Moon Lovers: Bound by Blood and Revenge

Upon entering the Golden City District Hospital, Raizel was greeted by his spy. He asked this vampire to secretly monitor Grandpa Roland's condition while he was not around.

"My Lord, the condition of the Zhou Patriarch worsened. He is declared a brain-dead patient. There is zero chance of recovery."

Raizel's expression darkened when he heard this piece of bad news. This would be a great loss for the vampire clan if their only allied gatekeeper would die.

"He can't die. I will not let him die!" Raizel said with so much conviction in his voice.

"Where is his granddaughter?" he asked him.

"She went to the comfort room when I left to meet you here," The vampire spy answered him. 

The vampire spy was wearing a specialized shadow armor so that werewolves couldn't smell their scent and noticed their presence. Even Kira was not able to detect that there was another vampire around them.

This specialized shadow armor was created by the vampire organization under Raizel's command. They produced lots of shadow armors to use by their vampire army so that they could hide their presence from their enemies.

Raizel was also wearing shadow armor to hide his real identity. Werewolves and Witches would not easily find out that he was a vampire unless he would use his power in front of them.

"Bring her to me. I will wait for her on the hospital rooftop." Raizel commanded the vampire before disappearing into the crowd.

The vampire spy immediately moved, obeying Raizel's command.

Meanwhile, Marceline tried her best to gather her emotions, fixing herself in the comfort room. Her eyes were red and puffy from too much crying. She washed her face with water to cool herself down. She was still enraged because of Evelyn.

Marceline watched her reflection in the mirror. Lots of things have happened to her lately. She was still shaken by the fact she became a werewolf. She learned the truth about the incident eighteen years ago. And now, her grandfather fell ill and... dying.

A cold glint flashed through her eyes. Her emerald eyes suddenly turned amber. She could feel the boiling rage deep inside her heart. She felt helpless. She didn't know what to do anymore.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she finally cleared her mind and calmed herself down, she decided to go back to the ICU room. She had to be brave and strong to endure this pain and to face this difficult situation.

The moment she stepped out of the comfort room, a stranger approached her.

"Miss Zhou, my Boss wants to talk to you. Can you spare some time to meet him on the rooftop?" The vampire spy asked Marceline directly, not beating around the bush.

Marceline looked at him in both confusion and puzzlement. This was the first time she met this man but the way he approached and talked to her seemed like he had known her like an acquaintance.

"Do I know your Boss?" Marceline asked him with a deep frown on her face.

The vampire shook his head and said, "You don't know him but your grandfather knows him. They are old friends and acquaintances. He learned about your grandfather's situation, that's why he came here to meet you."

Marceline fell silent for a moment. She was assessing the man's expression. She already learned her lesson when she was deceived by the head guard. She had to be cautious when going with someone. At that time, she lowered her guard as she knew the person. 

"Don't worry, Miss Zhou. We are not here to hurt you. I assure you. My Boss will not do anything to you. Your grandfather asked my friend to protect you if ever something would happen to him." the vampire spoke up as if he had read what was on her mind. He was convincing her to come with him. 

Though he couldn't read her mind, he could see in her expression that Marceline was hesitating to come with him.

Marceline was still contemplating whether he should call Kira and bring him with her to meet the 'Boss' this person was referring to or she should go alone.

She was curious about the identity of her grandfather's old acquaintance so part of her wanted to meet that person.

She was about to say something when the vampire had spoken first.

"My boss wants to talk to you alone. He is on the rooftop, Miss Zhou. As I said, you don't have to worry about your safety. He will not harm you. He is here because of your grandpa. He would like to help you in treating him."

When Marceline heard that, her uncertainties and hesitation dissipated into thin air. She was desperate when it came to her grandfather. If this friend of his could treat him then she would not hesitate to see this man.

"Alright, I understand. I'm coming with you." After saying that, Marceline picked up her phone, typed a message, and sent it to Kira. She informed him that she would just go to the rooftop to meet someone.

