It was late at night around Dracula’s castle. The clouds covering the large structure during the day have faded to reveal an almost full yellow moon along the horizon.

Lisa stood outside on the balcony connecting to the castle’s master bedroom. The moon’s otherworldly luster seemed to be entrancing her. Human or not, it was a beautiful sight to behold.

“Enjoying the moonlight while looking like that?” A low voice quietly echoes behind her.

A robe is placed on top of Lisa and forced around her. The culprit was her husband, Dracula. He leans down and pecks the exposed area on her neck.

“Afraid that someone might see me? What a jealous man you are. Am I not allowed to walk around my own home in a night gown?” she teased in return, rubbing her fingers through her husband’s silky white hair.

“I wouldn’t call it jealousy, so much as it is me trying to protect you, my dear.”

She noted how it had just been freshly washed and how his facial hair had been groomed. He was also dressed in some of his best attire instead of something more casual and comfortable to cuddle in.

That’s right. There will be some visitors tonight. Some nobles from a vampiric territory in London will be visiting for political reasons.

Too back for Lisa. Even though Dracula prefers the nocturnal life, he always lays in bed with Lisa until she falls asleep. Sometimes he will even sleep through the night himself. While he doesn’t need sleep, resting still has its perks.

Lisa’s face drooped at the thought. Dracula noticed right away.

“What’s wrong, Beloved?”

“I’m going to be lonely without you tonight…” she admitted, giving her husband a pained smile.

“Ah, so you remember me telling you about my meeting tonight. Well, I still have a little bit of time before our guests arrive. Shall I tuck you into bed in the meantime?” Dracula asked as he picked his little wife up.

Lisa nodded almost shyly. While moments like these weren’t uncommon for the two love bats, Lisa still felt bad about making the king of all vampires perform these little gestures for her when he was already busy.

Dracula chuckled in response and pecked her forehead. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Really, it is no trouble at all. Am I not allowed to spoil my wife?” he teased as he carried Lisa inside.

The dark lord left some reassuring pats onto his bride’s back as he set her onto their large shared bed. As Lisa took the robe gifted to her back off, a flick of Dracula’s fingers sent it flying onto a hanger in the bathroom with his black magic. He then manually tucked her into the satin colored comforter, giving it a small pat on her stomach when he was done.

“Would you like something to read?”

Lisa shook her head but her soft smile never left her face.

“It’s already late enough as it is. I should get some sleep.”

A smug grin formed on Dracula's face. He leaned over Lisa, playfully showing dominance.

“Are you sure? You don’t even want to read something I wrote? I’ll have you know that I’ve been working on a new textbook in alchemical engineering.” he pressured, his face now only a foot away from his wife.

“I’m fine, you ferocious monster.”

Lisa giggled and playfully pushed her husband’s face away. Dracula retorted by acting like he was going to bite her neck. But instead of a full bite, he only nibbled on her flesh and then left a kiss there afterwards. Then another kiss was exchanged on the lips.

But before Dracula could bid her goodnight, Lisa still had a few questions for him.

Dracula tended to have a short temper. She had seen first hand the consequences of his anger on more than one occasion. Many people have lost their lives, both human and vampire, simply because they have said the wrong thing to the dark lord. While he has gotten better at avoiding it, Dracula still tends to let his anger injure those who do not deserve such harsh punishment.

“Wait.”

Dracula turns around. He was only half way to the door.

“Yes? I’m listening,” he responded, curiously. What could have had his wife so worked up after such a passionate goodnight?

“Are you sure that you will be alright?”

The dark lord cocked his head.

“What do you mean?

Lisa glanced at the door. She thought it was obvious.

“P-Please don’t commit any unnecessary murder, alright? You seem to be more volatile as of late. I worry about you…and everyone else under your wing,” the dismayed bride explained.

Dracula almost seemed a little offended by the notion, but chose to brush it off because he himself was also in his wife’s prayers. She cared about his emotions, and that was good enough for him. So he gave her one last small grin.

“Do not worry about me, or the visitors. In all honesty, I have no intention of making this a tedious meeting. We are just going to discuss some simple matters. That is all.”

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. Dracula let out a sigh of his own in response to his wife’s supposed nativity. This is the problem when two different beings think so differently and have different cultures.

She didn’t even notice that Dracula was back over at the bed. A little smirk was hidden under his mustache. It was obvious that he was planning something.

“Perhaps I will be able to control myself if you lend me a little bit of your power?” the Count asked as he tapped a spot on his cheek with his nail.

Lisa giggled. He always did have a way with words and asking for things. No wonder he was considered the most noble of vampires.

