Later, Dracula seemed to remember that I was pregnant and stopped the guards from giving me Verbena. I was feeling weak as I had been starved for two days and one night. In his words, "Emily is strong. She won't die from being starved for two days."

The doors of my room were pushed open. The person who walked in was not Dracula but Anna. She had a tray in her hand that was full of leftovers. I remembered that food was used to feed the guard dogs.

"You must be hungry, Emily. I heard that wolves and dogs are the same species. If dogs can have them, so can you." She pushed the tray toward me while speaking.

"Get out!" I wanted to push her away. Her hands slipped, and the leftovers fell all over my head.

"Oops. I'm so sorry." She covered her mouth and pretended to be shocked. "I didn't do it on purpose. You wouldn't blame me, would you?"

"You're a bitch, Anna!" I dealt out a backhanded slap at her, but she managed to dodge it. That was when I suddenly saw a necklace in her hand made of werewolf's teeth. It was the only thing my mother had left behind for me.

"I thought you cherished this awful necklace as much as your life, Emily. Why did you leave it lying around? "

That werewolf teeth necklace went missing six months ago, and I searched the entire castle for it. I never expected to see it in her hands. My eyes widened as I reached out to snatch the necklace from her, but the next second, she laughed as she flung the necklace into the trash can in the corner.

She patted her hands. "That stupid thing is as dirty as you are."

My mother had died trying to protect me. Anna had crossed the line! My breathing started to become erratic. "Pick it up!"

"No way." Anna walked up to me and kicked the bin with her high heels. "What can you do to me? You're no longer a noble princess now. In fact, you're no better than a dog."

She leaned in close to me and lowered her voice, "Oh, by the way, I kind of forgot to tell you about this. Remember that blade I took for you? Well, I hired that assassin. You were never in my debt. But that doesn't matter, does it? Dracula would believe me and not you. Infuriating, isn't it?"

My tolerance was at its breaking point as I watched her arrogant expression. I was planning to leave, anyway, and she was asking for a beating. Why not collect some interest for myself? I was the Werewolf Princess, after all.

Despite feeling weak, I exploded with astonishing strength. I focused all of my strength to stand up and grabbed Anna by her hair. As she screamed in fear, I smashed her head hard against the wall.

Anna did not even make a sound. Her eyes rolled, and she fell limply to the ground. I grabbed one of her legs to drag her with me and flung her into the storeroom next door like she was garbage. I locked the door behind her.

"Since you love attacking others in the dark, you should stay in there and reflect on what you did…" I was in a great mood because I just needed to hold on for one more day, and I could finally leave this place. For once, I had a great night's sleep.

However, the next morning, I heard a loud bang from next door. It was Dracula. When he realized Anna had disappeared, he brought his men along and came looking for her.

Anna was cowering in a corner with a blank look in her eyes. She had clearly been violated violently. She screamed crazily when she saw Dracula, and kept pushing herself into the corner as she tried to curl up there. "Don't touch me… I'm begging you… Please don't touch me…"

"It's me, Anna! Don't be afraid!" Dracula took off his coat to cover her. "Tell me what happened?"

When Anna saw that it was him, she started crying. She pointed at me and said in a hoarse voice filled with despair, "It was Emily. She knocked me out and locked me up in there, and then she… She got a lowly blood slave to go inside. She said I was a cheap slut that no one wanted, and I was only worthy to be a plaything for lowly blood slaves. I don't want to live anymore!"

There was dead silence all around. All of the servants took a sharp breath and looked at me hatefully and with disdain. I stood stunned where I was. It never occurred to me that Anna would stoop so low to destroy her reputation just to frame me.

Dracula turned slowly to look at me. His eyes were red when he stared at me. "Emily… You got someone to rape her?!"

"No, I didn't!" I shook my head and tried to explain. "All I did was lock her up. She was the one who—"

"Enough!" There was a loud slap. Dracula had slapped me hard on the face with full force. I was smacked heavily into the wall and spat out blood. "How dare you still give excuses, Emily?! You need to be smarter with your lies! Tell me, who in their right mind would get someone to rape themselves?"

I knew there was no point in explaining, so I kept my mouth shut. However, this seemed to verify the situation for him. "Werewolves are just unevolved beasts. If you enjoy using despicable means to trample on the dignities of others, I'll show you what it feels like to have your own dignity trampled to the ground!"

He pointed at Anna's feet and ordered me, "Kneel! Kneel at Anna's feet in front of everyone, and slap yourself until Anna tells you to stop."

I looked at him in disbelief. I was his mate. I was the Werewolf Princess. How could he ask me to kneel at the feet of his mistress and slap myself? "I won't do it." I straightened up my back. I had to protect the last of my dignity.

"You won't do it?" Dracula sneered and gathered energy into his hand. "You may be tough, but what about the bastard in your belly? Do you want him to suffer?"

Bastard?

My heart tightened in my chest. How could he call his own baby a bastard? He knew how much I cared for the baby, which was why he threatened me this way.

I closed my eyes. It felt like the blood in my veins was starting to flow backward. I had only one more day to get through this, so I held myself back.

My knees hit hard on the ground. I could hear the servants trying to stifle their laughs. I raised my hand and slapped myself on the face.

Anna buried herself in Dracula's arms. A victorious smile appeared on her face despite her audible crying. "Dracula, Emily looks so pitiful. Let's forget about it."

