Five years ago, I offered up my neck to Kieran, the Shadow Lord.

After that night of insatiable hunger, he didn't drain me dry.

Instead, he sank his fangs deep into my veins. At the zenith of pleasure, he whispered repeatedly into my ear, "You are mine."

Just as I mistakenly believed this twisted possession was love, his so-called "savior," Seraphina, returned.

To appease her, Kieran demanded my heart's blood every night. He callously tossed my mother's only keepsake into an auction. Worse still, to quell her jealousy, he personally locked me away in a prison bristling with silver torture devices...

When I finally broke the blood pact and, my heart shattered, fled to Los Angeles to marry his sworn enemy, Lucian, Kieran descended into complete madness.

I was in my fifth year of a secret affair with Lord Kieran, and everyone noticed he treated me differently.

By day, I'd dismiss any talk of our relationship with a simple, "I'm just the Lord's blood perfumer."

No one knew that each night, he would hold me possessively, his lips tracing my neck as he murmured, "You are mine."

On our last night together, he held me so tightly, it felt as though he wanted to crush me into his very being.

"Aurora, your blood smells like roses that have begun to rot."

Kieran's voice was low as his fingers clamped around my wrist in the dark.

His touch was unnervingly cold, even for a creature of the night.

Usually, I would have instinctively wrapped my arms around him.

But this time, a bitter ache blooming in my chest, I simply pulled my hand away.

"If that is how you feel, then you should let me go, my Lord."

He didn't.

Instead, he leaned in, his fangs brushing against my carotid artery, sending a shiver of pain through me.

"Don't move, Moonlight," he rasped, using the private, ancient nickname we shared. "You know I can't resist your scent."

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the last vestiges of my affection, and embraced him once more.

He had no idea I was about to marry someone else.

The next evening, the grand hall of Nocturne Castle blazed with light.

I managed a faint smile. Only yesterday, I was his secret lover, the only "antidote" he ever spoke of.

But now, everything had changed.

In the center of the hall, the crystal chandelier's light converged on two figures.

One was Kieran. The other was Seraphina.

That girl, with her half-human blood and dress of faded white, trembled like a porcelain doll.

She wasn't even a noble, merely a low-ranking hybrid.

But Kieran did something that silenced the entire room.

He unclasped his black and gold velvet cloak, a symbol of the Nocturne family's highest authority, and gently, almost reverently, draped it over Seraphina's shoulders.

"That's the token of every mistress…" a gasp rippled through the crowd.

I stood in the shadows, my knuckles white, clutching a glass of crimson liquid.

Beside me, my father, Magnus Thorne, was ashen-faced.

"Aurora, if you had only tried a little harder, that cloak would be on your shoulders right now."

I let out a humorless laugh.

Five years ago, the first time I met Kieran, I fell for him instantly.

To win him over, I worked tirelessly, eventually creating a scent that eased his family's hereditary manic depression. The price? My blood, every month.

After he received the perfume, Kieran treated me with respect, but no affection. No matter how hard I tried, all I received was a simple, "You've worked hard."

Unwilling to let my first love end like this, during a test of a new formula, I added something to my own blood.

That night, Kieran lost control in a way I'd never witnessed. He was so moved, it was as if he intended to drain me dry.

At the last moment, he stopped, burying his head against my neck, and softly called me Moonlight.

From that day on, outwardly, we maintained a purely professional relationship.

But in private, he was incredibly tender with me. Only when he wanted something did he become all-consuming, leaving me with the feeling he might devour me.

I thought I had conquered Kieran.

For the next five years, we maintained this dynamic.

Until my birthday. He said he had a surprise for me.

I heard he'd been preparing for this day for years.

A proposal?

I waited from morning till night, brimming with anticipation.

But I didn't receive a diamond ring, nor flowers or gifts.

Only the news that he had brought a human girl back to the estate.

That night, he held me gently.

"Happy? You won't have to give blood anymore."

"My antidote has returned."

After that day, our relationship continued as usual.

Kieran still stayed with me at night, but each morning as the sun rose, he'd return to that girl.

He'd say, "She is too fragile; she cannot be without me. I have to look after her."

He paused when he said it, likely seeing the look on my face. He tried to comfort me, "If you remain good, we can still be as we were. Nothing will change."

But I no longer wanted to wait around for him.

"It's more than just a cloak, Father." I stared at Kieran in the center of the ballroom, now lowering his head to speak to Seraphina with a tenderness he'd never shown me.

"He is declaring his claim to everyone."

