Though Roman didn't have a smile on his lips, there was a subtle hint of it in the way he looked at Azazel Donovan, who stood in front of his cell.

  "Where is she?" Donovan asked Roman in a casual tone.

  "Somewhere safe," replied Roman, his eyes not breaking contact with Donovan. The Elder vampire nodded his head.

  At first, Donovan had been irked by the thought that someone had tried to make a fool of him. But then he thought if there was a person who could surpass him, it was only Roman. The boy had potential, and deep within himself, the Elder saw himself in the boy's eyes.

  "What are you going to do now?" Donovan questioned Roman. "You know you cannot protect the girl forever and as any other human, she is going to die one day. Now or later, because of their short span of life and then you will be left heartbroken, Rome. Not that I mind, but I cannot have you showing compassion to the humans……"

  "Julianne has nothing to do with your goals," stated Roman, looking at Donovan unblinkingly. "You will make an enemy out of me."

  Donovan chuckled, "How interesting. Do you think you can go against your maker, Rome?"

  The Elder vampire raised his hand towards the cell, and the locks of the cell's door clicked before opening itself. The four Elders had abilities of their own, which was why they stood in a higher position than the rest of the vampires.

  Roman didn't move from where he stood and stared at Donovan, who had opened the cell's door for him—not knowing if the man wanted to step inside with the thought of wanting to teach him a lesson or if the Elder vampire wanted to free him, where the latter sounded doubtful.

  Donovan stared back at Roman with a challenge in his eyes as he waited for the younger vampire to step outside.

  After a few seconds passed, Roman finally walked out of the cell, and he came to stand right in front of Donovan, looking him straight in the eye.

  "Let her go. There's no point in clinging on to something so useless that can break. You have already seen one example. I don't think you want to witness it again," Donovan advised Roman.

  "If I was planning to let her go, I would have never fallen in love with her in the first place," remarked Roman, and Donovan's eyes subtly narrowed while the smile on his lips didn't disappear.

  The Elder clicked his tongue, his eyes holding darkness in them, and he said, "Mm, so she's special. All it will take is one snap of the neck because I don't mind seeing you go loose on a hunt. I think it would be quite interesting to finally awaken you."

  There weren't many vampire rippers in the world who existed. Many people confused the vampire rippers with vampire rogues, mixing them up while not knowing the difference between them. Rogue vampires were born with existing defects in them, holding no compassion or feelings to anyone. But it wasn't the same when it came to the rippers. The ripper vampires were the ones whose emotions once ran too deep, and once they broke, it was hard to bring them back to their original selves. Their blood lust was so high that some rippers had killed an entire town of people in the past.

  Donovan then asked, "What's so special about her?" his eyes curiously looked at Roman.

  By nature, vampires were mostly detached, and there were only a rare cases where one was attached to something or someone. It took a great deal to bring out the emotion to feel something, and that feeling didn't come often.

  "Everything," replied Roman.

  Donovan was used to Roman's short responses, but he wanted to know more about this girl, who could be just some simple human, where it would be a waste of Roman's time.

  "Now that I think about it, I did miss the subtle hint. The boy you killed did something to the girl, and her face was swollen. To think you can kill a vampire without a thought, for the sake of a girl, imagine what will happen if the girl dies?" Donovan raised his eyebrows.

  Roman looked at his maker with an unamused look on his face.

  "You can try," taunted Roman, the look on his eyes turning fierce, and it excited Donovan. "But don't expect it to end well."

  "That's the exciting part, isn't it," commented Donovan, and he then said, "Why don't you bring this girl here and I would like to take a better look at her."

  Hearing Donovan's words, Roman's eyes narrowed, "Do you think I was bitten by a mad dog to bring her here, when you killed one of the humans after thinking she's important to me?"

