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Xiao Zhan's POV

I filled my plate with more pancakes before I started to dig in. I didn't realize how hungry I was.

I ate a lot until I had a stomachache but the hunger didn't fate. I was still hungry but the pain in my stomach wouldn't let me continue eating. Instead, I drank a lot of water which didn't help at all. All I could do was lean back and hold my stomach while staring at the food on the table. My throat hurt a little and I guessed I must have strained it too much with all the food I devoured.

"Your Majesty, I think it is about time we bring over a donor," Yibo said next to me.

"I think so too. I didn't think it would happen this soon after it has been only about two weeks. It was a lot he drank then."

"But by far not enough to satiate a first-timer," Yibo answered and I felt his eyes on me. I looked at him with a frown.

"What is it?" I asked not necessarily friendly. It wasn't my fault, though. I just wasn't in a good mood right now. Of course, that doesn't mean I could let it out on Yibo but ... he was the closest to me and had to act as my punch bag.

"Are you done?"

"I guess so. I am still hungry but I can't eat anymore or I might burst." I said, a little more friendly now before I reached to the ewer and poured more water into my glass. I heard a small chuckle and I turned to the Queen who was watching me.

"Leo, I want you to find a suitable donor for the prince. Make sure to find someone we can trust and won't have their own agenda."

I frowned. 'Donor? For me? What exactly-?'

"I shall do my best but it might take a few days. Nowadays, everyone is getting rather interested in the palace. Many families out there are trying to find out more about His Highness and when there is even the slightest chance to enter the palace, they will grab it and offer their daughters." Leo answered.

"I am sure your wife and you are capable to find a good donor for Xiao Zhan."

"We brought in two for Mr. Song and they seemed suitable-"

"I would refrain from calling over the lady with the blond hair, Leo." Ji Yang spoke up. "Her goal was more than just donating her blood. She kept clinging onto me, trying to make me send the other lady away and offering me more than her blood. It wouldn't be much of a problem but she kept calling me Your Highness making it obvious what her goal was. I sent her away right away."

'Blood? Donating to me!? Are they nuts!?'

The Queen frowned. "Leo? Who was that?"

"Lady Xu Bing from the Xu family. She didn't seem interested first, she didn't want to enter the palace and even rejected the offer at first. I must have made a mistake in choosing her. I apologize, Your Majesty." Leo bowed.

"I guess it isn't easy to find someone who doesn't have ulterior motives. Getting the prince's attention will give them a high chance of becoming the next Queen." The Queen sighed. "I really can't understand it. Do they think being Queen is all fun and games? This is one stressful job and I would love to give it to someone else."

"May I recommend someone?" Ji Yang spoke up again.

"Please." The Queen signaled him to speak.

"It might be a little too soon but... the lady who donated her blood to me doesn't seem to have ulterior motives at all. All she did was donate her blood and she then left. I don't remember much of that night just yet but I feel her blood was delicious and it helped to quench my thirst amazingly well. She might be the perfe-"

A loud clink was heard and we all turned to Haoxuan whose cutlery accidentally fell out of his hand. He seemed to have choked on the breakfast seeing him having a coughing fit. Well, I knew better.

"Oh my, Haoxuan, are you okay?" The Queen asked worriedly. "Bowen, would you please?"

Bowen approached Haoxuan with a glass of water who drank it in one go.

"Th-thank you. I am sorry... I just... the food is so good." Haoxuan smiled embarrassed and tapped his chest.

"There is no need to prove your opinion by almost suffocating, I am sure the cook believes you anyway and appreciates your compliment. Are you okay?" The Queen asked again.

"Yes, I am... good." He cleared his throat but didn't bother touching the food again. "May I ... excuse myself? I think... I am tired."

"You do look rather pale compared to when you first arrived here. Did something happen? Are you sick?" The Queen asked worriedly.

"No, no. I just... didn't sleep well, I guess. Nothing bad happened." Haoxuan smiled, his cheeks turning red and he got up. "If you please excuse me now."

"Sure, go ahead." The Queen nodded and Haoxuan run off pretty fast. I saw Ji Yang looking after him with a frown and massaging his forehead for a while. If Yibo was right about losing and regaining memories after losing control then I guess Haoxuan is not safe for too long. I had to think about a solution so Ji Yang wouldn't kill my best friend. I know he is a law-abiding citizen but... no one can know what will happen once he loses it completely.

Using the current silence I spoke up.

"I don't need a donor or blood or whatever! I am a human! And I am feeling perfectly fine!" I looked at Ji Yang. "And most importantly I definitely won't ever drink from the person you drunk from."