“If it will help you, then I will gladly oblige.”

And so, the little bride left a good night peck on her beloved husband’s cheek. Another kiss was left on his lips for good measure. Then the Count left for the door once again.

“Good night, my beloved wife. May you have pleasant dreams tonight. I will personally make sure that nothing disturbs you. But if I happen to be too busy anyway, feel free to call Death or the guards outside your door for assistance.”

“Will do. And may you have a non tedious meeting.”

Then Dracula gently closed the door, careful not to make too much noise with it. He gave one last wink before he was gone from Lisa’s line of sight.

Now it was time to get her much needed sleep. Lisa leaned back onto the pillows that her husband so generously prepared for her. Then she closed her eyes.

But sleep would just not come to her. She looked to her right. The empty half of the bed was proving to be her defeat. She wanted the vampire next to her. For comfort and for reassurance.

The little human woman has slept without him before, but this time was proving to be exceedingly difficult. So she grabbed one of the pillows on Dracula’s side of the bed and clutched it, hoping that it had his scent.

It didn’t, unfortunately. The servants must have washed the bed sheets like they do every four days. While Lisa was thankful for their hard work, this was the one time she wished they hadn’t been so diligent on their duties.

Instead of throwing the pillow back on Dracula’s side of the bed, she kept it to her side, hoping for some level of comfort. And after at least a half an hour, sleep finally beckoned the human woman.

Not much was happening in her dream. The only thing she saw was her husband’s face smiling back at her. But that was good enough for her. Dracula was always there and yet, she still missed him.

Lisa reached her arms out for the vampire. She wished to grab his cheeks. She wanted another kiss from him.

But before she could even grab him, he becomes angry and uses his claws to slash her away. She is suddenly woken up by the sound of low growling. Her hazy eyesight soon clears to reveal a very large being towering right over her. Its jaws were open, seemingly ready to take a huge bite out of her.

Large fangs were suspended over the sleepy woman, struggling not to take a bite out of her. Fangs strong enough to rip through steel and kill any and everything. Trails of saliva drooped from in between the monster’s teeth onto the little woman’s cheeks. And yet, Lisa did not move.

Right away, she knew who this was. Not just any monster could hold itself back like this one could when faced with a fresh meal. And a delectable looking one at that.

Lisa only stared at the monster sleepily for a second. Then she brought her arm to the beast’s ogre-like cheek. It felt soft and squishy but it was also lined with scales, much like a snake’s. It was also very warm to the touch, unlike a certain vampire’s humanoid form.

“Are you…Vlad…?” Lisa asked quietly despite knowing full well that the answer is yes.

The behemoth’s mouth snapped shut. It suddenly seemed…embarrassed. Its cheeks were even hotter, its skin now a beet red color. How cute.

In retaliation, the large beast flashed its pupils at Lisa, now a bright crimson red. A dark aura flooded from the beast as it engulfed its victim in a drowsy haze. Soon, she was fast asleep once more as the large demon wrapped her in his big, burly arms.

“My lady, is everything all right in there?” the voice of a mere servant asked. The beast’s head jerked to the direction of the door, silently hissing. The lady of the castle needed their assistance earlier. Why are they just now showing up?

At the same time, the beast was feeling tired. Both physically and mentally. Not wanting to be seen by anyone else, it crashes through one of the larger windows and flies off into the night sky, Lisa still in his arms. The only witnesses were a few harpies, bats, and Death itself.

“I wonder where he’s going?” the deity asks nonchalantly.

When Lisa woke back up, she noticed that she was in a cave. It was pretty large. A small fire pit was lit as it stormed horrendously outside. There was even some cloth, a cooking pot, and other supplies nearby.

And she was also being restrained by something. No, someone. It was the strange, yet familiar beast from before. Lisa was being held tightly in his arms as he slept on top of a large piece of cloth, which was being insulated and supported by a pile of dry leaves. It seemed to have his larger wings wrapped around itself like a bat would.

As comfy Lisa felt, she wanted to free herself and figure out what was going on. Only with some serious prying was she able to free herself and manage to not wake the monster up. She also noted that she was completely dry despite the heavy downpour.

Did the beast go out of its way to keep her dry…? Eh, probably because it didn’t want a soggy meal.

Lisa looked back at the peacefully sleeping demon. It was burly and its color was mostly a pale purple. The only areas where it was colored differently were its bat-like wings and parts of its stomach, which were a pale magenta. It had silky white hair which was combed back, and a beard to match it, much like her beloved husband. The only difference was that it was missing the mustache that he always adorned.

