The man continued to walk down the corridors, never once looking back, but the soft patter of shoes behind him did not escape his notice. His pace was neither fast nor slow, it was his usual pace when pursuing prey. Only this time, it was his prey who was pursuing him. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he continued walking, moving further and further away from the hall until finally, he turned into a corridor.
Eve, who had been following him, quickened her pace so as not to lose sight of him. Her flat shoes made her steps inaudible. She lifted the front of her dress to avoid tripping and turned into the same corridor. It led to a dead end, and to her surprise, the man had vanished. Eve frowned, looking behind her before proceeding further. She had seen the man enter this corridor, and there was no other exit that could explain his disappearance.
As she attempted to turn again, she was suddenly pushed against the wall, a whimper escaping her lips. Looking up quickly, she saw the man she had been following, his lips stretched into a sickening smile.
"What were you doing, little human? Stalking?" he asked, moving closer to trap her between the wall and himself.
Eve didn't miss the fact that the man had called her a human, causing her brows to furrow. She held his gaze, watching as his brown eyes flickered and turned a dark red. Her eyes widened, and he chuckled.
"Considering you've spent a long time with the King, I thought you would be wiser," he said.
"A human would be the last thing vampires would entertain in their midst. I'm sure you're aware of their arrogance towards you. Didn't you think I would be dead if I were a human?"
Of course, she had thought so, which was why she had followed him. She had wondered if the man was a favored human noble among the vampires, but his eye color change had deceived her. Was such a thing even possible? Eve wondered. There were so many mysteries among the vampires.
"What do you want from me?" Eve asked. Her sense of vulnerability was heightened; she had walked straight into the man's trap.
"Blood. I'm sure the King's personal blood bank tastes the sweetest," he said, running his tongue over his fangs. As quickly as he said this, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and his fangs punctured her delicate skin, causing her to cry out loudly. Her fingers dug into her palm as pain rippled through her entire body.
She had never imagined that a day would come when a vampire would drink her blood. She had always been cautious to ensure Sebastian had fed before she encountered him. But now, a stranger was the one to drink from her, and the pain was something she would never wish to bear again. She swiftly brought up her right leg and kneed him in the groin, causing him to pull away and grimace in pain.
Eve's hand shot up to her neck, already starting to bleed. Her heart pounded in her chest, and tears streamed down her face as she remembered the hot prick of his fangs. Seeing the man writhing in pain, she tried to escape, but she was pulled back by her hair, causing her to scream.
The force of her landing on the ground caused her to huff for air. Her brown eyes looked glassy as she stared at the man that stood before her. His eyes blazed and she could see the rage evident in his red orbs.
"You even taste sweeter than I thought," he licked the blood from the side of his lips. Her blood didn't only taste sweet but had the most alluring scent he had perceived. He had tasted many humans, even women like her yet it felt like it was his first time of drinking blood. No wonder the King still kept her by his side, she was a priceless jewel, one he was going to savor slowly.
"Stay away from me," Eve barked, she tried to stand up but she couldn't. She could only move herself backward as the man came closer.
"Would you want me to? Knowing I can give you answer to why you are a human despite having a vampire blood running in your veins," the man said very slowly that every of his word sank into her ear. She froze for a second, thinking about what the man had said. She had always thought she was a mere consequence of fate, instead of being a vampire, she was a human, a weak one now at the feet of a hungry vampire.
"Give me yourself and i will explain everything to you," he drawled his words. He knew how to trick his preys, with the fact that he have answers to their questions they thought never had an answer, he finds it easier to manipulate their mind and seeing the girl continue to ponder over his words, he smiled thinking he had won her but instead she rejected.
"No, I don't want to know anything about it," There was no use knowing the cause when it wouldn't change the mess she found herself.
"Don't come closer," she growled, seeing the man walk further to her. She had already crawled to the end of the corridor and there was no where to run to anymore.
"Scream as loud as you want, but no one will hear you," he taunted. His lips curled into a wide grin as he reveled in his statement. He was right; the music thundered through the mansion, drowning out any sound she could possibly make. Leaning closer to Eve's face, he raised his hand with its palm facing up, and a flickering blue flame ignited upon it.
Seeing the surprised look on her face, he chuckled, "You didn't think I was an ordinary vampire, do you? This was why I was able to change the colour of my eyes," he explained.
The flame flickered in his palm before disintegrating into ashes that vanished from his grasp. Slowly, his hand went to hold her chin and his fingers traced her skin.
"I want not only your blood but you," his hands moved to her neck and he pulled away her hand and buried his face on her neck once more. Pressing his lips on the same spot as before but he didn't bite, his tongue licked her skin and the blood that trailed out.
This made Eve feel disgusted and she cry out, digging her fingers in his hair to push him away but the man took hold of her wrist and planted on the ground and his fangs pierced her skin harshly, causing her to cry. Her face was smeared with her tears and her throat was burning from her screams and just when the man start to suck her blood, he was pulled away and harshly thrown to the ground.
The thud sound and grunt snapped Eve's eyes open and she gazed up at the red eyes that didn't belong to Sebastian.
"You wouldn't want Seb seeing you like this," Leif said softly before looking away from the girl, the scent of her blood was heavy in the air and it intoxicated him and his jaw ache but he wouldn't make a mistake of touching Eve.
He was right about not wanting Sebastian to see her in this state. As much as she resisted the thought, she knew he was fiercely protective and possessive of her. Leif, who was familiar with Sebastian's nature, was certain that chaos would have erupted if he had been the one to discover her.
The man who was on the ground continued to grunt in pain, he might have had magic but he was a weaker vampire compared to the noble bloods. Eve stood up from the ground carefully, her body hurting from the fall, her breaths was haggard and her lips parted. Knowing how her blood could affect Leif, she pressed her fingers on the spot, closing her eyes and wincing at the pain that shot through her body.
As she opened her eyes, it fell on the man that stood far from them at the entrance. Though they had decided not to tell Sebastian anything about what had happened, it didn't mean he was oblivious to the situation as he emerged in the corridor. His red eyes fell upon the man lying on the ground before shifting to Eve, who stared at him in wide-eyed shock. Finally, his gaze settled on her hand clutching her neck, smudged with blood.
His pupils dilated, and he swiftly darted towards the man, yanking him up, by his shoulder and without hesitation. His long nails dug into the man's neck and he tore his head off.