Chapter 2 Bloody bride

While their employer did not give more information, Bruce became cautious as his gut told him something was very wrong. As the sun went down and night came, the servants went to their homes, leaving only Bruce, Edmond, and Royce in the safe house.

"These rich bastards. At least they should have given us dinner," Edmond said in disdain.

"I will take the watch, Bruce. You should put something in your stomach since you've already stood guard since the evening."

"Thank you, Edmond. I'll be back in a minute," Bruce said, receiving a nod from Edmond.

The safe house they were guarding was located in a far corner of the city, making Bruce walk for some time to reach an establishment for food. He knew it was unprofessional to leave his duty, but he could only blame his employer's shortsightedness. After all, they couldn't fight while starving. After a quick bite, Bruce headed back to the safe house in haste.

"I could have sworn I locked the gate." Looking at the now-open gate, Bruce said to himself. The cold wind of the night blew past him, giving him a chilly feeling. The moon was covered in clouds, and in an age where electricity was still a rare commodity, it made desolate nights much darker. Whether it was this life or his former one, Bruce was not afraid of the night or the dark, but at this moment, an ominous feeling crept into his mind, urging him to turn back.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream came from the safe house. Steeling his heart, Bruce took out his revolver and made his way to the safe house. Opening the door, he was greeted by the living room illuminated with dim light. Seeing Edmond lying on the floor, Bruce was about to make his way toward Edmond when a figure appeared from the hallway that led to the vault room. The first thing Bruce noticed was two blood-red orbs gazing at him with predatory hunger. Confusingly, the second thing he noticed was that the figure was dressed in a bridal gown.

"Who are—" Before Bruce could continue, the figure shot towards him at inhuman speed. He felt two cold, iron-like hands grab him and a sharp pain erupting from his neck with a burning sensation that he had never felt before. Gritting his teeth, Bruce turned his revolver directly at his attacker's body.

Bang!

With the sound of the gunshot, Bruce's attacker stumbled backward, letting him go as he dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. The attacker showed no wound from the gunshot at point-blank range but looked more furious. The last thing Bruce saw before he lost consciousness was two more figures appearing beside his attacker and trying to restrain her.

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The Cullen family had just experienced one of the most chaotic nights in their immortal existence. First, their new family member started a crusade against her murderers. They did nothing to stop her, mainly because newborns possess greater strength than older vampires and she had a justified reason to hunt those human scumbags. But they always remained nearby to ensure no innocents would be caught in her rampage. She tracked down her last target and went to take justice for herself. Even without super hearing, the Cullens could hear the man's screams and begs as she unleashed her raging hatred on him.

They were about to step in when they saw another man making his way towards the safe house, but after seeing him take out a revolver, they hesitated. This man was possibly one of those scum. Yet a sudden wind brought the man's scent to them.

"This scent," Edward said, smelling the scent in the air.

"It's going to be problematic," Carlisle completed his adoptive son's sentence, looking at the safe house in worry.

Bang! The sudden sound of a gunshot halted their conversation.

"Let's go," Carlisle said before speeding toward the safe house, with Edward and Esme following behind. They were greeted by the sight of a young man lying on the floor with blood dripping from his neck and Rosalie Hale readying to jump back at her prey. Without a word, Edward and Esme appeared beside Rosalie, trying to stop her from sucking the young man in front of them dry. Carlisle took the young man into his arms and started to run at inhuman speed. It was the best course of action to stop a newborn vampire from going into a blood frenzy, a state where their predatory instincts took over their rationality, making them nothing more than a beast. Removing triggers from their environment helped to calm them easily.

Considering the young man in Carlisle's arms was already bleeding and had a very attractive scent, it could cause other members of his family to lose control too. At the moment Carlisle was the best person to take care of the young man.

After running for many miles, Carlisle arrived at a shack in the middle of a forest. A few days ago, the same shack was used for Rosalie's transformation. They used this place because animals in the nearby forest made it easy to satisfy the thirst of a newborn. Putting the man on a bed, Carlisle tended to the man's wound. After closer inspection, he understood that the outcome he expected and feared when he saw the bite marks on the man's neck had come true.

After half an hour or so, Edward arrived at the shack. Going forward to welcome him, Carlisle asked,

"How is she?"

"She is fine. It's not like anything could happen to her," Edward answered with a sigh. He was not happy with Rosalie's behavior, not in the killing part, but the mess it caused. After all, he was not the one to judge when he had blood on his hands too, but knowing his adoptive father, there wouldn't be an easy solution for this mess.

"After taking her to hunt, she calmed down a lot. Esme is watching over her now. But how is he?" he continued, pointing at the injured man on the bed.

"It's bad. She pierced the carotid artery, directly injecting venom into his bloodstream. Even when we arrived, it was already too late to suck the venom out. But he is adapting to the venom quite fast. Faster than anyone I have seen before," Carlisle said, explaining the man's situation.

"We shouldn't. We shouldn't let him," Edward said, genuinely hoping Carlisle would agree, but he could feel the headache coming from a mile away even though it should be impossible for a vampire.

"We can't watch over two newborns. Rosalie already caused this mess. Think, what if he loses control too?"

"We can't just take his life, Edward. Whether he survives this or not is up to himself."

"Rosalie won't be happy about this."

"She won't, but she will have to live with it. I think it will be a good lesson to show what happens if they lose control," Carlisle said with a slight frown. He loved his family, even their newest member, after all, in a way, he created them, but that doesn't mean he approved of some of their actions. He was heavily against Rosalie's revenge plans and Edward's running away to drink human blood, even his beloved Esme lost control a few times. He hoped this incident would put more weight in their minds about the consequences of their actions. He was also a bit worried about what kind of character this man would have, but a small part of him was quite intrigued about the man's seamless adaptation to vampire venom.

"And what happens when he meets Rosalie?" Edward asked.

"I believe they could make a peace offering. If not, we could send him to Siobhan's coven," Carlisle said, though he hoped this soon-to-be vampire would appreciate the worth of human lives.