Belinda had no idea how much time passed before anyone said a word. Her heart felt like it would burst any second as she wished she would have never asked.
Not only did she planted a seed of doubt in herself but also in her friend. It was evident both became lost in their heads, questioning wether their relationships had a future.
Kassie stood from the table but before she could leave, Abraham stood in her way. "Let's go talk—"
Kassie actually attempted to push him back to no success. "You should have told me from the beginning."
After she walked around him, heading upstairs, Belinda followed suit. As they walked down the corridor, Kassie muttered things to herself. Belinda grabbed her arm, forcing her to come to a halt.
"Calm down."
Kassie faced her and Belinda had to force herself to not cry at the sight of her friend quivering, tears in her eyes. "How could they keep this from us?"
Belinda released her friend's arm as her gaze fell upon the wood floor. "Kassie, we have to think well before making a decision."
Kassie whipped away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. "They should have told us from the beginning—were they going to wait until we were going through the change?" She let out a sound of frustration before whirling around. "They played their cards well."
"What do you mean?"
Kassie fisted her fingers into fists at her sides, knuckles turning white. "If I would have known the day I was chosen, it would have been easier to walk away...but now...I'm in too deep."
"No one would ever force the change on either of you." Belinda turned to come face to face with Zaeley. "I think it's been overdue for us to sit and talk."
Without a word, they followed her to the living room. Belinda's eyes narrowed when she didn't see anyone. She took a seat beside Kassie, fidgeting with her bracelet.
"I think it's best that I start from the beginning." Zaeley met Belinda's gaze. "The night you rejected Fane...I asked the council for advice and was told to include certain things in the contract that I chose not to."
"Such as?" Belinda asked, the curiosity evident in her tone.
"You were to be turned into a vampire within the three years."
Belinda's eyes widened. "W—what?"
"I went against their advice because long ago, I witnessed my best friend be forced to mate with a man who she did not love..." She paused, clearly trying her best to not break down. "For centuries, I watched her suffer...Now, you must understand why I wrote the contract the way I did—with so many loopholes. I wanted Fane and you to fall in love...I didn't want you to be forced to be with each other and live the rest of your lives in a hell that you wouldn't be able to escape from..."
"Nothing of what you have said excuses the fact they chose to hide that we can die during the change," Kassie said.
"I'm not happy neither of them said anything, but it's evident that Abraham was afraid of loosing you." She glanced at Belinda. "Perhaps, Fane didn't see the point of telling you when you continue to say you want nothing to do with him." Belinda averted her gaze. "Child, you cannot tell him one thing today and another tomorrow."
Kassie stood. "I feel like there is something you're not telling us."
"I want you both to be honest with me." She glanced at Kassie. "Do you truly love Abraham?"
Kassie didn't hesitate. "Yes."
Now, Zaeley addressed Belinda. "Do you love Fane?"
Belinda's checks grew warm. "Y-Yes." Although, how could she be certain she did? How would she able to tell the difference between lust and truly being in love with someone?
She had no experience at all.
Zaeley smiled. "Good...I'm trusting both of you to take this secret to you tomb." After they both nodded, Zaeley seeemed lost for a moment before glancing at both of them. "There is another way."
Now, Kassie smiled. "There is?"
"Your blood."
Pin-drop silence.
"This is a joke, right?" Kassie seemed in complete disbelief like Belinda. "I'm human—my blood is nothing special."
"It has been kept a secret for centuries because of the events that occurred long ago...Chosen ones were sacrificed so that human leaders could live for eternity...both chosen ones."
Belinda's eyes widened as she stared into the distance. "Is that why no one came personally to claim their mate?"
Zaeley nodded. "When we realized what was happening, everyone was forbidden from stepping a foot in any human owned territory."
"So," Kassie began. "In order to not age, I would have to drink my blood mixed with Abraham's?" Her nose wrinkled up in disgust. "Fane gave me some of his blood last time and—yeah, it didn't taste good at all."