While one might find this being to be frightening, Lisa could only grin as the beast quietly snored as it tried to swaddle itself more into its own wings. The snoring sounded a lot like a lower pitched version of Dracula’s when he would sometimes instinctively breathe as he slept, even though he didn’t need to. It was simply his body reminiscing of his human days.

Lisa decided to let the sleeping beast be. After all, what if it did finally try to eat her once it wakes up? She certainly didn’t want to hang around and find out.

So Lisa carefully treaded towards the cave’s exit. She was extremely careful not to wake her sleeping captor. No doubt those large, bat wing-like ears could hear something as quiet as a pin drop.

However, any hopes she had of escaping were quickly cut off by the horrendous downpour outside. If Lisa were to make it back to the castle, she would have to endure being drenched and possibly catching a cold in the process. But was that really such a bad trade off to being eaten?

A low groan could be heard at the opposite side of the cave. No doubt the monster was waking up. Just her luck…

It looked up at her right as she was about to take her first steps into the storm. It was now or never.

“Wait!” the beast spoke. He held out his hand as if begging for her not to leave. Between that and its familiar accent, Lisa chose to obey. She looked back at her captor, not with fear, but with curiosity.

The beast tried to speak further but failed. All it could do was slightly lower its arm as its mouth drooped into a sorrowful frown.

“I’m…sorry for dragging you out here…my love. I…”

Lisa turned around entirely now. This was definitely him. Her beloved husband, Count Dracula. He turned his head away in shame and failed to get any more words out. Normally he was witty with his words, but this situation was proving difficult for him.

He hoped that his little dove never saw him like this.

“So…you are Vlad…?” Lisa asked gently. Dracula was silent for a second.

“Yes. I am. I was hoping that you would never see me like this. Yet, here we are…”

Some nervous laughter left the Count. This was the most awkward he felt since he and Lisa first began their relationship. It was like everything had come full circle and they were starting all over again.

Except this was one hundred times more difficult than before.

Lisa started making her way to her husband, only to be stopped by the seemingly sentient appendages on Dracula’s demonic form growing interested in her.

“Do not be afraid. They are a part of me. And you know that I have no intention of hurting you.”

Lisa admitted to herself that even if this really was Dracula, it was very unnerving seeing this…monster, talk to her like that. Dracula tried to make it easier by pushing his two tails away. One went back on command but he had to manually push back the other. Then he sat up onto his makeshift bed and held his arm out for his beloved.

Lisa was still hesitant. But there was one feature that she failed to see before all of this. The ring that was on Dracula’s left hand. His wedding ring. Despite him being much bigger now, it still managed to fit him. The ruby and gold that decorated it glowed in the fire’s light.

This alone gave Lisa the courage to tread forward. Her demon king awaited her.

As she was doing this, she looked down at her own left hand. Of course, she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring. She always took it off before she went to bed. It was natural and Dracula didn’t mind it.

Letting her focus loose, Lisa tripped on her own feet. She was caught by her husband with the help of the more unruly tail that managed to grab the back of her dress. Her face was now right in front of her husband, whose breath smelled heavily of blood and even flesh. And a hint of booze.

“Are you alright? I’m glad that I was able to catch you in time,” Dracula sighed as he set his little wife down onto his lap. The eye on his stomach closed to prevent irritation from the contact, though Lisa was having a hard time leaning against it in the first place. So instead, she leaned against his arm.

“I-I’m fine…” she replied hesitantly.

Some awkward silence ensued between the two.

“You must find me very frightening, don’t you?”

“A little, yes, but I find it easier to deal with now.”

Dracula chuckled awkwardly. Of course it was because they knew each other very well that she would say that. Still, he found this to be much more appealing than her outright running away.

“Why do you look like this?” Lisa inquired as she rubbed his arm, trying to get a feel for its texture. Dracula started to purr at the touch, but cut himself off in order to answer.

“It looks like your wishes didn’t work this time,” he explained. “Those vulgar pests. It was one thing after another with them. They continued to belittle me without any fear of their consequences. I finally lost what little temper I had left when they started to insult you.”

Lisa looked right up into Dracula’s eyes at the mention of her name. The ones on his face, not his stomach. The latter started to fiddle with her hair.

“I will not lie to you. I take on this form when I request Satan for his power. But I also seem to turn into this…being when my anger and hatred get to a high enough level.”

“Ah. That certainly makes a lot of sense if you get that power from Chaos itself…”

Dracula turned his head away again. He knew how his wife felt about Chaos.

“Did you…kill them? The guests I mean?” Lisa stuttered, fearing her husband’s answer. Dracula sighed.