"I apologize, Your Highness. I didn't mean to offend you. Of course, you don't have to use her if you feel uncomfortable because of me. I just wanted to help you find a-"

"Call me Xiao Zhan, please. And it has nothing to do with you. It's just...." I glanced at the spot Haoxuan sat earlier and shook my head. "Whatever, I won't do it! I don't need blood at all."

I got up and turned to leave.

"Xiao Zhan." The Queen called me and somehow I couldn't just leave so I turned to her.

"I understand your point but I can't let you off like that. You can think and believe whatever you wish to, that is your right. And I won't ever force you to do something you don't want to. But it is my obligation to take care of you, not because I have to but because I want to. So, whether you want it or not, I shall let Leo bring someone over. She will be here for as long as you need her. Whether you use her or not is up to you but, although you probably hate the idea of it, I would suggest you at least try it. It would be better to do it while you are still in control. If you wait too long you could lose it and do things you might feel guilty about later."

I bit my lips. "I won't need her! I am not-! Argh, whatever, do what you want!" I turned around again and run off. I heard Yibo's footsteps behind me and although I was running, he didn't sound as if he was doing the same.

Luckily I arrived at our room without getting lost. I yanked the door open and entered the living area out of breath. I was about to yank the door close but as this was not my home, I shouldn't do that. It was disrespectful. Also, Yibo was right behind me and I could hurt him. Or maybe not, he was a monster after all and probably didn't feel any pain. But I wasn't eager to test it.

I went straight to my bedroom and closed the door. After locking it, I went to my bed and laid on my aching tummy. I didn't know what to do. All this is freaking annoying. I get it, these people a vampires, okay. I understand it and even though I don't want to, I accepted it.

I did call them monsters before but because these people are freaking beautiful and handsome, I couldn't keep calling them monsters at all. No, seriously, compared to them I was the monster here. My look recently did change for the better, much better even, but I was far from being as beautiful as them.

"Xiao Zhan?" Yibo called me from outside the door.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"...."

"What?" I asked again but Yibo didn't say something. I sat up and stared at the door. "What do you want?"

"No one will force you. I promised and the Her Majesty did so too. But both of us also told you that it could be dangerous if you lose it."

"I-"

"I know you are human. But only half, the other half is not. I accept that you don't agree with me. You don't have to just yet."

'Just yet?' I frowned. "I won't ever agree to that opinion of yours because there is no way I am one of you."

"Did you forget what happened at your friend's house?"

"Nothing happened! I had hard days before meeting you guys and seeing Ji Yang like this gave me the rest. I must have hallucinated. There is no way I bit someone nor my eyes and teeth changing. You must be mistaken."

"If you hallucinated, how could I see the same thing? Xiao Zhan, sooner or later you have to face the truth. Sooner would be better than later but I shall wait for you. I hope that once you feel weird or in pain or you think something has changed, you will confide in me. Drinking blood might sound scary to you, especially if you drink it right from the veins of someone else, but it isn't scary. And it also doesn't hurt. As you already experiences it before, although you don't remember, I am sure your subconscious and your body will remember and know what to do. I also hope you won't be stubborn and too proud to ask for help if you ... well... if the changes accrue. Don't be embarrassed to admit your nature, Xiao Zhan."

I wasn't able to argue with him now. I was rather tired and my stomach was still aching after all the stuff I ate earlier.

"Due to our little tour, your night was cut short. Take a rest now and if you need something, you know where to find me. I also won't activate the shield so you can just call for me.... if you want."

I heard him walking towards the stairs, ascending them, and entering his room before closing the door. I even heard some rustle and the squeak of his bed when he lay down.

'Damn thin walls!' I cursed inwardly and laid back on my stomach.

I wasn't that stupid to think that Yibo, Haoxuan, Leo, Ji Yang and I had the same hallucination. Of course, I knew there was no way but I thought believing in that might be better than imagining me being a monster. I didn't want to be one. No, I wasn't one for sure. They claimed I had drunk from Min-Ah but I am sure the police made a mistake. They miscalculated and thought blood was missing.

But.... I felt those fangs... and I did bite Ji Yang. But-

"Argh! Stupid life!" I groaned helplessly. I tried to relax a little and it actually worked well as soon I felt myself drifting off to a much-needed sleep.

I didn't dream. Or at least I didn't remember dreaming but when I woke up a couple of hours later, something changed. I guess that was when literally everything changed. Or maybe only then did I actually accept the changes have been there the whole time but it was just me who didn't want to believe it.

I woke up, the pain in my stomach was gone but I felt restless and once again very thirsty. Thirsty or hungry. Or maybe both. But not only that was different, but my eyes were also. I saw a spider. A small spider, not even as big as my fingernail on my smallest finger. But I saw it, crawling on the wall at the end of the room. Even more shocking was that I heard it before I saw it. There was no fucking way someone could hear such a small spider crawling on walls!