Zaeley chuckled. "Never said it would."
Belinda's eyes narrowed. "Is it supposed to taste repulsive to a human? When Fane fed me his blood...I liked it." Now, they both stared at her. "What? I'm being honest...I was surprised it tasted pretty good."
"Girl, you're weird," Kassie said before wrapping an arm around Belinda and smiling. "But don't you worry, I still love you."
After putting all of her clothes in the closet of her new bedroom, Belinda called her parents. Of course, they agreed just like everyone else that it was safer for her to be in the cabin.
Zaeley had told them that she was working on getting them a safe house but it would take a couple of days. Until then, it was best for them to be protected as well so there would be guards all around the house, which they didn't like at all.
Unfortunately, Belinda didn't get to join her classmates in the graduation. Right now, she sat on the sofa, staring at the wood burning in the fireplace.
She truly had wished she could be part of it, but her enemies would have probably tried to harm her, which would have resulted in many getting hurt.
She wouldn't be able to endure such guilt.
After she stood, she headed outside and walked to the back of the cabin, where she had a magnificent view of the wooded area that seemed never ending. The sun at the horizon spread a beautiful blend of oranges and reds across the sky.
At the sound of footsteps, she glanced over her shoulder at Fane.
"Is everything okay?"
She faced him, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just needed a bit of fresh air."
Her heart began to beat out of control when he stepped closer, stopping mere centimeters away from her. She lifted her gaze to meet his and became lost in his enchanting silvery eyes.
And now, she began to stammer like a damn fool. She didn't even know what the hell she had said. She tried to return inside but he held her arm and pulled her closer.
She became lightheaded as the butterflies in her stomach intensified. Not once breaking eye contact, he drew his face closer, stopping before their lips could touch.
When Fane stepped back, Belinda spotted Star heading in their direction, a too big of a smile on her lips. "That's not exactly how I said to distract her." She propped her hands on her hips. "Come inside."
Eyes narrowed, Belinda followed her. The door opened and she smiled as she glanced at the decorations all over the first floor.
How on earth had Star managed to decorate within the minutes she had been outside?
"Congratulations!" Star laughed as balloons and confetti fell from above. Keisha and Kassie hugged Belinda, all not being able to stop smiling.
When they pulled back, Belinda couldn't help run to her parents and hug them. It had been just a couple of days, but it felt like an eternity.
She truly had missed them.
She realized there were some present she didn't recognize. Fane must have noticed; he introduced them to her. His uncle Liam and his aunt Katherine.
"Congratulations," Katherine said with a smile.
"Thank you."
Minutes later, music played at full volume. Star raised two wine cups in the air as she headed toward Belinda and her friends. "Lets have some fun!"
When she handed it to Belinda, her father shot Star a warning look, which she returned with a beaming smile. "It has no alcohol. I'm well aware of your human laws."
It was pretty evident that her father wanted to reply, but he bit his tongue. Belinda knew way too well that look he gave Star.
As the minutes passed, everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. They genuinely seemed to be having fun. While everyone else conversed and laughed, Belinda met Fane's gaze from across the room. He seemed way too relaxed leaned against the wall, arms in his pockets.
As she stared at him, she couldn't help smile like a damn fool. He fixed the collar of his shirt before giving her a look full of adulation and a sweet smile that made her heart flutter.
When her father excused himself and headed outside, Belinda glanced at her mother to see the evident worry in her eyes.
After setting her drink on the counter, she headed outside to find her father. She followed his voice to find him at the back, phone in his shuttering hand.
"Is everything okay?"
Her father hesitated. "Fane has become our prime suspect in the murders of the chosen ones."
"How on earth—"
"A female was chosen last week...we located her yesterday hung from a tree just like the rest...she finally has woken up and identified Fane—"
Belinda shook her head. "That makes no sense—is it not odd that after committing these crimes without leaving any sort of trace—now, they make the huge mistake to leave someone alive for you to find?"