She also reassured him that she would be more careful when meeting people.

[ If after thirty minutes and I am not back yet, go to the rooftop… ] Marceline sent this message to Kira just in case the person she was meeting couldn't be trusted. 

She knew Kira would come to her rescue. If not, she could use Stella's power to protect herself.

She had to admit that Stella's werewolf abilities were very useful and beneficial to her– her extraordinary strength, her speed, her super senses, and her healing ability!

She could fight even if she would encounter creatures like vampires, witches, and werewolves.

Soon, Marceline and the vampire spy headed to the rooftop. The vampire just stopped at the door, allowing Marceline to meet Raizel alone. The vampire spy left as soon as Marceline opened the door going to the rooftop.

Marceline noticed that there were no other people on the rooftop aside from the tall man whose broad back was facing her. He was wearing a black leather jacket paired with blue jeans and white sneakers.

Raizel turned around as soon as he sensed Marceline's presence. Both of them were dumbfounded for a moment as they saw each other's faces.

Marceline didn't expect to see a young man. She thought Grandpa Roland's acquaintance was an old man as well. 

'Wait, is he the one… my grandpa's friend? Or maybe the hospital has another rooftop. But the man guided me here.' Marceline thought to herself, roaming her eyes around their surroundings.

On the other hand, Raizel was also surprised to see Marceline. He recognized her as the woman whom he saved last night.

'What is she doing here?' Raizel asked himself, sizing her up from top to bottom.

Raizel: "Are you Roland Zhou's granddaughter?"

Marceline: "Are you my Grandpa's friend?"

The two asked each other in unison. Their own question confirmed the answer to their respective questions.

'So the woman I saved is Roland's granddaughter. I'm glad I did it.'

Meanwhile, Marceline was not able to recognize her savior as Raizel looked a little bit different from his previous appearance when he saved her.

His scarlet eyes were now black. He also dyed his metallic silver hair with black. He also masked his scent using the shadow armor.

"Why do you want to see me? Is it really true that you can treat my grandfather? Is there a way to save him and help him recover?" Marceline threw him a series of questions. She was dying to know if Raizel could do something for her grandfather.

This was the last strand of her hope since Kira already told her the worst-case scenario.

"One question at a time, Miss Zhou. And before I answer that question, let me introduce myself first…" Raizel paused for a moment, still assessing Marceline's reaction. He could tell that she was facing a very tough and hellish situation right now.

"I'm Rai Scarlet, the CEO and founder of the Scarlet Heart Inc. Your grandfather helped my father and me financially in establishing this organization. That's the start of our collaboration and friendship." Raizel introduced his alias to her, explaining briefly about his relationship with her grandfather.

Though he didn't tell her everything, Raizel was not lying to her. Her grandfather indeed helped them in establishing this company which was a secret organization of the Vampires. Grandpa Roland was their major sponsor when they were still starting.

Raizel was still observing Marceline through their interaction whether he could trust her or not. He couldn't reveal his identity as a vampire to her. He was not certain if Marceline knew something about the existence of vampires.

But through her grandpa, Raizel learned that Marceline saw werewolves when she and her parents were attacked eighteen years ago.

"Scarlet Heart Inc…" Marceline mumbled to herself. She had heard of this company before. It started to create a name in the Western Countries.

She also remembered that her grandfather was keeping some files related to Scarlet Heart Inc. She heard that this company focused on sponsoring big hospitals, providing them with funds.

The reason behind this was that Raizel was using those sponsored hospitals as their source of their food– Blood. After the Werewolf Clan monopolized the supply of blood, the Vampire Clan led by Raizel had to find a way to establish and find their own hospitals that could supply their vampire armies with blood.

Since Raizel was done introducing himself, it was now Marceline's turn. "I'm Marceline Celeste Zhou... Alaric. I believe you already heard about me through my grandpa."

"Alaric…?" Raizel was reminded of his best friend upon hearing that surname.