Chapter 2

The main reason werewolves and vampires were willing to marry human men despite being incredibly powerful was their obsession with bloodlines. The nobler the lineage, the purer the blood.

When the purest bloodlines combined, they would produce the strongest offspring.

That was why my parents decided to marry me and Delroy off to the two great factions. No matter which side ended up having children with us, they would profit.

I put on a gentle smile, loosened my tie to reveal my solid chest, and walked up to Vivian. I brushed a slightly calloused hand lightly over her cheek.

Her expression eased a little, but in the next second, she grabbed my hand in a crushing grip and hurled me onto the bed. "If you dare contaminate my bloodline, don't blame me for eating you alive."

The stone bed dug into my back so hard it burned, but I kept my face calm. I wrapped my arms around Vivian and looked up at her with tender affection.

"Babe, what are you talking about? I only took so long because my father was telling me how to serve you properly."

Vivian's eyes remained cold and dark. Clearly, she didn't buy my story.

"Why wait until today to tell you that? Why didn't he do it a few days ago?"

I pressed my lips together, like I was struggling to say something shameful.

"Actually… there's another reason he came." I hesitated, as if torn. "He also told me to keep a secret."

I acted like I'd finally made up my mind. "But now that we're married, we're husband and wife. There shouldn't be any secrets between us. I only just found out that my brother, Delroy, isn't actually related to us by blood. He doesn't have noble blood at all. Do you think anything will happen to him if the vampire clan finds out?"

Vivian's eyes lit up at once. Her tail shot up behind her and started wagging happily. She immediately let go of me and bolted out the door.

Only when she was completely out of sight did I finally relax. No way was I sleeping with Vivian. With her size and viciousness in bed, she would probably leave me half-dead after one night. Luckily, my gamble paid off.

In my past life, Delroy had joined forces with my parents and insisted I was the one with impure blood. Vivian had stood there, gloating while watching.

Leila had slapped me almost immediately, but since I'd already gone through the First Embrace, she didn't kill me. This time around, I wondered if Delroy could survive the test.

…

Vivian stormed back into the base the next day, with Delroy, Leila, and Father behind her.

The moment she saw me, her eyes practically blazed with rage. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. "Where the hell did you actually go last night, you two-timing jerk? I asked your father. You weren't with him at all.

"And another thing—Delroy is the one with pure blood. You're the fraud! I can't believe you actually tried to taint the werewolf bloodline!"

Werewolves were incredibly strong. My head snapped to the side, and I spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several teeth.

I let myself collapse to the floor, eyes reddening as I stared at Father and shouted, "Are you still going to protect Delroy even now, Father?"

Then, I crawled toward Vivian, clutching at the hem of her pants as I pleaded, "Babe, please believe me. Look at me and my father—we're like carbon copies of each other. How could I not be of the Andrews bloodline?"

She looked down at me as I groveled at her feet, then looked over at Delroy behind her. In the end, she waved a hand and had me dragged off to the dungeon. "Don't worry, Titus. I'll get to the bottom of this."

I nodded. "I trust you, babe."

The dungeon was damp, grim, and full of death. Most of the prisoners were humans who had resisted, also known as demon hunters.

Because I was Vivian's husband, I was thrown into a cell of my own. I easily talked the guards into leaving. Only then did I scrutinize the man not far away, his whole body covered in blood.

"Don't you dare die. I know you're a demon hunter who got caught working as a mole on the inside. Trust me—I'll get you out of here, and I'll take your place as an even better mole," I said.

His drooping eyelids lifted a fraction. When he realized I didn't have a trace of magic, the corner of his lips curled into a mocking smile. "You?"

I nodded. "I'm Vivian Wolfe's brand-new husband. With a status like that, no one will ever suspect me."

"You're already in chains yourself. Why should I trust you? For all I know, they sent you here to pry information out of me."

His doubts didn't rattle me at all. I calmly laid out several key turning-point events from my past life. Then, I watched as his eyes shifted from being skeptical to shocked and finally to utterly convinced.

I knew it. This trip to the dungeons hadn't been for nothing. Now, it was time to get out.