Deadly Desire

Chapter Ten- The First Carrier And Vampire

Rachel pov:

I am still thinking about the dream. I felt so intrigued that I searched through our family albums. I notice that nearly every woman on my mother's side of the family has black hair. I wonder if my mother has more information. When I went seeking Jane, I found her in the kitchen, spread across the counter with recipe books. She also mentioned that she is now conducting research to expand our menu.

"Hey Mom, I have a question for you." After glancing up from the recipe book she is reading, she gestures for me to join her. I sat across from her and opened the albums. "Mom, why are the majority of the women in our family black?" She sets down the cookbook and takes a moment to think before responding.

"There's an ancient folktale that has been passed down through generations. The narrative continues as follows: It all started thousands of years ago with the Blackwell family's ancestors. Mary-Jane, one of our ancestors, was regarded as a typical girl with blue eyes and black hair until she fell in love with a vampire. Markus, the vampire king, is not your average vampire. He impregnated her, leading to her becoming a carrier. It was believed that she possessed unusual abilities and had cursed future Blackwell ancestors to carry the carrier gene and become royal vampire parents. Because of this legend, our family believes that girls with black hair are exceptional. Born with the carrier gene, it is their duty to serve the royal vampire family."

But I feel most of that is just make-believe because vampires do not exist; instead, I believe it is a simple explanation, such as our family having extremely powerful genes." While it clarifies the origin of black hair in our family, it doesn't address the source of the strange dream, leaving me feeling unsettled.

In the early 14th century,(story of the first.) vampires dominated the realm of Eschuda, and the vampire king Markus Voss served as Emperor. Vampires are at the top of the food chain, followed by witches and werewolves, so the supernatural and humans coexist. Vampires and werewolves do not get along, but they have a peace treaty that they adhere to; witches are not associated with either faction and keep to themselves.

The royal and noble vampire families can enjoy the sun, while humans work for the vampires throughout the day to earn their living. In exchange, the vampires provide protection not only from werewolves but also from other vampires. Except for the rare occurrence in which a low-ranking vampire violates the rules and bites or kills a human, vampires typically ignore them.

In such cases, the royal guard swiftly intervenes to address the transgression. The only time the supernatural can catch humans is when the emperor unleashes them for the hunt. All parties taking part in the hunt have given their approval. Markus likes beautiful women, and when he grows tired of his harem, he gathers new ones from across the country's villages. In exchange for work and tranquility, the elders are happy to offer the Emperor everything he requests.

Currently, one such hunt is on; he has unleashed ten ladies into the woods, and vampires and werewolves are following them. If you capture one, you get to keep her, and she is yours. Markus bites the neck of the girl at his feet, sucking her dry. I've been alive for thousands of years, and the things to keep me engaged are becoming scarce. "Your Majesty, you called for me." One of my advisors bowed to me. "Yes, get me more girls. I want some fresh meat."

The hunts are where I unleash the beauties I've grown tired of. My queen is looking up at her toy boy. "Really, Markus, at the rate you're going, there will be no women left anymore." I laugh. "Well, Victoria, that won't happen; unlike vampires, humans reproduce a lot." My smirk increases as I see her become enraged by the reproduce comment and stomp out of her harem, skirts flying.

"Go to the village of Akcha this time and get me girls from there who are only their most beautiful." He nods and walks away. She sat by the river beneath the shade of a tree, nose in a book, wearing a basic frock and a messy ponytail, barefooted. Is Mary-Jane? Appearance and vanity have never been of concern to her. The other girls are jealous of her since she is the most beautiful and pure girl in the village, but she dresses like a poor girl despite being the village chief's daughter.

Lost in my world. I suddenly hear the village's warning bells. Dropping my book, I rush towards the village, a sense of dread rising in the pit of my stomach. When they arrived at the settlement, the imperial guard had all of the girls lined up in a straight line. One notices me and drags me into line with the other girls. My father notices me and informs the guard that I am his daughter; they arrive and take me to stand next to my father. "Dad, what is going on?" I whisper to him, and he glances down at me.

"They have come for the beauties in our village, on the Emperor's orders." I notice the king's counselor walking down the line, meticulously inspecting each female from top to bottom. The mood is tense as everyone prays that he does not abduct their daughter. At the end, he had picked three girls. When he walks over to where we are, his gaze falls on me, and with one look, he summons one of the soldiers to fetch me as well. I turn to hug my father. With tears running down his cheeks, he encourages me to remain strong.

All of the girls were transported to the vampire king's palace. When Mary-Jane and Markus first met, they felt an attraction to one another and eventually fell in love. After a few months, Mary-Jane was revealed to be pregnant, making her the first carrier of a vampire child. She gave birth to the first Voss heir, and the Morvants later located another carrier. Vampires then started hunting these carriers. Full-blooded vampire infants are born from carriers. It was also determined that only royal and noble families are capable of impregnating carriers. Mary-Jane and her sisters carried on the Blackwell family name, generating additional carrier descendants.