Immortal Desire
Chapter 25

After the spell lost its effect, Sebastian was too furious to hold himself back. Claudia received a beating and was almost killed by the vampire lord if not for Rupert who had the final blow for her. The doctor was lucky to survive the fatal attack. Sebastian only went back to his senses when he realized that he was about to kill his friend. With Latina gone and Claudia’s scheme, he had it rough. He locked himself in his chamber, wondering what he should do next. His friend left with his mate and the boy, leaving Sebastian dazed. Ignoring the fact that Rupert, who was interested in Claudia, took the lady with him. He didn’t condemn his friend nor wanted to fault him at all, after realizing that he was the one who broke the rules of taking someone else’s mate－ taboo for vampires and even for other immortal races. Sebastian knew that he needed to be prepared to face the consequences. The damage was done and there’s no way to change everything back to how it was.

The sun appeared once again, showering lights from above. The muddy soil dried up, making it more convenient for the horse and carriage wheels to move. Rupert usually disliked the sunlight but this time, he was glad that it wasn’t raining, especially when he was boarding a carriage while running away from the furious vampire lord.

“Sir, we’re roughly out in the open. The main road leading to the capital is a few meters away,” Marco announced, pulling the reins harder, causing the stallion to speed up with the carriage in tow.

“We’re almost there, Claudia. Don’t die on me,” Rupert murmured, holding the crippled lady in his arms. He understood how the lady felt after being abandoned by her mate. But he never thought Claudia would resort to using spells against the lord just to sleep with him.

“G-get your filthy hands off me…” Claudia snarled, shoving his hands away. “Why did you help me? You could have let him kill me since I failed,” she continued. Her words were like daggers in Rupert’s heart, piercing through and through.

“Don’t say that,” Rupert whispered. “I won’t let you get hurt again. I won’t,” he added, caressing her face.

Claudia knew him as being a good-for-nothing guy, if not for his medical skills, he’d be completely useless. But Rupert had his wishes he wanted to come true. It may be surprising but the first on his list was to have his feelings reciprocated, something that’s hard to imagine when he fell for the woman who only sees his best friend.

“Sir, we’re here.”

Marco’s voice brought Rupert back to reality. He carried Claudia and rushed inside the building. His employees who were busy with patients noticed him. Most of them hurriedly finished their job as fast as they could so they could aid him. Rupert put Claudia down on the bed, lit the torches to lighten the room, and closed the windows.

“Sabrina, prepare a bath for her. I’ll take care of her wounds alone,” Rupert ordered one of his assistants.

Sabrina nodded her head and did what she was told, leaving the patient with the physician and the boy.

“Marco, I would like you to pin her down while I scrape the affected parts,” the doctor said, putting on a pair of gloves and a small blade made of iron. “Don’t let go of her no matter what,” he continued.

“Sir, are you sure you will scrape the infected area? It’s going to be painful,” Marco said, worriedly.

Rupert sighed, the boy was right. It will be painful. Claudia wasn’t just some ordinary vampire but even though she was a pure-b***d, getting battered by the vampire lord was something beyond her limits. She was lucky to be alive after receiving hits from Sebastian and since it was the vampire lord’s attack, it wasn’t something that could heal on its own. Claudia was almost on her limit when she was beaten, and she doesn’t have a fast-acting recovery skill.

‘… Sebastian’s strikes were fatal. Each hit contained his b***d. Something that could cause extreme suffering to lower-rank vampires. Scraping her wounds will ease the strain as it will prevent his b***d from dominating her system, or it’d burn from the inside while rotting on the outside,’ Rupert thought to himself, thinking what must be done according to the patient’s condition.

“Her skin will continue to rot if we don’t scrape the affected area,” Rupert informed the youngster. He was well-aware of the fact that Marco witnessed how Sebastian almost killed the lady with his inhumane strength and ability. The doctor was quite relieved that the child hadn’t asked anything about it. But he had to clear the situation later. If he needed to kill the lad to keep their existence, Rupert wouldn’t hesitate.

“She doesn’t have enough strength now,” Rupert said, putting cloth in Claudia’s mouth. “Don’t bite your tongue and endure the pain. I’ll try to get this done quickly.”

Marco pressed down Claudia’s hands at Rupert’s signal, he applied force onto it while the lady struggled. Rupert scraped the rotted skin using the iron knife. He exhaled when he was finished scraping the last wound, it was rotten flesh and it smelled disgusting. The doctor thanked the boy and told him to keep pinning her down, so he could rub the medicine and dress the wound.

“Claudia, are you still alive?” Rupert inquired with a mischievous smile.

“Darn you!” Claudia yelled when he removed the cloth. “You should have just cut my head off,” she added.

Rupert frowned, “If I do that, then I have to live solely for the rest of my life. That can’t do,” he told her, shaking his head.

“What do you mean?” Claudia asked, pursing her lips in pain.

“I didn’t realize that you’re so stupid,” Rupert bent his head adjacent to the lady, causing Marco to leave and give them some time alone. “You know what I’m trying to say so don’t pretend you’re clueless about my feelings.”

“I don’t k-know…,” Claudia said in her soft voice.

“Really?” Rupert smirked and leaned closer to her face, rubbing his nose to hers. “Do you want me to express it in words or through action?”

His question meant something deep, and he hoped she would notice it. A gentle laugh resounded the room when Claudia’s face turned dark. Rupert stepped backward and removed his gloves. His laugh started to fade. He took off his shirt and examined his wound.

“Is it painful?” Claudia asked him, her gaze fixed on the deep cut he got on his chest.

“Hmm? Compared to being dumped, it doesn’t hurt that much.” Rupert smiled while cleaning his wound. “But I’ll feel better if you’d be willing to stop chasing after my friend and be mine instead,” he declared in his serious tone. It may be too early to confess his feelings or maybe not, besides he had been waiting for over fifty years. Rupert thought he was too patient already.

“Don’t play with me,” the lady responded, glaring at him.

“I’m not,” Rupert shrugged. He walked towards her, exposing his bleeding chest. “You must have heard about my ability to heal from any kind of wounds, be it something from the vampire lord or other true-b***d vampires including the elders,” he paused for a while and gawked at Claudia’s whole frame. “I could help you recover from your critical damages, but it requires body contact.” Rupert held her chin and peered at her eyes, “If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to accompany me in the tub.”

“Ridiculous!” Claudia exclaimed, “I’m the vampire lord’s mate. How dare you ask me to join you in the bath?”

The doctor pursed his lips, “He rejected you several times, and now your skin rots because of him. Can’t you be less stupid sometimes and think about yourself at least for once?” His voice roared inside the room. He shouldn’t be so emotional, but he couldn’t take the lady’s stupidity.

“He’s free to reject me even a thousand times and I will continue to forgive him,” she looked at him with a sad face. “Because I’m his mate,” she said, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Stupid,” Rupert muttered and yanked her for a k**s. Claudia unconsciously parted her lips. It was a gentle brush, no tongue, just soft k****s, and racing heartbeats. Rupert smiled, he put all his feelings into the k**s. When the intensity was about to get stronger, he pulled away and gingerly smacked his rims on her forehead.

“How about you take me as your lover even though I’m not your mate?”

“Why?” Claudia whispered, almost voiceless.

Rupert saw how the lady’s lips trembled, even her rough breathing didn’t escape his senses. “Can’t you tell?” He moved his lips on her ears, nibbling on her lobes, he then mumbled, “Just because.”