When I looked away, my eyes found hundreds of tiny dust particles floating in the air. It's like my eyes zoom on them really sharply. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I could see bacteria without using a microscope. That was everything but normal.

I would probably look around some more, I found all this scary but also rather interesting. Maybe with such an ability, I might be able to sneak a few glances at the exam papers of that nerd in my class without getting caught. I was good in school but there was a few courses even I sucked in. But all that was in the past anyway. I won't ever return to that school, not with the recent history. Or my actual situation.

Anyway, soon the weirdness of my eyes and ears was forgotten for I felt my throat tighten. It was painful, more painful than before, and I barely could swallow down. Almost as if I had tonsillitis, just worse. And that must mean something because I would rather throw up every hour than have tonsillitis. Well, maybe throwing up every hour would end up in me having tonsillitis so let's forget about it.

I grabbed my throat but I didn't help at all. Not that I expected it to.

'Shit! What the fuck is this?' I thought and felt how I started to panic. My ears suddenly met the sounds of the sea which couldn't be as there wasn't a sea close by as far as I knew. It was probably just the rush of the blood in my veins.

Before I could freak out I heard something else. Papers. I heard the rustling of paper and soon found the source of that sound coming from Yibo's room. I even heard his voice, no, he wasn't actually saying something. He was mouthing the words he read in a book as it seemed. Something philosophical or so.

'Yibo...' I knew when someone could help me it was him so without caring if I bother him or not, I left my room to go to his. That should take me at least 15 seconds if I run but no, it didn't take that long at all. I opened my door but suddenly stood in his room. So either I can teleport or I am faster than a fucking leopard.

Yibo, who sat on his bed half-naked, looked at me in surprise. "Xiao Zhan?"

I just looked at him, not even sure if I could talk. Maybe staring at him wasn't the ideal thing to do considering he was wearing no shirt. But I couldn't look away either.

"I didn't hear you at all." He stated. He looked to the door and then at me again. He frowned and got up from the bed. "Did something happen? You look pale."

"It hurts..." I blinked a few times hearing how raspy my voice sounded. I grabbed my throat.

Yibo's eyes darkened. "I thought we still had time. We didn't find a suitable donor yet...." He mumbled.

'Donor...?' I thought and realized the meaning behind that one word. I would love to curse at him and reject anything that had something to do with it but ....

Yibo passed me and I grabbed his wrist right away. "D-don't leave... help me... what should I do?"

"It's alright. Wait a moment. I have to notify Bowen and I will be right back." Yibo gently released my grip on him and left the room. I didn't even need to wait 2 minutes and he was back. That was fast. Knowing that no cell phones or house phones exist in this world means Bowen was either pretty close or Yibo was fast. After witnessing my teleport from my room to Yibo's it was the latter.

My sight got a little blurry for a moment and my legs were shaking.

"Bowen knows and will notify Her Majesty. I am sure they will find a donor right away." He must have seen me frowning because he smiled at me reassuringly. "Drinking blood is nothing bad. Sure, you will have to get used to it but it won't take long. Although you are half-human and lived like one all your life, you were born as a half-vampire. Your body will quickly get used to it. Believe me."

"It will hurt..."

"It won't hurt you."

"Not me... the donor..." I couldn't believe I was worried about someone else when I was in this much pain right now. Worse, I couldn't believe I was talking about this damn topic with Yibo as if I was believing in it all of a sudden. Maybe that vampire part of me believed it from the beginning but the human part was stronger and fought against believing in all of this... ridiculous stuff. Well, maybe not at all ridiculous.

"I doubt you will get a first-timer, so don't worry."

I looked at him questioningly and grabbed my throat. Shit, I was thirsty....

"It will hurt people who donate for the first time. Getting bitten for the first time can hurt, but it depends on how sensitive you are to pain and how aggressive the one who bites is. But you don't have to worry about that as you won't get bitten. You also won't get a first-timer to drink from but one who is experienced."

To drink from... I shuddered to hear this. Couldn't I just drink water?

I tried to ignore the pain but it didn't work. "Does it a-always hurt like this?"

Yibo shook his head. "We drink frequently, like every six months at the latest so no, it usually doesn't. You only hurt because you are starving. Your body tells you what it wants and the longer it takes to drink, the more it hurts until you lose control. But don't worry, I won't let that happen. Trust me. The donor must already be on her way, so please bear with it for a short while."

While listening to Yibo's voice my eyes have developed a life of their own. They stared at Yibo's chest, counting the tiny water droplets running down his torso. Following where the droplets came from, I stared at his upper chest, then at his shoulders.

'He has a great body....' I didn't know how many times I acknowledged that fact but it was slowly annoying me. Not because I hated how well-built he was, no, I hated that I wasn't as well-built as him. I didn't want to compare myself to him but I couldn't help it. I wanted to be as handsome as him!

