After discussing the matter about the hunters with the Elders, the older vampires left the room, and along with them, left Mr. Borrell and Griffin. Now that Dante was alone, she sat down on her chair. She placed her hand on her face, still in disbelief that Piper had died, and she shook her head.

  Pulling her hands away from her face for a moment, she then rubbed her forehead before placing them on the surface of the desk. A sigh escaped from her lips.

  After a minute passed, someone knocked on the door, and Dante didn't know what other bad news to expect. "Come in," she said, and she saw Maximus step inside the room.

  "Ms. Dante, there might be a problem," Maximus spoke slightly in a hurried tone, and Dante stared at him for a second. It didn't take long for her to connect, seeing the missing person next to Maximus.

  "Where is Roman?" questioned Ms. Dante.

  "Still in the campus," replied Maximus, and then he said, "We have one death in the campus and I took the person to the infirmary."

  "Looks like this night has nothing but problems to offer," spoke Ms. Dante, letting out a frustrated sigh. She stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat. "Do you know where he is exactly?"

  "I think he went to take a walk around the campus," replied Maximus and Ms. Dante, who finished wearing her coat, stepped out of the office room, followed by Maximus.

  "Let us hope that there's no more deaths, because I don't want to be dealing with it now," said Dante, and they stepped out of the building, searching for Roman.

  After looking around, Maximus returned to the infirmary building to meet Olivia and let her know what had happened. While in there, he caught sight of Roman sitting on the bed of one of the rooms, and for a moment, he shook his head in disbelief as if he was daydreaming.

  Stepping closer to the room, he saw Roman with Elder Remy and Isolde. His arm was injected with a syringe to draw out blood, which was transferred into four little glass tubes, which were later placed in a box.

  Maximus had a look of confusion in his eyes, and he heard Roman ask Isolde, "Will that be all?"

  Isolde replied, "Yes."

  Roman was chewing gum, and he stood up, pulling out the IV, when Isolde asked Elder Remy, "Why don't we keep him in here tonight for observation? I am sure Ms. Dante and others would appreciate it, instead of him walking on the university grounds…"

  "Don't worry, Isolde. I won't be snapping your neck to drink blood," said Roman, and a frown appeared on Isolde's face.

  Roman walked past Maximus, disappearing from the corridor to go to another corridor, and the latter stepped inside the room. He asked, "Elder Remy, what was the blood for?"

  "Olivia mentioned that he's turned into a ripper and I said I would run a few tests on his blood samples so that we can compare it with the previous ones. It would be better to know why his body is getting affected this much," stated Elder Remy.

  "If it weren't for you, Elder Remy, it would have been hard to bring him in here," said Isolde, shaking her head. Elder Remy could heal a person to a certain extent. Many times in the past, he handled corrupted vampires as well as the vampires who turned into rippers, trying to slow it down.

  Though when it came to the vampiress case, Piper Martin's case, Elder Remy wasn't able to help or remotely regulate it as he hadn't joined them for the hunt.

  "I cannot completely stop or reverse the changes taking place in Roman," said the Elder, looking down at the box where the blood had been collected. "But with the latest discoveries in science, I hope we can figure out most of it so that we know how we can stop a person from turning into a ripper. We already have three variations of his blood. When he was normal, shot with the silver bullet and the present condition."

  "Do you think it would be better if we lock him inside the dungeon?" asked Maximus.

  "What's going on?" Simon entered the room from behind Maximus, wondering what the discussion was about.

  "It is about Roman. He's turned blood thirsty… Piper is no more," informed Maximus, not liking the fact that he had to keep repeating it to people. Piper was a good woman, and she had always been someone one could go up to and speak to freely. She wasn't stuck up like the other vampires, but then it was possibly because of her humble background.

  His eyebrows subtly furrowed by this information.

  Elder Remy interrupted them by speaking, "Restraining a ripper vampire is not a good approach. As much as it seems it is the right thing to do, by keeping an uncontrollable predator away from people, so that he or she won't harm people, it only makes the person more restless or agitated and could worsen things."

  "I am sure Liv would now see me in a better light," murmured Simon under his breath, a sigh escaping from his lips. It was because, if there was someone in their group, Simon was the one who had a higher count of kills and was reckless when it came to fooling around with the humans.? As Roman consumed too many cans of blood, people's attention had shifted away from Simon and fell on Rome.