At that moment, an elder from the Ashford family beside me whispered, "I heard Lord Kieran fell into a deep slumber a hundred years ago, all to use some forbidden magic to keep a dying human girl alive. That girl… was Seraphina, wasn't she?"

"He slept for a century for her? Gods, what kind of devotion is that."

In that instant, my blood ran cold.

I had been with Kieran for five years.

I thought I was special.

I thought I was the one who could calm him.

But compared to a century, five years felt like a mere joke.

So, I was just a replacement. A useful vessel to keep him company while he waited for his true love to awaken.

On the dance floor, Seraphina looked up at Kieran, tears welling in her eyes. "Kieran, this is too precious. I can't…"

"You are the only one worthy of it." Kieran's voice wasn't loud, but it cut through to me like a rusty saw scraping my eardrums.

I placed my wine glass on a passing waiter's tray. The glass clinked.

"I am leaving this place," I said to Magnus, turning to him.

"You dare!" Magnus hissed, his voice low and furious. "Kieran is about to announce the arranged marriage. If you walk out now, you will shame the Nocturne family!"

"He will announce a marriage, but the bride won't be me."

I met Magnus's eyes, not backing down for the first time. "Since you want power so badly, sell me to the Ashford family in Los Angeles. Hasn't Lucian Ashford been proposing for ages?"

Magnus froze, then a glint flashed in his eyes. "Are you serious? Lucian doesn't have Kieran's influence, but he has just inherited the Los Angeles territory…"

Amidst his ecstatic expression, I nodded. "I am serious. You can contact him."

The next second, I hitched up my skirt and strode through the crowd.

I moved through the long corridors, towards Kieran's private chambers in the east wing of the castle.

I had access. It was a "privilege" he'd granted me, so I could bring him his medicine anytime.

The door opened.

The chambers were dark, but I could see in the gloom.

Shelves lined the walls, filled with the blood perfumes I'd crafted for him over the past five years.

Each bottle contained my heart and soul.

But at the deepest part of the shelf, in a temperature-controlled compartment, I saw a row of crystal vials I didn't recognize.

I walked over and picked one up, my hand trembling.

The label, written in ancient script, read: Seraphina, 1925.

The next: Seraphina, 1926.

A full hundred bottles.

Before he fell into his slumber, he had collected a blood sample from her every year.

Even in his sleep, he had used his family's power to preserve these, cherishing them.

And my blood?

I glanced at the trash can nearby.

There lay the latest batch of perfumes I'd brought him not long ago. I'd excitedly handed them to Kieran, telling him it was a new formula I'd spent half a year developing to relieve his headaches.

But now, these perfumes, unopened, were simply discarded.

Because Seraphina was back, and he no longer needed a replacement.

A burning rage, unlike anything I had ever felt, consumed me.

For him, I had endured five years of painful bloodletting, refused Lucian's proposals, and faced cold glances from within my own family.

And he had tossed my sincerity aside like garbage.

"Screw you, Moonlight."

I grabbed the row of precious Seraphina blood samples.

"Aurora, what are you doing?"

Kieran's voice came from the doorway.

He sensed my intrusion.

I turned, looking at the man still in his formal wear, breathtakingly handsome.

Seeing me holding his treasures, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes.

I smiled. "I am cleaning up your mess, Kieran."

The next second, I raised my hand and smashed the crystal vials to the ground.

The crisp sound of shattering glass echoed through the chamber.

The dark crimson liquid splattered everywhere, flooding the floor.

That cloying sweet scent instantly filled the entire room.

Kieran looked at me with a coldness I'd never seen before. "Get out."

His voice was frighteningly low.

"I'll leave on my own. You don't need to tell me to."

I brushed glass shards from my hands. My palm was cut, but I couldn't feel the pain.

Before walking out the door, I turned to look at Kieran. He was on his knees, trying to gather the dark red liquid soaking into the carpet in his hands.

That was Seraphina's blood.

To him, it was sacred.

To me, it was just a reminder of my humiliation.

Brushing the mess off the floor, I walked out of the secret room without looking back.

When I returned to my rooms, my luggage was already in the hallway.

Several servants were carrying in white lilies—Seraphina's favorite flower.

Seraphina stood at the doorway, wearing that black and gold cloak that used to be mine. She was petite, and the oversized cloak made her look a little awkward.

"Sister," she said timidly, twisting the hem of her dress. "Kieran said I have a serious blood disorder and need to stay in the Moon Tower to recover, where the moonlight is strongest. I'm sorry about this…"

"Don't call me Sister," I sneered. "We're not related. Besides, this tower was left to me by my mother. By what right do you move in?"

