Leon's eyes scanned the entire market. Ever since he had heard Grace say that Ophelia went missing, a certain fear dwelled in his mind: What if she ended up committing a massacre?

It was possible, no matter how small the chances might be.

He had sent Grace back home, saying that he would find Ophelia. It was not a very difficult job for him but he could not waste time.

He stood in front of the shop where Grace had been with her the last time. Keeping his disguise as a redhead, he sought the attention of the shopkeeper.

Holding Ophelia's fake testimonial in his hand, he said, "Excuse me, mister, have you seen this girl?"

The bald and muscular shopkeeper was irked; he squinted his eyes and looked at the sketch of Ophelia in the testimonial. A few seconds later, he said in a gruff voice while pointing to his right, "Oh, yeah. She just ran out. It seemed like she was in a frenzy."

Leon remained silent; something from within telling him that she was already in danger, though he decided to ignore it. He withdrew the paper and put it back into his satchel as the shopkeeper curiously asked, "She yours?"

Leon's jaw tightened before he opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, she belongs to me."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes. Blood sellers were not fond of the vampires who owned humans because such vampires would never buy blood from them.

"Why own a human when you can't even keep them with you?" the shopkeeper grumbled in utter annoyance. "What if she gets bitten by someone else? Or worse, captured?"

Leon did not bother to listen to the man's rants. He rushed out of the market, trying not to waste time. The worst thing that could happen is a bloodbath.

A weak scent trickled his nostrils as he concentrated, standing outside the market. The faint smell of caramel and cinnamon was in the air, though there was no sweet shop around. When the smell felt oddly familiar to him, he realized it could belong to her.

However, the scent was too weak. The air was being tainted with different kinds of odours, making it hard for him to concentrate on one.

His ink-black wings stretched out behind him and he rose to the sky. He looked at the city carefully from the height, especially the streets that moved away from the market. If she came out this way then she would definitely recognize the path she used to go to the market. But if someone tried to capture her... that would be a different story. And in this crowded city, it is more likely that she would have eyes on her, given that she was in a frenzy.

He sighed, knowing that it was not going to be easy. Why did you have to go, Ophelia?

He shifted his gaze back to the city, focusing on the darker areas. How far could she have gone by this time?

Leon chose to search for her on the path that led away from Grace's house. He glided across the sky over the road, eyes scanning the place around: the little streets that originated from there, the alleyways between the houses, even the yards of each home. Nothing had been found so far.

The faint smell of caramel and cinnamon lingered in the air and was tainted with the stench of blood. He knew she would be there. He landed on the ground, knowing that she had been at that place not long ago.

He walked down the dark, empty road, keeping his ears alert. The faint cracking of twigs from the trees around, and the whistling sound of the wind, all reached his ears. Other than those, he could only hear his footsteps and heartbeat.

The scent grew stronger. Leon saw a few men walking into an alleyway, muttering some words within themselves. They were dressed in black leather and red hats – a typical uniform of a stray hunter.

Leon strode to the front of the alleyway as the stench of blood grew stronger. As he peered into the darkness, he saw Ophelia lying motionless on her side. The men gazed at her as if she were made of gold. One of the men turned her around, kicking her stomach. "Is this thing alive?"

"Move away from her," Leon grumbled, his hands tightening into fists.

The man who stood close to the girl shifted his gaze to Leon, annoyed at the interruption. Instead of paying heed to his words, he knelt in front of her and held her jaw. "Let's see if she's a stray or not..."

He removed the hair from the nape of her neck and pulled her collar downwards, revealing a mark. A number. His face turned wry with disappointment that she was not a stray, and with happiness that he had found a lost pet.

Leon strode forward, trying to control his urge to get rid of them. He said with clenched teeth, "I told you to move away from her."

One of the men, who was standing, turned his head to Leon and grinned. "Why? Who are you to stop us?"

"I'm her owner."

His response seemed to amuse them; all of them sniggered. The man standing by the wall said, "Do you think we will believe you so easily?"

With a grunt, Leon rummaged through his satchel to bring Ophelia's testimonial out. It was the only way to get them to believe him.

Showing them the piece of paper, he said, "See? She's mine. Now leave her with me."

The man kneeling beside Ophelia stood, his face glistening with amusement. "Isla Rue, 21371."

Shifting his gaze back to Leon, he muttered, "She is yours; it seems. But I've already captured her." He pointed to the shackles placed on her wrists.

"Isn't that still illegal?" Leon said, crossing his arms. "You did it right in front of me."

It was the law. A human, once brought into ownership, could not be captured unless the owner wanted to give them away officially, or abandoned them. Usually, a vampire never cared if they lost their pets; they would just get someone new.

The man who had put the shackles on Ophelia's wrists sighed. "I guess we're not getting lucky anytime soon, boys.:

They were startled to see Leon's determination to get her back. Soon, they took the shackles off of her wrists. One of them said, "It's surprising that you actually want to get her after abandoning her. Nobody bothers to do the same."

Leon ignored his words as he scooted to Ophelia. Kneeling on one knee beside he placed one arm under her shoulder and the other under her knees, and lifted her.

"It's even more surprising that she got away from you. Be careful... the next time she gets away from you, we won't give her back."

Leon did not pay attention to any of their words anymore. She was finally with him. Taking her back home was the only thing that mattered to him at that moment.

He stared at the bitemark as he walked out of the alleyway. It looked deep. Blood had dried around it. And so had her tears, on her cheeks.

He listened to her breath and heartbeat, both of which were fast. His eyes shifted to her face, which looked pale. He leaned in closer to her until his cheek touched hers. Her skin was cold. A bunch of unknown scents lingered on her along with the scent of blood, caramel and cinnamon.

He was so focused on his fear of her committing a massacre, that he had forgotten that she might be the one in danger. And he regretted the thought after he found her.

How much blood could she have lost? Only if I could know who did this to her... Leon sighed. What am I even thinking?