"I tried to stop them from coming here, Your Highness, but the Concubines wanted to speak to you regarding the Consortium."

Lady Clarence and the red-haired lady who the Vampire King had used his glamour to look similar to Luna stood behind Cederic and Catriona wearing nothing but their luxurious, transparent nightclothes with precious jewels.

Over a dozen of eunuchs, servants, and other consorts Luna didn't recognize were stumbling through the door of their bedchamber as they stood elbow to elbow, gazing at their nakedness with that dumb look--a mix of shock and disbelief--on their faces.

Why would they be astonished to find the Vampire King's wife in the marriage bed?

Luna made sure she had left behind enough blankets to cover her husband's body too.

She thought that she needed to only hide from Cederic and a few eunuchs but Apollyon…

This is frustrating for her.

A lot of female eyes were also busy ogling at his front, so her husband was the one who needed to conceal and not her.

If only she could gouge the females' eyes out from their sockets.

But that was unethical so...

"This can't be happening, Your Highness." Catriona's shrieked and stomped her foot in an outrageous temper tantrum, which might have roused the entirety of Apollyon's lair. "I wouldn't allow this."

Luna was the Empress now, and this leopard had the gall to scream like she was the woman who deserved the position acting like a spoiled brat in front of them?

This psycho bitch was a fucking headache, and Luna didn't know if she had the energy to deal with her when she just lost her source of power—Hecate's grimoire—because the goddess had taken it away from her.

Ah. Why does it always have to be Luna to put this bitch in her rightful place?

Luna's first instinct was to draw the blankets over her head in shame after the Vampire King draped them for her.

She combed her unruly hair with her fingers, salvaging a tiny bit of lady-like decorum in their naked state because she couldn't afford to not look her best in front of these audiences.

Some of them where concubines so beautiful Luna had started to feel insecure being exposed like this, unprepared for their visit.

Luna knew her cheeks had turned red not only because of the pulsing, wondrous pleasure Apollyon had given her not because of the sexual afterglow, but she was freaking mortified.

She froze in her place as she lay on her back, placing both of her palms on top of her stomach like what a prim-and-proper lady should do when they are caught acting all immoral.

Luna shook her head a little.

Why would she be bothered when her virtue was already in shambles?

She might as well be proud that she had enjoyed the Vampire King's rigorous attention.

It was a shock to find that her husband didn't mind the crowd, though.

Apollyon ignored Catriona as if he hadn't heard what she had said.

Instead, the Vampire King leaned unto the pillow behind his back and slipped his arms around her shoulders possessively, brushing her lips against her hair.

Apollyon's blue eyes didn't break eye contact with Catriona as a blatant message that he didn't actually give a fuck about what she felt.

"My King! This is unfair." Catriona continued with her litanies of injustice as her peach nude transparent nightgown rippled around her. "I heard that you married the High Priestess without going through the proper process of choosing the Empress now that the curse of the Blood Beast was broken.

"She wasn't even chosen as one of your concubines before you married this whore." She stabbed an accusing finger at Luna. "You didn't give the other concubines a chance to prove our worth as the rightful Queen."

Catriona crossed her arms and glared at Luna.

"Is this marriage even valid when she was a High Priestess?" She mockingly said. "They have strict rules to follow by the Goddess Hecate to maintain the power bestowed on them. I heard that breaking the rules without the Hecate's permission will have severe repercussions."

Luna gave her a cold stare and arched an eyebrow, adopting an air of nonchalance.

It was time for her to speak up.

As the Empress of the Vampire Realm, Luna promised herself that she wouldn't tolerate insolence of any kind, especially to this bitch, her former arch-nemesis: a manipulating narcissist who always played the victim card every time someone called her out on her bullshit.

Luna smiled pleasantly at Catriona. "I deserve to be the Empress, Catriona, after all the trouble I dealt with to break the Vampire King's curse. You didn't even know the trials and tribulations I have went through to keep him alive and safe. I was battling Archdemons, Catriona, without any help or support I could fall back on."

She clenched her fists in anger as she recalled her suffering, learning something along the way.

She had made blunders and life-and-death risks just by her decisions alone.

Luna had to think quickly on her feet, and it wasn't an easy feat without the Goddess of the Underworld's help.

She glanced sideways at Apollyon and smirked, "No offense, husband, but you were unconscious the whole time I was battling the Archdemon inside you and performing exorcism spells as you stay locked inside the prison of your own mind. You are so very fortunate to have me, my King, I am your savior, and if you replace me, I can't assure you what will happen because I will chase you to the ends of the earth until I cast my revenge tenfold on my Blood Mate."

Please think carefully before you cheat on me with one of these foolish girls again who can't even do anything for you." Luna reminded him.

It wasn't a subtle warning.

Luna made it clear that it was a threat.

