AN: Guys….Ugh, idk what to say except life sucks. But hopefully with this quarantine going on, me without a job, and classes all online, I can maybe get back on some sort of schedule. Anyway, TW for mentions of abuse.

I kept my head held high and gaze steady as we entered the throne room. Heidi walked in front of me, Alec and Jane flanked my sides, and Felix and Demetri brought up the rear. My eyes took in the marble surroundings, wandering up the rotunda. There were only two other times I was in here. The first time was when I came to stop Bella from getting herself killed in the process of saving Edward. I distinctly remember watching Felix and Edward spar, damaging the beautiful floor in the process. The second time was yesterday, when I was both physically and emotionally exhausted from the wedding. In both scenarios, my senses were either too heightened or too low to actually take in my surroundings. But now I was awake, ready to lead Aro on an elusive hunt.

As we made our way into the throne room, I let my eyes yes wander about the room, taking in the Latin phrases that wrapped around the room, with touches of green marble on the walls and the floor. Damn, was this whole room made out of marble? Geeze, how much more opulent can this man get? "It's nice to see you awake, my dear." Why was it that whenever I heard Aro's voice, my heart stopped?

My blue orbs, which were still recovering from the shock of sudden blindness from earlier, recentered themselves. Either out of apprehension or euphoria, I kept my eyes closed briefly, savoring my last moment of inner peace before all my hidden emotions came to life. I bit my lip, trying to fight the urge to open my eyes. No. No more. I will not run from you anymore. Exhaling quietly, I finally let my eyes open.

And there he was, standing not too far from me, with that same dazed look he had as Bella, Edward, Alice and I left Volterra back in March. No one said a word as Aro and I stared at each other. I had hoped that after a good night's sleep, the sexual tension that surrounded us like a heavy fog had dissipated. But I was wrong. As blue eyes met red, I could still feel the energy between us. And it was slowly becoming more chaotic as we both held ourselves back from colliding into each other. I thought yesterday was intense, the sexual tension was so obvious. But nothing could prepare for the painstakingly, subtle sexual tension that lingered. Most people would say it would be hard to control one's self if the signs were blatantly obvious. But I disagree. Subtly only adds to the frustration, mindlessly teasing you as you're left yearning for more. And that's exactly what was happening right now.

Despite that annoying, invisible magnet that was compelling me to move towards Aro, something inside me managed to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. Which I found very strange, as past experiences I actually complied with this strange force. But now that I resolved myself to take Aro head on (oh god, that did not sound right!), I found myself determined to beat him at his own game. I was slowly losing myself to my emotions. Not that I was complaining.

As Aro slowly made his way towards me, almost as if he were in a trance, I looked at him quite coquettishly, gazing from underneath my eyelashes. I could've sworn that I saw his eyes turn a darker shade of red as he pressed his fingertips to his mouth. Both of my hands, which were balled up into fists, subconsciously tightened briefly as a result.

Once again, I found myself face to face with Aro, my head inclined so that I could look up at him. God, I didn't realize how short I was until I met him. But then, Bella and I were practically the same height. We were standing so close (well, as close as my bump allowed) that I would've swore we were touching.

We both stood there, like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, staring into the depths of each other's eyes. I don't know whose gaze was more intense, Aro's or mine. I know I couldn't hide my emotions in my stare very much, but Aro was very hard to read, like always. I was too busy being captivated by his intense stare to notice that Aro had lowered his hands down to where mine were, fingertips almost grazing my own. At last, he finally spoke, "You've slept a long time, my dear. I was beginning to worry about you." He spoke so soft and tenderly that I'm pretty sure I was the only one who could hear him.

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. Knowing that Aro could sense the blood rushing to my face I looked down awkwardly. "Yeah, well...I was tired." I felt my body stiffen as he brought a hand up to my face and gently brushed the tips of his fingers across my cheek before cusping my chin. I bit my lip slightly as he slowly lifted my face up, and once again, blue eyes met red.

