Two Centuries Wasted on a Lie

My Vampire fiancé, Vincent, was the powerful prince of New York's most influential coven.

He had lived for centuries and was notoriously ruthless, yet he bestowed upon me, and only me, every honor imaginable.

But one month before our Union Ceremony, he suddenly insisted on postponing it.

The reason was his childhood friend, Camilla, was dying from a rare condition known as Bloodline Degeneration.

To repay a life debt from long ago, he wanted to hold a mock wedding with her to fulfill her last wish to wear a wedding gown.

I refused outright. It was a flagrant violation of coven dignity. But he pressured me relentlessly, using a supposed ancient code of honor as emotional blackmail.

Then, two weeks before the ceremony, I received an anonymous email containing an advanced blood analysis report.

Only then did I learn that he hadn't just been preparing a wedding; he had already secretly formed a Mutual Blood Bond with her, a pact that would bind their lives together for eternity.

In that moment, I finally understood. My two centuries of devotion to him had been nothing more than a joke.

And so, I called off our union and set fire to everything he had ever given me.

On the day of the ceremony, I traveled to Europe's Supreme Institute for Vampiric Research in Italy and took charge of the Institute's most secret and critical project.

From that day forward, I would have nothing more to do with the noble prince. We were finished.

One month before my Union Ceremony with my Vampire fiancé, Vincent, he insisted on postponing it to hold a mock wedding with his childhood friend, Camilla.

I disagreed. The vows of a High Coven are unbreakable. Yet he brought it up daily, as if the decision had already been made and he was simply informing me of it.

Then, two weeks before the ceremony, I received an anonymous package.

It was a blood analysis report from an advanced medical facility in the Undercity.

The data was clear: Camilla's weak bloodline was now deeply infused with Vincent's pureblood.

They had formed a Mutual Blood Bond, the kind reserved only for mates.

In that instant, I understood everything. The night he'd stayed out wasn't to quell a werewolf uprising as he'd claimed.

He had already made all his decisions. He just needed me, his official fiancée, to graciously step aside.

I stood before the castle's floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the endless, moonlit night as a chill seeped into my very bones.

The next day, I dismantled the magical wards at the ceremony venue and destroyed the scroll formalizing our families' alliance.

I set everything he had ever given me ablaze, including the Blood Ring that symbolized my status as the Prince's consort.

On the day of the Union Ceremony, I was not at the sacred altar. Instead, I boarded a private flight to Florence, Italy, alone.

I had officially joined Europe's Supreme Institute for Vampiric Research, starting a new life