  Donovan's lips curled, and he ran his tongue over his fangs, "I am merely curious to know the girl who has captured your attention that you would dare to put yourself through this, getting into a cell and starving yourself for her." He paused for a moment and then said, "The first time I heard, I was taken aback by it. But I think compared to the last two days, I am more reasonable now."

  Roman stared at Donovan before responding, "I think it is better that you two don't meet each other."

  Donovan stepped forward, reducing the gap between them. Before Roman knew it, his maker punched right into his stomach with a strong blow, and Roman fell on one of his knees while trying to hold in pain. He coughed out blood from his mouth as the Elder vampire was stronger than him.

  Roman clenched his jaws together and wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

  "That is for trying to fool me," pointed Donovan, yet internally impressed by Roman's way of handling things. It wasn't full proof, but it was enough to keep others' eyes away from his prized possession. "Julianne Winters, was it? Bring her here, Rome. Let me see what is so special about her. If you don't, I will make sure to bring her here myself in far worse condition than the way she left this place."

  "And what is the guarantee that you won't try to kill her or get someone to kill her?" Roman looked up from where he was, watching Donovan turn his eyes towards the entrance and exit of the dungeon.

  "How about this, Rome. Turn into a ripper, and I will spare the girl," smiled Donovan, putting his offer in front of Roman. "It is a very simple one."

  Donovan knew how easy it was to scare humans. They were scared by the sight of blood, and maybe Roman was the only exception when he was still a human in the past. And by the looks of it, the girl looked like an innocent sheep. Either of the two things could happen, Roman would back away from the girl just to protect her, or the girl would back away from Roman, at the possible threat he could cause her, especially with his image of killing the humans.

  "What do you say?" asked Donovan, his eyes bright with excitement. "I won't harm her, you have my word."

  Roman knew Donovan was playing mind games with him and knowing Julie wouldn't be safe if Donovan decided to hunt her down.

  The Elder had the habit of finishing things if he started it…… But at the same time, he knew Donovan was a man of his word. If he promised something, he would stick to it, possibly because of the period he belonged to where words mattered the most.

  Roman saw two options. One was to get him and Julie out of this place. But Donovan was stubborn in keeping him next to him. The second option was to listen to Donovan by accepting his offer and bring Julie under the Elder's wing that could keep her safe. But it wouldn't be easy.

  The girl who had died two days ago was of no importance to Roman, and knowing Julie could suffer the same fate, he didn't want it.

  There was also a third option, but Roman didn't consider it as it involved him and Julie never seeing each other again. To cut off ties with her and keep her away from the vampire's harm.

  Not to forget, the hunters were slowly catching whiffs of the vampire's existence, where there were possibilities of trouble following them outside Veteris.

  Roman pushed his hand to the ground, standing up straight and in front of Donovan, who waited for his reply. He said, "Fine." This would at least get the old man off his back for a few hours.

  Donovan's fangs were visible as he smiled at Roman's answer, "I will need some confirmation, to make sure they aren't just words from you. Let us go to the town to catch some of the hunters."

  When footsteps echoed in the dungeon, with a light commotion, Roman's eyes moved to the corner. When he turned around, he saw it was two guards who dragged Griffin in there.

  "Why am I being dragged in here!" shouted Griffin, his fangs out and his eyes red.

  One of the guards, who had dragged Griffin in here, was the vampire who used to guard the front gates of Veteris.

  Donovan looked pleasantly surprised and asked, "What is going on in here?"

  Griffin looked at the Elder and beseeched for his help, "Elder Donovan, these two suddenly pulled out from the restroom and dragged me all the way until here, without telling what I did or what's going on."

  "Is that so," murmured Donovan, and he looked at the guardsman of Veteris.

  The guardsman said, "We have been given orders by Ms. Dante to have him in the dungeon's cell right away." Saying it, the two men pushed Griffin inside the cell and locked it.

  "This is ridiculous!" exclaimed Griffin, glaring at the guards.

