"Do you hear it?" Selene Valor questioned, her ears picking up on the sound of a horn.

She couldn't mistake that sound she heard the day Gabriel and all the other men left. 

Gabriel Valor, her husband, parted from Selene nearly six months ago to join the king's army to bring a long war to an end. 

Good news reached the town of Gabriel's victories and he was now declared the kingdom's current hero. He was to be rewarded for his triumph, granted anything he wanted by the king himself. 

Selene picked up her dress to run to the front door, ignoring how the guests entering for the banquet she prepared gawked at her. It was unladylike, maybe but she was too focused on seeing her husband. 

Selene raised her hand to cover her face when she reached the door to protect her red eyes from the sun's light. It stung to be out in the day at times but she could bear with it to see her husband.

"Gabriel!" Selene cried out his name, her happiness filling the air. 

Now that Gabriel had returned, Selene thought of how their arrangement started. Selene was one of the few pureblood vampires who resided in the town which gave her more status above the mixed bloods like her husband.

Mixed-bloods were the offspring of humans bitten by purebloods and turned into vampires. 

Along with her pureblood lineage, Selene was once the daughter of a nobleman. Her father had been a Count but after his death, his title had been passed to the oldest male heir in the family which was her cousin since her father didn't have sons. 

Selene needed protection from her relatives who sought out what little wealth her father placed in her name before his death and was lucky to meet with Gabriel who would do anything to marry a lady with status. 

Selene promised to look after the mansion Gabriel had to his name while he would send off the relatives who came to trouble her. 

How could they trouble her now when the great hero was her husband?

"Gabriel!" A wave of praises for him was heard as Gabriel entered the gates. The guests invited to the banquet could not tear their gaze away from him.

Selene was focused on her husband. He sat at the front of the group, his armour standing out. 

Selene stopped at the bottom of the steps, awaiting when he would get off his horse. 

Gabriel's horse passed Selene so it would be handed off to a servant. He took off his helmet and looked down at the woman called his wife. She was just as he remembered.

The sight of her upset him. 

Gabriel hated the way Selene smiled like she had any love for him. He knew that she didn't. She had always been using him, leaving him with nothing. He had been too foolish to see it in the past but something opened his eyes to her ways.

Gabriel got off his horse. He was tired from the long journey but he could not ignore the people who praised him and wanted to speak to him about his victory. He returned a new man and with this new status, he could not only settle for a woman like Selene. 

Selene waited for Gabriel to hug her or say anything. Hadn't he missed her like she missed him?

He stared at her like a stranger was standing before him. His red eyes judged her like she had done something wrong. 

Selene smiled, deciding to make the first move for their reunion. "You've returned a hero. You accomplished what you dreamed of and it doesn't look like you were hurt. I prepared a banquet for you."

Gabriel didn't spare much time listening to her greeting he knew would have been rehearsed before his return to place her role as his wife well. He turned away from Selene to make his way to his most prized possession. 

Selene did not understand his behaviour. There wasn't a flicker of acknowledgement on Gabriel's part while she spoke. Still, she was eager to tell him of the banquet. "I am hosting it in honour of your accomplishments. You are the kingdom's hero. What are you doing?' Her voice was lost in the wind as she noticed he had left her to go to someone seated on a horse. 

It was only now that Selene noticed there was someone without any armour. A stranger who easily stuck out among the group.

Selene frowned, her heart pounding similar to the beat of the drums which replaced the horns. The stranger wore a cloak to cover their head but she didn't miss the slender hand reaching down to accept Gabriel's help off the horse. 

Selene remained silent, not wanting to let her thoughts run wild before Gabriel explained this to her. 

Still, her heart ached when the young woman looked up and her eyes revealed she was merely a human. A human who couldn't be anything more than a commoner. 

Gabriel stopped before Selene again, still holding onto the hand of the human who removed the cloak to show her face. "She is Cassandra Avery, my lover. From this day onward, she will reside here with us. You will teach her what she needs to know to help you."

Selene was too stunned to speak. She felt like she had been dipped into cold water without warning. He could not do this to her. 

She was his wife and a pureblood. It was insulting for him to bring a human here and ask her to help her, his mistress. 

Selene was at a loss for words. She didn't need to look around to know the vampires present were laughing at her since it was a humiliating sight. Since when had her kind ever faced something like this? 

Selene wanted to grab Gabriel and have him confess it was only a stupid joke. Their arrangement was not perfect but he had to respect her as she respected him. 

How could he do this to her?

Selene wanted to scream but she smiled again. "Welcome home, dear husband."