Finally, his grip weakened and I managed to squirm away. His eyes followed me.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on me." I hissed, moving towards the table that was in the middle of the room, not making the same mistake of letting him corner me so easily. He scoffed.
"You'll learn the hard way then." He spoke before closing the gap between him and me easily. I couldn't help but let out a shriek at the sudden movement. As I struggled to get away from him, he grabbed the skirt of my dress. The fabric tore under the opposing powers of him trying to pull me closer and my using all my strength to move the other way. Consequently, the boy's counter-pressure was suddenly gone and I completely lost my balance stumbling backward. The boy could have easily prevented me from falling, but he didn't. Instead he simply watched as I tumbled to the ground. My head hit the corner of the table, sending a sharp pain through me. Dark spots danced before my eyes and for a few moments I was completely unaware of where I was, before I succumbed to the darkness. The last thing I felt was my body hitting the cold floor.

I do not know how long I was unconscious for, but when I woke up, I was lying on the bed. Groaning, I sat up. Immediately, a sharp headache made itself known. Instinctively, I brought my hand up to feel the bruise. A bump was definitely forming. Black dots were still forming in front of my eyes and I blinked to clear my vision.
"Are we correct in assuming your meeting with Alec did not go smoothly?" Demetri asked, standing in the middle of the room with Felix.
"Who?" My mind was still hazy, but the headache was becoming less bad and I managed to get out of the bed.
"The vampire who brought you here." Felix clarified. At least now I can put a name to that asshole's face. Felix nodded towards my bag, which they had apparently brought with them. I was extremely grateful that they had. The stuff in there was my last connection to my life. To the life I used to have. "Will anything in there make it better?" I shook my head, for which I was immediately punished by another sharp pain.
"No. I just hit my head, it will be better soon." I walked towards one of the chair and sat down as the haziness in my brain finally seemed to leave.
"Alec told us what happened."
"I doubt it." I scoffed. Sure, he would have told them his version, but I honestly doubted the accuracy of that report.
"You are in a different time, Evelyn. With different customs..."
"I'm not his property." I interrupted, the sheer determination once again solidifying inside of me. Demetri and Felix shared a look, before apparently deciding to let it rest.
"He will be back soon, now that you have regained consciousness." Demetri stated, before seemingly spacing off and then nodding to himself. "He is on his way." A sense of dread washed over me, before I forced that back. I would not show him any weakness, as he'd probably exploit it.
"How do you know?" I started, before realizing it myself, "Let me guess, it is your gift." He smiled, before nodding.
"I'm a tracker." I looked towards Felix and he shook his head.
"I have no gift, unfortunately. My strength, however, is superior enough to grant me a place on the guard." Before I could say anything else, the door of the room opened once more and Alec strode in like he owned the place. I suppose he did. This was, after all, most-likely his room. His eyes fell on Demetri and Felix and they immediately left. Well, so much for expecting some support from them. Next, he looked at me, taking in my appearance.
"Have you regained your senses, girl." He spoke, moving closer to the chair I was sitting in. The way he moved was incredibly graceful: as if he was dancing rather than walking. As he got closer, his scent washed over me once more and I could only just stop myself from leaning closer to smell more of it. It was a musky odor, with a hint of freshness to it. Before, I had sometimes wondered how effective pheromones truly were. Any doubt had now permanently left my mind. My heartbeat increased and by the smirk on his face, I knew he noticed.
"I wasn't aware I had lost them. Have you?" I folded my hands in my lap, shaking myself from the daze he was putting me in. Instead, I was staring daggers at the vampire in front of me.
"Careful." He simply said, before stopping right in front of the chair.
"Or what? You'll discipline me?" I stood up, which was probably not a good idea, as dizziness immediately coursed through me and my head started pounding again. Being so close to Alec that our noses almost touched did nothing to help in any way, his presence clouding my mind. "If it is true that I'm your mate as you claim, shouldn't that mean you have some affection for me." Either it was that, or pure lust.
"I have not punished you for your insolent behaviour yet, have I?" I scoffed.
"That is not affection, that is merely decent behaviour." His eyes narrowed at me, but I refused to back off, regardless of how murderous he looked.
"You will learn to appreciate me." He leaned in even closer, to the point that our lips were a mere inch apart. My heart skipped a beat at our proximity as my body yearned to close that gap.
"Or you'll make me?" I challenged, finally looking up from his lips to his eyes. His pupils were slightly dilated, betraying his anger and possibly lust.
"Yes." His hands somehow found their way to my waist, his touch soft as a feather and I suppressed the desire to wound my arms around him. "One way or another." He confirmed as he tightened his grip to the point that it would bruise, leaving no doubt in my mind about what he meant. Either I would submit willingly, or he'll beat me into submission. My eyes narrowed at him.
"Forced affection is not affection. If it is not freely given, it is worthless." I spoke, before taking a step to the side, needing to get some distance between me and this infuriatingly beautiful creature. A stark contrast with his behaviour. His eyes followed my movements and for a second I thought he was going to stop me, but he let me go as I walked to the table and grabbed my bag. I took out my history book, deciding that reading would be a good distraction. When I moved towards the door, a cold hand wrapped around my wrist. Alec pulled me back towards him, turning me around to face him.
"You will not leave, unless I give you permission."