Kyoko hummed as she hugged herself closer to the intoxicating scent. There was a soft sigh and fingers weaved into her hair. Her eyes snapped open, and she groaned as she once again found herself in the king's bed.

"Is this going to be a nightly occurrence?" Ren asked as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. "I could have arranged for you to come home with me if you wanted. All you had to do was ask."

"Shh." Kyoko shushed him.

He raised a brow at her but said nothing. She sat up and looked around the room. One minute she had been in her bed being attacked and the next she was in Ren's bed. She had wished for Corn though not Ren. Why had her powers brought her to the king's room? She peeked behind him into the shadows of his dark room then looked at him.

"He isn't here?"

"Who?" Ren asked picking up the towel he had dropped on the floor when she had appeared and drying his hair with it.

"I had hoped he would be here. I mean I was trying to will myself to him. I was scared and he was the only friend I could think of but maybe he doesn't think of me that way. That's probably why it didn't work the way I read about, but then why am I here?"

"I have no idea." Ren said confused.

She shook her head clutching his pendant to her chest. Noticing he touched her hand and she handed it over.

"You were scared and willing yourself to safety?" He asked and she nodded. "What were you afraid of?"

She stared at him for a moment contemplating whether she should tell him or not. He already had a lot to deal with. Not only was he marrying an inept fledgling, but she also happened to talk to voices in her head and was seeing hands reaching out of the shadows. Though he might be inclined to believe the hands had been real. He also had that ability, but she was certain it hadn't been him. At least it didn't feel like him. Still, she would rather not worry him. Just in case it was all her imagination.

"Nothing, I had a nightmare." She said casting her eyes down.

"A nightmare?" He asked in disbelief. "Hm?"

A heavy chain fell over her shoulders and the pendant vibrated against her chest. It was warm and she felt safe with it hanging around her neck.

"I like your nightgown." Ren said with a smirk.

"…" she opened her mouth in a silent gasp and looked down at herself.

"Honami wasn't given permission to take your dress off." He teased. "That was my job."

"Gross, you perv." She said jumping out of his bed and taking his blanket with to wrap around herself.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Back to LME." She said closing her eyes and willing herself back to her room.

He sat back and watched her with an amused smile on his face. She squeezed her eyes tight and held her breath trying to reenact what she had done to appear in his bedroom.

"Corn!" She shouted then after waiting a beat she opened one eye to peek up at his smirking face. She snapped her eyes shut again and shouted again, "Corn!"

"I don't think that will work." He chuckled. Of course, it wouldn't work. She was trying to travel to Kuon and what was left of him was sitting on the bed. "Why not try Kotonami-san?"

"Because she hates me." Kyoko said frustrated.

"She doesn't hate you." Ren said standing up and walking closer to her.

"She does. All she ever does is complain about having to babysit me. I'm pretty sure Honami and Yuka are spies. Mostly because Ruto-san said they were. The other heirs despise me because I'm being forced to marry you. Maria-chan and Takarada-san are forcing me to marry you. My only friend is Corn."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened at first but melted against his chest, her previous fear and stress making her tired.

"Are you hungry? Teleporting yourself must have taken a lot out of you." Ren said taking a step back and tipping her head up. "You can't tell anyone though. Yashiro-san would kill me if he found out."

His thumb grazed her lips, and she released a shuttering gasp. There was a slight pinch as her fangs elongated back into their sharp points. He held a finger to his mouth as he guided her to the bed and sat down. Her slim fingers raised to his neck tickling the column of delectable flesh. It was then that she noticed his state of undress. He had no shirt and only a loose pair of pajama pants hanging low on his hips. She closed her eyes and listening to his steady heartbeat. She really was hungry as he had said but her need to drink from him was deeper than that. Being close to him. Nuzzling her face into his warm neck and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. It all gave her a sense of safety; of something belonging to her.

"You smell like him." She whispered rubbing her nose over his skin.

"Who?" he asked. Unable to resist he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her down to straddle his lap.

"Corn." She said softly running her tongue over her teeth to test their sharpness.

"And what did Corn smell like?" he asked suddenly feeling lightheaded as the scent of her blood tickled his nose.

