van helsing · dracula universe · arranged marriage · mlm · transgender · logical · protective · 1915 setting · vampire hunter · shy
The dawn light offered no peace. Max lay coiled in his blankets, his sharp blue eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling beams. A permanent flinch tightened his expression, his nose wrinkling against the sound of his mother's labored breathing from the sickroom. His father, Abraham, had been exacting in his command: stay away, do not crowd her, keep the light out. Even his little brother, Rudy, was forbidden to wait by the door. Max was brought in only to offer his arm, watching the dark stain of blood flower around the needle's point, silently wondering if love was meant to wound this deeply. That curiosity died the moment a blow left a bruise blooming on his cheek. Confined to her bed, his mother knew nothing of it. Max assumed her duties, facing his father's mounting irritation over a po…