The High Priest could feel the Vampire King's anger even if he had not fully awoken yet.

It was a tangible living thing.

Rage. Confusion. Hurt. Betrayal.

Raw. Scattered.

This was the first time the High Priest had felt his emotions.

Erratic. Chaos. Powerful.

The Vampire King was messed up internally that he neither can control his powers nor hide them.

The White Oak must have punched a hole on his magical armor, his aura, that it had resorted to this.

The Vampire King had all his weaknesses broadcasted. It would be difficult if the other powerful vampires--especially those who belong to the royal family--who desired the throne for themselves would strike them when he was vulnerable.

Without his mate.

Wild. Potent. Untamed. Unprotected.

The High Priest turned down the corridor leading to the Vampire King's rooms, and, ahead of them, the door flung open. Cederic stalked out of the room and slammed it shut.

Turning up the corridor, Cederic froze when he saw the High Priest and Jon blocking his way.

Fei noted the bottles of blood he had carried in his arms, but all of that came second to the possessive fury shown on his face.

There was murder in those grey eyes, and Fei was certain that if he had encountered the military general alone, he would have killed Fei on where he stood.

"His Highness is recovering--slowly but surely." Cederic straightened, and the High Priest had to give him credit for regaining her composure so quickly. "I was stuck into babysitting duty most of the time while both of you frolicked around the castle being such useless pieces of horseshit."

"Cederic." Jon tilted his head and crossed his arms, smirking. "Did you just call the Vampire King 'baby?"

"Stop putting words on my mouth, Jon." The Military General said icily.

"Kid." Jon said under his breath.

"Shut up." Then, Cederic turned to the High Priest.

"By your leave." He hesitated only a moment before he explained to Fei, "I have watched how you took care of the Vampire King with your magic spells and herbs and I did every procedure correctly as per instruction on your notes. I needed a break since I think the King's cells had healed his injuries already after I helped you extricate the wooden White Oak bullets from his body."

"The regeneration was too slow, don't you think?" Jon remarked as he stroked his bearded chin.

"Don't forget it was you who shot the Vampire King, Cederic." The High Priest spun around and strode off inside the room, followed by Jon and the military general. "I will be at the far corner of this room. I want the King to see your face first the moment he woke up from his sleep so he could throttle you to death and ask questions later."

"Wonderful news!" Jon exclaimed in sarcasm, pointedly ignoring the tension between Cederic and the High Priest.

He aspired to remain neutral and would not say anything to set anyone off.

Jon will tell the Vampire King that he was innocent and he had no participation in this.

The three of them stayed into the Vampire King's chamber, where he lay on the bed, his upper body propped up on a pile of cushions.

His furrowed brow disappeared at the sight of them. His eyes locked on Cederic.

The military general froze as if he was a butterfly whose wings had been pinned down on a flat surface.

The High Priest bowed. "Your Highness."

"My King." Jon placed a hand over his heart, and he inclined his head in respect. "You are back, You're Highness."

+++

"Wake up, Apollyon."

The Vampire King frowned, batting away the sound.

Every time he tried to sleep, the voice inside his head told him to wake.

Dratted bastard.

Didn't this servant know he needed to rest?

"Apollyon. Our mate needs you."

"The Archdemon of Lust. He had our mate."

Silver hair.

A playful smile in his mind, in his soul.

Endless, fathomless, fearless, brilliant emeralds.

Luna's eyes.

'The High Priestess.' The Vampire King had thought.

The first thing Apollyon saw when he opened his eyes was a long white beard, looking over at his face. It was the High Priest. Cederic stood by the bed beside him; his smoky grey eyes leveled on his.

And that quickly, he remembered.

The Vampire King had watched every scene in his mind's eye as he was gradually consumed by the Blood Beast, turning him into a cold-blooded monster.

A dragon, to be specific.

The blood, the pain, the shattered bone on his shoulders when the White Oak bullets penetrated his scales when the military general had shot him in his Berserker form.

Cederic had a good aim.

"Damn it, amare. If I have to drink your blood, I'm going to suck you dry." The Blood Beast murmured huskily, talking to himself, forgetting that the High Priest, Cederic, and Jon were in the room with him.

But his anger was absolute at Cederic.

A sharp sting burned his neck, but all his vision did not go black, as he had expected.

"The High Priestess!" The Vampire King tried to push himself up on the pillows, but the High Priest scurried over and pushed him back down. "You must rest, Your Highness."

The Vampire King's consciousness switched to the Blood Beast, then back to himself with ease and in just a short period of time.

This was impossible.

What future he dreaded had finally come.

The Vampire King can now be completely taken over without much effort with the Blood Beast.

"Your Highness, this isn't the time to look for the girl." Jon set to fluffing the pillows and tucking the blankets tightly around him like a swaddled baby. "We had taken the wooden bullets off your body. But your magic is highly dangerous to use right now because the effects of the White Oak might activate on your system. It might backfire on you, harming your body in the long run."

"I can't." The Vampire King seemed annoyed at being fussed over, but he shook his head rebelliously. "My mate is kidnapped by my brother."