Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 174: A Predator in Love

After dinner, Ruelle returned to her room while Peyton stood right outside her door. When she stepped further inside, her eyes caught a shadow near the fireplace, where the light fell on the fur.

It was Zhenya. At the rustle of her clothes, the wolf opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Ruelle asked the wolf, making her way toward the fireplace with a smile. "Were you waiting for me?"

Hearing her speak, the door opened. Peyton suddenly took a peek inside, her eyes conducting a rapid assessment of the space before her gaze found the wolf. Her dagger was quick to be pulled out.

"He’s a pet. Don’t hurt him!" Ruelle quickly shielded the wolf by coming in between, her hands raised on either side. A low growl came from behind her, the wolf’s eyes focusing on the vampiress.

The vampiress stared at them for a long moment before finally lowering the dagger. Soon, the wolf nudged its muzzle into Ruelle’s hand with particular affection. She noticed the vampiress’s eyes moved to look at the closed window and then back at her.

Peyton took a step back away from the door, bowing her head, she closed it. But just as the vampiress, turned, she caught a figure approaching in the corridor.

"Hello there, grumpy," Dane greeted.

Peyton didn’t respond through words or by action. Her face remained expressionless, her attention unwavering. She informed,

"Miss Belmont is preparing to sleep."

"Aw, that’s alright. I am here for you," Dane’s voice came with that particular warmth that made it impossible to tell if he was being sincere or manipulative. He pulled out two cookies from his pocket, a gesture so casual it should have seemed harmless. "You will die for boredom standing here like a guard dog. Might as well enjoy some treats while you are at it."

When Carnifex’s assistant briefly glanced at Dane’s hand, he added, "I noticed you didn’t have anything to eat, as you have been following Ruelle all day long. It would be rather harsh if you were to faint when you are in the Slaters’ mansion."

"I already fed myself in the courthouse. You don’t have to worry about such things, Mr. Slater," Peyton answered, before her eyes returned to the door behind which Ruelle and the wolf were in the room. Her ears were trained on the human to make sure she was safe as well as kept pure as per the instructions she had received.

"If you are worried about turning fat, don’t mind it. Women look much better when they have meat on the bones," Dane hummed, noticing her continued silence. "Or do you think that I have... laced something in the cookies?"

He then took a bite from one of them before swallowing. But the woman remained uninterested in his gimmicks.

They could hear Ruelle talking to the wolf inside the room. The vampiress said,

"I didn’t know Miss Belmont had a wolf as a pet."

"He suits her, doesn’t he?" Dane said, and something in his expression suggested he wasn’t talking about the wolf at all. "Lucian and she brought the wolf from the forest when they were little. She doesn’t remember it so my brother raised it."

The information hung in the air before he continued, "You might be curious as to why he didn’t tell her about it."

"I didn’t ask."

Peyton’s response came defensively, as if she should have stayed quiet.

But Dane only smiled. He replied, "You don’t have to be shy about it. Lucian doesn’t want to reveal their past moments, as if the fruit would be sweeter if she remembered it herself. He could help her remember, but instead he waits. He has patience."

"Let us hope it stays the same for the next nineteen days."

Dane chuckled at that. "Aren’t you a little too on them? Feeling lonely and projecting the dissatisfaction on the kids?"

When Peyton didn’t respond, Dane stared at her as if he had found a button to push and intended to keep pressing it. "Do you know if I were in my brother’s place, I would have revealed everything and also tied the person to me."

The door opened and Ruelle looked slightly surprised to find Dane standing outside her room. She asked, "Brother Dane, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure Peyton isn’t bored," his response came with innocence.

"Mr. Slater, I am content standing alone if you think I need your company. It would be better for you to find your amusements somewhere else," Peyton didn’t look at him as she said it.

"Woe is me. Care for some cookies?" Dane asked but then said, "On second thought, maybe not. Who knows what’s in it."

He then asked Ruelle, "Why haven’t you gone to bed yet? You know, in the past, there was a time when you and your family once stayed here, just for one night, and you were so scared that we slept together."

