Music Recommendation: I know It's Isn't love. Nevertheless, — Ong Sung Eun

  [NOTE: Physical copy giveaway revision:

  Top 10: Hardbound of LTR and slipcase, 'The Crown's Obsession' of Vol1 and Vol2, bookmark

  Top 11-40: Softbound of LTR

  A few LTR copies will be handed out to readers out of the list for their support. The list will be taken tomorrow at reset.]

  —


  Julie saw Roman turned his face away, bringing his hand up, he ran his fingers through his hair as if in frustration. She was glad to see that a part of his feelings still remained inside of him, even if it meant that he was hurting now. Seeing him in this state, her heart ached, and she wished she could be more helpful to him.

  But after a person died, there was very little anyone could do but accept the fate handed down to a person.

  "Why do you want me to feel it?" a sigh escaped from Roman's lips as if he was tired and didn't want to deal with anything more right now, except for his blood lust.

  "Because it makes you who you are," replied Julie. Letting go of his hand that she was holding until now, she stood up from the bed, and she came to stand right in front of him.

  Roman, who had slightly lowered his head, raised it to meet her eyes, "You're worrying for no reason, Winters. I am fine."

  But Julie shook her head, "When my mother passed away, I shut myself in the room for hours, days, and I didn't want anybody's help. I wanted to be swallowed because I felt there was nothing left for me… people whom I believed in didn't exist, because my mother's death was caused by my father. But I slowly started to change, because my mother wouldn't want me in that miserable state."

  "What makes you think I am miserable?" deadpanned Roman, and Julie bit the inside of her cheek.

  "You shut down your feelings, Rome… It's okay to mourn, and to feel grief. It is what makes us still alive even if there are some things that tear us down," Julie placed her hands on his shoulders. "You can take as much time as you want, and I will just be here. Right next to you, waiting."

  "And what if I don't want to? If it ain't broken then don't fix it," replied Roman, his cold gaze piercing through her heart, and she tried her best to keep her ground.

  "Why don't you want to?" Julie's words were barely above a whisper, and she continued to stare back into his red eyes while the room held a golden glow that spread from the bedside lamp.

  Roman's lips parted, irritation and anger filled in his eyes, and he took a second before he said, "Because sometimes you get too attached to things or people, and when they are gone, it leaves a void. The void never fills and it leaves a hole of darkness."

  Julie understood what Roman's words meant. He had lost his biological mother when he was very young, and then he had lost the family who had taken him in. As if that wasn't enough, he now had lost Piper, the woman who was connected to his brother, someone who had his sibling's memories.

  She stepped closer and came to stand in between his legs. She circled her arms around him. She knew the pain Roman felt was too deep, and he had buried it. But by doing that, it could suffocate any person… and change that person, just like how Roman was turning into a ripper.

  Julie doubted Roman had turned into a complete ripper, a full-fledged one who goes rampant and kills people on a whim. There was still the old him, the one she had tripped along their path, fallen for him, and he had caught her. Saved her in many ways, and she drew courage from him.

  Roman didn't move for a few seconds, and when Julie felt like he didn't want to speak about anything, she was about to step back. But right at that moment, he put his arms around her waist.

  "Don't move. Stay," said Roman, and Julie smiled.

  "I will always stay," replied Julie, moving her body closer and hugging him while Roman hugged her back.

  To Julie, it was alright if he didn't want to speak about how he was feeling, but she wouldn't just stand on the sidelines and watch him go downhill. She wished she could disappear right now, just Roman and her, far away from Donovan. It truly did feel like she was dealing with a jealous mother-in-law.

  "She threw up too much blood, she tried to hold on as long as she could," Julie heard Roman speak to her, while they didn't move away from each other. "I think the gunshot was meant for me, not her."

  Julie's eyebrows furrowed at this. Someone was aiming to kill Roman tonight?

  "Piper just happened to be standing in front of me, and she kept moving left and right. It must have confused the badgered human hunter. And the bullet hit her," stated Roman, the grip of his hands tightened around her waist, and Julie now understood the weight that he carried in his chest. "She was never meant to die. She was foolish to come and join the mission tonight."

  "She cared about you," whispered Julie, and she ran her hand on the back of his head. "Like you… to her you were the last connection to the memory of the person she treasured. She wanted to be there."

  "Doesn't make her any less foolish," responded Roman, there was anger beneath the surface of his voice. "I was hoping she would live as long as I did. And I never wanted to be the one to bury her in the casket."

