Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174: A Predator in Love

After dinner, Ruelle returned to her room while Peyton stood right outside her door. When she stepped further inside, her eyes caught a shadow near the fireplace, where the light fell on the fur.

It was Zhenya. At the rustle of her clothes, the wolf opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Ruelle asked the wolf, making her way toward the fireplace with a smile. "Were you waiting for me?"

Hearing her speak, the door opened. Peyton suddenly took a peek inside, her eyes conducting a rapid assessment of the space before her gaze found the wolf. Her dagger was quick to be pulled out.

"He’s a pet. Don’t hurt him!" Ruelle quickly shielded the wolf by coming in between, her hands raised on either side. A low growl came from behind her, the wolf’s eyes focusing on the vampiress.

The vampiress stared at them for a long moment before finally lowering the dagger. Soon, the wolf nudged its muzzle into Ruelle’s hand with particular affection. She noticed the vampiress’s eyes moved to look at the closed window and then back at her.

Peyton took a step back away from the door, bowing her head, she closed it. But just as the vampiress, turned, she caught a figure approaching in the corridor.

"Hello there, grumpy," Dane greeted.

Peyton didn’t respond through words or by action. Her face remained expressionless, her attention unwavering. She informed,

"Miss Belmont is preparing to sleep."

"Aw, that’s alright. I am here for you," Dane’s voice came with that particular warmth that made it impossible to tell if he was being sincere or manipulative. He pulled out two cookies from his pocket, a gesture so casual it should have seemed harmless. "You will die for boredom standing here like a guard dog. Might as well enjoy some treats while you are at it."

When Carnifex’s assistant briefly glanced at Dane’s hand, he added, "I noticed you didn’t have anything to eat, as you have been following Ruelle all day long. It would be rather harsh if you were to faint when you are in the Slaters’ mansion."

"I already fed myself in the courthouse. You don’t have to worry about such things, Mr. Slater," Peyton answered, before her eyes returned to the door behind which Ruelle and the wolf were in the room. Her ears were trained on the human to make sure she was safe as well as kept pure as per the instructions she had received.

"If you are worried about turning fat, don’t mind it. Women look much better when they have meat on the bones," Dane hummed, noticing her continued silence. "Or do you think that I have... laced something in the cookies?"

He then took a bite from one of them before swallowing. But the woman remained uninterested in his gimmicks.

They could hear Ruelle talking to the wolf inside the room. The vampiress said,

"I didn’t know Miss Belmont had a wolf as a pet."

"He suits her, doesn’t he?" Dane said, and something in his expression suggested he wasn’t talking about the wolf at all. "Lucian and she brought the wolf from the forest when they were little. She doesn’t remember it so my brother raised it."

The information hung in the air before he continued, "You might be curious as to why he didn’t tell her about it."

"I didn’t ask."

Peyton’s response came defensively, as if she should have stayed quiet.

But Dane only smiled. He replied, "You don’t have to be shy about it. Lucian doesn’t want to reveal their past moments, as if the fruit would be sweeter if she remembered it herself. He could help her remember, but instead he waits. He has patience."

"Let us hope it stays the same for the next nineteen days."

Dane chuckled at that. "Aren’t you a little too on them? Feeling lonely and projecting the dissatisfaction on the kids?"

When Peyton didn’t respond, Dane stared at her as if he had found a button to push and intended to keep pressing it. "Do you know if I were in my brother’s place, I would have revealed everything and also tied the person to me."

The door opened and Ruelle looked slightly surprised to find Dane standing outside her room. She asked, "Brother Dane, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure Peyton isn’t bored," his response came with innocence.

"Mr. Slater, I am content standing alone if you think I need your company. It would be better for you to find your amusements somewhere else," Peyton didn’t look at him as she said it.

"Woe is me. Care for some cookies?" Dane asked but then said, "On second thought, maybe not. Who knows what’s in it."

He then asked Ruelle, "Why haven’t you gone to bed yet? You know, in the past, there was a time when you and your family once stayed here, just for one night, and you were so scared that we slept together."

Peyton stared at Dane before he wished Ruelle a goodnight and the young woman returned inside the room.

