Lia felt all the air leave her lungs and instinctively took a step back, her hand coming up from behind towards the door handle

"Turn that doorknob and you'll be surprised how easy it is to snap your mother's neck " came the Grim Reaper-like voice that almost made her spirit escape her body.

Lia shook her head fervently " T-this is impossible... I just saw you -"

He chuckled , deeply. " Anything is possible la mia bellezza if you truly believe " and began to approach her.

A light bulb suddenly went off in her head " Oh my God " Lia gasped " You can replicate yourself, that's your ability "

His lips twisted upwards " You're a smart one, I'll give you credit for that " He said and closed in on her.

Her back was firmly pressed against the door with no source of escape but Lia was not worried about herself ; If push comes to shove, she could hold her own in a fight , but she was more worried about her family.

Sure Trevor was a guy and could throw one or two punches but against a vampire with more experience and a fearsome ability, what could he do?.

Her mom would probably wield a flying pan but what damage can such a metal do to a vampire with an unimaginable regenerative ability.

Talk of Rex , he could pull off one or two of his combat pranks but he was just a kid who would be tossed to the side and stomped with just a feet.

In one word , her family is finished.

"And do you know the amazing fact about my ability? " He asked, his blood-red eyes staring straight into hers.

He must have been wearing contacts earlier since his cloned self had brown eyes which means he must have taken off his own contact lens before she arrived.

Vampires who feed on human blood have the signatory red eyes and would only return to their natural colour once the human blood in their system is exhausted or switch diet - that is feeding on animal blood. But to avoid questioning looks from the public or the Council's suspicion, they usually don contacts .

"Do you know, though my clones are under my control but they would develop minds and personalities of their own if they don't recombine with me or stay away from me for quite a long time " He whispered into her ears while she gulped nervously.

"So imagine if I kept a piece of me around your mom who looks quite smitten with me by the way, for a very very long time, what do you think would happen? it might even end up becoming your stepfather "

" You ! " Lia roared and raised her hand to hit him but he caught her hand in the air and though she struggled with him, he was a lot stronger and brought her hand down effortlessly. She might be a hybrid but this guy here has been a vampire for years, not to talk of his accumulated experiences.

Moreover , how could she not understand what he's trying to say. She has no clue why he approached her but if his replicate goes cross-purpose to his intentions, who knows what would happen? It might even become dangerous than him .

"What do you want from me? " Lia finally gathered the courage to ask . If Raphael wanted to end her family, he would've started with her mother and killed her long before she and her brother returned from school.

But since he hasn't done that and was clearly standing in front of her, it meant he needed something from her.

"That's the problem la mia bellezza " He muttered into her hair, rifling it with his mouth and making Lia super uncomfortable. He lifted her chin forcefully when he sensed her resistance and said to her "I need a lot from you but first, let's have a seat "

Lia didn't know what to feel anymore, the only thing she knew was that this guy must be crazy.

"Are you coming or should I make you? " came his calm yet threatening voice as he patted a side of the bed for her to sit on.

Sending him a look that could vaporize anyone on spot, she strode towards the bed and sat opposite from him.

"Good girl " He smiled and climbed further into the bed until their arms were touching.

" What do you want from me? " Lia repeated her question again, she was seriously tired of his shenanigans.

"Have you heard about stealing a mate? " He asked suddenly, stunning Lia who unconsciously shifted away from him but Raphael's arm wrapped around her waist and brought her back to her previous position.

"Chill, it's not yet time to steal you away from Asher" He said and released his grip on her waist.

Lia became wide-eyed with shock, what was going on? stealing mate? whose mate was he stealing? Asher's? wait a minute, that means her?!

"At first, I was insanely curious when I discovered Asher got a human mate " He began to confess and Lia calmed down a bit.

At lest he thinks she's a human which gives her an upper hand in this situation. It was no secret that most vampires detest humans, thinking of them as nothing but weak , fragile and their source of nutrition, so he wouldn't dare to think that she could do much bodily harm to him.

But it was not time to act yet, so she continued to listen to his gibberish "And then I became delirious with revenge but now.... " He looked into her eyes with blazing intensity "I want to know you, unravel you layers by layers cause there's something off about you "

Lia's breath hitched and her hands instinctively reached for her necklace tucked inside her shirt , wondering if the charm was still active cause Raphael's comment were beginning to strike uncomfortably close to home.

But unknown to her, Raphael's gaze followed every of her movement and his eyes twinkled as if he has stumbled upon a pile of gold.

"What do you mean there's something off about me ? " Lia asked curiously yet cautiously

"Your eyes " He said causing her to blink " I'm an adept user of contact lenses and so can tell when one's using it or not but you..... " He hesitated and leaned towards her " No supernatural creature has your eye colour talk more a human, what are you? "

"Trust me, you're not the first person to ask that , so get in line " She replied him and without warning, flicked out her talons intending to slash his throat , if not rip out his heart with it.

But it seems Raphael himself has been anticipating this move cause the moment her hand came dangerously close to his chest, he gripped her hand in a tight hold.

" Bingo ! Gotcha "