Calhoun, who had been bored for a long time, quickly closed his eyes as he tried to focus, trying to detect the exact location of the carriage.
His brows creased as he couldn't smell any life force other than Monica around the area. He couldn't even smell the scent of a horse around, which was almost impossible because horses usually emitted a strong scent due to the hot blood they had.
While the carriage was getting closer, Calhoun began to get anxious.
'Is there something wrong with my nose? Why can't I detect living beings around the area other than Monica?' Calhoun doubted that he was losing his capability to detect enemies. He was still young and strong, after all.
He got frustrated after desperately trying to detect anyone to no avail. So he opened his eyes and watched what would happen next in the vampire coven.
Calhoun saw the vampires gathered in the big yard in front of the mansion. They all kneeled while facing the deep woods as if waiting for someone important to come.
Calhoun frowned. He also wondered who would be the important guests of these vampires.
'Could it be that they are waiting for their Elder?' Calhoun wondered.
Within a vampire coven, there was usually an Elder who would be the coven's leader, just like an Alpha in a wolf pack.
These Elders were typically vampires with blood running through their veins, distinguishing them from the hollow, empty undead like newborn vampires. They were cursed creatures that had been living for a long time.
Calhoun had already identified the Vampire Elder within this coven— an ashen, middle-aged man, who had probably lived for at least two centuries.
As they were waiting for their Elder, Calhoun began counting them and found out there were at least thirty vampires in this coven.
Calhoun was genuinely surprised, 'How come they multiply so fast? I already make sure any vampire that dares to cross my area is killed instantly. Other than overlooking Thomas, there shouldn't be any more victims.'
Calhoun realized the severity of the situation. He wondered if these vampires were going to invade his territory soon.
Though he was confident that he could take them all with ease, he was worried that Andrew or Marc might get hurt—or even worse, fatally injured during a fight.
He couldn't imagine losing one of his pack members. He would rather fight all of those vampires by himself.
The main door of the mansion was opened after a while, and he held his breath when he saw Monica walking side by side with the Vampire Elder of this coven.
She was wearing a white dress that felt out of place in the middle of the forest.
But she was indeed worthy of being Celine's sister.
She was gorgeous in that white dress, almost like a bride walking down the aisle. She also sprayed a strong perfume around her body that Calhoun could smell from far away.
'They are sisters indeed,' Calhoun thought as his mind drifted off for a second. 'But Celine doesn't need a dress to look a hundred times better. Hmm, but I wonder how beautiful she will look wearing the same dress…'
Calhoun snapped out of his daze when he realized what he had in mind. He shook his head, scolding himself for thinking about that manipulative woman who was probably sleeping while he was betting his life here to make her happy.
The vampires made a path for their Elder and Monica to walk out the main door and stopped in front of an empty wood. It was so strange, but it seemed that they were waiting for someone else, someone stronger since the Vampire Elder actually kneeled alongside the rest of the weak vampires.
'Someone stronger than a Vampire Elder…' Calhoun recalled the old tales about a cursed creature meant to rule the vampires. They were the pure-blood, meaning that their power was raw and unadulterated. They were akin to an immortal demon that had been living for more than a thousand years;
A Vampire Noble.
But Calhoun hadn't seen one in his life, nor had his predecessor. All he heard were telltales that were probably exaggerated from thousands years ago, so he simply thought a Vampire Noble was similar to that of a Werewolf King; a legend that probably happened, but not as glorious as what was told.
'Could it be… that a vampire noble actually exists?' Calhoun's eyes turned golden instantly. His nails began to grow and turned sharp. He took a deep breath, ready for a fight in case he had to.
The carriage drew near the Gothic mansion, and Calhoun finally saw the dark horse that paced through the woods.
The horse had purple eyes and trotted on air, levitating alongside the black carriage with a golden accent that it pulled. There was a dark smoke trailing behind as it passed, and though Calhoun couldn't sense the living creature inside the carriage, he could sense a very strong aura from the creature inside.
That aura was so strong that Calhoun began to heave, his body instinctively reacting against a big threat as his hands and feet had turned into that of a werewolf.
The carriage stopped right in front of everyone. The door was opened on its own, and the overpowering aura forced all the vampires—even the Vampire Elder to kneel deeper until none dared raise their heads.
Calhoun saw that Monica had turned pale, and she trembled out of fear. Yet she wasn't forced to kneel like those vampires, even though she was obviously just a normal human.
Calhoun's eyes peered towards the man who stepped out of the carriage;
He was tall, had slicked-back silver hair, a pair of crimson eyes, and skin as pale as snow. He wore the suit that nobles should wear from the olden times, but appearance-wise, he was no older than thirty years old.
The man stood in front of the vampires, he didn't seem to bear interest with any of the vampires, but his eyes were glued to the woman wearing a bridal dress in front of him.
His sweet yet deep voice echoed through the wood as he gently lifted Monica's chin with his cold finger, "I'm here to take my bride."