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The night air the day before Kaito is supposed to meet his fiancee is cold, nearly painting his face with frost and freezing his airways. Slowly, he breathed out, blowing away a few snowflakes with water vapor. His fangs ached as his stomach growled angrily; he quietly ignored the signs and leaned forward on the railing, frowning harder as he looked at the ground below. Servants were brushing the stone paths free of snow, acting like they didn't have a care in the world, and secretly, Kaito wondered if they hated being slaves to the mighty Tenjos. He knew for fact that his grandparents were not good to the servants, and they had made that clear; that's why Kaito's parents were ruling right now. Faker and Seiren didn't punish the slaves, though, for murdering the previous king and queen; maybe that was why they were so content with working?

Gentle footsteps echoed from below, more elegant than that of a servant vampire's heavy footfalls. His eyes found the source quickly, and he nearly groaned in exasperation. The female's scent was filled with emotion, along with the scent of something else on her that he only recognized because he watched his mother go through it. She caught his gaze and waved up at him, using her blood wings to fly up to the balcony. Her soft, blue hair swayed gently in the breeze as she landed gracefully next to him, her slippers barely making a sound on the mahogany wood.

"Good morning, Kaito," Rio began, her crimson eyes glowing. Hell, her entire body was glowing radiantly, or at least it seemed like it. He rolled his eyes, irritated with her sudden visit and lack of honorific.

"Rio," he said plainly, acting as platonic as possible. "I'm surprised Ryouga let you out of his sight with your... condition."

"Ah, you can smell it on me, can't you?" Of course he could; even the damn servant vampires, severely depleted in their superhuman genes, could smell it all over her. She placed a hand over her lower abdomen, a sad smile gracing her features. Kaito pressed his lips into a straight line, avoiding looking at her.

"Rio, please go home." Yes, he was concerned about her; they had grown up together, with him being around Ryouga so much. But for god's sakes, she was married already and in such a delicate state for a female vampire... he couldn't risk himself wanting to feed off of her and mark her as his own. His body was calling for him to pin her up against the rail and drain her, make her his territory. But he hadn't the right, since Ryouga had already staked claims on the girl. Along with the fact that he too was going to get married quite soon. "You're too delicate to be out here right now. With how Ryouga is, you know how upset he'll be if he finds out you've been out seeing me."

"You already know why I'm risking two lives, Kaito." And yeah, he did. They both did, and it was painful. Activities outside of marriage of the romantic sort were taboo within their culture; and that was saying something considering siblings commonly married each other in the aristocracy and monarchy. "And I'm not about to go back to that damn mansion because you tell me so."

Time to spill the beans. "Rio, I'm getting married soon." The female's eyes flew wide, and she stepped away until she bumped into a table. Kaito kept his expression neutral to keep from revealing anything to her. "I won't be able to see you anymore once the bond is finalized." It's for the better, he thought with a twinge of pain. Better... for both of us. "And besides, Rio... do you really want your child to grow up in that type of situation?"

He had her there. Breathing out, she crossed her arms, plucking at her blue scarf. "You know I would never do that." Her parents were similar, hardly ever home due to their position within the aristocracy. Sighing hard, she looked at him, determined. "But you know how I feel, Kaito."

"I understand that, Rio." This was like trying to pull a werewolf away from its food; fighting with Rio over this issue was not going to get them anywhere. "And you know like hell that if I had it my way, you'd be with me and not your twin brother."

"I love him as much as I do you and you know that." She wanted to hiss; torn over Ryouga and Kaito, she didn't know if she'd be any happier in the universe that the blonde was describing. Even though she much would rather be carrying Kaito's child, instead of her brother's, she loved Ryouga as well, and the thought of leaving him for this pureblood prince made her cringe. God, why couldn't she be a pureblood and have the ability to mark anything they wanted? And to think that Kaito would outlive her...

"Rio..." Great, he put her in a place she didn't want to be. Dragging a hand through his hair, he came forward and wrapped his arms around her. She still had her wings out, surprisingly; he caressed her shoulder blades, forcing the scars to split open again and pull in her wings. "I'm sorry."

This gentle embrace was almost too much for her. The burn in her chest from desire amplified the moment he touched her. Her heart raced, and she heard the primal thoughts of her child wondering what was going on. Rio wrapped her arms around his torso; he probably felt awkward due to the small bump currently between them. But she could smell that he was hurting because of this, and the one emotion he hid was flowing about freely.

He wouldn't kiss her; his parents would be very mad if he lost any of his chastity to anyone besides who he was to marry. But dammit, as he pulled away from her, those pink lips of hers were looking more appetizing the more he looked at them. His fangs began to elongate, but he snapped his jaw shut and turned away from the younger female. She wasn't his and she never would be.

"Fara!" he called down towards the workers. A boy with rough brown hair looked up, his single fang flashing in the dim light from the torches outside.

"Yes, Kaito-dono?" Fara inquired, pausing his work with the shovel in his hands.

"See to it that Kamishiro-san gets home safely," Kaito ordered. He turned to the female just as she flapped out her wings again. "Don't come back without a guard, baka."

She smiled, displaying her fangs, and lifted away. Rio plopped down on the ground, and Fara took her arm, leading her away from the Tenjo estate. The blonde prince watched her as she left, coercing his fangs back to normal length and his stomach to calm down its fussing. Longing pulled at his heartstrings and he barely contained the instinct to fly over to her and take her as his. He hadn't the right, even though technically as the prince he could request anyone to his liking.

