"What are you doing here?" I asked. I glanced around my room. No one else was here. And King wouldn't let him into my room so easily.

He was silent for a moment. He answered, "To inform you that you are going to be training with me from now on."

"Why?" I was getting suspicious.

He grinned. "To prepare you."

"For what, exactly?"

His grin got even wider, showing his fangs. "The Events of course."

I threw my towel down on my bed and stomped over to Drake. "What the fuck are theses stupid Events all about?"

The stupid vamp took hold of my waist before I could react. I was pulled, rather harshly, onto his lap. I was seated like a child would be on Santa. I tried to break his hold, but he only tightened. I looked directly at his eyes.

"Let me go," I said slowly and with a growl.

He leaned forward and I turned my head, giving him a face full of dark, wet hair . . . and also a perfect shot of my neck, which he touched gently, caressing it. I was used to his sudden impulse to touch me, but that didn't mean I had to like it I flinched away from his touch.

"The ball is tomorrow night."

"Oh . . .?" In all honesty, I had forgotten. With all the training and practicing I did with King, I forgot about the stupid monthly ball. I tested his hold again. "And what of it?"

"You aren't going."

I sucked in a breath. That was unexpected. He usually forced me to go to the ball now he was willingly not letting me go? What the fuck?

"Okay," I said simply and began to fight my way out of his arms and off his lap. He held firm and tight. I yelped softly. He heard it, of course, and smiled.

"No questions asked?"

"Yep." I fought again. My strength was nothing compared to his. "Jesus Christ, what else do you want?"

I was lifted a fraction off of his lap and placed back down again, straddling his thighs. That was not the only thing that made me uncomfortable. What else made me feel uncomfortable was the fact that I was naked underneath my robe. I didn't want him getting any ideas. My subconscious murmured something in my mind, but I didn't catch it.

"Let me tell you about the Events, little one. Then you'll know why I am here and why you will not be going to the ball," he said. His hands were resting on the curves of my hips. I could feel the coldness of his hand through the silk. A shiver was sent throughout my body. This was a bad move. I could feel my nipples hardening as well.

Fucking shit! I thought.

Drake noticed immediately. He glanced down at my breasts and then back at my face with a hungry smile.

"Stop it," I whispered sharply. I pulled my arms across my chest. I shifted as much as I could in the tight space. There was barely a foot between my chest and Drake's. I didn't want it any closer. "Now, what are these damn Events?"

He rid of his smile and replaced it with a calm and almost boring demeanor.

"The Events are an old vampire tradition in which four vampires and four humans battle for their lives. Three out of four vampires are killed. And when the last one is standing, they are proclaimed the winner. If there is one vampire and one human left standing, the vampire and human must battle in order for only one to take the name Paracsnoka a vad. 'Master of the Untamed'." He looked me right in the eyes and simply said, "And you will get that name, Zoey."

I blinked. "What?"

"You have been chosen, Zoey. You and three other humans are to play in the Events and you are going to win."

I struggled for the millionth time in his arms. "You're fucking crazy!"

"I might be, but I'm right." With every move I made to get away from him, he moved me closer. I was sliding against his leather pants and up toward his waist. My knees were tucked not so uncomfortably between his outer thigh and the arms of the chairs on each side. I still struggled. My arms were against his chest in an instant, pinned in place and unable to move. I whimpered, my head turned away from his piercing eyes.

"Why me?" I felt so helpless whispering like that. Why the fuck did I feel like that? This man is no different from all the others that tried to get at me. I declined all of them, but something about this one felt different somehow.

"Because you're special, Zoey."

My eyes snapped to his. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me, Zoey. I said you're special."

I exploded, my shoulders shaking angrily and my thighs tightening against his, "What the FUCK makes me so goddamn special? I am nothing but a fucking human with the power to kick ass and you're telling me I'm special? You're outta your fucking mind, Drake. What makes you think that—"

What I was about to say next was lost due to the lips that pressed against mine. Too personal . . . but too soft and gentle. He pulled away before I could respond.

I looked into his eyes once more. Slowly, I said, "Why am I special?"

He reached up for my face with both hands, cupping it like it was a precious object. "Because I say you are."

He leaned forward again. My mind zoomed back to life and I jerked back, out of his hold and away from his reach. Or so I thought. Of course he was a vamp and could move faster than me. As soon as I was off his lap, he was off the chair. I was near my bed. Drake was blocking the door. I dashed to the bed, attempting to climb over it. It was stupid and I realized it at the same time I realized a body pinning me down of the bed, my wrists at my ears. I grunted, but Drake's legs pinned mine as well. I panicked slightly. Drake wouldn't rape me, would he?

No I decided. No he wouldn't.

And I was right. All he did was lean forward again. I turned my head and he kissed my exposed neck, just below the ear. I struggled.

"Don't fight me, Zoey. You'll lose, and you know it."

I stopped immediately. "Why no ball?"

"Because I don't want the Council or any other to see you before the Events. They would bother you in ways I know you wouldn't want to be bothered." He smiled coldly. "And I know you like the ball just as much as I do."

I cocked my head to look at him more clearly. His eyes would wander down my body every few minutes. The skirt of my robe was hiked up a few inches, exposing my thighs and almost what connected them. I couldn't move in any way to pull it down. My arms were pinned and if I kicked, it would only bring it up more, and I didn't want that.