I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. Aro's eyes had already hooked me in, and I could only stare as his gaze descended down my body. I couldn't tell if he was amused or disappointed at defying him, wardrobe wise. Eventually, Aro's eyes made their way back up to mine. "I believe, my dear, that you're still tired. You have yet to change your clothes." The corners of his mouth quickly tweaked upwards as his gaze swept my body. Something told me there was something hidden in that message, so I decided to play around.

"Yes, well, black really isn't my color. I'd rather go naked than walk around in such depressing colors." Wait, was I flirting?! It took all my nerve to keep my eyes on Aro as I watched his pupils dilate as his crimson irises briefly darkened, sending a shiver down my spine. Cupping both sides of my face, Aro leaned down as if he was going to kiss me. And for a minute, I thought he was.

But instead, he tilted his head to whisper in my ear. "I'd be careful if I were you, my dear." For a moment, I almost lost my nerve. His seductive tone made me weak in the knees. If Aro wasn't holding my face, I'm sure I would've fell over. Aro's hands returned to his side as he returned to his upright posture, smirking. I could only stare like a deer caught in headlights.

Suddenly, I felt very self conscious. Realizing that we weren't the only two in the room anymore. Demetri and Felix were idly standing by on the sidelines as Jane and Alec circled around us to stand by the dais. And I'm pretty sure Heidi was not too far behind me. I fell from my cloud 9 as my eyes wandered to the dais, where the two other kings sat. Caius, with his usual glare, stared at me like I was some sort of insect that needed to be studied. And...Marcus I think his name was (talk about awkward), looked on with vague interest. Now I kind of wished I did change clothes.

No! Stop it! That would Give Aro an edge over myself. And I was not about to give him the satisfaction. Speaking of Aro, he was still eyeing me quite peculiarly. His eyes wandered up and down my form, his fingertips pressed to his mouth. I felt myself quiver slightly as Aro's eyes suddenly met mine, and I temporarily lost my nerve. Aro took another step closer to me, which I thought was impossible given my bump. I felt goosebumps pop up across my skin (whether from the cold or from pleasure, i'll never know) as his fingertips slowly moved up the side of my neck, briefly resting where my jugular vein was. I clenched my eyes shut as his thumb slightly caressed the area where my pulse could be felt.

The irrational part of me thought Aro was going to do something to me, right then and there, but he never did. I heard him sigh as his fingers touched the tips of my hair, careful to not mess up Heidi's work. "Why must you think so little of me, my dear? Do you honestly think I would hurt you?" He said the last part so quietly I'm sure the others didn't hear it. But given their superior senses, I wasn't so sure.

Then I heard someone scoff behind Aro. Craning my neck slightly, which caused Aro to remove his hand, I noticed Caius staring at us with his usual glare. His eyes squinted even more so. "Ungrateful." That got my attention.

"Excuse me?!" I pushed past Aro and returned Caius' glare. "What did you say to me?!" Caius scoffed again.

"How typical of humans to let words fall on deaf ears. Once again, I said you were ungrateful."

"Caius-" Aro's warning tone got cut off by the former's hand.

"No, Aro. She needs to learn her place."

"WHAT?! Now see here-" Before I could finish my sentence, Aro stepped in front of me. I tried to crane my head over his shoulder, but I felt his hands place themselves on my shoulders.

"Why don't you let Heidi show you around, dearest? I'll come see you later."

"But-" Suddenly I felt Aro's hands squeeze my shoulders firmly. A little too firmly. Out of nowhere a flashback vividly popped up in my mind.

*Flashback*

"What did you do?!" It was late at night, and I was trying to get dinner ready. And I was tired. So things weren't going so great. My hair was falling out of it's bun and I was pulling a dad by burning the food. And unfortunately, Marcus just got home from work. "Did you fucking burn my dinner again, Maggie?!" After scrambling to get everything off the burners, I faced the wall and leaned against the counter tops, trying to catch my breath.

But I didn't have time to catch my breath, as I felt Marcus grab my shoulders and forcefully turned myself so I was facing him. "Get your hands off me, Marcus!" I don't know how I did it, but I forcefully removed his hands from my shoulders. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm tired. I had a long day at work and we were short staffed-" I tried to walk into the living room but he grabbed me again, slightly slamming me into the wall in the process.

