I woke up to knocking on my door again. I didn't answer, I was too sleepy. I heard the click of the lock and someone walked in. I slowly opened my eyes. It was Zane, but he didn't seem his normal self, he looked troubled, his brow was furrowed in deep thought. I stretched and took off the cover so he could look at my wound, I then realised that I was in my underwear. I couldn't even remember getting undressed the night before. And then I remembered that I had fallen asleep while Alec was in the room. I cringed hoping Alec didn't undress me.

Zane knelt down on the floor next to the bed to look at the wound.

"Are you ok Zane?" I asked. He didn't reply.

"Zane?" I repeated his name.

Zane looked up at me as if noticing I was there for the first time.

"Hmm, uh nothing. I'm going to put a fresh bandage on this morning but I'm going to come back at lunch and take it off and see how you do without one." He mumbled still deep in thought.

"Ok" I replied though I wasn't sure if he heard me. I let him work in silence sensing there was something wrong.

He left the room when he was finished just saying he'd be back later and left. I sighed and got up from my bed. I walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a knee length dress. I put it on, walked out to the balcony, and carried on reading my book. It was a nice day...as usual, just as hot as it was the day before, not that I was complaining, it was hot but the wind blew every now and then ruffling my already wavy hair and cooling me down.

Doreen came in not long after Zane had left with breakfast. She too looked worried. I got up, left the book on the balcony table, and walked into the room.

"Why does everyone look worried today?" I approached her.

"I really don't think it's my place to say ma'am," she replied.

I sighed knowing that I wasn't going to get an answer from her.

Time went by and I had finished my second book. "Now what" I thought. But before I could think of anything to do there was a knock at the door.

"Come in Zane," I shouted thinking it was Zane back to take the bandage off. But it wasn't Zane, it was Alec.

"Oh," I exclaimed in surprise but also embarrassed because I had started to take my dress off so Zane could look at my wound. Alec smiled at me as I blushed and turned away. "Oh crap" I thought to myself.

"I came to tell you that we have guests coming later for dinner."

"Is that what everyone is so uptight about?"

At that moment there was a knock at the door and Zane walked in.

"Oh sorry," he said, "Darcy I'm here to take your bandage off, I'll come back later if you want."

"That's ok Zane, I was just telling Darcy about the guests." Alec said.

Zane gave Alec a stern look.

"I'm just going to get undressed in the bathroom." I jump in at the conversation. "And don't look when I come out Alec." I too gave him a stern look.

I walked to the bathroom and undressed, taking the dress back out with me. I didn't leave until I made sure Alec was looking the other way. I laid down on the bed. Alec turned around and I frowned. I studied Alec, seeing him differently from when I first met him, he wasn't a crazed kidnapper anymore, I mean he was a kidnapper still but now a possible vampire as well. He was quite attractive though, probably the most attractive guy I'd ever seen. As soon as this thought crossed my mind Alec smiled and I thought it was a strange coincidence that he was smiling at the exact same moment that I was thinking he was attractive. Then a thought occurred to me, I had never asked him if vampires could read minds, terror washed through me.

"Can you read minds?" I asked looking at Alec, Zane turned to look at him as well. Alec's smile grew wider.

"No, why, what are you thinking?" He replied.

Relief spread through me, even though I couldn't be sure he was telling the truth. I ignored his question and asked one of my own. "Why are you smiling then?"

"Because," he paused as if deciding something and then spoke, "because you look so much nicer in your underwear then you do in your clothes."

My mouth opened agape and I blushed. It was a compliment but I couldn't help being annoyed, I frowned.

"Turn around pervert," I said, he didn't but he did go and sit on the chaise longue where trays of food were piling up on the nearby table and where he didn't have as good as a view of me as he did before because Zane was blocking it.

Zane smiled and carried doing whatever he was to my wound.

"So what's so important about these guests?" I asked curious as I remembered what Alec and I were talking about before Zane came in.

