My Blood Legacy: Reincarnated as a Vampire

Dante's words were a bit too complicated for someone like Siren—it was a blow she hadn't expected. His words entered her ears and echoed in her head, replaying over and over. She had already suspected something like this, she understood he wanted something from her. Yet despite knowing all of this... the directness in his words... so personal...

Something inside her churned, a wave of unfamiliar emotions stirring. And they weren't good feelings. Far from it, it was one of the worst sensations she had ever felt in her life.

For a split second, Siren's mind was teleported to a part of her life she had longed to erase. She was thrown back to her youth, as if a movie of her life played before her eyes. She remembered things she would rather have forgotten. She remembered little Siren, abandoned in the desert... a young orphan girl, without a pack, forced to survive on her own.

The first thing she recalled was the dry, relentless desert wind that scorched her skin as she wandered for days, barely clinging to life, feeding on whatever she could find—cactus and... the remains of dead animals. She had been scorned by everyone, seen as weak, worthless, a burden that should be left for dead.

The memory of the first time she killed someone followed shortly after, a moment seared into her soul.

She killed several men—men who had tried to take her body by force, to use her in the vilest way. She remembered the fear that gripped her that night, a fear that completely transformed her. She could still feel the trembling in her hand, gripping a dull knife. The muffled screams of one of the men echoed in her memories, lingering in her dreams long after. But what truly marked her was the sensation of hot blood on her hands, awakening something primal inside her... Survival. It was kill or be killed.

In that moment, she understood her nature. She wasn't just a survivor—she was an alpha, and her instincts for leadership and dominance began to bloom. She would kill anything to survive, she could not just be a piece of meat for others to devour. She was the claws of a predator, ready to tear flesh.

Her numbed mind took that literally—perhaps, at the time, she believed it was her purpose, what she was meant to do. But one day, she encountered a powerful werewolf, as strong as she was.

He called himself a King. Or rather, the werewolves regarded him as their king. She fought Velkan so many times that, somehow, the King had fallen in love with her. And her? She felt nothing. If he was the King, where was he when she endured hunger, misery? Why hadn't he been there from the start? Exactly... But when Velkan, the so-called king of werewolves, proposed marriage, she knew it wasn't a request; it was a veiled command. She accepted, not out of love or respect, but because she wanted to change a few things.

Yet Velkan never truly defeated her, nor did she defeat him to claim his throne. They never shared the intimacy a true couple would. And though he was powerful, he knew Siren wasn't just a female to be subdued.

She became a prisoner in that marriage, in a kingdom that was never hers, nor cared about her existence. The years spent with Velkan were years of inner conflict, silent resentment, and unfinished schemes. Now, with Dante—a man who clearly desired her and respected her in a way Velkan never had—all of it came crashing down inside her.

The present reality weighed heavily on her shoulders. Dante was different from Velkan. He didn't see Siren merely as a pawn on the board, but as something more—as someone desirable in her own right. It confused her, made her uncomfortable. Dante's admission awakened something within her that she had tried to suppress for so long: the desire to be seen, not as a queen or a leader, but as a woman.

She looked at him, her eyes shining with confusion. She couldn't respond. A lump formed in her throat. Without saying a word, she quickly turned, disappearing from the hall in a flash of light, her footsteps not even echoing.

She fled.

Dante stood there, bewildered, utterly at a loss for what had just happened. For the first time, he didn't know what to do. Siren's reaction had been completely unexpected—fleeing? That was far from anything he'd imagined. He wasn't angry, but... a bitter taste lingered in his mouth as he tried to make sense of whether he had done something wrong. He could follow her, try to understand, but... he didn't. He didn't chase after her.

It wouldn't change anything, even though he had put effort into appearing decent. Now he was just shocked.

"What just happened?" he muttered to himself.

The women who had been watching were on the verge of laughing. After all, the three of them knew exactly how Siren felt, as they had all once had their own vulnerabilities in relationships.

Morgana stepped forward, watching Dante's confused reaction, which she found quite hilarious. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like you managed to scare her pretty well, congrats," she teased, trying to ease the tension on his face, though it didn't work very well.