  Donovan walked to the front side of the cell and said, "Stay calm, and let me listen to what the headmistress has to say. You must have caused some mischief which you don't remember. Hm?"

  Griffin gritted his teeth, "I didn't do anything." He held the cell bars, wanting to get out, but the lock of the door was strong, and it couldn't be opened without a key to it.

  Within a couple of minutes, Ms. Dante and the three Elders arrived in the dungeon. Luciano at the front and the other two Elders at the back closely followed the headmistress.

  "Elder Luciano, please get me out of here! Someone had framed me!" implored Griffin. Luciano had a frown on his face, and he raised his hand to stop Griffin from saying anything more than he already had.

  Griffin quickly closed his mouth, hoping that Elder Luciano would help him out of here.

  Ms. Dante, who was in charge of the matters of the university, stepped forward to speak to the student. The vampiress questioned, "We have proof of you picking up the glass vial bottles from the infirmary, which was later used to contaminate the water tanks."

  "I fucking told you I had nothing to do with this! Moltenore is trying to screw me over!"

  Ms. Dante frowned, "Language, Griffin. Did you steal the glass vial that was kept locked in the storage room of the infirmary?"

  Griffin gritted his teeth, "I didn't try to contaminate the water. It wasn't me! Why would I ever do such a thing when I am an underling of an Elder and have his protection?!"

  "This is something even I would like to know," stated Ms. Dante. Her face was serious, and she said, "Your fingerprints were found on one of the glass vials. And there's no record about you taking the vials of Silverwater. Did you or did you not take it from the infirmary?"

  Luciano's eyes narrowed watching the way Griffin was acting, and he was extremely pissed if it was true that his disciple had tried to pull such a stunt when he was resting. He demanded from Griffin, "Answer the question. Did you steal the vial without anyone's notice?"

  Griffin didn't know how to get out of this situation with everyone's eyes on him, and he pursed his lips. Their gazes were too intense for him to handle, and he broke the silence by replying to his Elder, "I wanted to use it on someone else, so I took the Silverwater vial, but I swear I never went near the water tank to contaminate it."

  Donovan smirked at the boy's words, and he said, "Looks like we have more than one murderer when it comes to our disciples."

  Ms. Dante remarked on Griffin's words by saying, "It is hard to believe that you didn't do it because that was the only way to acquire the Silverwater in the campus. What did you need the Silverwater for? Do you still have it with you?"

  Griffin clenched his hands, and he said, "I wanted to use it on the junior students to let them know how it felt when they drank the Silverwater."

  "How to make them feel or to torture them?" questioned Ms. Dante, and Griffin's eyes hardened.

  "It was just to scare them and nothing more than that. I would never think of trying to harm the Elders even for a second," Griffin looked at them with a bewildered look in his eyes. He turned to look at Elder Luciano and said, "Please believe me, I would never try to make the mistake of disturbing the Elders who were resting in the underground chambers."

  "It is hard to believe," remarked Roman, and Griffin's eyes snapped at him. "You seem to like going extremes when it comes to harming people."

  "And the same can be told about you! You fucking killed Jackson!" Griffin didn't know what Roman was doing outside the cell while he was placed inside the cell. Their roles had reversed. "Why is no one questioning him? It wasn't just mine, whose family was killed by the vampires, you should perhaps ask him. I overheard from the vampire who killed his family, on how Moltenore's brother was killed before he died and Moltenore probably holds a grudge against all of us vampires."

  Luciano's raised one of his eyebrows and then said, "I don't think Griffin is as stupid as you people think of him, that he would try to attempt something like killing any of us Elders." His eyes then fell on Roman, "But you."

  Donovan chuckled, "This is getting absurd."

  Castiel had the same serious look as Ms. Dante, and he questioned Griffin, "Are the students still in the university? The ones whom you fed Silverwater to." The boy was quick to nod his head.

  "You can ask them! They will tell you they drank it," Griffin was quick to answer it, thankful that Castiel questioned this.

