Chapter 95

95 Face-off

“We’ve tied her up in the dungeon,” Zenon replied to the King and started to rush downstairs.

Caspian ran by his side and asked, “It’s a woman?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zenon also informed the King, “But regarding her origin, things are a lot complicated.”

Caspian stopped in front of the old door of the dungeon and asked in a throaty voice, “Complicated how?”

And Zenon briefed him so that he wouldn’t go down to the dungeon and resort to violence right away, “She’s not from Xanmar, she’s a native of Sorvando. I also talked with her parents about their lineage. It doesn’t look like they are related to the werewolves in any way. They have been residing here for generations, so I believe them.”

Caspian retracted his fangs upon hearing Zenon. And he asked in a little calmer voice, “Then how did she become one? Or did you capture a wrong girl in haste?”

Zenon shook his head and informed, “She has speed and healing abilities that can be compared to us. She can also protrude animalistic claws when provoked. But I haven’t seen her changing her eye colors yet. And she isn’t aware of anything that is happening to her body.”

“So?”

“So, my guess is that she hasn’t turned fully into a werewolf yet. But she is in the process to turn into one. Maybe the process or whatever they call it will be complete in the coming full moon.”

.....

Caspian was also as confused as Zenon now. “If she didn’t already have the werewolf gene in her, then how is all this possible? Did she perhaps reveal something?”

Zenon shook his head dejectedly and replied to the King, “I had interrogated her after she regained her consciousness. It looks like she doesn’t have any recollection of the incidents that led her to her situation now. She’s missing a few days’ worths of memories.”

Caspian flicked his clawed fingers and spoke like a devil, “Let’s jog her memories then.”

Caspian flung the door of the dungeon open and sprinted down to find his new toy. Zenon also followed after him.

All the humans who were locked inside the dungeon gasped and cowered in fear when they saw Caspian.

They had all been trembling in fear for the whole night because a few vampires stayed guard inside the dungeon for the whole night. And being under the constant watch of those red eyes was terrifying for them.

They didn’t know when one of them would snap and attack them. The humans feared that since they all had seen Caspian digging his fangs on one of the prisoners and sucking him dry right in the middle of the corridor of the dungeon a few days ago.

Caspian walked past the cells where all the humans were kept. He stood in front of the cell that was at the end of the dungeon. And he looked at a frail-looking woman whose hands and legs were tied with thick chains that were used to contain the strongest of the vampires.

“She’s the one?” Caspian asked Zenon without taking his eyes off Ruby.

Ruby felt a sour knot in her stomach and sharp shooting pain in her chest when Caspian’s blood-curdling glare was on her. She had never met or seen Caspian before in her life. But with one look, she was sure that he was the vampire who she needed to fear the most.

“Yes, she’s the one,” Zenon replied to the King and then asked, “Would you like to go inside the cell?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Zenon gestured for one of the guards with keys to open the lock of that cell.

And when the keys and locks were rattling, Ruby began to whimper and plead, “Please, I don’t know what a werewolf is. I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know anything. Please let me go... Please let me go back to my home... Please don’t kill me...”

“Kill you?” Caspian raised his brows as he stepped inside the cell. He stood a foot away from Ruby and eerily mumbled, “You can’t die so easily, wolf. I have a lot of questions for you.”

He narrowed his eyes at Ruby and asked his first question, “Tell me what happened to you? How can you suddenly become a werewolf? Did you come in contact with one? Did they do something to you?”

Ruby was already tired of hearing the same questions again and again.

So she instantly shouted at the top of her voice as the tears rolled down her cheeks like a waterfall, “Please! How many times do I have to say that I don’t remember? I don’t remember a thing! Why does no one believe me? I would have already told everything if I did remember. I have no wish to stay locked up in here like an animal!”

“But you ARE an animal now. And I need to know how you became one.” Caspian held out his palm which now resembled a paw of a predator because of how he was spreading out his clawed fingers.

He didn’t want to waste much time listening to the irritating whimpers of a werewolf when he had a sick wife to take care of. So rather than enjoying torturing and poking Ruby as he would normally do, he decided to cut to the chase.

Caspian lightly pressed his claws over Ruby’s heart and he spoke in a sinister manner, “You don’t remember, right? Then let me help you recall what’s hidden in your head. I bet clawing your heart out will help you remember everything.”

“No, ple- Aaaahhhhhhh...”

Ruby’s gut-wrenching scream resounded throughout the dungeon and it even echoed in the central courtyard of the building that the dungeon was in.

Caspian had dug all of his claws into Ruby’s chest, but not deep enough to reach her heart. However, he did crush a few rib bones of that poor woman.

“Let me ask you again. Do you remember anything?” Caspian looked at her pitiful face and asked.

Ruby gritted her teeth. She was in excruciating pain. She was hardly able to breathe, let alone speak.

But Caspian’s patience had long run out. He clenched his jaw and twisted his fingers in Ruby’s wounds to cause even greater pain to her.

“Arrghhhh!” Ruby’s scream resounded throughout the castle for the second time.

Her whole body was covered in sweat. And the front of her gown was covered in her blood.

All the vampires who were in the dungeon were now digging their nails in their palms and curling their toes. They were also clenching their teeth and tightly shutting their mouth. Some of them were even holding their breath. And they all looked like they were going to explode.

The smell of Ruby’s blood was too aromatic and too enticing than a normal human’s blood.

All the vampires were having a hard time controlling their thirst and the desire to jump inside the cell to dig their fangs into Ruby’s neck.

One of the guards couldn’t take it in anymore and ran outside of the dungeon so as to stop himself from causing an inappropriate scene in front of the King.

Caspian, on the other hand, was too focused on getting the answer. He didn’t care about the aroma that was lingering in the air. He didn’t care about his hand which was laced with the sweetest blood. All he cared about was for Ruby to open her mouth.

But Ruby still didn’t remember a thing about what happened to her for her to open her mouth.

“Please...” She looked at Caspian with her teary eyes and pleaded in a whisper, “I don’t know anything...”

Caspian wasn’t having it though. So he protruded his fangs and snarled at her like a mad predator. And he dug his claws deeper into her chest, almost scraping her heart.

Ruby suddenly snarled back at him instead of screaming in pain like before. Her irises glistened golden in color for a brief second. And her wolf-like claws extended from her fingers.

She rattled the heavy chains on her wrists and ankles to get out of them, all while glaring back at Caspian and snarling at him as though she was going to bite him.

Caspian swiftly pulled his fingers out of her chest. He didn’t want to get bitten by the wolf because he had read in the old manuscripts that werewolf bites were lethal to vampires.

Zenon rushed inside the cell and without wasting half a second, he smacked Ruby’s neck again.

And she fell unconscious right after.

“Why did you do that?” Caspian reprimanded his advisor in anger. “I wasn’t done questioning her!”

Zenon lowered his head and politely said, “I didn’t want to take the risk. We don’t know her full strength yet. If she breaks the chain and runs wild, biting the vampires left and right, then it will be a serious problem for us. Besides, she didn’t look like she was in the right state of her mind just now. So, we better wait. Maybe her memories will come back to her soon.”

Caspian let out a fuming breath. As Ruby was already unconscious, he didn’t have any other option than to wait.

“Call me when she regains her consciousness,” he instructed Zenon and then disappeared from there.