A vampire?

The tip of Lynsandra’s nose twitched as she stared at that pair of red orbs that looked as though they were dipped in blood. His skin was unnaturally pale, like he was already dead.

All her life, she had only met one vampire in the Royal Pack. She remembered that encounter because of the unforgettable tension when a vampire made an audience with the Alpha King.

Neither Lynsandra nor Severin spoke for a moment until her eyes fell on the abnormally fat pig hiding behind his feet. A light chuckle escaped her as she lifted her gaze.

"Is that your pet?" she asked, and he didn’t answer. "That’s cruel. Fattening it up before eating it."

Ickk!

The pig shuddered, making her chuckle. At this point, it felt like the pig could understand her words. But then again, as a werewolf, the other kind could sense the gap in their hierarchy.

"It’s alright." Instead of answering her, Severin gazed down at his pet and placed some food he had brought home before it. "Take it elsewhere. She’s not going to touch you."

Then he straightened and faced her, a shallow breath escaping him.

"If you are fine now, I asked you to leave," came his polite yet cold voice. He pointed in a direction. "Take that route, and it will lead you out of this island."

She blinked. "Well, that is very abrupt." But she shrugged and smiled. "My clothes. Do you have them?"

"..."

"What?" Her brows knitted. "I can’t leave wearing just this."

Although the blouse was too large for her, she had to roll up the sleeves, and she had nothing underneath.

"You may use some of my clothing," he said. "Apologies. I was unaware that your clothing was still usable."

With how ripped and dirty they were, Severin hadn’t bothered washing them and had simply thrown them away.

Lynsandra rocked her head. "Okay!"

"Follow me."

Having said that, he turned on his heel to take her to the other side of the mansion. Lynsandra, meanwhile, held her hands behind her back and followed him.

But as they walked away, Severin’s steps halted when he suddenly heard a thud behind him. Looking back, he saw her collapsed on the ground, face-first.

He blinked and stayed in place for a moment before finally walking back to pick her up in his arms.

The second her skin touched him, he realized she was burning.

Looking down at her face, he tilted his head slightly.

She didn’t look feverish earlier, he thought. But now, her cheeks were redder than before.

"She looks like a stubborn one," he whispered, taking her back inside. "But I’m glad she wanted to leave right away."

Before she woke up, he had been worried about some unexpected things. For instance, whether Lynsandra would look through her memories or decide to linger in this place. However, seeing her collapse, he knew she would need more time to recuperate.

*****

Hours later...

Lynsandra groaned as she opened her eyes once more, seeing the same high ceiling above her. Her brows crinkled as she touched the side of her head.

I guess I shouldn’t be walking around just because I can.

She propped her elbow against the mattress and sat up, noticing the food on the small table beside her bed. She reached for the lid and opened it, catching a whiff of its warm aroma.

"He made it?" she wondered. "That vampire?"

She blinked, recalling the vampire who had saved her. Although she didn’t expect to end up in a vampire’s territory, he was quite... nice.

Lynsandra touched her stomach and shrugged before setting the lid aside.

"I’m actually starving," she muttered as she picked up the cutlery.

Much to her surprise, even the taste of the food was... amazing.

"Wow," she blurted out. "This is really good."

She nodded to herself, enjoying the meal to her heart’s content. She ate everything without wasting a drop of soup or a crumb of bread.

That night, Lynsandra chose to rest.

The next day, when she woke up, another meal was waiting for her on the same table. She smiled and happily ate it. She spent the morning stretching before napping once more.

For some reason, her body craved rest. Considering how injured she was and the blood she had lost, she wasn’t surprised.

At noon, Lynsandra woke again to another dish beside her. Its aroma had woken her up. Like before, she sat up and smiled at the food that kept appearing in this room.

She picked up the cutlery and was about to take her first bite when she stopped.

"Wait a second," she blurted, her brows drawing together as she remembered the pig. Her face twisted as she recalled the unnaturally large pig she had seen earlier.

"Is this how that grew so big?" she gasped, looking down at her body. "Is he fattening me up too?"

The thought quickly vanished as she shook her head and laughed.

"Never mind that," she said, picking up a slice of melon and munching happily. "My blood is like a cockroach to him. There’s no point."

With that, Lynsandra enjoyed her lunch before taking a short walk around the room until she felt dizzy again. She didn’t dare move much afterward and chose to stay put.

This time, however, she didn’t sleep.

Instead, she let her body rest while her mind wandered to the things she needed to do.

"I need to go back," she whispered. "Those bastards... I’m going to ki—"

Her voice stopped when she heard noises outside. Turning toward the window, she carefully approached it.

From there, she saw the pig and her vampire savior. Like her, the pig was happily eating.

"He really treats me like one, huh?" she mumbled, eyes fixed on Severin before a shallow breath escaped her.

Curiosity gleamed in her eyes, though she wasn’t entirely sure if it was about him.

Her gaze then drifted to the forest in the distance.

"Are there any people here?"

She didn’t have many questions. Once she recovered, she planned to leave. It didn’t seem like he intended to make her stay either.

"Well," she smacked her lips, "in a few days, I’ll be better and leave this place."

That was what she said.

That was what was supposed to happen.

But Lynsandra didn’t know that while staying here, she would come to a point where she would call this place her home—and that living with just one person might not be so bad after all.

And that... her stay here might just be one of the biggest regrets she had to carry for the rest of her life.