Page 30 of Taken By My Guardian's Fangs

Juliette blinked. "I...don't get it."

"If Gaël consumes the required amount of precoital cum from your body, and later on your sangferia as well, blood compatibility will improve, and he will enjoy all the other benefits that come with it. However, this method has a side effect. It will make his body unable to process any other source of sangferia afterwards. So if ever things don't work out between you, or if a day comes that Gaël needs to further increase his strength for battle - he won't be able to do it. He can consume the sangferia of a near perfect-match like Emilia's, and it won't do anything for him. That is the downside of using a supplementary method for improving chemical compatibility."

Aprilynne looked at Juliette with regret. "It's a one-shot deal for Gaël, so I hope both of you will really think things out before proceeding."

Choose pink roses.

JEAN LUC WASN'T SURPRISED when Gaël asked to speak to him in his study as soon as they returned home. And the moment the door closed behind him, his brother didn't waste time confronting him.

"Emilia told me Etienne had her blood tested, and that we happen to be a near-perfect match. Is it true?"

"Yes."

Gaël's expression hardened. "And your reason for withholding such information from me?"

"I wanted to wait until after Laura's wedding—-"

Gaël swore under his breath. "For God's sake, Jean Luc. Why? Do you actually think I still have feelings for that bitch?"

"I believe you do, yes."

"That's fucking insane," Gaël roared. "I hate that bitch—-"

"And is hatred not a feeling?"

"Goddammit, Jean Luc! Don't play these fucking games with me. I have every fucking reason to hate Laura, and you know it. She killed our daughter. Your niece. Have you forgotten that?"

Jean Luc's own face was ashen by the time his brother finished speaking. "None of us has forgotten that, Gaël. We might never be able to properly conceive the magnitude of your pain, but she was our flesh and blood, too. Her death hurt all of us. It still hurts to this day. And that's why I know your pain and anger at Laura might make you do something you'll regret later on."

Gaël's anger turned into fury at the realization that his own brother believed he could be so impetuous. "Give me some fucking credit! Are you thinking that just because I know Emilia Moretti is my near-perfect match, I'll offer to marry her and choose the same fucking wedding day as Laura's to publicly humiliate her? Do you truly fucking think, just because I know Laura's ego means everything to her, I'll plan my own fucking grand wedding just to force all of her guests to ditch hers—-"

"It seems you already have a plan," his brother pointed out.

"FUCK!"

Jean Luc was unbothered even as Gaël's fangs flashed out in his rage. His younger brother might be deadly in the battlefield, but they were family. Nothing in this world, not even the greatest betrayal, could make them raise a hand against the other.

"Hurting Laura will not bring Rosey back," Jean Luc stated quietly, "and marrying Emilia will be no different from cutting your nose to spite your face."

"I know that," Gaël grated out. "Do you truly think I don't know that?"

Jean Luc, seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere with his brother, tried another tack. "What about Juliette?"

Gaël stiffened.

"Severin told me he saw you in Juliette's bedroom this morning."

"It's not what he thinks," Gaël said curtly.

"Are you saying she's still a virgin?" The flush in his brother's face was answer enough, and Jean Luc chose his next words with care, not wanting to make Gaël feel he had anything to prove. "I just want you to think about your ward. Think about how life can and will change for you and Juliette...before you make any decision."

JEAN LUC'S WORDS WERE like poison again, and for the first time since accepting Juliette's offer to give him her sangferia, Gaël deliberately kept himself from visiting his ward...even when all he could think of was her.

His older brother obviously thought that finding out Emilia Moretti was his near-perfect match would leave him burning for vengeance, and perhaps...if this had happened even just a week ago, that would have been exactly the case.

His hatred for Laura would have made him seek a strategic alliance with Emilia, and he might also have been bitter enough to ensure that their wedding - if it indeed came to that - would fall on the same date as his ex-wife's.

Things, however, were different now.

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