+ Beast +

The Blood Beast's eyes shone with a menacing gleam. With a provocative tone, he asked, "Need me to jog your memory?"

Luna's rebirth had left her disoriented. The memories were there, somewhere, but they took their time surfacing, especially where this enigmatic vampire before her was concerned.

As an Amazonian warrior, her first instinct was always to fight when faced with a threat. Yet now, all she could muster was to swallow her fear and meet his gaze with silence. Luna's fists clenched and unclenched. How had she become so vulnerable?

The realization hit her when he said with a taunting drawl, "You should know how cruel I can become when disrespected."

Disrespected?

Recognition flickered. She was confronting the Vampire King. But the presence of the Blood Beast was unmistakable. His transformation was evident as one sapphire eye turned reptilian yellow, speckled with golden dots, mirroring the other. It was as if she was witnessing a struggle for dominance right within his very soul.

The Vampire King's visage was already imposing: mismatched eyes framed by thick, inky lashes, concealed occasionally by the luxurious curtain of his raven locks. Those expressive lips could either set in a stern line, inducing fear in his soldiers, or curve into a confident smile, charming both the Vampire Court and the Consortium.

But this duality—was it truly merged within one being? Or were the Blood Beast and the Vampire King entirely different entities? His moods and mannerisms shifted without warning, leaving Luna confounded about the catalyst behind the change.

One thing was certain—some trigger could flip his switch in the blink of an eye.

She could see how the two personas might complement each other, but there was an unmistakable dichotomy—as if two distinct souls were trapped within one body.

Luna's lips tightened, and her eyes narrowed with suspicion, studied him intently. Was this the curse of the Blood Beast? Was it another entity, lurking within the Vampire King, much like a demonic parasite? Her theory seemed plausible.

But when the Blood Beast dominated, taking over in form and demeanor, Luna knew she was at a disadvantage. She lifted her gaze, finding herself entrapped by two luminous gold eyes. They held a mesmerizing allure, a seductive pull she found hard to resist, even as she recognized she wasn't solely in the presence of the Vampire King.

She recalled him wearing a fox mask during the Blood Moon Banquet. So this is his face without the mask, she pondered.

"You seem to have recognized me, girl," the Vampire King remarked, his voice an unsettling blend of deep tones. He reached out, capturing her chin firmly in his grasp.

Luna's slight recoil was almost imperceptible, but to him, it was a clear sign that she had taken his words to heart. Despite her determination to remain silent, she looked away, seeking solace in the distant trees of the forest. But he was relentless; his fingers traced the delicate line of her cheekbone, only to force her face back to his.

When she defiantly refused to meet his gaze, the Blood Beast acted without warning, his fangs piercing her neck. As he drank from her, Luna's stifled protests were lost amidst the chilling sound of his feeding. Her vision dimmed, the world turning shades of darkness as the lethal touch of the Blood Beast took its toll. As his fangs grazed her skin, a soft moan escaped her. Bound and overwhelmed, Luna ceased to resist.

Luna struggled, her voice strained. "Let me go," she pleaded, teeth gritted, pushing against him with all her might. But the Vampire King was immovable, his strength likened to a solid rock.

The chilling touch of the Blood Beast had taken its toll; a venomous sensation crept through her, rendering her limbs nearly lifeless. Tears, mingled with pain and a confusing ecstasy, traced a grim path down her face. "Please," she whispered, the sensation unlike any she'd ever experienced.

His thirst for her blood apparent, the Blood Beast roughly bit into her delicate neck. Vampire saliva has a unique, intoxicating quality, leaving its prey almost helpless in its seductive trance. Luna knew this all too well, but she hadn't been prepared for how he would exploit it. A part of her wished for an end to the torment, even if it meant giving in completely.

Desperately, her fingers grasped his muscular arms, seeking some semblance of control, of grounding. His body was a juxtaposition of strength and warmth, which sent conflicting signals to her already overwhelmed senses. As stars exploded behind her eyelids, her cries oscillated between pleasure and anguish.

The sensation of life ebbing away was undeniable as he drained her essence. Yet, she drew upon her training and knowledge, tapping into Hecate's spells etched in her memory to mend her deteriorating body. It was a battle of wills: his thirst against her determination to survive.

Though her body could be breached, her soul was impenetrable, safeguarded by the Goddess Hecate. Luna clung to this belief as the minutes felt like hours, the relentless feeding continuing until, at last, he ceased. The puncture wounds at her neck closed, her body's rapid healing aided by the magic within her.

Luna's sigh was one of affirmation; her suspicions about the Blood Beast's lethal touch were not mere conjecture. The Vampire King's ability to kill a blood slave merely with a touch during the Blood Moon Banquet had not been a figment of her imagination. Even her position as Hecate's High Priestess did not make her invulnerable to the Blood Beast. However, she seemed to be one of the rare few able to resist his fatal curse.

"Have you finished, Your Highness?" Luna inquired, her voice weak but dripping with sarcasm. The undertone suggested she had narrowly escaped death once more, saved only by Hecate's bestowed magic.

The Blood Beast's amber eyes flickered in surprise, narrowing as he assessed her. He shifted, lifting his weight off her by propping himself up on his elbows. As he studied her face, his thumbs gently caressed the dark circles under her eyes, while his cold gaze lingered on her lips.

"I am the High Priestess of Hecate," Luna whispered, capturing his attention once more. Every moment in contact with the Blood Beast drained her, like a well running dry. Yet she held her chin up, defiance clear in her eyes, as she locked gazes with his gleaming yellow orbs.

She continued, her voice steady despite her exhaustion, "Attempt to end my life, and you'll invoke the wrath of the Goddess."

The mere mention of Hecate seemed to infuriate the Blood Beast, his large frame quaking with suppressed rage. Had it been Hecate who cursed him, binding his consciousness to the Vampire King?

He touched the bandage on her chest, and the decaying flesh beneath began to mend. Though she was healing, her strength was still critically low. As her body sagged in fatigue, the Blood Beast tenderly stroked her long silver hair, a gesture contradictory to his previous actions.

Without another word, he lifted away, and Luna felt the relief of being unburdened, both physically and emotionally.

On the dew-kissed grass, the Blood Beast discovered a discarded fabric. Tearing a strip from it, he bound Luna's feet and then draped his cloak over her. The cool breeze made Luna's damp skin break out in goosebumps, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Noticing her discomfort, he adjusted the cloak snugly around her before lifting her into his arms.

She nestled into him, offering no resistance. Her voice, though raspy, was clearly audible in the quiet night as she addressed the space between his neck and shoulder. "Your Highness."

Releasing a sigh of exasperation, Luna sought his gaze. "Vampire King," she repeated, attempting to get a reaction. But there was only the tightening of his jaw, a subtle hint of the inner turmoil. She realized that, despite the change in demeanor, the Blood Beast remained dominant.

The forest's shadows whispered around them as they ventured deeper. Luna was uncertain of their destination, but the rhythmic cadence of his steps cradled her in an unexpected sense of security. She felt like a princess in the arms of a conflicted protector.

A soft yawn escaped her lips, and she nestled further into the warmth of the cloak. With the world blurring into a soothing lull, Luna decided to rest. She would need her strength to decipher the Blood Beast's intentions.