The Vampire King and His Bride

I ran away

Kayla POV.

My throat was still sizzling with pain like fire.

When Howard told me yesterday about the danger of vervain for vampires, I thought he was exaggerating a bit.

How can an immortal vampire be killed by a plant?

Today, Howard proved to me with practical actions that this little herb would indeed kill me.

But to escape from here as soon as possible,I endured the pain and rushed away from the front of the villa to a nearby forest.

Blood is the cure for all wounds for vampires.

So I had to take some blood now to relieve my pain.

I grabbed a passing hare and viciously tore its throat, greedily sucking its blood.

Needless to say, animal blood is nowhere near as tasty as human blood.

But I do not want to hurt humans, but also want to maintain survival, only this choice.

After the blood flowed down my throat, I felt the searing pain was fading away.

I finally got a little more comfortable.

When I turned my head to look behind me, I could vaguely see the villa hidden behind the forest.

Thinking about this time of captivity and the cup of blood with vervain juice, I vowed that once I left, I would never return!

Now, I had a plan, a plan to escape from Howard.

I had to leave the town, leave the place where I had lived for twenty years.

I needed to escape to another city, another state, even another country ......

Anyway, as far away as possible, preferably a place where Howard would never find me.

About to take a road of escape, my heart became heavy.

I couldn't let go of everything here, especially my mother, Lauren.

I didn't know when I would return from this departure; it could be years or decades.

Decades, for the immortal vampire, are just a small period in a long life.

But for Lauren, it's a lifetime.

If Howard never let me go, we might not be able to see each other again in Lauren's lifetime.

This made me start to grieve.

But I was more afraid of implicating her in these terrible things than of being separated from Lauren.

Most importantly, I had to get away from Howard, and at the same time, I couldn't let him get close to my family and friends.

If his target was me, then I would get as far away from the small town as possible and lure him away from it.

At least then, the town and everyone else would be safe.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but move more quickly towards Lauren's house.

When I reached Lauren's door, I found myself unable to get inside.

At this point, I remembered one of the rules of vampire survival: any vampire who enters a house inhabited by humans must be invited to enter.

I tried to make sure Lauren was home through the curtain on the door, but the curtain was so tightly covered that I couldn't see inside.

When I moved from the front door to the living room window, I saw Lauren sitting on the couch, quietly staring.

From my point of view, I could clearly see that she was holding a heavy picture frame.

I knew that frame too well; it was the one we brought back from our trip to Europe together when Paul was still alive.

After that, our family photo has been placed in it.

Since Paul's death, Lauren has often taken it out and fondled it over and over again.

I know that this is the moment when she misses Paul the most.

After today, Lauren will miss one more person because I will leave too.

At this moment, it's tough for me.

I thought maybe I should leave quietly.

Because for Lauren, leaving after the reunion seemed to be even sadder.

But when I was just about to leave straight away, Lauren spotted me and shouted in surprise: "Kayla, my daughter, you're finally back!"

She put the picture frame on the coffee table and didn't even have time to put on her slippers and came to the door with her bare feet on the floor.

I could only give up the idea of escaping straight away and turned around to where the door was.

Lauren opened the door quickly and gave me a big hug.

But I let the hug become very short-lived, and two seconds later, I immediately pushed her away.

With such a close embrace, I wasn't sure I could control myself.

That damn bloodlust, just being near a human, gave me the urge to go crazy!

After maintaining a safe distance from Lauren, I squeezed a smile at her with difficulty and asked, "Mom, have you had a good couple of days?"

"No, Kayla! you've been missing for two days, and it's made me very worried about your safety, especially after two deadly animal attacks in a row in the town ......" Lauren's voice couldn't help but choke up.

"I'm sorry, Mom ...... I've had a really hard two days, and I need to be alone for a while to adjust my emotions ......" I couldn't help but choke up too, but I quickly adjusted my emotions. “Henry's death was very hard for me, and I couldn't accept such a cruel fact. So, I decided to leave for a while; I need to start a new life ......"

Henry's death is a very good excuse.

"Kayla! Are you leaving here, leaving the place where you've lived for twenty years?"

Before I could finish my sentence, Lauren interrupted me in a sharp voice, very emotional.

"Mom, it's only temporary; you should not get worried ......," I couldn't continue my words.

Although it was true that I was leaving temporarily, I didn't know when I could come back again.

Lauren would be very sad if I left like this, right?