Normally, I wouldn't be so afraid of him, but Marcus suddenly went quiet. And I would rather deal with a screaming Marcus than a quiet one. I trembled slightly as Marcus just shook his head before looking at me, with an evil looking grin on his face. "You…" He scoffed, shaking his head briefly before returning to look at me. "You think you had a bad day? Huh? Huh?!" Without warning, he began to shake me. Hard. I winced as I felt the back of my head hit the wall over and over.

"Marcus, stop!" But he kept on shaking me as tears started to form. "Please…" I could slowly feel myself lose consciousness.

*End Flashback*

I let out a loud gasp as I came back to reality. Suddenly, Aro's hands felt like white hot to the touch, and I shook myself away from him. Red eyes met blue as he stared at me with a wary look, regret evident in his eyes. "Go with Heidi, Margaret." Aro's voice sounded far away as I felt Heidi touch my shoulder gently. As she slowly turned me from the room, I took one last look at Aro, who once again placed his fingertips against his lips, eyes closed.


"Are you alright, my lady?" Felix, Demetri, and the twins followed us as we walked back down the hall. We didn't go through the reception area, the way Carlisle and I took the day before. Or was it two days ago? Nevermind. Shaking my head, I turned to look at Heidi.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just nerves I guess. But please, don't call me that. It sounds so...stiff." I made a face.

"Would you prefer, 'my queen?'"

"What? No!" We stopped walking, and I had to take a deep breath to regain myself. "Just...Call me Maggie, ok?" Sighing deeply, I rubbed my temples before composing myself. "Anyway, where to?"

As we wandered through the never ending halls, Heidi would point out what she felt necessary to point out. Including all three offices of the three kings and Aro's bedroom. "But why would he-" I suddenly went silent, answering my own question. I felt my face burn up, but for a different reason. I quickly decided to change the conversation. "So, what do you guys like to do for fun?"

"If you can't tell, I love to shop."

"And the guys and I like to play video games in our spare time." I turned and looked at Felix quite incredulously.

"Seriously? You play video games? What kind?" Felix smirked at me as we stopped in front of another door.

"You seem surprised. What did you think we do all day? Sleep in coffins?" Now my face was really burning up. Boy, was I embarrassed.

"No, I just thought...You never answered my question!" Felix's smirk only got bigger at my defensive tone, like he already knew my secret fantasies.

"Personally, I like games like Mario Kart, Sonic, and The Sims. Demetri likes things like Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, and GTA. And little Alec here," Felix made a grand gesture to the slightly scowling boy, who, I presumed, didn't seem to care for that nickname. "Well he's just your typical teenager. He plays things like Madden and FIFA, among other things."

"Shut up." I had to smile at the scene in front of me. They reminded me of the guys back home. My smile fell a bit at this thought. God, how I missed those idiots. I wonder how Jake was doing. I made a mental note to call Bella later.

"Hey, you alright pipsqueak?" I looked up at Felix, slightly glaring in jest.

"I'm fine. So where are we now?" Before Felix could answer me, Heidi gently pushed me aside as she opened the door in front of us. My eyes widened as we slowly made our way into the room.

"This is where the guard relaxes in our free time, when we're not training or on a mission." There were many plushy couches and bean bags, a giant flatscreen tv, and rows and rows of dvds and video games. Multiple gaming consoles, both small and large, lined the room.

My mouth dropped slightly as I wandered the room slowly. I stopped when I saw what looked like an Atari. Turning back to look at my newfound gang, I exclaimed, "Do you seriously have every single gaming console known to man?!" The amount of consoles I saw was ridiculous. They even had a Pac-Man machine!

Heidi only laughed. "The boys like their video games. Especially this one here." Felix put his hands up in mock defense.

"Hey, I need an outlet to let out my stress after finishing a mission. Sparring with Demetri only adds to the frustration."

"Shut up, you imbecile." I let out a laugh as the two began to bicker, with Alec watching in amusement. My laughter slowly died down when I noticed Jane standing off to the side, rather formerly I might add.

