Chapter 93

93 The Hunt

The moment Ruby saw Vincent standing in front of her, she was terrified, especially because she recalled how he was trying to attack her and feed on her the first time she met him.

From the way he was looking at her at the moment, she felt like he was there again to finally do what he didn’t get to do in the Queen’s presence. And without sparing another glance at Vincent, Ruby turned on her heels and began to run across the field.

Vincent’s eyes almost popped out when he saw her running away.

‘She IS a werewolf!’ he screamed in his mind after he saw her running almost as fast as a vampire even when she was still in her human form.

Until now, Vincent still had some doubt if Ruby was indeed a werewolf or not. But now that he witnessed the feat that was impossible for a normal human, he didn’t need any other proof.

“Zenon! She’s running away!” he shouted at the top of his lungs before running after Ruby.

Ruby had already put considerable distance in between her and Vincent. But she was so afraid of getting caught that she didn’t even realize how fast she was running at the moment.

‘Please, God! I don’t want to die today. Not at the hands of that vampire,’ she kept on praying to God to save her from that terrifying predator as she moved her feet as fast as she could.

Behind her, Vincent was forcing himself to run at the top of his speed to catch up with her. And Zenon and the Royal Guards were also following closely behind Vincent. All of them were in hunting mode, now that it was confirmed what she was.

.....

Ruby was fast, but Vincent was faster. So soon enough, Vincent caught up with Ruby.

He ran side by side with her and shouted, “Stop running if you don’t want to get hurt!”

However, Ruby was scared to her core. There was no way she was going to stop when a vampire was onto her.

The two of them were now approaching the woods that were on the outskirts of the town. Vincent didn’t want her to get into the woods. It would only make it harder for him to catch her. And more than that, if a fight was to ensue between them, there would be destruction in the woods.

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you,” he shouted again.

And without wasting any time, Vincent leaped high in the air and jumped on Ruby like a lion jumping to catch its prey.

Ruby fell down to the ground on her knees, and her face got slammed into the loose soil of the vast field.

Vincent had a tight grip around her stomach, and he was pinning her down from the back.

Ruby thought that she was done for, now that she was caught. She was ready to feel the sharp sting from the fangs of that vampire. But her survival instinct kicked in and it forced her to fight for her life.

“Arrghhh!!” She screamed and used all of her power to roll over. She was surprised that she was actually able to pin that vampire down with her body.

Now that she was lying on Vincent’s chest, she lifted her head and banged it on Vincent’s forehead with such a great force that she made Vincent scream in pain.

Vincent’s grip around her stomach loosened for a brief second.

And Ruby took the chance to get up and flee again.

However, luck wasn’t on her side. The other three vampires had also already caught up to her by then.

John and Henry got ahead of her and blocked her path.

Ruby turned to the side and ran when she noticed their red eyes shining under the faint moonlight.

But before she could take a step, Zenon came out of nowhere and gave a knifehand strike on Ruby’s neck.

Ruby instantly lost consciousness and fell to the ground without any further struggle.

Zenon looked down at her unconscious body while taking in deep breaths. He felt a sense of relief upon seeing her defenselessly lying down on the ground.

She looked so harmless at the moment that he couldn’t help but wonder if he would have ever suspected her to be the werewolf if he hadn’t gotten any information from Vincent.

He was sure that she would have easily fooled all the vampires with her innocent looks. And to add to that, she didn’t have that awful stench on her for the vampires to spot her and be cautious of her.

“Vincent, are you alright?” Zenon asked when Vincent came and stood by his side.

“I am.” Vincent was still holding his forehead. He frowned when his eyes fell on Ruby. And he asked, “But really, is her head made out of iron or something? I think she damaged my brain.”

“You already had a damaged brain. Don’t put the blame on her.” Zenon smirked at his friend and gestured for the guards to carry Ruby.

“You!” Vincent playfully kneed Zenon on his thigh for teasing him. But he was happy that Zenon wasn’t his scary self anymore and was now back to normal.

John was a bit more muscular than Henry. So he volunteered to carry Ruby on his shoulder.

And Zenon ordered Henry, “Relay the message to Jasper that we’ve caught her. And ask all of them to head towards the castle. I think the three of us can handle her even if she wakes up.”

After Henry bowed and went away, Zenon looked at Vincent and asked, “And why don’t you go and talk with her parents?”

“What?” Vincent frowned at Zenon for asking him to do the most difficult task. “Why me?”

“Because I asked you to, and you are a good friend of mine?” Zenon gave a smile and started to walk away.

Vincent, however, shouted from behind, “And what am I going to tell them? That we are going to cook their daughter for the Queen instead of their vegetables?”

Zenon turned his head and rolled his eyes at Vincent. “Just tell them that we are taking their daughter with us for now.”

“If it’s that easy, then you go and tell them.” Vincent instead began to walk side by side with John. “I will help John to take this puppy to the castle.” He then pinched Ruby’s pinky finger and lifted it as if he was helping John in carrying her.

Zenon sighed and unwillingly went in the direction of Ruby’s house. He could already see Ruby’s parents standing outside with worried looks on their faces. ‘Now, what the hell am I going to tell them?’

—

“She’s still unconscious?” Zenon asked Vincent once he also reached the dungeon of the castle.

Vincent glanced at the red-headed woman whom they had tied up to the wall with thick chains. And he replied, “I think you hit her a bit too hard. What if she dies?”

“I guess... no more werewolf trouble?” Zenon shrugged emotionlessly.

Vincent was surprised to hear Zenon. He turned his head to look at Zenon’s face and raised his brows. “Did you actually just say that? Weren’t you the one who was worried sick because Caspian had asked you to bring her back ALIVE by tonight?”

“Yes, he did. But...” Zenon took a deep breath in and continued, “While I was on the way, I was thinking that it would be easier for her if she just passed away. Everything already looks really complicated. And I don’t know what His Majesty will do to her if she can’t answer all of his questions.”

Vincent could guess why Zenon was saying that. “You asked her parents, didn’t you? If any of their ancestors were werewolves?”

“Yes.” Zenon turned his gaze at Ruby and said, “They didn’t even know what a werewolf was. Can’t really blame them since they haven’t seen the outside world.”

“So, how did she turn into one then?” Vincent asked with curiosity.

Zenon also didn’t have an answer to that question. “I have no idea. Maybe there are other ways to create new werewolves that we don’t know of? That is the only plausible answer I came up with.”

Vincent also looked at the unconscious woman and said, “Well, we can try asking her once she wakes up. Oh! And...” he looked back at Zenon and said, “I haven’t informed Caspian about her yet. I didn’t want to steal your thunder, so...”

Zenon gave a nod and walked towards the stairs of the dungeon.

And Zenon heard Vincent softly mumbling to himself, ‘Thank goodness! Now I don’t have to get hit by thunderbolts from Caspian if his wife is in a bad condition.’

Zenon shook his head and thought, ‘Of course! This selfish bastard would always push me forward in such situations.’