A Heart For The Heartless

When Mikhail returned to the bedroom hours later, he found Cassy sleeping peacefully, completely unguarded.

Judging by her reaction earlier, he realized that it was the first time she let a vampire drink her blood. The first experience was always a little shocking and rattling for humans, so he imagined that it would take her a while to get used to it.

For a vampire, humans were merely sources of food. The vampires, along with the other supernaturals, preferred to get involved with their own kind respectively. Therefore, it was strange for him to think of her as anything else.

This mate bond was very intriguing, to say the least. Her blood was so delicious to him, but he could only smell it if she bled.

But even when she didn’t have any injuries, she still smelled really good to him. It was as if he was a bee that was drawn to honey. Not even in a predatory way or because she was food.

He just wanted to be near her at all times, to touch her and keep her in his arms, refusing to let her go.

It was interesting.

What would proximity do? He never got too close to a human – not even a vampire – and stayed for so long by their side. He was not the type to gaze into someone’s eyes dreamily, to take their hand and grasp it for long, or cup their face and feel the sensation of their skin beneath his palm.

It was unheard of, and yet he desired to do all these things with this human.

Mikhail continued to watch her sleep, unable to fathom why he was so content with being here with her.

What was her name again? Cassandra?

Cassandra Lenoir.

He had never bothered to remember a human’s name before. The humans were only there for him to suck their blood. They were powerless creatures that needed the vampires’ protection. Nothing more.

But now, he had a name he could call this woman, who was also his mate.

Very intriguing.

***

When he went to the company this morning, he found Josef waiting there for him, ready to report on his findings so far.

Mikhail settled himself on one of the elegant couches in the office. “Have you found anything useful?”

Josef nodded. “I discovered something of interest that might be connected to the case of the rogue vampires.”

Mikhail nodded. “Let’s hear it.”

“Yes, sire,” Josef said. “There was a man found dead at New Avenue two weeks ago. The police identified him as Robert Lambert, a human who worked as an investigative reporter. He had reportedly been killed by a vampire.”

Mikhail narrowed his eyes. “Was it one of our men?”

“Fortunately no, my lord.” Josef hesitated. “Possibly a rogue from another country who trespassed illegally or a rogue from this very city. There are no definitive clues yet.”

“And we have no leads as to who this rogue is?”

“Nothing. It appears they fled right after the crime and hid somewhere. Our men are still in the middle of the investigation. These rogues are surprisingly crafty.”

“It seems that their tricky minds still work well despite losing their rationality. How odd.” Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “How was the human killed?”

Josef inspected the files in his hand. “Robert Lambert was decapitated in the middle of the crowd during the winter,” he reported. “Nobody saw the moment of death since everyone was in a hurry to get back to their homes before it got dark.”

Since vampires couldn’t go outside during daylight, the humans took advantage of mornings and afternoons to do their work and enjoy leisure time. They were still allowed to roam around during the night now since Mikhail was no longer in charge of the city’s protection. Instead of him, the vampire hunters were placed on each border, keeping watch over rogue vampires and eliminating them if necessary.

But the majority of humans were still scared of being outside at nighttime, which was understandable. After all, it became too much of a risk.

The ones who owned bars and worked night shifts didn’t have any choice, though. As a solution, there were more human guards stationed near hospitals and bars, but that was the only protection they could provide at the moment. The Human Council still had its hands full with several serious issues going on in the world and in Azallea as well. There was only so much they could do.

The Human Council was being very careful to preserve the human population. The vampire hunters were comparably lax during the day, but at night, they were at their best conditions.

This was also another thing that elite vampires did not have in common with the average vampire. Unlike average vampires, the Elites could walk in the daylight. But seeing as there were only three that existed in the entire world, it was very rare to see one walking casually with the sunlight shining on their pale skin.

Mikhail was very much capable of walking under the sun. However, his powers were weakened a little during the day as a result, so he still preferred to roam around during the night. It wasn’t very dangerous for him during daylight since it didn’t weaken his powers in an extreme manner, but it was more like he had no reason to do so.

“So it was someone fearless enough to do the crime in public,” Mikhail concluded. “It was a targeted attack, it seems. Not one of our own, and not a rogue. If it were a rogue, they would’ve attacked the other humans as well. Also, decapitation is not a method that any vampire would do towards a human.”

“That’s correct, sir,” Josef said. “However, the police claimed that he was killed by a vampire. They said that there are no other suspects. Also, if it were a human or a vampire hunter, they would’ve used a weapon. No weapons were found, and distinctive marks were found on each side of Robert Lambert’s face. Basically, a vampire decapitated him with their bare hands, and it was done in an instant.”

Mikhail was thoughtful for a moment. True, even a vampire hunter didn’t have that much strength. It was near impossible to tear a human’s head off their neck using only their hands. Not to mention that it was done instantly, which spoke of only a vampire’s incredible strength.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

A rogue vampire did this?

Mikhail folded his arms across his chest. “Why was he killed?”

“We are assuming that it’s because he knew something he shouldn’t have,” Josef answered. “He was an investigative reporter who snooped around in places he shouldn’t be. He often claimed to be in search of the ‘truth’.”

“That’s plausible.” Mikhail nodded. “What about his family members?”

“Parents were killed because of rogue vampires, so he has a purpose for doing invasive investigation about that,” Josef said. “Also, he has a wife named Jocelyn Lambert.”

“Interesting,” Mikhail said. “You say he has a wife? Does she have any connections that warrant our attention?”

Josef shook his head. “Nothing of importance about her background. It seems that she had mostly depended on her husband for financial security. She’s a housewife.”

“I want you to have someone watch over her for a while,” Mikhail said. “A clue might come up during the observation period. I have a feeling that this Robert Lambert’s death has something more than meets the eye. Perhaps even the answer to where all these rogue vampires keep coming from.”