My mate was an eight-year-old girl. I would have to wait so many years- ten years. I guess I wouldn't look like a pervert when she was eighteen, though. Male vampires stop aging between ages twenty-five and thirty. I would likely stop aging at twenty-six because my father did. Females stop aging between twenty-one and twenty-six years.

"Momma, when are you going to make lunch?" she asked softly. Then she looked at me, her eyes wide and filled with curiousity. "Momma, who's this?"

"Alice, this is Dimitri. He'll be staying with us for a while, sweetie," Mrs. Frost answered. "Lunch will be ready in ten minutes."

Alice Frost. She looked like a fairy princess in her blue dress. I wonder what her middle name is? Alice blushed and shyly walked out of the kitchen.

I smiled. "She's adorable," I told them quietly. I didn't want her walking away. I didn't want her to be afraid of me. "Did I do something wrong? Did I scare her or something?" "No, dear," Mrs. Frost laughed softly. "She just doesn't do well with strangers. She's really shy. Mark and I can't ever imagine why. She's never had something bad happen to her before so I'm really not too sure."

"Be careful," I joked. "With those eyes of hers, you're going to have a lot of pimpled teenaged boys coming at your door."

"I'm not looking forward to it," Mr. Frost groaned quietly. "Her brother is in the military, so unfortunately he won't be here to protect her. And we'll be at work… I'm sorry to ask this of you, but we're going away for this weekend because I need to go on a business trip. We need a sitter. Are you up for it?"

"Sure. I'm living with you, and I don't want to mooch off of you at all, Mr. Frost."

"Oh, just call us Mark and Michelle."

"All right."

"Michelle, why did we have kids who are eleven years apart?" Mark muttered darkly.

"How old is your son?" I asked.

Michelle smiled wistfully. "He's twenty-one. His name is Gerard. Alice is eight."

"Ah."

The weekend was coming up soon. Today was Wednesday. I had dinner with the Frosts and then went to bed. I was exhausted. Vampires don't exhaust easily, but I got hurt today during the attack. The Frosts gave me a nice room. It had a good view of the woods, and my wolf pack was around here in these woods. I would find them tomorrow.
Around midnight, I was woken up by a loud, feminine wail. I was worried immediately and followed the sound to a bedroom. It was Alice. Mark and Michella followed me.

"I'm sorry. She must've had a nightmare. A fairy tale usually helps," Michelle explained. "I'm really sorry if she woke you up."

I smiled warmly. "It's fine. I can take care of it if you want."

"No, it's fine, dear," Michelle replied.

"Really, it's fine. I'll tell her a story. She'll be asleep soon."

Michelle and Mark smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

They both returned to their bedroom and I reluctantly entered Alice's room. I didn't know how I would handle this. I was worried for her, though. She was my mate. I wanted to protect her from anything and everything. Whether it was from bad dreams or if it was from attackers.

"Dimitri?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes big and full of tears.

I felt helpless. "Are you okay, Alice?"

"I had a bad dream."

"Your mama and papa are tired so they're still sleeping but is there a way I can help you?"

"A story?" she requested reluctantly.

I smiled gently. "A story it is, then. Once upon a time there was a prince. He was happy, but he was in need of a princess to share his life with. He wanted someone he could tell everything to. But one day, a group of bad men attacked his castle. There was a warlock among them that turned him into a wolf. The spell would not be reversed until he found someone to fall in love with."

"Did he find one?" Alice piped up.

"Shh… I'm getting there," I whispered. "One day a princess got lost in the woods. Her name was Alice, and she had these big blue eyes that anyone could get lost in. Alice was afraid of wolves. She started crying when the prince, who was still a wolf, approached her. He was saddened by her started nuzzling her and let her pet him to comfort her. She told him that she would do anything in return when he helped her find her way back to her home and she kissed him on his nose. He turned back into a human and thanked her, telling her that he loved her and would do anything for her to make her happy. Her happiness made him happy. He asked her to marry him and they lived happily ever after."

"Dimitri, are you a prince?" Alice asked.

I laughed. I was a prince. But I was a prince of demons. A prince of vampires. I would never be her prince. I would never be her knight in shining armor. I stroked her hair gently. I should have listened to papa. Every girl is a princess and the only one that would be good enough for them would be their prince in shining armor. But I could never be that for her when she was older. She would be in danger if she was to be with me.

"No, Alice. I'm not a prince."

"Momma said that some day I'll have a prince of my own and he'll love me more than anything. Does that ever happen?"

Oh, any guy would kill for her in the future. "Yes, Alice," I said softly. "You'll have a prince of your own some day. And he'll make you very happy, I'm sure of it."

"Will you be my prince?"

I laughed. "I'm sure there will be a very lucky man in the future. Are you okay to sleep now?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Dimitri."

"You're welcome. Good night, Alice."

"Can you stay?" she asked suddenly.

"No, I'm sorry. I need some sleep and I have to get back to my room. But I'll be in my room if you need anything. Good night."

"Good night."