My Wife is a Vampire Princess – Season 1: Chapter 2
"Countdown to Detonation"
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April 4th, 2022 – Outside Caelum's Maw, 1:16 P.M.
Dust still clung to their clothes as Joshua, Tom, and Lilly stumbled from the cave and into the wide clearing filled with stern-faced soldiers. The rhythmic hum of helicopters above and the cold, commanding presence of armored personnel vehicles added a pressure heavier than the mountain itself.
Joshua blinked at the wall of armed troops, stunned. "Okay… okay... maybe this is good. Maybe the military knows. Maybe they're here to get Henry out. Right?"
But his voice lacked confidence.
Tom didn't hesitate. He rushed forward toward the closest soldier, his voice cracking with panic and rage. "Please! You have to go in and get my brother! He's still inside—he's still alive! You don't understand, something's happening to him!"
The soldier didn't move. Didn't blink.
That's when another voice called out.
"Private. Step aside."
From the far end of the military line walked a tall, imposing man—white-haired, deeply wrinkled, his medals gleaming on a perfectly pressed uniform. General Oliver Richards, the legend of the U.S. Army and current overseer of Operation Caelum.
And Lilly froze.
"No…" she whispered. "No, no, no—it can't be him…"
Joshua leaned toward her. "Who is that?"
"My grandfather," Lilly muttered, swallowing hard. "General Oliver Richards. He's… he's the kind of man who gets results, no matter the cost."
As if on cue, a second man stepped forward from the command tent behind the line—Sergeant Brian Richards, Lilly's father. His expression was strained, his eyes darting to his daughter before turning back toward the mountain.
"Dad, wait," Brian said to the General. "Let's not jump ahead. My daughter was inside. These kids were there. There's still someone left—one of them. His name is Henry Mathew. If we give them time, they might be able to—"
Oliver Richards cut him off coldly.
"We don't have time, Brian." His voice was cold steel. "This cave is not just some folklore tourist trap. Intelligence confirms energy levels inside the cave are unstable. The President has ordered a full lockdown of the area. If we fail to extract your daughter or anyone else before the countdown reaches zero, this entire hilltop will be turned into ash."
Tom's knees buckled. "You're… you're going to blow it up?"
General Richards didn't flinch. "I'll give you six hours. Not a second more. After that, we end the anomaly before it becomes a global threat."
Lilly's face twisted into disbelief and fury. She marched up to him.
"Grandpa, please!" she pleaded. "This isn't just some 'threat.' There's a person inside. Henry Mathew—he risked his life for us! He deserves a chance!"
Brian stepped forward too. "Dad, just listen—"
"Enough!" General Richards snapped. "If you want to waste time debating, do it elsewhere. If you want to save someone, you better start now. Because in six hours… I bury this whole goddamn cave."
The countdown had begun.
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[End of Chapter 8]
Next Chapter: "Six Hours to Extraction" – As the military sets up demolitions, Tom, Joshua, and Lilly must figure out how to re-enter the cave before it's too late… but something inside the mountain has already awakened.
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April 4th, 2022 – 1:39 P.M., Inside Caelum's Maw
In the cavern's deepest sanctum, with veins of faint red mana pulsing like a heartbeat through the walls, Henry Mathew stood motionless over the cracked, ornate coffin.
His hands—guided not by his mind but by a force older than language—pressed against the intricate lid. There was no sound. No warning.
Just one last breath, then—
CRACK!
The coffin split open with an unnatural echo, the sound almost alive, like ancient chains snapping across dimensions. Golden dust shimmered into the air, and a wave of icy wind whooshed outward from within the stone box.
Henry didn't flinch.
But the bats did.
Hundreds of them. Hanging like an ominous curtain of shadows across the ceiling. Their eyes flared crimson for just a second—and then, without a screech, without chaos, they fled.
One by one. Then in hundreds.
Like smoke being sucked from the chamber, they darted out of the tunnels—escaping the thing they were guarding. Or hiding from.
Something they feared more than humans.
