I SNIFFED. “That can’t be true. You hate me, don’t you?”“I wanted to hate you for leaving your King behind, but I couldn’t,” Zachary replied tenderly.“Weren’t you looking for me to punish me? To kill me?”A smile played at the corner of his lips. “You are still so naïve, Kate. Didn’t you know? There are many ways to punish someone without killing them. One of them is this,” he added as he pushed me down the bed.When he snapped, in a blink of an eye, I was no longer wearing anything. And when I felt my cheeks turning red out of embarrassment, he smirked before he ran his tongue over my neck. “Damn,” he whispered, his breath was hitting my ear. “Had I known that this was the best way to stop you from crying, I would have stripped you naked as soon as I saw tears falling down your cheeks.”I had a system error that night. What happened between me and the King was nothing but a system error on my part. That was what I had been telling myself again and again after discovering that I was
I HAD no idea how to stop this dream. But first, I need to get away from Zachary. I ripped his coat to free my hands and was about to push him away when he held me.Fury was visible in his eyes when he said, “Where do you think you are going? Will you escape again? It’s too late for that, Kate.”And then he pushed himself inside me. Against my better judgement, I found myself closing my eyes while embracing him as he took me again.“Open your eyes, Kate, and tell me the truth. Why did you leave? Where is this place? Where can I see you again?” he asked while thrusting. “If you don’t answer, I swear I will keep going.”I shook my head and just moaned when he bit me on the shoulder. It was harder this time, but just as gratifying. He kept asking, but I bit my lower lip and refused to answer. I saw the mixture of frustration, pleasure, and wrath in his eyes, but he could not seem to stop himself from moving on top of me.And then suddenly, I felt my ring finger burning. When I glanced at
OH, RIGHT. I almost forgot. There were a couple of things which Kate left in my room. Her broken glasses, her ripped clothing, the blood on the bedsheet, her lingering scent, and the memories that haunted me until today. It kept playing in an endless loop in my head.I could still remember every single thing that happened including Kate’s smile which was a rare occurrence since that was the first time ever I saw her smile at me while calling for my name again and again. I liked the sound of my name from her lips. And I didn’t know this before but Kate was the loveliest person in the world when she smiles.No one would be able to forget that smile once they had seen it.Each time I would close my eyes, I could still see the countless lovely things she kept hidden… including the dot under her left eye which I found really sexy and those perfect curves. I could still remember the softness and the warmth of her skin, the pleasant sound she makes when she moans, the way her body shivered a
(Damon)FROM a nameless Knight, I had seen Zachary rose to the throne and conquered the Rogues and his own people. When he was still serving as the General of the Army, the Vampires were more frightened of him than Valentino Gregory, the kind and compassionate King whom we served with all our hearts, may his soul rest in peace.The Knights who had been with His Majesty in the battlefield, who had seen him go to war against Rogues countless of times, would flinch just by seeing his brows furrow. He was famous not only for his strength and power, but only for his mood swings.Because when his mood swings strike, he could send people flying. And that same person whom everybody feared was currently suffering from lack of Kate Morelli. I grinned at the thought.I could still remember how the entire castle shook when the King found out that his favorite human was gone. We knew we were not going to die from the quake, but the aftershocks that followed were more than enough to give us heart a
“I DON’T do love, Damon. And have you forgotten? It’s women who fall in love with me. It’s never the other way around,” His Majesty replied after a few seconds of silence.He was saying that while staring at the fountain pen which Miss Morelli had given him last Christmas. The noble families and the other guests had given him things which were far more expensive than that, things that were custom-made to fit his taste. He had received tons of gifts that storing them in just one room was not enough.The rest were stored in the garage and in the farm since they were either cars or horses. And yet, he had given the gifts to his subordinates. We were free to choose what we wanted among them. Of course, I chose the sports car for myself. Tau and I even competed for it since the King had a rule that whoever would put their hands on the gifts first, they would be the lucky ones to have it.Tau rushed in the garage when he found out about the car. It was the first time I saw him ran that fast
