“We have a problem.” Said Kris while looking at Nari with desperation. The woman took a glass of blood in her hand.

“Yes, General. I noticed.” She replied without looking at the man.

Kris crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving her. “So, what are you planning to do about it my Queen?”

“I have everything under control General. Please, don’t worry.” Said the woman and took a ship of blood.

Kris sighed. “Our stocks of blood are running low Nari! The nobles are complaining. If we don’t do something soon enough we will have to prepare for starvation.”

The Queen’s eyes turned red as she turned to face the handsome man. “I said I have everything under control, Yifan…” she said calm enough for Kris to understand that the conversation was over. There was complete silence for a while and the man was staring nervously at the floor when Nari’s voice was heard again. “Tonight I’m having a meeting with the heads of the noble families. Since they are responsible for the biggest part of our blood stocks they want to discuss the subject with me. I want you to be there… To inform us about Maddie and her progress on the mission.”

Kris looked at her once again, this time a little bit worried. “Are you sure you want the nobles to know details about a secret mission?” Nari walked closer to Kris and caressed his chick with her hand.

“This is the only way to show them we’re still strong Yifan.” said the woman while looking deep in the man’s eyes.

Maddie rushed inside the gym again and without losing any time she punched a punching bag full force. She kept on doing that for a few minutes until she heard a voice behind her.

“Wow… Someone looks angry!” Maddie looked back and saw a tall handsome boy approaching her.

“Are you talking to me?” she asked and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

He smiled. “Oh. I’m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Jongin.” Said the boy and gave his hand to Maddie. “You’re the newcomer right? I’ve seen you training here before.”

She kept on staring at him. “Yes.I spend most of my time here.” She said and turned towards the punching bag again.

Jongin stood in front of her with a playful grin on his face. “I’ve never seen you so angry though. Did anyone hurt you?”

“Why do you care?” said Maddie who was punching the bag even harder.

“Sorry…I’m not trying to be indiscreet. I’ll leave you alone.” Said Jongin and made his way towards the door, but before he opened it he heard the girl’s voice.

“Can I ask you something?” said Maddie while looking at him. “He treats all his soldiers like trash?”

The boy looked at her in awe.“Who?” he asked.

“That brat, Huang Zitao.” She said. A huge smile appeared on Jongin’s face and he burst into laughter leaving Maddie staring at him speechless. It took him a few minutes to stop laughing.

“I can’t believe it. My brother made you so angry!”

Maddie’s eyes widened. “Your what?” she said.

The boy walked closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “The brat is my older brother. Huhhhhh… I’ve told him so many times to stop behaving like a cannibal! What did he do this time?”...

The two of them spent almost an hour at the gym doing nothing but talking. It was the first time since Maddie arrived in Qingdao that she felt comfortable with someone. She told Jongin about what happened at the refectory and she was left speechless once again when the boy burst into laughter after hearing his brother’s doings. It was the first time she actually had a good time... After talking with Jongin she had calmed down completely.

“You’re nothing like your brother.” She said to the boy who was smiling at her.

“He is good. You just need to meet him first. He is not an open person.  If you manage to make him trust you you’ll see how sensitive he can be.”

Maddie looked at him trying to hold her laugh. “You call that sensitive?! Imagine how he’d treat me if he wasn’t sensitive!” said the girl and they both laughed out loud…

It was late in the afternoon when Maddie left the gym. She headed back to her room, trying to avoid contact with any familiar faces. A few minutes later she had almost reached her room’s door, when a loud voice stopped her. She stood where she was and sighed.

“Hey, Ji Ann!!” she heard Baekhyun’s voice again and she slowly turned to face him. Baekhyun rushed near her with a playful grin. “The captain has asked me to come and find you. He wants to meet you right now.” said the boy again, leaving Maddie staring at him in awe.

“Ok, where should I go?” she asked.

“Follow me, come on!” said the boy and grabbed her by the hand.

“Hey, hey, hey slow down!” screamed the girl, but Baekhyun acted like he couldn’t hear her…

It was early in the morning and Yixing was lying on his bed, awake and no matter how hard he tried to go back to sleep his body just ignored him. After an hour of wasted effort he decided to get up and head to the infirmary. As he walked he took some time to look around. The sun wasn’t up yet and everything was too quiet since everyone was still asleep. When he reached the bridge that connected the infirmary with the main building he stood for a while and looked outside the thick glass window and that was when a familiar figure drew his attention. Without a second thought he rushed outside and followed him. After a little walking they arrived in front of the HQ where the two guards at the entrance stopped the man. Yixing quickly hid behind a military jeep and stared as the guards talked to the young man. “Stop where you are!” said one guard. “Identify yourself.” The young man smiled as soon as he heard the guard’s words. “You don’t have to shout sir. I can hear you really well.” He said in a really calm way. “My name is Do Kyungsoo. The Queen asked me to come here…” The guard immediately communicated with someone through the radio and Kyungsoo was let inside right away. Yixing stood where he was. “Who are you Do Kyungsoo?” he said talking to himself as he kept staring at the same direction.

Kyungsoo walked towards a big double door and he pushed it gently. He entered in a big room that had a long table in the middle. At the moment he entered he saw five people looking at him. Queen Nari, who was sitting at the head of the table with the General sitting right beside her. Around the table were the heads of the noble families. The families were four, the Choi family, the Kang family, the Park family and the Do family and each one of them had the oldest member as their head. That member was responsible of taking decisions and also he/she represented the whole family at meetings or any other event. The Park family was the biggest one with more than 150 members, including the Queen herself, while the Do family came last with only 5 members. They were considered nobles as they were pure blood vampires and they were resp