JOVITA This went wrong. My heart kept pounding in my chest. This was not what I expected. I do not even know what I expected him to do, but it definitely was not taking me in his arms and to his bed. I heard everything they talked about and how he spoke to his brother because of me. It took so much to put my acts together. The men were exuding fury, and his brother asked him not to become a hypocrite. What does that even mean? When he carried me from Bryce, I felt goosebumps blanketing my skin and prayed that he does not notice. I tried to will my heartbeat to something approximately normal and not try to think of his arms around me or his scent that invaded my senses. When they argued, I stayed still, hoping none of them noticed my unsteady heartbeat. I was a bit relieved when his brother left the room for good. He could easily detect that I was awake. I was terrified that he would find out. Lord Ralph laid me on the bed, paced his room, and ran his hand over hi

JOVITA I stood there looking at him, unable to speak or tear my eyes away from him. His eyes were not as deep blue as they used to be, there was a tinge of red in them. "So, it is you?" he asked. Does he know? I thought he was out of the castle. Why was he back so early? He definitely knew I killed Jones. I tried to speak again, but my words got stuck in my throat. He moved closer and held my chin in his fingers. "It is you." "I... I... I... did not mean to..." I started to explain. "If you keep sleepwalking around the castle like this, you might get hurt by a vampire," he said. My heart sat back in my chest. Was this what he was talking about? I thought he knew about Jones. I almost gave myself away. "Why have you been following me?" "I was sleepwalking," I defended. "I did not mean to stalk you." He left me and took a few steps away from me, looking away, as if he did not want to see my face again. "Go back to bed, human."

RALPH "There must be something to explain this feeling in my chest," I muttered, scanning the library. I was sure I had read about things like this. There must be something about an unholy attraction to someone else and how I could stop. Jovita had plagued my dreams, and no matter how much I wanted to assume control, I fell deeper into this. Colbert and I have never disagreed about anything since we were made, but I had asked Colbert to leave my castle because he reminded me of the same rules I made. The library was in a mess. I was orderly, but this woman made me feel anything but orderly. Just by being here, she had upset my structured life. I should resent her for it; instead, I found myself craving more of her. Touching her body was my biggest fantasy. I always dream of running my hands through her naked body and letting her warmth seep into my cold skin. This thought had made me avoid her for the past few days. It was an ironic twist of fate because I was the one

JOVITA I remained stiff as Lord Ralph paid for us. He stalked off towards the Ferris wheels leaving me to catch up with him. We sat on the coach, and I became aware of how close we were and tried not to think about it or what Uncle Kala had told me earlier. From my peripheral vision, I looked at Lord Ralph and noticed he sat stiffly too. I decided to lighten the mood. "Do you always walk in the park when you go to work?" "I do not do such thing. However, I do whatever I want because I can do it." I restrained myself from rolling my eyes at his narcissistic reply. "Right." The Ferris wheel suddenly jerked, and Lord Ralph gripped my arm and let out a low yelp. I stared at him in confusion. He recovered and kept his face as stoic as he usually does. "Are you alright?" I asked, gazing down at my hand and his tight grip. He followed my gaze and realized he was still holding me. He quickly snatched his hand like I burned him and cleared his throat. "Of

RALPH "I will take her from here," I told the paramedics. "Lord Ralph, we need to take her to the hospital and do proper check-ups. The only injury may seem to be the gash on her head, but she could be bleeding internally." "I don't care," I snapped. I was afraid that if they took her to the hospital, they would run tests and might find out her blood was special. Why was I protecting this woman? I am not even sure she is the one. The paramedics exchanged looks, and one tried to speak, but the other tugged his arm, and he kept quiet. "I will have my doctor come see her at the castle." The paramedics nodded and scurried away. ~~~ A few minutes later, she was lying in my back seat, and we were driving to the castle. I sat in the front seat with the driver and kept staring at her to know if she would stir. I have never been this concerned for anyone before. I feared she would not wake up, even though the paramedics said she was unconscious and would co