_"Oh my God!"

_"But what the fuck are these things?!"

_"Shut up and run!"

In the threatening night, the group of five men, all dressed in dark, armed with pistols and wearing balaclavas hiding their faces, continued to run, fear in their stomachs, in the middle of the streets and houses of the abandoned village. All around them, leaping from rooftop to rooftop or coming from the alleys, packs of roaring and furious Lycans pursued them, sometimes shooting flaming arrows at them. One of the fleeing men carried a bag on his back, filled with banknotes. These men, a band of thieves, after their misdeed had wanted to hide in the region while waiting for the police to give up the search, and they thought they were coming to hide in this small abandoned village, in the middle of this lost valley of Transylvania, and this , despite all the legends and local warnings that were held about this place, which, at first, the thieves did not believe for a second, taking it for gossip to attract tourists.

Unable to go anywhere due to the wolf creatures coming from all directions, the band of thugs had no choice but to pass through the large iron gate giving access to a large courtyard where there were plans for viticulture, and was the domain of a majestic medieval castle with a Gothic appearance, but not so dilapidated, despite the fact that it was plunged into total darkness. Undaunted by the urgency of their situation, the group of thieves entered through the heavy entrance doors to the hall and closed them, just before the Lycans came upon them.

_"Phew, saved." sighed one of the thieves, catching his breath.

_"But shit, it's not possible. These things, it can't exist." asked another, more nervous and still trembling like a leaf.

_ "Well, it seems so." admitted the leader of the band, curiously calmer than his comrades.

Now taking refuge in this hall plunged in darkness and silence, the group decided to stay in this castle while waiting to find a solution to get out and escape these monsters outside. With the beams of their flashlights, the thieves guided themselves and observed around them the Victorian and very refined decor of the place.

_ "Damn... I don't know who lived here, but he was rich." commented one of the men, admiring certain vases, furniture and tapestries of the furniture.

One of the men approached a large painting at the end of the hall, which depicted three young and beautiful women of the Victorian era, posing together for the painting, and whose small golden plaque below indicated the names: Bela, Cassandra and Daniela.

_"Hey, look at these beauties." he said to the others.

_ "Hmm, pretty cute, indeed." another commented with a lustful look.

_ "Seriously guys? We almost got eaten by some fucking werewolves." pointed out the nervous member of the gang again.

_ "Oh, calm down. We're safe here." said the chief, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder.

The group continued their exploration of the castle, until arriving in what appeared to be a large living room, also very richly decorated, with a floor in black and white tiles like a chessboard. On the right was the sitting area with a large sofa and two armchairs, gathered on a rug and around a large unlit fireplace in which was a pile of logs. On the left, a grand staircase decorated with chandeliers led to a floor above, and in the back, doors seemed to lead to another room.

The thieves decided to settle here while waiting.

_"Well, a good fire, it will do us good." said the chief, settling comfortably on the sofa. "Tom, you take care of it."

The man named Tom set to work and took out his lighter to light a fire on the logs in the fireplace. Meanwhile, the other three also sat down, one of them finally putting down the heavy bag containing the stolen money.

_"Oh guys, look at this..." then said one of the thieves, pointing to what he had noticed: a huge portrait above the fireplace, representing a couple, a man and a woman standing side by side.

The man was in his thirties, with a thin face, blue-green eyes, long brown hair, a mustache and a little goatee on his chin. He was dressed all in black, with a large leather frock coat, spiked mittens, and a belt buckle representing a dragon's head. The woman looked older, in her forties, and had a face that was tough, stern, and beautiful. Pale skin, yellow eyes and red lips. She was dressed in a long, elegant old-fashioned dress, A set of pearls around the neck, black gloves on her hands, a wide-brimmed hat on her head, and wearing a black rose at her chest. But, if the man looke like a normal human, what shocked the thieves the most was the improbable height of this woman, who must have been almost three meters tall.

_"Lady Alcina Dimitrescu and Lord Mathias Derune - celebration of one year of relationship." then read the leader of the thieves on the small plaque under the painting. "Surely the previous owners."

_"But... it's impossible... Have you seen how tall she is?" Tom commented, still in shock.

_"I don't like that at all..." stammered the nervous one.

_ "Stop with your paranoia." ordered the leader, annoyed. "Okay, whatever. We'll count the money and split the shares."

But as they gathered around the living room table to empty the sack full of cash, the glow of the flames in the fireplace providing a reassuring source of dancing light, suddenly the abrupt slamming of a door in the The floor above echoed throughout the building, making the group jump in surprise and fear, who in a reflex, took their weapons.

_ "Fuck! What was that?!" spat Tom.