Alec answered, "They're not just any guests Darcy. It's Lex; you know the leader of the Morvan coven, and his men."

"I thought they weren't allowed on your territory?" I asked.

"They're not...without a reason," Zane replied.

"What's the reason?" I asked eagerly.

"We can only guess. And the reason is you," Zane carried on.

"Why what's so important about me," I felt fear knowing that this couldn't be good.

"Haven't you told her?" Zane was looking concerned and was glaring at Alec now who had been quiet for some time and who still remained silent. "Alec" Zane said in a harsher tone.

Alec sighed, "Darcy, it's tradition for the other coven leaders to take blood from my link, just once, before the Placing, which is basically like a coronation."

Fear had now turned into pure terror, "But, but you said Lex likes to kill when he takes blood."

"That's why I won't let him, and anyway the Placing isn't for another couple of months so it would be unlikely he wants to take your blood now, it's probably just his excuse to get onto our territory."

It still didn't help ease my terror, "Ouch" I said as Zane just caught my sensitive skin. "Why is it tradition to take blood from another leaders' link, it doesn't make sense if the idea of having different covens is to keep separate from each other?"

It was Zane who answered this time, "Nobody knows for sure, it's a tradition that's gone back centuries but we think it's something to do with our ancestors' idea of trying to keep peace among the covens because then they are all linked in some way. Don't worry about it Darcy, you'll be alright"

There was silence for a while and then Zane stood up and moved to the door and said "ok we're done for now, I'll come back later to put a bandage back on so you don't catch your wound while you sleep." He smiled when he had finished talking as I was thinking about how kind he was. This really couldn't be another coincidence,

"Are you sure you can't read minds?" I asked wanting to be reassured.

"No he said laughing, but I can read his," he nodded towards Alec before he opened the bedroom door.

I looked over to Alec who was looking at me with a smile on his face. I frowned, grabbed my dress, and put it on. It was Alec's turn to frown.

"Are you coming?" Zane asked Alec, "We have things to prepare."

"Yeah, in a minute," he said standing up. Zane sighed and walked out of the room leaving the door open. I was tempted to walk out of the door but I knew I wouldn't have a chance with Alec's super speed. I sighed and got up off the bed and walked to the mirror that was opposite the bed to tie my hair back as it was starting to annoy me. I could feel Alec's eyes on me.

"Do you feel safe when you're around me?" he asked appearing in the mirror behind me. Hmm another myth that was wrong.

"I suppose so, you did save my life," I replied.

He frowned, "You shouldn't trust people so easily"

"You didn't let me finish," I smiled, "It's hard to trust someone who's kidnapped you, even if they did save your life."

"Ok but look, just don't trust Lex; don't believe anything he says."

I turned around to look at him now that I had pulled my hair back; he was closer than I thought. I wanted to take a step back but I was already against the wall. I didn't reply to what he said, I couldn't, I felt overshadowed.

"Do you like Zane?" He asked.

"Sure," I said, "what's not to like."

"Do you really like Zane?" I could see what he was getting at now.

"You mean do I fancy him, or even love him?" He frowned at this; I took his silence as a yes. "No I don't, I barely know him, and I just like him as a friend."

"Do you think you'll like him more than a friend in time?" he had many questions.

"I can just see him as a good friend. Why do you want to know anyway?" Although I thought I already knew the answer.

"Do you like me, as a friend?" He carried on.

"I'm sorry, Master Alec, there's someone for you in the drawing room, a Miss Rosie Roswell."

Alec and I turned towards the maid who had just appeared in the open doorway, she blushed when she saw how close we were to each other. I looked back at Alec, his face looked confused at first, but then it was back to normal.

