The Prince [Zayn Malik]

The Negotiator

*Drew*

"What could've provoked him?" Louis mumbled as he scanned a book with his eyes quickly. "This isn't adding up."

"I don't know why he do it. I just know he pushed me against the wall and bit me." I sighed, shuddering at the memory. After I walked away from Zayn, I ran into Liam. Turns out, Liam's a doctor. He got rid of the bite marks in a matter of minutes with some mineral water. Zayn's four friends all have special jobs based on their powers. Liam is a doctor because he's extremely intelligent and can come up with cures for tons of things. Louis can cast spells and create potions, even though he's a vampire. Harry is stronger than the rest of them, therefore he trains the knights before they go into battle. Niall decides what moves our army takes, because he gets visions from the future before something important happens.

Louis frowned and turned the page of his book. "Ah, I've got it!" He said suddenly. "It says here that if a vampire and human are mates, the human's blood can be extremely tempting if the vampire is dehydrated."

"Mates?" I questioned.

"Like soul-mates." He explained. "Were you bleeding when he did it?"

"No." I said, shaking my head. Then I remembered. "Wait, I was! I accidentally poked myself with a pin. He started acting really weird. Then he bit me."

"Then that's what happened." Louis replied and closed his book.

"But it can't be." I shook my head. "Zayn and I... We aren't soul-mates. I can't stand him."

"Oh, Drew." He chuckled. "That doesn't matter. Even if you don't like him, you're mates. It just works like that."

"We can't be." I refused to believe it.

"Sorry, love, but I'm afraid that's the truth." Louis told me. "If you weren't mates, he would have been able to control himself even if he was dehydrated of blood."

*Zayn*

'I can't be his mate, or soul-mate. It isn't possible. I don't love him. I don't like him. I can't even pretend to like him! How the hell are we mates? That's absolutely ridiculous. Louis's stupid book must be wrong. I definitely am not Zayn Malik's mate.'

I understand now. Everything finally makes sense.

When a vampire and a human are mates, it will never work out. The human refuses to love the vampire. We can't be in love unless she's a vampire. That means I don't have a chance, unless she'll let me turn her into a vampire. We all know that won't happen any time soon.

I drank another pint of blood. It was my sixth. I had to make sure I was completely hydrated before I saw her again. I didn't mean to bite her, and I can't do it again. As I got distracted, my mind instinctively tuned into Drew's thoughts.

'Well, I can't really be mad at him. It isn't necessarily his fault he's like this. I can't be angry for something that's not his fault. Maybe he could've tried harder to not do it, but I guess he did his best. He is human, after all. Well, not human. But he's only a person. He can't control everything.'

I smiled when I heard that. She's not furious with me, although she has every right to be. I'm so lucky that she's understanding. Most people would hate me and never spare me a bit of sympathy. I don't deserve it, but she still feels bad for me. It's not that I want sympathy or anything. I just don't want her to be angry with me. I've screwed up more than enough times. I need to start doing things right. I can't start making things better if she hates me. So maybe this sympathy is beneficial to me.

"Zayn, mate, are you alright?" Niall asked me upon entering the room.

"Not at all." I shook my head, wiping the drops of blood from the corner of my mouth.

"Are you hungover?" He questioned.

"More like screwed over." I muttered, taking another sip from my white styrofoam cup of blood.

"What happened?" He asked carefully, sitting in the seat across from me.

"I fucking bit Drew." I hissed, ashamed that I let myself do something so horrific to her. She's probably scarred for life now.

"What?!" Niall exclaimed with wide eyes. "That isn't how you get her to like you!" He told me.

"I was so busy worrying about her yesterday, I got dehydrated. She had a small cut on her hand and I just couldn't control myself." I hung my head low.

"So, that means you're mates?" He inquired.

"Yep."

"What are you gonna do? She's a human. Are you gonna turn her into a vampire?" He asked me.

"I don't know."

"Do you think she'll let you?" He kept pestering me with questions that I didn't have any answers to.

"I don't know."

"What if-"

"Niall, be quiet!" I yelled in frustration. When I saw the look on his face, I regretted it. "Sorry. I'm just having a hard time dealing with everything." I sighed.

"It's okay." He assured me. "Do you need anything?"

"Some common sense would be good." I mumbled.

"Aye, you've got common sense. You don't use it a lot, but you have it." He chuckled. "Maybe that's you're problem. You don't think before you act." He suggested.

"I know." I nodded. "That's part of my problem."

"Do you know what the rest of it is?" He asked.

"I'm an asshole." I rolled my eyes.

"Not all the time." He shook his head. "I know that. The guys know that. The servants know that. Your parents know that. The only person you have to convince is Drew."

"The most stubborn person in the world." I added.

"You're pretty stubborn yourself, though." He pointed out. "She can't take all the blame."

"Okay, I get it. I'm a stubborn asshole with no common sense. Can you help me out? I need to apologize to her. How can I do that?" I asked him.

"Well, I've got a plan for you."

***

*Drew*

"Come in." I called out to whoever knocked on the door and prayed that it was anybody but Zayn.

"Do you not feel well?" His voice asked. I sighed. "I take that as a yes."

"I'm fine." I said monotonously.

"Oh, okay. Just making sure." He replied awkwardly. "So what do you want?"

I turned to face him for the first time in several hours. "Excuse me? You're the one that came looking for me." I scoffed.

"Let me rephrase that. I can give you anything. Besides breaking the contract or anything of that sort, what could I give you as a portion of my apology?" He inquired.

"Giving me every diamond in the world wouldn't make a difference." I replied. "You can't buy your way out of everything."

"How about three days with your family?" He asked. My eyes lifted up from my hands and I stared intently at him. He couldn't be serious, could he? "I would give you more time, but it's-"

"Too dangerous. I know." I rolled my eyes. He looked at the floor sheepishly. "Five days." I negotiated.

"Three." He shook his head.

"Five days." I repeated my request.

He sighed, obviously tired of bickering with me. "Four is the most I can do." Zayn gave in.

"You can't go five?" I inquired. "How about five nights? And I go home the fifth morning?"

"I can't do that." He disagreed. "Three days."

"But you said four!" I retorted.

"You're worrying me and making me change my mind." He crossed his arms.

"Four nights and nobody finds out that you bit me." I used my last resort. He sighed and shifted his wait from one foot to the other.

"You're quite the negotiator, aren't you?" He asked me.

"You can't buy your way out of everything." I repeated my quote from earlier. "Sometimes you have to argue your way out."

"You're a smart girl. So you should know that if I agree to this deal and you break your promise, there will be consequences. Am I clear?" He asked sternly.

"You can stop speaking to me like I'm a dog." I spat. "Why are you trying to apologize to me? You're the future king. Since when do kings apologize?"

"Since when do normal girls argue with one of the most powerful vampires to ever walk this earth? I guess we're both a bit strange." He remarked.

"You call me strange, but I think I just have common sense. Most people nowadays lack it. They bow down at your feet and worship you thoughtlessly. I'm not the smartest, but I know better than to bow down to someone who believes they have all authority over me, especially when they don't." I replied.

"Who says I don't have all control over you?" He asked in a deep voice. "I could do anything I want to you."

"You could." I nodded. "But you won't." He stared at me and then shook his head.

"You leave tomorrow morning." He said before leaving.