_"Guys, we have to get out of here! We're not alone!" trembled the nervous as a leaf, but who immediately received a blow behind the head by his boss.

_"Shut up. We'll leave when I say so, not before."

A heavy and morbid silence fell in the living room as the group tried to listen and see the slightest presence around them. Inexplicably and much to their confusion, the flames in the fireplace gradually began to flicker and dim, dimming the light in the living room.

_ "What... Guys, your flashlights." warned the leader, who even though he tried to seem less tense than his comrades, began to swallow and not be reassured.

Their blood quivered in their veins and fear set in when female and macabre laughter was heard. Subsequently, swarms of hundreds of black flies appeared, coming from the floor above and descending towards the floor of the living room, and, under the dumbfounded and frightened gaze of the thieves, merged to form two bodies, two women appearing to be almost like twins, dressed in long black hooded coats, wearing pendants adorned with different colored stones, black gloves and holding sickles in their hands. Their faces, although very attractive, had their mouths covered in traces of dried blood. The two women, while materializing, continued to giggle ominously, their predatory gazes fixed directly on the group of men.

_ "Gentlemen, welcome." said the first in a teasing and sly way. "We were getting very bored these days. Haven't we, my dear Cassandra?"

_"Indeed, my sweet Bela." replied the one called Cassandra, just as perversely as her sister. "But to tell you the truth... I'm mostly very, VERY hungry."

_"But... but who the fuck are you?!" asked the leader of the thieves, aiming his weapon at them, although trembling in fear with all his comrades frozen behind him, as these two strange women continued to stare at them, giggling like witches..

_"Tsss, come on, you don't ask a lady her name like that, it's very impolite." Bela scoffed, pretending to play the offended girl. "Cassandra, show them what mother and father told us to do to people who dare come to our house and threaten us."

_ "With pleasure, big sister." Cassandra hissed between her teeth as she licked her lips hungrily.

Everything happened in a flash. Cassandra turned herself into a swarm and with superhuman speed, struck one of the thieves among the group, throwing him violently against a wall. Right after, Cassandra regained her physical form and pounced on the man who didn't even have time to get up or react, and screamed loudly when Cassandra began to voraciously devour him and rip his face off with her teeth.

The other thieves screamed in fright, their eyes bulging, as Bela laughed heartily to see them peeing in their pants. The nervous one, completely dominated by panic, fled in one of the corridors, without knowing where he was going and separating himself from the others. The leader, along with two others, fled in another direction, also leaving their comrade to be shredded alive by Cassandra, who gouged out one of the eyes of her victim and swallowed it with delight. Slowly, she raised her head covered in fresh, flowing blood, and with a bloody, sadistic smile, looked towards the thief named Tom, who now alone, frozen before this vision of horror, opened fire with his weapon on the witch.

_ "Die, you monster!" Tom yelled, emptying the magazine of his gun, with no effect on Cassandra whose bullets almost seemed to pass through her without hitting her, which made her giggle openly.

But a very rapid sound of metal in the air was heard, and Tom, at first more than confused, screamed in horror and pain when he saw that the hand which held his pistol had been severed at superhuman speed and was now fallen to the ground at his feet. Forearm spilling a stream of blood, Tom fell to his knees, as Bela, holding her bloodstained sickle, came in front of him, towering over him and gently took hold of his severed forearm and began greedily licking the blood from it, all under the gaze of Tom, unable to act and move.

_ "Hmm, fresh man's blood..." Bela groaned with delight and smiled sadistically as she looked the thief in the eyes, bringing her face closer to his. "By the way, you're the one who said we were pretty cute earlier... And now?"

The thief Tom, who had actually said that in the hall, couldn't answer anything as the pain and fear had taken over his mind. At the man's non-response, Bela sneered and, with her mouth, ripped open his throat to devour it, killing him instantly and also starting a feast of human flesh and blood, while behind her, Cassandra had continue, ripping out the heart of her own victim to squeeze it like a sponge in her hand and drink the blood that came out.

Meanwhile, the nervous little one of the gang, named Colins, also the youngest of the gang, continued to run, teary-eyed and completely lost in the incessant corridors of the castle that seemed to have no end. He felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

_"No... it's not possible... it's not possible..." he continued to moan, cry, in the most total denial, but above all seeming totally traumatized by what he had just seen.

Pushing aside a door, he suddenly arrived in a new room, which made his blood run cold. The room, dark and silent, was entirely filled with old porcelain dolls and dressed in old dresses, like collectible dolls. But the most disturbing thing is that all their faces, without exception, were turned towards Colins.