---
Outside Caelum's Maw – Same Moment
"Sir! Something's coming out of the cave!" one of the soldiers shouted, pointing toward the dark cave entrance.
Within seconds, the air was filled with shrill wind and leather wings.
The massive bats burst forth in waves—like a living storm erupting from the mountain. But not a single one attacked.
They flew over the soldiers, over the vehicles and the tents, fleeing into the sky like prisoners released from an ancient curse.
Sergeant Brian Richards stared in awe. "They're running."
Joshua's face went pale. "Which means... he opened it."
Lilly clutched her chest. "Henry's still in there. That power—that chill—it's not human."
Brian turned to his father, General Oliver Richards, whose expression had shifted from caution to grim finality.
"You see that?" the General growled. "That confirms it. He opened it. The anomaly is active. There's no saving Henry now."
Tom, standing nearby, fists clenched, snapped. "What the hell does that even mean?! He's my brother! He's still alive down there—he needs help!"
General Richards stared him down with the cold steel of a battlefield commander.
"If he opened that coffin, he's already been claimed by whatever lies inside. You want to throw your life away chasing a corpse? Go right ahead."
Tom's eyes blazed with fury. "You're a General of the United States Army. How can you say that?! We don't abandon people!"
The General didn't flinch. "No, we don't. We eliminate threats. If I send a second man into the jaws of death, I don't gain a miracle. I get two accidental deaths instead of one."
Joshua grabbed Tom's shoulder. "Easy, man. We're not giving up. But if we're going back in—we do it our way."
Tom looked toward the cave, his heart hammering with dread and love. Somewhere beneath all that stone and darkness… Henry was still there.
And something ancient had finally awakened.
---
April 4th, 2022 – 2:15 P.M., Inner Sanctum of Caelum's Maw
The coffin lay open, and silence reigned no longer.
From within, her eyes opened—glowing like red suns, burning with millennia of sealed wrath.
The Princess. Pale. Ethereal. A beauty sculpted by time itself. Clad in ancient silks turned to shadow, her hair floated like strands of black night, weightless and slow. Her first breath in a thousand years felt like poison against the new air of this world.
But something was wrong.
She stumbled, placing a hand on the edge of the coffin to steady herself. "My strength... has not fully returned…"
She turned her gaze to the one who awakened her.
Henry Mathew stood unmoving, still partially hypnotized, swaying gently like a man trapped in the grip of a dream.
Her nostrils flared. Her eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward and bit his shoulder—sharp fangs piercing skin like it was silk. Henry didn't cry out. He barely moved. But his blood—his essence—flowed into her like pure fire.
For a moment, the air itself pulsed red.
She pulled back, eyes glowing brighter, lips stained crimson. Her body began to strengthen, shadows weaving around her like loyal guards.
And then she spoke.
> "I do not know what foolish game Arthur thought he was playing… sending a peasant like you to awaken me. But a thousand years have passed."
She placed her hand against Henry's cheek with unsettling tenderness.
> "You've opened my coffin. Our fates are now one. Even God cannot separate us. You… are my husband now."
---
Meanwhile – Outside the Cave, 2:17 P.M.
The countdown had reached under four hours. General Oliver Richards stood outside the mobile command tent, watching the drones lift off with quiet finality.
"Proceed with Operation Obsidian," he ordered.
A dozen military drones armed with seismic charges launched into the sky, programmed to fly into the cave network and collapse everything.
Tom stood by helplessly, fists clenched, eyes soaked with tears. "You're going to kill him! You're going to bury my brother alive!"
Sergeant Brian Richards, torn between duty and family, couldn't meet his daughter's eyes. "We don't know what's in there anymore, son. If it's not Henry anymore…"
Tom screamed, "It is him! He's my brother!"
But just as the drones reached the mouth of the cave—
Boom.
A shockwave of dark wind exploded outward. The drones halted mid-flight—alarms blaring—before one by one, they were knocked from the sky like paper planes.
From the cave's shattered mouth emerged a blinding red glow.
And then… she appeared.