She lifted her head and they leaned into each other. Their noses bumped each other, and her lips caressed his as she spoke.

"Like sunshine. Corn smelled like safety and warmth; like the home I always wished I could have." She said then sliced her tongue across her teeth again unconsciously enticing him.

Tempted to lean in and suck the blood from her tongue, Ren had to remind himself why he couldn't have her. Things were bad enough already without adding him becoming sick with bloodlust. He closed his eyes for the briefest second to savor her scent then pulled her mouth back down to his neck.

"You should eat." He said then he hissed as her fangs punctured his flesh.

There was no pain quite like being bitten by one's mate. It was a primal vampiric pleasure to be their sustenance and feed their inner monster's hunger. This was dangerous and he knew it. She had come to him when she needed safety. There was no way he could guarantee her safety around him though. Not when she smelled so delicious and allowed herself to be so defenseless in his presence. There was nothing keeping him from sinking his own teeth into her flesh. There was nothing protecting her from his carnal desires to magic away her nightgown and lick every inch of her body. He shuttered and let out a guttural moan as her tongue lapped at his skin catching every stray drop of blood.

"Corn isn't your only friend. At the very least you and I are allies. We're both being forced to marry strangers for the amusement of others." He said rubbing her back more to keep himself calm than her.

"Amusement?" she asked drowsily.

"You think Takarada-san isn't amused by our mutual torment?" he asked shifting her his arms as she let her eyes drift closed.

"When I'm queen I'm going to punish that man." She mused feeling light as a feather. "Hey, are you using your powers," her voice drifted off before she could finish her question and she let him lay her down on his bed.

"You are too defenseless around me." He said and ran a finger down the column of her throat. He leaned in wanting nothing more than to rip into her veins. He laid a gentle kiss to her neck then her cheek. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked not even realizing that he was smiling gently at her.

He touched her mouth retracting her fangs again then stood up to put as much distance between himself and her as possible. Satisfied that she was settled peacefully and safely in his bed, he teleported himself to LME where he found three frantic women in Kyoko's bedroom. They all froze upon seeing him.

"What happened?" he asked Kanae.

"Never mind that. Do you have Kyoko? Do you know where she is? Is she safe?" Kanae demanded answers as she advanced on him.

"Wow, be careful or someone might think you care about her." Ren said a little ticked at her. She had made Kyoko feel unwanted.

"Who cares about her?" Kanae asked. "I know that if something happens to her it will be me and my coven who are punished."

"True enough." Ren said.

"I didn't even think of that." Yuka said, "Will we be punished too?"

"Yes," Ren answered curtly.

"She was here! She ordered us to get out, but she was acting strange. She started screaming in the bathroom and she wouldn't let us in." Honami explained frantically.

"We tried to help. We did." Yuka added. "She made us leave."

Kanae busied herself by searching around the bed for clues. She touched the little pouch Kyoko always kept near her.

"She wouldn't have left without this. Something happened. Someone took her or did something to her." Kanae said and Ren could have sworn that he almost saw a flicker of emotion behind her ice queen façade.

"Relax she's fine." He said putting the three women at ease. It was almost imperceptible, but he saw the relief in Kanae's eyes. "She teleported herself to my place. I think it must have been the same vampire who possessed you trying to possess her. Her innate abilities took over and delivered her to safety."

"I'm so sure she's safe in your bed." Kanae sneered with disgust.

"She's asleep." Ren said not acknowledging her blatant disrespect. "Would you like me to take you to her?"

He held out his hand and Kanae made a face as though it were slimy.

"It's clean." He said extending it closer to her.

"Whatever."

Kanae placed her hand in his but stood as far from him as possible.

"Get some sleep ladies. We have a big day ahead of us amping up the security in this room and the rest of LME." Ren said as he and Kanae vanished.

Honami and Yuka sighed in relief. Kyoko was safe after all. They stood for a moment then looked up at each other at the same time realizing that they kind of liked her. They had been asked to spy on her by Chiori but some time since meeting her they had grown attached to her. She was odd and sweet. Perhaps the best part of knowing her was that she didn't talk down to them or exclude them. That and watching her argue with the king was fun.

