The Lady Crest felt relieved as Vail managed to break through the cellar door and escaped the house. He was safe, most assuredly angry with her, but alive. Not long after, giving her time to calm down she heard Gerald’s footsteps coming down the stairs. She lifted her head to see him wander into the room. “Are you INSANE?!” She shouted at him, evidently perturbed. 

“Are YOU?!” Gerald retorted back to her and set his shotgun on the table. “You are using a vampire to kill your fiancé? Who I know is a Wynter, by the way. Do you know the repercussions of such an act? If you kill Spencer, the entire Wynter clan will descend upon us like a plague!” He walked over and with only one arm, he grabbed the silver chair and hurled her back up to a seating position. He unrestrained her metal bonds and grabbed her hand and puller her to a standing position. “I know where this leads. With you dead!” Gerald pulled her with him to the doorway. 

He was much stronger than she, as much as she tried to pry herself out of his grasp, she could not. And he had removed her weapons. She was practically dragged with her feet dug into the floor. “Where are you taking me?!” 

“I am taking you home.” Gerald growled as he geared himself up. “And then I am going to pay Peter Hygrace as a visit….”

Victoria gasped. “Please don’t kill him, he has nothing to do with this bargain!” Victoria pleaded as Gerald pushed her up the stairs gently. 

“His son broke their truce with Alex. There will be no stopping the Saints from hunting them now. They messed with the Crest family.” Gerald explained. It was then she realised, she had inadvertently sent Vail to his and his entire family’s death. She had doomed them all. Not only did she feel incredibly guilty, she felt her heart shatter at the thought Vail could be killed. He may have been addicted to her blood, but she had become addicted to his charm. 

Past the cellar door, out of the unknown house and all the way to her manor, she pleaded with the Saint. “Please Gerald, you must know Spencer killed my father. He wants his entire estate. I won’t let him. I needed help to kill him. They didn’t break the deal, I did! So please, please spare them!” Victoria was practically in tears by this point a Gerald sighed and opened the manor gate. Already she spotted an army of Saints outside her manor, keeping guard. “Oh God, what have you done?!” She asked him. 

“I’ve sent them to protect you from that [i]thing[/i]. No doubt he’ll be back for more…” Gerald explained as he pulled her up the driveway. “I can’t believe you [i]let[/i] him feed on you….” He sighed with disappointment as he got to the front door. As they went inside, her mother was up and waiting for her return. She stood from her lounge chair. “Victoria, how could you? Using yourself as bait for that monster?”

“He is NOT a monster, Mother! He’s a person like everyone else, with thoughts and feelings! Likes and dislikes.” Victoria protested as Lady Diana rolled her eyes in disbelief. “You think that man will love you?! All he wants is your BLOOD! They only ever want your blood. Vampires do not [i]care[/i] about humans. He will never care about [i]you[/i]..”Diana had grasped her daughter by the shoulders and nearly shook sense into her. Victoria’s eyes welled up with tears before she ran off up to her room and slammed the door behind her. She threw herself on the bed and cried into the pillow. On some level, she knew her mother was right. As much as she wanted Vail to care about her, he only cared about her blood.

“I told you. He’s already captivated her…” Said the Saint who had been watching over Diana. The same Saint that shot Vail and helped Victoria at the black market. Ray Pierce. Diana sighed. “What am I going to do with her, Ray?” 

“You can only keep her from reuniting with him.” Ray suggested. “She thinks she is in love with him. That is how their pheromones work. It changes the chemical imbalance in their victim, making them more agreeable to feed on. Then the paralysis sets in and that’s when the vampire feeds.” Only there was no paralysis that overcame the Lady Crest when Vail fed on her, she was fully aware of her surroundings, she felt every sensation. And she [i]liked[/i] it…