My Vampire Harem Will Dominate Everything

Chapter 402 You're Family

Everyone sat, their eyes on Gen's glowing form as she remained standing.

Olivia and Red sat on the couch, their hands intertwined for support, while Ezra leaned forward in his chair, his blindfolded face turned toward Gen as if he could see her with his eyes.

Gen's expression was somber, her eyes moving from one face to the next. She clasped her hands together, her voice trembling as she began.

"I… I'm so sorry." She said. "For everything. What happened in Faewall, for leaving you all without explanation. But most of all, for the pain I caused."

Olivia shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Gen, you don't have to…"

"Yes, I do." Gen interrupted gently. "You deserve to know the truth. All of it."

She took a deep breath, or at least the ghostly approximation of one, before continuing. "It started with my sister. My older sister. She was everything to me. Kind, strong, and always looking out for me."

"Then she disappeared after meeting Nicodemus. Eventually, she managed to work something out and made me a vampire. She was my… rock. I wanted to be just like her."

"But James Harlow…" Her face twisted into a rictus of hate with her hands tightening into fists. "James killed her. He murdered her to cover up his crimes. I don't even think he cared that she was innocent. She was just… inconvenient."

They all knew this part of the story but it didn't stop the women from cursing James out. "That bastard!"

"Don't worry, Gen." Red grinned vindictively. "James is still very much alive and in our care. When we're settled, you can do whatever you want with him."

"Really?" her eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at them as if searching for signs of a lie in their expressions. "You have him as a prisoner?"

Ezra nodded in response.

"Thank you!" She threw her arms around Ezra, giving him a very tight hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She murmured. "I'll make him pay."

She disengaged, wiping at the tears in her eyes. "That bastard took away the only family I had and in my grief, I was reckless."

"I made a blood oath on my very soul to avenge her. It was foolish, as blood oaths made on one's soul cannot be broken or removed like oaths made with others but I didn't care. I wanted justice, no matter the cost. And now, it is the decision I regret the most."

Gen's gaze dropped to the floor. "By the time I realized just what I had done, it was too late to take back. The dead should've stayed the dead and the living should've kept living but with the oath, I had tied my fate to the dead."

"For every second I lived, the oath demanded fulfillment. If I had broken it, I would have died anyway. The oath would have consumed me. So I decided that if I was going to die, it was better to have a valid reason. To make sure James paid for what he did."

The room was silent, everyone riveted by her words.

Red's anger was gone and replaced by a deep sadness. "You didn't have to go through that alone." She said, her voice cracking. "We were your family. We would have found another way."

Gen's gaze lifted, her eyes meeting Red's. "I know. But I didn't want you to suffer because of me. I didn't want you to break the laws and be punished for the foolish choices I made decades ago."

"If I had told you, you would have tried to stop me or worse, help me, and I couldn't let that happen. I wanted you to move on, to live your lives without the burden of my mistakes."

Olivia stood, crossing the room to stand before Gen. She reached out hesitantly, placing a hand on Gen's arm. "Gen, we're your family. We would have carried that burden with you. That's what family does."

Gen's lips trembled, and more tears fell. "I see that now. But at the time, I thought I was protecting you. I thought I was doing the right thing. And I'm so sorry for the pain I caused."

Olivia pulled her hand back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "We forgive you, Gen. We always have."

Red stood as well, brushing a tear from her eye before stepping forward to join Olivia. "She's right. We forgive you. You were trying to do what you thought was best, even if it hurt us. And now that you're here, we're not letting you go again."

Gen let out a shaky laugh and pulled both women into another hug. "Thank you. Both of you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Ezra exhaled as he watched them. A few seconds later, he stood and walked over to them, his arms encircling the three women.

Half a minute later, they broke up the hug.

"Gen," Ezra finally spoke as he stepped back from the hug, "assigning blame or dwelling on what ifs won't change the past. What matters is that you're here now."

Gen turned to him, her eyes filled with love and gratitude. "Thank you, Ezra. For everything."

He nodded, his expression softening. "Right now, we need to find a way to give you a body. Your body."

"Thankfully, I've been working on accessing the weave of reality. With it, I should eventually be able to bring you back."

Red's eyes widened. "You're serious?"

Ezra smiled at her. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't. The weave is complex, but it's not impossible to manipulate. As you're still tied to us through your soul, there's a thread we can use to anchor you back into the physical world. All I need to do is master the weave."

Olivia's hand tightened around Ezra's. "We'll do whatever it takes. Whatever you need, we're here."

Gen's tears continued to fall, her body shimmering as she took in their words. "You're all too good to me." She whispered. "I don't deserve it."

Red shook her head. "You're family, Gen. That's all that matters."