  Julie didn't protest when Roman buried his face in her waist as if he needed a place of his own, and she was the place right now. A safe haven where he could be himself.

  "I am here, Rome, and I will not let you go. No matter what happens or what the future holds, I will continue to stand by next to you," Julie's words were firm, and the intoxication that she had felt earlier has started to dull down, and she felt more like herself and less impulsive.

  Julie ran her hand over Roman's head, "She is in a better place now… Sometimes we miss the ones who have left us, but they are often in a better place. Peaceful than the time they spent here. Ms. Piper was a woman none of us will ever forget. Her scolding students in the detention room, her being loud while looking at some with annoyance like an older sister. And no one will ever forget the person she was when it came to being fair, and kind. Someone who was filled with life…"

  Now that she thought about it, Julie wondered how lonely it must have been for the vampiress to have lived through a life of being a vampire with no one. Even Roman had been woken up only a few years ago, while she was there the entire time Veteris had turned into an education institute.

  "Why are you so sweet," murmured Roman, and there was tenderness in his voice, and it warmed Julie's heart. As if she was able to see glimpses of the person who he truly was.

  "How can I not be," asked Julie, "You are the only person I have… and can be like this with."

  "Are you not scared that I might kill you? I feel very thirsty, like all I want to do is sink my fangs into a person and drink them until there's no more to drink. As if there's a void that I am not able to fill no matter how much I take," confessed Roman, a sigh escaping from his lips. His head felt a little clearer than before, but the ache in his fangs didn't disappear, and his thirst felt like it had been multiplied.

  "You might drink my blood until the very last drop in my body… but the way you feel… it won't disappear. I am here for you, Rome," whispered Julie, and she finally felt Roman pull his head away from her waist that he had earlier buried himself in while the hold around her waist loosened.

  Julie looked down at Roman, noticing him look up at her. Even though Roman had not shed tears, she noticed the rim of his eyes that had turned slightly red over his skin.

  Her hands cupped his face, and she bent towards his face, kissing his lips tenderly. Roman's eyes closed for a fleeting second before he opened them when she pulled away, to see her brown eyes that stared back at him with faith in him.

  Roman pulled her in his arms that led to Julie sitting on his lap, and he hugged her. Julie hugged him back, putting her arms around him as if, this time, it was her who was being consoled.

  In the span of twenty-four hours, so much had happened, and it felt like they were finally able to breathe. Even if Donovan was somewhere in this building, neither of them cared about it because right now, all that mattered was them being here together with each other.

  Once they had spent enough time, Roman said, "I should get her better flowers later. I think Dante is arranging for a proper goodbye for her."

  "Do you want to attend it?" asked Julie, and she pulled back to meet his eyes again.

  As much as Roman had calmed down, Julie sensed the despair of not being able to do anything. He said, "I frankly don't want to." But he didn't stop there and continued, "When my family passed away, I didn't get to attend their funeral. To say goodbye to them because I was changing into a vampire. Even when my birth mother passed away, I was not allowed to see her one last time. Everything was done in a hurry, to wrap things as quickly as one could and hush that she didn't exist before or later. I didn't want to attend before, but I want to be there tomorrow for Piper. It is the least I can do."

  Julie was glad to hear it, and she said, "I will come with you. I would like to see her one last time and say my goodbyes to her."

  Roman's fingers gently rubbed Julie's back, and he gave her a nod, "She would appreciate that from you."

  His other hand went to hold her hand that was resting on her lap. He intertwined his fingers with hers, and Julie felt safe, knowing that there was nothing she had to worry about with Roman next to her. Be it in his ripper or non-ripper form.

  "How do you feel now? Drink the water with the lemon and it will try to tone down the fuzzy feeling you had earlier," said Roman, picking up the bottle from the ground, which Julie had earlier placed.

  He handed it to her, and Julie took a couple of sips, where few drops of water spilt down from the corner of her lips. She raised her hand, reaching for her lips, but Roman was quicker, and he wiped it with his hand.

  "Don't go drinking things that you don't know. Some of the liquids are harmful to the witches and though most vampires have forgotten about the existence of the witches, it doesn't mean your life is free and without any trouble."

  "I didn't want you harming yourself because of Donovan," replied Julie, feeling his thumb caress the side of her jaw, rubbing it gently, and her heart skipped a beat.

  "Donovan is annoying as fuck, and if you follow him, he will pull you into the pit of hell which would be hard to come out from. He's just testing me, and let's try to ignore that he exists," stated Roman, and Julie slightly raised her eyebrows.

  "Is that a possible thing to do?"

