The Crown's Obsession (WN)

In the room, which was wide and spacious it was dark as curtains had been drawn over the many windows that were present, Calhoun walked towards the table where different types of liquor bottles were placed. Picking one of them, he pulled out the cork to pour the liquid into the empty glass before taking a sip from it.

He was pouring into the glass again when he heard the doors of the room open and he turned around to find the woman standing at the front with a smile on her lips. He took a sip from the glass to see the woman bow her head.

"Long live the King," she said before raising her head up to look at the King of Devon. The servant closed the door behind after the woman entered the room.

Calhoun walked towards the couch and sat down, he leaned his back and then crossed his legs, "You are late," he said, his eyes calm and collected as they looked at the beautiful woman.

Hearing the nonchalant words fall on her ears, the woman noticed the King sitting there with leisure, and she went to answer him,

"My apologies for arriving late. I didn't mean to make you wait," and she walked forward. She leaned forward when he raised his hand up for her to hold and kiss the back of his hand, "I thought you would have started with your appetiser," she said as she had noticed a blonde girl coming in the direction where it looked like she was leaving.

"She's not the appetiser," answered Calhoun, taking another sip from the glass. To a vampire, blood was a vital source of food, they mainly depended on but to curb the hunger or thirst for it, one could use alcohol to replace it for a few hours before the blood would have to be replaced back into the system to quench the thirst.

The woman turned her head to the side as if in question. She moved towards him when Calhoun raised his hand to direct her towards the many bottles of alcohol that were placed on the table along with empty glasses turned upside down.

"No mood to have the girl or me?" she asked him.

Calhoun only hummed, seeing the woman make her way towards the table to take one of the glass. She picked up the knife that was placed on the surface of the table, to run the knife against the surface of her hand, letting the blood dripped down to fall into the glass. She let it reach till it filled half of the glass before taking the napkin to hold it in her hand for the blood to stop.

"Have you known any time when a vampire has ever lost the desire to have sex or have blood?" asked Calhoun and the red-haired woman who returned back to him with the glass of blood in her hand with a smile on her lips.

She handed the glass to the King.

Calhoun's eyes had moved up to look at the woman who had black eyes. There was no smile on his lips like the one he carried around the human girl who had left his side a few minutes ago after he had tried to taunt her for his amusement.

"It is very rare to find night creatures like that, milord. Unless something has happened," she replied to the King's question with a polite tone.

"Sit," the King commanded and she did as she was told.

Calhoun who had taken the glass of blood brought it to his lips, taking it in. But as he thought, he wasn't satisfied with the taste of the blood because he craved for someone else's blood. After tasting the blood from Madeline, he knew this was going to happen. The blood he took in felt bland, that had no taste in it. It didn't excite him the way Madeline's did. The truth was he wanted to drink every drop of her blood.

He had never tried to control his thirst and he took things always by force. But he knew, force was not what would make Madeline willingly give herself. As much as Calhoun was entertained and amused by Madeline's reactions he didn't want to push her off the edge. He had told Theodore to arrange for the next possible quality of blood which was not from the maids as it wouldn't suffice him. His thirst was growing and the need to have Madeline was something that he was trying to tame.

"How is your mother doing, Julianne?" asked Calhoun when he had taken in another sip from the glass.

"She's doing well, my King," the woman named Julianne bowed her head. Most of the times she had been called to the castle, it had been to entertain the King physically and to offer her blood to him, "Are you unwell, milord?" she inquired.

Calhoun finished the glass of blood to hand it over to the woman who took it in her hands, "Do I look unwell to you?" he questioned back, a smile upon his lips, "I wonder if I am..." he chuckled. Julianne stood up to make another glass of blood for the King, as her body had the ability to withstand the blood loss.

Curious about the girl who had walked by, as the King had said she was not an appetizer, the woman asked, "Is she your relative? The blonde girl."

"She will be," Calhoun answered which the woman didn't understand and neither did she ask to clarify it.

"Would you like me to stay back in here for more blood?" she asked to have Calhoun turn to look at her.

"That won't be necessary. You can leave once you are done with that glass," came the nonchalant voice of Calhoun who wasn't in the mood to talk to her or any other person. The woman bowed her head before she stirred the glass and handed it to the King to leave the room. She found it quite unusual that the King was dismissing her right away after she had spent her time in the room for less than ten to twelve minutes.

As she was walking through the halls, the woman was getting down from the large stairs when she caught sight of the King's cousin and his right-hand man who were stepping out of the carriage.

When Sophie noticed the red-haired woman, she didn't hide the look of distaste forming on her face, "Lady Julianne Harper. I didn't know you were going to visit. Here to offer your blood?" asked the vampiress staring at the woman.

Julianne bowed her head to offer her greetings to both of them, "Yes, milady."

"How is your mother doing? She had a bad fall last time," said Sophie, her red eyes flickering to look at the human in front of her, "You should be by her side," smiled the vampiress.

"I was asked to visit the King today, milady else I am always there by her side," answered Julianne which was indeed true.

"Leaving this soon, Lady Julianne?" asked Theodore who had a slight questionable look on his face. It was Calhoun who had asked him to call a woman to satisfy his thirst but it seemed like the King had dismissed her quite soon.

The woman smiled, "Yes. I will be taking my leave. Excuse me," she bowed her head again and Theodore gave her a nod.

Sophie didn't stop glaring at the woman, "Brother Calhoun can have other's blood in the castle. Why is he calling her?"

Theodore who didn't want to be involved or fuel the vampiress, "I don't know, milady," came the solemn answer from him.

The vampiress didn't look happy and she turned around to quickly make her way up the stairs and inside the castle. There were many humans and some vampiress from whom Calhoun drank the blood and Julianne was one of the women who was the Duke's daughter. Coming from a fragile family of humans, her mother had slipped down the stairs and broken her back, turning the woman to be bedridden.

Though a lot of them considered as an unfortunate accident, Theodore had come to believe that Miss Wilmot had a hand in it. It was because whenever there was a possible interest from the King, the females and their family often turned to be a possible target. He had tried to find out evidence but there was none which only left it to be a hunch and if he was wrong, Calhoun was already aware of it which was why the King had showered the family with wealth as compensation.

The carriage left and Theodore turned back to walk inside the castle after the tiring time he had spent with Lady Sophie keeping her away from the King, by keeping her busy in the market.

Back in the room where Calhoun sat on the couch, he had his head leaned back in such a way that, he now looked at the plane ceilings of the room. He pulled out the note from his pocket which he was yet to read. Bringing it up for him to play with it between his fingers.

Leaning back forward, he uncrossed his legs, deciding to open the note to see what was written inside it.