Chapter 1

The crash occurred in a split second, and before I knew it, a shrill ringing echoed in my ears.

I clamped my hands over my ears.

Cecilia, on the other hand, had bolted to the middle of the road.

She crouched over a woman on the ground, pumping her chest and performing mouth-to-mouth while yelling at the onlookers.

“Call an ambulance! Get help!”

More and more vampires were drawn to the commotion.

“What happened here?”

“A group of vampire hunters ran the woman down and took off. They claimed it was to retaliate against the Vampire Prince while making a run for it.”

“The one from House Dracul? Good lord, those hunters have some nerve.”

Even though chatter filled the air, no one called for medical assistance. Cecilia’s voice was laced with anger.

“Don’t just stand there! She’s dying!”

Cecilia was dressed to perfection, not a single strand of hair out of place.

Add that look of concern, and anyone would have mistaken her for an angel.

At long last, the ambulance arrived on the scene.

She shouted at the crowd blocking the path. “Get out of the way! Clear the path! She’s fading fast!”

Cecilia turned to the paramedics rushing off the vehicle and reported the number of compressions and timeline with practiced ease, as if she had done it a thousand times before.

She gripped the paramedic’s hand. “Please! You have to save her!”

The vampires, who held nothing but contempt for humans, were stunned by her hysteria. For a moment, no one came down hard on her.

The paramedic responded right away, “We’ll do our best. Are you a family member?”

Cecilia shook her head, her eyes wide and innocent.

“I don’t know the woman. I was just passing by. As fellow humans, we ought to help each other out.

“I can ride along in the ambulance. I’ll cover her medical bills.”

Duped by her act, the paramedics gushed about how nice she was.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Cecilia’s lips. Amid the murmurs of admiration around her, she helped the paramedics move the injured woman into the back of the vehicle.

While all the attention was on the victim, Cecilia slipped Isabella’s phone into her pocket.

As the ambulance pulled away, sirens wailing, I stayed put for another half an hour.

Sure enough, the one I was waiting for finally showed up.

A black sedan pulled up to the curb, and a man in a dark trench coat stepped out from the passenger side.

His crimson eyes were a dead giveaway that he was a vampire.

As one of the human doctors the hospital had specifically hired to care for Isabella, I recognized him instantly.

He was Lucien Ashford, Alistair’s personal butler.

Lucien looked around with a frown before approaching a vampire officer.

Hiding behind a tree, I shot Cecilia a text.

“I saw a picture of you online. What have you done?”

Cecilia’s reply came almost immediately. “None of your business.”

I stared at the screen and chuckled.

Cecilia had read far too many vampire romance novels.

She genuinely believed these vampire royalties, who had been around for centuries, were some hopeless romantic.

Ever since Alistair rescued her from the fangs of a feral blood thrall, Cecilia had fallen head over heels for him. She was convinced that Alistair was the one.

She started digging into everything she could find about him. She didn’t back down upon learning that Alistair was a Vampire Prince. If anything, it only made her more convinced that she was the heroine of some epic romance between a mortal woman and immortal royalty.

Cecilia started showing up at the hospital every day under the pretense of visiting me, hoping for another chance to see him. Eventually, she managed to run into Alistair. She thanked him, only to stumble upon the truth.

The only reason Alistair stepped in to save her was that her face reminded her of a younger Isabella.

After that day, Cecilia never saw Alistair again.

For a moment there, I honestly thought she would give up.

I couldn’t be more wrong.

To Cecilia, Isabella was nothing more than the stereotypical villainess from one of those cheesy romance novels—the woman who stood between the hero and heroine.

She wanted to remove that obstacle. She wanted Isabella dead.

In my previous life, I ruined her carefully laid plans and warned her that she was playing with fire.

In turn, Cecilia slipped me a sedative and dumped me into a lair of blood thralls.

In this life, I was taking a different approach.

Just as I was about to leave, a call came from the hospital. Since Isabella was gravely hurt and in need of a blood transfusion, I was ordered back to the hospital on my day off.

One of the main reasons I’d been hired for this highly paid position was because Isabella and I shared a rare blood type.

So the call came as no surprise.

I made haste to the hospital. Once my blood was drawn, I opened the door to the waiting room.

Spotting me, Cecilia froze and asked stiffly, “What are you doing here?”

“The hospital is running low on blood supply, so I came by to help.” I peered at her. “Besides, I’m a doctor. Is it strange for me to be here?”

I paused. “I should be the one to ask you that.”

I’d given her plenty of warnings in my previous life. More than once, I’d even threatened, “Keep this up, and I’ll tell the Vampire Prince everything.”

Cecilia likely felt uneasy due to my presence.

She squeezed a smile. “I was just helping someone in need.”

“Oh,” I replied flatly. Slumping into my seat, I closed my eyes and pretended to rest.

Cecilia couldn’t leave the situation at that.

She leaned closer, her voice muffled and her eyes terrifyingly bright.

“Nora, you’ve met Alistair’s wife. We look identical, don’t we?

“Alistair admitted to my face that I look exactly like she does when she was younger. Once she dies, I’ll reign as the Princess.”

Her voice rose at the end, practically dripping with smugness and anticipation.

I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. “You’ve clearly been reading too many novels. What do you take vampires for? Do you really think becoming the Vampire Prince’s bride is a walk in the park?”