A pale woman with long black hair, glowing crimson eyes, and an aura of dread around her. She floated just above the rocks, holding the unconscious body of Henry Mathew in her arms like a sacred offering.
She landed gracefully. Her bare feet touched U.S. soil.
Soldiers raised their weapons—instinctively terrified.
She didn't even glance at them.
Instead, her gaze locked directly on Sergeant Brian Richards, who stood in front of the military line.
> "You," she said, her voice sharp like a dagger sheathed in silk.
"Did you try to murder me… and my husband?"
The wind went still.
No one dared to answer.
---
April 4th, 2022 – 2:23 P.M., Perimeter Outside Caelum's Maw
The sky still simmered with smoke and ash from the wreckage of destroyed military drones. The flames reflected off the gleaming armor of dozens of soldiers, none of whom dared move as the dark-winged Princess stood before them, barefoot upon scorched earth, holding Henry Mathew's unconscious body like a fragile treasure.
Her crimson eyes scanned them all… but finally locked onto Sergeant Brian Richards, whose hands were still slightly raised in hesitation.
> "You," she said, her voice like glass dipped in honey, "Why did you respond with hostility… when I had just awakened?"
Brian swallowed. Hard.
> "Did… did you kill him?" he asked, pointing to Henry with a trembling voice. "The moment we saw you fly out with him… we thought—"
> "You thought?!" the Princess snapped, her voice rising like a wave crashing against rock. "You sent iron-birds to explode upon me and my future husband, and now you ask if I killed him? Insolent mortals."
Her wings stretched wider, a subtle warning.
Sergeant Brian stepped forward, trying to hold some composure. "Look… we only fired on the drones because we believed Henry might already be dead. If you give him to us, I promise you won't be harmed."
The Princess stared coldly.
> "And why should I trust a man who sends explosions to greet me from my thousand-year slumber?"
The tension nearly snapped—until a familiar voice broke the silence.
> "Then trust me!"
Tom Mathew pushed forward through the line of soldiers. His eyes red, face pale, voice shaking but determined. "You don't know me, but I'm Henry's younger brother. I know he's unconscious. And I'm begging you… please let me take him."
The Princess narrowed her eyes curiously. "You… claim blood ties with him?"
Tom nodded slowly. "Yes. I swear it."
But she didn't move.
> "Words mean nothing. Prove it," she said coldly. "Cut your palm. Three drops of blood must enter my mouth. If your taste and scent matches his… I'll believe you."
Tom stared, dumbfounded. "You… want to taste my blood?"
> "And your saliva, for absolute confirmation."
There was a beat of stunned silence.
> "This is the weirdest DNA test I've ever heard of," Joshua muttered under his breath.
Lilly whispered back, "This is next-level crazy…"
Before Tom could respond, a thunderous voice cut through the rising tension.
> "Did we come here for a picnic?!"
All heads turned toward General Oliver Richards, who was fuming, his face nearly purple with rage.
> "Forget whatever nonsense this creature just said! Ready the bazookas! I want her obliterated before sunset!"
Several soldiers hesitated. Even Brian seemed paralyzed.
Suddenly, a row of black SUVs skidded to a stop near the command line. Armed men in black tactical gear leapt out—bearing no insignia except one. The seal of the C.I.A.
From the lead vehicle stepped a sharply dressed man in his late fifties, wearing tinted glasses, trench coat, and a badge.
He didn't shout. He didn't bark.
He simply walked up to Oliver Richards, leaned in slightly, and said with calm authority—
> "General Richards, stand down. This operation is no longer under your command. You've endangered a diplomatic opportunity that reaches beyond the scope of your clearance."
The General blinked in disbelief. "You can't be serious—"
> "You have five minutes to pull your men back. The President has approved direct negotiation under our jurisdiction. If you don't comply, you will be court-martialed for obstruction and excessive force."
The soldiers lowered their weapons in sync.
The Princess tilted her head.
> "Well, well…" she whispered. "It seems this 'new world' of yours has some who understand power... and some who still cling
to fear.
