“You should get dressed first,” Leon said, smiling, “I’ll wait outside.”Akira nodded and then stared at Leon’s back when he left the room. When she is finally alone, she gets up from the bed and prepares herself. She set aside her emotion—anger.It didn’t take too long for her to get ready. When she came out of the room, as expected, Leon was already waiting for her and Loren, who would lead them to the interrogation room. It wasn’t far enough for them to use a car, they just walked for five minutes until they arrived. It was located at the end of the camp—where no one could easily sneak in as well as spy on the interrogation room since it was heavily guarded. At first, the three of them entered a tent that looked ordinary, however, when they got in, what greeted them was an elevator that seemed rusty and could have collapsed anytime. Leon is confused but Akira and Loren remain composed since they have been here before.Loren tapped her identification card on the right side of the e
[At the castle inside the Riparian Zone]“Leon, my son.” A stern voice greeted Leon as soon as he stood before his so-called father, sitting in the swivel chair. The room was dark, and his father's face couldn't be seen. Only the blood-red eyes were visible as if it was a monster lurking in the meadow.Leon didn't respond. He had no will to do so, especially since he didn't consider the man in front of him his father. He can't accept the fact that his father is none other than the vicious man bearing the title of the “tyrant vampire king.”Raellus Night Hale, the 99th king of Hale's vampire royalties. The tyrant who overthrew the previous king— with his power alone and his loyal subordinate. He is an egotistical, power-crazed vampire king.And Leon, being the tyrant's bastard son, makes him the castle's laughingstock for being the only half-blood vampire.Leon Rai Hale was the first son of Raellus and the next heir to the throne. Since he's a half-blood, his physical appearance is not
[At the Clemente's Mansion, Akira's House] The lights were flickering the moment Akira entered the house. Her white sneakers had blood on them. There were no sounds; everything was dead silence aside from her heavy breathing. Tears started to stream down her cheeks, along with the cold sweat from anxiousness and fear. The white-colored house was covered with blood; stains were everywhere as if marking the agony and despair of the humans that were killed. Her trembling knees didn't give up until she arrived at the house's back garden. It was then that her already trembling hands covered her mouth. And as if her feet became numb, she fell on her knee. Her eyes were wide open at the scene in front of her. The scenery that used to be beautiful in her memory was now painted red. “A-ah! N-no! No! Rue!---” Akira opened her eyes, cold sweat streaming down her face. Her eyes were blurry, with tears visible as if she had a nightmare. It took her a minute to recover from the scene in her dr
The loud music of the nightclub greeted Akira as soon as she walked in, which is expected for a lounge. As she scanned the area, she found luxurious interiors and wealthy individuals, as well as different lights that seemed to dance in time with the music, with the occasional dimming of the surroundings, which she liked. ‘Asaiah night bar.’ Raikan City's only famous nightclub. It is notable because it cannot be touched by authorities, even though numerous criminal activities occur here. Name it; it doesn't matter if it is drugs, violence, or human trafficking. Akira walked right up to the bar counter and glanced at the men and women shouting and dancing in the center of the bar. They're behaving strangely, which she finds enticing as the smoke causes the surroundings to become hazier over time. “What's yours, Miss?” the bartender asked. “Ten glasses of manhattan.” After a few minutes of receiving her order, the bartender handed her the glasses of liquor she had asked for. Akira s
Akira opened her eyes sleepily. She groaned when her head suddenly spun and ached as if it was about to split open— a hangover. “Ali…” She called sleepily, but there was no response. She sat and scanned the surroundings to find Ali, But instead of finding her, she realized that the room was unfamiliar. The room is pretty big and has a fashionable style and furniture. The ones that caught Akira's eyes were the picture frames with no pictures and books that were arranged well on the mini bookshelves. “This is not my room.” She whispered to herself in panic. A soft plumpy black sheet covered her, and when she removed it, her eyes widened. “Why are my clothes….” She said in disbelief. Her clothes changed into oversized white sleeves and a familiar scent, yet she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Next to her, a black tuxedo is lying as if it belonged to a person. ‘Tonight… I'll make an exception.’ She suddenly remembered the line of the man she danced with. Her heart started to beat a
Akira looked at Leon with a suspicious look. Her expression from earlier with trust changed drastically to distrust and anger towards him. The vampire prince in front of her—who is supposedly living in the Riparian zone. Her intuition is correct that vampires can somewhat escape the zone. Her heart suddenly thumps from anxiety, albeit faint. Akira also thought and was wary that Leon might be responsible for the women missing in the city. ‘Is he a vampire pervert who mates with humans?’ ‘Should I just kill him?’ Akira grinned at her evil thoughts. It's perfect timing for her; a prince who will be the next king of the vampires getting killed by a human is enough to entice her. ‘A pact without a leader is bound to collapse anyway.’ But what stopped her killing instinct was the image of her grandfather. ‘Damn it!’ Akira took a deep breath and looked at Leon, “You said you have a deal with me? Before I hear it, let me ask you a question.” “Alright.” Leon agreed, which made Akir
