Chapter 663: Unrecognisable Carmela

Joy sat frozen, her mind struggling to process the scene unfolding before her.

This wasn’t the Carmela she knew.

The Carmela she had come to understand over these past days was stoic, reserved, someone who kept her emotions locked away behind an impenetrable wall.

She was like Joy herself in so many ways—two women cut from the same cloth, which was probably why they had grown close so quickly.

They understood each other without words, recognized the same guardedness, the same wariness of vulnerability.

But the woman Joy was watching now?

That was someone else entirely.

Carmela had wrapped herself around Cassius like a cat seeking warmth. Her arms were locked around his neck, her body pressed intimately against his, rubbing against him as if asking for affection.

And the way she was drinking from his neck—sucking, licking, swallowing with soft, needy sounds—it was nothing like the simple exchange of blood Joy had imagined.

It was intimate.

Deeply, unmistakably intimate.

The sounds Carmela made were not the sounds of someone merely feeding.

They were the sounds of someone in the throes of something far more personal.

Joy’s eyes widened further as a thought struck her.

An impossible thought.

A thought she couldn’t believe was forming in her mind.

"Don’t tell me..."

She said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Don’t tell me that you two..."

Cassius looked up, confused.

"...don’t tell me that Carmela is also your woman?"

Cassius blinked, while Maria gasped behind her at the supposed revelation.

"What?" Cassius asked, genuinely bewildered. "Why would you say something like that?"

Joy pointed at the scene before her, her voice gaining strength despite her embarrassment.

"I may not know much about vampires." She explained. "But I know enough."

"Vampires don’t just instinctively drink from anyone. It’s an intimate act—something you only do with someone you’re close to."

She swallowed hard.

"And the way she’s doing it right now? The way she’s pressed against you, the sounds she’s making?"

Joy shook her head.

"That’s not just feeding. That’s something else entirely. So doesn’t that mean—"

She stopped herself.

Because saying it out loud made it real.

And she didn’t want it to be real.

After all, she had finally found someone she could relate to.

Someone who understood her without explanation.

Someone who, despite their short acquaintance, she had come to genuinely like. Respect, even.

Carmela had even been her idol once, in the past. And now, in the present, she had become something more—a friend, a kindred spirit.

The thought that Carmela was also Cassius’s woman, that she had been added to that ever-growing list of impeccable women who had fallen for him...

It was devastating.

Maria, meanwhile, was having her own realization.

Every time she turned around, another woman was added to Cassius’s collection.

The Holy Guard ladies, Diana, and now Carmela?

Each one was more impressive than the last—beautiful, accomplished, devoted.

’How many more were there?’

’How many more would she discover?’

Meanwhile, Cassius looked between them, their expressions of shock and realization clear on their faces.

And then he laughed.

A genuine, warm laugh that cut through the tension.

"No, no, no." He said, shaking his head. "You’re completely wrong. Both of you are overthinking this."

Joy blinked. "What?"

"As much as I would love to claim such a beautiful woman as mine..."

Cassius looked down at Carmela, still attached to his neck, and gently stroked her back.

"...that’s not what’s happening here."

He met Joy’s eyes and explained,

"She’s using me as food. Plain and simple. Food, so she doesn’t starve."

Joy’s brow furrowed deeply, confusion evident in every line of her face.

"Food?" She repeated, her voice sharp with suspicion. "What do you mean, food?"

"To tell you the truth..." He began, his voice calm despite the unusual situation. "...when Carmela and I first met, it was under...devastating circumstances."

Maria leaned forward, concern etched on her features. Even Joy found herself listening intently.

"She had been captured by a cult." Cassius continued. "A group of fanatics who performed some kind of ritual on her. Me and others managed to save her, but the damage was already done."

"The cult’s ritual had awakened something inside her—the primordial progenitor bloodline."

Maria gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

Joy’s eyes narrowed. She had read the reports Julie had given her about that incident, but the details had been sparse.

Now she was hearing it directly.

"When we rescued her, she went into a rampage."

Cassius said, his voice growing heavier.

"Attacking everyone in sight. Friends, foes, it didn’t matter. We knew that if we couldn’t stop her, she would cause a massacre. Innocent people would die."

He shook his head slowly.

"So out of desperation, I offered her my blood."

Maria’s eyes trembled at the shocking story.

"I didn’t know if it would work." Cassius admitted. "But somehow, miraculously, my blood calmed her down. The primordial bloodline inside her settled. She was able to regain control."

Maria let out a shaky sigh of relief.

But Cassius wasn’t finished.

"Unfortunately." He continued, his tone shifting slightly. "My blood is...potent. Too potent, perhaps."

"Her body now craves it. Needs it to reconstruct itself, to heal the damage that was done. Normal blood won’t suffice. Animal blood, human blood from anyone else—it’s not enough."

He stroked Carmela’s back again as she nuzzled deeper into his neck.

"That’s why she’s drinking from me right now. No matter how much she feeds on other sources, she’ll eventually get hungry again. Desperate again."

"Only my blood can truly satisfy the craving and settle the primordial energy inside her."

Joy listened carefully, her mind processing every word.

And she realized—she didn’t want to doubt him.

Because this explanation made sense.