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April 4th, 2022 – 2:31 P.M., Outside Caelum's Maw
The dust had begun to settle. Smoke rose in trails behind the charred wreckage of drone debris, and yet amidst it all, the dark-winged Princess stood like a figure carved from myth.
She slowly descended to the earth, her wings folding behind her like curtains of living night. With gentle care, she laid Henry Mathew down upon a patch of grass, cradling his head with a tenderness that made even the seasoned soldiers lower their weapons further.
Tom stepped forward. His face was a battlefield of emotions—grief, hope, anxiety—but most of all, determination.
"I'm ready," he said. "You said you needed my blood to prove I'm his brother."
Without hesitation, the CIA director's colleague, a clean-cut analyst named Agent Reid, stepped forward and handed Tom a sterile test tube and scalpel. Tom cut his palm without flinching, letting three drops fall into the container.
The Princess—still kneeling beside Henry—accepted the vial. She closed her eyes, sniffed the air, and brought the glass to her lips.
One drop.
Two.
Three.
She let out a slow, deliberate exhale.
> "Yes… This scent—this taste—it's the same. You are his blood. He is your kin."
Tom let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
From the side, Director Maxwell Miles raised a brow and asked dryly, "Do you also need the kid's saliva? Just to be sure?"
The Princess turned to him with mild amusement. "No. The blood was enough."
Director Miles nodded. "Good. Because I'm not turning this into a vampire-themed paternity test."
He then turned sharply to his team.
> "Start loading everyone into the transports. We're heading straight to CIA headquarters. Secure perimeter, prep medical teams for the boy, and get the diplomatic protocols ready for… her."
Before stepping into his vehicle, he cast one final glance toward General Oliver Richards.
> "And General, one more thing—"
"Yes?" the older man muttered begrudgingly.
"You're going to personally apologize to the Native American community's chief. For breaching a sacred zone without tribal consultation and turning it into a missile testing range. Do it now, or you'll be court-martialed before sundown."
Sergeant Brian Richards, stunned, turned to his father. "Dad… there's nothing left to argue. Just do it."
Oliver's fists clenched—but he gave a slight nod, his pride quietly bleeding into the dirt.
---
8:01 P.M. – CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
The ride had been long. Silent. Tense. But within the sterile, white-lit halls of the CIA's underground complex, a conference room had been cleared. No windows. One large table. Agents at the walls. Tom, Joshua, Lilly, and Brian seated near Henry, who was hooked to medical monitors.
And standing at the head of the table was the Princess.
No longer draped in dirt and smoke—now adorned in a black ceremonial cloak the agency had offered her—she radiated both nobility and danger.
Director Maxwell Miles adjusted his glasses. "Before we go further… I need to know who you are. Not what you are. But who you are."
The Princess turned toward him slowly. Her glowing red eyes softened only slightly.
> "I am Selene of Athens. First Princess of the Lunar Lineage. Daughter of Queen Lysandra, Warden of the Eastern Vaults of Gaia, and chosen blood-mate of the man you call Henry Mathew."
The room fell silent.
Joshua whispered to Lilly, "That… sounds like something straight out of Game of Thrones."
Selene's gaze turned toward them—just briefly—and both of them straightened like students before a headmistress.
Director Miles nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair.
> "Well then, Princess Selene… welcome to 2022."
---
April 4th, 2022 – 8:43 P.M., CIA Medical Wing, Langley Headquarters
The sterile white hum of the medical ward was broken by the subtle beep of monitors and hushed voices.
Suddenly—beep… beep… BEEP.
Henry Mathew's eyes flicked open.
At first, all he saw was a white ceiling… then a blurred outline of people around him. A man in a suit. A young woman with red hair. His brother. Joshua. Lilly. But the one that stood out most…
Was her.
A pale-skinned young woman with long raven-black hair and glowing red eyes, dressed like royalty from a bygone era.
> "Wh-who… Who are you?" Henry asked, blinking. "Do I… know you from somewhere?"
The strange woman smiled. Warm. Gentle.
