Married To The Mad Vampire Lord
Chapter 181: The Rogue

Chapter 181: The Rogue

The moment they stepped into that part of the danger zone, the rogues came running and jumping towards them, the sound of the rain drowning out their loud noises and cries. Gwen and Rav dismounted their horses and, with fast movement of the night creatures, began to snap off the heads of the rogues even before the creatures could attack.

The two vampires fought to clear a path for Belle, who was still on her horse, as she would have to ride further in to find Rohan.

Gwen grabbed a rogue by the neck and, with one swift movement, she tore the hideous, fragile-boned creature apart and then turned to the lady.

"The path is clear, go!" she yelled so she would be heard against the rain and the rogues. "We will be right behind you!"

Belle nodded her head, but before snapping the reins to ride through the path they had cleared, while the vampires distracted the other rogues, drawing them away so she could pass, she turned to them and said,

"Don’t get hurt... or bitten."

Then she rode away, following Kuhn, who seemed to be moving faster than the horse with his long cloak flying through the wind.

The further they went, the more dense the bushes became, and she had to stop the horse at one point to walk the rest of the way, as Kuhn had said they were almost there.

She dismounted, carried her arrows and crossbow along with the heart, and then she turned to Kuhn. "What am I to do if I find him? How can I get the heart back into him?"

Kuhn turned to her while still using his senses to find Rohan in the bushes. "The heart of a demon always knows where it belongs. You get close to him enough to put the plant against his chest, it will infest itself with him."

"And then what happens next?" Belle asked as they began to walk into the dense bushes, having hidden the horse in the shade beneath a large tree. The rain had reduced its downpour, making it easier to navigate the forest.

"I do not know. You’ll find out after it happens. I have not done this before," came Kuhn’s emotionless reply.

He did not know? She couldn’t believe they were walking into the unknown without a plan. Belle parted her lips to speak but then pressed them shut, realizing there was no use letting her anxiousness about the unknown make her snap at the creature who was trying to help her.

As long as the heart was with her, she believed everything would go well once she found Rohan.

"You have to remember also that he is no longer the person you know. You cannot easily get close to give the heart back. He doesn’t know you. He will only see you as food and want to eat," Kuhn warned, coming to a sudden stop.

Belle, unable to calm her jittery nerves at the thought of the unknown, halted as well. She turned to look at the cloaked creature just as he stared intensely in a certain direction, completely still.

She wiped the rain from her face and followed his gaze, then gasped softly at what she saw.

Just ahead in the bushes stood a rogue, one that hadn’t rushed after the rest who had gone in the direction where Rav and Gwen were calling out, luring them away to kill them. This one was different.

But then, why would he be hungry enough to chase anyone... when he was feasting?

The rogue had his back turned to them, hunched over what looked like the large, lifeless body of a bear, devouring it raw in the rain. His head was bent low, buried in the carcass.

Belle’s mind was racing with the question of how they would sneak past this one, but her thoughts screeched to a halt when the rogue slowly lifted his head. Her heart gave a sudden, sinking sensation, and then it began to throb frantically against her ribs at the sight.

Through the curtain of rain, she saw it clearly now: the blue-tinged hair... the familiar curve of his shoulders... the unmistakable form of the man she loved.

"That’s... that’s my husband..." she whispered, more in breathless relief than in shock or horror. The sheer relief of finding him without having to venture deeper into the woods burned at her throat, thick with emotion.

He was here. She had found him. And though he was drenched in blood and rain, feasting like a beast on a dead animal, her heart clung desperately to the hope that everything could finally end here, because she had reached him.

She couldn’t help the swell of warmth that bloomed through her cold, trembling heart as she stared at his back. It looked more bruised, marred with countless harsh lines, as though he had suffered more injuries in a single day as a rogue than she could ever imagine.

She took a step forward, ready to go to him, when Kuhn’s wooden hand suddenly gripped her wrist, halting her. Startled at being stopped all of a sudden, she turned to look up at him.

Kuhn shook his head. "Danger. You cannot go. He is dangerous."

"Then what should I do?" she scowled at the creature, not liking that he was stopping her when she had a perfect opportunity, with Rohan distracted while eating. From what she had observed about rogues, their senses were dulled compared to that of a vampire.

If she could sneak up on him, it would be a far better idea than letting him see them first. The rain had not only helped mask her scent, but also made it so he wouldn’t be able to hear movement.

"He is a new rogue. His senses are sharper than—"

Kuhn did not even finish the words when the man eating and devouring the meat suddenly stopped, causing Belle’s blood to turn cold. And then, when she thought he wouldn’t turn in their direction because his meal was more important, his head snapped back to them, and every single muscle in her bones turned to jelly at the sight of his face.

It had worsened. His face had begun to turn rotten like the other rogues, with his dark eyes becoming a whitish color that seemed like he was losing his eyesight, just like the others. Blood smeared on his face where there were tiny, many cuts. His fangs were large and dark.

At first, the only thought that came to Belle’s head was to turn on her heels and run away from this unrecognizable creature. But then, remembering what happened last time and how her fear had overruled her love for him, she braced her feet on the ground and stood in place. She did not let herself look at what made him different, but instead, she looked past all that to the man he was internally.

She would not run away from him again. She was here to help him, and she would do that.

Slowly, Belle began to approach him despite Kuhn telling her not to. She ignored the creature and kept her eyes on Rohan’s movements as he turned completely away from his meal and stood to his feet. He was watching her, but due to his face being in such a state, she couldn’t tell what expression he held. But when he crooked his head to the side, she almost wanted to smile at the joy that gesture brought to her heart.

That was a familiar gesture.

Perhaps he recognized her.

It seemed this would be easy for her, and Kuhn was only worrying about nothing.

He would never hurt—

Well, she never finished that thought, because just then, he threw his head back and let out a cry, one she instantly recognized. It was the same sound the rogues used to call out to each other when they had found a meal.

She froze where she stood.

The bushes around them began to rattle, the sharp rustling growing louder and more frantic. The rogues were returning, charging back in their direction.

Belle felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the thought of the rogues returning, before she even had the chance to return his heart.

The only thing she could do now was prepare her crossbow and shoot as many as she could. But just as she was trying to notch an arrow onto the bow, Rohan, or rather, the rogue with the blue hair, lunged forward and struck the weapon out of her hands.

The force of the blow twisted her index finger in the wrong direction, and it broke with a sharp crack that made her yelp.

She bit back the cry of pain and moan. She clutched the finger with her other hand and hissed in agony. She looked up and saw that he was advancing on her menacingly after he had flung her weapon away and crushed it with his feet, and at first, she did not want to step away.

But as he kept getting closer, radiating that dangerous, feral energy, she found herself backing away, step by step.

Shivering from the cold rain seeping deep into her bones, and from the pain throbbing in her exhausted body and broken finger, Belle bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. As she watched him approaching, she parted her lips and said, "You don’t want to hurt me."