Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 238: Disagreement_Part 1

"Why didn’t you tell me she was alive?" she asked, then immediately felt foolish as the question left her lips. She realized there was no way Rav could have known that she knew Evenly, someone she had befriended during the game and had believed to be dead until now.

"I did not know that you knew her," Rav said, causing Belle to turn back to the woman and ask, "How did you get here?"

Rav already knew how she had gotten here. She had managed to track him down through the mind link—one he had consistently refused to open. But somehow, she had succeeded in getting him to open it for her a few times, and she had used that to her advantage to find her way here.

During their first communication, he had made the terrible mistake of revealing that he worked for Lord Dagon. Because of that, he told her he couldn’t help her, couldn’t entertain her, and certainly couldn’t allow her to stay where he was to teach her the ways of the night creatures.

It had been a slip of the tongue, one that happened in a moment when he was... lonely. Rav thought of this now as he stood watching the woman explain to Lady Belle how she had gotten here, just as he had suspected. She then continued, telling Belle her troubles and why she so desperately needed help.

"...I did not know how I was stupid enough to show myself to my husband. I thought if he sees me as a vampire, he would accept me like he had Cordelia in his life..."

The name Cordelia made Belle shudder as terrible memories of the vampiress striking her with the edge of her gun flashed through her mind. Her fists clenched against her dress, and a dark vein appeared and disappeared beneath her skin without her even noticing it. She forced the thought of the vampiress aside to focus on Evenly.

"He told me it was okay, that I could stay in the house. I thought he was going to accept me, since I have nowhere else to go. I can’t show up at my father’s house as a vampire. He hates them, despite the fact that he lives in their land. I was happy to be accepted by my husband... until he sent for the bitch," Evenly said through clenched teeth.

"According to the laws of Nightbrook, any vampire turned without the king’s permission is to be sentenced to the rogues, along with the person who turned them. Cordelia brought men to take me to the palace for my sentencing..."

Belle couldn’t help but grind her teeth at the thought that, despite everything, the vampiress had not been punished for anything she had done to them, and was still as cruel as ever. Had Belle not been so consumed with worry for Rohan back then, she would have tried her best to get back at Cordelia before at least leaving Nightbrook. But...

"How did you get away?" Belle asked softly, pushing her hatred for the vampiress aside to listen to Evenly.

"I managed to get away because, for some reason, I discovered that with my ability to fight, becoming a vampire had added to my strength—enough to take on other vampire guards. I fought them off and ran. Then I began using my sharpened senses to track the man I share a link with..."

She turned her eyes to Rav, whom, until not too long ago, she hadn’t even known what he looked like. She had only ever put an imaginary face to his voice.

"I need a place to stay. I am wanted in Nightbrook," she murmured, her eyes pleadingly going back to Belle, as she knew the man who had turned her would never welcome her or give her a home, as he had already told her so many times.

Belle had no reason to turn Evenly away, not when the woman had once risked her life for her sake.

"You can—"

"She can’t, my lady. His Lordship will not be happy with this if he hears about it," Rav interjected quickly before Belle could make the mistake of allowing the woman to stay. They were already breaking the rules of this land by hiding their identity as vampires; adding another vampire, when blood wasn’t as free as it was in Nightbrook, wasn’t something smart to do.

Rav had already communicated the issue to Rohan when Evenly first came in here demanding to see Belle, and Rohan had given him a strict order to throw the woman out without letting her see his wife. But the ever-so-disobedient maids, who had first met Evenly before Rav came out had rushed to call Belle out, saying someone was looking for her.

It was already hard enough to keep the unborn baby she carried fed, and taking in this woman would not be ideal for their situation—especially with the house now under close watch by the authorities...

Belle was about to part her lips to tell Rav that she did not think Rohan would mind so much if they let the woman stay, but right on time, her husband strode into the parlor with a darkened expression as he announced,

"No one is staying here. She returns to where she came from. Rav, escort her out and show her the way." He ordered without missing a beat, nor caring that if the woman were caught by the authorities here, she was as good as dead. His only priority was keeping his family safe. This woman was not his family, and he had no reason to jeopardize his wife’s safety for hers.

Belle got to her feet as Rav moved to grab Evenly’s elbow. She hurriedly stepped forward and moved his hand away from the woman.

"She has nowhere to go, my Lord," Belle said to Rohan, addressing him respectfully since they were not alone. He turned his eyes to her, narrowed in displeasure at the fact that she was stopping the woman from being thrown out of the house and washed off their hands.

"It’s none of our damn business. She should have known she wouldn’t be welcome here when she ran away from there. If she doesn’t leave on her own feet, I will be left with no choice but to kill her and throw her body into the river."

He uttered the threat with his eyes fixed on the new vampiress, who immediately moved to hide behind his wife, unable to meet his intimidating, deadly stare.

Belle looked at her husband as though she were seeing him for the very first time, unable to believe he could be this cruel to someone as kind as Lady Clifton, who had once risked her life to save hers. But then again, she realized, he had always been cruel—from the very moment she married him.

It just so happened that she had grown so used to the loving side of him that she had forgotten about this part, the uncaring, cold man. He had cared for her so much after getting his heart back, she had started to believe that care extended to others. But it seemed it hadn’t. It was always just for her.

Just like now, when his eyes were so dark and murderous that she could feel the shift in the air around them.

"Can we talk about this in private, my Lord?" Belle asked calmly, but if he heard her, he did not turn his dark eyes from the woman behind her and gave his order to Rav, who stood looking at him for instructions.

"Why did you stop? She’s not above carrying. Hurl her out of this premises and make sure she never sets foot in here," he ordered, knowing if he gave in to talking in private with his wife, she would try to talk him out of this. He did not want to have a private word that would change his mind about getting rid of trouble.

Rav moved to do as he was ordered, but Belle shot him a deadly glare that made him pause in his tracks.

"If you come any closer, I will hit you. Don’t touch her. She’s staying here." She turned her disappointed eyes to her husband.

"She can’t stay here, Isa! There is no room for another bloodsucker!" Rohan growled in rising anger. He was doing this for her sake, couldn’t she see it and put herself first before others?