She stepped forward, placed her finger on his forehead, and—
FLASH.
Visions flooded Henry's mind.
The cave.
The stone coffin.
The ancient language.
His hand opening it.
Her eyes glowing red in the darkness.
Fangs. Blood. Binding words.
When the images stopped, Henry gasped.
> "What the actual hell?! You're telling me I accidentally married you just because I opened a coffin?!"
Tom burst out laughing. So did Joshua. Even Lilly clutched her stomach, struggling to breathe.
Henry turned to them in disbelief.
> "How the heck is this even possible? How does a guy go from single college student to husband of a vampire princess in less than a day?"
Even the sharp-suited man standing behind the others—Director Maxwell Miles—chuckled and whispered to his colleague,
> "Wish I had that kind of luck. My arranged marriage is drier than Arizona in July."
Still confused, Henry turned to his younger brother.
> "What the hell are we even supposed to tell Mom and Dad back in the U.K.?!"
Tom leaned forward, grinning,
> "Easy. Just tell them: 'I screwed up real bad. Wanna come home… with the woman claiming to be my wife?'"
Lilly let out a squeak and burst into another laughing fit. Joshua leaned into the table, tears forming at the edge of his eyes.
The mood was light. Even joyful.
Until the Vampire Princess Selene stepped forward and said calmly—
> "I may be a Princess. I may be a Vampire. But I, too, wish to have children… Something even Arthur denied me."
She looked Henry dead in the eyes.
> "Now that you are my husband, it is your responsibility to fulfill that wish."
The room went dead silent. Henry's jaw dropped.
> "Children?! Already?!"
Before the awkwardness could bloom further, the doors opened—two more individuals stepped in:
A tall man in his early 50s wearing a black turtleneck and blazer, with salt-and-pepper hair—James Brick Sanders, CIA Vice-Director.
And beside him, a stern woman with sharp eyes, black heels, and a trench coat—Charlotte Brick Sanders, former field agent and current CIA psychological profiler.
Also known as… Joshua's parents.
Charlotte's gaze locked onto her son like a heat-seeking missile.
> "Joshua Brick Sanders. If any footage of what happened inside Caelum's Maw ends up on your YouTube channel…"
James finished the sentence,
> "You can imagine your vlogging channel erased, your favorite camera destroyed, and your CIA clearance revoked permanently."
Joshua's smirk vanished like a ghost in daylight. "Y-yes, sir. Got it."
Director Miles nodded with a teasing smile.
> "You heard your folks, son. Now picture all that happening… in 4K."
Lilly tried to protest. "But isn't America supposed to be the land of the free?"
Charlotte turned her eyes on Lilly and raised a brow.
> "And who is this naive girl?"
Joshua whispered quickly, "My girlfriend. Please don't traumatize her."
Charlotte blinked. "Noted. She needs a crash course in reality."
---
April 5th, 2022 – 9:10 P.M., CIA Headquarters, Langley
Henry Mathew sat on a metal chair in a conference room that felt far too official for his liking. His brother Tom sat next to him, nervously tapping his knee. Across the table, Joshua slumped, visibly terrified of his own parents, while Lilly clung to his arm, glaring at anyone who looked like they might yell at him again.
The tension was broken by Henry's exasperated voice:
> "Director Miles, Mr. Sanders—seriously. What exactly am I supposed to do now? You don't actually expect me to take this… Princess Selene back with me to the U.K., do you? Right? RIGHT?!"
Before the Director or Vice-Director could respond, Princess Selene, sitting with a posture of absolute grace, smiled faintly.
> "Do you not understand, my dear husband? I am like your shadow. You cannot get rid of me."
Henry's jaw dropped. "My shadow?! This isn't a romantic novel, Selene! Have you seen London immigration? I can't exactly stroll through Heathrow with a vampire princess in medieval armor and say, 'Hi, she's with me.'"
Director Maxwell Miles leaned forward, smirking.
> "Just tell them you have an American wife."
Henry blinked. "American wife? And what about the marriage certificate? You expect them to take my word for it?"
