did it start?" He cut her off before she could make up another excuse. He didn’t have much knowledge when it came to a woman’s monthly visitation, and he could only guess that that might be the case with his little lamb. It was normal for her to be wary of him, he was a vampire after all and scents like this were more tempting to his kind, but the difference presently was she was his precious little lamb, and hurting her in any way was something he’d do if humans no longer needed oxygen to breathe. He only wished she knew how much of himself he was willing to sacrifice just to keep her safe, and asides from that, he wanted her to involve him in everything that happened to her, even her monthly trials.
"I’m not going to harm you." He murmured his assurance, and the sincerity in his tone could not be missed. "It’s fine, you don’t have to say anything directly to me, but it’s obvious you’re in pain so you’re going to have to let me help you, even if you don’t want me to. Now come." Holding her hand firmly in his, Ivan led the perplexed woman to his bed, and when he gestured for her to lay down so she could rest comfortably, she shook her head politely and took a step back from him.
"I can.. go to my own bed." Samantha insisted, but to her astonishment, Ivan simply helped her get on his bed, whilst lifting her off her feet and gently making her sit on his bed. Samantha’s eyes widened at his act, and before she could say a word of protest, his eyes sliced through her own, rendering her speechless.
"Don’t pretend like my bed is anything new to you. Besides, it’s more comfortable to rest on. Now be a good little lamb and stay here." He instructed softly before heaving out a small sigh. His little lamb’s blood was gradually beginning to cloud his senses, but instead of feeling really tempted to bite her and get a taste of it, he was concerned about other vampires perceiving his little lamb’s blood. The scent of her blood was for him to perceive alone, no one else, and when his eyes drifted to her face that reflected her pain, he hated seeing her this way and immediately wanted to curse the heavens for making his little lamb suffer like this.