Livia Simian gripped the syringe tightly, its brow furrowed with a mix of concentration and grim determination. The rabbit, a hapless prisoner in Livia's left hand, thrashed and writhed desperately, its silent pleas for mercy echoing in the ape's sensitive ears. Unmoved, Livia expertly injected the syringe into the rabbit's hind leg, the plunger depressing with a decisive click, emptying the serum into its muscle.
Beastvamps, despite their innate craving for human blood, a cruel legacy of their mutation from vampire blood, could consume various forms of flesh, even plants, to stave off their hunger.
Primus relished the taste of rabbit, but even more, it reveled in the prolonged torment of the girls offered to it. Today, however, its appetite for cruelty would have to be sated quickly.
The drug coursing through the rabbit's veins would send Primus into a frenzy, fueling its insatiable thirst for human blood. The serum, whispered to be a relic from the Progenitor Apevamp itself, stolen from the infamous Sanguine Institute, the birthplace of the apocalyptic vampire-animal experiments, was one of Lucius's many useless trinkets, hoarded due to its obsession with vampiric lineage. Now, in Livia's hands, it had finally found its purpose.
Clutching the struggling rabbit, Livia sprinted down the dimly lit corridor, the creature's heartbeat a frantic drum against its palm. Just as it reached the first heavy metal door, a wave of inexplicable fear washed over it. A slender, delicate hand struck the back of its neck with chilling precision. "Courtesy demands reciprocity," Rose Hightower's voice purred, laced with a bright smile.
… …
Five snipers lay prone on the mansion's rooftop, each scanning a different direction. The mansion, perched atop a hill, commanded a panoramic view. Any approach would be detected. Their night vision scopes, augmented with thermal imaging, could pinpoint targets a thousand yards away.
The roof access door creaked open, startling the snipers. Relief washed over them as an apevamp emerged.
Suddenly, a rush of wind. An angel in white flitted past, leaving unconscious bodies in her wake.
Rose exhaled, finally able to protect John. From this vantage point, she could intercept any threat. But her brow furrowed as she surveyed the scene. Each direction was guarded by at least a hundred soldiers, lay hidden in the surrounding tall grass, waiting to strike.
She hated the thought of unnecessary bloodshed of humans, but once the battle began, chaos would reign.
Suddenly, movement in the tall grass to the south caught her eye. The grass rippled in subtle waves as small shapes—rabbits, most likely—darted toward the soldiers' position.
The soldiers, too, noticed the disturbance. One turned, M16 raised, hesitating to fire. A sniper round punched through his back before he could decide. Panic erupted. Another soldier rose, only to be cut down instantly.
Eyes snapped to the mansion roof. Too distant to discern details, they could only make out a white figure against the moonlit sky. Then, the pungent odor of gasoline reached them. Each rabbit carried a small, leaking canister, leaving a flammable trail.
Moments later, fire erupted behind the rabbits. Grass ignited, the flames racing toward the gasoline-soaked ground. With a whoosh, the fire roared to life, following the rabbits' path.
Rose, watching from above, lowered her rifle and bounced on her toes, clapping her hands with glee. The roof access door opened again. A portly lieutenant colonel, clutching a wine bottle and binoculars, stumbled out. "What the fuck is going on?" he slurred, raising his night vision goggles toward the south.
He froze. A vision in white, a girl with a radiant smile, stood before him. "You're just in time," she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I've been looking for you. Hiding in the apevamp's den, consorting with vampires... You can't deny it now."
… …
The battle concluded swiftly once Rose seized control of the command system on the mansion's second floor. The soldiers, now under her command, surrendered their weapons and gathered by the waterfall. Though the fire still raged, a wide firebreak protected the mansion. The lieutenant colonel found himself imprisoned in Primus's former cell, sharing his confinement with seven apevamps, all female. Rose wasn't worried about him; it was said that apevamps would play with the opposite sex for several days before their feast.
Her focus remained entirely on the young man standing before the mansion's gates.
I gazed into her eyes, overwhelmed with the simple joy of being in her presence. Even the inviting harvest of abundant lifespans from the apevamps were forgotten. Words crowded my thoughts, a torrent of emotions I yearned to express. Yet, all I could do was open my arms and whisper, "Let's go home!"
… …
Rose stirred awake, the warmth of the afternoon sun caressing her skin. She smiled; in his sleep, John still held her breast, his rough hand a comforting contrast against her soft skin, sending a tingling sensation through her all over again.
Their lovemaking had been passionate, fulfilling, but above all, healing. His tenderness, his respect, his unwavering love allowed her to shed completely her shame, and let go the trauma brought on by the violent sex with Primus. She had opened not just her body, but her heart, welcoming this man enter into the deepest part of her being. Unburdened, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to the act of love. She had never surrendered to a man like this before, trying to satisfy all his needs and giving him all the pleasure she could think of. And in that surrender, she knew she had fallen deeply, irrevocably, in love.
Rising, she slipped on one of his shirts, her gaze falling on the grisly remains of the foxvamp. Its decaying stench filled the room, a stark reminder of yesterday's violence. She couldn't believe they had made passionate love in such a smell, without even noticing.
The grimly aftermath spoke of the Harmonious Quartet's ruthless efficiency. Had it truly been only six days since she had bestowed that technique upon him?
His cultivation was still young, the technique's power not yet fully realized. But the mere fact that he could wield it at all was astonishing.
Lost in contemplation, a knock at the door startled her.