“I want to go by myself.”

On the way to the hotel, Clarence looked at me, confused. “Why? You always ride with me.”

Because I couldn’t bear to sit in the passenger seat where his new pet had sat countless times.

The thought of Seraphina there, whining for him to pull over so he could feed from her, made me want to vomit.

But I just said, “I feel like being independent tonight.”

Clarence thought nothing of it.

When he took my arm and we entered the hotel, the other vampires stared with a mixture of envy and awe.

In this world, being the consort to Prince Thorne was a dream for countless vampire women.

They had no idea what the position truly cost.

Several Coven elders came to greet us.

Clarence kept his hand on the small of my back, poured me the finest vintage of blood, and whispered in my ear, “This vintage is priceless, but it pales in comparison to your beauty.”

Once, those words would have made me blush.

Now, they just made me want to laugh. In his heart, my worth was clearly less than that of a stripper blood thrall.

Dinner went smoothly, at least on the surface.

Clarence discussed Coven business, occasionally turning to me for my opinion.

I played the part of the perfect Prince’s consort: elegant, intelligent, involved but never overstepping.

At 8:20, Clarence glanced at his watch. “Darling, I need to meet a business partner downstairs. It should only take half an hour.”

“Of course,” I smiled. “I’ll be here.”

A few minutes later, I excused myself from the banquet hall, feigning a headache, and called him.

He answered on the third ring.

“Hey, my love. What’s wrong?” Clarence sounded a bit rushed.

“I’m feeling a little dizzy,” I said, my voice weak. “When will you be back?”

“Soon. Just give me… fifteen more minutes.” His voice suddenly became muffled, as if he was struggling to control something.

And then I heard it.

A woman’s breathless giggle, followed by an obscene sound of swallowing.

“Clarence? Where are you?” I kept my tone worried.

“In… in the office,” he answered, breathing heavily. “My partner just arrived.”

“Mmm… Clarence…” a woman’s breathy moan came from the background.

My hand tightened around my goblet, my knuckles white.

It was unmistakably Seraphina’s voice.

“Darling, you sound strange,” I said, intentionally dragging out the call. “Are you sure everything is alright?”

“Of course… ah…” Clarence struggled to keep his voice steady, but I could tell exactly what he was doing. “This partner is just a bit… demanding.”

“Oh yes, Clarence… right there…” Seraphina’s voice was a blur, clearly unaware the line was still open.

“Hurry, kitten,” Clarence’s voice deepened. “I need to… taste you… now.”

The damning, frantic sound of him swallowing echoed down the line.

I quickly switched on my phone’s recorder, calmly documenting it all.

“Clarence? Clarence?” I called out, feigning panic.

“What? Oh, sorry, my love,” he said, now panting. “Bad signal. I’ll be right up.”

“Okay. I love you,” I said in my sweetest voice.

“I love you too.”

The lie slipped from his tongue so naturally, so practiced.

I saved the recording and returned to the table as if nothing had happened.

Forty minutes later, Clarence returned to the dining room.

His hair was slightly disheveled, his tie crooked, but his face was flushed with satisfaction.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, my love,” he said, sitting beside me. “That partner was a tough negotiation.”

I turned to him and offered a perfect smile. “It’s fine. Business is business.”

He reached for my hand. “You’re the best mate in the world.”

Just then, my phone buzzed.

“The identity glamour and trail-covering spells are ready. Departure in five days.”

I quickly locked the screen, but Clarence caught a glimpse of the message.

“Departure?” he asked, looking at me with a frown. “Molly, are you going somewhere?”

I let out a small laugh, answering casually, “Oh, that’s my friend Maria. She wants to see the Northern Lights, but her human ID expired. She was just asking me about the renewal process. You know how she is with all that human paperwork.”

My tone was light and natural, betraying nothing.

Clarence immediately relaxed, a look of sheepishness on his face. “Sorry, my love. For a second, I thought you were going to leave me.”

His words drew envious glances from the noblewomen at nearby tables. See how devoted Prince Thorne is to me.

I hid a cold smirk behind my crystal goblet.

To the outside world, we were still the perfect, enviable couple.

At 10:30, the banquet was winding down.

When we were the last two left in the restaurant, Clarence came to my side, reaching for an embrace. “Tonight was perfect.”

As he drew near, a mixed scent hit me.

Cigar smoke, the metallic tang of expensive blood, and that damnable, sickly-sweet scent of Seraphina.

That cloying, nauseating smell was radiating from his collar, his cuffs.

He hadn’t even bothered to mask it. Or perhaps he was so used to it, he didn't even notice.

The churning in my stomach returned, ten times stronger than before.

I shoved him away, clamping a hand over my mouth as I vanished, reappearing in the restroom.

“Molly? Darling?” Clarence’s worried voice followed me.

I fell to my knees on the cold marble floor, retching violently.

There was nothing left in my stomach to bring up, only bitter bile.

“What is it? Was the blood off?” Clarence knelt beside me, trying to help me up. “Did you have too much?”

The scent of him, of her, washed over me again, and another wave of dry heaves wracked me.

“Don’t… don’t touch me!” I choked out, pushing his hand away.