"Chasing me to the ends of the earth?" The Vampire King turned and cupped her cheek with one hand, his lips grazing the corner of her mouth as he whispered. "I'm not afraid of your future retribution, wife, but I found that really kinky. After you find me after chasing me, I will mount you and fuck you hard."

Luna pursed her lips as she placed one palm over her forehead.

Cheating was never a game, and she had to let him know, make the truth sink into his stubborn misogynistic brain who thought he was God's gift to women—which he actually was but nevermind.

It felt like her husband wasn't taking her threats seriously and found it hot instead.

Luna exhaled as she shook his head.

Apollyon had missed the point but, alright.

"You might think I'm joking, Apollyon, but perhaps, we will see," Luna whispered back and smacked his lips before pushing him away. "Just do that again and try me."

Luna had turned her attention back to the scowling concubine, who thought she had the right to choose the reality. "How about you, Catriona?"

Catriona didn't even respect their marriage ceremony, acting all high and mighty in their bed-chamber.

This bitch needed to be punished severely.

"What were you doing while I was busy saving 'my husband' from the curse?" Luna asked. "Eating grapes while you pamper yourself all day? Napping while the eunuch massaged your tired muscles from doing absolutely nothing?"

The audacity of this bitch was infinite, and Luna was already thinking about the perfect punishment.

Luna closed her eyes and settled her head on the Vampire King's shoulders beside her. "If you have nothing else to say that would make sense, Catriona, please leave the King and the Queen alone while we have another round of sexual congress in which no concubine is allowed to participate."

"And bitch, don't forget to lock the door when you leave." Luna nodded as she motioned for the door.

It was deeply satisfying to see Catriona's haughty face turned scarlet with rage.

She was breathing hard as she clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.

Catriona looked murderous like she was about to transform into a were-leopard right then and there and started attacking them on the bed.

"Cederic, take that were-leopard away from here." When Catriona didn't even move from her position, Luna said as she waved a dismissive hand at her, "She reeks of a strong floral perfume that offends my vampiric senses."

"You have become a vampire?" Catriona's eyes bulged as if she was about to drop dead right there on the floor. "But it is forbidden for a pureblood---"

"If I hear a word spread that my wife had turned into a vampire, I will know who to kill first, and all of you, concubines, know how ruthless I can be." The Vampire King said calmly as he gave the crowd a sinister smile. "I will remember your faces and make the military hunt you down before slitting your throat and leave your carcass for the wild animals to feed on."

Cederic shrugged nonchalantly as he held Catriona's wrists and pulled her not-so-gently towards the exit.

"This concubine didn't have an ounce of manners or good breeding at all for talking to the Queen like that," Cederic muttered as he shook his head in annoyance. "Come along, darling, before the King orders to behead all of the girls in the Consortium for interrupting his Honeymoon."

As if that was his cue, Apollyon's mouth came down on hers, teasing her lips apart tenderly with his tongue as if claiming it for his own.

He nibbled her lower lip with his fangs enough to draw blood.

Biting her tongue, The Vampire King sucked the blood down his throat.

Apollyon groaned as he deepened the ferocity of his kiss, giving her a taste of the hunger raging beneath his iron control.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she had already risen, pressing herself against the lean, hard planes of his body.

Apollyon leaned his full weight over her as their mouths meshed into a fiery web of gratification before they went tumbling into the bed together.

"Ah, stop. Apollyon." Luna moaned as her husband bathed her sensitive throat in erotic kisses. "People aren't completely gone yet."

The Vampire King had been naked in front of these strangers, but he remained unbothered.

Maybe, he got so used to being naked around these women that it didn't really matter whether he covered up or not, which was starting to piss Luna off.

She didn't want any other people ogling at her husband's body, especially his past concubines.

As Cederic pushed them out of the room, Luna heard exasperated sighs from the concubines and a few consorts as they filed towards the door.

Even if Cederic had one hand behind the bare back of the last consort who must come out of their bedchamber, the military general had his head turned towards their direction, still looking over his shoulder.

"Cederic is watching us." Luna murmured in Apollyon's ear as she glanced up into Cederic's eyes before covering her naked body once again.

The bastard just snickered at her narrowed eyes.

Cederic might look like a young teenage boy, but he certainly knew adult things.

"He isn't allowed to join," Apollyon said harshly.

Why would Luna want Cederic to join?

Luna didn't know why Apollyon could be so irrational sometimes.

"No, he shouldn't leave yet." Luna urged as she kissed her husband softly in the cheek so that he would listen. "We should discuss the Fate of the Consortium first."

Disengaging herself from Apollyon's arms with as much grace and dignity as she could muster, she slid out of bed and to her feet, draping the sheet around her as if it were the toga of a Greek goddess.

"Get dressed, husband. We should have a proper meeting with all the girls, including me, in a much favorable setting." Luna said finally. "But certainly not in our bedchamber."