The sudden tumbling of the carriage jolted awake Alora from her sleep and her head banged against the window of the carriage. However, the carriage somehow did not fall to the ground and turned stable. It had stopped moving when a loud shriek of the man, who drove the carriage reverberated.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Alora's heart clenched in fear to hear that shout. She quickly opened the carriage's door and jumped out while keeping the blindfold on her eyes.
Alora heard the cries of the servants behind her, who were in the second and the third carriage. "What's happening?" she muttered and decided to take off the blindfold.
However, Alora was scared thinking if she would take off the blindfold, what worse could happen? But the screams of the men and women forced her not to stand quiet. She pushed down the blindfold and squeezed her eyes tightly before looking ahead of her.
Suddenly, the silence had surrounded that particular place. She took a step forward and saw a fallen lantern. Beside it a lifeless body was lying, covered in blood, the face was entirely ruined.
Alora's eyes widened in fear and she ran ahead. Everyone was dead there, except her. Why did it happen? Who did it? Vampires or werewolves? She clenched her her gown tightly, thinking of running away to save her life.
The coachmen were dead, the bodyguards were dead too while the horses had already run away. Alora's eyes welled up in tears, wondering if it was the end of her life.
"Miss, run away," a faint voice landed on her ears. It was of her personal attendant. But Alora turned to look at her. She could not meet her gaze.
"Are you alright?" Alora asked in a trembling voice, keeping her gaze to the front. "Let's go together, Sia," she murmured and quickly put on her blindfold.
As she turned around to face Sia, she heard her cry and promptly took off her blindfold. In front of her was a dark, full-grown wolf with his entire eyes red. He had his claws inserted deep at Sia's back, who closed her eyes as if she was dead.
Tears streamed down Alora's cheeks as the werewolf threw Sia's body away and growled loudly.
In an instant, as the werewolf advanced to strike Alora, their eyes locked, causing him to disintegrate into ashes. Stumbling in shock, Alora's heart raced uncontrollably, urging her to flee without hesitation.
Tears clouded her vision, blurring the surroundings, but Alora pushed forward without pause.
Consumed by guilt, she held herself responsible for the deaths of those who had faithfully served her for years. This burden weighed heavily as she raced away from the scene, her mind haunted by the tragic incident.
Alora had no sense of her direction within that deep forest when her foot slipped over some pebbles. A scream escaped her lips and she fell off the downhill.
'Will I die here? Is this my end?' Alora thought while she kept rolling down the downhill.
"Ahh," Alora groaned as she reached the level ground. Her entire body was covered with bruises, specifically cuts on her face. With difficulty, Alora finally stood up while wincing in pain.
In the enveloping darkness of the night, she was disoriented, unsure of her next move. Despite her injured state, Alora decided to veer to her right, hoping to chance upon a shelter for the night.
As she limped onward, a carriage approached swiftly. The glow of its two front lanterns seared into Alora's eyes, momentarily blinding her in the darkness and bringing her hand to cover her eyes.
The coachman quickly pulled the reins on the horses and brought the carriage to a sudden halt, stopping only an inch away from Alora.
Inside the carriage seated a notable figure of the kingdom, the vicious Vampire Prince, Magnus Lukeson. He opened his eyes as the carriage came to a sudden halt.
The coachman shouted at Alora for suddenly appearing in front of the carriage.
"A human!" Magnus whispered and quickly got out of the carriage. He was in an upsetting mood already after meeting the King. Only, a human's fresh blood could make him feel relieved.
Without sparing another second, Magnus got out of the carriage. He stood behind Alora, ready to bite her and drink the blood out of her.
Alora, who was blinded by the lanterns' luminous intensity, felt her head dizzy and she fainted. The back of her head found its place on something solid and the few hair strands covered her face.
Alora's head slipped off his chest, her body was ready to meet the ground when Magnus's strong arm encircled her waist and he securely caught her at her place.
The coachman was now on the ground, apologizing to Magnus for the sudden halt in the way.
Magnus was, however, focused on Alora. The magical scent of her blood brought his insides into pleasure, making him wonder what her blood would taste like. His finger brushed away the hair strands from her moonlit face.
Magnus saw the blood on the temple of her forehead. He leaned down and licked the blood. "Delicious," he murmured with a smirk. The next moment, Magnus carried Alora in his arms and took her to the carriage.
The coachman quickly opened the door for him and Magnus easily entered inside. He settled Alora beside him, who had her head rested against the window.
"Drive to the palace. I want no delays. This human shall survive," Magnus ordered the coachman. The door was shut close and soon, the carriage also began moving.
Magnus' eyes landed on the blindfold that was around her neck and wondered what was it for. As he pulled it away from her neck, he found letters of her name embroidered on it.
"Alora!" Magnus pronounced her name and smiled in amusement.
"Alora, now you are mine. The taste of your blood is something I need the most as soon as you wake up," Magnus said as he lowered his hand to his lap. The Vampire Prince had a rule: to drink blood when the human was in his conscious state.