He had been dancing with Monica all night—no wonder he couldn't remember!
I sighed impatiently, exasperated as I explained, "I had a drink with your good friend Rui Jones. He said after drinking it, he wouldn't bother me anymore. But I never expected the blood clan's wine to be so strong!"
"Huh? Strong?" Lionel's response wasn't just unnatural—it was outright stunned.
He quickly turned off the music, and the car fell into dead silence. Only my breathing could be heard, shaky and uneven, while the car continued to speed down the road.
I hated his sudden coldness and seriousness, as if I were the only person left in the world! My intuition told me something bad was about to happen.
"Lionel, is there something wrong with that wine? Just tell me straight, don't keep it bottled up!"
"Margie, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you that the wine served at high-level blood clan banquets has... has..." He stammered, something he had never done before.
"What's in it?" It couldn't be Prince Rui Jones' blood, could it?
If it was, I'd kill him right now and then kill myself. I'd rather die than become a vampire!
"It contains baby blood—used as a dessert."
Lionel's voice was extremely low, but I heard him clearly. And this answer was a hundred thousand times worse than if it had been Rui Jones' blood! God, I drank baby blood?
My stomach churned violently, and I could almost hear the sharp cries of a baby, so horrifying, as if they were coming from inside my stomach. The poor little soul seemed to be struggling in the blood!
"Stop the car, stop the car... Damn these blood clan members! I curse them to die horribly! If I had known, I would never have gotten into your stupid car, never gone to that cursed birthday banquet!"
Lionel reluctantly pulled the car over. Seeing how furious I was, he didn't bother correcting me about the blood clan. Instead, he said gently, "Margie, it's just a little baby blood. And the baby blood from Elder Henry's family is synthetic blood, not taken from real babies. You're overreacting!"
He thought it was no big deal? Of course, our cultural differences—especially in food culture—weren't just slight; they were massive!
"Then tell me, do clones count as people? Don't tell me you're killing living cloned babies!"
He watched as I unbuckled my seatbelt, startled. "Margie... what are you doing?"
"Stop the car, I need to throw up!"
I rushed out of the car in a panic, clutching a trash can, wishing I could empty my entire stomach. But not a single drop of blood came out. Frustrated, I pounded my chest, realizing that even though I didn't have fangs, I had drunk blood—baby blood, no less.
Damn these blood clan members! Why did they have to use something so vile as a dessert... God, just let me die!
Just as I was gagging myself, trying to vomit, a strong gust of wind swept past me. An arm hooked around my waist, and with two powerful flaps of massive wings, my body was lifted higher and higher into the air. My screams echoed as chaos erupted below—cars crashing, people on the sidewalk screaming.
Lionel suddenly kicked open the car door, leaped into the air, and tore off his clothes. His reddish-brown wings unfurled with a thunderous sound as he chased after us.
Oh my God, wasn't the person holding me supposed to be Lionel?
But the wings were brown... I looked up and was met with the sinister face of Rui Jones Albert!
I was too shocked to speak, my screams for help swallowed by fear.
He sneered at Lionel, who was chasing after us, and said with a sly, mocking tone, "Margie, how does my blood taste?"
"Your... your blood?" Damn blood clan member, I've been tricked!
"Darling, don't look like you've just drunk poison. The coffin is ready. By this time tomorrow, when you wake, we'll be bound together for eternity!"
Like hell I'd spend eternity with him! "No—no—Lionel, help me, Lionel—"
The bright, clear moon was suddenly obscured by a dark cloud. When I heard the hissing sounds, I realized the cloud was actually a swarm of blood bats.
"Go and give our baron a warm welcome, hmm..." Rui Jones' cold laughter was deafening.
A sharp pain shot through the back of my neck, and my vision plunged into a despairing darkness, as if I were falling into an endless abyss...
I shivered, feeling the cold all around me, as if I were lying in an ice cellar. I wanted to wrap myself in clothes, but I realized I wasn't wearing any.
I opened my eyes quickly and heard my own steady breathing. My body was still warm, my fair skin covered in goosebumps from the cold, and my teeth were chattering. Thank God, this meant I was still alive!
A faint light filtered through the crystal walls, illuminating the person holding me—cold, pale, and utterly silent, like a corpse! And it wasn't just anyone; it was that damned prince, Rui Jones Albert.
To make matters worse, he was as naked as I was, his toned and handsome body fully exposed. Our curves fit together perfectly, his arms tightly wrapped around me, creating an unbearably intimate and suggestive scene.
I felt my breath grow shallow, my heart skip a beat. An inexplicable, sudden urge to kiss him flooded my mind—he really was a handsome man, and his body was undeniably tempting.
I thought it was just a fleeting, silly thought, but then I found myself actually feeling parched. God, what's happening to me? Why can't I control my own body?
Looking around, I realized not only was our position awkward, but the place we were lying in was also wrong—wide at the front, narrow at the back, with a lid extending downward. Though it was made of crystal, it didn't make me feel comfortable. Instead, it made me more and more terrified.
Oh my God, this was nothing but a crystal casket!