Chapter ５

Emily's POV

The next day when I woke up, I struggled to keep my eyes open. Rubbing them, I yawned and woke up. Just as I moved my body, a jolt of pain flashed across my limbs, making me whimper. A blush crept on my cheeks as the memory of last night surfaced in my mind.

After coming back from my Grandpa's place yesterday, the prince had locked me inside his bedroom for a few hours and returned at night. As soon as he came back, his lusty eyes stared at my figure for a long time before bending his head toward me. I remember him capturing my lips, nibbling not once, not twice, but many times. He sucked on my lower lips and played with my tongue until I was breathless.

At that time, I remembered my promise to him. If I could see my Gramps, I would offer myself to him every day. And it didn't feel that bad either. Instead, I was on cloud nine. For a moment, I even forgot that this guy was a vampire! Now that I think about it, I almost feel like I'm a masochist instead. I really took pleasure in hanging out with a frightful vampire!

I had thought that Liam would drink my blood. But who would have thought that he would instantly start sucking my lips at night?

What happened after that was beyond my imagination. He had pushed me on the bed and jumped over me, fulfilling his desires throughout the night. We did it so often that my entire body ached the moment I woke up in the morning. Blood rushed on my face as my ears turned red.

I shifted my gaze beside me and found the bed empty. The only bedsheet was crumbled, which showed the proof of a busy night. Cursing Liam under my breath for not controlling himself, I got up, staggering toward the bathroom slowly.

Only after getting ready, I noticed that it was already noon.

By the time I reached the downstairs, I saw Liam sitting on a chair. His gaze focused on the food placed over the fiber dining table. Holding the spoon in hand, he gracefully sipped blood. My nose wrinkled at that as I slowly walked toward the dining table, choosing a comfortable seat away from the prince.

"You missed your breakfast." His cold voice echoed in the room.

And whose fault was that? I gritted my teeth but didn't say anything, shifting my eyesight toward the plate full of sandwiches.

"You have to take care of your body." Liam sipped once more, glancing at me coldly. "After all, you are my human partner."

My grip against the sandwich tightened at that as tomato slices dropped on the plate. Human partner? Didn't this man have any conscience? I was more like a prisoner in this big palace. I took a deep breath to calm myself and chewed the sandwich devoid of tomato slices. But I didn't care. I was too angry to focus on the taste.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence, where I simply focused on chewing my sandwiches and ignored the presence of a certain Prince sipping blood.

Placing the spoon on the empty bowl, Liam swept a glance at me and said, "Come with me to see my father."

I choked and coughed a few more times. Holding the glass of water at hand, I gulped quickly. I was already gasping after I finished half a glass. That was when I recovered from his surprise. His father? But why? Wasn't I just a feeding machine meant to satisfy the hungry stomach of a vampire? I looked at him in disbelief.

Seeing my surprised face, he explained, "My father wants to see the human partner I chose."

But I don't want to see him! I have heard in a few words about that old guy. And the only conclusion I could make was that the old vampire king was a cruel person. What if he declared to take all of my blood? I shivered at that thought.

By the time I woke up from my dark imagination, the room was already empty. I threw the half-eaten sandwich on the plate in anger.

Who did he think he was? He wasn't even my married husband, who would have the authority to order me. How could Liam control me like this?

'Do you have any choice?' A thought occurred in my head, making me feel depressed all over again.

I was simply a weak human. What else could I do?

Heaving a sigh, I stepped out only to find Liam leaning on the wall outside the dining room. Today his hair wasn't tied back like a day before. Hair fell on his forehead as he closed his eyes. Crossing his arms around his chest, he lowered his head. The muscles bulged in his arms, making this person look even more attractive.

For a moment, I couldn't help but stare at his enchanting figure without blinking. My mouth watered at the delicious meal right in front of me. Too bad, the meal was a carnivorous animal, ready to bite me.

Pursing my lips, I took a few deep breaths to control emotions before stepping out of the dining room. I shouldn't be attracted to Liam's splendid figure. It would trap me within this palace even more. I wasn't ready to give up on surviving yet!

"Let's go." He said and walked through the empty corridor.