  "No, that's wishful thinking. He's like an annoying fly that will keep hovering around," said Roman, and he pulled her by her waist, such that Julie now laid her head on his shoulder.

  "Why is he so enthusiastic about having you as a ripper? Isn't he sufficient to work alone?" asked Julie to Roman, staring at the lamp on the bedside, where the light reflected on them.

  "He's a lonely vampire and needs someone to kill time with," Roman rolled his eyes, tucking Julie's head under his chin. "He wants someone of his own par, to stand next to him. You could say he has high standards when it comes to people and he's annoyingly clingy," a light, frustrated sigh escaped from his lips.

  Turning to her, he kissed the top of her head and said, "You must be sleepy. Do you want to sleep here?"

  Julie shook her head, and she snuggled closer to him, "I don't want to sleep," she said, even though her eyes were slowly turning heavy. "There was something I wanted to speak to you about before but I didn't know when to bring it up."

  "What is it about?" asked Roman, running his hand to pet the back of her head.

  She pursed her lips before saying, "It is Evans… The Corvin knows Evans and trusts him."

  "The counsellor of Veteris?" verified Roman, a small frown appearing on his face, and Julie nodded her head.

  "Mm. He had visited the room when I was in the infirmary. I didn't get to talk to him as Olivia was there, but he seems to know about who I am. I think he has answers," said Julie and the frown on Roman's face deepened. It was because Evans was a vampire, someone who had been turned at the same time when most of the people from Veteris had been turned. It made him question if they had missed a connection. "Do you think it would be alright to get back to Veteris now?" she asked him.

  "Yeah," replied Roman, and they stood up. "Give me a second," and he turned to the fridge before pulling out the cans and drinking them one after another and Julie's eyes widened, wondering where the blood was going.

  When Roman drank enough so that he wouldn't end up drinking or killing anyone in front of Julie, he placed the can and ran his tongue across his lips.

  They left the room, walking down the stairs, and when they reached the ground floor, with the music turning louder and louder, waking Julie out of her possible sleep, she felt Roman slip his hand into hers as if it was something he subconsciously did.

  The wildness in Roman's eyes hadn't reduced, and the way he looked at people around him was nothing but of pure annoyance as if they were an eyesore except for the one he held on to.

  They reached where Donovan was sitting with the siblings, and they both looked extremely comfortable, as if something had happened. The Elder vampire had a smile on his face, and he appeared to be relaxed as if he was having the best time here.

  "Oh well, you are back, Roman," remarked Donovan, and he looked at Julie, who stood behind Roman. His eyes fell on their hands, and he looked up, "Looks like the lovers quarrel was short lived. And here I thought I would be able to see something interesting."

  "How long are you planning to stay here?" questioned Roman, without looking at the sibling vampires.

  "I haven't thought about it. Why?" Donovan raised his eyebrows.

  Roman looked at Greysen and said, "Put Donovan's bill on my tab. I will make the payment," and he then looked at Donovan, "I am bored, we are leaving."

  He didn't wait for Donovan's approval and tugged Julie's hand, pulling her away from the booth and then the crowd before they stepped out of the building. There was still a long line of people outside the building, where vampires and a few humans, who didn't know about this place, stood, waiting to get inside the club.

  A person quickly hurried outside from the building, with a note in his hand, and he called, "Mr. Moltenore!"

  Both Roman and Julie turned back and they saw the man jogged towards them.

  "Mr. Donovan sent this one for you," and he handed the note to Roman.

  Roman took it from the person, and the man went back inside the building. When he opened the note and read it, he rolled his eyes.

  "What does it say?" asked Julie.

  "Donovan wants to see how we'll get back to Veteris without the car because it's his," he crushed the paper and threw it in the nearby bin, which went perfectly inside it. "Good thing that he is still catching up with the current time."

  They walked to a certain distance before booking a cab and headed back on their way to Veteris. The ride was quiet, where Julie held his hand and her head leaned against his shoulder.

  Julie fell asleep, while Roman looked at the road ahead of him. The color of Roman's eyes fluctuated between black and red, as if the ripper traits were trying to push through but after a few seconds, his eyes turned to his usual black ones.

  When the cab reached Veteris, Roman was about to carry Julie, but she woke up before that. They stepped out of the car, and he offered his hand for her to take.

  While Roman and Julie started to walk, he felt as if someone was watching them…… His eyes quickly moved to catch sight of a woman, standing not too far from the edge of the forest, staring at them with a grim expression on her face before she disappeared as if she was never there.