"Fucking hell!" Cassandra cursed as she runs.
"Come on, love! You are about to reach the finish line," Sebastian said while clapping his hand. Cassandra glared at him and raised her middle finger. He woke her up early in the morning to run laps. Cassandra lost the count of how many laps she had already run. It's a good thing Academia canceled the class today because of the Battle of the Strongest.
"I'm going to castrate you, Blood! I swear to Moon Goddess!" Cassandra screamed at the top of her lungs, but Sebastian only laughed at her.
"You can do it, Cassy! I will lend my strength to you!" Cassandra's wolf said. "Show to mate that you can do it," she added. Cassandra used all her remaining strength and reached the line. She was panting so hard. Cassandra slumped on the ground catching her breath. Sebastian handed her bottled water in which she gladly took.
"That was a good run, love, but you still need to improve your stamina," Sebastian said. "You'll need it to fight powerful participants. Rest for now. I'll spar with you later," he added and took the empty bottle in Cassandra's hand. Sebastian kissed her forehead and left. Werewolves love to run, but Cassandra was exhausted to the point of wanting to give up. Sebastian has his own style of training Cassandra, and all of it was hard. In this, many envies Cassandra.
Sebastian, whom the students looked up to with admiration and ranked as the strongest in Academia, was her personal trainer.
"Are you okay?" Lisanna worriedly asked. The two apologized non-stop for what they did, and Cassandra had already forgiven them.
"No. I'm tired," Cassandra muttered and groaned. "Fuck Blood and his training. He can go train himself. I quit!" she added with her both hands raised in the air. She went back to the dorm while Lisanna and Abegail followed behind.
"You'll be okay, Cassy," Lisanna said, comforting her.
"Damn vampire," Cassandra muttered. Abegail chuckled. When they arrived, Sebastian was standing outside of their dorm.
"Can I talk to her?" Sebastian asked. Lisanna and Abegail looked into each other and nodded at Sebastian.
"Cassy, we are going in first," Lisanna said. "Hon," Sebastian said and walked towards her.
"What are you doing here, Blood? I don't want to talk to you," Cassandra said and rolled her eyes. Sebastian chuckled. Cassandra felt his arms on her shoulders.
"Are you mad right now?" Sebastian asked. Cassandra could picture him grinning like an idiot; she tried removing his arms and smacked his shoulder.
"You jerk! I want to throw you to the ocean and fee you to the sharks!" Cassandra shouted. Sebastian laughed and hugged her from behind; her anger instantly disappears. That's the effect of his hug on her.
"I'm sorry, hon. I maybe did overdo it. That's why I want to make it up to you," Sebastian mumbled. "What do you want to eat?" he added. Cassandra faced him and raised her eyebrows.
"I'm saying this, Blood. You can't bribe me with food," Cassandra said.
"You don't want pizza? Ice cream? Or burgers?" Sebastian said with a smile. Cassandra could feel her mouth water at the foods he mentioned.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Cassandra said and walked away. Sebastian laughed behind her, shook his head, and followed her.
In a mansion, hooded men line up, waiting for the leader's arrival.
"It's time," the hooded man said while walking. He was the leader of the group. The members looked at him; excitement was written all over their faces.
"The Lord shall arise from his deep slumber!" he announces. The room filled with happiness for the lord they worship with their lives has come back to life. The man exited the room, he opened the secret passage and found the coffin already opened. He scanned the area and found the lord holding a dead guard in his hand. The hooded man smiled.
"Welcome back, my lord," he said and bowed. The lord looked at him and smiled evilly.
"Resutis em lisheri mein. Prepare a feast for I have returned," the lord said. "I want a virgin girl for my food, Hecatos," he added. Hecatos smiled and nodded.
"Yes, my lord," Hecatos muttered before disappearing into the darkroom.
"I will inflict fear once again," he said. The lord laughed that resonated in the room.
Sebastian wiped the sauce in Cassandra's mouth. He was enjoying watching her energetically eat. They are in the pizza house as per Cassandra's request.
