The Vampire's Bride

The sky was suddenly clear. The rain had stopped when Mallory and the others went down from the car.

"Cr*p! Leo! He entered the forest!" Jillion shouted as they were looking for signs of Aldo as they wait at the park.

Leo turned around and saw a figure dashing in the forest. "I already called for backup. They'll come soon. The driver will wait here and inform me of their arrival. Jill, Brian, let's go."

"Yes!"

Leo turned to look at Mallory who was in a daze, "Mallory? Let's go."

Mallory nodded her head, fear flashed in her eyes. "Yes..."

The group entered the forest, leaving the driver behind. Leo handed a flashlight and a gun to Mallory. "Do you know how to use one? You need to have one for now."

"Ah, yes. Thank you very much," Mallory said, accepting the gun.

Leo raised an eyebrow. Who taught her?

Jillion kept fiddling with his laptop before getting frustrated. "Sh*t! I can't find him in this huge forest! He might escape before I could find him!"

Brian said, "I also cannot find him from my position, Young Master."

Leo looked around the forest. Indeed, it was night already. The moon was out and the trees are covering parts of the light. Without any clues of where Aldo was headed to, it will be as if they're finding a needle in the middle of a haystack!

Leo gritted his teeth, "So all we could do is to wait for the back-up?"

Jillion did not reply. He didn't want to say yes but he knew that that would be the best course of action they could take. Just as he opened his mouth, someone spoke —

"Pick up his... scent?" Leo have been trying to do it ever since he entered. There's only one problem. Ever since he met Aldo for the first time in years, he had no scent as if it was masked or hidden.

"How did you..." Leo stopped as he got an answer for his question, "You're a halfling... of course you'd get a better sense of smell than I have."

Leo smiled and patted her shoulder, "Go ahead. Thanks for helping us."

Mallory was surprised at his reaction before nodding. "Y-Yes!"

Mallory tried to recall Aldo's scent. But instead of remembering his scent, all she could remember was the pool of blood. Unconsciously, she started walking towards that direction. It was as if she could not control her body.

Jillion and Brian were surprised to see her walking to the side of the forest and not deeper. Leo looked at them and nodded, indicating that they should follow them and keep an eye to their surroundings.

Leo stayed besides Mallory, making sure she's safe while the two stayed behind them. Leo couldn't help but glance at Mallory who had obviously changed ever since they entered the forest.

Recalling what she told him of her past and her reactions, he came to a conclusion: Aldo died here.

Although he was not sure, he knew that it had to be related to Aldo. Because if it wasn't, then Aldo wouldn't have entered the forest as well.

"Mallory?" Leo was surprised.

Mallory gulped. She was sure of it. The same place, the same scenario. She could smell it... Aldo's scent.

"H-He's there..." Mallory whispered.

Hearing her words, the boys became alert and held unto their guns. Jillion placed his laptop inside his bag, making sure it was safe.

"Let's go?" Leo asked. Mallory looked at him. The two stared at each other. Leo knew she was afraid. She was afraid but she wanted to face whatever it was. Holding her hand gently, he whispered, "I'm here. I'll protect you so you don't have to be afraid."

Mallory's eyes widened. With a small smile, she nodded. "Yes. Thank you very much, Master Orpheus."

Facing forward, Mallory took deep breaths. Walking nearer, she recalled the scene from the past.

...

Several years ago...

Looking around, she frowned. "Where is he?" Raising her head higher, she used her nose to smell his scent. When she picked up the scent, she exclaimed, "Ah! He's hiding again!"

She slowly and carefully followed the scent. Without realizing, she walked inside the nearby forest. It wasn't until she got a strong scent of blood that she realized something was wrong.

"Aldo?" She called. She could feel her heart beat getting louder and quicker. She was scared.

"Aldo?" She called once more as she noticed the trees slowly swaying, covering parts of the sunlight. "Hey, Aldo? Come on. I know you're hiding!"

She was scared. Usually, he would answer once he knew she knew where he was. But now... all she received was... nothing.

