Claimed by the Prince of Darkness-Chapter 127: The Arrival
The vampire’s grip on Ruelle’s hair was firm, as if she were an object he refused to give up.
"Why are you testing my patience?" the vampiress demanded, her brows knitting in irritation. "Did I not tell you to drink from her after I am finished?"
Bowen let out a dry, mocking laugh before asking, "Have you grown dull overnight? Though I suppose considering you chose to spend the night with that old minister, it wouldn’t be surprising."
Alanna turned utterly red at her peers’ words and she spat, "I did not spend the night with the minister!"
"No need to be ashamed about it. We all have peculiar preferences," Bowen continued taunting her, and during this, Ruelle flinched when the vampire tugged sharply on her hair, pain shooting through the back of her head.
"Careful there. The minister may have been foolish enough to try his luck with me, but you are not important enough to survive the same mistake," Alanna warned with her eyes turning icy.
"Ugh," the vampire who was drinking blood from a woman groaned in annoyance. "Get the fuck out of here. I didn’t come here to listen to you two bicker. You two are ruining the mood," he then dragged the human out instead of waiting for Bowen or Alanna to leave.
Bowen retorted back to Alanna’s words, "You are awfully defensive for someone who claims nothing happened."
Ruelle’s eyes met Kevin’s. The anger in his eyes burned fiercely, but the chain around his neck left him unable to do anything but watch. Her gaze returned to the platter, and her fingers moved closer to the fork— 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
At the same moment, Alanna’s hand moved toward the table. Ruelle’s heart dropped, thinking the vampiress was reaching for her. Instead, the vampiress grabbed the platter and smashed it hard against the vampire’s head.
The blow was hard enough to make Bowen yank Ruelle down with him, and her head struck against the edge of the table. Ruelle scrambled away, clutching the fork in her hand. While the humans in the room stared in stunned silence, several of the vampires merely watched with amusement.
"You deranged woman!" Bowen snapped as a thin line of blood ran down the side of his temple.
Soon the vampire forgot about Ruelle and attacked Alanna to get back at her. At the same time, Kevin twisted away, using the sudden disturbance to roll free. The vampiress who had her heel on his back lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Ruelle’s and Kevin’s eyes met again, and they looked at the door before they got up without wasting another second and ran for it.
"Get them!" Orpheus shouted, the sound of chain rattling as Kevin ran with the end of it dragging across the floor behind him.
As they stumbled out, Ruelle pulled one door closed while Kevin slammed the other shut and latched it. Ruelle could feel her heart pounding against her chest.
"Hailey," Ruelle gasped. "We need to find her." But as they ran through the corridors, checking room after room for their friend, Kevin’s chain weighed around him and she asked, "Do the vampires have the key to it?"
"I’ll cut it out later," Kevin said quickly. Their footsteps echoed through the corridor and behind them came a violent crash as the vampires burst through the doors they had been locked in.
On one side they had to find Hailey and on the other side, there were vampires who were hunting them through the corridors.
It wasn’t like the vampires wouldn’t be able to notice them from their footsteps and beating hearts. So she shouted, "Hailey!"
"Hailey!!" Kevin shouted louder, but there was no response.
On the other hand, Hailey had almost reached the floor where they had been taken earlier when something suddenly flew out of a room and smashed against the wall. Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
"I will fucking rip your head off!" she heard Alanna’s voice from inside. Panic rising, she glanced left and right before darting onto the nearby balcony.
"Hailey!"
Kevin’s voice echoed from the ground floor. Had they escaped? And she tried to get to them.
Ruelle’s and Kevin’s voices had drawn attention to them, and their elite classmate appeared right before them who was one among others who had decided to hunt them down. Kevin used the chains to bind the vampires hands but he was no match as he was harshly thrown against the wall.
"With everyone speaking about your blood... you’ve made me curious," Orpheus said, his tongue running over his fang before he lunged at her.
Ruelle dug the fork into his hand before her nails clawed across his face as she tried pushing him away. But a human was no match to a vampire’s strength. Before his fangs could get any closer to her, a loud thumping sound came at them before the vampire was torn away from her.
Zhenya, Ruelle noticed the silver-black fur and relief spread across her face.
The wolf’s jaws were clamped deep into the vampire’s shoulder, and the vampire snarled as pain ripped through him.
"Fucking mutt! Argh, where did it even come from?!" Orpheus yelled as his shoulder began to bleed profusely. In an attempt to get rid of the wolf, the vampire’s nails dug into the wolf, which had the wolf whimper for a moment before it broke away.
Orpheus clutched his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he growled, only to receive a guttural growl that vibrated through the old corridor. Zhenya bared its teeth at the vampire, ready to rip the person’s head off. The vampire glared but too injured and weak to carry on, he turned away and left.
Unaware of the wolf’s origin, Kevin noticed it snarling near Ruelle and mistook it for another threat. Grabbing a broken piece of wood from the shattered window frame, he rushed forward to drive it away.
"Kevin, no!" Ruelle shouted upon noticing him charge forward.
Zhenya turned at the movement and Ruelle stepped between them. Soon the jagged wood drove into the back of her shoulder and she gasped while her arms weakened as she wrapped her arms around the wolf.
"Ruelle...!" The blood drained from Kevin’s face as guilt and horror overtook him. "I didn’t mean to..."
"He’s a friend. Don’t hurt him..." Ruelle’s voice trembled and her words were meant for both the wolf and Kevin.
Before another word could be shared, Ruelle caught sight of the person who had appeared at the end of the corridor. His face was expressionless as he walked forward, passing Kevin without sparing him a glance. The young man instinctively stepped back, startled by the pureblooded vampire’s sudden presence.
When Lucian reached her, he crouched until his eyes were level with hers. She felt his intense gaze on her, his eyes moving to her shoulder and for a brief moment the corridor grew unnaturally quiet.
Ruelle felt her heart hitch and she uttered, "I am f–"
Lucian pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against her forehead, holding it there. His eyes darkened at the scent of her blood and he remarked, "You are making it very easy for me."
