The Oldest Dream of Eternal Night
Chapter 30: You don’t know anything about love

Chapter 30: You don’t know anything about love

Sabrina, her eyes wide, stared at Hugo with a panic she struggled to hide. Her lips trembled, and her claws, though retracted, betrayed her tension. "Zodiacs?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "You... you’re joking, Hugo? If there are really Zodiacs here, Ben is their target. They’ll hunt him down, kill him!"

Hugo, his chest smeared with dried blood, his tattered T-shirt barely holding together, crossed his arms, a bitter smirk twisting his lips. "That’s why I came, in case you hadn’t noticed."

Sabrina shook her head, her long hair whipping wildly. "No, you don’t get it! If the Zodiacs find him, it’s over. Not just for him, for me too! We have to save him, Hugo. Help me, I’m begging you!"

Hugo clenched his jaw, his muscles straining beneath his torn skin. Rage simmered inside him, but Ben was his friend. No matter what Sabrina’s delusions were, he couldn’t abandon him. "Move," he growled. "We’re going after him."

Sabrina didn’t waste a second. She sprinted toward the garage, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. The metal gate screeched open, revealing a sleek black Porsche glistening under the streetlights. She slid into the driver’s seat, her movements precise despite her panic. Hugo climbed in on the passenger side, slamming the door so hard the car shook. The interior smelled of new leather and an overpowering floral perfume. Sabrina peeled out, tires screeching on the gravel, sending pebbles flying in their wake.

"Any idea where he might be?" Hugo asked, his voice rough, his wounds throbbing with every turn.

Sabrina, her hands gripping the wheel, thought for a moment, her eyes scanning the darkened road. "The park," she finally said, her voice trembling. "Where we made the blood bond. On the jogging path, near the woods. It’s... it’s a special place for him. He might be there."

Hugo clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. This bitch. Not only had she turned Ben into a vampire, but she’d shackled him to her with that twisted blood ritual. "You’re really insane, Sabrina," he spat, his voice thick with disgust.

Sabrina whipped her head toward him, shocked, her glowing red eyes widening. "How does a human know about the blood bond?" she murmured. "You’re not as simple as you look, are you?"

Hugo smirked, leaning back in his seat with a mocking grin. "Think again, sweetheart. I’m your worst enemy."

Sabrina narrowed her eyes, her voice low. "Worst enemy... I see."

Hugo had every reason to be worried.

The blood bond was an extreme vampire ritual: drinking directly from the other’s carotid, sharing the blood of victims, sleeping together, and sealing it all with a moon-charmed amulet enchanted by a witch. The amulet Sabrina had given Ben made him part of her family—no, worse, her soulmate. Their lives and deaths were bound.

If one died, the other followed. It was a chain, a twisted insurance policy to ensure Ben would always return to her, no matter how far he strayed.

’A psychopath’s way of keeping him hers,’ Hugo thought, pulling out his phone to call Hassan.

"Dude, what’s going on? You bolted like a rabbit! Where are you?" Hassan’s voice was laced with concern.

"In Sabrina’s car," Hugo replied, shooting the vampire a glance. "Are the others there?"

"Yeah, we’re still in the school parking lot. Kaiser’s acting weird, that dopamine really messed him up. And what the hell are you doing with Sabrina? Does she know where—"

"No time to explain," Hugo cut in. "Head to the park, the jogging trail where all those people died recently."

"Huh? Yeah, but—"

"Just do it," he growled. "And figure out a way to stop a vampire without killing him."

"What? Ben’s in danger?" Hassan’s voice rose an octave.

Hugo took a deep breath. "Ben is the vampire. He’s out of control. We have to stop him before he kills again."

A heavy silence followed. "Hassan?" Hugo pressed.

"I don’t get—"

Hugo hung up, a migraine drilling into his temples. He knew vampire society better than he ever wanted to. The blood bond was rare, even among lovers. It was an extreme pact, a guarantee of loyalty between families. What the hell made Sabrina go this far? he wondered, his gaze sliding back to her.

"Tell me, Sabrina," he said coldly. "You’re not running from something, are you? Like some arranged family commitment?"

Sabrina’s hands tightened on the wheel, her knuckles whitening. She stayed silent, lips pressed thin. Hugo had hit the mark.

"You don’t love him, Sabrina," he snapped. "You’re just obsessed."

Sabrina shot him a glare, her crimson eyes blazing. "Fine, I’m selfish, okay? But you think I had a choice? Since I was a kid, I’ve been told what to do, who to love. I was engaged to a 130-year-old man, Hugo! A disgusting old creep! I love Ben, but my father would never have accepted him. So I made the blood bond. Now he’s bound to me, and my father has no choice."

Hugo scoffed, shaking his head. Normally, he’d crack some crude joke, but right now, he was dead serious. "And how are you any better than your father? You changed Ben’s life forever. Even his death isn’t his own anymore. You’re worse than him, Sabrina. You condemned someone you claim to love. Imagine what you’d do to someone you hate."

Sabrina slammed her fist into her window, shattering it. Shards of glass glittered on the seat under the streetlights. "What do you know about love?" she screamed, her voice raw. "Shut up! I had no choice, okay? I tried everything to get his attention, but he only had eyes for that Lynn! Lynn this, Lynn that. I hate her! She’s just some stupid little girl. I don’t know what he sees in her. Doesn’t matter! Ben can cheat, he can run, but he’ll always come back to me. And I’ll wait."

Hugo stared at her, half-shocked. "If Ben were here, he’d be thrilled to have his own yandere," he muttered under his breath. But what he thought was: Too bad manga isn’t reality. She’s not some cute psycho from a cartoon. She’s a full-blown lunatic who’d kill her own parents to keep him. He turned to the window, watching buildings blur past at breakneck speed.

"You know nothing about love," Sabrina repeated, her claws scraping the wheel, her glowing eyes locked on the road. "I had no other way to keep him. You know nothing..."

"Maybe you’re right about that," Hugo admitted, his voice softer. "But if my father, despite his love, had made the right choice, he wouldn’t be in a coma. My mother wouldn’t be in constant danger. And me..." He paused, his throat tight. "I wouldn’t be carrying this burden."