I THINK His Majesty was about to tell me more about his beloved Miss Morelli when we were interrupted by the guard.“Pardon my intrusion, Your Majesty. The royal physician and the captain of the guards are here and are requesting to see you.”The King and I threw a quick glance at each other. It was unlikely for Doctor Juno to visit unless there was an urgent matter.“Let them in.”Not long after and Doctor Juno arrived along with Tau. Both of them had serious expressions. No, scratch that. Actually, they looked shaken which was odd and they were sweating buckets. What just happened?“Greetings, your majesty,” both of them said as they kneeled on the floor and lowered their heads.His Majesty’s brows scrunched. “I told you to skip that when it’s just us. Now stand up and get straight to the damn point. Why are your faces like that?”“Your Majesty, after checking the Hunter King’s body, we discovered something that requires your immediate attention. And we would like you to see it,” Do
“STAY where you are. When the preparations are done, I will come for you, Kate,” I remembered Alucard telling me over the phone. That was the night before I received Terrence’s last call.“Alucard? You’re alive?” He laughed. “What? Were you one of the Hunters who wanted me dead, too? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Kate. I’m going to live for a very long time, long enough to kill every Vampire in the world and to dominate the Hunters. I will reform them, get rid of the seniors, and transform everyone. We will be the best in the world, no one will be able to hurt us anymore, Kate. And then I’m going to marry you. You, me, and our future children will live in the palace I am preparing. We are going to be one happy family, Kate. That’s what you used to dream of when we were young, right? A family of your own. I still remember that. And I would fulfill it for you, I promise.”All the hair on my nape rose. I had known about his feelings for me and I had already rejected him. That was o
“KATE!”When Lilia tried raising her voice to get my attention, I blinked and stared at her blankly. The idea of Alucard coming back to the guild had brought memories I didn’t want to remember.Alucard was the only missing Hunter in the guild that’s why it was hard not to rule him out of the possible people who assassinated my brother. And Lilia was aware of that which explained her panic attack.I embraced her when I saw her having a hard time breathing. When we were kids, Lilia used to cry easily and was always too soft. That softness didn’t change after all the murders she had seen around her. That was also the reason why my brother fell in love with her and why I liked being with her.Then and now, Lilia was the only unchanging thing in our lives. She had not been into a lot of missions outside because she was considered as one of the weakest Hunters in the guild. She may be fragile and weak, but she was our source of strength. Being beside her had taught us gentleness. I turned h
(Zachary) IT WAS almost five in the afternoon. It was time to pick up swan from her campus. I was about to call the twins who were running around the lawn when I saw how Mira swooped in and carried Alain in one hand and Algernon in another. The twins were playing with their guards who were now sweating so hard. After getting caught by their sister, the boys pouted and lowered their heads. Their playfulness had never worked on my eldest. “What time is it now?” she asked the twins. “Five,” Alain answered. “It’s still three minutes and eleven seconds before five in the afternoon,” Algernon added. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mira asked again. The twins gasped and together, they said, “It’s time to pick up Mommy from the human realm!” “You finally remembered. Now go to your rooms and fix yourselves. Don’t come to her campus looking like that. Both of you were the ones who insisted on picking her up today and yet, you forgot?” The t
(Kate)IN THE middle of checking the photos the butler had sent regarding Algernon, I noticed Jonathan peeking at his wristwatch. There were more photos to look at. Others were about Mira. She sent the pictures herself. She was getting along really well with her friends. She had completely adapted to her hybrid life.Whenever I’m away, I can’t be at ease unless I see the reports about my children. Even with the blood link, the trauma the witches and the hunters had caused me will take a while to get rid of. And I was glad that Mira understood. She was the one who volunteered to send her daily pictures to me to keep me posted especially whenever they had school activities.But in time, I know the trauma will disappear.The other photos were regarding my husband and Alain who had caused troubles in the office. Violet sent them to me after giving me a call since she visited Damon there and brought him his blood bag. He caught the general in the l
“GREETINGS, your majesty and the prince,” everybody greeted. The women held onto the bottom of their skirts because the wind kept blowing them away.I held my little guy’s hand and put it down. The wind vanished. But when he looked up at me, he looked like he was about to cry as if I ruined his fun.“Don’t look at Daddy like that. Here. I brought your favorite toy,” I said and gave him his teddy bear. His smile came back as he grabbed the toy.The people sighed, relieved. But the aftermath of the trouble my son unconsciously caused was still palpable. I snapped my finger. In a blink of an eye, everything had turned back to normal.When we rode the elevator, Damon caught up to us. After bowing to give his greetings, he looked at me curiously.“My wife is in a meeting. I can’t leave the twins under the servants’ care. They already looked so stressed. I had to bring one of them. That’s the only way to appease my wife as well. I didn’t want her to worry all day,” I said before he could as
