My Baby Daddy Isn’t Human

The days after the truth unraveled seemed to stretch longer than they should. The air inside the mansion felt different, charged with something unspoken, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see what she would do next.

Raelynn sat by the window of her room, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders even though it wasn't cold. The sky was the color of fogged glass, pale and quiet, and a breeze stirred the trees just beyond the stone balcony. She'd been watching the same branch sway for the past twenty minutes, but her thoughts were far more restless.

In the past few days, they'd come to her, one by one. Sloane, with her gentle voice and sad eyes. Kade, casual and open like he was telling her the sky was blue. Zake had said barely ten words but looked at her as if he expected her to bolt at any second. Reinhart had sat across from her and delivered it like a lecture, arms crossed, a brow raised like he was daring her to argue.

They were all different. But they all said the same thing.

We're vampires. We should have told you. Don't be afraid of us.

People. Could she still call them that?

Raelynn drew her knees up on the chair, resting her chin against them. She wasn't sure what unsettled her more—the truth, or the fact that it didn't change how they looked. Or sounded. Or acted. They were still them. Still Elion's people. Still the ones she'd spoken with, laughed with, stood near. Still the ones who made her feel safer than anyone had in a long time.

So why did it feel like everything had shifted sideways?

Her fingers gripped the edge of the blanket tighter.

If Axel hadn't come... would they have told her at all? Would Elion have confessed on his own? Or would they all keep pretending, letting her live inside a carefully constructed lie?

Her stomach twisted.

And Axel... she hadn't seen her since that night. Was she okay? Had Elion done something to her?

A soft knock broke the silence.

Raelynn turned slowly, her heart skipping as the door creaked open.

It was Elion.

He stood there in a dark button-down and black slacks, sleeves rolled to his elbows, hair slightly tousled. He didn't step inside, just leaned a shoulder against the frame, his hands in his pockets, watching her with careful eyes.

"Are you feeling up for a walk?" he asked, voice low but even.

Raelynn hesitated.

A walk. That was it. No explanations, no pressure. Just a walk.

She dropped her gaze to the blanket in her lap before giving a small nod.

"Alright."

Raelynn rose from the chair slowly, letting the blanket fall off her shoulders. There was no use getting cooped up in her room all day, and maybe a walk wasn't such a bad idea after all. It was better than sitting alone, thinking herself into knots.

**

The garden was quiet, the early evening light softening the edges of everything. The grass had a sheen from the late-day mist, and the air carried the faint scent of roses and something else Raelynn couldn't place—something older. Wilder.

She walked beside Elion, her arms folded, fingers gripping her elbows. He kept a polite distance, his stride slow enough to match hers. There was a strange calm between them, not uncomfortable, but certainly not easy either.

Birds flitted overhead. A breeze stirred the leaves. Somewhere in the trees, a bellflower chimed faintly from its stem, its tone too pure to be natural.

They didn't speak.

If it were any other day, Raelynn would've felt awkward about the silence. About walking next to him without exchanging a single word. But today, she was strangely grateful for it. Grateful they didn't have to talk. That there were no forced conversations or explanations.

She didn't have the energy to pretend she was okay. She didn't want to sift through half-truths or awkward pauses. And Elion… Elion wasn't trying to fill the silence either. He just let it be.

It was the kind of quiet that didn't press down on her, but instead gave her space to breathe.

Raelynn kept her eyes on the path, on the scattered petals, on the smooth stones beneath her shoes. Her thoughts churned, but her tongue stayed still. What was there to say? That she wasn't afraid anymore? That she still didn't fully understand? That she didn't know what to feel when he looked at her?

He'd been the one constant since all of this began. He'd saved her more than once. Held her when she cried. Touched her like she mattered.

And yet, he hadn't told her.

Elion glanced at her once, his expression unreadable. She didn't meet his gaze. Her arms stayed wrapped tightly around herself, like she could hold all her questions in if she just squeezed hard enough.

They left the garden path and wandered into the edge of the woods. The trees here grew close together, their roots thick, their leaves whispering secrets above them. The ground was soft, muffled. Enclosed.

Raelynn never imagined she would one day find herself walking into this part of the estate. The outer edge of the woods had always seemed off-limits—mysterious, quiet, almost sacred in its silence. And maybe it was. Elion had clearly stated in the house rule manual he gave her, while ago, that the area beyond the gardens was not to be entered without permission.

And yet, here she was. Walking beside him.

She wasn't sure if it was because things had changed—or maybe because she had changed. Or maybe because she was too tired to care about rules that were written before she knew what kind of place she had really stepped into. She glanced sideways at Elion, who walked quietly beside her.

He hadn't said a word about her being here. He hadn't reminded her of the rule. And so she assumed it was okay—as long as she was with him.

Every now and then, the wind brushed through the trees, soft and clean, carrying the scent of earth and something faintly sweet. It felt like another world.

A part of her, deep inside, whispered that this space wasn't meant for her. That she was trespassing. But Elion hadn't turned her back. And so, step by step, she followed the quiet path beside him.

It should have felt peaceful.

But Raelynn felt too exposed. Too visible and too blind all at once.

A squirrel darted across the moss. Somewhere farther ahead, something growled—low and deep. Not threatening. Just existing.

Raelynn stopped.

Elion stopped too, his steps slowing before he turned back to her.

Her gaze was distant as she looked past him, through the trees.

"I'm tired," she said quietly.

Elion straightened, his brow drawing together slightly.

She finally looked at him.

"I want to go back."

Maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all, Raelynn thought to herself as she took another slow step forward.

The fresh air had helped, even if only a little. It cleared a part of the fog in her head. Being out here, away from walls and whispers, away from people's eyes—even his—it gave her space to breathe.

But now, her legs were starting to feel heavy. The muscles in her lower back ached from too much standing and walking. And there was still that strange hollow weight in her chest she couldn't shake.

She stopped.

Just as she was turning to go, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Elion.

He came to her quickly, breath slightly uneven, eyes wide with concern. "Raelynn? Are you alright?"

His hands almost reached for her, but they hovered midair when she subtly stepped back, almost like she didn't want to be touched.

"I'm okay," she said softly, avoiding his eyes. "I just… I'm not sure I can walk much farther."

Her voice wasn't angry. Just tired. So very tired.

Elion's hands fell to his sides, but he didn't hide the way his fingers flexed—restless, like he didn't know what to do with them.

"I should've known this was too much," he said. "I just thought—maybe getting out of that room…"

"I know," she interrupted, still not meeting his gaze. "I get it. I just need to lie down."

Elion took a small step back to give her space. "Of course. Let's go back."

Raelynn nodded once, a barely-there movement, and started back toward the mansion, her steps slower now. Elion followed beside her, careful not to get too close.

And in the silence that stretched between them, the wind whispered through the trees like it was saying everything they didn't. was no anger in her voice. No accusation. But something about it still made Elion feel like she had just built a wall between them, brick by brick, with those two small sentences.

Raelynn turned without another word and began walking back the way they came.

Elion watched her for a moment longer, his hands curling into fists at his sides. The wind tugged at his shirt, rustling the leaves around him. His eyes stayed on her retreating figure until the trees swallowed her up.