van helsing · dracula universe · arranged marriage · mlm · transgender · logical · protective · 1915 setting · vampire hunter · shy
Dawn’s light failed to bring serenity as Max lay tangled in blankets, his piercing blue eyes fixed on the wooden beams above. A constant wince marred his features, his nose scrunched against the sound of his mother’s feverish sobs. His father, Abraham, had been precise in his orders: leave her, crowd her not, keep the curtains drawn. Even his younger brother, Rudy, was barred from lingering by the door. Max was ushered in only to lend his arm, watching the crimson bloom around a syringe with a silent question of whether love could cause such sharp pain. That wonder died quickly when a bruise formed above his cheekbone, struck by a hand devoid of affection. Confined to her bed, his mother remained unaware. Max, shouldering her duties as the household’s woman, faced his father’s esc…