"I have to take him in."
When he began to walk toward the house, Belinda stood in his way. "You can't do it right now. His family is there—"
"Is everything okay?"
Belinda's eyes widened as she turned to realize everyone had walked outside the house. She glanced over her shoulder at her father before meeting Zaeley's gaze. "Everything is fine."
Zaeley seeemd lost in thought. Then, her eyes flickered scarlet. "Have you lost your mind? How dare you accuse my child of such horrendous act."
"The girl testified against him."
"There is no evidence—"
"I have to take him in and interrogate him," her father interjected.
When Fane's uncle moved, Zeref held him back. "Calm down."
"You have some fucking nerve." Liam's eyes filled with hatred. "I'm starting to believe your kind are behind the attacks."
Belinda's father glared at Liam. "And what exactly would we gain out of it?"
Belinda's father tried to get close to Liam but her mother and she held him back. "Every women chosen that lies in the morgue was pregnant with a girl."
Belinda's eyes widened.
"Why? Is it because you prefer boys? Those women didn't deserve what you did to them. You're all nothing but fucking cowards."
Zeref was the one to move now, but to Belinda's surprise, he halted when Belinda's mother stood in his way.
Belinda stared in utter disbelief as he mother held her chin high. Belinda had expected Zeref to lose all control at her mother's evident challenge.
However, as he stared back at her, eyes flickering scarlet, his glare faltered and softened. It was hard to believe this powerful vampire actually lowered his gaze and stepped back.
Belinda glanced at her mother, wondering what the hell just happened.
Katherine grabbed Zeref by the shoulder and pulled him back, beginning to argue in the same language Belinda had heard Fane and Zaeley speak.
"You've lost your mind." Zaeley said as she had stared into the distance. "I know you all have noticed there are far more male vampires than females—being blessed with a girl for us is rare. Our enemy targeted the chosen pregnant with females so that our people will cease to exist...without them...we have no future."
Belinda's father didn't speak for the longest. When he did, it was to say goodbye. Belinda followed her parents toward the portal that was at the front of the property.
"Dad, what are you going to do?" Her father came to a stop as her mother and he stared at each other appearing like they we're trying to decide to tell her something or not. "What's going on?"
"I'm thinking of resigning."
"What? But you love your job—"
"Fane is your beloved...many have began to question where my loyalty lies."
Belinda's eyes watered as she met his gaze, knowing well that this wouldn't be an easy decision. His job was his life. She had witnessed how much he loved to help out everyone in town.
"Forgive me for ruining your party..."
She hugged him. "I don't care about the party."
"I allowed my anger to get the best of me...the girl said far more things in the hospital."
Belinda pulled away. "What did she say? Whatever it is, I can handle it."
Her father placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "She claims that you are not Fane's first beloved and he is pretending to care for you just like he did with the rest....she also claims that he seeks a male heir and if you become pregnant with a girl, you'll end up..."
He clearly couldn't even bring himself to say that she would end up in the morgue with the other chosen ones.
"Dad, not all those killed were vampire's beloveds."
"The girl said there is a spell that can make a mark appear like another...glamour."
Belinda's heart began to beat out of control as she averted her gaze to the ground. Her father grabbed her chin and made her meet his gaze. "You love him?"
She fought back the tears. "Yes."
Her mother placed a hand over her shoulder. "Darling, we have to return home...We would love for you to come with us until this all cleared up, but even if we hate it, due to the contract, you have to remain close to Fane."
She hugged them again not wanting to ever let go. After she finally did, they headed toward the portal. For the longest, she stood in the same spot, her head bombarded with so many thoughts...so much doubt.
Was it truly this difficult to fully put all one's trust on someone?
What if Fane and his entire family were great at pretending to be something they were not. It wouldn't be the first time someone who everyone believed to be a great person turned out to be a serial killer.