  Castiel then said, "Obviously it isn't Roman, or Griffin. But then who is it?" He turned to look at the headmistress.

  Griffin let out a sigh of relief, and he said, "It should be someone else, but it isn't me, Elder Luciano."

  "That doesn't erase the fact that you stole a very important bottle from the infirmary. Do you think it is some common drink that you can take without informing the person in charge?" demanded Donovan, "It is only fair that you spend some time here to reflect on what you did and not to repeat it."

  Luciano couldn't comment on it because, like others, he didn't approve of what Griffin had done. The boy had done nothing but disappoint him since they had woken up.

  "There is no point in looking for the evidence as it seems like it doesn't exist," stated Remy with a grim expression on his face.

  "Check which student is currently not in Veteris and tighten the security around the perimeter so that no one can escape from here," Donovan ordered, and he looked at the guard, who bowed his head. "Earlier I spoke to Isolde, to make arrangements tomorrow for a body check up of the students. To make sure they don't consume anything after their dinner. Extract the blood of the humans in the name of health. Let us see who is consuming Silverwater in here to not be compelled."

  Griffin looked back and forth between all the Elders and then said, "I didn't kill anyone! People take things—"

  "It would be better if you stop speaking, Griffin," Luciano's words were cold, and he glared at his disciple. "Don't make me doubt my choice of turning you into my vampire."

  A subtle smirk appeared on Roman's face when Griffin's eyes shifted and met his. The Elders started to walk out of the dungeon along with the two guards following right behind them.

  Roman pulled out something from his pocket and Griffin scowled on seeing a glass vial in the palm of his hand.

  "This is yours. My bad, the glass vial that belongs to the university that you decided to steal," stated Roman. "You are lucky to be inside the cell while I am outside. Spend some good time here, because it won't be sunshine when you step out of the cell," the smirk on Roman's lips disappeared, and his eyes darkened.

  Roman wondered who was involved in the contamination if it wasn't Griffin.

  "No, you should be happy that I am here inside. You are going to pay for Jackson's death," Griffin retorted with a sneer.

  Roman brought both his hands forward. One held the glass vial, and the other, he used to cut the blood from his finger and let it fill the vial. He then stretched it towards Griffin and said, "Here. I am sure you will need your strength when you will come out. Don't mistake that it ended up with Jackson's death."

  If it weren't for the rusted iron bars that separated them, they would have gotten into a physical fight.

  Roman tilted the glass vial similar to the way Griffin had done earlier, letting his blood fall on the ground. He dropped the glass vial on the ground before leaving the place.

  With the Elders who got busy, Roman didn't wait to see what they were talking about, nor was he interested in playing clown to Griffin. He made his way towards his Dormitorium, heading to his dorm. He picked up his keys and helmet and then made his way to the place where he had parked his motorcycle.

  But on his way, he met Mr. Borrell's who looked slightly surprised on seeing Roman outside instead of being inside the dungeon.

  "Not going to attend the classes?" questioned Mr. Borrell.

  "I am on errands," said Roman and walked past the teacher as he had nothing more to discuss. Reaching where his motorcycle was, he got on it and wore his helmet over his head. Not because he wanted to. It was for Julie. Carrying it in his hand was distracting, and he wanted to reach the town of Queenstorm as quickly as he could before Donovan could try to hook him up with an actual errand or work.

  Back in Veteris' office, Donovan questioned Ms. Dante, "I want details of Julianne Winters. From her class, her family and where her family lives."

  Ms. Dante had hoped the subject would not come up, but hoping something when it came to Azazel Donovan was wrong, she thought in her mind.

  "I will ask Mrs. Hill to take the print of the details and have it sent to your room in the mansion," replied Ms. Dante.

  "Good," replied Donovan with a smile on his lips that seemed to be fixed on his face.