"I'll be back later," he said to me before exiting the room, closing the door behind him. But where was the "click," the click of the lock that I always heard when someone left me alone in my room? I couldn't resist, I walked to the door and pushed down the handle. It was open. Temptation won over me as I quickly escaped my prison and shut the door behind me. The hallway I had just walked into was magnificent, paintings hung in every space available on the wall, all different shapes and sizes, the hallway was quite bright. I turned left and walked, it was empty, no one in sight. I didn't walk far before I reached the end of the hallway and arrived at a banister that overlooked the entrance to the manor. It was gigantic; I had never seen anything like it in my life. The entrance was empty too, so I decided to chance it and walk down the stairway to my right that curved slightly as it got to the bottom. As I got near to the ground floor I heard voices coming from a room where the door was ajar. It sounded like Alec and a girl (I'm guessing was Rosie). I know it's wrong to spy but I couldn't help myself when I heard what they were talking about,

"Where is she," Rosie shouted, how could I not hear her from the top of the stairs? I'm surprised Alec hadn't gone deaf. I quietly snuck closer to the room so I could hear Alec, who was not shouting,

"Where is who?" he replied calmly.

"You know who! Your link, I know she's here, everyone's talking about her!" she seemed hysterical.

"I'm not going to show you to her until you calm down."

There was silence for a short while before I heard Rosie's voice again this time a lot quieter.

"I thought I was going to be your link Alec."

"Rosie," Alec sighed, "We split up fifty years ago, I haven't spoken to you since what makes..."

Fifty years, this girl knows how to cling onto a guy; she must be a vampire too, unless she was really old, but by the sound of her voice she wasn't. I was so deep in my thoughts I hadn't realised that there was silence once again. Suddenly before I knew it I was swept from my feet and wind was rushing through my hair and making my eyes water, I closed them. When everything was still I opened them and I was back in my room, Alec was in front of me holding the top of my arms quite tightly.

"I thought I told you to stay in your room!" Alec growled at me, I had never seen anyone look so angry before, it scared me, his eyes were black and menacing and his teeth were barred so tightly I'm surprised they didn't crack. Ok this definitely wasn't human.

"I'm sorry, the door was unlocked I couldn't help myself, no one was around, do you know how bored I get in this room, it's all I've seen since I've been here," I babbled out the excuses scared about his angry reaction.

"Darcy, I know it's hard to be locked up all the time but it's for your own safety, it's..." but Alec couldn't finish because he was cut off by who I was guessing was Rosie standing in the doorway leaning against the wall. We both turned to face her.

"Ha! Darcy, what kind of a name is that. How long has she been here for?! I bet you've kept this a secret for a while. Poor little human girl, needs protecting from the scary vampires! Ha!" she flicked her long blonde hair from out of her face. She was quite pretty.

Alec growled in his throat.

"Calm down Alec, I don't think she even likes you."

Alec stopped growling, I wanted to see his face, but he was standing in front of me facing Rosie. "Go home Rosie," He replied.

"Aww have I hit a sensitive spot, serves you right, I should be your link, I'm the one that loves you, not her."

"I said go home!" Alec replied this time much more aggressively. At this Rosie turned around and left, her blonde hair swaying after her.

Alec turned back around to face me. His features had softened and his eyes were no longer black.

"What did she mean?" I asked

Alec looked at me confused.

"I mean, when she said she should be your link, she loves you."

Understanding crossed Alec's face.

"Usually when a vampire chooses a link, they're in love...with each other. But not all the time." He quickly added on the end.

There was silence between us, I felt embarrassed, and I couldn't convince myself to look at him. Then Alec carried on.

"I was hoping that maybe someday you'd..." He cut off but I understood. I forced myself to look at him, his eyes, they were full of emotion, and he looked sad.

All I could do was reply with another question. "Why did you choose me? Why did you decide to save me that night?" I asked.

"Look, Lex is coming soon, just stay here." he said. "Please just stay here, don't try to escape." With this, he turned around and left.

He sounded annoyed, I didn't blame him, I think I had upset him, but I couldn't help not having feelings for him.

I was left alone again, the wind blowing my hair as it came in through the open balcony doors.