CHAPTER TWO: VALENTIN-OCTAVIAN SANGUINE

Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc.  

MY EYES followed the hands of the grand clock while potato-lying on the couch, then sighed heavily after. I did it simultaneously for a minute now, I think. “Ha!” I puffed after sulking my head to the pillow. I am so bored! Please, someone, get me out of this hellhole.

After what happened last day, Father decided to tighten my security by caging me in my room, guards on the balcony, and guards on the door. If anything, they gave me a bell to call the maids whenever I need something. I’ve tried talking to them, but it seems like my father already warned them already how good am I with talking.

“I wonder what the flowers on the balcony look like… Can you help me take a look?”

“You are not allowed to leave the four corners of this room, milady. My humble apologies.” the lady who brought my food, “apologized” with a cold voice.

“Psst… I forgot my barrette in the rest room, can you go take a look?”

“We are not allowed to leave these doors, milady. We’ll manage to get it for you later, my humble apologies.” The man guarding my door didn’t even glance at me.

I flatly laid my back on the bed, giving up. I guess there is no choice but to wait for my Father to come back, that’s what Giovanni told me when he locked me off here.

“You are such a child.”

My brows furrowed with the hearing of a familiar gentle voice. Am I going crazy or did I just hear Giovanni’s sister talking to me?  I slowly tilt my head to see and gasped in excitement when I realized I’m not just hallucinating. “Everleigh!”

She chuckled when I jumped to hug her tightly. “And still as giddy as ever,” and then kissed my cheeks after hugging me back.

“I missed you,” I stared at her after letting go. “But… aren’t you supposed to be in Concordia right now?”

Besides being Giovanni’s little sister, Everleigh is my best friend. She is Lord Gustavo Octavian’s one and only beloved daughter. Royal daughters like us are required to go to finishing school and that is where our friendship truly bloomed. Everleigh is naturally so quiet and shy, and she often gets bullied for that. Being her only friend, I was the only one who stood up for her at those times.  But I’m glad that she’s doing good in the school she’s attending now, the Concordia. A well-known school for music.

“Just a little break,” she winked. She moves graciously while scanning my room, gently touching the pieces of jewelry and mirror. Then, she clapped her hand two times suddenly, two ladies with a bunch of embellished dresses and sparkling accessories came in right away.

Startled, they grab me in my arms and make me sit in front of the mirror. “W-Wait—”

“And I came here to help you dress up for the special supper,” Everleigh said with a proud smirk on her lips.

“With whom?”

Her eyes twinkled in excitement. “Us.”

Octavians.

I SAT ON the floor in my own room, too dumbfounded to even sit properly. There’s a lot going on in my mind right now and I don’t even know how to handle them all.

The first thing I remember is going to that dinner… and then the rest is chaos.

“Here they are,”

On a long fancy table and feast, different unfamiliar faces have gathered. I want to hug myself when I felt how cold and dead the room felt. As I looked carefully, vampires with different races and bloodlines. However, all of their aurae screams power and superiority, as they hold the red blood wine and lay at their seats like it’s their own throne.

This is the Valentin-Octavian Bloodline, I whispered to myself as I stand there stunned, their hawk-like eyes on me as If I am their prey, and one wrong move feels like a sin.

“Luna.”

I secretly thanked the winds when Giovanni finally offered me a seat, just beside him. While Everleigh sat beside her father. I feel like they are gonna burn me alive with their gazes If I stand there for too long. Even though I am already sitting, I still can feel their heated gazes upon me.

“Bonum Vesperum, familia et amicis! [Good evening, family and friends!]”

Lord Gustavo, Giovanni’s father, welcomed us with a hearty laugh. The Octavian’s Lineage family head is known for being mischievous and playful despite his elite standing in society. It is a bit obvious that his own did not inherit from him.

“Hac nocte collegimus ad celebrandam unionem duarum familiarum, Octaviani et Valentini, heredem meum, Giovanni et Luna Valentin.” [We have gathered tonight to celebrate the union of the two families, Octavian and Valentin, through my heir, Giovanni, and Luna Valentin.]

The smile I tried so hard to plaster in front of them slowly fades. The realization splashed within me like cold water, waking my senses up. The engagement those ladies in the streets have been talking about, Everleigh’s strange excitement over this, and Father’s reason for visiting Aerith regardless of how long I’ve persuaded him to do so a long time ago.

 I searched for Everleigh’s eyes for some answers, but she only winked at me for the second time. I sighed and tried to find my father’s next, but he was busy sipping wine and prettily wiping his lips with satin. He looked relaxed for a man whose daughter’s going to be married any time forward.

Not knowing what to do, I looked over at the man beside me. The very reason I am in such a situation. To my surprise, Giovanni remained stern and emotionless while looking at his father, not even the slightest confusion in his face.“What is this?” Frustrated, I leaned at him and whispered secretly at his ears, only to be totally startled at his next move.

He grabbed me in the waist so fast to the point that my ears could touch his lips already, then whispered in a faint and rasping voice, “Behave and wait for your turn, Luna.”

He let go of me but his grip stayed at my waist. It’s like my mouth magically sewed itself as I felt my mouth unable to speak. His words and his arms on my waist worked like magic that it made me real shut and still.

“Sed parum videtur Valentinus huius rei conscius, mi frater.” [But it seems like our little Valentin is not even aware of this matter, my dear brother.]  

Matertera Matilda, my late mother’s relative, even though talking to Father, stared at me straight with her crimson red eyes. I unconsciously swallowed the invisible air in my mouth. Her sultry yet spine-chilling voice never failed to scare me every time.

“Matrimonium est processus crucialis qui duas prominentes sanguinis lineas coniungit, credo non cito fieri.” [A marriage is a crucial process that unites two prominent bloodlines together, I believe it is not to be done hastily.]

"Si ita est, matrimonium est impossibile." [If that’s the case, then marriage is impossible.”]

All of the people, except Giovanni and I, joined the discussion about our “marriage”. To summarize, the majority of the table is obviously not pleased and disapproved of the matter. Of a sudden, I want to stand up and shout to their faces that the person involved, which is me, should be the one making a judgment. But I’m afraid that Giovanni’s tight grip on my belly won’t even give me the chance to move a bit.

Then slowly, his hands left my waist in a gentle manner, I raised my head in confusion as he slowly stands up. His presence is that too much that the commotion between them quickly vanished. Giovanni stood there proudly, and look at everyone with so much authority, like telling us to shut up and listen to him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to apologize for the misunderstanding.”

His voice is the only one reigning in this four-cornered hall. No one dared to interrupt.

“It’s true that Luna has no idea about the matter,” he continued. “That’s how surprises work.”

I saw how others’ faces filled with embarrassment and confusion. However, Matertera Matilda just flashed a small smirk, as if she was amused. Father and Lord Gustavo did the same as if they were not expecting the stone-cold Giovanni to speak such sarcasm.

“Primum, patribus nostris gratias agere volo,” [First, I want to thank our fathers,] shivers went down my spine when he started speaking in Latin. He looked over their seats and nodded. Then, swiftly moved his gaze toward me. "Et rogas domina mea quaestio valde magna,” [And ask my lady a very important question] I stared at his hand that is offering me to stand up and join him. Although a bit shocked, the pressure everyone’s eyes weighed upon me had me take it without hesitation.

“Honorem mihi fiere coniugis vultis?”

I SOAKED my head deep in the waters as my mind drowned in its own sea of thoughts. Lost and eyes closed, I let myself sink in the vast, wide oceans of Iunae Lumen.

Valentin-Octavian Lineage is a prominent bloodline, families of vampires circa 1517. Founded by Lucius Octavian and Aurelia Valentin, a legacy that our ancestors managed to preserve through the centuries. The tradition of marriage between these two families is strictly followed, and all of us are well-educated enough about that. It’s just that it never occurs to me that the one I will marry is that man. Octavian’s mysterious, and cunning firstborn.

Giovanni is destined to reign and conquer the whole of the Aerith Kingdom. Everyone wants to be associated with him, to be associated with his power. That’s why how they reacted to the engagement a while ago did not shock me anymore, and I highly doubt that this ‘engagement’ is enough to stop them from pursuing what they want.

Especially after what I’ve done.

“Will you do the honor of becoming my wife?”

Everyone is waiting. Matertera Matilda, Everleigh, Lord Gustavo… and Father.

My mind went blank, the pressure is eating me up. I know I should say yes, but my mind is too confused to even form a single word.

Then, it just happened.

I jumped through the glasses and ran as fast as I can. I didn’t know how I did it, but no one was able to stop me.

I ran and ran without even knowing where to go until I remember that place. Without a second thought, I went through the dark tunnel outside the palace.

Now, I’m stuck here. Lost in the depths of the Lumen, away from their soul-seeking gazes and venomous words. 

Suddenly, the solemn scenery was disturbed by a massive and loud splash in the water. It harshly woke my spirit and consciousness, my mind was quick to perceive that someone had just dived in but my reflexes weren’t. Before I can even move, a firm grip encircled my waist and lift me up in a swift and forced manner.

The way I catch my breath after is so heavy as if I just ran through the tallest hills in this kingdom. I didn’t notice that I’m holding my breath for a long time already. We are able to exceed mortal’s abilities but just like them, most vampires die in the same way they did. That’s why we still need to take good care of our physical body, despite being soulless and half-dead.

I almost died. I almost drowned. Well, if not for the man who saved me—

“Who are you?!”

My calm state was quickly replaced by a defensive facade. I forcefully pushed his metal-like chest and finally got the chance to cover my naked body with my arms. My lips trembled both from the cold and the sudden near-death experience but my glare at him didn’t even move a bit.

In front of me is a naked, incredibly perfect man with a set of alluring ocean eyes. His brows are furrowed and his jaw tightly clenched, but his aura stayed calm, unlike mine.

"Answer me if you want to live."

His deep blue orbs are the opposite of the dead and bloodshot eyes I have. It looks kind of familiar, too but I quickly shoved my head off the thought. This man came out of nowhere, and I haven’t seen him before.

The two of us stared at each other under the full moon of Iunae Lumen, naked and lost.  

I don't want to overthink but I can't be wrong. A muscular man who came out of the woods at exact moonlight, deep blue eyes... 

 "You're a wolf."

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

The Characters and Events mentioned in this book are purely fictional and are not to be construed as even remotely inspired by persons and events known and unknown to the author.