"It's Nocturne family property now," my father, Magnus, stepped out from the shadows.

He said calmly, "Lord Kieran visited me this morning and asked for it. I agreed. I've also adopted Seraphina as my daughter. Aurora, she's younger than you. As an older sister, you should be more generous."

"So you're giving my mother's room to a half-breed?"

"Watch your tongue!" Magnus raised his hand as if to strike me.

I dodged.

Looking at his cold expression, I was deeply disappointed.

Everyone was like this. As long as Seraphina was involved, I was the one who had to back down.

"I've made up my mind, Father. Since you already have a daughter and clearly don't consider me one anymore, we'll do things by bloodline rules."

I bit my finger and flicked a drop of blood into the air.

"I, Aurora, hereby declare that I sever all blood pacts with the Thorne family. From this day forward, I am an independent individual, no longer under your protection or control."

A crisp sound, like a snapped bowstring, echoed in the air.

Magnus's face changed drastically. He clutched his chest and stumbled back two steps. "You're crazy! Without the family's protection, you won't last three days out there! The demon hunters will tear you apart!"

"That's my problem."

I turned and left, taking only my black card.

It was my first step of revenge.

This card was linked to the Nocturne family's liquid assets.

Kieran had given me unlimited overdraft as a gesture of generosity, a payment for the blood perfumes I provided.

He probably thought I'd never use it, or wouldn't dare to.

I'll make him regret it.

For the next two hours, I swept through the underground black market like a hurricane.

"I want that two-hundred-year-old Siren's Tear."

"Pack all the Dragon's Blood Grass."

"And that Mithril Alchemy Station, I'll take it too."

Swipe. Swipe. Swipe.

Each transaction was astronomical.

My phone buzzed non-stop with deduction notifications from the bank.

I bought enough rare alchemy materials to assemble a small army.

Just as I was about to bid on the final item—a top-grade ruby—the cashier looked at me awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Your card has been frozen."

So fast?

I glanced at my phone.

Kieran had finally reacted.

"It seems the Nocturne family isn't as rich as legend has it," I said with a mocking smile, turning and walking out of the black market.

The moment I stepped out the door, a chill shot up my spine.

It was late at night now, and the streets were empty.

But I could hear faint mechanical noises—the sound of demon hunters cocking their crossbows.

My access was frozen, which meant I'd lost the protection of the family's territorial barrier.

My location had been exposed.

The next second, a silver bolt whizzed past my cheek, embedding itself in the brick wall beside me with a hiss.

"Target acquired! It's a pureblood!"

Three demon hunters in tactical gear leaped from the rooftop, their silver swords glinting with deadly light.

Damn it.

I was good at making perfumes, not close combat.

I took a step back, trying to pull a newly bought poison mist bottle from my bag, but my movements were too slow.

One of the demon hunters had already charged at me, his silver sword aimed straight for my heart.

"Die, vampire!"

I closed my eyes, waiting for the searing pain of death.

But the pain didn't come.

The world around me suddenly fell silent.

I opened my eyes.

And found myself standing in a pitch-black void.

The demon hunters were frozen, as if time had stopped, maintaining their charging stances in the darkness.

That was the "Shadow Domain."

A power only the highest-ranking vampire lords could wield.

A long, pale hand reached out from the darkness and wrapped around my waist.

That familiar scent, of cedar and blood, enveloped me.

"Had enough, Aurora?"

Kieran's voice sounded in my ear, filled with suppressed anger.

The next second, the world spun.

When we landed again, I wasn't in the dingy alley anymore, but in the penthouse suite overlooking the city center of Manhattan.

Kieran's most private sanctuary.

He released me and looked at me coldly, his eyes complex.

"You'd rather die by the hands of demon hunters than bow to me?"

"Bowing to you feels almost as bad as dying, Kieran," I said.

I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, forcing a composed look.

My heart was still pounding, not just from the near-death experience, but because he had saved me again, damn it. This whole hero-saves-damsel act just made me feel more humiliated.

Kieran tugged at his tie, annoyance flashing across his face.

"Your card depleted five years of the family's liquid assets. Had I not intervened, the elders would have already marked you for death."

"That's my payment for services rendered," I said, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window to watch the traffic below. "After five years serving a bastard like you, that's what I'm worth."

"Bastard?" Kieran narrowed his eyes, teleporting in front of me. He trapped me between him and the glass. "For five years, I gave you immense status, everything you could have ever wanted. And just because I took care of your life-saver, you're acting this hysterical?"