  "What do we do now?" asked Maximus to Elder Remy.

  "Right now, keep a watch on him so that he doesn't fall into the category of a murderer with many deaths on his hands," answered the Elder vampire. "Keep the girl around him, it might help."

  "You mean the human?" asked Isolde, and she shook her head. "I don't think it is advisable. Roman's thirst for blood runs higher than the other vampires. Or any vampires for that matter and it has been like this since the time he transformed into a vampire. Keeping the girl next to him is nothing less than a side snack or full course of meal that would only make things worse."

  Elder Remy's face held a grim expression. His slightly droopy eyes stared into space.

  "It is risky, but probably the most effective one in our hands right now. If you don't want the boy's heart to turn worse, which has the possibility of getting corrupted, you will need to do damage control before it will be hard to fix things up. The girl might live or she might die by his hands," came the emotionless words from Elder Remy, where his tone barely seemed fazed.

  Like the other Elder vampires, Elder Remy didn't care much about things like this, and his emotions ran on a surfacial level of the water rather than diving too deep into it. And if there was someone he remotely cared about, it was none other than the girl he had given his blood. Olivia Trosney.

  While they discussed, away from there, Roman made his way to another room where Julie was sleeping. When he came near the room, Olivia stood outside, with her back leaning against the wall.

  Olivia's eyes met Roman's blood-red eyes, and she said, "I heard about what happened. My condolences to you, Rome."

  Roman stared back at Olivia, "Thanks. Piper will be happier on the other side than staying here," he replied to her. "There was nothing much here except for the rusty memories. At least she wouldn't be crying over how she misses Tristan and can be with him."

  Olivia tried to evaluate Roman's words, wondering how much he was affected by Piper's death and so far, it looked controlled. Maybe there was a way to get him back to his usual self, thought Olivia to herself.

  Roman didn't bother to make small talk with her, and he went straight to where Julie was fast asleep. When he leaned closer, with his hands near the girl, Olivia turned a little wary, and she said, "She slept a few minutes ago. Let her sleep."

  But Olivia's words fell on deaf ears. Roman stared at Julie, noticing her breathing was calm. His eyes took in a quick look around the room, noticing the Corvin wasn't here.

  Julie looked delicate, her lips slightly parted, and in her sleep, one of her hands had moved to place near her chest. She looked innocent with her hair sprawled around her head. Her neck was outstretched to the side, allowing him to view her fragile and smooth neck.

  Roman could hear the pulsing of her heart rate while smelling the sweet scent of her blood, inviting him to take a bite from her.

  He picked her up in his arms by hooking his hands under her knees and then her back before lifting her.

  Olivia turned slightly alarmed and asked him, "Where are you taking her?"

  Roman walked towards the room door, carrying Julie in his arms, who subconsciously snuggled her head close to his chest. Somewhere even in her sleep, the scent of Roman drew her near to him.

  "Somewhere away from people's prying eyes. Thanks for looking after her, Liv," said Roman, and Olivia nodded her head while being wary of what Roman had on his mind.

  Obviously, Roman cared a lot for Julianne, but the question was if that was enough to keep her alive and him back to being his usual vampire self.

  Roman carried Julie out of the room, making his way through the corridor. He stepped out of the infirmary building. Instead of taking Julie to the girl's Dormitorium, which the female warden was a hassle, he took her to the boy's Dormitorium, where his dorm was.

  The male warden of the boy's Dormitorium saw Roman carrying a girl inside the building, but he didn't stop him. Instead, he quietly sat there watching the vampire climbing up the stairs. As much as there were rules to be followed for the students in Veteris, not all rules applied equally to everyone.

  Julie snuggled until she felt her body slightly sway and her eyes slowly started to open, and her mind slowly started to pull out of her sleep, and she hummed.

  "Where are we?" asked Julie, pulling her head away from his chest, to look up at Roman, who held a serious expression on his face. She looked around, realizing this didn't look like the girl's Dormitorium, as her dorm was on the ground floor.

  "Boy's Dormitorium," replied Roman, and Julie quickly shook her head to get rid of the sleepiness in her head.

  Julie had been too exhausted earlier, especially sending Natalie possibly to Willow Creek, which had drained most of her energy. She had tried to stay awake, but while waiting for Roman to return, her tired eyes gave up and had automatically closed earlier.

