Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

Cordelia was sitting at the head of the table. She turned to the woman who had been talking and filling them in on the gossips. Though she didn't like the woman, for being closer to the royals than she was, she had invited her here to confirm the rumors, since their princess was too busy to attend her party.

Within a few minutes, Cordelia was filled in on everything, but the more she listened, the angrier she became. Her cousin was back in Nightbrook? And not only that, the human wasn't dead and was back with him?

How could they be alive when she had believed until now that that arrogant cousin of hers and his useless wife were dead?!

Not that she would have minded if it were just Rohan who had not died and was back, as despite the months that had passed after the hunt, she still believed somewhere in her mind that he would be a better partner for her than Mr. Clifton at running their business and affairs.

Her affairs with Mr. Clifton were halfhearted; she didn't like the man, except, of course, for his money and the power she held by being with him. He wasn't even half as smart or as much of a man as her Rohan had ever been.

If she had Rohan by her side running this establishment they were expanding, she was certain it would have flourished more than it was doing now. He would have given her ideas on ways to make humans more obedient and break anyone who dared to show strength or backbone.

But the fact that he was back with that human? Didn't that mean he had stopped the useless thing from reaching the danger zone that day and had taken her away, only now returning? Because that was the only explanation for why she was alive, when Cordelia had compelled her to walk without stopping into danger. No human, especially that useless one, could have resisted her powers of compulsion!

Her cousin had always been a strong vampire, and him being alive after an attempt on his life was a great sign that he was meant to come back into her life again. Mr. Clifton was nothing but her money lottery; apart from that, he was boring, and she had to fight the urge to kill the man every time he reminded her about the marriage she had promised him they would have.

She would have to be dead in the brain to settle down with a human, a person lower than her, someone she could step on. If she ever wanted to settle down, it was going to be with a vampire as strong and smart as her. And only one person fit that.

But with that stupid, unattractive human her cousin had as a wife...

Feeling suddenly frustrated and irritated, Cordelia slammed her fists on the table, startling her guests, who turned to look at her.

Mustering a tight smile, she told them, "As much as I would love for us all to continue enjoying the party, I am afraid I have to put an end to it and look through some important matters. If everyone would please—" She motioned politely with her hand toward the exit, and everyone understood that she meant the tea party was over for the night.

"A businesswoman like me needs time to think," she added, so as not to give herself a bad name after building her own empire in a year. She bade them farewell at the doorway, kissing cheeks and even sending a few of the important vampires back with promises that she would give them humans at a discount whenever they came around to buy a slave.

Soon, everyone was gone except for her few important friends, whom she had signaled with her eyes to stay back, as they needed to talk.

The vampire couple, Stephanie Rothbarth and her husband Eddie Rothbarth, and two other couples, the Greywolf, remained standing in the parlor as she walked back toward them, her heels clicking elegantly against the polished marble floor.

"I told you we should have blown off her head with the gun, Cordie. There was no way she would have survived a bullet to the head like she survived the danger zone," remarked Stephanie with a sneer as she paced the room.

"She never reached the danger zone, or she wouldn't have survived. The mad vampire must have reached her before she got there," Cordelia said through gritted teeth, her voice furious, openly showing her annoyance now that she was alone with close friends. Cordelia never regretted her actions, but for the first time, she did. She wished she had listened to Steph and blown off that fragile, useless head.

"You should forget about the bitch, Cordie. It's not like a mere human like her could do anything to you anyway," remarked Stephanie's husband, Eddie, as he nonchalantly drank from the wrist of a human by his side.

Cordelia glared at him. "She's my enemy, and she took something that is supposed to be mine. And in case you've forgotten, she's your enemy too, she and that useless bitch, Evenly. We never let enemies walk out alive. Steph, you don't plan on letting this slide, do you? Not when that Evenly got one over you. She beat the hell out of you that day in the forest, and with this human being alive, it might cause me too much stress, stress that could delay the new establishment I promised to keep you in charge of. You don't want that, do you, Eddie? A delay."

