In the cavern, sat four vampires along an elegant, antique oak table from the Victorian-era. The atmosphere around them was filled with anticipation as it was approaching the designated time of the day. As the elaborately-carved, longcase clock finally struck twelve, they readied themselves. It was feeding time. At the head of it, was the leader, Irene. All four members, had a crystal chalice filled with the blood of a beast before them and the other members waited patiently for the leader to begin.

Red. Irene’s eyes closed as she savoured the crimson-coloured liquid from the chalice, drowning herself in the pleasantness of her drink in small, deliberate sips. Not a single drop was wasted as the leader of the small vampire coven drained all the goodness from the chalice. The leader of the clan leant back into her chair as she felt warmth spread through her cold body. She sighed in pleasure at that sensation. With a smile on her face, she tipped her chalice over to show that she was done and looked to the rest of her members who followed suit.

Wendy, the vice-leader of the clan swirled the blood in her chalice and drank from it deliciously. The blood from beast tasted infinitely better than human’s blood. Wendy knew she was alone on that particular thought and she embraced it, glad to be in a coven who adopted such a practice. Well, perhaps not all of them…    

Joy, the second youngest vampire of the four did not enjoy her nourishment as a sharp pain crept up from her belly and she dropped the chalice. She broke out into coughing fits and she retched but fortunately, the contents stayed down this time round. One was not used to drinking the crude-tasting blood of a beast after having drunk sweet blood from humans for such a long time. Wendy, who was by Joy’s side patted the girl’s back concernedly.

Yeri had no problems drinking blood from beasts as she was raised in this way from the start. She laughed at Joy’s reactions, earning sharp, reproachful glances from both Irene and Wendy.

Irene, together with her three other members, made up a small vampire coven. Irene, the eldest vampire, was the one who had put up these girls together and formed this small family of her own.

Yeri, the youngest of the four, was the latest addition. Having been found dying just a century ago, Irene had taken pity on her youth and decided to make an exception, transforming Yeri into a vampire herself. Only certain vampires had the ability to transform humans into vampires, amongst the four, Irene and Wendy had the ability. Despite that, Irene and Wendy had strict policies about making new vampires due to the many complications and that Yeri was the only vampire that Irene had made in the last three centuries since she had founded this small coven and Irene had never regretted her decision.

Yeri was the bubbliest vampire Irene has ever seen, even surpassing Wendy. Yeri had large, cute round eyes that were always wide with curiosity. Her thick, rosy lips always in a pout whenever things did not go her way.  

Joy, was the tallest amongst the four and joined the family only a few years before Yeri. Joy had been a solo vampire and had been feasting on human blood since she was made nearly three centuries ago. During the time when she was on her own, she could take as much human blood as she liked. Those days of killing and quenching her thirst freely without any fear of reprisals were long gone when she made the decision to join the little family.

Wendy, too, had an extremely cheerful disposition but she had a mature side to her as well. This was mainly due to her responsibilities as the Vice-leader of the group. The Vice-leader, sometimes, had an even greater role than the leader. It was Wendy’s role to keep the members and the leader in check. Wendy’s high cheekbones lent her a permanently jovial look and the girl always put that to her advantage.

Vampires in general had stunning looks but Irene’s beauty was uncontested. Her milky white skin was flawless and radiated with health, contrasting heavily with her stunning, midnight black hair which had natural gentle waves in them. What was most eye-catching were her facial features. Those beautifully rounded eyes of hers was complemented by artfully-arched brows and a small, delicate nose. She simply looked like a goddess. Yet, she was not. It felt like an irony that the most demonic creature on this Earth actually looked this pretty. The leader’s past was mostly unknown to the small group of vampires but they all knew that Irene had existed for a very long time. Her lon