It explained everything she was witnessing. The desperation, the intimacy, the way Carmela had lost all control.

Also because the alternative—that Carmela would willingly act like this, would voluntarily be so vulnerable, so exposed—was something Joy simply could not conceive.

This was better.

This was easier to accept.

Maria, however, had another concern.

"So she has to do this every day?"

She asked, her maternal worry evident.

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Is she going to be addicted to your blood for her entire life?"

"No, not at all." Cassius shook his head. "The cravings don’t come that frequently. The last time this happened was a couple of days ago."

He glanced down at Carmela.

"And she’s told me it won’t be forever. Just until her body finally heals completely. Once that happens, she’ll be free of this."

Maria nodded, relieved.

But then she noticed something else.

The bite marks on Cassius’s neck were deep. The way Carmela was latched on, the way her fangs were sunk into his flesh—it looked painful.

"Does it hurt?"

Maria asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"Her biting you, I mean. It looks...uncomfortable. Does it hurt a lot?"

Cassius considered the question seriously.

"Well, to be honest, it kind of does hurt."

He shifted slightly, adjusting Carmela in his arms.

"If she would just stay still and drink calmly, it probably wouldn’t be too bad. But she gets quite aggressive in this state. She thrashes around, moves her head everywhere—"

He demonstrated with a slight tilt of his head

"—almost like she’s trying to leave a hickey instead of just drinking."

Maria winced sympathetically.

"So, it does hurt quite a bit." Cassius admitted.

But then his expression softened into something incredibly tender.

"But it’s completely alright."

Maria tilted her head. "It is?"

Cassius nodded, looking down at Carmela with eyes full of warmth.

"After all, I get to see her in such a adorable state now."

Maria blinked. "Adorable?"

"Of course." Cassius smiled. "Normally, she acts like she wants to be alone. She glares at anyone who gets too close, keeps everyone at arm’s length with those cold looks of hers."

"She doesn’t want anyone near her."

Maria nodded slowly—that was exactly the Carmela she knew.

"But right now?"

Cassius pulled Carmela closer, wrapping his arms more securely around her.

"Right now, she’s completely docile. Submissive, even. I can hold her like this, hug her, pull her close—and she doesn’t resist at all."

He looked down at her with such genuine affection that it made Maria’s heart ache.

"It’s nice to see her in such a vulnerable state. To know that she trusts me enough to let me see her like this. The fact that she’s been opening up to me, even in this strange way, means quite a lot."

He looked genuinely happy at the moment, despite the fangs digging into his skin.

"So I don’t mind any pain that comes my way, if it means I can embrace her like this."

The words hung in the air.

And in that moment, something subtle but unmistakable happened.

Carmela’s cheeks—already flushed from the blood frenzy—deepened.

Just a shade.

Just a hint.

But it was there.

Joy noticed.

Of course she noticed. She was trained to notice details, to catch the smallest shifts in expression, the tiniest tells.

And in that instant, realization struck her like a thunderbolt.

Carmela was proud.

Stubborn to her core.

She was the kind of woman who would rather die than show vulnerability, rather starve than be beholden to anyone.

And yet here she was.

Drinking from Cassius’s neck.

Pressing herself against him.

Blushing at his words.

And in that moment she realised, this wasn’t just obligation.

This wasn’t just circumstance forcing her hand.

There was something more.

Something deeper.

Cassius had broken through that cold exterior.

He had won her over, just like he had won over so many others. Diana. The Holy Guards. The sisters. And now Carmela.

Joy didn’t know what to feel.

Part of her was disappointed. Deeply, achingly disappointed.

She had seen Carmela as a kindred spirit, someone like herself—guarded, independent, untouchable.

So, if even Carmela could fall for Cassius, what did that say about her own resistance?

Then came anger.

Not at Carmela—she couldn’t be angry at Carmela for something she couldn’t control.

At Cassius.

For being such a playboy that even someone like Carmela swooned for him.

For collecting women like trophies, building a harem of the most impressive, most beautiful, most accomplished women in the kingdom.

But beneath both of those emotions, something far more terrifying lurked.

Helplessness.

Carmela was supposed to be by her side.

She was supposed to be the one person who understood.

The one who had dedicated her life to hunting evil, to taking down the wicked, to serving justice without hesitation.

If even Carmela was falling for Cassius...

Then what was Joy’s mission?

What was her purpose?

Were the Goddess’s words true? Had she been wrong this entire time?

The doubts swirled in her mind like a tempest, growing stronger with every passing second.

She had come here to hunt a demon.

Instead, she was watching that demon hold her new friend—her idol—in his arms while that friend drank from his neck with something that looked an awful lot like contentment.

And she had no idea what to believe anymore.

—

Hey guys, I apologize for the late uploads. When it comes to writing spicy Chapters, they unfortunately take a little longer for me to finish.

Normally I write and edit my Chapters in class in Uni. But for spicy Chapters, there’s no way I can really write them in public.

My friends and other students are usually nearby, and it just doesn’t feel right to be writing those kinds of scenes around them. Because of that, I don’t get as much time to work on those Chapters.

So when it comes to the lemon scenes, please bear with me as they may take a bit longer to write.

However, for the normal Chapters, the upload consistency will stay the same as usual.