We took several turns until we reached the brown colored door with a bronze knob. Liam gripped the doorknob and turned it around. As soon as the crack appeared, a strong scent of blood drifted in the air and entered my nose, making my lips curl in disgust.

What exactly did the older man do inside this bedroom? Killing animals and drinking raw blood just like that?

I wouldn't be surprised if the old man did anything like that.

When we entered the bedroom, my eyesight fell on an old man sitting beside the window, chewing dry fruits placed on the table. Wait, was he eating human food? Wasn't a vampire's body meant only to digest blood? How could he casually eat human food?

Seeing my confused face, the old man let out a chuckle. "Every Vampire can eat human food, but we don't get energy. It's just my hobby."

Liam snorted. "Useless hobby."

"Why are you guys standing?" The old King ignored his son and gestured to me to take a seat on the couch. "Sit here."

Three of us sat in silence as the only voice that could be heard was the old man chewing food. After wiping his face with a white napkin, he sat back lazily and stared at me with a smile. "I'm glad Liam finally chose someone. Now I can die in peace."

I tilted my head. Die in peace? Weren't vampires meant to live for eternity?

As if sensing my confusion, the old men chuckled and said, "Don't confuse us, vampires, with the fantasy that humans weaved in their heads.” He turned toward Liam and smiled. “You don't know anything about it too. So listen carefully. You won't find this in your vampire history.”

Liam frowned but continued to listen with a calm expression.

“Centuries ago, a wizard developed medicine to cure a widespread-" Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a shrill that came out because of the shock of hearing something unusual.

"A wizard?" There was such a thing around humans and vampires?

"Yes." Derrick chuckles seeing my reaction. "Wizards and witches used to live in a clan for centuries, even before vampires came into existence. You can call them magicians for short."

"Magicians…" I said in a daze. First vampires, and now magicians. What else was remaining? Werewolves? "Don't tell me there are werewolves too…" I couldn't help but voice out my thoughts.

"Yes." Derrick had a look of amusement when he saw my reaction. "But you should already know this, shouldn't you?" After saying this, he gazed at me in bewilderment as if asking why I was acting like a naive human who was unaware of everything. For a moment, his gaze did seem suspicious, but I ignored such a thought. There wasn’t any memory of knowing more about these wizards in my memory.

How could I already know such an incredible thing? Before I could continue to dwell on the topic, Derrick continued the story.

"Anyway, what I was saying is that a wizard fed a medicine to get rid of a widespread plague. But who could've thought that the medicine would make them vampires? Those days were most dangerous for humans." Derrick paused and sighed, remembering the days before he became a vampire king. "It all happened until I realized that we didn’t have to drink human blood for our survival. After that I made a rule for our American vampires. No one dared to hunt humans ever since, and if they did, I punished them severely."

Hearing this, even Liam was stunned. I glanced at him and turned to focus on the old man, pressing my lips in a thin line. It looks like the prince doesn't know his father very well. I thought Derrick was a cruel person. Now that I think about it, I don't think Gramps knew about this either. That meant Derrick gave the medicine only to cure the plague not to turn the entire audience into vampires. A flush of guilt washed over me. I just misjudged this guy without knowing the whole truth.

"After becoming a vampire,"—the old man smiled bitterly—"I lost appetite for the human food and committed many sins due to my hungry stomach until I regained my senses one day and became the king I was supposed to." He swept his lazy gaze toward Liam and lowered his head as if in deep thought. "Everyone thinks I am a cruel person who lost his control over his senses and unconsciously killed many humans. But you see, Emily, I was just a human being suddenly turned into a vampire. How do you think I would have reacted?"

I pursed my lips as I heard his personal history. To be honest, I have also had a biased opinion toward vampires. I used to think that these blood-sucking monsters had a cruel king who had killed many humans as soon as he turned and declared war against humans. But I never thought that I would see a flash of regret in the old man's eyes because of his past deeds.

"But I am glad I was able to save the world after I was enlightened." He glanced at his stunned son and smiled. "The rest is up to you, Liam." And then he turned toward me to stare for a long time before parting his lips. "Emily, I have a request for you."

I blinked and straightened my back as if I was suddenly on guard against an enemy. Request? Would he ask my blood? A chill crawled down my spine at the thought.

Seeing my frightened yet guarding stance, another chuckle rolled out of the old man's mouth. "Don't worry. I am not asking you to kill yourself."

