A Heart For The Heartless

Other vampires weren’t as respectful as Mikhail was when addressing the Council members, that was true. But it wasn’t that he thought they were more important than he was, or that they had more power.

Rather, Mikhail was aware that he was in a delicate hierarchy and that there were different responsibilities assigned to each person in the city.

He addressed the Council members politely by their names, simply because it was the law. The rules. That was all there was to it.

If the world were without rules, it would operate in chaos. There would be no purpose, no boundaries, and no moral distinctions. Even a vampire like him was aware that he should not disrupt the order, lest he take on all the responsibility that was, in reality, too much of a hassle.

Mikhail watched as the two members of the Human Council approached Cassy and began to ask her questions. Eron Slazenki, on the other hand, stood indifferently at a distance, though Mikhail knew he was keeping a close eye on things, especially with his heightened senses of sight, smell, and hearing.

Even though Eron seemed frivolous and uncaring, he took his duties as a Council member seriously, and he was even one of those who wanted to get to the bottom of the rogue vampire case as soon as possible.

Cassy seemed to recognize the Council members and bowed her head slightly out of respect. “Mr. Samuel Alderman, Ms. Melissa Lincoln,” she greeted politely. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both here.”

“No need to be so polite, my dear,” Samuel Alderman said, his tone friendly, as if he were simply speaking to his granddaughter. “We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

“And don’t even think about lying, especially to protect the vampire,” Melissa Lincoln said, her tone colored with disgust. It was clear what her opinion of vampires was.

“I will tell the truth,” Cassy simply promised. There was no hint of animosity or irritation in her tone.

“Good.” Melissa narrowed her eyes. “Are you being held here against your will?”

“No.”

“Then why are you living together with this vampire?”

“He saved my life.”

“Saved your life?” Melissa repeated in disbelief. “How?”

“I was wounded one night and left bleeding in an alley. He came up to me and gave me his blood, which healed the worst of my wounds.”

Melissa looked completely unconvinced, which was reasonable since she didn’t have the whole story yet. “Mikhail Ivanov gave you his blood willingly? While you were bleeding to death?” she said in a steely tone. “I’m sure you realize how unbelievable that sounds, yes?”

Samuel was also a bit confused. “Why would he give you his blood? I hate to say it, but he’s not really obligated to save people. He’s not the type to give his blood away to just anyone.”

Cassy hesitated for a moment. She caught Mikhail’s eye and he gave her an almost imperceptible nod.

Right. He should have known that this would happen, that the truth would come out so soon. After all, he was the one who had informed the Council that she was here in the first place.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Cassy turned back to Samuel and Melissa. “…We’re mates,” she admitted.

A shocked silence filled the room. Even Eron, who was indifferent this entire time, widened his eyes.

Samuel was the one who broke the silence. “Mates?” he repeated. “What do you mean?”

“That’s ridiculous!” Melissa exclaimed. “It’s unheard of for a vampire to have a-”

“It’s not a myth, as you humans seem to believe,” Eron spoke up suddenly, unfolding his arms from his chest. He looked more serious now than before, which was a contrast to his previous lackadaisical attitude. “A few decades ago, there were vampires who had human mates. Our species has mate bonds as well.”

“Well, there was no proof of that!” Melissa insisted.

“Maybe because you guys from the Human Council don’t care enough about us vampires,” Eron said snarkily. “We’re all just monsters to you anyway, correct?”

Melissa looked scandalized and was about to protest when Samuel put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

“Lincoln,” he said. “Calm yourself.”

Melissa looked annoyed, but fell silent anyway.

At that moment, Eron turned to Cassy, who looked back at him warily.

“What is it?” she said.

Eron’s features scrunched up, as if he was a little confused about something. “So you’re not marked yet,” he said. He stared at her neck, but there was no hint of hunger in his eyes.

“Pardon?”

Instead of answering her, Eron turned to Mikhail. “She’s your mate. You didn’t mark her?”

Mikhail gazed at him coolly. “I don’t see a reason why I should. For now, at least.”

“Why not?” Eron seemed strangely insistent about this.

“Unlike other vampires, I do not resort to forceful measures,” Mikhail responded. “The two of us are not too keen about this mate bond just yet.”

Eron shook his head. “Both of you will have to get used to it and accept it through time. The mate bond lasts forever, whether you like it or not.”

“Can you two not talk as if I’m not here?” Cassy said, annoyed.

Melissa, on the other hand, was scoffing in disbelief. “You cannot possibly be entertaining this absurd notion of vampires having mate bonds!” she exclaimed. “How do we even know that it’s real?”

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “I would not fake something as trivial as this,” he remarked.

“For mates though, you two don’t seem to be that attached to each other,” Samuel suddenly said, looking genuinely puzzled. “Werewolves and their mates usually wouldn’t get enough of each other.”

Eron sighed. “It’s different with vampires. The carnal instincts and the desire for intimacy are different, to be exact.”

“And how do you know so much about this?” Melissa interjected, narrowing her eyes.

“I am personally interested in the subject,” Eron said without missing a beat. “It’s the reason why I stepped forward and came here today instead of the others. I wanted to see for myself if it was real.”

“I don’t trust vampires,” Melissa said, grimacing. “You devils always have ulterior motives. And as for you,” she added, glaring at Mikhail. “What are your true intentions with this human?”

“Lady, if you hate vampires so much, why are you even in the Council?” Eron said, annoyed. “We’re working together. We have a peace treaty, if you’ve already forgotten.”

Melissa glowered at him. “How dare you address me that way?” she demanded. “In case you’ve forgotten, Mr. Slazenki, we also have Case RV-13400 in our hands. I’m sure you know what the details are.”

“Now, now, you two,” Samuel said hastily, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. “We’re here to conduct an investigation. We are not yet done questioning Miss Lenoir here. May I ask you to remember your professionalism at a time like this?”

Melissa continued to glare at Eron, but said nothing in response. Eron, on the other hand, shook his head.

“I was being polite this entire time until she suddenly came in with her snarky comments,” he said. “I have no time to argue with humans. I am here to find the truth and to think of a solution to this problem.”

“All right, then.” Samuel turned to Melissa and gave her a nod. “Miss Lincoln, shall we continue?”

Melissa turned back to Cassy, who had been watching the exchange with calm eyes.

“Fine.”