Moon Lovers: Bound by Blood and Revenge

Marceline and Lyca approached Grandpa Roland right away, greeting and wishing him a happy birthday. Kira just remained silent on the side, watching Marceline and others.

He didn't expect that lots of people would be attending this party. He was cautiously assessing everyone. He also noticed that some members of Triple W were scattered around the venue.

He learned from Marceline that Cedric Morgan and some of his men would be present tonight. It only meant that werewolves and witches were also invited to attend this banquet.

Marceline already reminded Kira not to pick a fight with them. He had to control himself. The last thing they wanted was for Kira to attract the attention of Triple W's members.

They were still investigating how the vampire was able to invade the Triple W headquarters, successfully saving the vampire prisoners last week.

Cedric heightened the security system. The headquarters was being repaired while the witches cloaked the whole area with magical spells and traps for vampires.

"Grandpa," Marceline greeted her grandfather, hugging him.

The old man's eyes sparkled in delight upon seeing his granddaughter. His expression softened, hugging her back. He knew Marceline was still upset with him for not telling everything. Despite that, she tried to understand her grandfather.

"Grandpa Roland, Happy Birthday! You look younger than your real age." Lyca also greeted the old man with her cheerful personality.

Grandpa Roland was still rooting for Enrique and Lyca to be together. He liked Lyca for his grandson.

"Thank you. Having these lovely ladies by my side, I feel like I am still young." Grandpa Roland said, making the ladies giggle.

Marceline motioned Kira to come over. She wanted to introduce him to her grandfather. Seeing her signal, Kira traced his steps towards them.

"Grandpa, I'd like you to meet Kira. He is my bodyguard." Marceline pulled Kira, introducing him to her grandfather.

Lyca just looked at them teasingly. She felt like Marceline was introducing her future husband to her grandfather, not her bodyguard.

Kira showed curtsy by bowing his head slightly, greeting him. He felt a little bit awkward as he was used to be the one being treated with high respect. As vampire king, he never bowed his head to anyone, even a mere human.

But this time, he was doing this because the person in front of him was Marceline's grandfather. He felt the need to show some respect and be polite towards him.

Grandpa Roland stared at Kira for a moment, sizing him up from top to bottom. He could feel a strong aura coming from him. Then the old man's eyes gleamed with approval.

He could tell that Kira could protect his precious granddaughter. At least, he was not a member of Triple W. He felt at ease that someone like Kira was guarding his granddaughter.

But Grandpa Roland was still waiting for General Raizel to come back. He already asked him to assign a strong vampire who would guard Marceline, protecting her from werewolves.

"Please protect my granddaughter at all times," Grandpa Roland said, looking straight into Kira's eyes.

"I will keep her safe… at all times," Kira promptly responded, glancing at Marceline and their eyes locked for a moment.

Lyca could only smile seeing how the two were looking at each other wordlessly but their eyes were the ones communicating. She could see the spark in their eyes and faint curves of their lips. For some unknown reason, she found them sweet and romantic.

"I know you are not fond of parties but I wish you will enjoy tonight together with Lyca." Grandpa Roland held her shoulders.

Marceline nodded her head, kissing her grandpa's cheek. "I will do that grandpa. Don't worry about me. You can entertain your friends. Lyca and I will find a good spot where we can have our fun. I will give you my present later."

Her grandpa stroked her hair before nodding his head. Soon, the two ladies left Grandpa Roland as Lyca pulled Marceline towards the bar counter.

They were on the way when someone blocked them. Lyca frowned as she recognized the person in front of them.

"Cousin!" Enrique excitedly called Marceline. He hadn't realized that the person standing next to her was Lyca, his ex-girlfriend.

It's been so long since the last time they saw each other. Lyca was wearing a mask so he was not able to recognize her right away.

Enrique was about to hug Marceline but someone stepped in the middle of them, shielding her away from him. It was Kira. 

He didn't want another guy to touch nor hug Marceline so he moved quickly to catch up with the ladies. Even before Enrique could touch Marceline, he already blocked him, pressing his elbow against Enrique's chest.

