Chapter 5: Bitten by Addiction
977 Words
Seraphina was already beginning to regret her decision.
In any logical scenario involving two people sharing a horse, the person holding the reins should sit in the back. However, Adrian was a towering presence, standing at nearly six-foot-three. If Seraphina sat behind him, the view would be nothing but his broad back, and every jolt of the horse would force her face into his spine.
Though she was an unabashed lover of beautiful faces, her admiration had always been from a safe, non-touching distance. She had never entertained any "inappropriate" thoughts about the handsome vampires. But for the sake of their physical and mental health during the bumpy ride, she ended up sitting in front.
As Adrian mounted the horse, his arms naturally encircled her waist. He leaned down slightly, his cool breath ghosting against the side of her neck, sending a sharp, tingling itch through her skin. His straight nose brushed against her, inhaling deeply as if he were a cat driven mad by the scent of high-grade catnip.
"If you dare bite me, you’re walking," Seraphina warned sharply.
Adrian slowly closed his mouth. After a moment, he asked in a low, sluggish tone, "The others do it... why can't I?".
"Others do it?" Seraphina frowned. She didn't know much about foreign customs, and when she asked Adrian about his nationality, he responded in a language she had never heard—melodic but unintelligible.
She looked up at him, and Adrian lowered his gaze. After a few seconds of eye contact, she quietly looked back down, blinded by his sheer radiance. His face was a masterpiece from every angle.
Seraphina felt her heart skip a beat and tried to steady it. "That sort of thing doesn't work here. People here are more reserved. Following someone around like that is what creeps do. Don't do it again".
Adrian tilted his head, resting it atop hers like a golden retriever. "Fine. Next time, I’ll just walk with you".
"That’s not what I meant..." Seraphina sighed, realizing there was a significant cultural gap between her and Adrian. She decided to change the subject. "They always talk to you like that?".
She didn't understand why Adrian, who fit the classic Western noble archetype, was considered a "hybrid," while the dark-haired Theodore was a "Pureblood". Regardless, she despised the blatant bullying she had witnessed earlier.
"They aren't wrong," Adrian said simply. In the vampire hierarchy, hybrids were indeed seen as inferior to Purebloods—a concept ingrained in him since his transformation.
Seraphina choked on her words. How was she supposed to have a heart-to-heart with someone who had zero self-esteem?. As they approached the training grounds, she got straight to the point. "The forest in the forbidden zone... someone told me you can enter it. Is that true?".
"Yes," Adrian replied, "but only on Hunting Day".
Hunting Day? Seraphina wondered if they were hunting protected animals, but Adrian added, "They release prey into it". Seraphina assumed it was some sort of aristocratic sport. She had no idea they weren't talking about animals at all.
"Can you bring someone with you on Hunting Day?" she asked, her heart racing. Adrian could feel the spike in her pulse and the sharpening of her scent.
"Yes," Adrian said, though he didn't mention that the person brought in would likely become someone else's prey. His gaze lingered on her neck, his hand on her waist twitching with a suppressed hunger. He had lived on blood bags since his change, but Seraphina was a temptation unlike any other.
"What do you want to do in there?" he asked.
"Just curious," she lied.
"I can take you," Adrian promised, "if you’re still alive when Hunting Day comes".
When they finally arrived at the arena, the rest of the class was already there. All eyes turned toward the strange pair on the black horse—vultures watching a lamb.
Theodore Canaster, mounted on a magnificent dark red stallion, watched them with a dark, mirthless expression. A fellow student with a Scepter Clan crest laughed, "Seems the hybrid beat you to it. Don't let the family down, Theodore".
Seraphina ignored the stares, dismounted near her class, and led her horse away. Her roommate, Nina, pretended not to know her, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
Suddenly, a group of senior girls on horseback blocked Seraphina’s path. The leader, a beautiful but deathly pale girl with a complex silk scarf around her neck, looked like she might faint at any moment.
"You're Seraphina?" the girl demanded. "Stay away from Lord Xavier".
"Who?" Seraphina was genuinely confused. Was this some teen drama plot?.
"You ruined my plans this morning, and now you act like you don't know who Lord Xavier is?" the girl snapped.
A flash of the "honey cake" boy from the morning entered Seraphina's mind. Xavier..
"Fine," Seraphina sighed. "I'll take the long way around if I see him".
The girl was stunned by the quick surrender but decided to press her luck, riding her horse aggressively past Seraphina and Nina. Nina nearly fell off her horse, trembling in fear.
Seraphina’s playful expression went cold. She picked up a bow, drew it to full extension, and released.
The arrow hissed through the air, grazing the leader's silk scarf and tearing it away. Beneath the fabric, the girl’s neck was covered in horrific, bruised bite marks and two distinct puncture wounds.
The girl screamed, clutching her neck in terror.
"Sorry," Seraphina said with a sweet, dangerous smile. "My hand slipped. It's my first time".
From the sidelines, a slow clapping sound echoed. Seraphina turned to see Xavier leaning against a railing, his riding gear accentuating his lean, elegant frame. He looked at her with those soulful, "honey cake" eyes and smiled.
"That was cool," he purred.
I should have aimed that arrow at him, Seraphina thought with regret.
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