"Damn! This is so good!" Cassandra said as she took the last piece of pizza in her mouth. Sebastian chuckled.
"Are you still mad at me?" Sebastian asked and held her hand.
"I will forgive you once you buy me another box of pizza," Cassandra said and smiled.
"Okay, fine," Sebastian muttered. "After this love, we have to go somewhere," he added. Cassandra's forehead creased.
"Where are we going?" Cassandra asked and drink her soda.
"I want you to meet someone. She is very special to me," Sebastian said while smiling from ear to ear.
"Don't tell me it's a woman," Cassandra asked and glared at him. "You guessed it right. She's a woman," Sebastian answered.
"What? Is that your other woman? Are you kidding me!? Do you want to hurt my feelings that badly!?" Cassandra asked, her chest ache. She couldn't take it and wanted to cry. Sebastian stood up and went beside her. He pulled her closed to him and kissed her cheeks.
"You're overreacting, love. Just go with me, will you?" Sebastian said. Cassandra heaved a sigh. Sebastian rented a boat; he carefully helped Cassandra and drove to the neighboring island.
"We're here," Sebastian said and turned the motor off. He went down and carried Cassandra so she wouldn't get wet.
"Cemetery? What are we doing here?" Cassandra asked. She looked around and saw tombstones. Cassandra remembered reading in a book that one island was made to be a cemetery. The two walked further inside.
"I want you to meet her," Sebastian said with a smile on his face. He pointed to a tombstone with gold-plated design and flowers all over. Cassandra quietly read what's written on it. Alicia Kurtstein Blood.
"She's my mom," Sebastian uttered. Cassandra sadly looked at her while Sebastian was looking at the tomb.
"I'm sorry," Casandra said and bowed her head. She was ashamed of what she has said earlier at the pizza house. She wanted to scold herself for being insensitive.
"It's okay. It's not your fault, love," Sebastian said and sat on the ground.
"May I ask something?" Cassandra said and sat beside her, brushing her fingers through the flowers. Sebastian nodded his head.
"Why is she buried here? I thought there's a special location to bury the royal family?" Cassandra asked. Sebastian heaved a sigh and picked up a small stone, throwing it to the tree in front of them.
"She wished to be buried here," Sebastian answered. He touched the tombstone, a little smile found its way on his lips.
"Mom, I would like you to meet my girl. She's Cassandra Louise Reese," Sebastian said and glanced at Cassandra. His eyes were shining as he said it. "She's awesome, Mom. Just like you," he added. Cassandra covered her mouth to prevent herself from sobbing. She cleared her throat and touched the tomb.
"Hi, Ma'am. I'm your son's mate," Cassandra started. "We started a little bit off, but he was gentle and sweet to me. Don't worry, I will take care of him in your stead," she said with a smile.
"You heard that, Mom? She's really awesome, right?" Sebastian proudly said and pulled Cassandra close to him. The wind suddenly blew that made Cassandra grabbed the hem of Sebastian's shirt. Sebastian chuckled.
"Mom, don't scare my girl. We'll go ahead now," Sebastian said. Cassandra bid her goodbye and stood up when suddenly, a loud scream echoed inside the cemetery. It was the scream of a soul dying.
"What is that!?" Cassandra asked. She was starting to get scared. "Stay here, love. I'll go check it out," Sebastian sternly said.
"Don't you dare fucking leave me here, Blood! I'll come with you!" Cassandra seriously said and grabbed his hand. Sebastian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He doesn't want Cassandra to be in danger but seeing her so determined, he couldn't say no.
"Okay, fine! But don't ever leave my side, understood?" Sebastian seriously asked while looking straight into her eyes. Cassandra nodded hastily, and they began to walk to the area where the scream seemed to originate.
Cassandra wanted to vomit at the sight of the dead body in front of her. It was a girl of their age, and her body was sliced open. She had missing organs, a heart, and even eyes. The girl also has a missing leg and was murdered brutally.
"Holy moly! What kind of monster would do this to a girl?" Cassandra asked. Sebastian looked around and spoke.
"Ghouls."