Alle Kapitel von Annesa, Vampire King's Mate: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 16

The thick oak door, carved with ancient reliefs, was tightly closed, dulling all noise from outside the castle. In one of the deepest, most hidden meeting rooms of Eryx’s estate, the silence was so dense that a human’s heartbeat—had one been present—would have been clearly audible.The room was vastly different from the rest of the castle. There were no magnificent red silk drapes, no crystal chandeliers casting a warm glow, and no servants passing through carrying goblets. Even regular guards were forbidden from approaching this corridor. Two tall, heavily built vampires with cold gazes—the most loyal warriors trusted directly by Eryx—stood at attention outside the door, ensuring not a single pair of ears could eavesdrop.Faint candlelight cast long shadows across the long wooden table dominating the room. Spread across the aged, scratched surface of the table was a large map of the Vampire Kingdom.Several regions were marked in deep red ink—areas still entirely under the tight grip

(Gareth’s POV) Ever since my eyes opened at dawn, my mind was no longer entirely present inside the quiet space of my study. For over three hundred years spent traversing the wilderness of immortality, my brain had grown accustomed to operating like the precise mechanism of a silver clock—cold, structured, and dictated by rational numbers and medical data. Yet, since yesterday afternoon, a wild variable had hacked through the entire logical order I had painstakingly built. That variable was named Annesa. That morning, I intentionally turned down the servant’s offer to deliver a message. I chose to walk alone down the chilly corridors of Eryx’s residence, heading toward her quarters. I knew this defied my usual managerial protocol. A scientist was not supposed to personally pick up his research subject at her door. Yet, stepping out into the courtyard, a closed carriage adorned with dark wood accents was already prepared and

​(Eryx's POV)​In my study, enveloped in the aroma of aged wood and beeswax, the darkness always felt far thicker at night.​I stood alone near the large window facing south—toward the town where Gareth's laboratory stood beneath the shadow of the old church. My long fingers traced the blade of the silver dagger at my waist. In the dim reflection of the window pane, my pair of red eyes glowed faintly, reflecting the image of my long silver hair falling in waves over my shoulders.​Every time I looked out the window into the cold night, memories of my past as a human whispered back like poison.​Long ago, before this cursed immortality stripped away my humanity, I was merely a wealthy merchant selling rare goods and luxuries to the royal court. But the most bloody betrayal tore my life apart: the woman I loved deeply sold my devotion for wealth and status beside the Vampire King. That cruel man stole everything from me, she turned me into a monster