I let out a breath in relief, but my body stayed on guard. I stared at the old man in vigilance. Even if he was a king and told me a secret, he was still a vampire who could suck me dry.

"I want to request you to take care of my son. Actually, you are the only one who can do this."

That request left me stunned. I stared at Derrick for a long time, trying to digest his words.

Take care of his son? What was the meaning of this?

Before I could react, Liam, who was sitting obediently by my side, stood up and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me out of the bedroom without even sparing a glance at his father.

I was in a daze for a moment, and after a few seconds, I struggled and snatched back my hand, rubbing my wrist. I glared at the Prince standing before me in the corridor. He wasn’t showing his face to me, so I didn’t know what expression he was making after knowing a bit about his father. Perhaps surprised? Shocked? But I couldn’t focus on that because my wrist started to ache because of his tight grip.

"Can you be a little gentle while handling me? I'm already aching all over because of last night." As soon as the words flew out of my mouth, I shut my lips. I wanted to take back my words. Why did I have to remind this animal of our previous deeds on the bed?

I saw his lips curving up to form a pleasant smile. "It seems you want me to repeat last night again."

"No!" This was my automatic reply. But when I thought about it, I got to see my grandfather in exchange. And it wasn't that bad either. In fact, I remember feeling ecstatic and energetic throughout the night! A blush crept on my cheeks as I remembered what happened last night, and I coughed to hide my emotions. If only this guy weren't a vampire, I would have married him already.

When I looked at Liam again, he was already standing in front of me, looking down with lusty eyes. Raising his hands, his fingers brushed my bottom lips as his gaze darkened. "I was serious."

My lips opened and closed as I looked at him in a daze. My throat went dry at the thought of him kissing me once again.

But this guy was a vampire!

This thought brought me back to the present, and I shook my head. What the hell was I doing? Did this guy use a magical spell to attract me? He made me so confused. At one point, I was frightened because of his identity, and second, I was attracted toward him because of...because of what? I really didn’t know. Perhaps the bed exercise had shortened the emotional distance between me and him, creating ambiguity.

But why did I keep forgetting his identity? I tried to hypnotise myself saying Liam was a vampire multiple times in my head.

"I'm serious, too," I said and lowered my head, not daring to look into his eyes.

His fingers caught my chin. Gripping it tightly, he forced me to look up.

I met his glaring eyes.

"Didn't you offer yourself to me already? What more do you want?"

I parted my lips and closed, pondering for a while. I could go back to see my Gramps again. But then, there was someone even more critical—Lucy.

"I want to see Lucy," I said resolutely.

When I glanced at his face, I saw him frowning as he lowered his hands. He paused for a while as if he was in deep thought. Pursing his lips, he said, "It's not possible."

My expressions changed as I stared at his falling face. "Why? I want to see her!"

"I said no, so you won't see her." His face remained expressionless as he stared straight into my eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but that wasn't what I focused on at this time.

I was irritated! I was already his servant, prisoner! What more did he want? It was a simple request. Couldn't this guy fulfill it just like he did yesterday?

"But she's my sister. I want to know if she's fine." I urged one more time. My voice held a touch of pleading.

"I said no. You don't have any other choice but to listen to me."

"Why do you want to control me against my wishes?" I was angry to the point that my limbs started to tremble. "You are going overboard. You know that, don't you?"

He squinted his eyes at me and ignored my reply, turning around to walk away.

Oh no, you're not going to go away just like that! Gnashing my teeth, I glared at his tall back as I stomped my feet and stopped before him. "Why won't you listen to me? It's just a wish!"

"Don't fight me, Emily." He glanced at me and tightened his tie. "I won't let you see her. If you have anything else, let me know."

Anything else? I wanted to see my sister! If Liam hadn't said anything before about doing something at night, I wouldn't have focused too much on seeing her since Gramps had already warned me against it. But now, when this Prince rejected me time and again, my frustration rose to a higher level. I couldn't help but get even angrier.

If you want anything else, fine. I will get something completely different from your imagination!

I clenched my fist and glanced at a timid bodyguard standing stiffly at the corner of the corridor. I sent Liam a provoking expression, keeping my chin up, and walked over to that guard.

