*ALEX* On the day of the masquerade ball, I was with my family the whole afternoon, chatting with everyone. The atmosphere in the house is fantastic, filled with lively chatter. We are in good spirits, riding the wave of excitement for tonight's event. It will be the first time that our family is complete and we will be attending the masquerade ball together. In the previous ball, it's always been me who is missing and my grandparents, so today is very special because it will be a family affair and everyone will be present on the festive occasion. Everyone is excited. I can see the shimmering excitement on their faces. By 5:00 in the afternoon, I made my exit and informed everyone that I'm going home and that I would see them at the party later. I left our family home, and part of me felt sad that I couldn't attend the party. I got into my car, drove into the heavy traffic and dropped by at the vampire's place. Lauren exited the gate and waved at me. I opened the door and she qu
*ALEX*I haven't slept yet and the time was already past 2:00 in the morning. Lauren was sleeping soundly beside me on the bed. I've been wide awake the whole night, and I want to make sure that this night will go well without any mysterious occurrences on Lauren's part based on my mother's instruction.I even put a CCTV camera inside our bedroom as evidence that Lauren was with me the whole night, just in case something went wrong.I think the party has already ended by now.When my phone rang at 2:40 in the morning, my heart beat so fast.Damn!They will never call me at this hour unless something happens!I quickly grabbed my phone and read the message. It was from my mother and the contents of her message broke my heart into pieces.'Son, when I wrote this message, I'm still in the hospital. Your sister is fine, but both grandpa and grandma didn't make it. They died in the party venue; the guards found them dead after all the guests had gone home safely. The reason for their death
~MAGNUS~"So, is this your good news to me?" I asked the silhouette standing near the window, my eyes blazing with anger. "I'm in the middle of a negotiation with the opposing kingdom to obtain peace and you just whisked me away just to show me this good news?"I feel like my heart is about to explode due to jealousy. "I tell you now that seeing Lauren with Alex is making my blood boil. I don't like it! And the fact that you tolerated them and did nothing to prevent them from seeing each other makes me feel like the person I trusted the most has betrayed me!"I looked at her, feeling upset. "You disappointed me! I left you behind to watch over Lauren on my behalf! Not to tolerate the couple's reunion! You didn't even try to do anything to separate them!"I no longer hide my displeasure. I felt annoyed that my precious woman was now getting back together with her ex."Your highness, this is not the good news that I'm talking about," Granny Ursula responded. "I'm sorry if you didn't lik
*ALEX*When I arrived at the funeral parlor and went to the second floor of the building to join my sister and parents, I was shocked to find an empty room—no coffins or whatever—just flowers and candles on the floor. Instead, what I saw were my family members looking at each other with a shocked expression on their faces.I rushed to their sides. "What's wrong, guys?" I inquired."Son, the coffins were gone! It happened so fast! It's like a blink of an eye. I felt like I was frozen in time and I don't know what happened during those moments. But the moment we were unfrozen, we were surprised to see the two caskets gone!" Mom said it in a rattled tone.My brows snapped together. "What is going on?" I asked in disbelief. "Who would steal a coffin with dead bodies in it?" I said it in bewilderment."Brother, believe us when we say that someone has frozen us and stolen the coffins!" Lyn explained in an agitated tone."We got to find the coffins!" Dad exclaimed anxiously."Alright, calm d
*ALEX*I went home that morning and went straight to bed to sleep after eating a light breakfast.When I wake up in the afternoon, it's already 4:00 p.m. I texted Lauren that I'm going to her place to bring her to a place far from the city so she needs to bring some clothes with her.I haven't told her yet about what happened to my grandparents dead bodies.I need to go to a place that is quiet and relaxing to de-stress.Half an hour later, I'm already out of my house. I get into my car and drive to Lauren's place.After a few minutes of driving, I arrived at my destination and parked the car outside the gate of the vampire's residence.I texted Lauren that I'm already outside, waiting for her to come out of the house. I looked out the window on the second floor of the house and saw a silhouette. Who was that?When I looked closely, the silhouette had already disappear. Or maybe it wasn't there in the first place. Maybe my eyes just caught something that looks like the silhouette of a
*GRANNY URSULA*A while ago...When I looked out the window, I saw Alex in the car, then Lauren re-entered the house and investigate. I could have shown myself to the couple right at that very moment, saying hello to the two children that I raised like my own.The temptation to show myself to them again is very strong.I wanted to talk to them, have a conversation with them and hug them one last time but I can no longer do it. I can't look into Alex's eyes and pretend that I'm still the same old Granny Ursula that he used to know. I killed his grandparents and if he knows, he will hate me to the bone.I'm guilty of using the couple for revenge but I need to do what I have promised to my beloved queen when she lies dying in my arms in the garden.I can still recall vividly the pain of seeing her on the verge of death."Nanny, I'm dying. Please take care of my younger brothers on my behalf..." Queen Hesperia has a hard time breathing."Who did this to you?" I asked, my eyes filled with
*3rd POV*Two days later, Alex and Lauren returned to the city from their short vacation.Alex proceeded to his house while Lauren returned to Magnus' residence.Lauren opened the door, climbed the staircase, and went to her bedroom. The house was still quiet, an indication that the owner hasn't returned yet. His prolonged absence got her worried.What could have happened to him? She hopes he is alright.Lauren put her bag on the floor and saw the envelope on her pillow. Her brows knit together; what is this? She picked up the envelope and found a letter inside. It was written and signed by Magnus.~Dear, Lauren...When you read this letter, I'm already back in my kingdom because there are still a lot of things that need my attention. Peace has been restored in my kingdom. My brother and I are on good terms again. He finally let go of his woman for the sake of peace between the two kingdoms.In line with my current state of mind, I would like to let you go as well. You can go now and
*LAUREN*I was resting on the couch, and my body is aching all over.Just this morning, my 60-year-old grandma and I just finished cleaning the rest of the three-story Ponte Madison Mansion, which took one month to bring everything back to a respectable level of cleanliness.I roamed my eyes around the living room, and my gaze landed on the magnificent sight of the thousand-year-old chandelier hanging on the ceiling.For the life of me, I can't understand why such a thousand-year-old family heirloom still functions and brightens the living room to this day.As far as I can remember, it never malfunctioned even once!Just like this mysterious house that never aged. Dust and time may have covered the surface of the antique furniture, but they failed to dampen its shine for real. Once my grandmother and I start cleaning the surface, everything is back to its original shine.And the one thing that bothered me deeply is: why would the powerful Alpha of the Ethereal Growlers Pack and his fa