"Who are you?" Enrique asked Kira, feeling a little bit annoyed. How dare he stop him from going near his cousin?

The two men exchanged a sharp gaze at each other, not hiding the displeasure in their eyes.

"I'm her bodyguard. And who are you?"

"I am her cousin!"

Marceline and Lyca darted their gaze around, noticing that other guests were already looking at them. The heavy tension between the two men already attracted the attention of the spectators.

The last thing Marceline wanted was to be the center of attention in this party. Before the commotion happens, she already intervened, pacifying the two men.

"Enrique, don't get mad at my bodyguard. I trained him to be like this. He is acting according to my will." She explained to her cousin before turning to Kira. "He is my cousin. He means no harm." She grabbed Kira's hand that was pressed against Enrique's chest.

Meanwhile, Enrique's mood changed almost instantly after hearing Marceline's explanation.

"I understand… I'm sorry for getting worked up." He apologized to Kira because of Marceline.

Lyca could only clench her fists. Enrique didn't even glance at her or greet her for old times sake.

'I wanna punch this guy. How could he ignore my presence? Am I invisible to him?'

*****

From a distance, Cedric and Ronan were watching them.

"I think her bodyguard will be our problem. He is very protective of my niece. He stopped even my son from getting closer to Marceline." Ronan commented, expressing his opinion.

"He is just an ordinary bodyguard. My Beta will deal with him later." 

Cedric also had some score to settle with Kira. He didn't forget the rudeness and arrogance Kira showed him when they met each other at Triple W Headquarters.

He wanted to punish him so he ordered Cleo, his Beta, to teach Kira a lesson tonight. His Beta would deal with Kira while Cedric would be busy with Marceline.

Cleo already knew what to do to divert Kira's attention.

"But Cedric, tonight is my grandfather's birthday. I don't want your Beta to create a scene here. We can't afford to ruin this party." Ronan reminded Cedric.

Ronan was the one who spearheaded this party. If something went wrong during the celebration then he would also be blamed.

"Put your mind at ease. I will make my move secretly. No one will notice that your niece or her bodyguard is missing. Just leave it to me. You just have to do the task that I gave you."

Ronan could only nod his head in agreement, putting his trust in Cedric.

"All I have to do is to mix this serum into her drink, making sure that she will take it."

"Yes. That's what you need to do," Cedric replied with a sinister smile on his face.

"Okay… don't worry. This is just an easy task," Ronan said confidently.

*****

Meanwhile, in the other part of the hotel, two figures could be seen in the hotel balcony that was attached to the main banquet hall.

They sneaked out without being noticed by other people.

"Master, how have you been? Is everything fine on your end?" a faint voice of a woman was heard.

"Yes. The pack is getting ready to take over and lead the werewolf clan. Cedric will become the King. I will make sure of that." The old man replied to her.

"Okay, Master. Just tell me if you need my help. I can do some task for you." She volunteered while looking at her master expectantly.

"Hmm. Just focus on controlling the Zhou Family. We don't want the gatekeepers to turn their back on us."

"Don't worry too much about that, Master. My husband always listens to me. He is very obedient. I have him in the palm of my hands." There was a mysterious gleam in her eyes when she said those words.

The old man turned around, facing the woman. He placed his hand on her shoulder before saying another word.

"Evelyn, I know I can always count on you. You never fail my expectation. I'm so proud of you."

"Master… you know that I will do anything for you. I owe you my life. I promise to serve you as long as I live. I will never let you down." She was looking at him with eyes full of admiration. The man before her was the one who saved her from getting killed by a vampire. 

She and her family was attacked when she was 12 years old by hungry vampires. She's the only survivor. She was an ordinary human but she was raised by the werewolves of the White Claw Pack. 

Since then, she has sworn loyalty to them. Vladimir was the one who rescued her and he became her master.

And now, she was the wife of the gatekeeper, Ronan Zhou. Evelyn approached Ronan before as part of her mission.. She married Ronan and became part of the Zhou Family.