Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9





'I SHOULDN'T be that worried.' Max played with the orange in his hand. His engagement with Laura was only a farce to fool those who wanted to wipe out the remaining 'Miller' in the city. Laura's father had once lost his glory and all his enemies came back to take a piece out of him. Their revenge included wiping out the whole 'Miller' family. And the only thing that can save them, according to her own father's words, is to form a concrete and public relationship with the Adenhart.

He knew that reason is still not enough for Dolly. She would never understand why it has to happen. That was an urgent matter— something that had happened so suddenly. Max never really cared about anything before and so he agreed to sign the papers so easily.

Vampires doesn't care about 'incest'. They knew that consuming their relationship beyond papers is almost impossible. Even then, it's not illegal for them to do this. When their kind became extinct and they had no other choice but to pass their assets to their closest relatives, or to their chosen family members, they have to form another contract of agreement/relations that will resolve the family feud over properties.

When a dying vampire doesn't want their money to go with the coven, they needed to divide it properly in their family or they can proceed to that contract and choose a person that will inherit their worldly possessions.

Although the practice was no longer used when their numbers recovered and reproduction finally became stable, there were no rules made to limit this.

Laura's father gave her to Max as someone he can have. It sounds heartless, but in reality, it was clearly an escape plan for her. Those who doesn't know about the true nature of their complex relationship will think that Maximilian protected the young maiden of the Millers. His actions will be seen as romantic. While Janette would only roll her eyes and murmur, 'so unnecessarry' under her breath.

Dolly is clearly different from him. She never experienced having a formal fluffle and she never understood the basics on performing in a strict community.

"Cedric?" Max asked without a greeting, "Can you reach Jeffrey's phone? Did the damn kid turn it off or was I blocked?"

"Ah... now I'm certain that he turned off his cell. I've been trying to call him for the past ten minutes. Did you put any tracking device on him? Can I know where is he right now?"

Max grumbled. "Hah. He was so scared that I'd shower him with my complains, hmn? He completely shut us both— wait a moment."

He reiterated. "Did I hear you clearly? 'Tracking device?' Do you expect me to say yes and give you his location?"

Cedric went silent for a second before he answered, "Yes. This is about an important matter. It's about work."

"Work..." Max spared the clock a glance before he sighed deeply. He doesn't need to ask in order to know that Cedric is looking at the time as of the moment. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Ah... well, I'm not asking him to turn in some papers. It's eleven in the evening. Of course I won't do that. I was just... trying to get a hold of him. Since we'll be having our first field work tomorrow. I need him to be quick on his feet, that's all."

"Oh, you're giving him a heads up? That's good. He's a neophyte, so cut him some slack. Did you send the men like I asked you to?"

"Yes. Yeon-hee will be there tomorrow."

"You're sending out the newly mated woman frequently this month. Did she make you upset or something?" Max watched at the window as the night deepened. "I heard that you rarely move from your chair and you often scold Jeffrey every minute of his working hours."

He raised a sardonic brow and continued, "You can never escape your fate, Cedric. If ever you want to accept my offer, I'll welcome you any time of the month."

"It's really nothing important." Cedric huffed mightily. "You're on the phone in the middle of the night when you just met your fated mate? Who's the one that's lacking between the two of us? Clearly, it's not me."

Max hung up the phone without looking at it. He stood quiet for a second before he finally could not endure it anymore. "That hybrid dares to joke with me." He slammed the phone on the table before fixing his suit. "Of course I'm awake. What respected vampire would be asleep at this time of the night? Cheap trash."

"What are you murmuring about?" Laura entered the room with ease. Her face crumpled. "Stop trying to guilt-trip me. I surrender myself willingly. Let's find your mate before you decide to snap my head off."

Max stopped for a moment. He smiled a little. "Cousin, what made you think I will kill you? We're related. Oh, please. I'm not heartless."

"Liar." Laura deadpanned. "Want me to check on Cedric and ask him if you sent an enforcer behind my back? Have a bet with me."

Max rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I sent one. Just one. And it's not about killing you. I just want to know the reason why must you run away from the city to find me here. What do you want?"

He walked to the front door. She blinked slowly and click her tongue in apprehension. "There was a case in the office. An employee of mine— oh, scrub that. A close friend of mine was seen dead on the back of an alley behind a certain bar you frequently visit."

"Ah..." Max nodded. "And that requires my attention because?"

Laura frowned. "In her autopsy report, it was evident that she's feeding one certain vampire for at least a month before she died. The nature of her death is simple, a slash on the neck. She bled through the night and just as I expected, no one saw the incident happened."

"It's not me. You know that. I stopped feeding from humans... for a long time now."

"I know." Laura closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Before her sudden death, I noticed a few changes in her. She lost weight, she became paranoid and easily rattled. It was clear that she didn't sleep enough. There were signs of... obsession. You know how does that works, right? When a human gets involved with a vampire for so long they get—"

"I still don't understand why did you need to go such lengths to find me for that instance. You disturb my vacation. You made my mate second guess my sincerity towards her and now you're saying that you need my opinion." Max purses his lips. "I... don't understand, Laura. Why?"

Laura's pale complexion became tinged with blue. It was an indication of her anxiety. The guilt on her face could not be hidden behind her cough. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that... you still feel burdened by what had happened before. I—I only wanted to mess with you a little. I thought maybe we can reconnect again as cousins. I thought you needed someone to talk to now that you're alone in this sudden trip. I..."

Max recognized her troubled state. He stepped closer to her and wrap an arm around Laura. "Don't speak with me again if it's about what happened to your friend. I'll say this once and for all— I don't have any valuable information that I can give you. All you have to know, from me, is that I didn't do anything wrong."

Only those five hundred year old vampires can make that happen. Max knew that Laura would automatically think of him. There aren't a lot of five hundred year old vampires in the area and even those people in the coven aren't as old as him. They seemed old in appearance, because they hadn't reached the final stage of enlightenment. As the leader of the coven, the first requirement should be this.

"I'm sorry. How do I contact your mate? I want to personally apologize to her, Max. She must be upset."

Max squinted. "It's fine. I'll talk to her. First, you need to help me eliminate her ex."

Laura pushed him a little. "I didn't know you were the jealous type."

"I'm not. Really!" Max smiled. "My Dolly asked this from me herself. Are you in it?"

She bent her knees a little and bowed. "Need not ask. I'm always at your service, your excellency."

'If only you're this obedient all of the time.' Max gritted his teeth. 'Silly child.'