But remembering the terrible Howard, my will was once again strong.

"Mom, you know how much Henry and I used to love each other, and I want to forget him and all the bad memories ......"

I pretended to be sad and stopped speaking. In fact, I really couldn't continue to speak this time.

Because this man made me feel sick, even if I just mentioned his name.

But to get Lauren to quickly accept my leaving, I had to borrow Henry's name again; at least his death would cover up the real reason I left here.

"Oh, my poor daughter ......" Lauren hugged me again, her tone full of heartache.

This time, I didn't immediately push her away and even offered to hug her tightly.

Maybe this is the last time Lauren and I hug; I have to feel the warmth she brings to me with all my heart.

I didn't let go of her until I felt like I was about to lose control.

"Mom, don't worry, I'll take care of myself." Trying desperately to hold back my bloodlust, I kissed Lauren's cheek. Then I added, "I love you. Please tell my friends that I'll miss them and won't say goodbye to them."

"Okay, Kayla, be sure to call me if you get settled in another city; I want to know about your new life," Lauren said reluctantly.

I nodded my head. At the same time, I seriously admonished Lauren, "Never invite strangers into your house after I leave, absolutely, okay?"

Lauren looked at me somewhat puzzled, but my expression was so serious that she finally nodded and agreed to me.

When I left Lauren's house, I saw her standing at the door for a long time, watching me leave.

I knew that Lauren had given me all her love. Even though my leaving was very hard for her, she respected my decision and supported me.

I fought back the tears that were about to well up and left firmly and quickly out of her field of vision.

I went home, packed some clothes and daily necessities, and drove straight out of town in my little car with intense sadness and reluctance.

But these bad feelings lasted until I drove out of the state to another state.

My escape plan went very well.

Although in the process, I was constantly on the lookout for Howard to show up and stop me or imagined Howard catching up to me before he and I got into a fierce struggle.

Thankfully, none of those bad scenarios in my head happened.

Howard didn't even seem to notice that I had escaped.

This allowed my tense nerves to finally relax a bit.

While paying attention to the road conditions on the highway, I said to myself, "It seems that Howard didn't let that wizard put some locator-like spell on me ......"

"DING RING RING--"

My cell phone suddenly rang on the passenger seat, directly interrupting my thoughts.

It was my backup cell phone, the number only Lauren knew. After leaving home, I purposely took it with me for easy contact with Lauren.

When I picked up the phone, it was Lauren's number.

I held the phone between my ear and my right shoulder to make it easier for me to drive.

When the call was answered, I said, "Mom, I'm not settled in yet, so I won't be able to give you the exact address until later."

There was a brief silence, after which I heard a familiar and terrifying voice ring out, "Which city do you want to settle in? New York? Washington? Or to another country ...... for example, a city in Europe?"

"Squeak--"

I immediately hit the emergency brake and brought the car to a halt.

I froze for a full five seconds before I found my voice: "Howard ......"

"It's me, Kayla. If you want to go on a trip, I can accompany you! You'll make me worry if you leave me alone." Howard's tone, although with a smile, made me feel very frightened.

When you want to run away from someone, but that person shows up next to the person closest to you and speaks to you in an intimate tone——it's definitely a horrible thing!

No, I couldn't panic; maybe it was just Howard's little trick to trick me back!

I kept my voice as calm as possible and said firmly: "I'm not even going back. I'm going to escape your control, you demon!"

"Oh, sure?" Howard laughed in a low voice.

His voice was very nice, but at this moment, it made me feel like it was a voice from hell.

"Half an hour, I only give you half an hour. Otherwise, your mother Lauren, that kind lady, will be turned into a dry corpse." His tone was still smiling, but his words were full of threats.

"No! I won't allow you to hurt her!" I shouted angrily.

"Kayla, you made me do it." Howard's tone instantly cooled down with a strong note of warning.

I feared for Lauren's safety but was not willing to go back like this.

I even had a slight chance.

Maybe Howard just got Lauren's phone through some means and didn't get close to Lauren.

When I left, I told Lauren that she must not invite strangers into her house.

Lauren must still be safe now.

"Ah--"

My fluke was completely disappeared when a sharp scream came from the other side of the phone.

"Lauren!" I shouted worriedly. I then immediately responded to Howard, "I'm returning now, and until then, you can't hurt her! Absolutely not!"

After hanging up the phone, I immediately turned around and headed back to the town of Santa Cruz as fast as I could.