"What do you like to do for fun, Jane?" The room got quiet as everyone turned to look at Jane, who looked taken aback at my question. It was if nobody asked her that question before.

She eyed me over, and I couldn't tell if she trusted me enough to answer my question. And I thought she wouldn't answer. But I was wrong. "I like to read and paint. I normally spend my time either in the library or the drawing room. It was there that my feelings for Jane softened. Behind that creepy exterior, she seemed like a rather introverted person. Quiet, and calm when she wanted to be.

"Sounds like I found our next two stops. Let's go!" Feeling a bit excited, I was the first one out the door.

Heidi led us down another unfamiliar hallway, which was lit with torches, just like the other hallways. I felt like we were going in circles, and a little dizzy. Noticing that Jane was in the back of the group, walking by herself, I decided to fall back a bit. No one really noticed as Felix and Demetri were still arguing, Alec looked too bored to notice, and Heidi was too busy going on and on.

Jane didn't say anything as her eyes flickered over to me. Despite being quite imposing, something told me there was more to Jane than there meets the eye. "So tell me Jane, what kind of books do you like to read?" Something tells me that Jane never experienced true kindness, aside from her brother, before as once again she looked a bit surprised at my question.

"Mysteries mostly, but I won't say no to a good love story now and then." Well that was shocking. About the love stories, mysteries seemed kind of obvious.

"Ah." We both fell silent, as I really didn't know how to answer that.

"What do you like to read?" Now it was my turn to look surprised. I turned my head to look at Jane, who looked genuinely interested in my response.

"I read a lot of non-fiction stuff, as history was my favorite subject. But I read a lot of young adult stuff as well. Once in a while I'll pick up a horror novel, but I'm not really into horror that much anymore." As soon as I said that, everyone stopped walking, and I immediately ran into Felix.

"Dude, seriously?"

"Never took you for one to like horror, pipsqueak. What was it, mummies?" I glared at Felix.

"No-"

"Zombies? Killer clowns?" I pivoted on my heels to gawk at Demetri.

"What? No!"

"Then what was it?"

I felt myself go red. "I'm not telling."

"Ooh, sounds scandalous! Now you have to tell us!" Heidi was really getting on my nerves today. More than Aro was to be honest.

"No."

"Ugh, why not?"

"Because…" I really couldn't think of some excuse as my cheeks started to burn. "Ok, it was-" I purposely made some unintelligible noises so they wouldn't pick up my dark secret.

"You're going to have to speak up, pipsqueak." I muttered once more, keeping my eyes stubbornly on my feet. Heidi put a gentle but cold hand on my arm, causing me to shiver slightly.

"Honey, you don't have to be embarrassed. You can tell us. We won't laugh." Heidi turned to glare at Felix and Demetri, who were already trying to hide it. " Wel, most of us won't."

Taking a deep breath, I decided to take a leap of faith. "Alright, fine. It was...vampires." The hallway stood quiet for only a few moments before all hell broke loose. I scowled as we began to walk again, trying my best to ignore Felix, Demetri, Heidi, and Alec. "Shut up!" But that only sparked more unwelcoming chatter and laughter. My eyes flickered over to Jane. Thankfully, she wasn't laughing. But a small smile was starting to form on her face, as if she approved of my choice of monster.


After finishing the tour, Felix and Demtri bid us farewell as they went off to train. Eventually, Jane and Alec left as well as Heidi walked me back to my room. "I hope you enjoyed the tour. Master Aro really wants you to be happy here." I let out a sigh, questioning her statement. I'd like to believe that, but I feel like he was trying too hard. Literally. "What's the matter, honey? Don't you want to be here?" That question had so many answers.

We were stopped by a window, and I gazed out at the city below, quite longingly. "It's just...I wish I didn't have to be stuck inside! It looks so nice out…" I sighed wistfully, watching the people below. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Heidi's expression soften. Great. I don't want, or need, any more pity.

