Chapter 1

As soon as Rosien pulled out the dagger, he collected half a bowlful of blood.

He did not even spare me a glance before rushing the blood to Bertha.

I slid off the blood altar, blood soaking my dress, but no one spared me a glance.

After she drank my blood, the color returned to Bertha's face.

Rosien sighed with relief and pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Bertha, does it still hurt?"

She shook her head, wrapping both arms around his neck.

"I feel much better. I just feel terrible that I've delayed your blood pact with Katherine."

Rosien comforted her in a low voice, never once looking at me.

"Darling, you're the one who matters to me."

The two of them clung to each other for a long time before Rosien finally turned to me.

"Katherine, Bertha still isn't out of danger. Your blood is still effective. We may as well postpone our blood pact until the blood moon three days from now."

Bertha was a human Rosien had brought home.

Three years ago, she claimed that a vampire relic had wounded her when she saved Rosien's life.

Ever since then, whenever her illness flared, Rosien had drawn my blood to make medicine for her.

Rosien had made me a promise: after three years, whether Bertha recovered or not, he would marry me.

Yet he had postponed our wedding again and again.

I gripped the blood altar and forced myself upright.

"There's no need to postpone it. I don't want to marry you. Let's end our blood pact."

Rosien's face darkened.

"Katherine, I promised to marry you. You don't have to say that just to make things difficult for Bertha!"

Bertha clutched his hand, her eyes filling with tears.

"Rosien, it's my fault. Katherine has waited 200 years for you. Of course she hates me. If she wants to hit me or curse at me to vent her anger, let her."

Rosien gently rubbed her back.

When he looked at me again, his eyes were cold.

"It's just three more days. What do you have to be so upset about?"

I did not bother arguing.

In three days, none of this would matter to me anymore.

I dragged my weakened body back to my chambers.

The moment I walked in, several low-ranking vampire maids were carrying my things out.

They had cleared out nearly everything, from my jewelry and dresses to the keepsakes my mother had left me.

"Stop. How dare you touch my things?"

The maids barely acknowledged me.

"Miss Bertha isn't well. Your rooms are more comfortable. The prince ordered you to give the bridal chamber to Miss Bertha."

As we argued, Bertha appeared wearing my wedding dress.

On her head sat a crown set with a blood-red jewel that Rosien had spent 10 years searching for.

The day he set the jewel into the crown, he swore a solemn vow to me.

"Katherine, I chose to turn you into a vampire. I swear that I will love no one but you for all eternity. When your wedding dress is finished, I'll make a blood pact with you."

The wedding dress of my dreams was finally finished, but another woman was wearing it.

When Bertha noticed me staring, she hurried to unzip the dress.

"Katherine, I'm sorry. I only wanted to try it on. I never meant to steal Rosien from you."

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

Rosien rushed over and pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Bertha, don't take it off. It looks better on you anyway."

He smoothed her skirt before turning a cold look on me.

"It's just a dress. I'll tell the maids to get you another. Bertha can keep this one."

Watching them fawn over each other, I could no longer contain my anger.

I snatched up a pair of scissors from the table and strode toward them.

Rosien quickly pulled Bertha behind him.

"Katherine, what are you doing?"

The power of my bloodline surged out of control. Even the vampire prince began to tremble.

"I don't want it anymore, but no one gets to have it!"

I cut the dress to pieces until there was no saving it.

Bertha was so frightened that she wrapped both arms around herself.

"I-I just tried it on. How could you humiliate me like this!"

Rosien unleashed his power and seized my wrist.

"Katherine, apologize to Bertha, or I'll throw you in the dungeon!"

The dungeon was used to imprison criminals.

It drained a vampire's strength and caused bone-deep pain, even for high-ranking vampires.

When I refused to apologize, he summoned the elders.

He planned to use their combined bloodline pressure to force me to submit.

My power had not fully returned, and the pressure forced me to my knees.

"Since Katherine refuses to apologize to Bertha, throw her in the dungeon for a day and a night."

As the elders dragged me away, I turned and glared at Rosien.

"Rosien, I'll never forget what you did to me today. When the blood moon rises, I will make every one of you pay!"

Hundreds of years ago, the werewolves invaded the clan's capital.

My mother sacrificed herself to defeat their Alpha.

Before she died, she placed 99 seals within my body.

She wanted to seal away my power so I could live peacefully as an ordinary vampire.

Every time Rosien took my heart's blood, one of those seals broke.

My mother had told me exactly what would happen when the blood moon rose.

All 99 seals would break, and my full power would finally return.