  "B-boy's Dormitorium?" asked Julie in surprise, while also admiring the fact that Roman was strong enough to carry her in both his arms without much difficulty.

  And while Julie was busy admiring things about Roman, she failed to notice the new look in his eyes, which was filled with a raw wilderness, which had turned dark.

  The incandescent bulb lights in the corridor had turned dim, leaving only a little glow such that Julie completely failed to notice the subtle changes in Roman while not knowing something had snapped inside him.

  "I am taking you to my dorm," stated Roman, his eyes looking down at her, where she looked a little apprehensive about it.

  "But… the rules say a girl and boy aren't supposed to spend time in the dorm after the curfew," Julie felt her heart race. It wasn't that she and Roman hadn't spent their time together in her dorm, but they had never spent the entire night together. Roman usually left her dorm before dawn, sneaking out of the window.

  But in her case, if she tried to sneak out of the window, her being caught was more guaranteed. Not to mention, their relationship status had moved a notch higher than what it was when they were last in Veteris. Though it had been only yesterday, where she had felt Roman's hands tease her, his lips brush against her skin, the memory was still fresh. She said,

  "I can walk."

  "That's fine," remarked Roman, his response short, and Julie wondered if there was something important that he wanted to speak to her about. The corridor, as expected, was quiet, and when they finally reached the front of his dorm, he let her stand on the ground.

  Julie looked to her right, watching the lonely corridor, which gave a feeling as if she was back in the past when this was Marudas' mansion. Her hands wrung together, slightly worried that they would be caught by someone and also hoping Donovan wouldn't show up in front of Roman's room. That would be more embarrassing than the last time.

  Once Roman unlocked the dorm's door, he pushed it open before turning to look at Julie, who was staring at the room. "After you," he said to her, his eyes taking note of how her lips parted, and she took a deep breath as if gathering herself.

  Roman probably brought her here so that Donovan would not show up in her own dorm, thought Julie. She took a step forward into the room and asked him, "Olivia said that you went on a mission with the others. What was it about?"

  When Julie took one step forward, Roman placed one hand on her lower back, and he followed her before closing the door behind him. He turned on one of the lights in the room, which lit up the room but not too bright.

  When Julie turned around to look at Roman, she noticed how his eyes were quick to move to meet her gaze without wasting even a second from her. What she didn't notice earlier, she finally felt something very different about him. It was very subtle, yet at the same time, it was obvious as if something had changed.

  Roman watched her quietly, before he strode towards the fridge. He opened the fridges door, picking up one of the blood cans from there. He said,

  "We went to kill the hunters who have been causing troubles to our kind, the night creatures," said Roman, letting his back lean against the table.

  "Did everything go well?" asked Julie, watching Roman bring up the blood can to his lips while his gaze continued to stay on her. She decided to lean against the wall.

  Roman took another mouthful of sip, and once he gulped it down, he ran his tongue across his lips. He gave her a nod, "We killed all the hunters. There will probably be an increase of hunters looking for us. The hunters will now know what to expect and not to go killing our kind for no reason."

  He skipped mentioning Piper's death, his memory on it turning hazy as he didn't want to remember it. He shook the can of blood that was in his hand and then drank the remaining blood in it.

  "Earlier, you fell unconscious. You should get some rest," stated Roman, but Julie doubted she would be able to rest here.

  "You need it more," said Julie, and she noticed the slight tear on his arm. "You're hurt."

  "Mm," hummed Roman, taking another can of blood, he pulled its ring. "Got it when we went to hunt."

  "Don't you need to tend to it?" because the wound seemed painful.

  "It doesn't hurt," replied Roman, and once he was done drinking the blood in less than a few seconds, he crushed the can and threw it in the bin.

  Julie doubted there was anything to be shy about, as they had already done more than just sleep, but then this was his bed. Roman Moltenore's bed, thought Julie in her mind.

  When she started to walk towards the bed, Julie turned and found him standing just one step away from her. A small startled gasp escaped from her lips, and she said, "That scared me," and she laughed. "When we were in the infirmary, you didn't seem like yourself. Is everything okay now?" she asked him, even though there seemed something very odd with the way Roman was looking at her.

  "Why wouldn't it be?" questioned Roman, bringing his hand up to push a piece of her hair behind her ear.