SEEING my wife like this reminded me of the phone call I received while I was still inspecting the border. That was around six in the evening.‘Your majesty?’ she asked in a low voice.I smiled and loosened my tie. There was something in her voice which made me feel hot even if it was windy outside. ‘Yes, swan?’‘What time are you going home tonight?’‘I’m not sure. There are still areas we haven’t visited yet. Why? Do you miss me already? What’s up with this sudden call?’ I teased.I never needed phone calls when I could always teleport whenever I miss her which happens constantly. Most of the time, I would show up in her workplace or in the twins’ room to steal a kiss from her and if I get lucky, we would do it quickly. I just could not get enough of her.I guess I never gave swan the chance to miss me that’s why after two years of our marriage, this was her first time calling me first.‘Nothing. I just called to say that… I’m not wearing any underwear tonight. And I’ve already prep
Two years later…I KNEW I would find her here. These past few months, I rarely see my wife in our chamber. She was constantly in Alain and Algernon’s room. Even if our twins had their own servants, she was still hands-on when it came to them.It was past eight in the evening. I normally come home at five in the afternoon but today, I went with the knights for the monthly inspection around the borders. Mira greeted me at the doorway a while ago and told me that she already had an early dinner with her mother. Still, I caught her stealing a blood bag in the fridge for a snack.When I heard that her mother was sleeping upstairs, I sent our eldest to bed after her snack and after monitoring her mana and her blood intake since today was Thursday and it was my turn to monitor it to keep her mana and her powers in check. The kingdom may be peaceful now and there were no more threats but after what Kate and Terrence had experienced, it would not hurt to be careful.Our children’s blood was li
(Zachary)I FINALLY get it. What they say about family, about parents. I thought I knew enough about parental love after being a father but Dayanara Gregory had shown us what a mother’s love was and why it was important.I had seen it when Swan covered for Mira after she bit her, when she looked at our daughter with wonder and affection in her eyes as she watched her play in the garden, when she brushed her hair, when she worried whether she had taken her meals or not, and when she kissed her at night as she wished her a sweet dream.Lastly, I saw it the night Swan was shackled. I saw how she strived to make sense of the situation when Mira ran to her, barefooted and with tears flowing down her cheeks. I saw how she broke her heart to appease our daughter’s heart while I stood there, unsure what word to say and what step to make, because I never understood the gravity of having a parent and losing one.All I understood was the pain of a husban
(Damon)ON the way to the castle, no music could be heard. Unlike before, there were no festivities. There were no children playing on the streets either. All the establishments were closed. The people I saw were wearing white.They hung lanterns in every house as their way of sending the queen off believing that the lanterns will light up her path towards another world.I continued to drive and stopped in front of the castle. The gates were opened for everyone who wished to visit the queen. There were more and more people coming by. I stepped out of the car and instantly heard the sound coming from the flute. It was from Jonathan who was in the garden, her highness’ favorite spot.He looked so lost as he played the flute which gave off a heart-wrenching sound. He hadn’t spoken a single word since yesterday. He hadn’t changed his clothes either. The queen’s blood on his uniform was still there. Even his hand still had her blood on
I KNOW it was wrong to feel this way because swan is still alive. She has to be alive or else, all those traveling, all those twelve duels just for one silly flower would not mean a thing, or else I would regret not being by her side for the past two days as she waited for me while enduring so much. “Swan, hang in there,” I whispered and forced a smile. “We are about to reach the top. Just take a nap for the meantime. I know you are tired. I will wake you when we get there.” It was already bright when we reached the top. I took the final step and stopped to look around us. The wind blew. My chest felt like it was being squeezed when I said, “Wake up, swan. Open your eyes, come on. We are on top of the mountain now. We fulfilled your wish. Do you see it? The scenery is as lovely as you said.” Again, there was silence. “You also said that it would feel liberating when you are one with nature like this. But swan, I don’t feel liberated at all. The beauty I
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