Regaining consciousness hurt. The drilling headache felt like my brain was about to explode. I was blindfolded and gagged. The tight rope was binding my ankles and wrists together as if I was some kind of animal on its way to the slaughter house. I was cold. I could still feel my light dress on me, and my bare feet were freezing.
From the shakes and bumps that tossed my body around, I guessed that I was inside some vehicle, going in an unknown direction. I knew I had to find out more about the situation I was in. I lied on one side and started rubbing my face against the floor, hoping to remove my blindfold. I removed it from one eye, then I rolled over to the other side, and finally, the blindfold came off. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. It was dark and the only light came from a half-inch-diameter control bulb. Nonetheless, it was enough for me to realize I was inside the trunk. I strengthened my focus to look for any sharp objects. Certainly, I was aware that those w
Sariel pulled me out of the trunk. I couldn't stand on my two feet. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I fell straight into his arms. "Be careful." He chuckled, helping me lean against the car he pulled me out of. "H-how?" I mumbled while shivering from the cold. He looked me up and down, then took off his coat and covered me with it. "We have to go now. We're in the pack's territory, and more wolves will be coming here in no time," he stated, grabbing my hand and leading me somewhere. I looked at the coat he gave me; there were stains of blood on it, but Sariel wasn't the one injured. He looked as perfect as ever, wearing his black suit and dark grey shirt. I cautiously looked around. Only then did I see we were on the road in the middle of the forest. The path that we were walking down was painted in blood, wolf blood. There were four cars that were crushed into each other, and there were dead bodies all around them. It looked like slaug
I gasped while my hammering heart constantly reminded me how close I was to a state of complete panic. Yet, I needed to focus. I had to clear my mind and force some logic and rationality into my actions. "Stop the car," I commanded firmly. "I thought I told you, we have no time for it," Sariel grunted. "You look like you are going to lose consciousness any second, so stop the damn car!" I roared. "And who is going to drive?!" he fumed. "I will," I stated, composedly. "Do you even have a driving license?" He smirked. "No, but I know how to drive," I replied confidently. He sneered and kept driving. It seemed like he put so much confidence in his abilities that he had never even considered that he might need help from someone else. I had to take a different approach. "Have you called Leo? Have you told him that you found me?" I asked, knowing that he would rather contact his right-hand man. "No," he respon
I drove carefully. The last thing I wanted was to attract the police's attention. I didn't care much about getting a ticket for driving without a license, but it would delay getting into the Calvet estate, and Sariel's time was running out quickly. Fortunately, the road was empty. I took a turn onto a private road leading up a hill. I kept glimpsing at Sariel, watching him lose and regain his awareness while breathing heavily as the poison slowly corrupted his heart. I was terrified. I didn't know what I was doing. I only hoped that taking Sariel to the Calvet's estate was the right move. Perhaps I should have cut my neck and then placed my bleeding flesh underneath Sariel's teeth. Perhaps I should have done it, but I was a coward. The last thing I wanted was to force him, and I couldn't bear it if he started to hate me. That was why I was willing to do whatever I could to save him without doing a single thing against him. Using my blood was my last resort. Finally,
"Don't come any closer!" Sariel roared, pushing me away from his bed. "You know, this is the only way!" I cried out. "I know…" He turned his head away from me. I could see how he tensely clenched his jaw. I could see him gritting his teeth and doing everything he could to hold back his overgrowing bloodlust, yet it was a battle he was bound to lose. "The bookshelf… Look for Dante's Divine Comedy and pull the book out a bit…" He panted, pointing at the corner of his chamber. I didn't know what he meant by that, but I walked over there and found the book. Once I pulled it out, the whole bookshelf moved, opening a secret room hidden behind it. I gasped and looked at Sariel, hoping for more instructions. "Take the shackles…" he said faintly while stabbing his claws into the bed frame. "If I am to bite you, I need something to restrain my strength…" I walked into the room. As I entered, the lights turned on. There was a wall-size sh
I couldn't recall the last time I slept as soundly as that night. Perhaps it was due to my exhaustion and loss of blood, but nonetheless, it was a good sleep. I woke up naked. Silk sheets lightly caressed my skin. As soon as I opened my eyes, my lips formed a faint smile, which immediately added a flush to my face as the flashes of last night brought back everything that had happened. Uncontrollably, I covered most of my face to hide the blush, then I realized that I was in bed lying alone. I nervously looked around the room and sighed in relief as soon as I saw Sariel standing by the window. He was facing the sunrise. He was naked. All his amazing features and sculpture-like muscles were clearly visible. I caught myself admiring the view and couldn't stop thinking that he looked like an angel, the most perfect creature that I had ever seen. The light of the sun that found its way through the window grazed his skin. I gasped, wondering how he could stay there so calm.
Both Sariel and Will locked their eyes on me, anticipating my reaction, but I wasn't sure how to react. Half of my heart jumped for joy that I had something valuable to give Sariel, but the other half kept screaming that I had already been in this kind of situation. I hated being an item, someone's priceless possession. An owner would never have feelings for his "thing", no matter how precious, and at that moment I felt like I became literally a blood bag. "Wow… I have never fought that I would become someone's energy drink…" I muttered, smiling bitterly. "Lilith…" Will sighed, his hands reaching out to soothe me. "That's not—" "You don't get it, Lilith, do you?" Sariel burst out, cutting Will off, "You are the only one with my mark. You are my woman." He gazed confidently into my eyes. Once again, half of my heart called for a celebration, while the other half treated Sariel's words as another reason to be restless. "I just…" I sealed my lips
I entered a state of shock, gaping my eyes at Sariel and trying hard to comprehend his words. It looked like I was the only one who had problems with acknowledging my new position since everyone else bowed down to me after hearing Sariel's words. "What?" I muttered softly to Sariel. "You heard it well." He smirked slyly. "I don't even know what that means!" I argued in a low voice. "Don't worry too much. Leo will teach you everything you need to know." He smiled and stroked my hair. I smiled, feeling the panic rising within me. All those people standing in front of me showed me absolute respect. I had never received this kind of treatment from anyone. For a second, I started to wonder, would I have been treated in the pack in a familiar way if I were born as a wolf? Those thoughts immediately painted a bitter smile on my face, but I had to quit wondering and focus on my situation and new, completely unexpected position… Sariel held my
Only pure-blood vampire families deserved to have a noble title. Until recently, there used to be five noble, pure-blood vampire families. Of course, after the annihilation of the Adragnas, the noble families were down to four. The noble family was allowed to keep the title, as long as there was at least one pure-blood member living in the family. The Grimoards were currently down to three family members. Two of them were pure-bloods: King Mael and Princess Elora, and there was also a half-blood, Prince Kanan, who resembled more of a human than a vampire. After the assassination of the former Duke and Duchess, the Calvet name was held by only two members: Sariel and his sister, Dominique. The other noble families that could potentially aim for the throne were the Desai family and the Orseolo family. The Desais originally came from India, where they were once worshiped as gods. There were currently four pure-blood noble vampires in their family, yet all of them seemed relativ