Fear in his stomach, trembling and sweating, the young thief took a few hesitant steps in the middle of the room, but soon heard a creak of old wood which made him shudder and jump in fear. Near one of the windows in the room was an old rockin chair, rocking gently back and forth, and in which sat a woman, dressed in a black dress and with her face hidden by a veil, and who seemed busy quietly humming a little melody while combing the hair of a doll sitting on her lap. The doll in question was the scariest of them all, dressed like a bride and looking very damaged.

Colins dared not move or say a word, his gaze fixed on the woman, when without warning, the head of the doll in the wedding dress suddenly turned towards him with a crack, fixing him with her eyes of glass.

_ "Hi, do you want to play a game?! It's called "Run or Die!" the doll asked in a childish, sinister voice.

All the other dolls came to life of their own volition, emitting unhealthy childish laughter and all moving towards Colins, who screamed in even greater fear and wanted to flee through the back door.

When he opened it, convinced he could flee even further, he screamed again, to the point of falling backwards. Behind the door, something even more monstrous and disturbing than the living dolls awaited him. A huge creature, similar to a giant, crawling, skinless fetus with a gaping toothless mouth and huge black eyes, stood there, and emitted distorted, monstrous baby-like chirps and laughter.

Colins wanted to shoot this thing, but realized that his pistol had disappeared from his hand, as if it had never existed. As the monstrous fetus entered the room, in front of a shocked and paralyzed Colins, the woman in black had risen quietly from the chair, still with the doll in her hands.

_"Game over." laughed the doll sadistically.

Colins could do nothing but struggle and scream in vain as the slimy, dripping hands of the monstrous giant fetus grabbed him by the legs and slowly forced him into the creature's huge, repulsive mouth.

Meanwhile, the leader and his two remaining comrades, all three unaware that they were now the only ones of their band still alive, had also fled through a network of endless corridors, until they finally came across the device of a secret passageway, which had now led them to a dark, damp, sinister place resembling the dungeon of a medieval castle. Hallways shrouded in darkness, barred prison cells to the left and right, some of which were filled with tools and old instruments of torture from another era. But what had made the three thugs jump in fear was the presence, in some cells, of zombie-like creatures, locked up and growling ferociously, stretching their putrefied hands through the bars to try to grab the three intruders who continued to walk with them. fear but at a good distance from the bars.

_"Wilson, we have to get out of this hell..." trembled one of the men.

_ "That's what we do, dumbass, so stop talking." spat the leader named Wilson, at the end of his tether.

All three jumped up in fright when the torches hanging on the walls, normally unlit, suddenly caught fire, bringing light into the hallway. Soft applause was also heard, and the trio caught sight of a solitary, human form arriving with a nonchalant but sure step, stepping out of the darkness several meters in front of them. He was dressed in black, a large gothic black leather frock coat and a hood on his head.

_"Not bad, gentlemen, not bad..." commented the stranger after clapping. "You escaped the lycans and then our daughters, and found our dungeon... For miserable thieves like you, it's a nice little achievement. Vain and stupid indeed, but an achievement all the same."

He removed his hood, revealing his face in the light of the flames of the torch beside him. Wilson and his men were shocked to see that it was the young man in his thirties on the painting in the living room. Mathias Derune.

The three thieves, despite the fear that made their bodies tremble, wanted to shoot. Mathias Derune, not at all frightened and showing a smirk, simply snaps his fingers. The flames of the torches came alive of their own volition and like projectiles, struck and burned the hands of the three men who screamed in pain, seeing their hands charred and their weapons destroyed.

_ "But, you see, if there's one thing my lovely wife hates most of all, it's thieves." commented Mathias, taking a few steps towards them, his hands in his pockets. "Isn't it, darling?"

Behind them, the three thieves froze, a shiver of pure fear running through their backs, when a woman's voice, in a macabre giggle, was heard behind them, accompanied by an eerie creaking noise, like something sharp rubbing against stone.

From the unfathomable darkness of the hallway on the other side came a tall humanoid form with yellow eyes, dressed in a long robe and wearing a tall dark hat on his head. They recognized with horror the tall woman in the portrait, she as identical as in the painting. With an evil smile, she walked slowly towards the three men, showing one of her hands whose fingernails had turned into giant claws, rubbing against the walls of the corridor and producing some sparks. It was her. Lady Alcina Dimitrescu.

_"You dare to come to our house, with weapons. You openly threaten our daughters. No mercy will come from us, pathetic worms that you are." declared Lady Dimitrescu in her firm voice.

One of the thieves, in desperation, tried to run away, but Alcina effortlessly grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing, and with a sadistic smile, opened his stomach with her claws, letting the contents of his stomach and his blood spill onto the floor.