When she returned to the cabin, she despised the silence. Katherine and Liam didn't say anything as they walked past her out the front door.
Keisha came from down the hall, Niko following a couple of steps behind. When he grabbed her arm, she whirled around, her hand coming up to slap him across his face, surprising not only Belinda but everyone present.
"You bastard."
"I deserved that."
When she shoved Niko back, Blake came from the living room and attempted to hold her back, which gained him also a slap to the face.
"How could you let him—Ugh!" She pushed Blake out of the way, halting when her gaze met Belinda's. "Did you know?" She glanced at Keisha. "Did both of you know?"
Belinda's chest began to ache as she stared into her friend's eyes, revealing the evident pain. "Keisha—"
"Of course you did," she said, her voice breaking, eyes becoming enveloped in tears. "Star, please take me back home."
Star stood from the sofa in silence and accompanied Keisha back home. Zeref placed a hand on Niko's shoulder. "Give her time. For now, I suggest you focus on your Alpha duties."
Belinda didn't say a word as she headed up the stairs to the bedroom that had became hers for the past few days. She stood in front of the window, the pressure in her chest intensifying as she watched her friend walk into the woods, accompanied by Star.
First, her father informed her of Fane being the prime suspect in the murders and now, Keisha was beyond mad at her with good reason.
She should have told her about Niko.
"You okay?"
Belinda faced Kassie, who stood at the opened doorway. "Hell no...are you?"
Kassie shook her head as she took a seat on the bed. "Do you think she'll forgive us?"
Belinda folded her arms over her chest. "I hope so."
Kassie clasped her hands on her lap, gaze on the floor. "Niko can say whatever he wants...but I think he had more reasons than just finding his mate. I've learned so much living amongst them. When you are born of royal blood...you have no childhood. I think he also sought some normalcy. I've heard that Niko had to endure dangerous tests to prove to his father that he was worthy of the alpha title at the age of sixteen—which I think it's nuts...but then again, their world is completely different than ours. Their meaning of normal is far different than ours."
At a soft knock on the door, they both glanced in its direction to find Abraham standing there. "It's getting late...We have to return home."
Kassie stood and hugged Belinda before following Abraham. Belinda remained frozen for a moment, thinking of everything.
The next day, she didn't want to get out of bed at all. She did get up to shower and brush her teeth, but she jumped right back on the Queen sized bed and covered herself from head to toes with the blanket.
At a knock on the door, she grunted. "What?" When there was no answer, she heaved herself out of bed and stumped toward the door. The second she opened it and met silvery eyes, she couldn't help smile as the butterflies in her stomach went insane.
"Good morning," Fane said, a playful smile on her lips.
"Good morning," she said as she headed back to the bed, sitting down with the blanket around her. Perhaps, she didn't want to leave the room because she didn't want to face reality.
Fane set the food on the nightstand before sitting beside her on the bed. "What's bothering you?" When she didn't speak, with clear hesitation he placed his hand over hers. "I can sense your doubt."
Now, she met his gaze. "I want to trust you—I do, but everything is against you."
"It's seems my enemy knew well how to play their cards." He let her hand go and stood. "They're objective has always been to turn you against me...and the've succeeded."
She stood and folded her arms around herself. "You think they've turned me against you? If that was true, I wouldn't be here." She attempted to grasp his hand but he stepped back, making her heart ache.
"We both know that the only reason you're here is because of the contract." When she said nothing as she held his gaze, without another word, he left the room.
Belinda sat down on the bed, a pain in her chest that threatened to crush her heart. "I'm such an idiot."
For the next few days, it was evident to anyone with eyes that Fane was distancing himself from her. No one made any comment about it though.
Today, Belinda was attempting to bake cookies from scratch. She hit Kassie's hand playfully when she attempted to take another piece of chocolate. "How are we supposed to make chocolate chip cookies if you eat all the chocolate?" She raised an eyebrow then flour hit her face, making her gasp.
