125. Complicated
While everyone was in awe of her powers, Clarice noticed that her husband was brooding. He didn't say anything to her after her demonstration of power. "What's wrong, husband?" she asked worriedly.
Grandpa Eliezer quickly sensed a changing tide. He said, "Guys, let's give the couple a chance to talk in private," he said, holding Caden's hand, pulling him away from the couple.
Marina and Carlos walked away with their baby daughter.
When the couple is finally left alone, it's time for confrontation.
"Who is the guy who pushed you into the water during our cruise ship holiday? Tell me his name so I can kill him with my hands," Alpha Callum asked, wanting to avenge his wife.
"No need. I want to punish that person with my own hands. He and I have a lot of scores to settle. I would not be happy if he dies in anyone's hands. He must suffer terribly at my hands. I won't be merciful this time. Revenge is sweeter if I do it my way. I'm powerful now. No need to protect me. No one can harm me again!" Clarice said confidently.
Alpha Callum has finally identified the things that separate this independent woman from his weak wife. The new Clarice is fearless, bold and daring. She no longer needed him for protection. She becomes independent and intimidating in his eyes. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
"You are strong and powerful now. It's clear your powers have blinded you. You don't need me anymore, eh? Is that what you mean?" Alpha Callum asked, hinting at something deeper.
Clarice's brows snap together. She didn't like the tone of his voice. This is not the kind of welcome she expects from him. "Huh? It's not what I meant. Why are you acting like this? I'm back now. We will never be separated again. What is wrong with you?" she asked, raising her voice.
Alpha Callum shakes his head, annoyed. "You have changed and become a different person and you know it! Admit it!"
Clarice's forehead was creased. "Huh? What? That's not true! I'm still the same. I only acquired supernatural powers. It doesn't mean I'm a different person now, and I did it all for survival. The way you tell me those words as if it's my fault I have become like this. I never want to be like this. It's just that fate has a way of changing a person's perspective. You have no idea of the terrible things I've been through just to come home alive. And yet you accuse me of something I'm not guilty of. It's unfair!"
Alpha Callum was still sulking and brooding, not pleased with his wife's answer.
Clarice stared at him, her eyes swollen with tears.
After a few seconds of silence Alpha Callum finally spoke. "Bring me back the old Clarice," he said coldly. He uttered those words as if he had already lost his wife a long time ago.
Clarice's eyes widened in confusion and irritation. Anger built up inside her. "The old, weak and powerless Clarice is gone. What you see now in front of you is the best version of me. I like my current self better. The old me that could easily be killed by her enemies is replaced by a person who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who harms her and her family. I'm sorry I can't undo things. I can only move on. Take it or leave it. You have to accept me for what I am now or else..." She cuts off her words quickly before she can say words that she will only regret later.
"Or else what? Are you threatening me?" Alpha Callum asked in shock and disbelief.
"No! I'm not threatening you. Nobody is threatening you. I'm just explaining things. Please don't blow things up," she pleaded with him to be open-minded and accept things as they are. "You are just making things complicated when things are not that difficult between us," she grumbled, hurt by his coldness.
Alpha Callum's face displayed annoyance.
"I can't understand why you are acting this way," she added, looking deeply into his eyes, trying to find out what is causing him to attack her verbally. "I did nothing wrong!" she insists.
"Tell me, how many people have you killed so far?" Alpha Callum starts digging deeper.
"Three so far. I slit their throats without mercy. They are vicious people, members of an illegal human trafficking syndicate kidnapping women and children. They deserve to die in my hands!" she explained.
"That is what I'm talking about. Your mentor is trying to turn you into a killing machine, Clarice! She is turning you into a ruthless mercenary under the pretense that you are doing good deeds for others. Can you see the difference now? How many people will you kill in the future?" he growled.
Clarice stares at him in shock and disbelief. "Why are you doing this? Why are you making things complicated between us? Why?" she asked. Pain and sadness squeezed her heart painfully. She could see her marriage falling apart in pieces right now.
"Because I already saw the scenario in my head. You will spend more time on the sacred mountain, guarding those monsters, frequently going on missions, killing the bad guys. You will become a famous hero and you will no longer have time for us, your family. Your son and I will become the last priority on your list. Then your enemies will know of your identity and these bad guys will start sending assassins to our house, killing everyone. Chaos starts and there will be no peace, Clarice. Those scenarios I'm talking about are all possible in the future. Think about it," he said coldly.
Clarice groaned in dismay. "Please don't think so negatively. Don't predict things that are not happening yet. I will be very discreet. No one will discover my identity, only my family. And for correction, I won't be going on a mission killing bad guys on a daily basis. I will still have time for our family. Please believe me, things will work out fine. There's nothing to worry about. I promise you, not much will change."
Alpha Callum kept his mouth shut, his face hard like a rock, unyielding.
"Please give me a chance to prove to you that not much will change in our family. We can still be happy together. Please?" she begged, desperate for his understanding.
Alpha Callum shakes his head. "You know what to do, dear wife. Come back to us as a whole. I don't like seeing you running around the country doing missions, killing bad guys and guarding those monsters in a remote mountain far from civilization. I don't want to wake up one day, receiving news that you are already killed by those monsters which you are guarding with your life. Can't you see the danger surrounding you?"
Tears flooded Clarice's face. She felt frustrated that she couldn't convince her husband to accept things as they are so they could finally move on. "Why can't you give me a chance? A chance to prove to you that nothing will change much when it comes to our marriage. We will still be the same, one happy family," she said between tears.
"I don't like waking up in the middle of the night and my wife is no longer by my side because she is out there looking for innocent victims to sink her vampire fangs into their necks to satisfy her craving for blood. Tell me that I'm wrong?" he said accusingly.
"You are wrong. During my early days as a vampire I drank my mentor's blood. But nowadays I have trained myself to drink chicken blood only. I'm fine with it. I don't go out at night looking for victims to sink my fangs into because I don't even have fangs to begin with. I was transformed into a vampire successfully without fangs," she elaborated further.
Thick silence fell upon them.
When Clarice thought that she had finally managed to convince her husband to give her a chance, he looked at her and said, "Take me to that sacred mountain and I will kill all those monsters I so you no longer have to watch over them. You will stay in our house 24/7. This is the only way I can make sure you don't end up becoming a killing machine, killing bad guys left and right, and dying in the end."
Clarice was stunned by his demands. Sad to say things are getting too difficult between them.
Alpha Callum cleared the lump that had formed in his throat. What he is about to say to his wife is life-changing. "I have to be honest with you, wife. I have a hard time accepting your new persona. You are now carrying too much excess baggage on your shoulders. I'm only protecting our son from future trouble brought by your new persona."
Clarice sneered. "Don't use our son as your excuse for not accepting me. Don't you love me anymore?" she asked, her voice filled with pain.
Alpha Callum groaned in annoyance. "Don't use love at this time. My feelings for you are still the same and will never change. I accept your power and who you are now. It's just that I don't like all the things associated with them. I hope you understand my side," he said dejectedly.
She threw her hands in the air out of frustration. They were just going in circles. Her head hurts from too much negativity. She needed to leave or her brain would explode. She sighed heavily. "Fine, I think I'll just return some other time when you are much calmer."
Alpha Callum felt annoyed and disappointed that his wife refused to obey and listen to him. She became hard-headed and stubborn. She became her own woman. She no longer needed him.
He felt a punch in his gut.