"Someone tried to hurt Kyoko-chan." Honami said annoyed that she cared so much.

"Yes, and they somehow got into this room." Yuka said and both girls shivered looking over their shoulders.

Hurriedly they ran out of the room but didn't feel safe even in their own room. If someone had gotten into Kyoko's room, then they could certainly get into any other room at LME. They both sat on Yuka's bed with their backs together and had difficulty falling asleep.

At Ren's place Kanae looked over Kyoko checking for any signs of harm. She brushed the hair off Kyoko's neck searching for bite marks.

"She's fine. I fed her then put her to sleep. She was so shaken that she didn't resist my powers like she usually does. She'll be out until morning at the very least." Ren said then rolled his eyes as Kanae began to inspect his bedroom. "No one can get in here."

"You don't know that. You can't know that and yet you left her alone here." Kanae said dropping to the floor and looking under the bed.

"You see these symbols?" Ren asked pointing to his wall which lit up green with different symbols. "They keep my house invisible and unreachable by anyone not of my bloodline. No one can get in or out without my consent."

"Kyoko got in without your consent or knowledge." Kanae pointed out.

She stepped over to the wall to examine the symbols. They were similar in style to his family crest, but she hadn't seen anything like them in any book. Her fingers burned as she touched the wall.

"Kyoko has my blood in her." He said with a blush. Though tonight had been the first time in a while that she had drank his blood. She had his crest though so maybe that had enabled her to bypass his security system.

"Right." Kanae conceded too distracted by her own thoughts to care what his excuse was.

Ren was an algul and he shouldn't have a family crest. Only nobles had those and there were no noble algul families. They were all humans turned vampire or second-generation vampires whose parents had been turned. And Who had ever heard of an algul who had sleep inducement and command inducement for that matter. If Kyoko was to be believed he could also manipulate shadows. Kanae looked up wondering if he could read her thoughts too.

"I can't read your thoughts." He said convincing her that he could. "You're giving me that look that says you're worried I just heard you think something unpleasant about me. Even if I could read people's minds I wouldn't want to."

"If you could read minds, it might be easier to catch the culprit behind the possessions."

"True." He said suddenly wishing he could read minds.

"I'm pretty sure it's someone at LME." Kanae said. She walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers. There was no way she was letting him share the bed with Kyoko. Though his bed could fit all three of them comfortably with no chance they would ever touch and even had room for a fourth. Rich bastard. She eyed him again hoping he really couldn't hear her thoughts.

"I have no doubt that someone at LME is behind this but who?"

"Probably that weird creep Reino and his buddy." Kanae said flippantly then shook her head. "No, I don't think Katagiri-san would leave someone here who was not completely loyal to him, and I can't see how he would benefit from any of this."

"Me neither, but let's not cross them off our list of suspects." Ren said. "I'm happy to hear that you're taking your job seriously and analyzing the threats around her. I'm glad that it seems I made the right choice in appointing you as her guard."

"I mean the only thing you knew about me was that I attacked her. So, I'd say it was a pretty dumb decision really."

"Was it?" Ren asked with a chuckle. "I figured you would want revenge on the vampire who possessed you more than anyone. Also, I thought there would be some degree of gratitude towards Kyoko who freed you from that possession. Was I wrong?"

"No." Kanae said with a pout. When he put it that way, she could see how it made sense.

"Besides she has a surprising number of abilities no one else seems to possess. I think she can defend herself or as she showed tonight get herself to safety if need be." he said.

"Then you feel it too?" Kanae asked and Ren gave her a quizzical look. "There's sometimes an overwhelming need to obey her. I sense something about her that scares me as much as it intrigues me. A darkness she isn't even aware of."

Ren looked at the sleeping girl. An overwhelming need to obey? She had invaded his mind and forced him to obey. The memory caused a shiver to run up his spine.

"Goodnight Kotonami-san." He said instead of responding to her question.

A/N: I was going to wait and write a longer chapter but I felt like I should be nice and let everyone know that Kyoko is safe. For now...