"I was right, wasn't I?"
"That's not the point. I need to find a way to break this bond."
"You know that's impossible."
"There has to be another way."
"None, I'm afraid. The only way's death and you know it."
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't? You're the prince of vampires. This should be nothing to you."
"She's awake."
Abrupt silence dropped over the room. Thick, awkward and immediate.
My eyes fluttered open, red light filling my vision. The air was still heavy, tense.
They were talking about me. I could feel it, the way they're avoiding my gaze, the weight of their words still hanging in the air.
I look around, noticing that we're in the private wing of the ballroom. Music thudding faintly through these walls, though distant.
They mentioned a bond.
What bond?
"How are you feeling, little Rose?" Laurent carefully approached, bending down by the sofa I was lying on, apparently.
Ravić stood behind him, sipping his drink, his red eyes on us like a hawk.
"I'm good," I muttered, rubbing my head.
"Great," Laurent replied, stepping back to give me space to swing my legs to the ground, facing the two men watching me.
"What's this I hear about a bond?"
They exchanged a glance, as if silently deciding who should speak. But it was Laurent who broke the silence first.
"You should tell her," he said to Ravić. "She deserves to know."
Ravić shook his head, dressed head to toe in black leather jacket and jeans. His blond hair was tousled, making him look handsome in an effortless kind of way.
"Why not?" Laurent challenged, his voice tight with disbelief.
"What is it I need to know?" I asked, reverting my eyes away from Ravić.
"You're volatile," Laurent said, earning a glare from his prince, which he blatantly ignored.
"And dangerous," he added, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You killed one of my blood donors. One of the best ones too."
"I did?" I rasped, stunned. My hand flew to my face just as tears started to fall. "Why would I do that?"
I'd never known myself to be this emotional, but it was like a dam had broken. The tears wouldn't stop flooding my eyes, streaming down my cheeks as I frantically tried wiping them away.
"Leave us alone," I heard Ravić say, followed by an inaudible mutter and the soft click of a door closing.
He crouched in front of me, placing both hands on my shoulders, steadying me as my body shook with sobs I can't control. I'm overwhelmed, drowning in all the emotions I've pushed away for so long.
"Rosie..." he said softly.
"I don't know why I'm like this," I cried, speaking through my sobs. "I don't know how to stop it."
"Breathe, Rosie," he urged, cupping my cheeks, his thumb rubbing away my tears. "Just breathe."
And I did. Or at least I tried, focusing on the things that calm me.
Like the sound of water falling into the cave, or the crackle of firewood back in the cottage. The soothing smell of books lining the shelves of the apartment I'd unknowingly abandoned. All of them gone now, destroyed by the hunters.
Just like that, the sadness began to fade, anger taking its place.
"Rose," he managed to call out before I shoved him away.
He fell, sliding across the floor until his back slammed against the bar, too stunned to move.
"Shut up!" I shouted, rising to my feet.
"Enough of your secrets!" I yelled, stepping toward him.
"I'm sick of it!" I snapped, now standing over him.
He looked so helpless, even though his eyes were all filled with lust and hunger beneath me. I couldn't tell if I wanted to take him or slap the shit out of him.
I leaned closer, elbows against my thighs. I must've looked like a serial killer, still dressed in the black slip with blood coating my skin.
"Why did you let me live?" I asked, tears blurring my eyes. "I wanted to die. You said it yourself, I'm too volatile."
I couldn't see him clearly through my tears, but I feel him. The way his hands tenderly cupped my cheeks, the weight of his gaze sinking into me as his thumbs gently rubbed my tears away.
"Because I want you to live," he admitted softly.
"I never meant to kill him, Ravić," I whispered. "I never meant to kill anyone."
"I know," he murmured, leaning in until our foreheads touched. "But if you don't, they'll kill you and I can't let that happen, Rosie."
"The man..."
"I killed him," he said with quiet conviction, his expression hardened. "I'll be the one carrying that sin, not you."
"I'm tired."
"I know," he murmured, pulling me into his arms.
I buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his natural, musky scent as if it could seep straight into my bloodstream. For once, I'm sated. Maybe it was the human blood, or maybe it's the quiet comfort of being held in his arms, I don't know. But this truly is the first time I feel at peace.
I feel his soft lips pressing against my bare shoulder, still stained and reeking of the man's blood. I move to pull away, to hide it in embarrassment, but he pulls me even closer by the back of my neck.
"Never be ashamed of your nature, my lovely," he murmured, his gaze following the path of his thumb as it traces from my cheek down to my blood-stained lips.
"You have no idea how powerful you are," he whispered, before crashing his mouth on mine.
We kissed like we're trying to claim one another. The way his other hand drifted to the back of my head, pulling me even closer while the other move to straddle me on his lap. I can feel his hard dick, already poking between my legs while his other hand caressed my bare thigh, pushing my skirt up, and up, until his fingers meet the waistband of my black thong.
"You vixen," he murmured against my lips, giving it a tug and breaking it.
I gasped and frowned, "I was actually starting to like that."
"I like you better with nothing on," he said, claiming my lips once more.
I grind my hips against him, aching to pull him inside me already. Lost in the passionate kiss, my legs involuntarily widened as I pulled him by his neck, forcing him to gaze up at me, with those glowing red eyes of his.
Never have I felt more powerful, more beautiful than when I claim those lips again, my hair falling around his head like a dark veil. He's mine, now.
He tugged the strap of my slip off my shoulder, his hands hungry, pulling me closer. We were so wrapped up in each other, grinding, desperate, our movements frantic, that we didn't even hear the door slam open.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Laurent's voice boomed through the room.
I shot up from Ravić's lap, cheeks burning as I fumbled to pull my strap back on.
Ravić didn't even flinch. He calmly wiped the blood from his chin, making a show of licking it off his fingers, then picking up my discarded thong and tucking it casually into his pocket.
That's when it hit me.
Ravić had expertly distracted me from getting my answers.
And the worst part?
I've foolishly played right into it.