The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

Loyalty

My throat closed up. Was I supposed to feel this emotional? I rubbed my eyes.

"I accept your oath," I whispered.

Camellia stood. "I'll let you return to your sleep," she said. "You may not see me, but I will be around."

Once she left, I slipped back into bed.

"Congratulations," Alexander said.

I snuggled into his chest. "You were awake? Since when?"

"Since you left the bed."

I groaned. "You heard all that?"

"Don't be embarrassed. It's an honor to receive such an oath."

"Doesn't everyone do it, though?"

He kissed my head. "Yes, but I suspect this one was more meaningful."

"Is it really okay for me to accept it?"

"Camellia was willing to sacrifice herself for you. You made a good choice in accepting her. She was instrumental in the case."

"I'm sorry for keeping her a secret for such a long time."

"What you did turned out to be for the best. There's no hard feelings. But, try to not do that again. It made me feel like you couldn't trust me."

I bit my lip. "I'm sorry. I won't do it."

"That's all I ask."

A sudden pain coursed through my gums. "Ow."

"What's wrong?"

"My teeth hurt," I mumbled. I pressed against my gums with my finger.

"Let me see."

"What?"

"Let me see your teeth."

I moved back and showed him my top teeth. He stared.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, you're fangs," he said.

I frowned. "What?"

"You're teething," he explained.

"I'm not a baby."

He grinned. "Well, technically, you are a new born vampire. It happens all the time."

I made a face. "I'm not a vampire."

"Well, fine, but that doesn't change the fact that you're teething."

"So, I need ice-cream or something cold."

He held out his finger. "Here, bite down."

"Are you serious, right now?"

"Biting will help."

"On your finger?"

"Do you want to be in pain?"

I shook my head. "I can take some pain medication."

"If you bite down on my finger, you won't have pain for a few days. Pain medication will only help for a few hours."

"Why do I have to bite your finger?"

He sat up. "You can bite my neck if you want."

"What? No!" I quickly sat up. "I mean, why do I have to bite anything?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "It's what works," he explained. "Children are giving mock items to actual bite when they're teething. The pain goes away for a few days. Any other method isn't as effective."

I crossed my arms. "Well, I guess it's just your finger. Will it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Then, get me a teething toy. I don't want to hurt you. Besides, wouldn't people think something is wrong if you show up with bite marks."

He grinned. "Actually," he said. "They won't bring it up at all."

"Really?"

"Yes, Rin. Just like no one brings up having a love bite."

"Oh." Now, it made sense.

Another wave a pain stabbed my gums. I sucked in a deep breath and pressed my palm against my mouth. Alexander rubbed my back.

"Come on," he said.

"It's weird," I told him.

"I know, but it'll make you feel better."

I made a face. Then scrunched it up as another stab of pain shot through my gums.

"Do you really want to be in pain?"

Sighing, I took his hand. "Okay, but don't look."

He grinned. "Really?"

"Don't look," I whined.

"Okay." He turned away.

I looked down at his hand. Could I really bite him? How would it even help? I bit my lip.

"Rin?" he asked.

Before I could change my mind, I bit his finger. As soon as my fangs sunk into flesh, a wave of serotonin flooded through me. My eyes closed and I almost groaned. Gradually, the pain subsided. My jaw slackened and I removed his finger from my mouth.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

Blushing, I nodded. "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It happens to everyone."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He sucked on his finger. "Yup," he said. "You'll get better at it."

"What? I'm not biting you again."

He pouted.

"Don't give me that face. What's the big deal?"

Alexander crossed his arms. "It's like saying you won't kiss me again."

I gaped at him. "That's not-"

"To a vampire it's the same thing."

I sighed. "Um, well, let me get used to it. It feels weird."

"We'll practice," he assured me.

Trying to change the subject, I glanced at the alarm clock. It read half past three. There was no way I would go back to sleep.

"Since I'm awake, can you help me with my school work? If I'm going to graduate, I need to catch up."

"Leave it to me," he said. "I'll make sure we both walk across the stage.

Grateful, I smiled at him. While I didn't have much hopes of receiving my diploma in two weeks, I'm glad he was optimistic and who knows? Maybe I'd manage to catch up now that I didn't have to sleep for eight hours a day.