"You really think Master Aro would keep locked up inside all day?" I quickly turned my head to look back out the window, not wanting Heidi to see my eyes stinging with embarrassment. "You know, I think as long as one of the guard is with you, I'm sure Master Aro would let you explore the city. And besides, we do have a garden you can walk around or sit and read."

My head spun around so fast, I'm surprised it didn't fall off. "Really?" Heidi nodded a small smile forming on her face.

"Yep. Did you want to see it? It's really beautiful." She let out a small laugh. "In fact, I think I spend more time out there on a good day than I do inside."

"Define 'good day' for you. Bella told me what happens when you step out in the sun." Heidi only snorted as we started walking again.

"Honey, what a good day is to me is completely opposite from your good day. I'd take a good thunderstorm over sunshine anyday."

"Ugh, why?" We stopped walking and Heidi turned to look at me, her facial expression quite serious.

"You've never made love in the middle of a storm, have ya, honey?" I think this the reddest my face has been all day.

"What? No!" Heidi only shrugged as we resumed walking.

"You should try it sometime. You're really missing out." That wink she gave me only implied one thing. For once in my life, I stubbornly refused to let my mind wander where it usually likes to wander.


Heidi brought me back to my room after showing me the gardens, which were extremely beautiful. And extremely huge. Like, I honestly don't see how all this can be one single entity. But then again, my eyesight is extremely poor compared to everyone else in this place.

After Heidi departed, I kicked off my shoes and flopped down on the bed, which made me groan out loud. This was the comfiest damn bed ever. I almost wished I never had to leave. Then my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by my cell phone, as "Heaven is a Place on Earth" blared out loud. Scrambling, I got on my knees and crawled over to where I tossed my phone. I didn't have to think twice about answering, after glancing at who was calling. "Hannah-"

"DON'T HANNAH ME! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Grimacing, I held the phone as far away from my ear as possible. Hannah went on and on as I rolled my eyes every few moments.

"Hannah, calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!" It was at that moment I saw Aro enter the room, and I immediately froze, like a deer caught in headlights. As Hannah continued to shout, I couldn't keep my eyes off him, only grimacing in response.

"Hannah, shush! I promise you, I'm all right. Just please stop shouting!" The other line went silent and I was afraid she might have hung up on me. Aro cocked his head slightly as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to get angry at my best friend."

"Then why haven't you come back?" Going from a raging rant, Hannah now sounded deathly quiet, tone quite somber. A little too somber for my taste. I sank to my knees slowly, a wide range of emotions being stirred inside of me.

"Han, I wanted to, but Dr. Cullen didn't think it was safe for me to fly."

"Wait, that was Dr. Cullen? The Dr. Cullen?! He's even hotter up close." Oh my god. I lowered the phone for a moment, smacking my hand against the forehead.

"Hannah, could you just focus for a minute? Please?!" I sighed, scooching over to sit on the side of the bed, where Aro joined me. Thankfully not too close.

"Sorry. So when are you coming back. Everyone here is worried sick." Damn it, I had to think of something fast! I don't know if I was sweating because I was starting to panic or because Aro seemed to get closer and closer.

"Well...Dr. Cullen thinks the baby might be coming soon so I might have to wait it out." The line went quiet again, and I was seriously afraid of what was going to happen next.

"WHAT?! That's it, I'm gonna fly back over there!" Hannah shouted again, more loudly this time, and I nearly dropped the phone. If it weren't for the intimidating yet intoxicating vampire sitting next to me, I might've been out of a phone. I immediately took my phone from his hands, not flinching once at the cold yet electrifying touch.

"Hannah, shush! And please, don't come back."

"But I don't want you to be alone when it happens." Aw. My eyes started to sting again, but I blinked quickly to avoid embarrassment.

"I won't be alone, I promise. Dr. Cullen is taking good care of me." Ok, that wasn't a total lie. I was being taken care of, but it wasn't Carlisle! I flinched slightly as Aro squeezed my hand gently.

"Do you promise?" Despite myself, I had to smile a little.

"Pinky promise." Whenever we were apart, we both put our pinkies in the air and bent them, as if we were still together.

"Call me soon, kay?"

