Louisa's POV
The Cliff of Fear was located in a reclusive area at the tip of Burning Peninsula, overlooking the entire Agier Sea.
By the time we arrived at the castle, it had already been dark.
I saw spectral fluorescent light floating around the castle like the aurora.
Will pushed the giant iron door open and we walked into the maze-like garden in front of the castle.
All the plants and flowers were well-maintained and trimmed. There weren't any grotesque stone statues or horned animals lurking around, but the ghastly silence and bone-chilling night breeze still made me quite terrified.
Thanks to Will, who held my hands and leaned against me all the time. On a dark moonless night like this, anything could happen in the vampire's lair.
As we got into the castle, I immediately noticed the warmth and scent of lavander in the air.
The inside of the castle was well-lit and dustless everywhere.
Well, no wonder Will turned crazy and wanted to leave his father. He had to live with a hygiene freak for a thousand years. The thought itself managed to drive him mad. I thought to myself as I walked into the lobby.
The interior decoration of the castle was quite modernized, without any exaggeration or unnecessary tacky detail. But somehow, I could tell that every piece of furniture was priceless.
"Where's your father?" I asked Will.
"I don't know. Let me call him," Will said.
Then, he raised his voice and shouted, "Father!"
I was set aback.
I didn't know when Will said "call him", it literally meant calling him.
"Look who's here. My favorite son and his werewolf friends." I heard a voice coming from upstairs.
When I looked up, I saw Vincent floating down the marble staircase.
He was wearing a maroon nightgown and his long black hair was floating behind his back like a dark flag.
"You look very sad, Miss Louisa. And your companions look very tired," Vincent said.
I looked back and saw the soldiers lying on the floor, snorting.
Lucian looked at them and sighed.
"It's always a pleasure to meet you, Count Swans."
"Really? You don't look happy and you look very intense. Do you need to be hypnotized by me as well? I promise you'll have the best sleep that you've ever had in your life," Vincent said.
Lucian cleared his throat and said, "Maybe next time, Count Swans. We're so sorry to be here at this hour of the day, but I would like you to know that this is urgent."
"Don't worry. Vampires are nocturnal animals. We don't sleep, actually. We only dream," Vincent said. "And I'm sorry for hypnotizing your soldiers. You know, they breathe too loud and it made me paranoid."
Having said that, he stretched out his hands towards me and held me in his arms.
"I miss you very much, Miss Louisa," Vincent sounded very relieved while holding me in his hands. "My son must have caused a lot of trouble for you. I must apologize for everything. I shouldn't have let you babysit him for me. He can be very demanding sometimes."
"Not at all. Will's a very good friend and he saved my life multiple times." I said and lowered my head. "It seems wherever I go, trouble follows."
"I hope you haven't brought any trouble to my castle," Vincent said. "Let's just say, the last time werewolves came into this castle, it didn't end well."
I looked at him in confusion.
Vincent said, "Well, they tried to burn down this place. They also threatened to stab me with a wooden stick and cut off my head. As I said, werewolves are very unpredictable. Last minute they were your friends, and the next minute they changed their mind. Anyway, it was long ago."
Then, he walked me towards the sofa and sat down with me.
"What can I do for you, Miss Louisa? I was expecting you and Alpha Zackery yesterday, but you didn't show up. I was a bit disappointed and thought you didn't want to see my ugly old face anymore. Let's just say vampires all have very serious self-image issues because they don't have any reflections in the mirror. Do you know how hard it is to get my haircut right?" He drew himself closer and winked.
"Your haircut looks perfect, Vincent. And you don't look old at all," I said.
"Ha. There's a reason I enjoy talking to this lovely girl. She's just charming, isn't she?" Vincent looked at Lucian and said.
Lucian took his seat in front of us and said, "Count Swans, we would really like to discuss Miss Louisa's family history with you."
"You don't have any sense of humor and you're in a hurry. OK, I understand," Vincent said while rubbing his forehead.
Will had already changed into a little bat and hid under his father's hair.
He looked very happy to see his father again.
I could see the sparks of light in his eyes.
"Vincent, my father has passed away," I said.
"Your father? Which one?" He raised an eyebrow and asked.
My heart sank.
"Alpha Jacob from Crimson Pack," I said. "Before he passed away, he told me a really unlike story about my family bloodline."
"What did he say?" Vincent asked.
"He said I was the daughter of the Late King Duko Hawk and Queen Tallulah," I said.
"Is that all?" Vincent asked.
"He also said my grandmother, Late Red Queen Daliah, denounced my parents' marriage and cast my mother away," I replied. "He also mentioned Alpha Zackery, my half-brother, killed his own mother and now he's trying to kill me. Vincent, could you please tell me if he was telling the truth?"
Vincent looked at me with his golden-colored eyes and said, "What is truth, Miss Louisa? People wage wars at each other to defend what they believe is true, but does truth really exist in this world?"
"Vincent, you've been through that part of history. You can at least tell me what you've witnessed. Then, I'll decide what is true by myself," I said.
"You're growing taller and smarter, Miss Louisa, which makes you even more charming," Vincent said. "But being charming is very dangerous for a lovely lady like you, especially among those bad wolves. Everyone was just trying to get something from you," Vincent said.
Then, he continued when I didn't respond, "I wasn't available during the Crescent Coup. I was deeply traumatized at that time and chose to hibernate. When I woke up, the werewolf's world had already changed."