"I thought you enjoyed the balls."

"I enjoyed them only because you came."

"What will I do for the whole night?"

He smiled. "Training, of course."

Speaking of training brought back something he said before. "Why isn't King training me for these Events?"

His brow furrowed. "King needed to leave for a short while and asked me to train you in his absence."

I faked a sneeze. "Sorry, Drake, I'm allergic to bullshit."

He smiled. "Believe it or not, Zoey, I will be training you. So, I want you to meet me down stairs in the training room in twenty minutes." He began to lift himself off of me. When he reached the door, he opened it slightly, looked back and said, "And be prepared from the unexpected."

With that he left. He left me sitting on my bed wondering why the fuck I was feeling what I was feeling.

I'm excited?

…

I was dressed in my usual training attire within ten minutes. I glanced at myself in the mirror. I grunted at my bruised body and walked out of my room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. I had five minutes before I had to meet Drake. I didn't want to go early or arrive on time so I sat down at the table and read the comics from the newspaper. Cat came out of the pantry carrying all the ingredients in the world.

"Whatcha cooking, Cat?" I asked.

She dropped the contents onto the counter in the middle of the kitchen. "Can't tell you."

I frowned. "Why not?"

She winked at me. "Boss said so."

By 'boss' I knew she meant Drake. Stupid bastard really didn't want me to know what I was going to eat. Talk about dumb.

I shrugged, letting it go. "All right."

I glanced at the clock and smiled. I was already three minutes late. I'll let him wait a little longer. I continued reading the colored comics, front and back. I even did the little puzzles on the back. I shuffled through the paper and found a word search. I finished that and looked for more things to kill the time. On the other side of the word search was a crossword. I smiled and started on the puzzle. I was about three quarters of the way done when I glanced at the clock again.

I was forty five minutes late. I decided that was enough time to be late. I picked up the crossword and pen and filled it out while walking slowly to the training room. I arrived at the door with only one question left, and what a perfect question it was.

I opened the door. In the center of the room was Drake with his hands behind his back. He wore his usual dark jeans and dark jacket, but no undershirt. I could see his pale, muscled chest under the leather. I looked him directly in the eye before entering the room.

As I walked I picked up the piece of newspaper and pen. I read him the question aloud, "'The original Count Dracula'." I tapped the pen against my lip, watching Drake the entire time. "Hmmm. I can't say you because it's ten letters. The first is a B and the fifth is a L." I smiled. "Oh, I know!"

He glared at me as I began to write in the name of the original Count Dracula actor in 1931. As I wrote I said the name aloud, "Bela Lugosi." I dotted the 'i' and threw the paper at him. "Done."

I could sense them before they even moved out of their hiding spot. I sensed them even as I entered the room. Gabby was on my right and Jesse on my left as I walked through the door. I couldn't see them; they were good at being invisible. Nicole and Brian were on the far right and left of the room, hiding in the shadows. All four of them didn't attack until Drake gave a sign. The sign was obvious, but could have been passed by a flirtatious move.

He winked.

I moved before Gabby could get her hands on me. I turned and grabbed her outstretched arm that was going for my throat. I pulled her to me and punched her squarely in the nose. This was a good way to get out all the anger I had in me. Vampires get injured, sure, but they heal quickly. She fell back into the mats and I gave a good kick to her ribs, just to keep her down. Jesse came at me then. I twirled, elbowing him in the face twice. He bent over and I put a knee to his gut, causing him to fall over.

Nicole jumped onto me, making me fall back onto the mats. I flinched at the contact, but kept fighting. I grabbed her shoulders and rolled her over. I pinned her down and punched her gut, making her cough. I hit all the nerves in her body that I could find, cause her to stay still for a few minutes.

Brian came out then. I never liked Brian. He always was a prick. He was turned just a year ago, and that made him wild. Whereas, Nicole was changed five years ago and Gabby was before I was born. Jesse didn't have a story. He never talked. He just showed up on the doorstep, starving. Drake took him in and only Drake knew his story.

"Come one, princess. Show me what you got," Brian scowled.

"You asked for it, Brian."

I did a kick to his chest, which he dodged. Finally! A worthy opponent! I tried a round house kicked, which he didn't dodge, but took in fully to the ribs. I heard several cracks as he went down.

"That was easy enough," I said.

I turned to find Drake watching me with an approving smile.

I walked toward him and placed my hands on my hips. "Now what?"

"Very good, Zoey."

"Save it. I don't need you to praise me with compliments. I don't want to be here and if all you're going to do is just watch me kick the shit out of your vamps then I'm leaving."

He didn't respond and I began to leave. As I reached the door, though, he appeared in front of me. I hate it when he does that.

"Tomorrow, when the ball begins, I want you to be in here practicing. You have no choice on the matter," he added as I began to protest. I growled at him, but he ignored it. "Go rest now. I will see you soon."

"Don't count on it," I mumbled and walked out of the room.

…..

A|N: Sorry for the late update. School is just ending and I have finals to study for. Grr. Review please! Thanks!

Willow

P.S. -Lemons will be in next chapter. Just a warning.

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