  There was something off! Thought Julie to herself. It wasn't that Roman wasn't romantic before, but this had a little bit of danger as if a lion was patting its prey before it would pounce on it. But then it felt like that before she knew he was a vampire.

  Julie felt his finger trail down on one side of her neck before he dropped his hand back to his side.

  "You seemed to be in too much pain and earlier you were also coughing blood," Julie looked into his eyes, which seemed hauntingly attractive because of the redness. "I don't know what happened after that. When I woke up, you were not there."

  "You lost consciousness. It looked like you tried to heal me and in the process lost your energy. Don't ever do that again," remarked Roman, while he walked to his bed, and he removed his shoes. He looked at her as if waiting for her to come and join him. "Let us get you some good rest."

  Julie removed her shoes before climbing into the bed, and she moved towards the side of the wall. Roman joined her, slipping into the covers while pulling it over both of them.

  "What are you doing that far?" he questioned her, the expression on his face unamused. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

  "Rome?" asked Julie.

  "Hm?"

  Julie placed her hand on Roman's chest, and she asked him, "Did something happen back in the forest when you went to the mission with the others?"

  One corner of Roman's lips pulled up, and he said, "Why do you ask?" He pushed her hair behind her shoulder while his fingers trailed on her neck.

  "You seem a little odd…" replied Julie before realizing the way she phrased it. "I mean, not weird, but it feels like something happened and I don't know…" she lifted her head, craning her neck, she met Roman's eyes, which had been fixed on her neck, before snapping to look into her eyes.

  "How so? I forgot to mention, Donovan knows about you," Roman let her know. Julie's eyes widened, and her lips moved.

  "W-what? How did that happen?" questioned Julie, and Roman lips twisted in distaste.

  "It was because of your beloved Corvin. It likes to drag you into situations you are not supposed to be in. Why don't you discard it, like now," said Roman, and for a moment, Julie didn't understand until her eyebrows furrowed.

  Roman turned behind him, with his hand stretched forward, and when his hand lit a ball of fire, Julie noticed the Corvin standing in the room.

  "Did something happen?" Julie asked the Corvin, a little startled and somewhat embarrassed because it hadn't made its presence known, and she believed it had only been Roman and her in this room. Her eyebrows drew closer and she sat up right on the bed.

  'No stay here. Not him,' warned the Corvin.

  The Corvin was back to hating Roman's presence around her, and Julie pursed her lips, "It is fine, Corvin. We have already gone through it several times before about this."

  'Death. Death lingers around him,' said the Corvin, looking at Roman.

  Roman sat up too, turning his body, where he pulled one leg towards him and placed his hand on his knee. "How annoying," remarked Roma. He used his other hand to bring out the ball of fire, which turned intense.

  "Both of you stop this!" said Julie because it was like having two children bickering with each other.

  Julie's eyes widened, and she quickly went to scramble out of the bed. But before she had the opportunity to put both her legs down on the ground, Roman caught hold of her hand.

  "Rome, you cannot burn—"

  Julie stopped her words, when she saw the changes in Roman's face. His pupil turned nothing less to an abyss of darkness contained in them, and his fangs were visible that looked lethal. But the most prominent feature was the little roots like imprints around his eyes.

  "Stay here, Winters."

  'Death hangs around him—son of darkness. Not same anymore,' the Corvin let her know. 'Not safe. Ripper.'

  For a moment, Julie's mind froze. She blinked her eyes, before looking at the Corvin with confusion, and she looked at Roman. Ripper….?

  Julie wasn't unaware of what the term meant in the vampire world, but it was not possible. Roman did have some distinctive characteristics, but he couldn't be a ripper… thought Julie in her mind.

  She didn't know if it was the time to be scared or worried about Roman. Was it because of the effect of the silver bullet that had dissolved in his body, that had turned him into a ripper?

  "What is the Corvin talking about, Rome?" Julie asked and Roman looked annoyed at the creature, wanting to burn it in flames.

  "The Corvin likes to overthink that I might harm you. You know I wouldn't do that, love, don't you?" Roman asked her, his eyes meeting hers. He then turned to look at the Corvin, "She's mine and she doesn't go anywhere. Not near you at least."

  The Corvin was not happy, and it brought its hand forward, where the shape of its finger started to change as if it was ready to kill Roman.