"Xiao Zhan?" Yibo called me and my eyes went from his shoulders, to his neck, and then to his eyes. Well, cancel the last part. My eyes weren't able to move away from his neck, watching his veins moving up and down and pumping blood through them. I didn't see the blood and I didn't smell it. But I heard it. I knew it was there....

"Xiao Zhan?" Yibo called me worriedly and stepped forward. Maybe, just maybe if he had stayed where he was, I would have put up with my situation and waited for that donor or whatever to arrive to give what my damn body craved for.

But neither did Yibo stay where he was nor was my body patient enough to wait. Or maybe my body was but my mind wasn't. Who cared anyway? Everything happened fast. Faster than fast. It happened at lightning speed.

Yibo stepped towards me, looking worriedly.

Me reaching out for his arm, pulling him closer, and turning us around.

I pushed him onto his bed and even though I was fucking shocked that I could push someone like Yibo by barely touching his chest, I couldn't care less at the moment for I followed him. I literally jumped on him, and before he knew what was happening to him and before I knew what the fuck I was doing, I dug my fangs into his neck.

'When did they come out?'

It shocked me how easily my teeth went through his skin. Never did I think my fangs were that sharp. They rivaled the scalpels for sure. I even felt them hitting Yibo's veins, opening them and digging in. Or maybe I was just so sensitive at the moment that I imagined all these.

I did feel bad for a moment for attacking Yibo like this. It wasn't his fault this happened. Or maybe it was. He, who already knew what I was, who knew this would happen at some point even though I was refusing to believe it, he, who suggested finding a donor only this morning after understanding that I would need one soon, he should have found a donor for me sooner—he or the Queen or Bowen or whoever else.

But that was stupid to think. Wasn't this how predators thought? A predator believed his victim should have seen in coming as there were enough signs and therefore he was innocent but the victim was at fault. Was I like that?

I mean, if I really was a vampire, and this current situation proved it like nothing else, didn't that make me automatically a predator? But wasn't Yibo a vampire too? So he couldn't count as a victim, could he?

Shit, why is everything so confusing? It was confusing and so fucking-

'Delicious...' Yes, that was my thought the moment Yibo's blood went past my taste buds and entered my body. I immediately sucked harder, wanting a lot more of this fresh, sweet, and delicious red fluid to enter my body. I didn't allow any of it to spill. I wanted it all.

"Mhnnn...." I even let out one creepy moan that had me shocked and scared. I wanted to stop. This was wrong, that wasn't me. I wasn't like that.

But I couldn't stop. I wanted, no, I needed more. Because.... shit! That tasted better than everything I ever tasted before.

When I felt Yibo moving under me, I grabbed his shoulder, I dig my nails into his skin, making sure he stayed where he was and wouldn't interrupt my date with Heaven. Scared he might push me away any moment, I sucked harder, trying to get as much blood as I could.

For a moment I stopped, sat up, and threw my head back, savoring the flavor of something I never tasted before. I did lick away my blood when I hurt myself as a kid, but this is different. Mismatched. And better. Vastly superior.

I licked my lips multiple times. It was so good. The pain in my throat was reduced. Still there but barely noticeable. I growled in satisfaction.

Yes, I literally growled. Right after that, I bend down again, digging my fangs where I thought they belonged, and continued drinking as if my life depended on it.

My conscious tried to stop me from doing something a human wouldn't do. This wasn't right and unnatural. But my subconscious told me this was right, this was what I needed, what I wanted. And damn! I ignored my conscious and continued to drink.

But although I enjoyed this, I needed this, going against human nature was something that scared the hell out of me. I felt my body shaking, my conscious and subconscious arguing. What was right? What was wrong? Should I continue drinking or should I stop? What should I do?

"Shhht... it's okay... it's okay..." I felt a gentle pat on the back of my head. It soon stroked my hair gently, calming me down. I stopped shaking, ignored both, my conscious and my subconscious, and decided to listen to that gentle angelic voice telling me that it was okay.

So I continued to drink a little more. I felt full but this taste was so addicting that I would have probably drunk a lot more if I wasn't suddenly exhausted. I took out my fangs, felt them growing back to normal and then I let myself fall on this firm but comfy underground. It was a pleasant feeling and very much welcomed. I felt safe and peaceful.

There was something that felt a little weird but I wasn't keen on finding out what it was. So much happened within the past minutes. I still remember how I thought that I slept a couple of hours not long ago before I closed my eyes.   

to be continued... 

Bon appetite, Your Highness. Please do tell me in detail how his blood taste, alright? 

Well, well...  this is the start of something great, I can feel it :) 

If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave a vote and a comment or two ... or three <3 <3