Darlene.

Dante's point of view

I can't believe he managed to get away once more. I thought we had him in our grasp.

I expressed my frustration with great vehemence, causing a loud noise as I pounded on my desk, startling Razor.

"I deeply apologize, boss," he promptly expressed remorse, lowering his head in a bow. "I believed we were close to catching him, but I'm unsure of how he managed to evade us."

"I prefer not to listen to that," I fumed with my eyes reddened with rage. "It would be wise to refrain from speaking any further."

"Boss, rest assured that I will take full responsibility and ensure that he is apprehended the next time we encounter him. There will not be any...

"Did I not instruct you to remain silent?" In a threatening manner, I interrupted with intense fury evident in my eyes.

"I'm deeply sorry, boss," He humbly expressed regret while lowering his head frantically.

"Get out of here," I ordered. "Now!" I gestured towards the door with frustration evident in my tone.

He quickly dashed out of the study without delay.

With a tired sigh, I attempted to loosen the constricting tie on my neck by attaching one hand to it. All of a sudden, everything seemed claustrophobic.

It was extremely aggravating to witness Alistair slip away despite being so close to discovering his location. I was confident that he was within our grasp, but somehow he managed to evade us.

For a long time, my goal has been to apprehend that bastard Alistair and stop his acts of terror and violence. How long has it been? more than a thousand years.

As vampires, we had lived for more than a thousand years and were among the exceptionally rare few who had survived until the present day.

In addition to my desire to put an end to Alistair's heinous deeds, I harbored a personal grudge against him. My beloved, who was human and named Darlene, was killed by him. The woman whom I had solely loved throughout my lifetime.

He had developed a strong admiration for her physical attractiveness and was captivated by her scent, personality, and particularly her innocence.

Despite him trying to win her over, she remained faithful to only me and turned down his attempts. And in spite of my faults, she still loved me, even though I represented the shadows of her radiance. Despite my curse, she still loved me deeply; being aware of my existence as a vampire.

Each moment and memory I had with her were deeply treasured. At first, I felt remorseful for approaching her, but as time passed and she was no longer present in my life, it was the memories of her that gave me strength.

The intense anger and animosity towards Alistair ignited my desire for retaliation, as he had taken away the one person I was fiercely determined to shield, and I had failed to do so.

I had ventured on a hunt alongside certain vampires from the coven, leaving behind my beloved unguarded and vulnerable.

My coven had advised me to avoid Darlene due to her lineage as a descendant of "Ramon," an infamous and terrifying vampire hunter who had successfully slaughtered countless vampires.

During my time with the coven on a hunting trip, they took advantage of the situation to eliminate her. Motivated by the rejection he faced from her, Alistair was dispatched to undertake her assassination.

He brutally murdered her by severing her head. Previously, he made an attempt to coerce her into non-consensual activity, but she opposed him. The despicable bastard then physically assaulted Darlene before ultimately taking her life.

I was filled with extreme sorrow.

I was perplexed as to why my coven would deceive me in such a manner. Despite my belief that the issue had been settled after Darlene consented to becoming a vampire under my tutelage, my coven acted in secrecy and ended her life without my knowledge.

In that moment, I completely lost control and unleashed my fury by killing more than a hundred vampires from the coven as payback, which ultimately led to my capture.

They were taken aback by my immense strength.

In what way was it possible for a newly transformed vampire to defeat numerous older and stronger vampires? It was subsequently determined that my rags served as a source of strength.

The truth was that it was because of Darlene's blood. Before I embarked on the hunt, she had given me a taste of her own blood. The first time I drank her blood, I realized that it ignited a sense of empowerment within me, increasing my potency and vigor.

Although I seldom derived sustenance from her blood, she always urged me to do so before embarking on a hunting or perilous expedition.

For a span of 400 years, I was confined in the coven's dungeon and deprived of blood, not even given a single drop. Those were likely the bleakest periods of my existence.

Throughout that period, the coven systematically eliminated all male and female descendants of Ramon that crossed their path.

Additionally, a coup occurred. With the aid of a malevolent sorceress named "Iris," Alistair pulled off a successful mutiny and eliminated all of the established vampire authorities in our coven.

She had immeasurable abilities as a witch and often engaged in sorcery involving sinister forces. There is a rumor going around that she has died, but I am not completely convinced of its accuracy.