“What are you doing here, Miss Akira?” The voice of a man with forest-green eyes was the first thing Akira heard when the man got out of the black car. “You took your time coming here, Mr. Seneca. An hour!” Akira said in her sarcastic voice. She fans her face, which is blushing red because she stayed too long outside. Seneca Rigel Dawn, her competent and reliable secretary, walks toward her, holding a white umbrella. He is the one Akira had called. Seneca, who looks confused, turns his head to Leon, who is smiling at him. He immediately avoided him. “If I may ask, who is this man?” Seneca asked with his composed voice. Even though he knew who Leon was, he pretended not to know. “Ah, that man. He's the vampire crown prince.” Akira responded nonchalantly. She took the umbrella from Seneca and walked towards the car without waiting for a reply. She couldn't wait to leave the goddamn place far from the city. She's irritated as to why a vampire should carry her! As soon as she go
Akira stared blankly at the ceiling. It was late afternoon, but she still lay on her bed lazily; it was evident in her tired eyes that she didn't want to get up. Mainly she still reminisced about what she and her grandfather had argued about again during their conversation when they barely made up yesterday. “A bodyguard?” She scoffed and sat on her bed. She's smiling as if she can't believe her situation. She will have a bodyguard when she's one of the strongest people in her clan and the city. She turned her head on the door when it opened after a knock. Alisson came in with a smile and a tray of lunch with her. She set the lunch in front of Akira, “You have to eat; you didn't come for breakfast.” Akira sighed, “Ali, I feel this is the biggest problem in my life right now.” She signed language with a devastated expression. Alisson smiled, “I heard about it.” Akira's eyes widened, “What? When? With whom did you hear it?” “Well, everyone has been talking about it this morning
“You should get dressed first,” Leon said, smiling, “I’ll wait outside.”Akira nodded and then stared at Leon’s back when he left the room. When she is finally alone, she gets up from the bed and prepares herself. She set aside her emotion—anger.It didn’t take too long for her to get ready. When she came out of the room, as expected, Leon was already waiting for her and Loren, who would lead them to the interrogation room. It wasn’t far enough for them to use a car, they just walked for five minutes until they arrived. It was located at the end of the camp—where no one could easily sneak in as well as spy on the interrogation room since it was heavily guarded. At first, the three of them entered a tent that looked ordinary, however, when they got in, what greeted them was an elevator that seemed rusty and could have collapsed anytime. Leon is confused but Akira and Loren remain composed since they have been here before.Loren tapped her identification card on the right side of the e
Leon was sitting on the chair beside the bed where Akira was lying unconscious. He looked at her helplessly as he slowly held her hands. He immediately felt that warmth that he had dreamt of before. Leon then leaned in, and with both his hands now, he held her hand tight. “Wake up, Akira. Please,” he whispers as he shuts his eyes. It has been two days since Akira fell unconscious on the day of their mission. After restraining the target damphir in the parking lot, Leon immediately goes after Akira, only to find her in a fight with the dark damphir. And that's when Leon made himself a shield to protect her. But… “I'm sorry I couldn't protect you well," he whispered again. Tiredness could be seen on his face. He has bloodshot eyes, a sign that he cried for some time. His droopy shoulders replaced his well-mannered posture. He stayed in that position for a minute until he gazed at Akira's face when he felt a gaze. His eyes stopped at the golden eyes that were looking at him. A colo
The operation started. Akira was the bait, while Leon and Loren were to wait and ambush the damphir in the bar. They just arrived at the parking lot of the bar. Akira was seated in the passenger seat, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Be careful, Akira.” Suddenly, Leon left after saying that. Akira was gazing after him and felt strange. It kept happening, the sudden unwelcome feelings again. She shrugged her thoughts and soon left the car with Loren, who had heard what had just happened. “It’s best if you two are on the bar's upper level so that you guys can see me on the dance floor. I’ll be directing the attention on me so you’ll easily see me.” Akira had said, tucking the strand of her hair on her ear. Loren nodded, while Leon did not respond and only stared at her. That made Akira gulped and then looked away. “Let’s see each other after this….” Akira said and finally left the two. As usual, it was noisy inside the bar. But unlike before, when Akira visited here, she felt somethin