Going to the bed, Ruelle wondered...Was Brother Dane trying to woo Peyton? But at the same time, something didn’t feel right about it.

Climbing inside the bed, she patted the mattress. The wolf was quick to jump on the bed, walking in circles before curling next to her. The wolf’s warmth was comforting and she ran her hand through its thick coat.

"Shouldn’t you be sleeping in Lucian’s room next to him?" she murmured. Hearing the wolf whine, she laid her head on the pillow, watching its eyes stare back at her.

When her thoughts drifted to what she had dreamed, a soft sigh escaped her lips.

The memory had left uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Fragments of the past bleeding through. But she told herself it was in the past.

The present was different. Lucian wouldn’t reject her.

Which was why it was important that they followed all the conditions, thought Ruelle to herself. She didn’t want to be torn away from him.

"Wonder what he is doing now..." she whispered.

It was funny how she wished to return to Sexton. Where she had gotten used to watching him as she fell asleep. At the same thought, she wondered how Hailey and Kevin were faring in the presence of King Septimus.

"Let us dream something good this time." Ruelle buried her head into the wolf’s fur, which was more than happy to nudge closer to her.

And while Ruelle tried to get some sleep, far away from the Slaters’ mansion and near one of the town’s edge, Harold Belmont counted the change in his hand which he had won through gambling.

"I will be making good money in no time. Just need to pay the minister and they will let Caroline off the hook," Harold muttered, slipping the coins back into his pocket.

After leaving the Henley’s residence, Mr. and Mrs. Belmont had gone to stay in one of the relatives’ houses. A temporary arrangement, they’d been told. Just for a few days until Ezekiel brought a new place. His son-in-law—who had disappeared last afternoon—had appeared before them to inform them he was trying to get help today.

And also that Lucian Slater had put Caroline in the dungeon!

"I should put him inside the dungeon," Harold huffed, his breath escaping in fog that caught the lamplight.

The absurdity of the threat—that he, a human, could do anything to Lucian Slater—didn’t occur to him. Or perhaps he was so consumed by his own arrogance that he needed to imagine scenarios where he held control.

He looked around, as if waiting for the late local carriage to return. It was then that he noticed a shadow fall on him. The shadow elongated, the movement of something getting closer.

When Mr. Belmont turned on his heel to see who it was, a rusted metal came in contact with his face with a force that made his thoughts pause for a few seconds. When the metal and the bone of his head collided, it made a sharp clang sound without warning. His head spun and he fell sideways onto the snow-covered ground.

He groaned as the pain shot through his jaw and he felt something in his mouth. When he spat, a bloody tooth fell on the snow.

"What the fu—fuck?!" Mr. Belmont opened his mouth wide, feeling the pain radiate like wildfire. Blood spilt out of his mouth and coated the snow next to his hand.

When Mr. Belmont turned to see who had dared—his eyes widened. Dark red eyes stared down at him without emotion.

Lucian Slater stood there holding the shovel loosely in one gloved hand, his black coat blending almost seamlessly into the night behind him.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" Mr. Belmont demanded, his lips trembling with shock and fear. "I will report your doings to the courthouse and make sure you and Ruelle don’t stay together. Don’t you know about the treaty?!"

"I know you will," Lucian answered calmly, tilting his head to the side, staring at the human with the particular interest one might show an insect. "That is precisely why it needs to be fixed."

"My wife will tell! We have told others what you did so you can’t silence me," Mr. Belmont threatened, even as he tried to scramble away from the pureblooded vampire.

Lucian closed the distance by walking toward Mr. Belmont. The shovel scraped against the cold ground, a sound that promised nothing good. Right now, his eyes were colder than they had been before leaving the mansion.

But Mr. Belmont was only a human, one who was a coward and his threat didn’t stand strong at the sight of the shovel. His voice cracked, "What do you want?! Why are you coming after me?"

"To kill you."

Mr. Belmont’s eyes widened and he looked terrified. Having already gone through pain by Lucian’s hands, he tried to stand and began to run. He tried to get back to the town from which he had come earlier, and his lips parted in panic to scream, "ANYONE THER—"

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