“Is it my scent?” he asked, frowning. “I’m sorry, I was hunting with that partner earlier, we fed on a human…”

That excuse was the final spark. The rage inside me exploded.

I slowly pushed myself up, splashing cold water on my face, and met his eyes in the mirror.

He stood there, a picture of innocent concern, as if he truly had no idea what he’d done.

“A hunt?” I bit out, my voice shaking. “You know damn well what it was!”

Clarence froze, stunned. He had never seen me lose control like this. “Molly, what are you talking about?”

I realized I was losing my composure. I forced myself to calm down. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”

The next morning, Clarence insisted on taking me to the Coven’s private clinic.

The vampire physician examined me. “The symptoms point to a psychic disturbance, usually caused by intense emotional distress. Has Lady Thorne been under any particular stress lately?”

Clarence frowned. “No, not at all. We had a lovely time just last night.”

“Perhaps it’s cyclical, then,” the doctor said, beginning to write a prescription. “I’ll prescribe something to regulate her energy.”

Just then, Clarence’s phone lit up.

He glanced at the screen, his expression tensing. “Excuse me, an important call.”

“Go ahead,” I said flatly.

Clarence stepped into the hallway. I could hear his hushed voice. “What? Now? No, I’m with her at the doctor’s… Fine, I understand.”

He returned, his face an apology. “My love, I am so sorry. An underling is delivering an important ancient text. I need to go downstairs to receive it. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

“Go,” I said, feigning understanding.

The doctor continued his diagnosis, but I wasn’t listening. I walked to the window, pretending to admire the view, but my eyes were fixed on the street below.

A few minutes later, I saw him.

He wasn’t waiting by the main entrance for any delivery.

Instead, he strode quickly across the street, slipped into an alley, and dissolved into a swarm of bats, flying away.

I watched him disappear, feeling not anger, but a cold, numb sense of release.

I knew he wouldn't be back in five minutes.

An hour later, my phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

“So sorry, Lady Thorne, but it looks like he won’t be able to keep you company today. All I had to do was whine a little, and he decided to give me the Embrace. To make me his.”

It was followed by a photo.

Seraphina, lounging on a lavish bed, her neck marred by a deep, fresh bite mark from Clarence, surrounded by love bites.

Her skin was turning pale, the first sign of a successful turning.

She gloated, rubbing their "ceremony" in my face.

“Surprised? He said it’s the second time he’s ever craved someone’s blood this much. The last time was 500 years ago, with you. But he says I taste so much better.”

Another message followed.

“Oh, and he’s taking me to Paris tomorrow. For my first ‘honeymoon’ as a vampire. ;)”

I turned off my phone and faced the doctor. “I think I need to leave now.”

“But His Highness, the Prince—”

“I’ll tell him myself.”

I went to the ancient castle of the Progenitor, the first vampire.

Once made, a blood bond is nearly impossible to break. Only the Progenitor had the power.

The ancient Progenitor regarded me. “Are you certain of this, child? Once the bond is severed, there is no turning back.”

I was well aware of the Thorne clan’s power, and I wanted a clean break. “I ask you to sever the bond. And I swear on my immortal life that I will never be an enemy to the Thorne Coven, nor will I ever reveal its secrets.”

All I wanted was my freedom.

Moved by my resolve, the Progenitor finally nodded.

Two hours later, I walked out of the ancient castle, the parchment dissolving our bond in my hand.

The sky over New York was gray and heavy, threatening a storm.

My phone rang.

It was Clarence.

“My love, I’m so sorry. That business took longer than expected. Where are you now?”

“Home,” I lied.

“Good. I’ll be right there. But…” his voice grew hesitant, “I might have to go to Paris tomorrow for an urgent matter. It’s complicated. I might not be back until next week.”

His romantic getaway with Seraphina.

“Alright,” I said calmly.

“You’re not angry?” Clarence sounded surprised. “I know the timing is terrible, but it's Coven business. You understand.”

“I understand.”

“Molly,” he said, a sudden insecurity in his voice, as if he needed reassurance. “I love you. You know that, right?”

I looked down at the parchment in my hand and asked the question one last time.

“Clarence,” I asked softly, “could you ever fall in love with someone else?”

“What?” He laughed. “Darling, what are you worried about? How could I possibly love anyone else?”

“But if… let’s just say, hypothetically, if something went wrong between us—”

“Impossible,” he cut me off, his tone laced with a harsh, possessive edge. “Molly, listen to me. As long as your name is Molly Thorne, you can never leave me. You are my soulmate, the vampire I personally Embraced. There is nowhere on this earth you could hide from me.”

My name isn’t Molly Thorne anymore, a calm voice said in my head.

My new human name is Celeste.

“What if I wanted to leave?”

He laughed again, a sound full of arrogant confidence. “Then I’d give you a three-day head start. And then I’d come find you. I told you, as long as you are Lady Thorne, I will hunt you down and drag you back, no matter where you run. You can’t escape me, my love. You can never escape me.”

I hung up the phone and stood on the streets of New York, looking at the distant skyscrapers.

I didn’t know if he could find me in three days.

I only knew that in three days, I would finally be free.