As soon as he had her snared in his grasp, his fangs pierced into the pulse on her neck. In excruciating pain, she dug her manicure nails into the jacket of his gothic-style suit. Venom from his fangs seared through her blood like a scorching fire was blazing throughout her body. Blood rolled to her collarbone as Kai dug his fangs into her flesh like how a lion kills its prey.
Every time she tried swallowing a breath, his jaws engorged his fangs deeper into her throat. Bones crunched underneath his powerful jaws as he sucked in her lukewarm blood. Little by little, her grip on the back of his suit jacket faltered, and she couldn't breathe. Suffocation depleted the air from her lungs before her eyelids shut for good.
With a satisfied hiss, Kai dropped her body to the carpet as his freakishly long tongue licked his mouth clean. To his right, a minion appeared to collect her lifeless body for cremation.
Once his minion vanished with the dead woman, Kai suddenly smelled another presence in the gallery. This daring vampire must have crept in while he was feeding, Kai reckoned to himself. Feeding time was always one of the times that vampires and vampiresses were vulnerable to sneaking up on each other or attacking one another.
"You have some guts, Sean," Kai addressed since he knew the vampire by the familiar scent he smelled.
"I overheard you are having a Dark issue," coming out of his shadowy silhouette, Sean stated, taking a seat on a chair.
Kai smirked to see his long-time old friend and ally had come to Earth. Sean was a Shadow species, and they grew up together until their Covens settled roots on different planets.
"Indeed, I do. Nevertheless, it's good to see you." Kai greeted him with an amiable welcome.
"It's nice to see you finally woke up from your slumber," Sean mentioned. He knew Kai disappeared because he couldn't handle waiting for the birth of his destined mate.
"How's your wife?" Kai nonchalantly asked to catch up with him.
"My wives are doing good," Sean smirked as he let that plural word sink into Kai's head.
Kai already knew Sean's Coven allowed their vampires to marry multiple wives if they wished, which was risky to do, because vampiresses didn't put up with sharing their husbands. Usually, vampiresses were known to leave those Covens that were known to have many wives and mistresses, which would cause the Coven to fall weak because they wouldn't have enough females to breed with.
Unlike the Royal vampiresses, non-royal vampiresses could refuse to marry any vampire, whereas a Royal vampiress had to marry whoever her father chose. This way, they could unite Covens together by marriage even if the Alpha already had additional wives, she still had to marry him if she didn't have a destined mate.
Kai cocked his head. "How many wives do you have?"
Sean smirked. "Only four, and they're all spoiled, but only my first wife is a royal."
Out of his curiosity, Kai outwardly wondered how this went down. "How did you acquire three extra wives?"
"I made them an offer they couldn't refuse," Sean replied with a chuckle.
Kai raised a brow as he inquired. "And what was that offer?"
His curiosity only grew bigger. Vampiresses weren't like women. Exquisite jewelry, money, and expensive clothes wouldn't buy a vampiress into a plural marriage.
"A promise that their Covens and families will always be protected," Sean told the truth since that was the number one reason as to why any average vampiress would marry into a plural marriage.
"Then, in turn, you get—"
"A lot of sex and offspring with their consent, of course," Sean finished as his grin widened.
Kai chuckled since he would never have multiple wives, even if he didn't have a destined mate. "I don't know how you keep up with yourself. Anyhow, I could only imagine why you are here." Kai changed the topic because he knew by the look in Sean's eyes there was more to his random visit.
"For starters, my Coven and I have come to help you protect your wife," Sean revealed, and Kai was undoubtedly thankful for it, but to his misfortune, he came bearing bad news. "Unfortunately, I have also come to show you something that you wouldn't believe unless you saw it."
With seriousness in his darker tone, Kai replied. "Let's see it."
After their clans met in the back of another alley, Sean opened a gateway world from a brick wall.
"Only you and I will go," Sean exhorted, and Kai agreed.
Alphas never really went anywhere without their advisors or some of their clan guardians going with them since Alphas were the leaders of the Coven, so they needed to be protected. Upon hearing that order, Kai's clan and Sean's clan had to stay behind while they watched both Alphas disappear into the portal.
On the opposite side of the gateway to another world, Kai was dead still as his friend closed the portal behind them.
"What happened to this planet?" Kai uttered at the destruction that bestowed itself before him.
Flames were bursting through the craters that cracked beyond where his eyes could see out in the distance. The ground was unleveled and gradient. Nor was it stable in some areas. Dust and ash swept across the uneven crisped ground that was once flourishing with green vegetation and life.
Ashes flaked from the crimson-cloudy sky like snow showers as streaks of lightning flashed across the horizon. Steel buildings were melting into piles of gooey metal because the fires boiled them into magma. Incandescent lighting glowed from the intense heat it produced off of whatever metal was left standing.
"It's starting," was all Sean said, and Kai knew what he meant.
Vampiric World War Three was finally upon them. At least, that's what Kai assumed to himself.
"What happened to the humans who lived here?" Kai questioned, even though he knew the answer.
"We're standing in them. Breathing them in, for that matter," Sean replied without hesitation.
Kai skimmed the ground more closely, and he could easily spot dried bones and crushed skulls throughout the entire premises. Under the sole of his heel, he was standing on the crushed skull that likely belonged to a young human adolescent. Not one human child or infant, was spared during the battle that took place here. A battle that vampires caused.
As he explored deeper with Sean, the scattered bodies of these detained vampires, vampiresses, and their offspring were everywhere across the land from the battle. Some were turned to stone from the Slithers, the Wings, and the Nightshifters species, while the others had only been detained by another vampire who depleted them of their blood. Thus, they get turned into a mummified corpse.
Hidden behind a large rock was another detained vampiress, holding onto her detained infant. Whole families had been detained together, never to be awakened again. Without receiving blood from a blood-related family member or their destined mate, if they had a mate, then their immortal lives were forever lost, which Kai and Sean already understood.