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Lydia was all worked up, so hearing this naturally ticked her off.
"Mr. Jackson, what's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.
Wolf pulled out an underworld phone and started reading from it.
"According to Spirit Realm records, when Rory was judged in heaven, he was found guilty of emotional deception. It wasn't enough to send him to hell, so he ended up in the Spirit Realm. I'm guessing you were the one he deceived."
Lydia's jaw dropped, her expression almost comical.
A moment later, she exploded, jumping to her feet.
"That jerk! I trusted him, and he played me! Mr. Jackson, get him up here right now—I want to confront him face-to-face!"
Wolf quickly pushed her back into her seat.
"Ms. Foster, calm down! Rory's dead. Whatever he did in life, we shouldn't disturb him now."
With Wolf's soothing words, Lydia's emotions settled, though she still looked shaken and lost.
The three-way meeting was wrapping up. Wolf and Gerald both got what they wanted: the Underworld Police and the FEA were set to collaborate, sharing intel to catch ghosts lingering in the human world.
Roy also sealed a deal with Wolf.
Lydia, though, was in a rotten mood.
Roy had a feeling her bad luck wasn't over yet.
As they were about to leave, Gerald piped up.
"Mr. Black, a few hours ago, Marianne Megan and Gretchen Henderson tried to make a run for it. FEA agents caught them. Want to take a look?"
Marianne and Gretchen were obviously under the succubus's control. Being regular humans, they were easily nabbed by FEA agents during their escape.
The succubus probably ditched them once her plan fell apart, leaving the two pawns to fend for themselves.
No surprise what happened next.
"Not today," Roy said. "Lock them up for a few days. I'll check in later."
Gerald nodded. Observing people charmed by a succubus might reveal ways to spot them.
"Let's go, Ms. Foster. Stick with me for the next few days—it's the safest option."
Lydia, with a sour expression, followed Roy out of the Dolphin Hotel.
"Where to now?" she asked.
Roy thought for a second. Lydia's place was out of the question—it was a mess.
UCLA and Beverly Hills were no-goes either.
Lydia was something of a celebrity in Los Angeles. Plenty of people knew her from her show, and Roy didn't need the hassle of being spotted with her.
If some scandal broke, the gossip about him that had just died down might flare up again.
"Ms. Foster, do you have any family in L.A. where you could crash?"
Lydia shook her head.
"Right now, I just want to drink. A lot."
Alright, so Lydia was still reeling from the whole "deceived emotions" thing.
Roy figured letting her get plastered might help her move on.
"Fine, let's hit Sangiviki. Hopefully the bar's still open at this hour."
He glanced at the horizon. The sun was coming up, and daytime wasn't exactly vampire o'clock.
But when Roy pulled up to Sangiviki in a car borrowed from the FEA, the bar's door was, surprisingly, still open.
Athena seemed to be waiting for him.
"Roy, you made it!" she called out.
Stepping inside, Roy was greeted by the sight of four women—Athena and her three daughters—decked out in wedding dresses.
"Athena, what's this about?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This is the surprise I promised. What do you think?"
Athena's wedding dress was an old-fashioned, conservative number, like something from centuries ago.
But even the most modest dress looked downright provocative on Athena. It wasn't the design—it was her figure.
"Not bad at all," Roy said, genuinely impressed.
Especially when Athena and her bloodline crowded around him. It was overwhelming, in a good way.
Lydia, meanwhile, was totally thrown off.
"What's going on here?" she asked, bewildered.
Athena shot her a glance.
"Lydia, we're all adults here. What do you think? Bella, lock the door. Sangiviki's closed for the day."
One of the vampire daughters promptly shut the door.
"Wait, I came to drink! If you close, what am I supposed to do?" Lydia protested.
"Relax, Lydia. Grab whatever you want to drink—it's on the house. Just don't ruin our fun," Athena said.
With that, she looped her arm around Roy's and led him toward the basement, her three daughters circling him like excited kids.
Lydia gritted her teeth, glaring at Athena's back. Nursing a broken heart, this was the last scene she wanted to witness.
"Athena, just you wait! I'm drinking your bar dry!" she declared.
"Yeah, right! If you can down three bottles of hard liquor, I'll admit defeat," Athena shot back.
"Then I'm drinking your most expensive stuff!"
"Good luck finding it!" Athena called, already halfway to the basement with Roy.
Lydia, fuming, started rummaging through the bar's counter, determined to find the priciest bottle. She soon spotted an ornate one, but when she popped it open, the stench of blood hit her.
"Damn it, blood wine!"
Sangiviki's clientele was mostly vampires, so naturally, they stocked stuff vampires could drink.
Athena had a knack for brewing blood wine, a vampire favorite because it tasted close to fresh human blood. It's why Sangiviki stayed in business.
But humans? No way they could stomach it. Despite its steep price, Lydia wasn't touching it.
"Ugh, isn't there anything else?"
After digging around, she finally found a bottle of whiskey.
Not knowing much about liquor, Lydia saw "30 years aged" on the label and figured it must be expensive.
That's how non-drinkers think, anyway.
She poured a huge glass and chugged half of it. The bitter burn slid down her throat, making her grimace.
"This tastes awful!"
But with her mood in the gutter, Lydia downed the rest anyway.
As the alcohol hit, her vision blurred, and the pain of being deceived came rushing back.
"Damn you, Rory, why'd you lie to me?!"
Suddenly, the whiskey didn't seem so bad. Swaying, she grabbed the bottle and poured another glass.
Just then, a piercing scream came from the basement, startling Lydia so much she nearly dropped the bottle.
"What the hell? That dramatic, really?"
Lydia, a mother herself, knew exactly what was going on down there. She was a bit on the reserved side, though.
But Athena's increasingly loud "singing" piqued her curiosity.
Was it really that intense?
Fueled by booze and curiosity, Lydia clutched the bottle and stumbled toward the basement.
Down in Athena's massive basement room, Roy was in the middle of a "boss battle."
(Boss-level pressure)
After all, if Cain's curse only made him immortal but otherwise human, what kind of punishment would that be?
The real punishment was making Cain unable to feel human pleasures while being unable to die.
Other vampires only inherited parts of Cain's curse.
Maybe that's why the Elder Council was so obsessed with finding the Holy Grail.
So, it wasn't like Roy was trying to torment Athena. Often, she was the one pushing him to be less gentle, so she could feel something more vivid as a vampire.
So, Roy went all out, transforming into his demon form for some serious action.
The three younger vampires watched, half-terrified, half-mesmerized.
"Who's first?" Roy asked.
No choice but to give Bella, who was centuries old, a crash course in physiology. He and Athena were tight, after all.
Athena was an exception. Her muscles were jacked, like she hit the gym daily.
Of course, certain parts of a vampire girl's body still had plenty of… padding. But their waists, arms, and legs were strikingly slender.
It gave them a fragile look, though a vampire girl could easily tear a grown man apart.
Soon, Bella was lost in a heated kiss, starting to zone out, her mind going foggy.
Rookies just didn't have stamina. Even as a vampire, Bella was no match. Roy had her out in under twenty minutes.
Typical case of all talk, no game.
Cassandra held up a bit better than Madison, lasting a tad longer than Bella.
[Ding! You've earned Daniela Dimitrescu's Conquest Chest! Open it?]
Looking at the four vampire women in wedding dresses, Roy was feeling pretty great.
Wait—why did it feel like someone was watching?
Athena Dimitrescu
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