(Author’s POV)

A guttural rumble escaped Denver’s mouth as he throttled Vienna’s neck roughly, suffocating her, as he roared, "HOW DARE YOU, BITCH! How fucking daring of you to deceive me."

Vienna gasped, her face turning bluish purple as he pressed her windpipe even more. Still, she dared to utter, "Den~ ... Dan~ny~ ... I~ .... I~~ ... can’t~ ... I can’t brea~the. I can’t br~ea~ ...." Her eyes started to roll back, her voice breaking.

Witnessing the scene, others didn’t react, but Garry couldn’t help himself. He jumped towards the altar table and held Denver from behind, attempting to pull him off, "Den~ve~r, let her gooooo~~~~~ If you keep this up, she will die."

Denver wasn’t listening; he had lost all mind. He was aggressive and mad at her sheer audacity as he spat, "Let go of me~ ... I will kill this bitch for lying to me. I will end her here and now." Brian also joined in as he pulled Denver off of Vienna, who was only in her birth suit.

The moment his hand was off her neck, she panted hard, trying to gulp as much oxygen as possible. Clear marks of his fingers were imprinted on her neck, red and angry. Garry quickly threw the robe over her, covering her. He then looked at Denver and shouted, "Have you gone completely crazy? What was that just now, huhhh? Denver Brooks, you have crossed a line."

"SHUT UP, you freaking old man. This bitch deserves to die," he was trying to free himself, his eyes murderous.

"What has she done, Denver?" Catherine asked nonchalantly.

"ASK HER~ .... Ask this cunt," Denver cussed, his voice reverberating in the ritual room.

"Danny~ ... I didn’t mean to~ ... I really didn’t mean to lie to you," Vienna said, sobbing uncontrollably. Her hysterical cries were eating half her words.

Casper sensed something amiss as he reached Vienna and grabbed her shoulder roughly, "You human girl~ ... don’t fuck around and tell us what did you do?" His black pupils looked obsidian, scaring Vienna shitless. She blabbered with the speed of lightning, "I lied~ .... I lied~ ... about my~ ... virginity. I was~ ... not a virgin."

"YOU, WHAT?" Brian barked, his eyes dilating. He let go of the struggling, stark naked Denver at once; a disgusting scowl surfaced on his face. Denver tried to lunge at her once again, but Garry stopped him, "Enough."

Casper dug his claws into Vienna’s shoulder as she let out a gruesome scream, "AAAAAAaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa~~~~~ ...." He then spat, "You whore, Denver is right. You deserve to die. You deserve to die for spoiling everything."

"Young Alpha Casper, don’t dirty the altar with her blood," Garry managed to say. Hearing his words, Casper shrugged Vienna’s body unceremoniously. She landed on the stone floor with a loud thud. Her shoulder was bleeding heavily, and it felt like she hadn’t broken a bone or two.

Garry crouched down as he asked Vienna, "Why did you lie?"

"I~ .... I~ ... didn’t have a choice," she said through gritted teeth. The pain was unbearable. "I like Denver~ ... but he~ ...." She left it at that, but everyone understood the meaning. She deceived them to get him. Her eyes were bloodshot; she was on the verge of losing consciousness. "Denver~ .... Plea~se .... Don’t do this to me. I~ .... Lo~ve you~ ..." Even after all this~ ... she was trying to persuade him to not cast her aside.

"Don’t fucking kid me, you shameless slut. You wasted our precious time and another blue moon, and you think you can ask for mercy," Denver had lost all control. The ritual occasion came only once every two or two and a half years. And the girls, with specific requirements, were getting hard to find.

Also, Jacob Larson, the Vampire King, had sensed something off and had been trying to find clues. He had even dispatched the keepers unit, his personal commanding unit, to investigate the abnormalities. Conducting the sacred ceremony smoothly was getting harder and harder. So, wasting time was not an option.

Vienna, before losing consciousness, tried to throw the last die, her voice low, yet audible to everyone, "I know~ .... I know~ some~one who ca~n help you. My sis~ ... my young~er sister~ .... Lia~ ... Amelia, she is a virgin and her~ ... birth~date ma~tches perfec~tly .... with yo~ ..." Her words were left unsaid as she collapsed.

On Catherine’s orders, Vienna was shifted to a private room, and her Clan healer, Orias, assisted her with her ghastly wounds. He even removed the scars and marks on her body.

Then, after three days, Vienna regained consciousness. By then, Catherine had already sent someone to investigate Vienna’s sister, Amelia Clinton. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Amelia Clinton, the youngest of the three siblings, is a shy, introverted kid who never had any relationship with the opposite gender. She always keeps a distance of not one but five meters away from boys, which confirms that she is indeed a virgin. Her family background and lineage are the same as Vienna’s, so it wouldn’t be an issue. And her birthdate is exactly what we want. She was born on a Blue Moon night. There has never been a more perfect match than this one, ever," Brian told her.

Catherine’s eyes glinted with something dark. She thought they had finally found the one who would carry the child with gold blood in her belly. But Garry quickly added, "Ms. Richards~ ... but the thing is~ .... she is only~ .... a minor. The ritual states that the girl should be of age to carry the proceedings." With his resources, he had done all the digging. Amelia was, in his eyes, just an innocent child who knew nothing of their world’s cruel reality. He wanted them to forget about Amelia as an option.

Denver entered the room without warning as he said, "That won’t be a problem. The next blue moon is going to fall on the very day she would come of age. This girl is absolutely perfect for the task."

"But, Denver, she doesn’t like being around men or boys. What are you going to do about it? She isn’t going to agree to this. We should probably look for someone else," Garry said, his voice strained.

"Who said she needs to know?" Denver plopped onto the couch and lifted his eyes subtly to meet Garry’s gaze.

"No~ ... this isn’t right. She is just a~ ..." Garry tried to protest, but Denver snapped, losing his patience, "SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG. I have had enough of your act. Stop trying to play the moral hero. You are as much corrupted as any of us here. So, stop trying to be a fucking saint now." He then glanced at everyone in the room and declared, loud and clear, "It’s decided~ ... Amelia Clinton is our next target. And I will~ .... personally take care of her."

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .