Amaryllis left Ulric's office and wasn't sure what to do with herself. She didn't have a chore to do, but she didn't want to go back to Ulric's quarters either.

She found her self standing by the castle doors looking out through the window at the lovely garden.

She pushed open the doors and began walking toward the garden. It was beautiful. There were pebbled pathways leading all though it and luscious greenery that she had never seen before grew beautifully all through the place.

In the middle of the garden was a sort of roundabout with a fountain in the middle and benches surrounding it. Then she walked further and had to go under an arch that was covered in leaves. It was like walking through a tree into some mystical land.

As she walked on, she saw a little pond with statues surrounding it. The statues shot streams of water into the pond. She passed by other statues of things that she didn't know what they were. She stopped and sat down in a gazebo for a while and enjoyed all of the lovely floral scents before starting in her walk again.

Finally, she got to a cobblestone arched bridge that was built over a wide creek. Thierry was standing there looking over the water. He looked up when Amaryllis got closer and shot her a small smile.

"Hello, Thierry," she said, hoping things weren't awkward between them. She didn' t want to lose one of the only friends she had in the castle.

"Hi, Amaryllis."

"I hope you aren't angry with me," she said as she stepped on to the bridge.

"Angry with you? I'm not angry with you. I'm worried that you are angry with me."

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, I did. I yelled at you when you didn't deserve it, and I'm sorry. I was just angry at Ulric. You are truly a wonderful girl and yet he treats you like you don't matter to him whatsoever." Thierry said.

Amaryllis walked closer and placed her hand on Thierry's arm. "I'm not mad at you. I appreciate that you stood up for me in fact. But he doesn't treat me badly all the time. When I fell and hurt myself he took me to the hospital to make sure I was okay and he's letting me live with him. He doesn't make me do many chores, the only thing I mostly do is just make sure that my room is clean," Amaryllis said. Ulric really wasn't as bad as she thought he was when she first met him. He was being much nicer to her then than ever before.

"That's good, I don't want you to be upset with me. Ulric is a good guy, he's just going about it the wrong way," Thierry said.

"Thierry, do you have a mate?" Amaryllis asked. Thierry's eyes widened and he looked at her in shock.

"What?"

"Do you have a mate? My friend Travis told me about mates and I was wondering if you had one."

"I didn't know that you knew about mates."

"I only found out a few days ago."

Thierry nodded his head, "Yes, I do have one."

Amaryllis gasped. "Won't she be upset that you've been talking to me like this then?"

"No it will be okay, she's a very nice girl, she will understand."

"That's good. What's her name?"

"Marley"

"Awe. Where is she? I've never met her before."

"She is in a coma."

"A coma! What happened!"

"She's a werewolf, an omega, do you know what that is?" Thierry asked.

Amaryllis nodded. She had never seen a real werewolf, but she knew that omegas were the lowest ranking ones. She knew that vampires and werewolves were allies. It was told that in some towns, there were werewolves who patrolled the humans as well.

"Well, I wasn't there for her first shift, which is when a werewolf first changes into their wolf form, because I was out taking care of something with Ulric. But I found out later that some boy who used to bully her for being an omega stabbed her with a silver knife - silver is deadly to werewolves - when she was shifting. This stopped her shift and almost killed her. Thankfully she's in a coma, I don't know what I would've done if she died, Amaryllis."

Amaryllis's eyes welled up with tears as Thierry told the story. She felt so bad for him and for his mate. Neither of them deserved to go through something so traumatic.

"What happened to the boy?" Amaryllis questioned. Someone who did something so awful to someone else shouldn't just get away without any consequences.

Thierry's eyes were flashing silver, she couldn't quite tell if he was being overcome with sadness or anger. "I went to her pack as soon as I felt what happened. Since we are mates, I could feel when she got stabbed, so when I felt as though I had been stabbed, I ran to her pack and killed the boy."

Amaryllis gasped but didn't question it. She didn't really think people deserved death, but she wasn't going to say that in front of the grieving vampire. Besides, maybe he did deserve it, he did put his mate in a coma after all.

"How long has she been in a coma?"

"Since a week before you got here."

"That's been over a month! How has she not woken up yet?"

"She was stabbed with enough silver to kill an average male werewolf. Thankfully, someone found her and got her to a pack doctor quick enough before she died."

"I've taken up an interest in you Amaryllis because you remind me of my mate, not in a sexual way or anything, but you are kind and caring like she is. And if I can't help her, I want to help you." Thierry said.

Amaryllis wiped the tears off of her face and gave Thierry a hug. "You are a great friend Thierry. And everything will be okay. She will wake up soon and you will be happy, I know it."

"Thank you, Amaryllis. Would you like to meet her when she wakes up? I have a feeling you two will be good friends."

"Yes! I would love to. I've never met a werewolf before!"

They stood on the bridge in silence for a few minutes before Amaryllis broke it.

"Do you think I have a mate?"

Thierry looked over at her. "I'm not sure." But he was sure. Ulric never told him specifically that Amaryllis was his mate, but he knew his best friend. While others couldn't tell Ulric had a mate, Thierry could tell, especially by the way he treated Amaryllis. He wouldn't be so indecisive in the way he treated her if he didn't have a mate bond with her.

"I hope I do. They seem lovely," the girl said with a small blush. She was thinking about Ulric being her mate, she didn't want anybody else.

Ulric came back into their home very late that night. He came back so late Amaryllis was sure he was spending his time with another woman.

She couldn't sleep so she was in the kitchen eating left-overs from dinner. They made eye contact as Ulric walked into the kitchen. He looked the same as he did when she was in his office earlier that day, so it didn't seem like he had spent time with another woman.

He opened up the fridge and pulled out a blood bag. Then he took a glass from out of the cabinet, popped a hole in the bag with his teeth, and poured the contents into the glass - all while he stared directly into Amaryllis's eyes.

Amaryllis shivered as Ulric brought the glass up to his lips and drank her blood. He was being oddly sensual.

She looked away from him and continued to eat her steak and mashed potatoes, though she could feel his gaze burning a hole through her face.

Amaryllis looked up as she could no longer take the awkwardness of him staring at her while she tried to ignore it. "Does it taste good?"

Ulric nodded. "Delicious. Only one thing tastes better than this. Your blood, but straight from the source."

Amaryllis shivered again. She hoped he never drank from her ever again after what happened the last time. She had never experienced such intense pain before.

"Oh," she whispered, not sure what she was supposed to say to that.

"Why did you tell Thierry about our business, Amaryllis?"

"I-I, well I, didn't mean to."

"How didn't you mean to?"

"He asked me what was wrong because he said I looked sickly, and I tried to just brush it off, but he knew it was you. So I had to tell him because I didn't want him to think that you did something awful to me," the girl explained.

"Awful like force you to have sex with me?" Ulric questioned. He watched Amaryllis's eyes widen before she nodded. He could hear her heart rate begin to quicken.

"Are you a virgin, Amaryllis?" Ulric asked as he took a step closer. The only thing separating them now was the counter she was sitting behind. He already knew the answer though, he could smell how undeniably pure she was.

Her face lit up with redness. "Why are you-"

"Just answer the question."

She quickly nodded her head. "Yes."

Ulric walked behind the counter and turned the chair Amaryllis was sitting on to face him. He moved his head to her neck where he traced his lips and nose up and down her sweet skin.

He placed his hands on her thighs that were only partly covered by her sleeping shorts. Both of his hands traveled under her thighs and quicker than she could even blink, he ripped her out of the chair and pushed her up against a wall.

His face was still in her neck, sucking at her skin. His right hand began to trail up her body, slightly wrapping around her butt before grazing the side of her breast.

Amaryllis gasped. No one had ever touched her where Ulric was touching her. While she felt as though she shouldn't be enjoying Ulric's touch, she was. Amaryllis was reveling in his touch.

His right hand moved back down her stomach, but what he did next made her remember what this vampire was doing to her.

He moved his hand under her sleeping shirt and began to trail his hand up her stomach toward her breasts.

"Ulric!" She gasped. Her heart started beating even faster than it had been. What if he bit her like he did last time? She wasn't sure if she could survive it happening again. What if he tried to rape her? He did just ask if she was a virgin.

He stopped the movement of his hand which was just over her belly button. "Don't worry, Amaryllis, I'm not going to hurt you." And it was like his words had an instant calming effect on her because as soon as he said that, her heart stopped racing, well it stopped racing from fear, but not from excitement.

"Okay," she whispered and then something dawned on her. She wasn't wearing a bra and he could definitely feel her nipples through her shirt. Just as she was about to say something, his lips crashed down on her own.

His lips were warm and soft as they moved over the young girl's. He grabbed both of her hips with his hands and held her still against the wall.

Amaryllis had never felt such an amazing sensation before, she never wanted it to end.

She brought her hands up from beside her and placed them on his muscular chest. She was careful to make sure she didn't hit her cast-clad wrist against anything.

She moaned as he felt him nipping at her lips with his teeth. Warmth spread over her whole body and she felt things no one had ever made her feel before.

She opened her mouth for him and his tongue brushed against her own. He let out a guttural sound, making her skin break out in chills. She liked that noise. It gave her hope that maybe she was doing this right.

Finally, when she could no longer breathe, she pushed at his chest. His lips broke away from her own and he stared down at her with silver eyes, letting her know that he was very lustful at that moment.

"You just stole my first kiss, Ulric," Amaryllis said as she fingered her tingly lips.

"I knew you were a virgin, little human. I can smell your innocence and purity. I figured you had never been kissed before, but I wasn't exactly sure. I am glad to know that was your first kiss. However, I didn't steal anything. You are mine."

Ulric stood to his full height and Amaryllis had to bend her head up to look at him.

"Make sure you wear a bra at all times when you leave this space," he said as he glanced down at Amaryllis's chest. Her face reddened even further as she was hit with the realization that he definitely did feel them against his chest.

Before she could say anything he walked away, leaving her standing against the wall with blushing cheeks, swollen lips, hard nipples, an achy feeling in between her legs, and a very very good feeling about her relationship with him. The only thing she wasn't quite sure about was what he meant when he said she was "mine."

Was Ulric my mate!?