DUSK.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts forming in it, but it seemed impossible.
It made no sense that Lucius would kill his people. It made no sense that he was a vampire or that he joined hands with a maid who was secretly a vampire.
Still, all those bloody tissues in the waste bin seemed to be calling out to me, telling me things.
I gulped and closed my eyes.
"Take a deep breath. These thoughts are insane.” I said to myself. I left the bathroom, and at that same moment, Lucius came in shirtless.
I swallowed hard as I felt like I was caught doing something worth punishing.
"I… I came in just now. You weren’t in.” I said, and he tilted his head.
"You look distraught. What’s the matter?" he asked, and I swallowed again.
"Another victim has been found.” I said, and his eyes widened instantly.
"Where? How?" He asked me to come closer, and I took two quick steps back.
"He’s still alive, but he’s in a critical condition. The physicians think he was bitten by—“ I started saying, but the moment he heard that the man was still alive, he went to get a shirt and pulled it over his head. I stared at him in confusion. It made no sense.
If he was the culprit, then he should be scared that the man was alive. Why did he look so desperate to get there?
He left the room, but before closing the door, he looked at me.
"Aren’t you coming?" He asked, and I hurried out of his room.
"A solution has finally come; if he can tell us who is behind all of this, I’ll definitely put a stop to all this.” He said, and as we walked out of his quarters, I kept on staring at him.
"What’s wrong?" He asked without looking at me.
"Did you spar? Or go hunting? I thought I saw a little blood on your floor.” I lied, and he looked at me.
"Blood? You probably saw it wrong. I haven’t sparred with anyone for a while. I went hunting, but I disposed of my clothes before stepping into my quarters.” He said and quickened his pace.
"I probably saw it wrong.” I said.
When we got to the physician’s quarters, he broke into a run, and I had to follow quickly.
"Where’s he?" he asked, and the physician pointed him out.
"Leo." He said, and I saw a quick look of hurt flash through his eyes.
He touched him and checked his body.
"Why’s he so… Oh my God. This is... this is a vampire’s bite.” He said, and everyone looked at each other. There had been a fierce debate on it earlier, but it hadn’t taken Lucius a minute to find out that it was a vampire.
I started to doubt myself. He had said there was no blood in his room, and he had been so worried about the man lying down. Maybe I was overthinking things.
Even though I felt I was wrong about Lucius, the look in that man’s eyes as he called him the Alpha was haunting.
"I’m just confused about how it could have been a vampire. A vampire can’t win against us, and he’s not just any wolf; he’s a warrior.”
"From what I see, he doesn’t show any sign of struggle; I don’t think it was a hard fight, and another thing that baffles me is that Leo isn’t known to show fear.”
"He is one fearless man, and this expression on his face is clearly fear.” Lucius said, and everyone was silent as they stared at the man.
"Vampires can compel! Maybe he or she compelled him.” Seline said, but both Lucius and Marcus shook their heads.
"Vampires can’t compel wolves.” Marcus said, and Seline’s face dropped.
But this is definitely a vampire’s bite, so how did the vampire manage to bite and suck blood out of a fearless warrior without him struggling?” Seline asked, and Marcus sighed.
"That’s the question everyone wants an answer to.” He said, and Seline went to him.
"Maybe he was secretly scared of vampires, or maybe this vampire is really a terror.” She said, and Lucius gave a low growl.
"Not Leo. The only person Leo ever shows signs of fear towards is none other than me.” He said, and it was all the more reason to suspect him.
After all, it had been his name that Leo had called until he passed out.
~
I had gone to the library to do my personal research on vampires because I couldn’t understand anything that was going on. If it wasn’t a vampire, then it had to be Lucius.
It felt like the whole thing was messing with my head. I felt guilty for suspecting Lucius, but those bloody tissues couldn’t leave my head.
I walked around the library, checking shelf after shelf, until I finally found a book on vampires. Although the book wasn’t solely about vampires, it was still my best shot. I sat down and began to flip the pages, looking for the chapter on vampires.
The book introduced vampires as white, pale-skinned, and fanged creatures of the night who had a sole mission, which was to fill every vein in their bodies with blood.
I kept on reading, and a single sentence seemed to light a little candle in my current world of darkness.
It read: "Vampires are capable of compelling with their gaze and their words; when using words, it can sound imperative and also calm, or honeyed."
Immediately after I read that line, all my thoughts went to a single person.
My analysis wasn’t complete, and I wasn’t sure how everything had happened, but I had an idea of who was behind it.
It had to be that single person.
That person with white and pale skin, that person who had slightly longer canines in a smile, that person who had come out of nowhere, that person who had a voice that was calm and honeyed and could also be controlling.
That certain person who lied about being a wolf and a coyote. The vampire in the midst of wolves.
Athena.