Chapter 5

Cassandra's POV

The moment I stepped out of the study, the cold air in the corridor enveloped me instantly. I leaned against the heavy walnut door, gasping for breath, trying to calm my wildly pounding heart.

The bite mark on my neck still throbbed with a dull ache, and the false euphoria brought by the vampire venom was gradually fading, replaced by bone-chilling cold and undisguised exhaustion.

I glanced down at my disheveled nightgown, which was even stained with a drop or two of carelessly spilled blood, as if mocking my complete lack of dignity just moments ago.

"Madam, are you alright?"

At the end of the corridor, the old butler Ilias appeared as silently as a ghost. His gaze swept over my rumpled collar and pale face without the slightest ripple, as if all of this was just routine in this manor.

"I'm fine, Ilias." I straightened up, trying to make my voice sound less tremulous. "Alexander... he should have calmed down by now. There's no need to send more wine in."

"Very well, madam. Good night." Ilias bowed slightly and retreated into the darkness.

Good night? I smiled bitterly. In this manor filled with coldness and bloodthirsty instinct, how could I, as a human, possibly have true rest?

I dragged my heavy steps back to my own room. As I passed Serena's suite, it had already quieted down. She was now lying by the warm fireplace, enjoying the privileges of a newly turned vampire and Alexander's favoritism.

And I could only return to that empty room, licking my wounds alone.

I threw myself heavily onto the bed and pulled the covers over my head. Closing my eyes, all I could see in my mind were his crimson eyes in the study just now, and that cold phrase: "Don't bother me with her."

This was my marriage, and also my cage. And I didn't know how much longer I could struggle in this airtight web.

......

Serena had been quite docile these past few days. Just when I thought these quiet days would continue, the unexpected happened again.

At night.

"Ahhh—! Help!"

Suddenly, a shrill, piercing scream tore through the manor's deathly silent night.

I jolted awake, my heart racing. The voice was filled with terror, coming from the east wing corridor.

Serena's room.

I almost reflexively sprang from the bed. I didn't even have time to throw on a coat, wearing only that thin nightgown, barefoot as I rushed out of the bedroom.

In the east wing corridor, the originally dim wall lamps now seemed somewhat eerie. I ran toward the sound and saw that the two heavy oak doors of Serena's suite were wide open.

A strong, panic-tinged scent of blood wafted out from inside.

"Let her go!" I rushed to the doorway, and the scene before me made me gasp.

It was Martha, a young human maid responsible for cleaning the east wing. At this moment, she was being pressed hard against the marble wall by the fireplace by Serena.

Serena now looked nothing like the refined and elegant figure at dinner. Her once meticulously arranged blonde hair was now disheveled and scattered, those gray eyes had turned completely murky crimson. Her lips were pulled back, revealing two sharp, even trembling fangs.

She was like a beast starved to the extreme, burying her face in Martha's neck, emitting a bone-chilling hissing sound from her throat.

"Please... Miss Serena, don't..." Martha cried out, tears covering her deathly pale face. She tried to push Serena away, but how could an ordinary human possibly move even a newly transformed vampire?

"Serena, stop! You'll kill her!" I shouted and rushed in recklessly.

I grabbed Serena's shoulder, trying to pull her back.

Her body was as cold as marble, and incredibly hard. The moment my hand touched her, Serena whipped her head around. Her crimson eyes stared at me fixedly, and the corner of her mouth actually curved into a strange, provocative cold smile.

That wasn't the look of someone out of control at all. She was conscious.

But in the next second, the cold smile on her face vanished instantly. She let out a painful and crazed scream, clutching her head with both hands, as if desperately resisting some terrible force within her body.

"Blood... I'm so thirsty... I can't control myself!" She wailed in agony and lunged at the trembling maid again.

"Stop!"

Just as I was about to use all my strength to shield Martha, a cold, bone-piercing gust of wind suddenly swept through the corridor.

That familiar cedarwood scent with its intense oppressive presence instantly filled the entire room.

It was Alexander.

He appeared almost out of thin air in the center of the room, so fast that not even an afterimage could be seen. His brows were tightly furrowed, his body still carrying the chill of the rainstorm outside, clearly having just returned from handling territory affairs.

"Alexander! Save Martha, Serena's lost control!" I turned around as if grasping a lifeline, urgently seeking his help.

I ran a step toward him, reaching out to grab his arm, wanting to tell him how critical the situation was, wanting to tell him how wrong that look Serena gave me was.

But I never touched him.

"Get out of the way."

A cold syllable spilled from his thin lips.

Immediately after, a tremendous, irresistible force slammed into my shoulder.

Alexander didn't even glance at me. He just impatiently waved his arm. To reach Serena's side as quickly as possible, he mercilessly pushed me, who was standing in his way, aside like sweeping away an obstructive piece of trash.

"Ah!"

My body completely lost balance, flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

A dull thud.

I crashed heavily onto the cold, hard wooden floor. My elbow scraped brutally across the edge of the cast-iron tea table by the fireplace, then slid across the rough floor for a distance before stopping.

A piercing pain instantly spread from my arm throughout my entire body. I felt as if my bones were falling apart.

I curled up on the floor in agony, gasping, clutching my scraped elbow. Warm blood immediately gushed out, flowing down my forearm and dripping onto the dark carpet.