_ "Oh, all that wasted blood. It's such a shame." Alcina said, without feeling sorry for what she had just done and let the dead man fall to the ground like trash and rubbed her hands.

The second thief, despite his injured hand, took a knife out of his pocket and tried to stab Mathias, who in absolute calm dodged the blow without difficulty and killed the man by stabbing him in the throat with his own blade, all in seconds, and left the thief to fall to the ground and choke on his own blood.

_ "Come on, don't be so defeatist, my love." Mathias said to his wife. "We still have one left."

And the last remaining was the leader of the band, the one named Wilson. The latter, seeing that the couple was closing in on him, stepped back in fear until his back touched the bars of a cell. Immediately, the zombies present in the cell appeared and through the bars, firmly seized the thief by the arms, body and legs, pinning him and immobilizing him completely.

_ "Hey! No, let go of me! Help! Help me!" Wilson screamed at the top of his lungs, pleading for help.

Mathias and Alcina were now standing in front of him, side by side, exchanging a brief satisfied look.

_"Good. It's time now to see what it's worth." said the vampire countess. "My love, will you please?"

_"With pleasure." answered Mathias, who took Wilson's wrist firmly without this one being able to struggle, and taking a dagger from his belt, Mathias cut deeply the hand of the thief, letting the blood flow and then moved aside to make room for his wife.

Alcina in turn grabbed the thief's wrist in panic, and tasted the blood from the hand, but didn't seem very pleased with the taste and consistency.

_ "Hmm, that's what I thought." she commented. "Too rancid, no taste. He's only good for becoming a new servant."

_"Too bad." Mathias replied with a shrug, and with a hard punch knocked Wilson unconscious and opened the cell so the zombies could take the prisoner away to be imprisoned and transformed later.

Bela then came down in the corridor, stained with blood, continuing as she walked to nibble on Tom's arm that she had ripped off. Seeing her daughter like this, Alcina glared at her and took a small white towel.

_"Come on Bela, look at you, you're all dirty." Alcina said, wiping her daughter's mouth a bit, who huffed in annoyance, while Mathias watched with some amusement.

Later that evening, after the gang of thieves had been killed, Mathias had returned to the apartments he shared with Alcina, in the north wing of the castle. Having taken off his shirt and frock coat, wearing only his trousers, the young man was in the bathroom next to the bedroom. Splashing water on his face, looking at himself in the mirror for a moment, he went out rubbing his eyes a little, feeling a little tired for it was quite late now, a full moon looming in the night sky outside and a few howls of lycans being heard in the village below.

Alcina Dimitrescu entered the room, holding a candlestick in her hand, and closed the door behind her. Mathias smiled at her and she did the same.

_"Donna Beneviento went back to her house. I had her escorted by a group of Lycans." said the countess, placing the candlestick on the desk.

_"Ok..." replied Mathias, putting on his white shirt. "Have to say, she looked like she was having a good time. It was a good hunt tonight, even if those thieves were a little too easy."

_"Bela and Cassandra were still completely excited..." Alcina sighed as she came to get a glass of wine and took a small sip while sitting on the bed. "It was difficult to convince them to go to sleep."

_"You have to understand them..." Mathias told her, coming to sit next to her and placing his hand on hers. "They remained eternal teenagers."

_ "Yes, but I also feel like... Well, it's like a way for them to stop trying to think about... Daniela." Alcina then said, losing her smile and showing a pensive and sad look.

Mathias looked at her, understanding and sorry. It was now a year since the defeat of Miranda and Moreau, but also unfortunately the tragic death of Daniela during the battle. Thinking back to her dead daughter, Alcina had to wipe away a small tear that had beaded in the corner of her eye.

_"We all miss her. But we know that deep down, she is always with us." Mathias then said to support his wife.

Alcina smiled at him, thanking him for his unwavering support. The couple kissed gently, then a second and a third kiss, and finally looked into each other's eyes...

Embracing each other, undressing each other while kissing with devouring passion, Mathias and Alcina got into the big four-poster bed, pulling the sheets and blanket over them. Mathias leaned over Alcina, the couple continuing to kiss and caress each other with love and sensuality. While gently caressing the soft skin and the breasts of his wife, Mathias came to smooch her neck.

_ "You naughty scamp..." Alcina chuckled teasingly.

_ "Always with you, beauty." answered Mathias with a seductive wink.

Alcina moaned with pleasure when Mathias entered her very gently, both looking into each other's eyes with the same desire and kissing again. Fatigue would wait. Nothing like making love to end this evening.