Chapter 24
Fu Xia thought she was losing her mind.
Even with colored contacts, it was impossible for everyone’s eyes to turn red.
But just as the students were lunging at her like a pack of wild animals, the person holding her spoke.
“Kneel.”
The strange, commanding tone was right next to her ear, but this time, it wasn’t directed at her.
The power of Domination and Conquest was unleashed. The people who had been drawn by her blood, ready to pounce, instantly fell to their knees. But their deathly pale faces were still turned toward her.
The black-haired, green-eyed Prince spoke in a cold voice. “Either I take your heads, or you lower them yourselves.”
And so, the figures who had been frozen like statues respectfully bowed their heads.
I must be hallucinating from the fall, Fu Xia thought.
The scene defied any scientific explanation. She simply lowered her head, trying to use Pei Wang’s strength to steady herself. The moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her knee. She didn’t know if a piece of glass had pierced her skin, but the feeling of blood trickling down was horribly clear.
…Fu Xia swore she could hear a chorus of swallowing sounds.
Anxiously, she shifted her leg, and the grip on her wrist tightened.
The next second, Pei Wang swept her up into his arms. Before she could even see what was happening, he pressed her head against his chest.
The party outside was still going on, but everything inside the Lakeside Theater seemed to have frozen in time. The wind rushed past her ears; Pei Wang was moving incredibly fast. Fu Xia didn’t know where he was taking her. She clutched his clothes tightly.
—He took her back to his residence.
Fu Xia was thrown onto a bed. Fortunately, as a rich young master, his bed was soft enough that it didn’t hurt her.
He didn’t give her a moment to process. He half-knelt by the bed, grabbed her by the ankle to pull her to the edge, and began to gently lick the wound on her knee.
The tip of his tongue swept over the cut. Fu Xia instinctively flinched, but he easily held her thigh in place. His sharp canine teeth grazed the wound. From her angle, his lowered eyelashes hid most of the emotion in his eyes, but a faint, unnatural flush had spread across his pale face.
“There might be glass shards…” Fu Xia started, then hissed in pain. “Hiss!”
His teeth had pierced her skin. The stinging, alcohol-like pain quickly transformed into a different sensation.
The blood on her knee was no longer enough to satisfy him.
The scent of blood was different. The blood from a wound, from menstruation—they all had different flavors. But in the past, a Prince like Pei Wang typically drank only the freshest blood. He could feel a restlessness stirring within him. Fu Xia’s blood was like a catalyst, making it difficult for the Vampire Prince to control himself.
Realizing what he was about to do, Fu Xia braced her hands behind her and scrambled backward in terror, only to be dragged back by the ankle.
“!! Are you insane??”
She clawed at his hair, but his strength was far beyond what she could resist. This guy has always liked licking my blood, but not like this…!!
The young man took several deep breaths, as if fighting a great struggle. That strange, commanding tone returned. “Open.”
“You’re really insane…!”
She didn’t obey the command. She kept her legs clamped shut, preferring to squeeze her knee and make the wound bleed more.
Pei Wang’s eyelids lifted.
…The ability hadn’t worked.
But his blood-addled brain couldn’t think too much right now. The handsome young man ran a hand through his messy hair, pushing it back from his forehead. He bit down gently on her knee again.
Fu Xia felt a wave of dizziness. She could feel him cleaning the wound, his movements almost gentle and considerate.
A single thought dominated her mind.
…Even if I give myself to him completely, it would probably be okay.
And so, the Prince, having injected his venom, opened the gates with ease. He expertly found the source of the wonderful scent.
—The moment Fu Xia had appeared at the Lakeside Theater, she had become the prey of every vampire present. The human chosen by the Progenitor held an extraordinary attraction for them.
Pei Wang lowered his head, his high-bridged nose moving closer. His movements were not gentle; they were, in fact, rather rough.
…Starting tonight, every Prince, pure-blood, and half-breed would make her their target.
Should I cut out her heart now?
But she clearly doesn’t love me.
At that realization, his movements stopped abruptly. The young man pushed himself up. He could feel a sharp pain in his chest, a pain he had never felt before, making it impossible to maintain his facade.
Fu Xia, who had already resigned herself to her fate, suddenly felt his cold fangs clamp down on her, grinding with a dangerous force.
…She had absolutely no intention of getting a piercing.
She had just pushed herself up when she saw him lift his eyes. The blood on the corner of his lips was smeared, making him look like a dangerous predator that had just fed. His sharp fangs looked like they could easily pierce human skin.
And… his eyes… were completely red.
Fu Xia wanted to roll her eyes back and faint. This was beyond words like “psycho” or “fetish.” Pei Wang might not even be human!
It took all his strength to suppress the urge to bite through her. He seemed to be fighting an immense pain.
“What did you drink?” he asked.
…
—Poison, of course.
Zhu Ye stood on the second floor, thinking calmly. He was dressed in a well-tailored white suit, adorned with gold accessories, looking for all the world like a handsome knight from a fairy tale.
Pei Wang’s ability had a long-lasting effect; the vampires below were still kneeling. The humans, however, had mostly been unable to withstand the command and had fallen unconscious. The Vampire Prince had taken her away. Between her period and the open wound, he would never be able to resist the urge to drink her blood.
—And the moment he did, the blood Zhu Ye had fed her would take effect.
In this game, the human had always been the unwitting prey. That was too unfair to her.
…But he probably won’t drain her completely, right?
At that thought, Zhu Ye unconsciously tapped his fingers on the railing. That cross-dressing guy chased after them. He should be of some use. Or maybe I should go? An out-of-control Pei Wang might be easy to deal with.
As he was thinking, he suddenly froze. He shifted his stance, leaning forward on the railing.
The vampires below were kneeling in a circle. And in the center of that circle, someone was now standing.
Compared to Zhu Ye, his hair was a lighter shade of blond. His eyes were a crystal-clear light blue. His features were not aggressive; he looked gentle and warm, bringing to mind the feeling of spring.
The young man walked through the wreckage, his steps faltering as he caught the faint scent of blood in the air. He lifted his gaze to look at Zhu Ye, who was still leaning against the second-floor railing.
Zhu Ye wasn’t flustered. A provocative grin spread across his face. “What are you going to do, Mr. Student Council President?”
The man below let out a soft sigh. “You’ve caused me a great deal of trouble.”
He asked, “Are you also participating in the struggle for the Progenitor’s legacy, half-breed?”
Zhu Ye clapped his hands.
The crisp sound echoed through the silent theater. The kneeling vampires, as if released from a spell, slowly began to stand. Pairs of blood-red eyes lit up, all of them fixed on the pale blond figure.
Zhu Ye’s eyes curved. “No. I’m only interested in your target.”