  Mr. Borrell arrived outside Ms. Dante's office room, knocking on the door before stepping inside the room. The man held a file in his hand, stretching it forward. He handed it to Ms. Dante. He said, "These are the details of the students who took a leave to visit their families, and the ones who are here. Only four students are on vacation while the rest are here. Mrs. Hill is currently typing the announcement for tomorrow's health checkup in the morning."

  "What if the person decided to not consume Silverwater in this span of time? It would be hard to find out," Ms. Dante let her concern known.

  "Then it will be easier to compel. There's nothing that can't be fixed. Whoever it is, if they are smart, the person will be packing their things and running once the news reaches the person's ears," said Donovan while smiling to himself.

  And as expected, when the news was sent to each classroom, one classroom at one time, the person who heard it already guessed that the time was squeezing in. The person pushed the glasses up the nose while sitting at the front desk of the classroom.

  Away from Veteris, in the town of Queenstorm, Julie wrote a letter to pass it to Roman through the Corvin's help. She wanted to let him know that she had safely reached the motel and received special treatment after letting the servant boy know that she knew Roman Moltenore.

  "Make sure to give it to him when no one is around," Julie made sure the Corvin understood well so that no one would find a letter dropping out of nowhere.

  'Yes,' replied the bird-like creature, taking the folded letter from her hand, and it started to walk towards the door and passed through the walls as if nothing was obstructing it.

  Once the Corvin had disappeared from the room, Julie's eyes fell back on the food that was on the table. She was torn between wanting to eat it and not to eat it. She walked towards the table, standing in front of the tray on which the desserts and other nice dishes were waiting for her to eat.

  Julie's hand moved towards the glass-covered container, and when her hand reached for it, she quickly grabbed the packet of chips that she had brought from outside.

  Potato chips any day! Walking towards the bed, she sat down before starting to munch on it. While the Corvin had gone to Veteris, minutes later, someone again knocked on Julie's door once again. She walked to the door, opened it and saw it was the motel's owner again.

  You again, thought Julie to herself, wondering what he wanted this time from her.

  "My apologies for disturbing you, miss," Mr. Nottingham bowed his head in such politeness that Julie questioned if she was only being mentally mean for no reason. The man raised his eyes to meet hers, and he said, "One of the umbrellas of the motel is missing from the front. Did you by mistake bring it here with you?"

  Julie turned behind her before looking to the front, and she shook her head, "I placed it back at the stand near the door, when I returned from outside. It isn't here."

  "How unfortunate. I thought you might be having it as we are unable to find it," came Mr. Nottingham's worried tone and a faint disappointment appeared on his face. "The maid is currently searching for it."

  "Maybe someone else took it from the front while stepping outside?" asked Julie, but the man shook his head.

  "I think I will go and take a look one more time. How tiring," sighed the motel owner, and he then asked, "You wouldn't mind, if I ask you to come and take a look at which one you took with you, do you? I will know which one went missing."

  Julie gave him a small nod, and she closed the door behind her before following the motel's owner.

  Coming to the front of the motel, Julie stood in front of the stand to look at the umbrella. Finding the one she had picked, she said, turning around, "This is the one in here. The one with polka dots in them—"

  But her words were cut short when the man tried to push a kerchief onto her face.

  Chloroform!

  Julie tried to hold in her breath while using both her hands to push the kerchief away from her. And the first few seconds, she was successful and ready to push him away and dash towards the door which was nearby. But the man was half successful in getting it near to her nose, where she couldn't hold her breath anymore. Damn it, her lung capacity was little! She cursed in her head.

  She ended up taking a whiff of the chloroform that was on the kerchief.

  She turned her head away, trying to breathe the cleaner air so that she wouldn't inhale any more chloroform than she already had while feeling a little faint.

  While trying to get away from the vampire, who was stronger than her, something happened. The vampire was suddenly jolted away from her as if he had experienced a sudden shock in his body.