'You want me to ask for something else, Liam, don't you? Then this is what I want!' I thought as I grabbed the man by his hair and pulled him down to press my lips against him.

As soon as I did, I regretted it. It wasn't like the emotions I had an experience yesterday. Whenever Liam would brush his lips against me, the sparks in my body would be ignited, making the butterflies flutter within my chest. I would feel an itch in my heart that would gradually grow stronger and stronger, embracing my entire heart and soul.

At present, I felt nothing but regret and an urge to vomit. But I didn't get a chance to think more about it because I was grabbed by the waist and thrown over someone's shoulder. The hands against my back were cold as they held me tightly, spanking my butt. "So, that's what you want?"

My lips were sealed tight as a chill spread on my back. I couldn't help but shiver. Liam's voice was so cold that it could scare anyone away. He never talked to me like that before. Not even the first time we met.

Suddenly, fear filled my heart. What the hell did I do? Liam was right. I had already promised myself to him. It was my duty to fulfill his desires. He had already fulfilled my last wish, and I should have no obligation to ask for more. What the hell had I eaten this morning after waking up to think of such a way to get back at Liam?

Would he finally thrust his pointed canine in my neck and suck all the blood? I trembled at the thought and shrunk on his shoulder.

Before heading inside the bedroom, he glanced at the guard and said, "Kick Daniel out. Right now!" So that guard's name was Daniel. I pursed my lips, seeing the other person nodding and fleeing away. I had unconsciously destroyed the career of an innocent person. Lowering my head, I tried to reduce my sense of existence.

But Liam didn't want to let me off this easily. After shutting the door behind him, he threw me on the bed and jumped on me. With his darkened eyes, he stared at me from above. Slowly his canine grew out as he glowered at me.

Seeing a familiar sight, I shrunk back on the bed and trembled. "I-I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Something flashed in his eyes. He tightened his grip on my wrist and pushed both of my hands over my head, keeping me from struggling. "You're sorry? What you did was enough for me to suck all your blood right this instant!"

I widened my eyes. The identity of this man suddenly registered in my brain. Ever since yesterday, he had treated me tenderly, making me almost forget that he was a vampire. Now that his canine was out, I felt terrified at heart. I even forgot the fact that he wasn’t allowed to drink human blood.

"I-I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You better not!" He spat as he lowered his head and brushed his teeth against my tender skin on my neck, making me shiver. "If you try and fuck other men, I'll kill you and your Grandpa."

That threatening voice shocked me. I went stiff and frozen on the bed. I couldn't move. My breathing went erratic as I parted my lips and closed. I couldn't form a word, but my eyes were restless, and pupils contracted. My face was pale.

He seemed like he would really kill me.

"Did you hear what I said?" His hands gripped my jaw tightly. His fingers brushed my lips and rubbed the tender skin again and again as if removing dirt from a dress. "If you dare to do something like this again, don't blame me for being rude!"

I could feel his chest vibrating from anger as I blinked away tears. "I-I'll listen to you. Let go."

That was when his sharp eyes noticed my frightened figure. I was shivering like a dried leaf. My face was white as if blood had been sucked. My forehead was covered with sweat, and breathing was fast. The chest heaved up and down in fright.

I really won't do it again!

For a while, both of us remained silent. I could feel anger deviating slowly as his hand slowly loosened. That was when I felt him staring at my face for a long time. When I raised my eyes, I saw him pursing his lips.

Seeing my expression, he let go of my jaw immediately and hesitated before standing up. His eyes stared everywhere but me, which was weird. I should've been the one who couldn't look at the other's face. But here, Liam was, restlessly staring at every corner of the room. I narrowed my eyes at him as I saw his canine retreating inside his mouth. He licked his lips and turned away.

"I have some work. Get yourself together." He walked away and paused at the door. "Don't forget to eat something." Then he looked outside and called out a servant. "Daleri! Help her." And then he left.

I laid on the bed in a daze. Now when I thought about it, Liam's actions seemed to scream a single word—jealousy. Was he really jealous? And when I had been frightened as if I had seen a ghost, his expressions changed to awkward. He couldn't even see my face.

This was the first time I saw him changing emotions so rapidly—a trace of warmth filled in my heart at that.