The Vampire King's Pet-Chapter 354: Breaking Point

"Vander—or whatever was left of his body—was found in pieces. Someone... or something ate him!"

"I checked out the scene myself, and there was more blood than I had seen in a while! It was hard to take in!"

"Someone did mention seeing a silhouette with red curly hair fleeing past the street adjacent to where it took place."

"Clearly, Vander was useless!" Falson said, reporting to King Jared, whose mood had taken a turn for the worse. He had been stuck in the vampire realm much longer than he had hoped to be. Vander had been rescued so he could cause chaos, only for him to be killed.

"It could be the Zygons making a move," Falson pointed out, even as the frown on Jared’s face deepened further.

Clara sat beside him at the small dining table in the biggest room of the inn they had moved to, seeing as they had no choice but to extend their trip. Her hand stretched out intermittently to pick grapes, which she then tossed into her mouth with no change in expression on her face. Almost as though whatever was being discussed had nothing to do with her.

"He’s a dead end!" Falson added, regretting his words the moment he said them as Jared’s gaze snapped toward him. His eyes were angry enough to scream that he already knew that before his lips did.

"Clearly!" Jared snapped as he rose to his feet and paced before moving closer to where Clara sat, her attention still more focused on the grapes than on him as he began to speak.

"Rymora!" he said, her name sounding like a declaration.

"She might be married to a vampire, but she’s still a werewolf! Get her family to talk to her! Threaten her if you have to!"

His gaze slid to Gregory, who instantly bowed at the waist the moment he felt Jared’s stare land on him.

"Yes, Al—King Jared!" Gregory said, correcting himself before he referred to him as a werewolf.

But Falson looked worried as he spoke up.

"The villa is surrounded. Getting to the lord’s wife would be next to impossible! Moreover, she doesn’t have a good image of her family!" Falson said without mincing words.

"They treated her badly, so she has no love for them! Threaten to kill her? She has all the protection she could ever need!" he clarified, making it clear that they had no hold over her.

This only angered Jared further as he barked louder than he should have, considering they were staying in an inn and not their private villa.

"THEN RUIN HER! RUIN HER COMPLETELY!" he ordered, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke.

His arm was still tightly bandaged and no longer bleeding, but the wound might as well have been healing like he was human and not the werewolf he was. The pain that accompanied it was the kind he could barely swallow.

Was it too much to want Zyren dead and conquer his realm? Aria would also become his, and he would finally be content! he thought, rage coloring his face.

"Spread the news that she’s a werewolf?" Jared ordered, even as Falson responded, the frown never leaving his face.

"Gregory already did, and it was swept under the rug. I worry that the rumor might spur Lord Drehk to—"

He didn’t finish before Jared barked in his face, his entire body brewing with anger.

"JUST DO IT!" he ordered.

It was clear they had no other recourse or plan except the one they clung to. Aria was untouchable unless someone she trusted pulled her out on their behalf. Zyren was someone they all needed to hide from, considering the enormous power he had displayed, which meant that apart from Aria, there was no one else who could get close to him.

Their plan was falling apart at the seams, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Clara took another grape from the stem, tossing it into her mouth as her mind focused on how sweet and tasty it was.

Falson and Gregory were dismissed after receiving their orders, the door slamming behind them. Clara stretched out her hand to take another grape, only to feel the entire bowl yanked out of her reach.

Left alone with Jared, there was no one else for him to bark at but her.

"Is food all you care about?" he snapped. Clara couldn’t help the small smile that lingered at the corner of her lips.

Her gaze rose to meet his, lingering on his gold-colored eyes and handsome face—the face she had fallen for. Enough to make her squash any competition for Luna. Enough to make her break her agreement when he mentioned getting rid of her mate. Enough to give her heart and soul, ready to dedicate everything to him for just a bit of love in return.

She had tried to wave it off, but she couldn’t. It haunted her dreams. When he finally slept with her, he had done it to punish her—more pain than she had ever experienced—and yet he stood before her now, speaking as though everything was right in the world.

"Don’t you have any thoughts? We need to kill Zyren, remember!" he snapped at her. Clara slowly nodded, breathing out as she crunched the last grape she had in her hand and tossed in her mouth, surprised to find it far more sour than the others.

"You agree, right? She needs to understand her place!" he continued. Clara met his gaze again and nodded, showing her agreement, even as the sourness filled her tongue and realization struck at the same time.

I have to kill him! If I don’t, it’s just a matter of time before he kills me! she realized—either himself or when Zyren caught him in his foolish plans.

Wondering how she had been blind for so long, she slowly rose to her feet and moved toward him, intent on kissing him on the lips. She wasn’t surprised when he jerked his face away as though she were a plague. Still, she kissed his cheek and said her goodbyes, telling him she would see him later.

As she pulled the door open and left, all she could think about was how quickly she could do it without being caught.