"Kay." After we said our goodbyes, I tossed my phone behind me with a scowl, knowing it was going to land on the soft mattress. I buried my hands in my face as I hunched as far down as I could.

"You're a good liar, my dear. I wasn't expecting your friend to fall for that."

"She can be extremely irritating," I muttered from my hands.

"She does seem to interrupt at the most inconvenient times, yes." I slowly sat up, face slightly flushed. I knew exactly what he was implying: the wedding. Suddenly, all the nerve I had in the beginning of the day was gone, and extreme shyness returned as I kept one arm around my bump. And the baby just kicked again, right on schedule. But then again, look who I was sitting next to.

"How are you feeling today, my dear?" Lie, lie, lie!

"I'm fine." Unfortunately, I was caught when I grimaced due to what was happening in utero.

"Don't lie to me, Margaret. I can see that it's 'not fine'" I couldn't find the words to sass back, as I was too busy trying to calm the baby down. Damn him.

"What do you want, Aro?" I didn't mean for that to come out so rudely. Ok, maybe I did. But just a little. Fortunately for me, it didn't phase Aro as he either chose to ignore my flippant remark or he really didn't catch it.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier, mia tesoro. I didn't mean to cause you any stress." Oh, he was talking about that. Now I felt really awkward.

"It's fine. It happens from time to time, you don't have to worry about it." Aro stood up so fast that I nearly fell backwards.

"No, it's not fine, Margaret. No man should ever put his hands on a woman like that! I swore I would protect you, and all I did was lower myself to the same level of the monster that hurt you. I…" Wait, was he about to cry? Can vampires actually cry?

I never found out since he spun on heels so fast. With his back facing me, Aro bowed his head, like he was in deep thought. I thought about standing up and comforting him, but he turned around again, with a smile so fake even I could see through it. "No matter. What's important is that you're safe. Tell me, my dear, how do you like Volterra?"

I knew he really wasn't talking about the city itself, as I barely saw it. "It's fine, I suppose. I actually liked hanging around with Heidi and everyone else. Though I do wish I had my suitcase. I could use a change of clothes."

"Are you sure you won't change your mind about the clothes, my dear? I just want you to be happy here." This again? Oy!

"Look...It's not that I don't appreciate it, because I do, but…" I sighed and shook my head, already knowing this was a lost cause. "You're kinda being ostentatious with all this. I mean…" I threw my hands up halfway in mock annoyance. "What kind of woman do you take me for?"

Aro chuckled lightly as he gently grasped my chin with his thumb and the crook of his index finger. Then why don't you tell me what kind of woman you are, my dear Margaret." Oh god. I don't think I'll ever get tired of his delicious voice.

In order to regain my composure, I averted my eyes. "Surely you can read my thoughts to figure that out for yourself." That time, I did intend for that to come out sassy. And the bastard only chuckled, despite my chagrin. However, he sounded a lot more sinister. Somehow, he managed to pull me closer to him with only his grip on my chin. We were so close our foreheads were actually touching.

"Believe me my dear, I do. And they reveal much more than you know." Wait, what was he talking about? I hope he didn't see what Heidi told me earli...Oh fuck. The way his pupils dilated and his deepening smirk said otherwise. I whimpered slightly as his other arm snaked around my waist, or lack thereof, and pulled me closer. Soon, our noses were touching. My stomach fluttered with desire as Aro adjusted his head slightly so it was cocked to the side.

If it weren't for a knock at the door, our lips would have touched. I could've sworn I heard Aro mutter damn it under his breath, and I couldn't help but smirk myself. Despite being frustrated myself, the more frustrated he got, the more hilarious it was. Ah well, more ammo for me! Aro rushed to the other side of the room, to see who incurred his annoyance. While he was busy talking to whoever it was, I took a deep breath to calm myself while smoothing the wrinkles out of my pinafore dress. "It seems like you're in luck, my dear. Heidi was kind enough to bring you your luggage."

