A Heart For The Heartless

Mikhail fixed her with a cold gaze. “So you agreed to live together with me despite knowing that?”

Cassy nodded calmly. “Yes. Because I cannot stand to be indebted to anyone. And I owe you my life, even though you are the vampire we humans fear and despise the most.”

“Is that so? How honorable of you, then.” Mikhail’s lips curled into a smile, but his eyes remained icy and deadly. “I did not force you to do anything. You had a choice, yet you agreed so easily.”

“What do you mean, I had a choice?” Cassy raised an eyebrow at his words. “It’s not just your posture and tone that are intimidating. You have a way with words that makes it difficult for me to refuse.”

“You did not seem to regret your words that much.”

“Well, like they say, what’s done is done.”

“Hmm.”

“Are you suspecting me?”

The soft tone of her voice made Mikhail frown slightly. She had answered his words easily, as if she was really telling it like it is.

Or perhaps as if she had already prepared for this.

“Of course,” Mikhail said with a short nod. “I do not trust anyone. That includes you humans.”

There was a sardonic feeling to Cassy’s smile. “I don’t trust you vampires, either.”

“I figured as much.” Mikhail studied her features. “Don’t you think it’s odd?”

“What is?”

“The fact that the celestial beings made it possible for humans and vampires to be mates. That kind of arrangement is destructive, don’t you think?”

“I agree,” Cassy said. “It’s stupid.”

Mikhail felt the corner of his lips turn up. “I like your honesty.”

“There’s no point in lying to a vampire,” Cassy said with a limp shrug. “There’s also no reason for you to harm me. Not only is it against the law, but there’s no point in killing a powerless human. You’re not the type to do that. You have too much at stake to risk it all for someone like me.”

She scoffed and added, “Unless you suddenly go rogue like those… monsters.”

The way she said that last line conveyed her distaste for vampires quite perfectly. Mikhail wondered to what extent her hatred for them reached.

Was it far enough to have murderous intentions?

For the first time in his life, Mikhail was disappointed at his ability to compel both humans and supernaturals. After meeting Cassy, there was now only one person in the entire world whose mind he wanted to read so badly.

Although he felt that Cassy was being sincere with him right now, there were still traces of doubt in him, and the possibility of them disappearing was slim.

Even though she was his mate, not all mates fell in love and had a happy ending. He had heard a few stories of mates who broke their mate bonds through rejection, and in the worst cases, even suicide.

Which was why he simply could not afford to rely on the mate bond alone.

‘Did I make a mistake in making that offer to her?’ Mikhail wondered. ‘By having her live here for three months…’

On the other hand, it wasn’t like she could do anything to him. In other words, he was the one who had the upper hand in every way.

Besides, he would always keep an eye on her. If she thought that he would trust her easily, she was completely wrong.

Besides, investigating things was one of the things Mikhail Ivanov was good at. The mystery of Cassy Lenoir would be a good distraction during boring times.

If she didn’t want to tell him the truth about her intentions, he’d have a good time prying it out of her, piece by piece.

“I see,” Mikhail said simply.

Cassy regarded him with confusion. “…You’re not going to reprimand me? Or harm me?”

“For what, pray tell?”

“For talking back.”

“Why should I harm you just for expressing some of your thoughts? Whatever your opinion is, it matters nothing to me.”

Cassy suddenly fell silent for a while. “It doesn’t matter, you say,” she said quietly.

“We belong to different worlds, you and I,” Mikhail said simply. “Humans have their own purposes and motivations for living. We vampires, on the other hand, are the superior species. The imbalance of power is too obvious, causing problems of unity and security in this city. This is the reason why you rarely see vampires in constant company with a single human.”

“Like… having a human friend, you mean.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“We don’t usually have that. Things like friendship are trivial for us.”

Cassy’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe because all of you don’t have feelings like we humans do. You lot are prone to betraying others whenever you see fit.”

“Do I detect a hint of personal animosity there, Miss Lenoir?”

Cassy scowled. “That’s none of your business.”

“If you say so.” Mikhail unfolded his arms and then made his way to his bedroom. “If we’re done here, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

As Mikhail walked past Cassy, she suddenly opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was soft, like a whisper that would have gone unheard had Mikhail been a human instead of a vampire.

“How sure are you that you won’t suddenly go rogue like those… despicable monsters?” Cassy said, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone. “As far as we all know, those vampires suddenly went crazy without warning. They did not exhibit any signs whatsoever beforehand.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“So if you, one of the most powerful vampires in the world, suddenly go rogue as well, we’re-”

“I am more careful than you think, Miss Lenoir,” Mikhail interjected calmly. “There is more to this issue than meets the eye.”

Her expression was unconvinced. “So you’re saying that you have nothing to do with all this rogue business?”

“Of course not,” he said. “But you are free to believe otherwise.”

Cassy sighed heavily. “It’s not like my opinion matters, anyway.”

“I am glad that we understand each other.”

Mikhail didn’t know why, but his chest suddenly felt a little hollow. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind, telling him that he shouldn’t treat her like this. That he shouldn’t be like this to his own mate.

‘Ah, how irritating,’ he thought.

He was torn between his true personality and his unfounded feelings about the mate bond. His brain told him that Cassy was suspicious, but his lifeless heart scolded him, telling him to protect her and be kind to her. To hold her, to feel her skin against his, to possess her until she was truly, completely his.

‘Very irrational,’ Mikhail kept telling himself.