The Vampire's Bride

"Yeah... Yeah... Okay, I'll leave it to you, Jill. Yep, bye." Leo ended the call and went back to the room. He was at the balcony of his room when he was talking with Jillion about what happened earlier. Of course, he missed the part when he saw Aldo. He still needed confirmation from Mallory, his (Aldo's) ex-fiancée.

"Mallory," He gently called the woman who had her head buried on her knees. He could hear her soft sobs. He quietly sat besides her. He gently pulled her in his embrace. "You okay?"

Mallory couldn't help but laugh. This puzzled Leo. "Did I say something funny?"

Mallory sat up straight and wiped her tears. "No... I just noticed that lately, I've been getting embraced a lot of times."

Leo's eyes widened as he understood what she said. "Should I stop?"

Mallory blushed as she heard the question. She didn't know how to answer that question.

She bit her lip and whispered, "If you hate it..."

Leo laughed. "Don't worry, I don't. Besides I'm the one doing it." He gave her a flirty wink before he lazily leaned on the wall at the head of the bed.

"Was that really Aldo?" Leo asked. Mallory nodded without a pause. She knew that Leo would ask questions about Aldo but didn't expect him to be straightforward.

"You... You're still hiding something about him, aren't you?"

"...Yes."

"Do you want to share?"

Mallory stayed silent. She wasn't sure if she should tell him. Tell him that Aldo was once dead — no, Aldo was thought to be dead.

But if she wanted to save both Aldo and those innocent humans, she knew she had to tell him. If she had to choose between vampires and humans... she would immediately choose the innocent's side.

And at this situation, the innocent side would be the humans.

She looked at Leo for a moment before speaking, "I think it is better if you know, Master Orpheus."

Leo grunted, indicating that she could continue.

"M-Master Orpheus—"

"Leo. It's L-E-O," Leo corrected.

Mallory stayed quiet for a moment before ignoring what he said. "I told you before that Aldo used to be my fiancé. To be honest, he's a good guy... Well, maybe he 'was'. I told you about the time his sudden disappearance caused our engagement to break, right? Well, that's where things get messy."

"He didn't disappear. He died."

"Aldo's... dead? Then who was the man earlier?" Leo was confused.

"That was Aldo."

Leo was even more confused. Isn't he dead? Then how come he is here, killing people every now and then?

"I don't know how he could be running around as a killer but all I know is that he lost his memories," Mallory explained.

Memories... did he also forget their time together?

"So it's amnesia. A killer who cannot remember anything except his name. I guess his vampire instinct is strong. So strong that he knows what to do when there is blood," Leo concluded.

Hearing the word 'blood', Mallory felt her throat had gone dry. She remembered seeing Aldo with his back facing her. She remembered calling out to him and replayed the scene where he turned around in a slow motion in her mind.

Then she remembered the moment he hugged her. She remembered how the scent of blood invaded her nose and all she could see was black and red —– Darkness and Blood.

Blood...

Blood...

Blood...

Blood!!!

"Mallory!" Leo grabbed on both of her shoulders and shook her suddenly. Leo was scared as he saw Mallory's eyes kept flashing between red and dark brown. She was fighting with her instincts yet her instincts was winning.

"M-Master Orpheus?" After regaining control, Mallory was confused when she saw a worried Leo in front of her. She still couldn't stop the flashing red and Leo knew what she wanted.

He gauged her reaction as he spoke slowly, carefully enunciating his words, "Do you want to... drink blood?"

Mallory's eyes widened as his words slowly sink in. Drink... blood...?

Hearing her own answer in her mind, she quickly pushed him away, panting slightly in the process.

Leo was surprised by the sudden push and narrowed his eyes. "Is that a yes?"

Mallory kept her head down and did not reply. She kept taking deep breaths as she tried to control her d.e.s.i.r.es. She knew she shouldn't but... she also knew she wanted it.

"Hey!" Leo cupped her cheeks with his hands and forced her to look at him. He was surprised to see that her usual eyes had turned neither red nor brown, but blue. It was beautiful and clear. It was as if he was staring at a deep blue sea that was trying to calm down. He couldn't help but place a kiss on her lips.

Mallory did not know what was happening but when she felt Leo's lips, she felt her limbs had gone weak.

The kiss only took a few seconds before Leo unwillingly parted. He growled lowly, "I already told you, you could drink my blood!"

"I-I... N-No."

Even at that moment, Mallory still refused. Leo sighed and hugged her. He gently spoke besides her ear, "Fine, you win." He knew he would be able to let her drink his blood sooner and not later.

Leo got up and walked farther from the bed, leaving Mallory alone there. She clutched the are where her heart was and tried calming down.

"Why did your eyes turn blue?" Leo asked as he opened a drawer.

"Blue?" Leo looked at her and didn't reply. Instead, he got a small mirror and placed it in front of her as he sat at the bed. "Here."

Mallory saw her reflection and indeed had blue eyes. She was confused and grabbed the mirror, moving it to be sure that it was not a prank. When she realized that it was real, she meekly asked, "T-They are blue?"

"That's what I said."

Mallory scrunched her brows. Her eyes were transforming? Now that was new.

"So, you don't know why..." Leo concluded as he saw her confused face. Mallory nodded her head as she returned the mirror to him. "It's the first time, Master Orpheus."

"I see..." Leo nodded in understanding. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when he heard a voice inside his head.

"Young Master, I have talked to the police and have somewhat altered their memories."

Brian... he sure do things fast.

"En... Good job. Thanks for the help."

"..."

Leo noticed that Brian was still connected. "Anything else?"

"Young Master... I believe you are home already."

"Yes. Why?"

"Young Master... Can I go straight back home now?"

Leo was confused. "Yeah, of course. Why would you ask that?"

"... 'Cause I believe that Young Master and his guest are not here anymore and have possibly forgotten that Young Master (you) ordered me to follow immediately."

"..." C-Cr*p! I forgot about him!!!

"S-Sorry Brian! D-Don't worry about us! Please take a rest! You can retreat for now! Thank you!" Leo hurriedly tried to make amends for his mistake.

"...Yes, Young Master..." The butler sounded dejected as he returned back home.

Leo felt a chill creeping up his spine as he heard his butler's final words.

Uh oh...

I think I'm dead...

My butler is too scary!!!