Kassie laughed. "Sorry—It was by accident."
Belinda's mouth dropped open. "What a big fat lie." And within seconds, they were throwing flour at each other. When a cellphone began to ring, Kassie rushed to the table to pick it up and as she did, Belinda grabbed the bag of flour and aimed it at her.
Of course, when flour was flung into the air, she ducked and the one just walking into the house got covered in it. Kassie guffawed, her face turning bright red.
Belinda bit back a laugh when Fane glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry."
Abraham walked in, holding back a laugh. "What the hell are you two doing?"
"Obviously, baking cookies," Kassie said with a smile as she tried to clean her face with a cloth napkin.
He chuckled. "I'm pretty certain this is not how you bake cookies."
Belinda grabbed one of the cloth napkins folded neatly in the drawer and smiled innocently as she handed it to Fane. She didn't expect him to grasp her hand and pull her to him so that he could cover her face in more flour.
Of course, Kassie found it hilarious. She couldn't stop herself from joining them when Fane actually laughed.
Something that was rare.
But then again, as the days passed, she realized in front of others, he acted unfazed by anything, kept a pretty pissed off face, even when given good news. He only broke that demeanor when he was amongst close friends.
As the days passed, Fane and she attempted to act as if there wasn't more than just a friendship flourishing between them. Even when they attempted to keep distance, they were attracted to each other like a moth to flame.
Belinda sat down on one of the many chairs around the fire pit at the backyard, loving the heat. Star sat beside her and smiled, but said nothing.
"What?"
Star stared into the flickering flames. "Fane and you have grown really close."
Belinda rubbed her arms, regretting not grabbing her sweater on the way out. "We're friends."
"Why are you hellbent on pretending to not love him?"
"I...I don't know what to think anymore—I've only known him for what?Seven or eight months?"
Star glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "That's more than enough time to know how you feel about someone."
When someone placed a blanket around Belinda, she glanced over her shoulder to be greeted by Fane's small smile. The moment he sat on the chair beside her, Star excused herself, a beaming smile on her full lips.
"I've been trying to get in contact with my parents. I don't know why but they haven't answered any of my calls." She began to fidget with the bracelet her mother gifted her, worry beginning to consume her. "I want to go check that they're okay."
Belinda stood when she spotted Star actually running toward them. "Is everything okay?"
She was vibrating from evident ecstatic as she grabbed Fane's hands. "You're father has awaken! Fane, he's walking and talking!"
Belinda couldn't help smile at the happiness in her Beloved's eyes. He wasted no time and was gone. Star couldn't stop smiling before she covered her full lips with a hand. "I still can't believe it...everyone had lost hope."
Kassie came from the house. "You should go with them. We'll be fine here."
Star hesitated, but it was evident she too wanted to see the vampire king. "I wish I could, but someone has to stay."
Belinda's eyes narrowed. "Why? Kassie and I are not children—we don't need a babysitter." She hit Star's shoulder playfully. "Go." When she didn't move, Belinda shrugged. "Fine—Hey, Kassie do you have your cellphone?"
Kassie handed it to Belinda. Belinda called her parents but there was no answer. At the third try, finally, her mother answered.
"Mom, finally—I was begging to worry—"
"Daring—" The line sounded like it had been cut off, before all she could hear was static.
"Mom?" The line became clear again and she could hear her mother's sobs. "Mom, what's wrong?" She tried to speak, but Belinda couldn't comprehend anything. "Calm down, Mom."
"Your father...he went to speak to the witness—they're saying he killed her..." Belinda's heart sunk to the ground as everything around her began to sway.
"Where—Where is he?"
"Darling, he was taken to the station...everyone is for certain that he will be sentenced to death."
The cellphone slipped out of her grasp as her legs became weak. Star moved and held her by the arm before she collapsed to the ground.
As she stared into the distance, pain engulfed her, threatening to devour her. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare.