In his office…
Kian leaned back in his chair. All afternoon he had been like this, thinking carefully about the morning's meetings, focusing on the reports and numbers. From the sales of the new product to the launch of the new brand in a few weeks.
Everything was going according to plan, perfect, exactly how he wanted. In a few more days they would announce the expansion of their business to Constantine City. That was the biggest dream of his company's board of directors as well as his.
His family would be very happy, and Marina, his little sister, much more. She had always wanted to visit Constantine City but had not had the opportunity to do so. Now that the project was underway, Kian would build a place for Marina to stay in Constantine City, without affecting her health.
He smiled thinking of his little sister's happy face.
"Sir," Emiliano entered the office, carrying a small red velvet box with him. "This is the present for Miss Samantha Carlton's birthday, a genuine pink diamond. Is it to your liking?"
Kian just glanced at it for a second with indifference and nodded. "Fine, send it to her."
"Do you want to add a few words of congratulations or any cards?"
"No need, just send it."
The Carlton family should understand that, even though they were close, and the families had been allies for decades, nothing was more important than Marina's health.
Not even bringing families together was more important than saving a member of the Hart family. If Kian had to break the engagement and marry another for Marina's welfare, he would do it without hesitation. It should be clear to them where his priorities leaned by now.
"By the way," Emiliano sighed upon reading the message from the detectives that afternoon. "The investigation in the mansion has yielded no results. No sign of wolves or bears… It seems that the animal that attacked the maid is gone, but we can't be sure. They insisted that they have to watch the perimeter for a bit longer."
Kian nodded. "Well… keep me informed, and send our condolences and some compensation to the woman's family."
"Yes, sir."
However, Emiliano stopped before leaving the office. He didn't know whether to go ahead with his report on Miss Reed or not, after all, his boss wouldn't mind.
"If it's something about that woman, I don't want to know it," Kian said, guessing Emiliano's words. "Unless she's dead or seriously ill, what happens to that woman doesn't matter to me."
Emiliano nodded and went on his way. After all, there was nothing important to report. Miss Reed had left the mansion with a small suitcase that morning without saying anything. Looks like she'd be staying in the college dorms from now on.
Most likely, she was frightened like the other servants by the loose animal and decided to escape.
What he didn't know was that the woman was now hanging around the city with her battered pink suitcase, smiling while wearing simple clothing. Though it didn't matter, Eva looked spectacular.
"Did you see her? She is beautiful. She must be a model or a celebrity."
"I hadn't seen someone like her before. Maybe she is not that famous."
"With that face, she must be, maybe she is from another country."
People in the street couldn't help but stare and point at Eva with admiring and jealous eyes. It was impossible to ignore such a beautiful and sexy woman walking confidently.
Wearing fitted jeans that she finally filled out, her long and shapely legs showed up spectacularly. With that white shirt, her slim waist, and her firm and proportionate chest were a sight to behold. But it was her gorgeous face and confident aura that drew the most attention, pale skin with scarlet lips, and bright green eyes fringed by long, sensual lashes. Shoulder-length hair, shiny, black as night, and smooth as silk.
Even more, she was elegant and refined, as if some goddess had descended from heaven. People couldn't help but peer at her, men froze in their steps as they saw her walk slowly, and women couldn't help but feel envious of such perfection.
However, Eva didn't care about the obvious stares, in her previous life it was the same. She was a creature with the power to call the hearts of others to temptation. One smile would enchant every being in her path, ready to be devoured. She was even worshiped as a Goddess for some centuries, and a Queen for some dynasties. Why would she shy away from some meaningless stares?
"What am I going to do now? My only place available is that obnoxious mansion or... the dorm..."
She smiled at one of the men who was walking with his wife. The man nearly tripped as he blushed, and the woman couldn't even scold him because she had blushed too when Eva winked at her.
Eva giggled at the couple and continued on her way. Now she had to think about how to start her life in this new world. She couldn't go back to the mansion.
After what she did to that awful maid, and what she let her lovely pet Percy finish, she couldn't leave any incriminating clues. Now that she was back, and had regained her memories, she had to be careful. Maybe those hunters existed in this age too. Maybe the remaining vampire clans were still around. She had to lay low for a while.
In this age, there were cameras all over the city, transmitting voices, and images to countless people on their phones. There was no way she could use her shadow to avoid them every time.
Moreover, if she continued to use her power too often, she would drain her energy faster and she would have to find another prey to satisfy her thirst very soon. Even now, the ravenous need to taste some delicious blood lurked in her mouth. That skinny maid from the mansion wasn't enough.
However, she had to find another way to find prey without attracting unwanted attention. If she could convince one human to be her reserve, that would solve her problems. No, she won't do it again. In this life, she won't have any attachments of that sort.
She sighed and stopped for a second. Now that she was in the streets, with an empty bank account and no home to return to, she only had one option left, to go back to the college dormitories. There she had the rest of her things and her computer.
At least, her former self wasn't completely useless. She had become an expert in a particular area; however, she used to be a self-righteous weakling. A spineless coward who was afraid of the taking risks.
It reminded her of herself when she was a young vampire, long before she tasted human blood for the first time. She was generous and compassionate, but with time she was taught that no one was truly generous and loyal.
She must not follow the same path. This time she won't fall for sweet words and promises of loyalty.
The sky was turning dark, and a soft breeze started moving the tree's leaves. It won't be long before the BlackRose College gates closed. She had to head there immediately. However, as she had not a cent in her pocket she had to go there by foot.
"What a hassle…"
As she continued walking the streets, night had fallen, but her instincts had heightened. A few steps more and she stopped. A little grin appeared in her lovely mouth.
"Hello, darling" she heard a sleazy man's voice speaking from behind her. However, that man was not alone.
Three men had been following her for a long time, maybe from a few streets till they were alone. She had noticed them. Poor them, they thought they were leading her into a trap, when it was the other way around.
"Are you alone, beautiful?" one of them said as he moved closer. "Where are you going, darling?"
The two others surrounded her and looked her up and down. Those revolting stares would disgust anyone. However, Eva only watched with a bit of interest.
"It doesn't matter where I am going, right?"
The man with the sleazy voice smiled. "You are very smart, darling. It doesn't matter because you will accompany us tonight."
The other two laughed and whistled.
"Well, let's go…" Eva said and pointed at a dark alley. She even unbuttoned her shirt a bit. "Don't you want to do it outside for a while?"
The three were surprised but nodded. However, just as they entered the shadows, they never came back.