Vampire's Mate

Rylan Tanner, a young war prodigy and a prominent general's son, was one of the few well-respected figures in all of Gulliver. Not only was he known for his status, but all noble ladies also admired him for his six-foot-tall frame, diamond face shape, and a deep-set pair of jet-black eyes. Just like his domineering figure, his capabilities did not pale in comparison. With only twenty-five years of age, he had led armies to wars more than he could remember and always brought back victory.

Never had he lost a single battle in his life.

Not until one day when he experienced the very first and last defeat from the group of peculiar foreign intruders he had never thought existed in the world.

Vampires.

Spitting crimson blood from his mouth, Rylan kneeled on the blood-soaked ground and plunged his sword into the soil to use as a support. He peered at the discarded bodies, who were once his fellow soldiers, scattered all around him. He had to fight an indescribable pain that persistently kept stabbing somewhere from the depth of his heart at each body his eyes landed on.

The corpses had their necks ripped open; faces and bodies were as pale as snow, resulting from losing their blood to the creatures in front of him. As for him, though he was still breathing, his condition was not any better.

The long-sleeve attire was messily cut short as the fabric was torn, revealing gashes of fresh wounds that were still oozing out blood profusely. Rylan's neck had two blood-dripping holes where fangs had recently been inserted.

"From now on, you'll be turning into one of us. The very kind that you heavily despise," said Marcus, a tall man with raven hair. His eyes were sharp, the same color as his lips that were still stained with human blood, wet and painting the soft flesh a crimson hue.

"You monster..."

"Live a life hating yourself, boy. You have so much time on your hand. Just take it slow." Marcus's lips quirked up into a lopsided grin as he stared down at the devastated man kneeling before him. Every word and action marked the superior with an aura that matched with his title as a leader.

"I'll...just...kill...myself," Rylan spoke through gritted teeth, struggling with each word. Strength left his body, making his arms and knees go weak, yet he refused to let his body fall to the ground. Since he was already a fallen general, the least he could do to save his pride was not to drop right next to his enemy's feet in front of him.

"Oh, no. You can't kill yourself, you know. That's another curse for us vampires. Suicide is impossible. Also, since we're known as the high-leveled vampires, it means that we're hard to kill, even by the same kind. Don't confuse us with pureblood. We are different and way more powerful. There's only one sacred object in this world that can kill us, but I don't think I am stupid enough to tell you," said a female vampire with long, blond hair.

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the loud woman. Vampire, to be exact. His eyes were like a raging fire, wanting to burn the creature of the night right there and then.

"But you're quite good-looking, so let me give you a tip. Your curse can be lifted, and you'll become human again."

A tall, black-haired female vampire stepped in, appearing out of nowhere and heading towards Rylan. The beads around her head dangled down the long, silky black hair as a part of the ornament, letting out a weak chiming sound as they collided because of the movement. She placed her hands on either side of Rylan's head and closed her eyes, trying to focus on something.

"Oh, no. Lara is at it again. Why does she always give out divination for free?" complained the blond-haired female vampire.

After a short while, Lara's eyelids fluttered open. Her indigo blue eyes directed down at Rylan softly. "Until a girl with sapphire-blue blood, willingly, spilled her unique blood on your heart, would your curse be lifted." She paused and softened her gaze, eyes depicting sympathy, before picking up her words, "But remember, once the curse is lifted, you'll undergo another cruel suffering that was worse than this curse itself."

"Is there even a thing worse than this?" Rylan sneered at the words.

"Never underestimate the pain of a broken heart," said Lara with a slight shake of her head.

That was the last thing Rylan could hear and see before the venom started spreading through his veins, bringing a gut-wrenching pain that consumed all his consciousness and only fed him back into the darkness.

The darkness that haunted him for the rest of his life.

Gracie Kim, the foster daughter of The Kim family and widely known for being the luckiest girl in the region, was sitting in the back of a black limousine. The Kim conglomerate's heiress kept staring out her window with a face that did not look even slightly like someone who was about to enjoy some fun, even though she was on her way to a high school graduation party.

It should be a night full of merry for a girl her age, but she didn't look enthusiastic at all. Her thought was wholly thinking about how she would soon be away from her beautiful hometown, loving foster parents, and on a plane to the United States to further her study.

She knew it was her duty as the only heiress to strive for the best, but for some reason, she did not want to be away from home. She had been alone before in the orphanage, and the feeling of having to live alone again brought back her past fear. However, she never mentioned this to her parents. Not even a single word. She knew once she said it, they would change their mind and cancel her studying abroad immediately.

Gracie wanted to be as filial as she could be, so she had to overcome this fear. She was going to miss her mom's bright smile and her dad's protective aura. But she was a grown-up now. It was time for her to act like one.

The sound of the phone ringing woke her up from her deep thought. Fetching the device out from her purse, a bright smile lit up her beautiful face when she read the displayed caller ID on the screen.

"Hi, mom," answered Gracie gently after she clicked the answer button and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Grace, are you there yet?" The small voice of Lisa, Gracie's foster mother, echoed from the other line.

"Not yet. But I think I'll be arriving soon."

"Okay. Text me when you get there, alright? And don't stay out too late. Something is bugging me. My eyebrows twitch non-stop."

"Mom, you're superstitious again."

"It is a woman/mother's instinct. And it has never been wrong."

"I'm going to be okay. There are many people at the party. No one can hurt me. Besides, Anna's mansion has never lowered its security. There must be guards everywhere. I'll be fine."

"Okay. Still..." Lisa trailed off, still feeling insecure.

"I can take care of myself. It's just a party. If I can't even do this, how am I supposed to survive in America alone?"