Lilith, who had been observing the whole scene with a mischievous grin, started laughing quietly.

"What a complicated woman..." Dante mumbled, crossing his arms. His mind was already working quickly, analyzing what had just happened. He had dealt with complex women before, but this? A woman... fleeing?

"You're too direct. You think all women will react the same way just because you're you." Valentina crossed her arms. "What a waste of effort... I shouldn't have tried to help you," she muttered, turning away. "I'm going to check on my little ones; they're hurt. Come by later." She said before disappearing in flames.

The others watched as Valentina vanished, and Dante could only sigh. "What the hell did I do..." he mumbled.

Morgana cast a sharp look at Dante. "She's been hurt, shaped by pain and survival. She's not a woman who gives in easily, not even to you." There was something in Morgana's voice that suggested she understood Siren's internal struggle.

"I just hope she comes back..." Dante muttered, sounding uncharacteristically uncertain as he sighed. "What will you do now?" Morgana asked.

"I'm going to rest. I'm feeling a bit off because of that cursed energy... I've locked Velkan and his men in the dungeons below. If you can, put up a barrier? I'm heading home." With that, Dante disappeared in flames.

"Didn't even wait for me to finish talking... such an irritating man," Morgana said, then turned to Lilith. "And you?"

"Huh? Oh, I'll stick with you. There's something I want to figure out, and since you're here, we might as well do something for Dante," Lilith replied with a grin.

As they continued their conversation, elsewhere, Siren was still running through the dark corridors of the palace, hiding her presence entirely. Her mind was in complete turmoil, overwhelmed by the flood of memories, her darkest moments crashing through her thoughts.

The loneliness, the pain, the constant struggle... it had all led to this moment, and now she was faced with a choice she didn't know how to make. In truth, she couldn't even think clearly about it.

Dante hadn't seen her as an obstacle or a tool; he saw her as an equal. That scared her more than any physical threat. What Dante had said—"Like you"—echoed in her mind. And for the first time in a long while, Siren felt a weakness that didn't come from battle or internal conflict, but from her own heart.

Alone in the corridors, Siren stopped, leaning against the cold stone wall. She didn't know how she could return to that hall, how she could face Dante again, but she also knew she couldn't run forever. Something deep in her soul screamed for her to confront this new reality—maybe, for the first time, she had a chance to be more than just a survivor.

"What the hell was that?" she murmured to herself, staring down at the stone floor as if the answer was hidden in the cracks beneath her feet.

She started pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly as if arguing with herself — which, in a way, she was. "Alright, let's do this... pros and cons... How did I end up in this mess?" Siren spoke aloud, her voice dripping with sarcasm, clearly trying to rationalize her growing confusion.

"Pros," she began, raising a finger like she was about to list something logical. "Dante is powerful. Very powerful. The kind of guy who, with a snap of his fingers, can suspend a bunch of old, disgusting advisors in the air like they're toys." She paused, thoughtful, then rolled her eyes. "And of course, he's... okay, I'll admit, he's kind of... attractive?" Her face flushed slightly as she grimaced at herself. "Not kind of, Siren, you saw that smile. Ugh!"

She shook her head, trying to push the thought away. "Right, so... that's a pro. He's got power, charisma, and — damn it — that smile."

"Now, the cons," Siren continued, lifting her other hand. "He basically threw a kingdom in my lap like it was a sack of potatoes. Who does that? Who just 'doesn't care' about ruling a kingdom? That's insane!" She threw her hands up, indignant at Dante's casualness. "Ruling isn't like picking what to eat for dinner, it's a hell of a responsibility!"

She paused for a moment, staring at the ceiling as if hoping the stones would offer some ancient wisdom. "And what was that whole 'like you' thing? What does that even mean, exactly?" Siren rubbed her temples, now starting to get irritated. "You can't just drop some cryptic line and think that's fine. What does he want? My kingdom? My loyalty? My soul?!"

She stopped, pulling an exaggerated face. "Or does he just... want me?"

She froze for a moment, the thought hanging in the air, before shaking her head and nervously laughing at herself.