The morning came, and Akira already prepared herself. Today is the day they will depart to Asaiah night bar to investigate. She was wearing a soldier uniform of her clan. It was a spare clothes since all her clothes were smashed together in the car when ambushed. Akira looked at the right side of her bed, Leon’s bed. He was nowhere to be found after last night. ‘But if it wasn’t for your grandfather’s order, would you still stay here in one tent with me?’ Leon’s question last night popped out from Akira’s thought. She stopped cleaning her lanesra. Her brows arched, remembering how she couldn’t answer. It was just one question, yet her mind and heart fought—to find an exact answer. She was wondering why she couldn’t answer. She could’ve said she would not stay and that staying in one room with Leon frustrates and repulse her. She could’ve said that but remained silent until he left. ‘Why didn’t I reject his question?’ Akira pursed her lips and then continued to clean her lanesra
Akira along with Leon, two elders, and the three soldiers earlier have been listening to the report that was being presented by the general, Cedrick. ‘He was just appointed yesterday and yet he prepared all of this?’ Akira thought and scanned the organized reports in front of her. She couldn’t believe that the general was capable of doing a great job upon being appointed. “Based on the investigation of our soldiers, there are three places which have increased reports of the sighting of dhampir as well as missing women.” Cedrick, looking at the map, encircled the three places with a red marker.Akira continued to listen as she stared at the three places.She then chuckled and the attention was brought to her.“Those three places are….”“Yes, what you are thinking is right.” Cedrick suddenly said, pointing to the three places again, “It’s near the Clemente clan. At first, the soldiers aren’t able to realize this because the interval of the missing women is random and the cases are too
Akira firmly closed her eyes when Leon bit her neck. She had to hold her breath the moment she felt it, the pain— followed by the increasing temperature of her neck and her heart rate increasing. Her mind wasn’t in chaos like the last time and most of all, she…didn't feel repulsed. Akira opened her eyes when she felt that he was done. She was about to touch her neck when Leon grabbed her arm. Her heart was shocked because she almost instinctively looked at him. She’s not letting herself look at him for a while, especially if there is still blood in his mouth. The last time she looked, she immediately passed out after seeing the blood on Leon’s lips. “Don’t touch it for now,” Leon said in his soft voice. “Alright…” She responded, still not looking at him. Leon noticed this and did not remove his hands from Akira’s arm. He only stares at her. “Why are you not looking at me?” He asked, confused and anxious that maybe, Akira felt disgusted at the sight. Akira sighed as she looked at
The rain eventually poured as if telling Akira that she didn't have much of a choice but to let Leon carry her. Akira and Leon stare at each other under the pouring rain. It was then that Leon offered his hand—reaching for hers. “Will you let me carry you now?” Leon said as a warm smile flashed in his mouth. Akira avoided his gaze but eventually gave in. She reaches out her hand to him and then slowly, Leon walks in front of her. The heartbeat that Akira had heard was vivid once again—but this time, she knew that it was hers. Leon carried her—it was a bridal-style carry. Akira was, of course, awkward in that position. The closeness with him was enough to trouble her mind and there followed the thoughts that she couldn't even think of back then. “You should hold on well, Akira. At this rate, I'm afraid you'll fall.” Leon remarked when Akira was not holding onto him. Akira immediately thought of that time when they were escaping and fighting the vampires. The speed of that time wa
It has been an hour since they left the mansion. Leon, who was facing front, took a glance at Akira who had been silent. He found her sleeping while there were reports in her hand. Leon slowed the car and breathed in while staring at her. Surely, Akira let her guard down around him or maybe she was too tired, especially after their fight. Leon then stopped the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got near Akira who he noticed was uncomfortable in her position. Leon removed the reports that Akira was carrying and placed them somewhere. After that, he placed his hands on her head and slowly, brought her to a more comfortable position. Leon’s attention was caught by the gun, placed near Akira’s side. He stared at it for a while and when he broke that gaze, he felt the tension coming from Akira. “What the hell are you doing?” Akira said while glaring at Leon who was in front of her. Leon immediately turned his gaze which caught Akira off guard. Seeing his face up close was enough to ma
Akira once again woke up in her room. The memories of what had happened during the time she intended to kill Leon came rushing in on her mind as if embarrassing her first in the morning. She had to cover herself with a pillow to let out her internal screaming. She could not believe she had lost, and one of her three chances was gone. There were only two chances left. Akira irritatedly sat, her black hair quite messy, “That vamp...” She whispered and recalled what Leon did then: "...he sure doesn’t want to die. How dare he use jiu-jitsu that time.” Akira let out a deep sigh as she caressed her neck. ‘I should’ve used a weapon...that dagger.’ Akira thought with a grim expression on her face. She’s regretting now that she didn’t use weapons. Although it hurts her pride, she can’t deny it because Leon’s strength and ability clearly surpass the strength of a human—and maybe, Leon’s strength is much more than his race since he is the vampire crown prince. And one more bothered Akira, wh