"Right, America," Lisa sighed. "Speaking of that, I miss you already. How am I to survive without you for all these years to come?"

"You'll be fine, mom. Dad will always accompany you."

"Victor? Huh," Lisa hissed under her breath. "Your dad is too busy managing the company lately, especially after signing that partnership. I barely see him unless it's bedtime where we do what is natural for couples to do."

Gracie coughed, knowing full well what her mom just referred to. Heat crawled up her pretty face, highlighting her pale cheeks with a dusting of red.

Despite being a mother in her early forties, Lisa Kim was still a teenage girl at heart. Most of the time, Victor Kim, Grace's foster father, found his daughter's mindset was more mature than his wife's.

"Oops. Sorry, I blurted out R-Rated stuff to a kid." Lisa pretended to apologize as if it was not her intention to say those words. Still, Gracie knew for sure that was not the case.

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm eighteen now."

"Yeah, yeah, my baby Grace is eighteen now. She's an adult. She no longer needs her parents." Lisa faked a cry, sniffing loudly from the other side of the line.

"Mom, please. I'll always need you both."

"Even after you're married and have kids of your own?"

"Mom!" she exclaimed, feeling the heat on her face rising. She knew she would get married one day, but it was still too early to think about it now.

"Alright, alright. You must be nearly there now. No more talking. Enjoy your party, honey. Just don't forget to text me once you arrive, okay?"

"Yes, mom. Goodbye."

Once she hung up, Gracie looked at the black screen on her phone and smiled. It had never crossed her mind how lucky she was to have such caring foster parents. Even though it was sad not knowing a single thing about her birth parents and why they abandoned her, Gracie decided not to dwell on the past anymore. She already had parents who showered their love fully on her as if she was their own. It was time to move on and stop living in the unknown past.

She slid the phone back inside her purse and placed it on the seat next to her lap before continuing to stare out the window.

Something isn't right, she thought to herself the moment her eyes registered the quiet and dark view that seemed unfamiliar to her. I'm sure this isn't the route to the party.

She was about to reach for the limousine's phone and ring her chauffeur to ask if they were lost when the car suddenly came to an abrupt stop with an ear-splitting screech. Just then, the car's phone rang, and when she picked it up, the driver's panicked voice reverberated from the other end of the line.

"Young miss, a man is blocking our path. He's just lying there in the middle of the road. Unmoving."

"A man?"

"Yes."

Whoever he is, he must be severely injured to lie in the middle of the road like this, she thought to herself before speaking to her chauffeur through the phone. "Let's help him then."

The two hurried out of the car without turning off the car's engine. With the headlights illuminating the dark street, Gracie finally got an unobstructed view of what was going on.

A man with jet black hair that was as dark as night itself was lying still, face-up, on the asphalt street. She fastened her pace, reaching the lifeless body before her driver did. Kneeling next to the unknown man, she tried calling a few times, hoping to wake him up.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you okay?" When the man showed no sign of movement, she tried again. "Sir? Sir?"

No matter how hard she called, there was still silence. Without knowing what else to do, she raised her hand and placed it on the man's shoulder, trying to shake him awake, only to retract her hand quickly and gasp.

He's as cold as ice, she thought to herself. Is he dead?

To confirm, she placed two fingers over the man's mouth to check for breath. She was relieved yet surprised to find that he was breathing.

Strange. The man is still breathing, but why is his temperature ice-cold? Trying one more time, she shook the man a little harder than before. Still, there was no response. This won't do. I need to call for help. She was about to reach for her phone and make a call when she realized she'd left her purse in the car.

"Mr. Ra, please hurry to the car and call 911. This man needs help from paramedics as fast as possible," she said, turning to the driver who was kneeling next to her.

The driver nodded and ran back to the car as fast as his feet could bring him. His clothes were tattered in many places, so she checked for any injuries on the man. Staring at the mysterious man's body, she noticed his chest was not making the slightest movement. She was confused about how the man was breathing. Curiously, she placed her palm over his left chest, trying to feel his heart beating.

The moment her warm flesh met his cold chest, the man's eyes shot open, revealing a pair of silver pupils that resembled the color of a blade. He turned to look at her with a frown.

"Oh, you're...Arh!" Her words were cut off when the man slapped her hand away, sending her flying in the air and landing a couple of steps away from the original place.

She braced for the fall using her hands, scraping them on the asphalt road. She winced in pain upon impact but tried her best to get up on her feet. Once she did, she turned back to look at the spot where the man was lying, only to realize that it was empty, as if there was no one there in the first place.

What just happened? She asked herself in puzzlement.

"Young miss, I called 911. They said they'd be here to pick up the man in..." The driver ran to where she was, only to trail off when he could no longer see the man. "Huh, where did he go?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ra, but it looks like you need to make a call again to cancel the ambulance," she said with a smile.

"Did he just get up on his own and walk away?"

"Seems like it."

With his mouth dropped open, the driver murmured to himself as he walked back to the car. "I hope it wasn't a ghost I was seeing. I'm too old for this stuff."

Gracie glanced at the spot one last time before turning on her heels and heading back to the car. She ignored the pain in her hands until she registered something warm and wet dripping from her fingers. Looking down, she saw blue liquid run in rivulets from her wrist to her fingertips, making their way down to seep into the asphalt next to her feet.

"Oh, it must be from the fall back then," she murmured.

Untying the fabric belt from her dress, she used it as a bandage replacement, wrapping it tightly around the wound, and continued her walk. She could have waited for a proper bandage in the first-aid box inside the car, but she could not risk anyone seeing her injury, not even her driver.

Yes, she was born with unique sapphire-blue blood.