"A-Aldo?" The girl followed the scent as it gets stronger. Then she heard a muffled noise. Relieved, she turned to the side and said, "There you are. Stop scaring me Al— ?!"

...

"Aldo!" Jillion exclaimed.

Aldo was clutching his c.h.e.s.t as he kneeled on the ground. He was breathing heavily. Hearing his name, he instinctively looked at the incoming group.

"Brian, send the location to the driver."

"Yes, Young Master."

The group stand a few steps before Aldo. Everyone was alert, unsure of what to do next.

Aldo scanned the group, looking for a delicious prey. He looked at Leo and growled angrily. When he looked at Brian, he stared at him as he cannot see the blood. When he looked at Jillion... he turned his head immediately.

This irked Jillion. "Hey! At least be interested with my blood! Don't just ignore my blood! My blood is precious, you know?!"

Leo did not know whether to laugh or cry. My brother, do you want to be a dog food? Why would you want a vampire to be interested in your blood? And also, we're capturing this guy! Not giving him more victims!

Aldo looked at Jillion who just shouted and examined him again. Without another second, he stuck out a tongue as if he was disgusted.

"This guy..!" Jillion wanted to run and punch him in the face but was held back by Leo's stare.

Aldo noticed someone else standing. Looking at her, the hostility in his eyes lessened and confusion arose. Mallory just stared back. She took a step forward, checking his reaction.

"Yes." Mallory took another step. Aldo just watched and growled from time to time. When he noticed that she was just four steps away from him, he stepped back once.

Noticing this, Mallory stopped. The two entered a staring contest. Jillion was dumbfounded, "What is she doing, Leo? Aldo might hit her!"

Leo stayed quiet. Jillion was surprised, "Leo!"

Perusing his lips, Leo answered, "I've got a feeling that we should leave it to her."

Jillion stopped complaining and looked at the two at the middle. He decided to follow Leo and readied himself if ever he needed to grab Mallory out of Aldo's reach.

Mallory raised her arms. With a small voice, she called, "Aldo."

Aldo's eyes widened and unconsciously, he stood up and ran towards her. Alarmed, the two boys aimed their guns at Aldo as Leo ran to grab Mallory but were stopped when they saw Aldo hugging Mallory.

Leo slowly walked towards them. He could hear Aldo's soft whisperings, "Ma...llory... Mallory..."

Leo looked at his eyes that have returned to their usual state and his fangs that became duller. Indeed, he found comfort when he's with her. "You okay, Mallory?"

"Mind control?" Jillion placed his gun down. "You confirmed it?"

Mallory shook her head, "No, Master Jillion. I just heard the same voice."

Suddenly, Aldo Let Mallory go. He looked at Mallory in the eyes and smiled. "Mallory... You're here."

"Yeah. Care to tell me what happened?" Mallory said.

Frowning, Aldo shook his head. "All I can remember was that my vision black out and I heard a voice saying, 'I'll take over for now.'"

"It is mind control," Jillion said as he walked closer. Leo grabbed Mallory's shoulder, "Careful. He's still a killer."

Aldo frowned, "Mallory... why did you bring all these annoying people?"

Jillion immediately reacted, "Annoying?! You dare call me an annoying person?!"

Watching him complain, Aldo was amused. "This guy looks cute."

Jillion immediately shut up.

What did this guys say...?

"C-C-Cute...?!" Jillion started blushing. A-A-Aldo... called me cute?!

However, Aldo continued, "Yeah. Cute like a little kid. Ah, but he's still annoying."

Jillion was angered in an instant. "Don't call me a kid! And I'm not annoying!"

Leo could not help but agree, "I also think he's a kid at times."

"Don't join in if you're not on my side, Leo!"

Brian, who was silent, couldn't help but tilt his head to suppressed something inside of him. Jillion saw this and complained, "Don't laugh!"

Just as they were laughing, they failed to notice a figure flying up.

"Oh? What a wonderful reunion! I never thought I'd see you guys here! Especially you..."