Chapter 3

With his jaw dropping wide open, the man lunged for my throat.

Thinking on my feet, I stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth and knocked him down to the floor with a kick.

The big guy wasn’t so tough, after all. He folded like a house of cards.

Trevor said that the necklace held a Cerberus.

Who was this weakling?

The man hadn’t realized how frail his body had become, likely from not feeding for far too long.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, woman. I’ll show you a real fight once I’ve had some sustenance.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied dismissively while gathering some tomatoes from my little patch garden.

It made sense to keep the man alive, seeing that he was a gift from my ex-husband.

The man glanced at the tomatoes in my hand before his gaze fell back on me.

His eyes practically screamed, “Are you kidding me?”

“Take it or leave it.” I was infuriated.

He had the nerve to snub my home-grown, organic, and pesticide-free produce!

Lost in his emotions, the man took a while before hissing, “Fine.”

It wasn’t until he had stripped my vegetable patch bare that he gained the strength to get on his feet. Still, his face remained pale.

“Do you know who I am?”

I shook my head.

“I am your greatest nightmare, the very thing you fear the most.”

My eyes widened. “Are you—”

The man nodded in relief.

“Poor?”

“I am Ryker Ashcroft, the Vampire Lord.”

The nerve of Trevor to give me a necklace with the Vampire Lord sealed inside.

Legend had it that the werewolves and vampires had been at war for centuries. During the Great War three years ago, both races suffered massive losses. Trevor sealed Ryker away while Ryker’s last attack left Trevor with severe injuries and amnesia.

Clearly, Trevor had tamed Ryker, given that he was presented as a gift.

I examined my deluxe package from head to toe.

Judging by his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and good looks, he was a definite heart throb.

He wore nothing but a clock around his shoulders, his bare chest peeking out.

A deep scar ran across his chest, likely the work of Trevor.

Concerned that his weak frame might slow things down on the farm, I asked, “Vampires fear the sun. Don’t you?”

Ryker scoffed and uttered in delight, “Only the lowly dread sunlight. I am the leader of my kind, so the sun doesn’t burn me anymore. Nothing can kill me now!”

“Oh,” I responded indifferently.

“In that case, how did Trevor manage to seal you in a rock?”

Ryker’s eyes glistened with resentment.

“Trevor cheated! He ambushed me while I was in the bath. I wouldn’t have been locked away otherwise.”

I made a face. “By your account, everybody must have seen you naked. It’s a bit much for me.”

Ryker’s face turned red with rage.

He looked at me warily. “Wow, you have a tongue on you.

“I’m going to give you a chance of a lifetime. You can live as long as I do if you let me turn you.”

It was getting late.

I had a long day of herding ahead of me. To save my strength, I slipped under the covers.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I just want to sleep.”

While in slumber, I could pick up on a presence approaching and tucking me tight in bed.

How sweet.

Trevor used to do the same when I went to bed.

Somehow, I developed the habit of falling asleep in someone else’s arms.

I rolled over and pulled him into a firm embrace.

Ryker put up a fight at first.

I smacked him in annoyance.

“Shut it!”

Sure enough, silence fell.

Lying still, Ryker was trapped in my grip the whole night.

For once, I slept like a baby.