However, Dracula did not listen to her and said coldly, "Continue slapping yourself! Haven't you eaten? Slap yourself harder!"

Any remaining feelings I had of him vanished with every slap. I had no idea how many times I slapped myself. My cheeks were terribly swollen, and my mouth was covered in blood.

"That's enough." Dracula finally stopped me, and he looked at me in disgust. "The way you look right now is truly unappetizing. Men! Throw her into the water dungeon! Lock her up there to wash her dirty heart until it's clean!"

I did not put up a struggle. All I did was give Dracula a deathly stare. "You'll regret this, Dracula." However, he did not even look back at me and left with Anna in his arms.

The guards pushed me roughly into the water dungeon and cuffed my hands. That was when I realized that the chains cuffing me were made of pure silver.

When the pure silver touched my wrists, the smell from the burn started to fill the air. The intensity of the pain spread from my skin into my bones, and my body quivered from it.

I could not hold back my screams as my body curled up involuntarily. The baby in my belly started to squirm violently. It was clear that he had also been affected.

The guards looked at each other. "The count must have really been angered. Look at how cruel he is to her even though she's pregnant."

"Don't be fooled by her. The count said her body is physically strong."

"Serves her right for not knowing her place."

"She's just a princess the werewolves don't want."

"Ms. Bordeaux is the apple of the count's eye. She should be honored to be punished for doing what she did to Ms. Bordeaux."

They kicked away the only source of food and water I had that was placed in the corner before they locked the doors to the dungeon. "The count has given orders that the countess doesn't need to have any food or water to keep her temper in check, especially when she has such a hot temper."

Their footsteps got further and further away, and dead silence returned to the dungeon. I was sprawled on the ground with the skin on my wrists burnt to a crisp. My sight started to blur as I remembered memories from my past life.

My skin corroded from taking a hit of holy water from a demon hunter when it was meant for Dracula. He had held me in his arms, his eyes filled with pain as he swore to me, "I will never let you suffer like this again as long as I'm alive.

"You're my wife, and I will give you the best of everything in this world. Once we have our baby, he'll become the most noble count of all."

His loving words rang in my ears sarcastically.

The baby's movement in my body got even more agitated. That little guy must be protesting his environment. I looked up with difficulty as sweat got into my eyes. It really hurt.

There was only one day left until the Great Glare, but I could not hold on any longer.

I clenched my teeth. No! I could not die in this place. At the very least, I could not die and take my baby with me. I mustered every remaining werewolf power left within me to fight against the corrosion of the pure silver.

However, every time I used force, searing pain shot through my entire body. Dracula had placed a Restriction Spell on the chains customized to counter my bloodline. He wanted to tame me. Once I was tamed and admitted my mistake, that I was wrong for getting someone to rape Anna, he would show me mercy and let me out of the dungeon.

After that, he would stroke my head and say, "You're just too stubborn by nature. Isn't it nice to be a good girl like this?"

I bit down on my tongue to force myself awake with the pain from it. I refused to give in. Time passed slowly, and I had no idea how long I had been in the dungeon. My hands had lost all feeling in them, and the baby in my belly no longer had any energy as its squirming became weak.

This was a sign of miscarriage. If my baby died, I would not live either. I suddenly regretted my brashness. I should not have fallen into Anna's trap so easily. I had to see Dracula, even if I had to lie.

That was when I heard footsteps coming from the dungeon doors. I tried my best to open my eyes, and I saw a familiar figure under the dim light. It was Dracula's personal attendant, the vampire who was always meeting Anna in private.

He was holding a tray with a cup and a silver knife. "Count Dracula has sent me here to check if you're repentant, countess."

We were separated by metal bars as he stood outside the dungeon with an arrogant look in his eye. "Ms. Bordeaux's wounds are acting up again. We need the medicinal properties in your blood urgently. The count said that your crime will be forgiven if you're willing to fill up the cup with your blood."

I stared at the cup and laughed hoarsely. "Where is he?"

The attendant frowned as he looked at my burnt wrist, which was starting to smell. He took out a handkerchief to cover his nose. "The Count is taking care of Ms. Bordeaux in her room. He doesn't have time to visit a dirty place like this. You should know your place and not let them wait for too long."

"He doesn't have time?" I repeated the sentence in a soft voice as I felt my heart harden. To think that I loved him so much in my past life. My life was hanging in the balance, and all he cared about was staying in that love nest of his while looking after a woman who was pretending to be sick.

I felt a sharp pain coming from my abdomen. It felt like something was about to leave my body. That was the baby signaling that its life was about to slip away. I did not have much time. "Tell Dracula that I need to see him. If he doesn't come, I'll die right here and take the baby in my belly to the grave with me.

"Doesn't he need a baby of mixed bloodlines to secure his position in power? Let's see if he dares take a chance with it!"

The attendant's expression changed. He hesitated before turning to run out of the dungeon.

It was an excruciating wait. I could feel my blood gradually turn cold. The wounds on my wrist stopped bleeding, and all that was left on them was blackened, rotting flesh. His familiar footsteps were never heard.

The person who returned was still that attendant. He had a sly look on his face when he said, "The count says being threatened by others is what he hates most. He says if you want to die, why wait until now? He also wanted me to tell you that if you have the energy to threaten him, you should continue staying here. Once you're prepared to admit your mistake and offer up your blood, you can negotiate with him."

He turned to leave after that and took the lamp with the weak light along with him. Darkness swallowed me whole. It was that moment that I heard something break inside my heart.