  Julie tried to keep her eyes wide and to stop the man from following her outside; she picked up the wooden stake, which she had taken from the fireplace, which she had tried to sharpen last night. She used it to push it into the person's chest, but because of the chloroform taking into effect, her hand swayed, and she ended up piercing the man's arm.

  "Urg!" a disgruntled sound erupted from the vampire's throat.

  Julie tried to focus her vision, keeping herself standing, but she ended up leaning against the wall. Shit!

  The vampire's little outburst had alerted a few people, wondering where the sound came from. The customer, who had previously requested for Julie as his meal, came to the front where the counter was.

  "What's with the ruckus?" asked the man. He then noticed the owner of the motel had been stabbed and then the human, who had leaned against the wall and was trying to get to the door. He rolled his eyes, pulling a couple of notes and handing them to the vampire who had been stabbed. "I will take my meal from here."

  Saying this, the man dragged Julie to the room, where he and his wife planned to feast on the young human.

  Julie tried to get away from the vampire, who had gripped her hand tightly and pushed her into a room before locking it close.

  "I was wondering where you went," came the woman's voice, who had been sitting on the bed until now. She stood up, "I have been thirsty. Glad to see you brought our meal to feast," and she ran her tongue over her fangs while her eyes turned red.

  "Pretty neat for a meal, isn't she?" The man held Julie's shoulder and touched her neck. "I can already feel the blood rushing and how warm it is."

  "Don't," Julie warned them both, trying to push his hand away from her. But when the palm of her hand came in contact with the vampire, flashes of images came in front of her eyes, and all she saw was blood and bodies that was dead on the ground. She smacked his hand away.

  "The last time someone tried to do something, the person died. You don't want that," she said while being cornered by the two vampires in the locked room.

  "Oh, don't worry about it. We'll be gentle and you won't even feel a thing," laughed the woman in a mocking tone.

  Julie's hand was stretched in front of her, trying to keep them away from her.

  "It is the weather to have hot blood which is fresh," commented the man, who held her wrist, and he stepped forward.

  Even though her vision was slightly blurry, she noticed the bright red eyes, and with the man coming closer, she saw him open his mouth, showing his fangs. He was readying himself to take a bite, and Julie used all the strength she could use in pushing both the vampire and the vampiress away from her on both sides as they neared her neck.

  For a moment, her body felt cold, like she had been dipped in the icy water.

  "What the fuck—" exclaimed the vampire, and Julie opened her eyes to notice a pale blue light appear around them.

  Outside the room and in the motel, the boy who had shown up in front of Julie's room came to the front on hearing the earlier cry.? On seeing the man behind the counter wrapping his hand in a bandage, he asked,

  "What happened to you?"

  "I got fucking stabbed by the human," the man gritted his teeth.

  "You still haven't learned how to handle humans. Which one was it?" asked the boy, looking at the floor while making sure its surface didn't have any blood on it. "Did you deliver the human or did you tie the person in the basement?"

  The man shook his head and said, "She's in the customer's room. Room One O' four, Mr. Nottingham."

  To the customers, the man who had been stabbed was the motel's owner, when in truth, it was the boy, who was the real Mr. Nottingham. Being young in appearance as he had stopped ageing too soon, it was difficult to deceive the humans, and he had appointed another vampire, who was older to look at.

  "She's the new customer, who came in yesterday and is occupying the ol—"

  "What?!" the actual Mr. Nottingham's eyes widened.

  He ran to the room of the vampire customer, hoping the girl was still alive and breathing, that nothing had happened. She had been placed in the far corner of the motel corridor that he had not expected for a vampire customer to order her as a meal.

  Appearing in front of the room, Mr. Nottingham pushed the double doors with force, and it opened with a loud sound. And though he had been hoping for the human to go untouched, his eyes went wide when he saw blood on the ground.

  But then he saw the vampires on the floor, coughing blood, while the girl had her back leaned against the wall with spots of blood on her, with her eyes wide.