Cordelia watched the fire of hate and desperation return to her friends' eyes as she reminded them why they couldn't let this slide. This couple had been pestering her about putting them in charge of the new place, but she had told them she would consider it. Now she knew they wouldn't want any delay in the time she took to consider.

She didn't have to do anything herself this time when she had these vampires at her beck and call, vampires who would gladly take on an enemy for her. She wouldn't want to get on her cousin bad side again by doing it herself.

"Don't worry, Cordie, I will deal with the human for you. As long as she's in Nightbrook, I can handle it. We did it the other time during the hunt, we can corner her again," Eddie assured, unwilling to play with anything that could cause a delay to his future position.

After leaving Cordelia's house that night, the vampiress Stephanie and her husband were both determined to deal with this matter, not only because they had failed to kill this human during the hunt, but because if they took care of an enemy for Cordelia, she might finally consider giving them charge of one of the establishments she was building in the big city of Nightbrook.

They made silent plans on their way home inside their carriage. Even when they reached their own mansion and were walking inside, they were still deep in discussion.

"It's not like anyone would know that we did it. We could get the human and take her head back to Cordie. We've known each other since we were all little, and you know if she's satisfied with something, she won't hesitate to grant us that request, and—" Steph stopped mid-sentence as something suddenly felt strange about the air around their residence.

A frown settled on her face when they both noticed at the same time that the door of the front entrance was wide open, with the strong smell of blood lingering in the night air.

"Something is not right, Eddie," said the vampiress as they walked cautiously into the house, where the smell of blood got stronger and a stench of something rotten and foul made them cover their noses with their scented sleeves, while wondering what the hell their butler was doing to dare leave their house this open with such a smell lingering, a smell of decay.

However, they didn't even have to wonder where the smell was coming from because the moment they stepped into the house, the lights of the chandelier in the halls suddenly came on, giving them a clear view of what lay around the floor of their grand hall.

Severed bodies that made them stop short in their tracks. Blood smeared the white walls and marble floors, limbs that were brutally severed lay in different directions of the place, that even the sight was unsettling to vampires who were used to blood.

Their entire workers were turned vampires. If their bodies had been this brutally severed, whatever was responsible for it was something that could kill a vampire. The two exchanged alarmed glances and a silent nod of understanding to not proceed into the house and leave to report this immediately.

Nonetheless, before they could back away from the scene in the hall and leave, they both sensed the unmistakable presence of whatever was responsible still inside their house. Then, without warning, the door slammed shut behind them, the lock clicking into place by itself, without a key in the keyhole.

The moment the door locked, they heard a low, guttural growl from behind, followed by the metallic clanking of chains dragging against the floor, and heavy footsteps echoing through the vast hall.

If the couple had hearts, their hearts would have leapt as they turned toward the sound, only to be met with a sight that rooted them to the spot.

The one responsible for this mess was none other than a single rogue. But that wasn't what truly stunned and immobilized them.

The rogue was hunched over on the floor, a thick leash fastened around his neck like that of an animal, the chain stretching forward and clinking sharply with every small movement it made.

At the other end of that chain stood a tall man dressed in dark attires, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing firm, tanned-toned forearms, veins and muscle corded beneath his skin. His right hand held the chain effortlessly, the links coiled securely around a gloved palm.

Honey-colored skin caught and glimmered under the warm light of the chandelier, making him look like a figure who had stepped straight out of a dark, haunting painting. His eyes were so black it was like staring into a bottomless pit of hell. Loose strands of dark blue hair fell messily over his head and across his forehead, and a cigar rested between his teeth, his lips curved faintly at one corner in what looked to be a knowing, dangerous smirk.

"Hello." He waved his free hand at them, a wicked smile curling over his handsome face.

They didn't need to ask who he was. They already knew.