Forgetting the sense of time and space, I let out an excited gasp and grabbed the handle from Aro, who still looked a little miffed. Haha, cockblocked! Dropping down to my knees, which I knew was a mistake, I riffled through my suitcase, and pulled out a yellow polka-dotted dress, hugging it close to my body. I struggled to get up to my feet, and when I did, I noticed that Aro was looking at me, with a faraway look in his eye. "I'll leave you to get changed then, Margaret."

I gulped, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his use of my full given name. He was using the same tone he used back in the throne room. I asked myself what I did wrong as Aro quickly left my room.


Aro POV

I don't understand how she could still look at me after what I did. I swore to myself I would do everything in my power as the leader of the vampire world to protect my mate. And I failed her, in more ways than one.

Not only have I failed to make her feel safe, I failed to make her happy. Despite Margaret reassuring me she was grateful for what I have given her, I could tell she did not like the clothes I had Heidi pick out for her. Maybe I should have listened to Carlisle's advice and not push her so hard. On the bright side, Margaret had no negative objections to her living space, which cheered me up, somewhat.

But her stubborn refusal towards my gifts wasn't driving me mad. No, it was her flippant but coquettish attitude that was driving me crazy. Even more so than her blood. The way she stood her ground against Caius was both troubling and amusing. After she left, it took Marcus and I a good while to calm him down, with little success, as he stormed out to what I presumed to be the tower, where Athenodora was. Frankly, I was quite turned on by her little outburst.

Speaking of being turned on, that little remark she boldly made about how she'd rather walk around without any clothes on almost consumed me, and I almost made a scene myself. It took every ounce of my being from taking her right then and there, it gave me the human equivalent of a headache, it drained me that much. Reading her thoughts, I had to smirk. So young Margaret thinks she can outplay me in this little game of ours. My dear, you haven't seen the last of me.

I put her room in my wing of the castle, which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because she was always nearby, and I could easily keep tabs on her. But it was a curse as well, considering her blood was driving me crazy. I often found myself walking past her room more than I should have been, and there were moments where I had to stop myself from doing the unthinkable.

As the days went by, I could see she was growing closer to the guard, but not with me. Which is why I tried to avoid her for the most part, in order to stop upsetting her. Every time we would lock eyes I could feel her shame, and she would look away. It wounded me terribly.

During the night, when she was asleep, it was a different story. I found myself sneaking in her room at night, either sitting on the edge of the bed or in a chair nearby, watching her sleep quite contently. I tried to convince myself this would only scare her away, but I couldn't help it. The beating of her heart, and the little one inside her were driving me crazy. Despite her blood being the catalyst of my desires, young Margaret's heartbeat surprisingly kept myself calm, which was a paradox.

Despite my inner battle, I found myself in her room again tonight, watching her snuggle into the mattress. However, tonight I was rather tempted, and I decided to see how far I could go without waking her. The first time I almost got caught I hid myself under her bed (the irony never escaped me) as she woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. The exhilaration never escaped me either. The thought of getting caught, which would have unimaginable consequences, triggered the irrational side of me. And I found myself kneeling on the floor in front of her, observing her with great fascination.

I was fighting with an idea that I had in mind. I was already toeing the line, and what I wanted to do was pushing things farther than I could imagine. The irrational side of me won, and I slowly stood up off the floor, gazing at my mate quite longingly. Without taking my eyes off of her, I slowly walked around to the other side of the bed, before stopping. Was I really going to risk it all? To see how it felt to lie next to her? Damn it!

I carefully placed myself on the bed before laying on my side, facing her. Knowing that she could sense the coldness that radiated from my body, I stayed far enough away that I was still near enough for my liking. I carefully raised an arm and boldly caressed her now short, mahogany locks. However, I retracted my hand so fast when she decided to turn on her side, facing me. I never felt true fear, as being the leader of the vampire world prohibited me from feeling that, but I came close at this moment. If Margaret opened her eyes...If I lost her forever…

Fortunately, she quickly turned around again, and I would have let out a sigh of relief if I were human. Unfortunately, I was feeling bolder than ever, and I felt myself moving closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist over the blanket. I couldn't tell who was losing their self-control faster: me, or her.