Luckily, Edward, a loyal member of the coven and one of my closest associates, intervened and prevented Alistair from reaching me.

He had given me his blood, which had depleted him completely, and I was too feeble and exhausted to even consider fleeing. He accompanied me to safety, encouraging me to flee without turning back.

Despite my hesitation and pleading for him to join me, he remained insistent that I depart alone. I cast a final look of gratitude towards my savior before dashing further ahead.

During that period, I kept a low profile. I have heard whispers about Alistair's pursuit of eliminating vampires who are older and more powerful than him, and it seems he has set his sights on me as well.

A few of my coven companions managed to find me and swore their loyalty to me. We joined forces to form a fresh coven with a pledge to seek payback against both Alistair and his coven. Since that time, our group has had constant conflict and disagreement with his coven.

While I was still hiding from Alistair, I was fortunate enough to be reunited with my younger brother, "Lorenzo," who was just a teenager and eight years my junior.

More than five centuries have passed since we parted ways, and at that time, we were both members of the human race. Our house was situated in the village where we resided with our parents.

Bandits raided our village and committed theft of our possessions while also murdering members of the community. I stood there with no power to intervene while the bandits took the lives of my mother and father and injured my younger sibling.

Despite my protesting and begging for their help in saving my brother, they forcibly took me. I was then transported to a different village and forced into servitude as a slave.

On a certain day, I made an attempt to escape, but unfortunately, I was apprehended and subjected to a merciless assault that resulted in my critical injuries. Luckily, Edward happened to come across me after I had been cast aside beyond the village limits.

He divulged to me that he identified as a vampire and presented me with the choice of either perishing or undergoing the transformation. I opted for the latter option, which resulted in him sinking his teeth into my flesh and imbuing me with his own blood, ultimately transforming me into a vampire.

As soon as I transformed into a vampire, I hurriedly headed towards my village to search for my younger sibling without any delay. Despite my desperate efforts to locate him, I thoroughly searched every possible location without success.

After careful consideration, I came to the realization that there was no way he could have made it through and passed away in the company of my parents.

I had great affection for him. He had always respected and admired me, aspiring to emulate my every move. I deeply regret not being able to safeguard my dearest little brother when he needed me the most.

Drenched in despair, tears streamed down my face as I departed from the village and found my way back to Edward, who later acquainted me with The Coven.

Once, I was at a tavern, indulging in drinking and taking in the merry surroundings.

While enjoying the serene atmosphere, I shielded my identity from curious eyes by covering my face with a hoodie as I indulged in some beer, taking in the beauty of my environment.

At the corner, I noticed a cluster of young vampires. They were devising a risky strategy to assault a gang of bandits at the tavern. As soon as they were prepared to enact their foolish scheme, I promptly trailed them out of the tavern with the intention of intervening.

My reaction was one of complete astonishment and disbelief upon encountering Lorenzo. As soon as he caught a glimpse of me, he was equally shocked, and his facial expression showed disbelief while he stood motionless. I rushed towards him and embraced him tightly, allowing all my feelings to be conveyed through the hug.

He had shed tears uncontrollably because he believed that I had died a long time ago. At first, he did blame me for not returning to look for him, yet I took steps to dispel any confusion by confirming that I did indeed come back to search for him.

He was fortunate enough to be rescued by a kind-hearted wanderer. Wanderers were vampires who did not belong to any coven, and later on, he unsuccessfully looked for me.

He gave me his word that he sought revenge and mercilessly killed the bandits who were accountable for our parents' deaths as well as my alleged demise.

My disappointment grew as I discovered that he had been resentfully taking out and slaughtering any bandits he encountered. My younger and innocent brother had become corrupted and transformed into a merciless predator.

I was unable to safeguard the purity of his youth; I failed to shield Darlene; I was ineffective in shielding my parents; and I couldn't preserve anyone.

I assumed responsibility for him and made a solemn promise to safeguard him. I would succeed in this instance and not let him down. This time, I vowed to protect him, unlike when I was unable to shield her.

*****************

As I rested comfortably in my seat, I acknowledged a gentle tapping on the door and invited the person to enter.

Razor returned to the study with a hint of anxiety in his step.

"What do you want again, Razor?" Without much concentration, I casually asked while briefly looking up at the ceiling.

"Boss, the young lady has awoken at last," he informed me.

Finally, something interesting to indulge in.