“I did. I could not control myself. Even so, no one is allowed to say such heinous things about you! Whether you are a human or not!” Dracula replied as his unoccupied hand flung behind him and bored a massive crack in the cave’s wall. Lisa flinched at the loud sound it made.

She rubbed his arm once again, trying desperately to keep him calm. After a while, Dracula let out a rumbling purr again.

“What did you do after you killed them?”

“I sought after you. I knew I needed to be near you if I wanted to calm down. And yet…” Dracula trails off.

Lisa blushed. No matter how many times he said something like that, it always touched her heart that such a powerful being found so much comfort in her.

“You didn’t see me do…” he trails off again.

“Do what? Bare your fangs at me?” Lisa smiled.

Dracula rubs his face and groans upon hearing that. The wings around his torso embarrassingly try to cover his groin as reflex. Lisa giggled in response.

“I really do apologize for that. I still wasn’t in complete control of myself when I reunited with you. But you looked so…delectable.”

Dracula tries to cut himself off again as he begins to salivate. It’s true, he found his own wife delicious. In more ways than one as a matter of fact.

Her blood was always as sweet as honeyed wine. Like the finest of ambrosia. Yet he always watches himself when he would take a bite out of her. Too much will leave his precious bride pale and fatigued. So he only ever treated it as a monthly reward.

Truth be told, Dracula had no plans to even drink his wife’s blood. Just the idea left him with an enormous amount of guilt. And yet, Lisa willingly obliged. Whether it was because she trusted him, she knew that he needed blood to survive, or because she simply wanted to make him happy was hard to say.

“And what do you mean by delectable?” Lisa teased the giant. Dracula coughed in response, thrown off by that sudden implication.

“I-I, er well, I, you–”

“It's okay. I know what you mean. I was only teasing you.”

Dracula was becoming so flustered. It seemed that even this form didn’t help him have any dominance over his wife. She still ran the show.

He had to think for a second. Looking down at his beloved, now comfortably in his arms and listening to his quaint purring, eased any tension he had left. She was content with him now, even in this form. All it took was a little risk, trust, and communication.

“I just want you to know,” Dracula started. Lisa looked back up at him. “Even in this monstrous form, I still love you very much. No matter if I bare my fangs to you or not, I still think you are my perfect little angel. My beloved little dove. And I still do not regret wedding you. I hope you feel the same way.”

Lisa’s face turned beet red. Hearing this giant demon say that was oddly romantic and hot. The Count didn’t notice her because he glanced at his wedding ring, smiling at it.

“No, I don’t regret it either. How could I when you, vampire or demon, love me so? You have taught me so many things and continue to do so. You are always there when I need it. And you are as sweet as a little puppy who simply wants to cuddle. N-Not to mention very handsome and always well dressed. How could I regret marrying you?”

“Handsome you say?” Dracula cooed as he leaned down and smirked at his beloved. Now it was his turn to tease her. “Am I still handsome now?”

“Yes.” Lisa answered confidently right off the bat. It threw Dracula off as both he and the four appendages with mouths looked startled.

“Is that a joke?”

“It actually isn’t. I love you just the way you are, my king. Whether you are a vampire, a bat, a wolf, a mist in the wind, or even a monster, I will always love you for all eternity.”

Dracula’s body heat rose drastically as nearly his entire body turned magenta for a second. He so badly wanted to kiss his beloved. Each word she would say was more enticing than the last.

“If that is true, then may I have a kiss?” he asked gently.

Lisa studied him. His lips were much larger than in his humanoid vampiric form. Plus, those fans, larger than the ones he usually had, might get in the way. And yet, Lisa wanted to explore this new Dracula. She wanted to see what he was capable of.

“Of course, darling. I love you.”

“I love you too. So very much…” Dracula whispered as he hummed into a kiss. Meanwhile, he used his tail to push the unruly one out of the way so that it didn’t steal his glory.

Lisa admitted that the taste of this monster was much bloodier than usual. But the fact that she was used to it and the lingering taste of bourbon made it easy to digest. The taste of the whisky was honestly very delicious.

Dracula’s tongue explored every bit of his wife’s mouth, desperate for some form of peace. It was Lisa’s own tongue pushing him a way that he had to finally retract. Even so, they still continued with prolonged pecks on each other’s lips. Finally, Lisa had to catch her breath.

“Feeling any better?” Lisa asked, her hand’s still on her husband’s cheeks.

“Yes. Very much so. Would you like to head back? You must be exhausted from everything that has happened.

Lisa leaned against the dark lord’s chest as she petted the unruly tail, which came around to see her.

“No. Let’s stay here for just a little while longer.”