"Took care of?" I let out a laugh that bordered on tears. "You put her in my room, draped your cloak over her, and even got angry at me over a drop of her blood. Kieran, don't try to sell me on this 'benefactor' story. The way you look at her, it's like you found a treasure you thought was lost forever."

Kieran fell silent.

He didn't deny it.

The air around us grew suddenly still. His silence stung more than any words could have.

"Where will you sleep?" he suddenly changed the subject. "The master bedroom is off-limits this time…"

"The guest room," I cut him off. "If there's no guest room, I'll sleep on the sofa. Or in the dungeon, whichever suits you."

"Don't be difficult. Seraphina is weak. She needs the blood pool in the master bedroom to recover. It's the most energetically potent spot on the entire estate," Kieran's voice was matter-of-fact as he laid out the arrangements. "You'll sleep in the guest room."

I scoffed.

If there was a place for her to stay, why did she need to snatch my Moon Tower?

I had always thought Kieran's logic was strictly cold and pragmatic.

But when it came to someone he cherished, he lost all reason, wanting only to give her the best of everything.

"Fine," I conceded, not arguing further.

The next evening, the estate hosted a small "welcome back" dinner.

Officially, it was to celebrate Seraphina's recovery. In reality, it was Kieran's maneuver to get his New York inner circle to accept her.

I had no intention of attending, but Kieran threatened to throw away all the alchemical materials I'd purchased if I didn't.

Considering some of those materials had been delivered to the estate by default, I relented.

I descended the stairs in a simple black evening gown.

Jazz music flowed through the hall.

Seraphina sat at the center of the sofa, wearing the white silk gown Kieran had originally custom-made for me.

The dress was a little long on her, but as she gathered the hem, she looked almost fragilely beautiful.

Several vampire nobles surrounded her, showering her with praise.

"Lord Kieran is so thoughtful towards you."

Ignoring the chatter, I headed to the bar, wanting a glass of blood.

Suddenly, a peculiar scent wafted to me.

It was vanilla, iron, and a certain intoxicating sweetness.

The Saint Blood.

It was a blood type so rare, whispered to exist in only one in a million souls.

A century ago, Kieran risked everything to save her. He’d turned her, binding them with half his essence, and even used forbidden magic to guarantee she got their family's last Saint Blood Grass.

From that moment on, Seraphina's blood became a treasure, a source of deadly allure for vampires and a wellspring of incredible healing.

No wonder Kieran was so captivated by her.

It wasn't just gratitude for saving his life; she was also a prime source of "food" and "medicine."

I turned, and there was Kieran, behind the bar, shaking a cocktail shaker himself.

He was mixing a "Crimson Velvet."

It was an incredibly complex cocktail, requiring precise temperature and ratio control.

In the past, I had begged him countless times, and he had only made it once for me, on our anniversary.

But now, he poured the liquid into a stemmed glass and walked directly toward me.

I instinctively reached out to take it.

But Kieran didn't even glance at me. He walked past me toward Seraphina on the sofa.

"Try it, specially made for you," his voice was so gentle it could drip.

My hand froze in mid-air, feeling utterly foolish.

Seraphina took the glass, took a shy sip, then cast a triumphant glance my way.

There was no trace of timidity in her eyes now, only the smugness of a victor.

In the center of the hall, the crowd began to stir for a game of "Eternal Vow." It was an ancient vampire game where enchanted cards posed questions. You had to tell the truth, or be consumed by the flames of the vow.

Kieran was ushered to the center.

Seraphina drew a card and read the question aloud: "If a silver sword were to stab at you right now, and you could only save one person, who would it be? Your blood-bound mate Aurora, or... me?"

The entire room fell silent.

This was a no-win situation.

Everyone knew that while Kieran and I weren't officially married, we had a binding blood pact.

Kieran sat in his leather chair, fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

His gaze flickered between Seraphina and me.

I held my breath.

Even with a one-in-a-million chance, I hoped he would lie, just to preserve my dignity.

Even a lie would have been better.

Three seconds later, Kieran spoke.

"Seraphina."

Since it was the truth, the magic flames did not punish him. Instead, due to his honesty, the flames bloomed in the air, forming the shape of a red rose.

"Because she has no way to protect herself," he added, as if explaining it to me.

But in that moment, his explanation didn't matter.

I felt as if my heart had been brutally crushed by an icy hand.

My face burned with humiliation.

Watching Seraphina melt into Kieran's arms, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

I turned and fled to the terrace.

I couldn't cry here.

Absolutely not.