Peyton stared at Dane before he wished Ruelle a goodnight and the young woman returned inside the room.

Brother Dane trying to woo Peyton? But at the

she patted the mattress. The wolf was quick to jump on the bed, walking in circles before curling next to her. The wolf’s

the wolf whine, she laid her head on the

what she had dreamed, a soft sigh escaped

left uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Fragments of the past bleeding through. But

was different.

they followed all the conditions, thought Ruelle to herself. She didn’t

he is doing now..." she

him as she fell asleep. At the same thought, she

something good this time." Ruelle buried her head into the wolf’s fur,

one of the town’s edge, Harold Belmont counted the change in

good money in no time. Just need to pay the minister and they will let Caroline off the hook," Harold muttered, slipping the coins back

Henley’s residence, Mr. and Mrs. Belmont had gone to stay in one of the relatives’ houses. A temporary arrangement, they’d been told. Just for a few days until Ezekiel brought a new place. His son-in-law—who had disappeared last afternoon—had appeared before them to inform them he was trying to get

Slater had put Caroline in the

huffed, his breath escaping in fog

perhaps he was so consumed by his own arrogance

local carriage to return. It was then that he noticed a shadow fall on him. The shadow elongated, the movement

face with a force that made his thoughts pause for a few seconds. When the metal and the bone of his head collided, it made a sharp clang sound without warning. His head spun and he fell sideways

shot through his jaw and he felt something in his mouth. When he spat,

pain radiate like wildfire. Blood spilt out of his

turned to see who had dared—his eyes widened. Dark red eyes stared down

there holding the shovel loosely in one gloved hand, his black coat blending almost

here?" Mr. Belmont demanded, his lips trembling with shock and fear. "I will report your

tilting his head to the side, staring at the human with the particular interest

so you can’t silence me," Mr. Belmont threatened, even as he tried to scramble

The shovel scraped against the cold ground, a sound

at the sight of the shovel. His voice cracked, "What do you want?! Why

"To kill you."

stand and began to run. He tried to

his head rang harder than before. He fell right on his face and fear had caught on to his legs which refused to move. Lucian

"Let me go—Let me—"

terror in Mr. Belmont’s chest worsen. He crouched before the human, one gloved hand reaching calmly for Mr. Belmont’s ankle. "You

eyes widened from the sharp pain that erupted along with crack of the bone. But before he could scream, Lucian swung the

Belmont’s unconscious face for a long moment. Snow continued to fall quietly around them while blood spilt beneath

violent moved beneath Lucian’s skin. The memory of Ruelle standing at the edge of that cliff refused to leave him and the thought

a word, the pureblooded vampire bent down and seized the human by the arm before dragging him deeper into the nearby forest. Harold’s body

reached the heart of the

cigar from inside his coat, Lucian slid it between his lips before lighting the end of it. The brief flare of fire illuminated the sharp lines of his face and the dark red of his eyes, casting something almost wicked across

lingered in the air around him. For a moment, silence settled through the forest

night while the ember at the end of the cigar

was Dane, who walked towards where his brother stood. Mr. Belmont stirred in pain, groaning and whimpering, while he tried to gain a complete conscious state. The human had begun to sob. "What did he do to get

asked, the ember of the cigar glowing briefly between his fingers, "if you found the one thing you hold most dearly almost ceased to

question lingered in

to exist, even thinking the words felt wrong to him. The soul bond was more than what was spoken and known about. It allowed the marker to draw in the person’s essence,

disappeared before he ever reached her. The thought settled inside him violently. As though something precious had nearly been stolen from him before he even

in Lucian’s

his head in his hand, his face scrunched in pain as

simple. Rid the root of the problem, of course," Dane answered

had tried to get up only to end up shrieking

pain. The futility of it was almost pathetic. "How do you think Ruelle would feel if she found out that you killed her father?! She has a soft heart, and she might have been okay with you hurting my hands, but death is too extreme! You will make

Lucian didn’t respond.

leg with enough force for the

Lucian caught the man by the jaw and forced the burning end

"Mmgh—!"

ash and the taste