AFTER I threw the last blue rose on Alucard’s grave, I received a call. It was from the butler. The mages were still in the middle of their ritual as their way of sending Alucard off when I stepped out of the cemetery. I would have wanted Swan to attend the funeral but Alucard would not want that.
He might rise from his grave if I’d let her know about this.
“I’m in the middle of something important right now so this phone call better be worth my time, Larry,” I said after answering the call.
“This is important, your majesty. We currently have a vampire on the loose!” he reported in a tensed voice. In the background, I heard the sound of people screaming and something breaking.
“Right now? Where exactly? And who?”
“Here in the castle, your majesty. It’s… the Queen.”
“Tell lord Valencia to lead the warriors. I will be there soon.”
I clenched my ha
THE DARKNESS hadn’t completely taken over Kate yet or else, she would have been unstoppable. If her body could still respond to me like this, it meant that her body still remembered me and my touch. In her state, it would be impossible to lure her through blood, but I could lure her through something else.I pressed my lower half against her bottom and softly bit her shoulder. She was still resisting when I slid my fingers inside her tight opening. She clenched around me instantly.And heck, I got hard.“See that, swan? No matter who or what you become, you are still mine. You still crave for my touch.”“I am not yours, you moron!”“You deny it so vehemently and yet, you are already this wet just because I touched you once.” I wedged my knee between her thighs and rubbed my erection against her bottom and she stopped fighting. She began rolling her hips.“Swan? Are you back?”She d
“ANYTHING but that, swan. That’s a three-hundred-year-old vase. The butler had been taking care of that diligently for the past centuries. If you throw that, Larry would freak out for the next three hundred years,” I told Kate when I saw her raise the poor vase. That was her newest victim. “Come on, swan. Hand the vase to me. You used to like that, too.”I only got a hold of the real Kate for a while. This dark side of her had been dominating her body for the past fifty-eight hours. And she doesn’t sleep. We cannot afford to lower our guard for even a second because this sexy killer was awake all the freaking time which meant that she had been trying every possible way to target my ass for the past fifty-eight hours.If I don’t try to find a humor in this situation, my subordinates might end up sending me to a mental asylum.Kate’s actions these days had been heart-wrenching, but at times, when I look into her eyes, I feel like I could see the old her, begging me to save her.Yesterda
(Kate) “I WANT A DIVORCE,” I told Zachary when he came out from the bathroom. He had a fresh bruise on his right cheek, multiple scratches on his neck and chest, stab wounds on his arms and thighs that were just starting to heal. When Zachary caught me staring at his body, he put some clothes on but it was too late. I had already seen the damages I caused not only on his body but around me. Our room was a mess. There were broken chairs and windows. I could still smell his blood from the shattered glass from our wedding portrait, from the painting, from the vase, mirror, and the chandelier. The leather couch was ripped. Even the cotton from the throw pillows were everywhere. Zachary’s hair was still wet when he sat on the bed. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping for days now. I was not sure how long I was not myself. I was not even sure what I did before opening my eyes this morning. I just knew that my destructive side had caused all these. The chain
(Zachary)KATE’S words seeped deep into my mind and pierced my chest. She has a husband, a daughter, countless knights, and hundreds of subordinates. Yet, she suffered in silence all by herself to stop all of us from worrying. She must have been so lonely. Still, she hung in there.Seeing Swan like this was causing me unimaginable sorrow. Remembering her horror-stricken face as she stared at my face and body made it hard for me to breathe. This woman was still trying to be a queen as she bore the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders by still thinking of their welfare and by sacrificing herself.“If only I could suffer in your place, I would.”“I’m sorry, Zach,” she replied instead in a wistful voice.“For what?”Her trembling hands finally reached out to me although I could still sense her hesitation as if she was afraid that she would hurt me. I closed my eyes when I felt her hands on my face.“For being selfish. For asking you, of all people, to do this. If I die, my suffering wou
(Zachary)“I’M starting to hear them, Zach. Their voices, their screams. I thought I had pushed them all away already. But I didn’t. They are here.”Kate and I were lying on the bed. This was our third night since she came back, since I asked for seven days. And since then, I keep seeing her change. Her body was almost freezing now, she was wearing layers of clothes. My hell fire no longer helps in keeping her warm.I was behind her the whole time, embracing her, but even that was not enough. I pulled her closer to me.“I think I’m starting to lose it, Zach.”“No, Swan,” I whispered in her ear. “Don’t listen to them. What the voices tell you don’t matter. Focus only on my voice.”All of a sudden, we heard a sound coming from a musical instrument. It started with only the flute. And I know where it came from. It was from Jonathan. But a few seconds after and we started hearing the piano, the harp, and the violin.The symphony they were making filled our ears.“Do you hear that, swan? T
ZACHARY suddenly appeared and stood beside Mira. Her little fingers held her father’s hand while her other hand pointed at the knights’ direction.“Daddy, please stop the knights! They are bad! They are taking Mommy away from us!”Zachary held her hand. “I can’t. The knights are only doing their job. Mira, let’s head inside. It’s late. Come. I will explain everything to you in your room. I will tuck you to bed.”“No!” Mira struggled to free herself from her father’s grip. “Daddy, why are you like this, too? Why are you letting them take Mommy away? What did she ever do? Don’t you love her anymore?”Zachary could not respond, but I saw him press the sides of his eyes. He was trying not to get emotional in front of us. The family that we tried to build was falling apart because of me.“If you don’t love her anymore, then I will take her! Knights, leave my Mommy alone! Remove her chains! She didn’t do anything wrong for you to do this to her! If you don’t want her, I will take her with m
(Zachary)I WAS still catching my breath when the alpha stepped inside the ring. This will be my twelfth and final duel for tonight. I no longer had the energy to fight for a long time anymore. I need to use everything I have in one swing.Inside the arena, there were no vampires or wolves. Our fangs, claws, or identities do not matter. It will be our swords who will do the talking for us.When the bell rang which indicated the beginning of the duel, I hastily wiped the sweat off my forehead and took a deep breath.And when the alpha growled and ran to me, I met him halfway. I ran, extended my arms and raised them over my head. Before he could strike, I was able to cut his chest down in a single, controlled motion.“This is for you, swan,” I whispered, panting, when the referee raised my arm. I wiped the blood off my mouth as I claimed the gretus which the alpha king personally handed to me.“Congratulations, King Zachary,&
I WAS stunned. I could not move. I could not even speak.But when Kate was about to fall, my body automatically moved to catch her. The wind and the rain had stopped at once. The hunters vanished one by one as if their lives were linked with hers. Blood was still gushing from her chest when she tried to open her eyes.They were back to being blue.Jonathan pulled out the sword from her and kneeled before us.Kate proudly smiled at him and said, “T-thank you, Jonathan. You did well.” And then she turned to me. “Where have you been? I missed you, my husband.”I held her hand. “Doctor Juno is preparing the medicine. Wait a little more, swan. I will take you back home and-““No, Zach. I don’t think I could survive this anymore,” she whispered as she caressed my face. “Love, what took you so long? Where were you? I waited for you.”Tears streamed my cheeks. “I’m sorry, swan. I’m sorry for leaving your side. But why did you do that? I don’t need to live forever! What the hell am I going to