James Brick Sanders, Joshua's father, calmly adjusted his tie and replied,
> "Leave that to me. We'll forge—I mean, we'll handle the paperwork. But mark my words, boy, that… abomination—"
Selene's glowing red eyes instantly turned cold and narrowed on him.
> "—the princess—must leave U.S. soil after you finish college. You've got seven months. Make it work."
Joshua whispered to Lilly, "Did Dad just call a thousand-year-old vampire princess an abomination?"
Lilly whispered back, "Your parents are insane."
Before the awkwardness could settle, Charlotte Sanders—Joshua's mother—stood up and slammed her hand on the table.
> "Enough. If this so-called Princess Selene of Athens is staying near my family for the next several months, I'm interrogating her myself."
Henry blinked. "Interrogate her? As in, like, spy-movie interrogate?"
Charlotte crossed her arms.
> "Exactly. And you, young lady—" she said, pointing at Selene, "—are going to cooperate, or I'll personally see to it you don't leave this facility."
Selene arched an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her tone.
> "You dare speak to royalty in such a tone? How quaint. Fine. Let's see what this interrogation entails."
Director Miles, watching this unfold, sighed and rubbed his temples.
> "Like it or not, Henry, this is necessary. Orders came directly from President Biden himself. The Oval Office doesn't take chances with ancient vampires suddenly appearing on U.S. soil."
Henry groaned and looked at Tom.
> "We're so screwed. How do we even explain this to Mum and Dad?"
Tom snorted. "We don't. We let her explain. I want to see Mum's face when she hears you're married to a vampire."
Joshua burst into laughter, earning a glare from his parents.
---
The night air outside the C.I.A. headquarters was tense and heavy with silence. Henry, Tom, Joshua, Lilly, and Princess Selene were escorted out by two agents. It felt like the weight of everything that had happened—the cave, the coffin, the awakening—was pressing down on all of them.
But as soon as Selene stepped beyond the steel gates, her body froze. Her crimson eyes gleamed faintly as she turned back toward the building.
Henry noticed the sudden change immediately.
> "Selene? What's wrong?"
Selene's voice dropped into a low, dangerous tone.
> "There is… something in there. My enemy. A were-wolf."
Joshua's jaw dropped.
> "Wait, wait, wait. Did she just say were-wolf?" He turned to Henry and Tom. "Bro… what the heck are we supposed to do with that?"
Tom's eyes widened as his head snapped toward the building.
> "Are you kidding me? We've got CIA agents inside there—and werewolves? What's next, dragons?"
Selene's body trembled slightly, her nails sharpening instinctively. Her posture was rigid, like she was ready to storm back in and tear through the entire facility.
> "If one of them is hiding here," she hissed, "they are preparing to transform. My kind and theirs are sworn enemies. I will not let—"
"Selene! Stop!"
Lilly stepped forward, blocking Selene's path. Her voice carried both authority and fear.
> "Think for a second. This is the C.I.A. You start anything here, and you'll end up in solitary confinement or worse. Is that really what you want?"
Selene's glare softened slightly, but her eyes still burned.
> "…No. But I will not ignore this threat."
Lilly sighed in relief and looked at Joshua.
> "Josh, just tell your parents to stay alert. If someone inside leaves without clearance, we can assume they're hiding something. Maybe… this were-wolf thing she's talking about."
Joshua blinked, his brain struggling to process all of this.
> "Werewolves? Vampires? What's next, mermaids? Are we going to find out Atlantis is real too?"
Tom groaned loudly.
> "Bro, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised. Damn, I should've ordered pizza instead of following you guys into a death cave."
Henry ran a hand through his hair, his expression equal parts exhaustion and disbelief.
> "We need to give them a warning, Josh. Just… keep it simple. Tell your dad something's off. If Selene's right, we can't ignore this."
Selene crossed her arms, finally composed but still clearly agitated.
> "Stay vigilant. I will not let a beast of that kind escape unnoticed."
[End of Chapter-2]