Turning around, Kaito headed inside. The living room on the top floor, the fourth floor, was large, and he had it all to himself. This entire floor would be his, and his alone once he became married to whoever it was he was betrothed to. Muttering to himself angrily about being a prince, he sat down on one of the heavily-furred couches and dropped his head between his knees, threading his fingers together on the back of his head.

Being a prince was a lot harder than it looked, especially when you're in love with someone you can never be with.

Droite wasn't too happy as she was called out into the courtyard by none other than the male she wished she could imprint on. She disliked the daylight, as it hurt her eyes, forcing her to wear a pair of glasses that blocked out the harmful rays and dress in thick clothing, among having to use a parasol to block out the sun. She felt too elegant, and it was a feeling she hoped to get rid of quickly. The faster she was able to get into her regular pair of leggings and blouse, the faster she would get to feeling a little better. Frowning at her boyfriend as she approached him, she looked him over.

Gauche was lit like a live wire, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck every so often. Oh, yes, the typical anger of an imprinted male about to lose his mate. Despite her earlier dislike of the fact that he had officially made her his mate without her knowledge, she couldn't help the extreme guilt she felt for putting him in this situation. The way his face seemed to age far passed what it should be, and she found herself missing the big, goofy smiles he had given her at the start of their relationship, before shit hit the fan.

As soon as she stepped onto the terrace, his head snapped up, his eyes widening slightly at her outrageous appearance. He was used to seeing her wearing next to nothing in clothing due to her transforming so damn often; the fact that she appeared like she was about to go through the mountains without her wolf form bothered him greatly. Then a smirk came about him as he saw that she wasn't too pleased with the look herself.

"Why in the hell are you calling me out here, in the middle of the day, no less." Irritation seemed to be her main mode lately, and she could barely contain her displeasure and pretty much everything anyone did around her. "Stop that smug look; I'll chew on your bones before I let you scrutinize me any further." Even though, honestly, she didn't give a rat's ass what the monarchy placed her as. As far as she knew, only her little brother and sister gave a damn about her.

"You look like, what the humans call, an Eskimo." Gauche was prepared for the angry swipe that came his way, and he merely held her wrist to stop her from tearing into his face with her sharp nails. "Anyway, I heard from your parents yesterday." His tone dropped to serious levels, the frown he possessed making the poor alpha female freeze in her tracks. "You're getting mated to a male that they deemed fit for you."

"They said that, yes," she replied, pulling her wrist from him. He stood up, ironically taller than her in human form, and placed his hands on her shoulders. She gazed up at him through the thick, dark lenses, pursing her lips.

"You're powerful enough to overthrow that ruling, Droite," Gauche started; he pressed a finger to her mouth to keep her from interrupting him. "And besides, imprinting doesn't work very well with arranged matings, and your parents should understand that." He had imprinted on her and every male and female knew it; his scent was all over her, declaring her as his. Yet she was unable to return much of that feeling, her lack of imprint on him being the wedge that was driving them apart. The fact that she was going to be tamed by another male pissed him off beyond belief. She was his, godmotherfuckingdammit. Not whoever this guy was that was going to have his mitts all over the princess.

"I realize that, Gauche," Droite started, flicking his hands off of her, "But you don't realize what peril that puts you in. Besides, what good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?" She turned away, walking forward slightly; he followed after her as she picked up her pace. His adrenaline was on hyperdrive and he so desperately wanted to take her, out in the woods where nobody would notice. But she had no sex drive whatsoever; the Haze would activate that for her, and god, he couldn't wait for that. He hoped she would go into it tomorrow, when she was supposed to meet her fiance; he could literally smell the hormones in her, waiting to activate and trigger the debilitating but pleasurable process. But nope, her body wasn't ready, and it hadn't been ready for nearly four human years.

"Droite," he started as they entered the woods. The trees blocked the sun partially; the princess lowered her glasses and looked at him as he began again. "I love you, so much, but why? Why are you going along with this?"

"If I stain the family's name, Gauche," she said, stopping and turning fully to him, "I will be killed, along with you and any other werewolf who has ever been in contact with me. Before that, the man I'm supposed to mate will probably use me to his own pleasure before killing me outright. Do you want that to happen? Hm?"

"I love you enough to risk that." His arms came around her, holding her close. "Droite, please, we can make a run for it, right now. I'll take care of you. I'll service you during your Haze. I'll make sure you're safe."

She wanted to cry, and she came damn close to losing it. But she set her face in stone and said the heartbreaking words. "I'm... sorry, Gauche. But I won't let you get killed over this."

Cursing loudly, he yanked her into a rough kiss, not giving a damn if others were in the area. She groaned against him, dropping the parasol in favor of wrapping her arms around his torso since she couldn't reach any higher than that. Droite winced upon feeling how aroused her boyfriend was, and how desperate he was to take her. But she was unable to respond, her body not having the necessary means to do so. Until her Haze started, she would remain, pretty much, impotent and sterile. She broke the kiss shortly after that, picking up her parasol from the ground and leaving Gauche behind as she ran full speed towards the Yamamoto manor.

Her mother let her in, obviously disgusted with the fact that the scent of male need was all over the younger alpha. Droite ignored Cecilia to the best of her abilities and raced to the basement rooms, looking to escape the harsh sunlight and the wrath of her parents from seeing her with Gauche. Tears broke from the dam she had put up as she entered the corridor leading to her set of rooms, and she broke down, sinking to the floor and tossing her parasol across the wooden floor. Anger and sadness ripped her heart apart again over the fact that she loved that boy, yet she couldn't imprint on him, and he was being yet again kicked out of her family. Gauche was her love, but her soul wasn't able to accept it. Her soul would forever reject him, and therefore she would never be able to be with him even if this hadn't happened.

It was lonely, being at the top of her kingdom...