Chapter two

Earl, the vampire leader for the past one thousand years, sat at the dining table along with some elders of the clan who helped him with ruling the clan and making sure everything was in order.

He had just received another letter from the head of the human clan of the nearby village about his daughter, Marcelyn, and he felt sad.

Why wouldn't he? He was the vampire leader and he had made the rules, but his daughter was the one breaking those rules with no regard for his reputation.

If it had been any other person who did it, perhaps, it would not hurt Earl any bit, but for his daughter to break those rules meant that he would lose his authority as the leader if he didn't curb her on time.

He fingered the letter again and thought about the letter he had received in the past with the same report about his daughter.

He also wondered how many more letters he would get if nothing was done to stop the reason behind the letters.

Earl kept fingering the words in the letter that had been written to remind him about the deals between the humans and the vampires.

One thousand years ago, after Earl's father died from the war of dominance that had broken out between the humans and the vampires, and Earl became the vampire leader, he went to the human leader and made a pact with the man.

As long as the humans tolerated the vampires and they were allowed to live among them, Earl had assured the human leader that no vampire would ever feed on human blood again except that of animals.

After he had succeeded in convincing the human leader and elders, Earl returned home and was given the command that no vampire was allowed to drink from humans from that day on.

The rules had become effective immediately and no vampire had broken that rule until his daughter came into the picture.

"Get a bottle of vervain," Earl commanded one of the servants in the room.

"My lord." One of the elders at the table said.

"She's your daughter." Another one said as he tried to discourage their leader from the decision he was about to make.

"Exactly why I need to make an example out of her," Earl told the elders at the table.

"Get the vervain and make sure to mask the smell and taste." The leader commanded the servant he pointed to.

"Yes, my lord," the servant said, and walked out of the room.

"Please, reconsider your decision, my lord," Van, who was also one of the elders, said.

He was the youngest of the elders seated at the table and only a few years older than the leader's daughter, but he had merited the position with his bravery.

Earl knew that the young man was trying to dissuade him because he liked Marcelyn.

So many times, Earl had caught Van professing his love to his daughter, but Marcelyn never gave him any chance, which was a pity, since Van wouldn't mind a son-in-law like Earl.

"Only if she understands the errors of her ways and promises to change, then I'm willing to give her a second chance," Earl assured the man.

The vampire leader got up and began to pace around the room, waiting for his daughter to return.

He hoped that she would regret her actions and plead for forgiveness for her sin because he wasn't enthusiastic about losing his only daughter and child.

The servant returned with the vervain and set it on the table.

Earl walked over to it and smelled it.

When he was certain that Marcelyn wouldn't be able to determine the smell, he dropped it back on the table.

While the vervain doesn't kill vampires, it weakens them completely for a certain amount of time, which makes them vulnerable to enemies during those moments.

They had the door cracked and they all turned to see who it was, just in time to see Marcelyn pop her head in before the rest of her body followed.

"Hey, dad," Marcelyn greeted her father while she ignored the rest of the people in the room like they didn't exist.

She had just taken the first step to her room when her father's voice stopped her.

"We need to talk, young lady," Earl told his daughter in a voice that left no room for argument.

"I am not young," Marcelyn grunted at her father as she returned to the table where everyone was seated.

"You are only 300 years old.

Of course, you are young.

Just like humans consider their children babies, no matter their age," Earl told her.

Compared to his one thousand and five hundred years, Marcelyn was still a baby to him.

"Do not compare me to those pathetic humans," Marcelyn told her father.

Her black eyes gleamed with the hatred she felt for them despite their blackness.

Earl walked back to his seat, sat down, and held the letter up before he said anything.

"It's those humans we need to talk about, young lady.

This is about the seventh letter I would be receiving from the human clan over your deeds," Earl told her.

He dropped the paper on the table and tapped it lightly.

"How would you explain killing those innocent people, Marcelyn?" Her father asked.

"You worry yourself too much, dad.

Why do they need to report in the first place? They should come after me if they can," Marcelyn retorted and made to leave.

"I'm not done, young lady. So, where are you going?" Earl asked his daughter.

"I don't have time for this, dad," Marcelyn told her father.

"They are just food, so don't concern yourself over them." She said again, then she picked up the letter and read it.

"Why did they report again since they already placed a reward on me?" She asked in an amused tone.

Earl shook his head in surrender.

His daughter was already too set in her ways and there was nothing else that he could do to reform her.

It was a good thing he had made plans concerning her already.

"Sit down, young lady.

The elders and I were just discussing how to change the rules I had set about not drinking from humans.

How dare they set a reward on my daughter's head?" Earl said in an angry tone.